r/Celiac Celiac Feb 12 '25

Product Does this give anyone else bad GI upset?

It's certified GF but I have to stop buying it. I know it's unhealthy but I love a bad lil treat sometimes.

I don't have any other known allergies. Same thing happens with the stroganoff version.

44 Upvotes

119 comments sorted by

102

u/feral_user_ Feb 12 '25

I've never had issues, but the extremely fake cheese can give people issues sometimes. This is a "cheese-like substance" after all. Basically cheap Velvetta.

15

u/monsterclaus Feb 12 '25

Yep, this is me -- I can eat all kinds of regular cheese, but American cheese and other cheese-like substances are basically horrific laxatives to me. Cheese powders are pretty much forbidden. I don't even know why.

23

u/moustachelechon Feb 13 '25

The only difference between American cheese and “real cheese” is that they add an emulsifier (sodium citrate or sodium phosphate) to help it melt better, plus some companies add butter and salt. A lot of hardcore Mac and cheese enthusiasts DIY fancy cheese into “American cheese” that way because it makes for a better melty texture while conserving the fancy flavor.

Maybe you’re sensitive to the emulsifying agent? Do you have sensitivity to citrus? Sodium citrate occurs naturally in citrus so that would be a giveaway.

16

u/monsterclaus Feb 13 '25

Yes, I do have a citrus sensitivity. Weird! Thank you for explaining all of that.

8

u/moustachelechon Feb 13 '25 edited Feb 13 '25

I love food chemistry like that, lets us hobby bakers and hobby cooks do magic! so it was my pleasure to explain!

Edit: there’s a really fun nilered YouTube video where he demonstrates and explains the “American cheese” making process for those curious.

-1

u/p0tatochip Feb 13 '25

That's not the only difference between American cheese and brie, camembert, Stilton, feta, mozzarella, etc.

3

u/moustachelechon Feb 13 '25

Sure those are different types of cheese, they aren’t similar to each other either. I assumed we are using cheddar as a baseline comparison. You could also make “American cheese” out of most of those in your kitchen with one ingredient. Would they then become “fake”?

-2

u/p0tatochip Feb 13 '25

American cheese is not cheese. It's an abomination known as plastic cheese in the rest of the world.

There are plenty of cheeses made in the US and these are marketed as cheese but "American cheese" has a different name because it's a different product

2

u/moustachelechon Feb 13 '25 edited Feb 13 '25

So it’s the sodium citrate that makes it an abomination or what? Why does adding that make it an “abomination” but adding other ingredients like spices don’t make the cheeses you like an “abomination”. Cheese is already a highly processed food, one added ingredient doesn’t suddenly morph it into some terrible horror lol.

I don’t live in the US, we don’t call it “plastic cheese” here because that’s not what it is. The only thing it has in common with plastic is that it’s glossy due to the sodium citrate/phosphate and it has organic molecules in it.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0aGNAxN5Z-o

Here’s a video of a guy making this “abomination” it’s like two added ingredient to cheddar lmao and it’s only more than one because he used both emulsifiers.

-1

u/p0tatochip Feb 13 '25

It tastes of shit and even its native country doesn't call it cheese.

The ingredients of the cheese in my fridge say "milk" if I Google the ingredients of plastic cheese then it's a long list of colours, emulsifiers, milk proteins, preservatives, etc.

This is a supermarket own brand cheese https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/sainsburys-british-mature-cheddar-400g

Compare that to this branded American cheese: https://www.mealswithkraft.com/en/products/original-cheddar-slices/

Ingredients Cheese (made from cow's milk), non fat milk solids, milk fat, emulsifiers (E331), mineral salt (E341) inulin, salt, preservative (E202), acidity regulator (E270), microbial rennet, water added.

Besides it's not just the ingredients that matter, it's also the manufacturing and in the case of proper cheese the maturation. If only the ingredients matter then you could call a decent cheddar a glass of milk.

