healthy mac'n'cheese?

ddwillard

Anyone have any good recipes for healthy mac'n'cheese? Cook for myself and my 3 year old (who luckily loves veggies) but she's a huge macaroni and cheese fan so I'm trying to find stuff we can both enjoy!

shoniej

bump I don't have a recipe but would love to see if anyone else does! My 1 year old also loves mac n cheese!

Vailara

I've sometimes made it by stirring in Philadelphia/soft cheese and a small amount of strong flavoured cheese (mature cheddar/parmesan) into the hot pasta. It's nice with some cooked green veg in there (spring onions, peas, broccoli, green beans) and pepper. In fact, I want some now!

steph1278

I made some the other night by using Green Giant cauliflower and cheese sauce. I microwaved the veggies as directed on package then threw them in the blender with milk and some Laughing Cow wedges. It made a nice creamy sauce that I mixed with the macaroni. I thought it turned out pretty good and both my kids ate it.

heretocount

I made some the other night by using Green Giant cauliflower and cheese sauce. I microwaved the veggies as directed on package then threw them in the blender with milk and some Laughing Cow wedges. It made a nice creamy sauce that I mixed with the macaroni. I thought it turned out pretty good and both my kids ate it.

Oh that's a great idea!

ddwillard

Both of those sound awesome!

pamelak5

I use whole grain pasta and real cheese - no processed/low cal stuff for my toddler. When I eat mac and cheese, I have it as a side dish with a super simple main (roasted tofu/grilled chicken/fish etc) and a heap of veggies.

BSBgirl337

The Easy Mac microwavable bowls are only 220 calories and 3 or 4 grams of fat. Mac and cheese is one of my favs, so I eat those because it's not nearly as bad as making the whole package with the butter and milk, or making from scratch (most of the time).

bast2112

Haven't tried this yet, but want to:
http://monicanelsonfitness.com/blog/meals/quinoa-mac-n-cheese/

Quinoa is great stuff!

cartow

There's a great one in the Moosewood Cookbook--basically it includes mushrooms, cabbage, and spinach, but you can add any vegetables that strike your fancy, like my new favorite, kale.

dasaucywench

I made some the other night by using Green Giant cauliflower and cheese sauce. I microwaved the veggies as directed on package then threw them in the blender with milk and some Laughing Cow wedges. It made a nice creamy sauce that I mixed with the macaroni. I thought it turned out pretty good and both my kids ate it.

I think this is a fabulous idea!!

hungergames324

I made some the other night by using Green Giant cauliflower and cheese sauce. I microwaved the veggies as directed on package then threw them in the blender with milk and some Laughing Cow wedges. It made a nice creamy sauce that I mixed with the macaroni. I thought it turned out pretty good and both my kids ate it.

this sounds good.

blpope

bump

tnqnt

I have made this before and it was pretty good :) I added MUCH more garlic, lots of black pepper, sauteed shallots (or onions) and some nutmeg

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/mac-and-cheese-style-cauliflower/

Per 1-cup serving:
Calories: 273
Protein: 16 g
Total Fat: 16 g
Saturated Fat: 9 g
Carbohydrates: 18 g
Cholesterol: 94 mg
Sodium: 314 mg
Fiber: 4 g
Sugar: 6 g


Get all the creamy, cheesy goodness of mac and cheese—without the high starch content of macaroni. To make your own breadcrumbs, tear firm, fresh bread into pieces and whirl in a food processor or blender until crumbs form.

1 large head cauliflower (1 ½ lb.), cut into medium florets (8 cups)
2 Tbs. butter or margarine
3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
2 cups low-fat milk
1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
2 cups grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
½ cup nutritional yeast
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 egg yolks
1 ½ cups fresh breadcrumbs
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add cauliflower florets, and boil 5 to 7 minutes, or until just tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid, and set aside.

