Say, "Mac & Cheeeeeeeese"!

One of my favorite comfort foods that I love to make is homemade mac & cheese -- however, with my original recipe having over 4 cups of different cheeses, butter, heavy cream & whole milk, being primary ingredients, I wanted to find a way to make over this yummy dish in a much healthier way!

I came across many different "healthy" mac & cheese recipes and, after some tweaking & trial and error, developed my own recipe! The secret ingredients, butternut squash & part skim ricotta cheese. Butternut squash and part skim ricotta give the dish a creamy texture without the added fat! With a few other "swaps" this dish is much healthier & just as yummy as the original!

Ingredients

• 1 small butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
  
• 1 1/2 cups skim milk
• 1 small onion - diced
• 1 tbsp. fresh garlic
  
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
  
• 1 tsp. of fresh parsley
  
• 1 Tbsp coarse salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound macaroni (if you're feeling especially healthy, use whole wheat or fiber pasta!)
  
• 1 cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese - grated
  
• 4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese - grated
• 2 tablespoons fine breadcrumbs (you can also use crushed, reduced fat crackers too!)
  
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• Olive-oil cooking spray
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Saute onion, garlic & 1 tsp of olive oil, in a saucepan, over medium heat, for 2-4 minutes. Add squash, stock, and milk to the saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until squash is tender when pierced with a fork (about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Mash contents of saucepan; stir in nutmeg, crushed red pepper, parsley, salt, and season with black pepper. Stir to combine.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles; cook according to package instructions. Drain, and transfer to a large bowl; stir in squash mixture, cheddar, ricotta, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan.
3. Lightly coat a baking dish with cooking spray. Transfer noodle mixture to dish. In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs/crackers, remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and oil; sprinkle evenly over noodle mixture.
4. Cover with foil, and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil, and continue baking until lightly browned and crisp on top, 30 to 40 minutes more. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!!!!!!

Making-over his # 1!

Tacos are one of my Mr.'s FAVORITE foods. I swear, if I let him, he'd eat them 3+ times a week! And now, with a few of my healthy "swaps" -- he can eat them as much as he'd like! Let me share...














# 1. substitute ground beef for 93% fat free ground turkey - the great thing about this healthy change is that you hardly notice because of the flavorful seasoning you add in the cooking process!

# 2. substitute your normal white flour or corn tortilla for whole wheat tortillas.

# 3. substitute your normal sour cream for fat free sour cream.

# 4. swap your classic iceburg lettuce for nutrient rich romaine lettuce.

# 5. more veggies, less cheese. Remember, a little cheese goes a long way -- load on your veggies and meat first; then you are less likely to pile on "too much" cheese. And by adding less cheese, you can avoid reduced fat cheeses and enjoy the "real stuff"!

# 6. always drain the fat before adding your taco seasoning.

# 7. substitute your regular taco seasoning for the 40% reduced sodium taco seasoning. OR if you are feeling ambitious, make your own taco seasoning by combining chili powder, fresh cilantro, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper, ground pepper and sea salt -- add this combination and 1/3 c. water to your browned meat and let simmer for 10 minutes on low.

# 8. pre-made/packet "Sante fe rice"dishes can be loaded with sodium, so make your own Mexican rice side dish! Combine brown rice, corn, black beans and sauteed diced red pepper & fresh cilantro together - add chili powder to taste! Ta-da! Quick, easy & much healthier!

With these few healthy swaps, we're able to enjoy one of our favorites, guilt free!

PS -- Oh... he doesn't even notice ;-)

Oh to be Dairy Free!

This first post is for one of my best friends (and bridesmaids!) Jess, who recently found out she has a possible dairy allergy. I know a lot of people who have recently been diagnosed with food allergies and find it frustrating and challenging to "give up" the foods they love. However, the key here is to remember there are other choices and ingredients to make the foods we love, while staying healthy and not at the mercy of an allergy. Today, we are fortunate to have many food alternatives for people with allergies, that makes it easy to substitute certain ingredients while still enjoying our favorite recipes! So Jess, this is for you - Happy "CREATIVE" cooking!

Dairy free products I love!

- "Tofutti's" Better than Cream Cheese (in the cream cheese section)
- "Tofutti's" Pizza Pizzaz (in the organic frozen food section)
- "Silk" Plain, Vanilla and Chocolate Soy Milk (in the milk section)
- "Rice Dream" