If Mac ‘n’ Cheese could sing, I imagine Joan Jett’s voice belting, “I don’t give a da*n ’bout my bad reputation! Macaroni and cheese isn’t typically found on the shelves of the health food aisle, but what if you ate this cozy comfort dish and actually felt like you made a nutrient-dense choice?
Well, now you can…
Because I have found a way to make it more fibrous, plus dairy free – all while bringing you that hit of dopamine. This recipe includes a healthy dose of vegetables – in fact, that’s how the cheese sauce is made! and grains.
Pair this deal with a protein source and you’ve got yourself a complete meal!
Get the recipe below…
INGREDIENTS (makes 4 servings)
- ½ cup carrots (peeled & sliced)
- 1 small white potato
- 4 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¾ tsp. lemon juice
- 1/8 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/8 tsp. onion powder
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- ½ cup hot water
- 2 cups dry whole wheat macaroni
- 10 whole wheat Ritz crackers (crumbled)
- Salt & pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
- Pre-heat the oven to 450° F.
- In a large pot over high-heat, bring 4 cups of water, the carrots and potatoes to a boil. Cook for approximately 12-minutes or until tender.
- In the meantime, in a medium pot over high-heat, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add the dry macaroni and cook according to the box directions (typically cook for 8-12 minutes until noodles are al dente). Drain the water when noodles are thoroughly cooked.
- Meanwhile, add the oil, salt, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder and cayenne pepper to a blender. Set aside.
- When the carrots and potatoes are thoroughly cooked, reserve ½ cup of the water and drain the rest.
- Add the reserved water, potatoes and carrots to the blender. Blend the ingredients until smooth and creamy creating a cheese-like sauce.
- In a 9”x5” oven-safe dish, add the cooked macaroni and any pre-cooked vegetable if desired. * Then, pour the blended cheese sauce on the noodles (and vegetables).
- Combine the noodles and cheese until the noodles are covered completely. Add a dash of salt and pepper if desired.
- Then evenly spread the cracker crumbs over the macaroni and cheese.
- Bake the dish for 10-15 minutes until the cracker crumbs are golden-brown. Enjoy!
*In this step, you can add a pre-cooked vegetable to make this meal more fibrous. I added steamed broccoli (see picture).
If you are following the SBH Plant-Based 21-day Meal Plan, this meal is approximately:
- 3 servings of Grains
- 1 serving of Vegetables (this doesn’t include additional vegetables added at Step 7)
- 1 serving of Healthy Fats
Note: Strong.Bold.Healthy does not promote calorie counting. However, being that some may use calorie counting as a tool to help maintain a healthy weight, 1 serving of the Macaroni and Cheese recipe is approximately 313 calories. Nutritional information is a rough estimate.
