Moving to the UK - What U.S. food or products would you bring / will I miss?

We're moving to NW England at the end of April. I'm trying to plan ahead and stock-up on few of my favorite food items that are unavailable or hard to find in the UK. I would love some help from the pros.

If you could stock up on all things U.S., what would you bring?

As much as it pains me to say, I wish I would have stocked up on boxed macaroni and cheese. It's not even *good*, but I grew up eating it and miss it sorely from time to time.

Most other things I'd have brought if I could... Well, I don't think the laws of physics would allow. I'd love to just uproot a Chuy's, a Rudy's, a Mighty Fine, and a Torchy's Tacos and plant them all right behind my house.

I hear of lots of other people stocking up on Hidden Valley seasoning packets and grits, though!

DH (UKC) and I love Goldfish crackers.    My family sends them over in care packages and we gobble them up/ration them. 

They also send special local sweets (from the Pacific NW).... Frangos, Almond Roca, mango liquorice from a candy shop near my Grandma's, Turtles (chocolate bar)..... nom nom.    We get the individually wrapped ones and give them as gifts or have them out in a bowl when we have guests.    Although a few weeks ago, DH opened a box of our favourite Frangos and said he was 'done saving the good chocolate for other people'. 

Have you looked at the imported American food on-line sites in the UK? That will give you a little idea of the things not available.  

My list

Mac and Cheese too
Cheetos (you can get only one type imported from Poland at my Tesco)
Angel Food cake mix or Swans Cake flour
Pam
Mexican Spices
Blue Corn Chips
White Corn Chips
Root Beer flavoring so I can make my own
Butter Milk Powder to make Hidden Valley Ranch packets from scratch
Lots of Crystal light
Tootsie Rolls
Candy Corn
Jolly Ranchers

This is absolutely not what you asked, but my advice would be to NOT focus on these things at all.  Don't try to bring America to the UK.  Come with an open mind and think about all the great, new things you will be introduced to instead of the things that may not be available (eventhough most of these things are available somewhere).
I think the people who anticipate homesickness in whatever form are setting themselves up for a harder time, personally.

This is absolutely not what you asked, but my advice would be to NOT focus on these things at all.  Don't try to bring America to the UK.  Come with an open mind and think about all the great, new things you will be introduced to instead of the things that may not be available (eventhough most of these things are available somewhere).
I think the people who anticipate homesickness in whatever form are setting themselves up for a harder time, personally.

I agree with this.  You can bring stuff, but you will soon run out of it.  It's expensive to order the stuff online and even more expensive for family to mail it to you in a care package. 

My mom mailed me Hershey's Kisses (before you could get them over here) and it cost something like $12.00!

DH (UKC) and I love Goldfish crackers.    My family sends them over in care packages and we gobble them up/ration them. 

They sell Goldfish here.  They are called Finz.

As much as it pains me to say, I wish I would have stocked up on boxed macaroni and cheese. It's not even *good*, but I grew up eating it and miss it sorely from time to time.

Tesco usually has Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for around £1.

This is absolutely not what you asked, but my advice would be to NOT focus on these things at all.  Don't try to bring America to the UK.  Come with an open mind and think about all the great, new things you will be introduced to instead of the things that may not be available (eventhough most of these things are available somewhere).
I think the people who anticipate homesickness in whatever form are setting themselves up for a harder time, personally.

I agree.

Tesco usually has Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for around £1.

I wish they sold them at my Tesco.

This is absolutely not what you asked, but my advice would be to NOT focus on these things at all.  Don't try to bring America to the UK.  Come with an open mind and think about all the great, new things you will be introduced to instead of the things that may not be available (eventhough most of these things are available somewhere).
I think the people who anticipate homesickness in whatever form are setting themselves up for a harder time, personally.

I came in to say exactly this, there's amazing food in the UK, it's totally different to US food, but that's kind of the point.
Sometimes you just have to sink or swim, clinging on or having one foot in the US is setting yourself up for a much harder adjustment period. Try to avoid creating a little America in your own house.

I think everyone is different.  My British husband loves American food.  So a mini America works for us.