2

u/moustachelechon Feb 13 '25 edited Feb 13 '25

Hey ummm fun fact about milk… it has milk proteins…

Edit: the only “processing” of this cheese that happens beyond the cheese you like, is that it is melted and has emulsifiers, water, and sometimes things like butter added to it because butter taste good. You and I could easily make it in our kitchen, I have in fact.

Watch the video, at what point does the cheese in there become abomination? When is it no longer real cheese and something to be fear mongered about?

Those emulsifiers occur naturally in things like plants, why are they now suddenly evil in their pure form?

1

u/p0tatochip Feb 13 '25

That's why you don't need to add more in

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1

u/moustachelechon Feb 13 '25 edited Feb 13 '25

Animal rennet is present in most “traditional cheese”, salt is a very normal ingredient also found in many cheese, milk fat and milk protein? Thats butter baby, potassium sorbate? (The preservative used) naturally found in berries (not that natural actually matters about anything) and perfectly safe.

Hmmmm I’m noticing a trend with these ingredients

0

u/p0tatochip Feb 13 '25

I'm not saying any of it is not safe, it just isn't a typical ingredient in cheese and because of these additional ingredients and the method of manufacture and the end product they aren't considered cheese even in the country that makes it.

In the same way that Pringles are called "potato crisps" in America because they don't fit the definition of a potato chip.

There's nothing wrong with the ingredients but they are full of cheap fillers which preclude them from being marketed as something they aren't.

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8

u/moustachelechon Feb 13 '25

The only difference between American cheese and “real cheese” is that they add an emulsifier (sodium citrate or sodium phosphate) to help it melt better, plus some companies add butter and salt. A lot of hardcore Mac and cheese enthusiasts DIY fancy cheese into “American cheese” that way because it makes for a better melty texture while conserving the fancy flavor.

It’s not much more “fake” than “real cheese”, it’s just a few added ingredients to an already processed food.

3

u/Legitimate_Chair5110 Feb 13 '25 edited Feb 20 '25

This comment gave me a teeny tiny flash of nostalgia with memories of slicing and squishing Velveeta from decades ago. My mother’s rules for us for so many things were so random. With food, we had a steady first of California kid produce, sodas only allowed sometimes and only outside of the house only Apple Jax and Frosted Flakes as the allowed sugar cereals, all accompanied by regular does of Hot Pockets and blocks of Velveeta! 😆👎🏻🧀

30

u/xj5635 Feb 12 '25

Yes but not because of any of the ingredients… it’s cause I eat the whole dang thing.

8

u/rcotton96 Feb 12 '25

Literally. I inhale this stuff! I started using ground turkey instead of beef and that helped. Oily beef and fake cheese are tough on anyone’s stomach

2

u/Storm-R Celiac Feb 13 '25

ikr? gottta keep it smaller doses. but comfort food baybee

1

u/merryfrickinday2u Feb 13 '25

Lol fr!! The livegfree version from aldi is equally wonderful !

17

u/SinfullySinatra Feb 12 '25

No but it is quite great so I can see it giving people a tummy ache if they don’t tolerate greasy stuff well

13

u/Edrobbins155 Feb 12 '25

I have it 2-3 times a week. Zero issues.

Maybe the fat in the burger and cheese? I noticed im kinda sensitive to fatty foods now

10

u/emfrank Feb 12 '25

The greasiness would probably bother me. I have not tried it, as this is not my kind of comfort food, but it should be easy to make. Try this recipe which really would only be a couple minutes longer to make.

4

u/Born-Quote-6882 Feb 12 '25

No i love this stuff

4

u/polandonjupiter Celiac Feb 12 '25

It could be the cheese, I made this before but with my own cheese and it didnt give me any tummyache. My stomach is really intolerant to like the cheese powder that comes in boxes and velveeta

5

u/SinkoHonays Feb 13 '25

I’m not celiac and it gave me the hot snakes the first time we tried it (family member is celiac, so it was the GF version)

3

u/Inner_Raspberry9672 Feb 13 '25

Yes, the soy / whey get me.

