Healthy Mac n Cheese
Think onion, parsnip (or carrot, although your sauce will be a little more orange!), sweet potato (or regular potato) and cauliflower, all hidden in a creamy cheese sauce.
Then add protein from the gluten-free pasta (or double the protein by using pulse pasta or quinoa and rice pasta), full cream milk, cheese and a scoop of collagen, which the kids don't even taste. You end up with a delicious, much more nutritionally complete meal you can feel good about serving.
Based on the ingredients below, this recipe contains approximately:
28 g protein from the pasta
14 g protein from the collagen
64 g protein from the cheese
15 g protein from the milk
That's over 30 g of protein per serve when divided into four generous portions. If you have smaller eaters, it may stretch to six serves, but my girls can eat!
Make a double batch and pack leftovers into the kids' thermos for lunch the next day. I hope your family loves it as much as mine does!
Ingredients:
2 packets gluten-free macaroni shells or pulse pasta
50 g butter
50 g gluten-free plain flour
2 tbsp collagen powder (optional)
500 g full cream milk
2 cups grated cheese
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 small parsnip, peeled (or carrot)
1 small sweet potato or potato, peeled
¼ head cauliflower (about 1 cup)
½ white onion, finely diced
Olive oil, for sautéing
Salt and pepper, to taste
Optional toppings: extra grated cheese and/or breadcrumbs
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. Drain and set aside.
Steam the parsnip, sweet potato and cauliflower until very tender. Blend until completely smooth using a stick blender or food processor.
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion until soft and translucent. Set aside.
Melt the butter in the same saucepan. Whisk in the flour, then gradually add the milk, stirring continuously until smooth. Add the Dijon mustard, collagen (if using), salt and pepper, and cook until the sauce has thickened.
Stir through the grated cheese until melted and smooth.
Mix the blended vegetables and cooked onion into the cheese sauce.
Combine the cooked pasta with the sauce and transfer to a baking dish.
Sprinkle with extra grated cheese and breadcrumbs, if using.
Bake for 30–40 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.
Tip: Pulse pasta or quinoa and rice pasta can provide an extra protein boost, while carrot can be substituted for parsnip if that's what you have on hand.
