Monday, July 9, 2012

Easiest Homemade Mac & Cheese

If your kids are picky eaters like mine, there are only a handful of foods they will eat without fussing. One is mac & cheese. I don't like using Kraft mac & cheese because it has yucky preservatives and artificial coloring that gives it that fluorescent orange color. Believe it or not, homemade mac & cheese takes only a couple extra minutes and tastes so much better.



INGREDIENTS:

8 oz. brown rice pasta
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded sharp white cheddar
1/8 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
salt

DIRECTIONS:

Cook pasta and drain. Add milk and shredded cheese. Add salt to taste.


[Thank you eat.sleep.cuddle. for introducing me to this simple, yet delicious version of mac & cheese!]



RECIPE ADAPTATIONS

I'm the kind of girl that follows recipes to the tee and measures everything, but this is one recipe where it's not necessary. Let your hair down and just wing it! There's not much you can do to mess it up. Live a little and try different cheeses (Gruyere, muenster, monterey jack, etc.). Be wild and add some pressed garlic, Italian seasoning, diced tomatoes, or fresh basil. Get really crazy and mix in a few drops of truffle oil!

I love using my microplane grater to finely shred the cheese so that it melts easier. If your shredded cheese is more course or if you just prefer a creamier mac & cheese, heat the milk and cheese in a saucepan until the cheese is melted. Then add to your cooked pasta.



PUMP UP THE NUTRITION

Using whole wheat pasta is an easy way to add extra nutrients. Unfortunately, my kids won't eat whole grain pasta. I don't even like it. They do like brown rice pasta, so I use that instead. My kids can't tell a difference between brown rice pasta and white pasta!

Instead, I purée white beans, steamed zucchini, or steamed cauliflower in my Cuisinart food processor that I got for Christmas from my sweet mother-in-law. The flavors are mild enough that my kids don't notice. I add the puree to everyone's individual bowls instead of the whole batch. Start off small. I only add about 1 tablespoon or less purée to each of my kids' bowls. If it passes the kid test, I add more to their second bowl or the next time I make it.

Beans are my favorite addition because it keeps my kids fuller, longer. Beans help stabilize blood-sugar levels, providing steady, slow-burning energy. They are an excellent source of folate, magnesium, and iron. Combined with grains, beans form a whole protein comparable to meat and dairy. My goal is to get my kids used to eating whole beans so I can serve them as a side dish instead of going to the trouble of puréeing them. Baby steps, right?


Do you have any tips to make mac & cheese healthier?


This post was shared at: Simple Steps to Healthy Living, Works For Me Wednesday, Makin' You Crave Mondays, Meatless Mondays, Country Momma Cooks Saturday, Saturday Show & Tell, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Get Schooled Saturday, Tatertots & Jello, Walking on Sunshine, Simple Living Foodie Friday, Not Your Ordinary Recipes, Whipperberry Friday Flair, All Things Heart & Home, Happy Hour Friday, Raising Homemakers Link-Up, Tiny Tip Tuesday, Anti-Procrastination Tuesday, Tip Me Tuesday, Tout it Tuesday, Old Fashioned Recipe Exchange


25 comments:

  1. Yum , I love mac and cheese! I haven't actually tried it with the kids, though.

    Have you tried mixing in some whole grain pasta with the normal stuff? Perhaps they won't notice!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great idea to sneak in some extra nutrients! Sometimes I feel like I have to do that to myself, even though I love vegetables and hearty grains.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks really good. When my kids were really little they loved homemade but as they grew they started liking only the Kraft. Thankfully they're old enough to know better by now! Great adding the puree vegies!!! Enjoy your day.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think quinoa pasta is the best whole grain substitute for refined white pasta. Way better than whole wheat. No one in my family dislikes quinoa pasta. It's way more expensive, but I find that fact also helps me think about serving pasta a little less. Give it a try!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awesome idea! I love quinoa! I'm going to try it next time. Thanks for sharing!

