Healthy Mac & Cheese (hint: hidden veggie)
It was snowing today in Boston for the first time this season. Not a whole lot, but enough to inspire me to stay indoors and cook up something warm and comforting. I recently found this recipe for a healthy macaroni and cheese but honestly can't remember where. I thought I'd copied it from Mark Bittman's article No Meat, No Dairy, No Problem that linked to some awesome vegetarian recipes. But it wasn't there nor from my huge Foodbuzz recipe collection. So, I'm posting it here and if you're the creator of this recipe, please call me out and take credit for it...no plagiarism intended!
I've never made mac and cheese from scratch. I think of it as a salty, starchy dish that's good enough cooked from the Kraft blue box. My son eats it a few times a week and occasionally I crave it. But I liked the ingredients in this particular recipe: adding pureed butternut squash for extra nutrients, Greek yogurt for protein, and whole wheat pasta for fiber and more nutrients. The directions are fairly simple and you could probably use canned squash or pumpkin to save time. I liked the mellow almost indistinguishable flavor of the squash so that my son wouldn't complain. He's adamant about certain foods looking a certain way (for example he didn't like the Panko breadcrumbs sprinkled on top, which had to be scraped off; otherwise he ate the squash-infused dish without hesitation). The yield is four servings but if you use it as a side dish, you'll get more servings.
Healthy Mac & Cheese (serves 4)
Ingredients
10 oz whole-wheat elbow or shell pasta, cooked (note: I used a white whole-grain fortified pasta)
1 1/2 lb butternut squash, peeled, cubed, steamed soft and puréed
1 cup 1% milk
1 T soft margarine
4 T plain, non-fat Greek yogurt
1 cup sharp low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
Panko breadcrumbs and additional grated Parmesan cheese for sprinkling, if desired (note: this is my addition)
Directions
- Combine squash purée, milk, margarine and yogurt in a saucepan over medium heat and stir to blend.
- Once mixture is at a simmer, gradually add the cheeses and stir until melted.
- Add cooked pasta and stir to coat completely. Add salt and pepper as desired.
- Pour into an oven-safe casserole dish and lightly sprinkle breadcrumbs and extra Parmesan cheese on top.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 400˚F.
Nutrition facts per serving (approx.): 260 cals, 17g pro, 28g carb, 10g fat (5g sat), 3g fiber, 4g sugar

Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 08:30PM
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