Mac and unCheese

Nothing says comfort food quite like Mac and Cheese. As a kid I seriously would have eaten mac and cheese for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if my mom had let me. Mac and cheese was second only to my love of barbies. Of course, the barbies are long gone, but love of mac and cheese dies hard. After going lactose intolerant I tried MANY vegan cheeses, most of which were made from a disgusting rubber like substance that could have possibly been old tires. So as you can imagine, it was with great joy the day that I found Vegan Dad's Kraft Dinner recipe. (For those Americans reading this blog, our wacky neighbors to the north (aka America's hat) call their blue box mac and cheese Kraft dinner. Weird eh? Yeah Canadians are a strange bunch). So here is Vegan Dad's Kraft Dinner aka Mac and Cheese:


 INGREDIENTS
- 1 large red pepper roasted, peeled, and seeded
-1/4 cup of cooked carrots
- 3 cups macaroni
- 3/4 cup raw cashews
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp tumeric
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1/4 cup margarine
- almond milk

METHOD
1. While red pepper is roasting, cook pasta according to directions. Toss your cashews, carrots, and water in your Vitamix (or other high powered blender) until very smooth (3 to 5 mins).
2. Chop roasted pepper (after peeling and seeding, of course) and add to cashew mixture. Add yeast, mustard, spices, salt, and flour. Blend until smooth.
3. When pasta is cooked, drain. Add margarine to the now empty hot pot and return to the stove over medium heat. When melted, slowly whisk in cashew mixture, then add pasta and mix well. Add enough almond milk until desired consistency is reached.

For added nutritional value, use quinoa pasta and if your kids aren't completely horrified by greens, you can add lightly steamed broccoli to the macaroni after it's been cooked.

The health count in this dish stacks up as follows:
Carrots: rich in beta carotene, fiber, antioxidants, and phytonutrients
Red Bell Peppers: contain 3 times more vitamin C than an orange. Also, loaded with lycopene.
Broccoli: contains multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties.
Quinoa: contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it a complete protein source. Also high in protein at 18% of it's total calories come from protein.
Nutritional Yeast: high in B complex vitamins and is also a complete protein
Tumeric: has long been used as an anti inflammatory in eastern cultures.

Oh and did I mention it takes really great too? Just about as close to the blue box version that has none of the above going on. Take that Kraft dinner, you have just been schooled.