We have all had those days when you realize you or someone in your family is starving and you have no idea what to make for dinner. That's when you might be tempted to pull out the Kraft Mac & Cheese from the pantry. It's so easy...it's right there...you have the directions memorized and it takes no thought whatsoever.
But the problem is...it doesn't exactly fit into our goal of eating "real" food. Check out these ingredients, from kraft's website:
Ingredients: ENRICHED MACARONI PRODUCT (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, FERROUS SULFATE [IRON], THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID); CHEESE SAUCE MIX (WHEY, MILKFAT, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SALT, SODIUM TRIPOLYPHOSPHATE, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF CITRIC ACID, LACTIC ACID, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, MILK, YELLOW 5, YELLOW 6, ENZYMES, CHEESE CULTURE).
My fav's are the yellow 5 and yellow 6. Perhaps you've heard of the probable link that food dyes have to behavioral disorders? The effects tend to be stronger in children, and food marketed toward children is more likely to contain artificial coloring. Eek!
I could go on about other issues I have with that ingredient list, but since I try to keep Plus Other Good Stuff a happy place (that's why it's not called Plus Other Bad and Angry Stuff), instead of dwelling on the bad, let's focus on a delicious, easy, fast, healthy alternative!
Get this: it is JUST AS EASY to make delicious homemade macaroni and cheese as it is to make the boxed stuff.
Just as easy, you say?? Yes. Look at this:
Steps involved in making Kraft Mac & Cheese
1. Make sure to have it in your pantry, as well as butter and milk in the fridge.
2. Bring water to a boil.
3. Cook the macaroni.
4. Drain the macaroni.
5. Add butter.
6. Add milk.
7. Add cheese sauce packet.
8. Eat.
And this:
Steps involved in making healthy homemade Mac & Cheese:
1. Make sure to have pasta in your pantry, and cheese, butter, and milk in the fridge.
2. Bring water to a boil.
3. Cook the macaroni.
4. Drain the macaroni.
5. Add butter.
6. Add milk.
7. Add shredded cheese.
8. Eat.
Ohmagoodness. You're gonna love it. Now here's the recipe, if you can call it that. It's so easy, you don't even need a recipe, but just in case you're feeling like you need someone to hold your hand, I'll give you one.
Easy Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients (alter amounts according to your preference):
1 lb. brown rice pasta (we like rotini, macaroni, or penne)
4 T. butter
1/2-3/4 c. whole milk, cream, or a combination
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
unrefined sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
optional add-ins: kale, swiss chard, or other cooking greens; frozen peas; nutritional yeast; cut up nitrate-free hot dogs/sausages
Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt liberally (a couple tablespoons), add pasta and cook according to package directions. If using hot dogs, cut into bite-sized pieces and cook them with the pasta. If using kale or swiss chard, add in the last several minutes of cooking (about 5 minutes for kale, 3 minutes for chard). If using peas, add in the last minute or so.
Drain the pasta and add-ins. Return to the pot and turn the heat on low. Add butter and stir to melt. Add milk and cheese, as much as you think looks good, and stir to melt. Salt and pepper it to taste, sprinkle with nutritional yeast if desired, serve, and eat! Your body will thank you.
Want to know more about choosing the best ingredients for your homemade mac & cheese? Here are some ingredient notes:
Pasta: Use any shape you want! We choose to use brown rice pasta that we get at Trader Joe's for an awesome price. Otherwise, our pasta standard is whole wheat, but since pasta is not soaked or fermented and whole grains are kinda hard to digest, we opt for brown rice, which is a bit easier to digest unfermented than wheat. Even if you don't think you have a sensitivity to wheat products, it's a good thing to switch up your grains sometimes so you don't develop one.
Butter: Raw, grass-fed butter is best, but that's hard to find unless you make it yourself with raw cream that you get from a farm. Pasteurized grass-fed butter is second best, and the best price I've found on this is Kerrygold butter, which you can find at, guess where, Trader Joe's. (We don't have one near us but when we visit our parents' in the chicago suburbs we stock up!). The third best choice is organic butter, which I get for the best price at Meijer. The fourth best choice is just regular real butter with no additives.
Cheese: Any cheese is better than a super processed powdered cheese sauce. I'd go with sharp cheddar, organic and grass-fed if you can find it, raw is best. (More on where we get cheese in an upcoming post!)
Milk/cream: Raw, grass-fed, local milk is best. I'm sure I'll being doing a post in the future about finding good milk, but for now, at least try to buy a kind that says it doesn't use growth hormones. Before we had raw milk we often bought Country Dairy milk from our local Meijer. It is produced in Michigan with minimal pesticides and no hormones or antibiotics. Go for the full fat stuff, and make sure it's not "ultra-pasteurized." Most organic brands are, ironically enough, but that process uses super high heat and makes the milk totally indigestible. (You can't even use it to make yogurt or other types of cultured milk because it's totally dead. Yuck.)
Add-ins: For a real crowd pleaser and extra protein, add some cut up hot dogs or sausages (nitrate free and preferably from a local, reputable source that raises their animals outside). For a super healthy yet super delicious version, add some kale or swiss chard or other type of hearty green. Greens+cheese=yum, even if you think you don't really like them. Start with just a few leaves, if you're scared, and gradually increase the amount. If you're not going to add greens, at least throw a handful of frozen peas in there, that way you're getting something green. [My mother-in-law used to put frozen peas in the mac and cheese when my husband was growing up. He and his brother were so used to it that when they went to a friend's house and there were no peas in the mac & cheese, they thought it was gross. :) ] For even more added nutrition, sprinkle in some nutritional yeast - it has a slightly cheesy, nutty flavor.
This is genius! And yet so obvious and simple. :)
ReplyDeleteThat;s an amazing post. I used to eat from that box a lot.. too yummy and too easy.. that's what i thought! But now, i prefer real food more :) Thanks for sharing this with hearth and soul hop !
ReplyDeleteLooks good! Mac and cheese is a favorite around here and homemade is so much better than the box. Thank you for sharing with us at Simple Lives Thursday!
ReplyDeleteI made this for lunch today, using rice milk and Daiya cheese. I could have grated some goat milk cheese up instead (and probably will in the future), but I was going for easy today. It was really yummy and I liked that I could do it all in one pot. Before, when I did my version of Mac and Cheese I'd make a white sauce with cheese in a separate pot...this is nice. less dishes :)
ReplyDeleteHurray, hurray hurray! It's nice having you hold my hand in the kitchen!
ReplyDeleteDan and I were searching for an easy lunch yesterday to use up what we had -- and this was perfect! We cut up brats into it and had grilled zucchini on the side. We loved it. Thanks for this, Joanna!
ReplyDeleteYea for simple homemade!! Thanks for sharing with Simple Meals Friday!
ReplyDelete