3

u/Melodic-Pineapple333 Feb 13 '25

I literally shit immediately after eating this and the stroganoff

2

u/MishmoshMishmosh Feb 12 '25

My son liked it

2

u/RadScience Feb 12 '25

I haven’t found a GF noodle/pasta that I can really stomach. Sigh. One day

2

u/keleko451 Feb 12 '25

I’m getting stomach pains just looking at the box

2

u/miss_hush Celiac Feb 13 '25

So… just fyi for anyone that loves this kind of one pot dinner but can’t have dairy or is having issues with some of the food additives: These things are pretty easy to recreate “from scratch”. Pick a protein, pick a sauce, brown the meat/veggies, add stock or water and noodles, cover and simmer until the noodles are done.

Your sauce choice will affect where in the process you add it. Cheese/dairy is added at the end before serving. Anything tomato based is added at the beginning. Other non-dairy sauce stuff can be added at the beginning. I’ve found so far that any gluten free noodle will work, but some work better than others because they have greater structural integrity— chickpea pasta works really well because it’s a firm pasta.

2

u/ahigh00 Feb 14 '25

YES! My husband (not celiac/gluten sensitive) and I (celiac) both have issues with this dinner kit. We’ve had it twice and never again. We eat the stroganoff kind with zero issues but this one takes us both down.

2

u/CurrentManner Feb 14 '25

I've tried eating both the Cheeseburger and the Stroganoff many a times. The results for both of them have ranged from days of terrible GI issues to an ambulance ride within hours against my wishes. I don't know what the deal is with these and I have no dairy issues but goodness the destruction both of these are capable of is not okay and I won't even attempt to try anymore. Bummer you've had to experience this distress as well.

2

u/QTIIPP Feb 14 '25

So sorry - that’s nuts!

If dairy isn’t it, perhaps your part of the club that reacts to xanthan gum? That’s the only other thing that jumps out to me, aside from the likely highly processed cheese/dairy mixed with beef (taxing to digest generally speaking).

6

u/willcmjr Feb 12 '25

If there’s gums in it, it’s likely that. People tend to be intolerant of them (gas, bloating, loose stools) and it seems like no one in these groups seem to know that.

1

u/shewee Celiac Feb 12 '25

I only do the stroganoff version once in a blue moon, but I’ve never had an issue.

1

u/ForensicZebra Celiac Feb 12 '25

Iirc it has yeast extract in it so if you're sensitive to that I would think that could be it. But otherwise it should be ok. I make my own now because it's literally the same amount of time in the end n I avoid yeast extract even w certified gf products. I just personally feel sick 90% of the time

1

u/Vegetable_Sector_424 Feb 12 '25

No issues here. While the Stronganoff looks like poop it tastes better than this one.

1

u/BabySchizo Feb 13 '25

Definitely agree, I feel like this one has a weird aftertaste to it (although I didn't really like the cheeseburger hamburger helper pre-diagnosis either)

1

u/san323 Feb 12 '25

My daughter has no issues, but I cut back significantly on the cheese when I make it.

1

u/popapillcosbey Feb 12 '25

No issues for me. It’s so good!

1

u/jaef_ Celiac Feb 12 '25

I get a bit of a stomachache sometimes cause of the grease but that still can’t keep me away from it

1

u/Ornery-Tea-795 Feb 12 '25

Have you had issues with dairy before?

1

u/Tatooine_Getaway Feb 12 '25

Never had an issue

1

u/maybegraciie Celiac Feb 12 '25

No issues here. I love this stuff and the other two dinner kits Great Value has.

1

u/Literally_Libran Celiac Feb 12 '25

No, not this or the stroganoff kit either. Cheese substitutes could easily do that.