      Delete
  5. Thanks for the great tips! I've been trying to make homemade macaroni and cheese lately, too. I'll have to try the bean purée. I bet a bit of pumpkin purée would make it yellow!

    I have a hard time with whole wheat pasta, too. My only suggestion is to find recipes that it seems to go well with. I especially find that if I try a new recipe for the first time using whole wheat pasta, it just seems more natural to use whole wheat pasta in that recipe the next time we make it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mac & cheese with pumpkin purée sounds really good! I do like whole wheat angel hair pasta so maybe I should try that. First I want to try the quinoa pasta. Thanks for sharing Mrs. Mordecai!

      Delete
  6. Try the catelli smart pasta (in a purple box). I has much more fibre than regular pasta, but doesn't taste any different. I can't stand the whole wheat type either, but I can't tell the difference between this and regular. And it is usually the same price as the regular catelli, so not terribly expensive.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I can't stand Kraft Mac and Cheese either!! it's ORANGE!! I've never liked it. The real deal is so much better. Thank you for linking this to Foodie Friday!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love the use of white cheese.

    I found this via Simple Living with Diane Balch. I linked in an attempt at meatballs. Have a super week.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, looks so easy! Thanks. I'm a new follower coming from a blog hop! I would love if you followed back at www.iheartpears.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. I agree, homemade is so much nicer! Thanks for joining Foodie Friends Friday! Please come next week with another great recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  11. oh yes, this is the best. no boxed mac and cheese at our house. Yum. Hugs! P.S. my new giveaway started, stop by and get your entry in!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love trying new mac and cheese recipes, and this one looks great! I also have a picky kid, and I think she would like this one! Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friends Friday

    ReplyDelete
  13. this looks fabulous! thanks for sharing at the heart&home link up at mercyINKblog.com!
    have a blessed sunday :)
    lauren

    ReplyDelete
  14. Umm, where the heck has this been all my life?!? I can't believe how ridiculously easy this is. Can't wait to try it this week!

    Thanks so much for sharing at Tiny Tip Tuesday!

    ReplyDelete
  15. This looks great. Love that it doesn't have all those preservatives and fake coloring. Thanks so much for sharing on Tout It Tuesday! Hope to see you tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love your tips for slipping veggies in! Thanks so much for linking up to mercyINK! You're one of my featured recipes tomorrow--- definitely stop by & grab a featured button if ya like :)
    blessings!
    lauren

    ReplyDelete
  17. OK, do not laugh but I am going to make this for my parrots without the cheese, but add the pureed veggies. A couple of my parrots are not eating ther veggies like the should and they love pasta. I know you are wondering where they get pasta in the wild, if you find out let me know. I will add cheese to my portion. Thank you for this nice easy recipe. Take care. Oh I do not know how to make whole grain pasta taste good either, but the birds will eat it.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I'm surprised at all the people who so strongly dislike whole grain pasta. I made the switch for our family about 6 months ago. My 2 year old doesn't seem to tell a difference. I can but I actually enjoy the flavor over the no flavor of refined wheat pasta. My husband doesn't really care either way - although he had to choose he'd probably take the refined over the whole wheat, but that goes for everything including white bread and white rice because that's what was familiar.

    Sometimes I think people get stuck on what's "normal" or "familiar" to them and can't get passed that to appreciate a new flavor. The new flavor might not actually taste bad, but it's unacceptable to them because it's not the exact same. If that's the case, I'd try mixing whole wheat (or rice) with your regular and gradually increase the ratio of whole wheat to refined. Or just not fix a particular dish for awhile so that the "old" taste isn't as strong in your memory when you fix it a new way.

    ReplyDelete
  19. DAIRY is responsible for the VEAL industry

    ReplyDelete
  20. Homemade mac n’ cheese is a family favorite at my house. This verson of it looks fabulous!! Well done !

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments! They make me happy!

Click on "Subscribe by email" in the bottom right corner if you want follow-up comments sent to your email. Click again if you want to unsubscribe.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.