This is absolutely not what you asked, but my advice would be to NOT focus on these things at all.  Don't try to bring America to the UK.  Come with an open mind and think about all the great, new things you will be introduced to instead of the things that may not be available (eventhough most of these things are available somewhere).
I think the people who anticipate homesickness in whatever form are setting themselves up for a harder time, personally.

I agree with this, but sometimes having a favourite snack is nice.    We have grilled cheese sandwiches about once a month and while it's certainly not bringing America to the UK, it's certainly not a typical British dish (unless you consider it a glorified cheese on toast ).  It's a food DH and I like so we have it.  Same with the sweets. 

There are certainly good food and snacks here, but sometimes it's nice to have something from the US. 

That said, if you bring loads, it won't be as special to have them.    Maybe bring one thing (if any) and if your family sends packages, they know what they can send. 

They sell Goldfish here.  They are called Finz.

Really?  Awesome!    We don't snack much, but they are tasty.    Do they taste like US Goldfish or are they just similar? 

After many years here, I'm a bit embarrassed by the kinds of things I brought with me that have ready equivalents here in the UK.  There are just a few things that I still bring back from the US or ask friends and family to send.  

-Freezer/fridge bags with sliders.  I do a good deal of cooking, so I enjoy these for storage.  Most people in the UK use sealing containers and most of the plastic bags are of inferior quality in comparison and use clipping systems.  But I recently found a good equivalent to the freezer bags with sliders at Lakeland, so I might stop importing them now!  
-Certain regional spice blends or marinades like Rendezvous Dry Rub or Allegro, but there are many cheat recipes on line where you can approximate almost anything.
-Canning and preserving systems are significantly different IMHO....but not an issue if you're not into it.  
-Bar soap.  The last is probably the biggest for me, and the only thing on this list that I couldn't live without.  I have NEVER been able to adapt to shower gel.  Bar soap in the UK is at the extremes, it's either super mild and fragant, or it's industrial strength and strips off your skin (like Detol).   I always bring back a Costco sized pack of Lever 2000 with me from the States.  

Like some of the others, I'd suggest to come with nothing and explore UK products.  Later after you've assessed what's available here, you will know what you truly miss and can backfill and ask for care packages from relatives.  If you're in London, there are enough "American" stores that you can find many goodies if you crave them from Milk Duds to Mountain Dew....even Idaho Spuds candy bars.  It's surprising what shows up.  I can even find truly dill pickle relish.  Yay.  

Have fun with your adventure!

Yeah, I hardly think that Jonesin' for a Triscuit is a harbinger of doom for failure to adjust. 

...and even more expensive for family to mail it to you in a care package. 

My mom mailed me Hershey's Kisses (before you could get them over here) and it cost something like $12.00!

My oldest brother, bless him, well he & his wife thought they'd do a good turn & send me a BIG box full of Triscuits & graham crackers... I advised him not to do that, because it'd be expensive - but he insisted. They got the shock of their lives when the nice big box they had fixed up for me - well it cost $50 to send over, more than the cost of the contents inside!  It was great for me, but he later said they're not going to do that again. 

For me, it's usually all about the snack crackers...as I find the UK selection of these lacking. Oh sure, you can find a water biscuit (or other alternative) for slapping lovely British cheeses onto & that's a great snack. But nothing here compares (for me) to Triscuits, Cheezits, & graham crackers - yeah, yeah, you might get a similar taste from digestives but the thickness & texture is wrong when what you really want/need is a graham cracker. Whereas some might find a graham cracker to be like eating cardboard, I find digestives to be like having a mouthful of sawdust. 

On the other hand, my waistline thanks me that I do not have ready access to these whenever I want!

Another couple things - if you like/use Neosporin, bring it - you'll need a prescription to obtain it here. Also Bandaids - I hate the plasters here, the designs available are inferior to BandAid brand where it doesn't stick to your wound (i.e., what you want).

I do like my CheezIts every now and again and thanks to your brother Mrs. R, I got some not too long ago!

if you like/use Neosporin, bring it

I do actually agree on this one.  And Naproxen (although I think you can get that as a menstrual pain reliever, but the large bottles of thousands of pills are a necessity for me).  Other than that my original "advice" stands