Mac N Cheese

Macaroni & Cheese

Dairy free, Gluten Free

Holy Moly Guacamole!  So creamy, so delicious, so healthy you won't believe it's mac n cheese, and you really won't believe what's in it.  The kids love this (and maybe the adults do too!)

Choose the pasta of your choice. We prefer quinoa noodles but any gluten-free blend will work, choose your favorite.  While pasta is cooking you can prepare the sauce.

• 1 cup peeled & diced Yukon gold potatoes (approx. 1 & 1/2 potatoes)
• 1/4 cup diced carrots
• 1/3 cup diced onions
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/4 cup unsweetened milk alternative (we use Ripple)
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast (gives any dish a cheesy, nutty flavor!  we use it often, can be found in the supplement section of your neighborhood natural grocery store)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice, or juice of one fresh lemon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp paprika

Add potatoes, carrots, onions and garlic to a pot of boiling water.  Cook veggies until very tender, time will depend on the size of your veggie chunks.  Once they are tender enough to put in a high-powered blender remove them with a slotted spoon and place in the blender.  SAVE at least 3/4 cup water from the veggies.  Add water and remaining ingredients to the blender.  Blend until smooth.  You may want to add more salt and/or more water.

Still on the search for mini shells or super skinny macaroni noodles (like the boxed macaroni & cheese dishes) because my kids are weird about the type of noodle.  But they did love this and were okay with the "swirly" fusilli noodles.

Nutritional Yeast health benefits:  On average, two tablespoons provides 60 calories with 5 g of carbohydrates (four grams of which is fiber). A serving also provides 9 g of protein and is a complete protein, providing all nine amino acids the human body cannot produce. While fortified and unfortified nutritional yeast both provide iron, the fortified yeast provides 20 percent of the recommended daily value, while unfortified yeast provides only 5 percent. Unfortified nutritional yeast provides from 35 to 100 percent of vitamins B1 and B2.