I’m going to paint you picture here. It’s been gloomy for days. Gray skies, strong winds, rain falling sideways. You’ve been hit with relentless storms and according to the forecast, you’re not catching a break for a while. All you want to do is curl up into a ball and read, watch some TV, take a nap, or snack.
But it’s the new year and you’re supposed to be sticking with your new diet and fitness plan.
BUT when the weather is like this, you just want some damn comfort food.
What do you do? Dilemma, right?
I think most of us have been in this situation. You’re really craving something hearty, delicious, and kinda bad, even though you’ve told yourself time and time again that you need to stick to a healthy diet. You don’t want to derail everything you’ve been working toward.
Well, I’m here to tell you that there’s a compromise. At least when it comes to macaroni and cheese.
This macaroni and cheese recipe packs on the protein without losing any flavor. How much? I’m talking 24g of protein per serving, and this recipe makes 4 servings. If you want to truly make a filling meal out of it, eat two portions…although I don’t recommend this as it really isn’t that healthy for you. It’s really just good as a side with some light, creamy soup and a salad.
Tweak the recipe and make it your own by adding bacon, different cheeses, breadcrumbs, jalapeños…the list goes on and on. Think of this recipe here as a starting point for what you can do to really make your tastebuds sing and keep your waistline intact.
I will also note, my recipe was is a bit of a lazy-girl version. Get a food processor or blender in here, and maybe add a little flour to create a roux and get a really smooth cheese sauce.
Without further ado, here’s the recipe:
Ingredients
- 8 ounce, Protein Plus Elbow Macaroni
- 1 cup, Fat Free Cottage Cheese
- 3 oz, Lite Shredded 3 Cheese Blend
- 0.50 cup, Skim Milk
- 0.50 teaspoon, Pepper
- 0.50 teaspoon, Garlic Powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease an oven-safe dish.
- In a medium pot, cook the pasta of your choice according to the instructions on the box. Cook until just al dente and drain. Return the pasta to the medium pot.
- In a small saucepan or mixing bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, cheese of your choice, skim milk, pepper, and garlic powder. I omitted salt as the cottage cheese has high sodium. If you would like, you can blend the cheeses together at this point.
- Add the cheese mixture to the pasta and stir.
- If you would like, add some more cheese to the top of the mac and cheese, and perhaps some breadcrumbs for texture.
- Pour the mac and cheese into the baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.
If the first thing you noticed is that these don’t have classic elbow macaroni, you’re quite observant, my friend :)
So, what do you think? Let me know how you like this recipe!
Yum
