Mac & Cheese

Who doesn't crave mac & cheese every now and then?  I do, at least once a month.  It's also still one of my kids' favorites.  So, I started thinking about how I can make my own and make it healthy and still delicious.  Voila!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb brown rice elbow pasta (or what ever shape)

Cheese Sauce:

• 2 C. raw cashews, soaked for 2-4 hours
• 1/4 C. melted Kerrygold butter, or ghee, or olive oil
• paprika, salt, garlic powder to taste
• pinch of cayenne
• 1/4 - 1/2 C water
• 2 blocks of raw cheese, grated (to make this dairy free you can substitute the cheese for nutritional yeast)

Directions:

1. Cook your pasta according to package directions.
2. While your pasta is cooking make sauce.
3. Drain cashews and add to food processor.
4. While the processor is on add butter and seasonings, blend until smooth.
5. Add enough water to make it a creamy liquid, kinda like cake batter.  It will thicken as it sits.
6. When pasta is done, drain and add back into pot.
7. Add sauce and 3/4 of cheese, stir until well blended.
8. Pour into a buttered casserole dish and top with remaining cheese.
9. Bake at 350˚ for about 20 minutes or until cheese is brown and bubbly.

I had cooked, leftover broccoli so just before I drained the pasta I added the broccoli to the hot water to heat it up and drained it with the pasta.

This is good enough that I am putting it on my Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menus.

No-Mato Sauce

Photo: Angels Homestead

30 days FODMAPs-Free and cutting out nightshades for inflammation means finding new ways to feed your cravings.

This sauce is yummy and can be used as a pasta or pizza sauce.

Try it with my Pepperoni Pizza Casserole, Cauliflower Crust Pizza, or the Sweet Potato Crust Pizza recipes.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp asafoetida
• 1 cup carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 T apple cider vinegar
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 T Italian spices (oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley, garlic powder*)
• homemade bone broth or water or stock
• 1 can pumpkin puree

Directions:

1. In a saucepan add all ingredients (except pumpkin) and just enough bone broth to barely cover the carrots.
2. Bring to a boil.  Turn to low and simmer until carrots are very soft, about 20 minutes.
3. When carrots are very soft pour saucepan ingredients into a blender and add pumpkin.  
4. Blend until super smooth.

This sauce freezes well.

* omit garlic powder to keep it FODMAPs-Free

Green Bean Fries

Cooper asked today (like most days) if I would take him and Carly to Yogurtland.  Of course not.  I am striving to be a champion for my kids health.  One day they'll thank me.  The next question was, what is for snack?  Both of my kids turned their noses up when I told them it was green bean fries.

Here's my recipe adapted from Delighted Momma's recipe:

You'll need:

• Fresh green beans (even though I used leftover parboiled green beans from last night's dinner)
• Olive oil
• Salt and garlic powder to taste (omit garlic powder to make these FODMAPs free)

 Then:

• Preheat oven to 400º F
• In a large bowl toss all the ingredients together
• Bake on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet for about 30-35 minutes.  As they brown they'll get caramelized & crispy. 

And much to their surprise both kids loved them.  You will, too.  This snack will definitely hit the spot when you're craving salty & crunchy.  And you don't have to feel guilty about eating them all up!

Photo courtesy of Delighted Momma