2. Melt butter in same pot over medium heat. Whisk in flour, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Whisk in milk, garlic, and reserved cooking liquid, and cook 7 to 10 minutes, or until sauce is thickened, whisking constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in cheese, nutritional yeast, cayenne pepper, and egg yolks until cheese is melted. Fold in cauliflower.

3. Coat 13- x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread cauliflower mixture in baking dish, and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Spray breadcrumbs with cooking spray. Bake 30 minutes, or until casserole is hot and bubbly and breadcrumbs are crisp and brown.

January/February 2012 p.46

KBrenOH

I made some the other night by using Green Giant cauliflower and cheese sauce. I microwaved the veggies as directed on package then threw them in the blender with milk and some Laughing Cow wedges. It made a nice creamy sauce that I mixed with the macaroni. I thought it turned out pretty good and both my kids ate it.

Just curious which LC wedges you used?

barefootbeauty

This is the recipe I use when I have a M&C craving...
Except, I only use 1 cup or so of extra sharp Chedder cheese -- I read somewhere that if you replace half of the cheese in a recipe with cheese that is stronger in flavor, it is healther, less fat, less calories, but all the taste.

http://www.sarasnow.com/recipe?action=retrieveRecipeDetailsHTML&recipeID=44&destinationpage=/pg/jsp/community/recipes/recipedetail.jsp

PennStateChick

www.emilybites.com has a bunch of recipes that I consider "comfort food" substitutes, including a couple different mac n cheese options.

Emily (from Emily bites) started her blog when she started Weight Watchers. All of her recipes have WW points listed. However, her new recipes also have calories as calculated by MFP.

Dot2Dots

Cheeseburger Mac Attack in the Crock
Ingredients

5 oz. (about 1 1/4 cups) uncooked elbow macaroni with at least 2g fiber per 2-oz. serving
10 oz. raw lean ground turkey
2 tbsp. ketchup
1/2 cup finely chopped onion (about 1/2 medium onion)
24 oz. (about 6 cups) frozen cauliflower and low-fat cheese sauce (like the kind by Green Giant)
3 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss cheese
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Optional: salt and black pepper
Directions

In a large pot, prepare pasta very al dente, cooking for about half of the time indicated on the package. Drain well and set aside.

In a bowl, combine turkey, ketchup, and onion. Mix well. Add frozen cauliflower and cheese sauce and gently mix. Transfer mixture to a crock pot.

Add cooked pasta to the crock pot and gently stir. Cover and cook on high for 3 - 4 hours or on low for 7 - 8 hours, until the turkey is fully cooked.

Add cheese wedges and scallions, and stir until evenly distributed.

If you like, season to taste with salt and pepper. Dig in!

MAKES 8 SERVINGS
PER SERVING (1/8th of recipe, about 1 cup): 179 calories, 5.75g fat, 512mg sodium, 19g carbs, 2g fiber, 3.5g sugars, 12.5g protein --

Prep:
5 minutes

Cook:
10 minutes plus 3 - 4 hours (high) or 7 - 8 hours (low)

WarriorReady

I found one on pinterest that even my kids love and it is made with quinoa. Here's a link to the blog:

http://aroundthetableri.blogspot.ca/2012/02/cheesy-quinoa-mac-cheese.html

Hope you like!

Brooklynhendricks21

My husband has to have Mac n cheese with every meal. So I use ronzoni smart taste elbow noodles! I poor 1 cup of noodles into a measuring cup and I cook those, once they are drained, I poor a half a cup of the cooked noodles back in the measuring cup, there I throw in one slice of cheese and 1 table spoon of butter ( could probably cut the cheese in half and butter in half though) and its comes to 290 calories, 9.5 fat, 15 cholesterol, 295 sodium, 45 carbs, 5 fiber, 2 sugars and 9 protein. If you half the cheese and butter, it'll be a lot better!

katnohat

I like to make whole wheat macaroni and then mix in green peas and Laughing Cow cheese (my favorite is light Creamy Swiss!) and it is delicious.