Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Healthy Mac and Cheese

Need to add a few more veggies to your kid's diet?  This is one mac and cheese you'll be happy to serve your kiddos.



Sweet Potatoes.
Chicken Broth {use homemade for extra goodness}.
Pasta {whole wheat, or GF, if you'd like}.
Mushrooms {if they'll eat them}.
and...
just a little bit of cheese.


Looks like Mac and Cheese, right?  The flavor -- amazing.  Trust me.

Healthy Mac and Cheese - Finding Joy in My Kitchen
{Print Recipe}

1 lb. pasta
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 C sweet potato puree
2 tsp. minced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 C chicken broth
1 T corn starch
1/2 C whipping cream
1/4 C Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Bring pasta to a boil and cook according to package directions.  Drain.


Start the mac and cheese by sauteeing the sliced mushrooms in a large skillet {you may need to use olive oil to prevent mushrooms from sticking}.  Add garlic as the mushrooms begin to release their liquids.  Cook until liquids are evaporated.


Then, stir in the chicken broth, onion and salt and pepper, to taste.


Next, blend in the sweet potato puree.  Simmer for a few minutes.



Combine corn starch and whipping cream together in a mixing cup and stir until blended.


Slowly stir in the cornstarch mixture into the skillet.  Heat until thickened; about 5 minutes.


Then, remove from the heat.


Stir in the pasta and Parmesan cheese.


Serve warm.


With each bit my sister and I took, we laughed more and more!  We couldn't believe how much like mac and cheese this tasted, and there was hardly any cheese in it.  The orange of the sweet potato looks delightfully like cheese -- maybe it even tricked our brains :)

25 comments:

  1. I used to do this too but used butternut squash puree. I'll have to try it with the sweet potato. YUM!

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  2. Healthy and mac & cheese in the same sentence? I'm in! Copying for a fun dinner! Thanks!

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  3. A meal I've been waiting for all my life.. HEALTHY mac and cheese! I think that could be considered my heaven!! Thanks for sharing, Sno!

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  4. Looks delicious! Love the the idea of using sweet potato puree, genius!

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  5. Gee...thanks. We were just talking about sweet potatoes yesterday and this post hits the spot. My kids love Mac n' Cheese and this will be a great healthy version to try with them!

    Blessings ~

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  6. We have, on occasion, added butternut squash to our mac & cheese recipe. It seems to melt into the dish and is quite tasty.

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  7. I was so excited to see "healthy mac & cheese"... and then gagged a little at the mushroom sighting...

    Meh.

    Glad you liked it though! :)

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  8. You can leave the mushrooms out -- we love them, so we add them to every dish we make -- but I'm sure the mac and cheese would be just as tasty if you left them out.

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  9. Very cool, much better calorie wise.

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  10. Wow. Another recipe from you that looks wonderful. My printer needs a break from all the recipes I have printed from your site.

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  11. I've always used butternut squash too. I'll have to try it with the potatoes!

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  12. Great job. I'll have to give it a try.

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  13. This looks delicious....I cannot wait to try it!

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  14. I'm not sure when you changed it, but thanks so much for posting a print-friendly link for your recipes! It seems like I borrow quite a few of your recipes and it is much easier on me now. I have been following you for a long while now and I am glad my copy and paste days are over!

    Kudos!

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  15. I love a good homemade mac and cheese and this one looks great!

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  16. I have got to make this ASAP! =] I love mac and cheese, but I love making recipes healthy even more. =] Way to go!

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  17. I made this for dinner tonight and it's very tasty. Thanks for sharing a tasty, healthy alternative for mac and cheese.

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  18. very interesting! but whipping cream is high in fat so i'm not sure how much healthier this is. please convince me!

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  19. @ OMG -- you can use light whipping cream, or fat-free half and half, if you wish. I used cream because that's what I had on hand, but have since made it again using half and half. It is just as tasty :) I'll have to try it with milk, but I'm guessing that will work too.

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  20. I may have to give this a try, sans mushrooms. Very interesting idea.

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  21. Ok, I can never follow directions, but I'm making something close to this tonight (and trying my best to follow your recipe!) and, I have to say...I'm about to eat the sauce straight up, with a spoon. There's not even any cheese in it yet, and it already tastes like mac n' cheese! hahaha (my sweet potatoes were white, so I made a puree from the sweet potatoes, with carrots for sweetness and color. OM NOM NOM.)

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  22. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  23. I LOVED this.. but my kids wouldn't eat it :( I tried to pass it by them and they both just looked at me like "seriously mom???" LOL.. but i thought it was delicious!!! great recipe..

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  24. I cooked my sweet potatoes with about 1/2C red lentils in chicken broth, then pureed the whole mixture. The puree tastes about the same and has the same color, so it's a great way to sneak in a healthy protein! Delicious!

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Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to hear from you; especially how you're finding JOY in your kitchen.

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