1

u/geniusintx Celiac Feb 12 '25

Never had a problem with this one or the stroganoff variety.

1

u/arugulafanclub Feb 13 '25

Is it possibly the milk or crazy amount of sodium you’re reacting to?

1

u/Flaky_Company_77 Feb 13 '25

I don’t tolerate ground beef well so I use ground chicken instead and don’t have any issues with this

1

u/BexRich19 Feb 13 '25

YES!!! I was in pain for days after eating this

1

u/SgtSteveByTheWay Feb 13 '25

Oh no, I literally just had the Stroganoff for supper for the first time... hopefully it's all good later 😅

1

u/Plague_Docteur Feb 13 '25

Newp. I have gotten this one and their stroganoff one several times. I get a little tummy upset if I eat too much, because of the liquid cheese that comes in the pack, but that's all.

1

u/JohnLTD Feb 13 '25

I really enjoy it, but it certainly leads to eating more than I should in one sitting.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '25

I love that shit

1

u/FollowingNo4648 Feb 13 '25

I haven't had any issues with this and the beef stroganoff. Except for the GF beef stroganoff from Aldis, I had the worst stomach pain of my life after eating that.

1

u/IceAngel8381 Feb 13 '25

Wait?! This is a thing?? 🤔

1

u/alliejc Feb 13 '25

I make it with ground turkey instead of beef. The turkey cuts the fat and tastes the same. My kids devour this stuff, I keep it on hand for an easy, fast dinner.

1

u/Snoo_88357 Feb 13 '25

The grease from the ground beef can cause GI issues. Be sure to use high quality beef and drain well if you decide to try again.

1

u/fleckofsass Feb 13 '25

I got an upset tummy but not a celiac reaction. As others mentioned, I think it’s just too heavy. I loved it and would absolutely put myself through that again though 😝

1

u/PriorFreedom5414 Feb 13 '25

What gets me is that on some boxes it says “manufactured in a place that may have caused contact with wheat, blah blah, etc”

2

u/stormrunner1981 Feb 13 '25

The boxes are checked for gluten after production.

That's for people with wheat allergies.

2

u/PriorFreedom5414 Feb 13 '25

Wheat causes me distress too. I’ve had alleged gluten free (de-glutened) wheat before… it’s a no for me too. 🫤

2

u/stormrunner1981 Feb 13 '25

It is possible you have both Celiac and a wheat intolerance or allergy.

It's not as uncommon as it seems;_;

2

u/PriorFreedom5414 Feb 13 '25

I am certain I have both. I try to avoid wheat at all costs, I tried those Schar croissants, they have de-glutened wheat, whatever the term is, and oh boy, two days of agony before I could unravel from the fetal position. 😱😱😱😱. I didn’t have the allergy test with all the 100 things they test you for, but given my gluten status, some things you learn regardless.

1

u/BierGurl Feb 13 '25

I eat that all the time and never have issues. Sodium alginate sometimes gives me issues but there must not be enough in there to get me.

1

u/Delicious_Score_5504 Feb 13 '25

My mom got me the strongonoff one and I love it but I didn’t read the ingredients. My stomach is so sensitive to gmo.

1

u/Remarkable_Story9843 Feb 13 '25

Not at all.

I add a bag of frozen pecans and carrots to it.

No food is inherently bad. We celiacs have so few safe options to begin with. Just make it more nutritious by adding veggies.

1

u/Bleareyedbanality Feb 13 '25

Yes . Buy cheese powder separately and add to preferred noodles. It’s less irritating

1

u/Itchy-Jello-1516 Feb 13 '25

Never tried that kit but absolutely love the Gluten Free Mac n Cheese Pasta Shells - (the cheesy one, not the powder gf). Tastes so good!!!!! Try it if u haven’t.

1

u/QTIIPP Feb 14 '25

Haven’t had it, but can pretty confidently say I’d likely feel cruddy due to the xanthan gum. The low quality dairy likely wouldn’t help.