Healthier Mac and Cheese: If there is such a thing…
Mac and cheese is a dish that many people love. It brings back memories of holiday gatherings, or afterschool snacks. Many people grew up coming home from school and making a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese to “tide them over” until dinner. Kraft and Velveeta have ruined us in the Mac and Cheese department, however. There is so much artificial “cheese flavor” and “processed cheese food” that we have forgotten what comfort and nutrition that homemade mac and cheese can bring. The orange powder and yellow goo that have become synonymous with mac and cheese in this country have wrecked us. I know that many will disagree, so here we go.
Mac and cheese can be a main dish in a meal. It is a complete protein due to the combination of grains (noodles) and a small amount of complete protein (cheese). Complete proteins can be a grain and legumes, (beans) nuts and beans, or a grain and a small amount of complete protein such as dairy, eggs, or meat. (Think pork or egg fried rice.) These combinations are important for many reasons. One being so vegetarians and vegans have complete protein options and the other, which is vitally important, is to have low cost ways for large populations to have complete protein sources. Non meat or low meat protein sources will be more and more important as we move towards feeding the whole population. The environmental impact of animal based products is huge, so finding ways to eliminate as much meat as possible is very helpful in that mission.
Mac and cheese, as a comfort food, has never been known to be a healthy dish. Especially in the overly processed way Americans typically enjoy it. There are some things, however, that we can do to increase the nutritional value and not sacrifice flavor. In my opinion, working towards eating in a healthier way is often, more a matter of addition than subtraction. By adding in healthier options and substituting a few more nutritious things in recipes, you can slowly make changes to your diet that will help in the long run, while not feeling deprived. For example, add in a snack of fruit and greek yogurt and you may not be dying for chips at 11:00 pm when you should be in bed. Who am I kidding? I will always want chips at 11 when I should be in bed. So, for the mac and cheese recipe, I made a few changes. I started with Paula Deen’s Cheesy Mac Recipe, because all of her casserole and mac and cheese recipes are so good! The recipe is linked below.
https://www.pauladeen.com/recipe/the-ladys-cheesy-mac/
But I made some substitutions:
Original
Substitution
4 tablespoons cut into pieces butter
There is no substitute for butter because butter=flavor. If you are really watching saturated fat, use a bit of olive oil, but not the full 4 tablespoons. Fat carries flavor, so you probably don’t want to leave it out completely.
1/2 cup sour cream
I use plain Greek yogurt. You can definitely substitute plant based Greek yogurt for this.
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Use sharp or extra sharp.
Pepperjack is awesome as well.
Let’s be real, 2 cups of cheese is never enough.
Plant based cheeses are a great option.
3 beaten eggs
These stay the same. Eggs are protein.
4 cups cooked drained elbow macaroni
I use whole wheat macaroni or if I can’t find that, whole wheat penne.
1/2 teaspoon salt
I add some pepper as well. White pepper is great if you don’t want to see the flecks, but I like seeing the flecks.
1 cup milk
For this you can use skim or even plain almond milk.
If I am making this as a side, I leave it as is, but sometimes, for a 1 dish meal, I’ll add in some protein like browned sausage, or you could add ground beef or even pepperoni. (That would be fun if you did mozzarella and parmesan as the cheeses.) You don’t really need to add in meat though, since the mac and cheese is a complete protein on its own. You can also add in vegetables like tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, or kale. Whatever makes you happy. Just be sure to cook any green vegetables a bit and drain before adding them in. Be creative and have fun with it. This combo will almost always turn out well, and hey, if it doesn’t, the worst that has happened is you had a bad meal. At the end of the day, any meal is one to be thankful for.
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