Nothing says comfort food like a bowl of mac and cheese, right? When I first changed my diet, the thing I was most upset about was the loss of macaroni and cheese from my life. I have tried countless recipes and they rarely filled that cheesy elbow-shaped hole in my heart… and if they came close, I usually felt terrible afterward. Does anybody else feel like they’re dying if they eat Daiya? [Maybe that’s how they got the name…?]
Anyway, take a good look at this photo…
Isn’t it perfect? Would you believe me if I told you that the “cheese” was almost entirely made out of vegetables? Well it is! No fake cheese products. No fake anything, in fact. It’s real food, and it’s delicious!
Does it taste exactly like real macaroni and cheese? Of course it doesn’t. That’s a ridiculous expectation. But it does provide that same comfort food feeling, without any of the guilt or intestinal distress, and I’d say that’s a reasonable trade off.
Completely Guilt-free Mac and Cheez
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped (about 2 cups worth)
- 1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped (about 2 cups worth)
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 cup cashew milk (see note below), or other non-dairy milk
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 Tbsp good quality mustard (I used Lusty Monk Original Sin, the greatest mustard in the universe)
- juice from 1/2 a lemon
- salt, pepper, paprika to taste
- 1 package gluten-free pasta (I used Delallo Corn & Rice Penne)
Or… better yet, you could make your own!
- Optional add-ins: 1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced, chopped kale
Directions
- Steam sweet potato, cauliflower, and garlic 10-15 minutes until soft.
- While the veggies are cooking, make the cashew milk. I used 1/2 cup raw cashews and enough water to make 1 cup of “milk”, and let the trusty Vita-Mix do what it does best.
- Add the steamed vegetables to the blender, along with the rest of the sauce ingredients (everything listed above before the pasta). It will get super creamy. Adjust the seasoning as you see fit –and don’t be shy with the salt. It’s important.
- Meanwhile, you should also be cooking the pasta. While the pasta boiled away, I sauteed some kale and onions to mix in with the finished product. I imagine roasted broccoli would also be fantastic!
- Drain pasta, combine with the puree back in the saucepan (you will likely have more sauce than you need, so add it slowly until you find the right ratio!), and mix in the extra veggies if desired.
I would love to know if you try it out or have any suggestions!
“Does anybody else feel like they’re dying if they eat Daiya? [Maybe that’s how they got the name…?]” Hahahahahaha! I love the play on words 🙂 I’m going to have to try this! Sounds really yummy!
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I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who thought that was funny 🙂 I hope you like it!
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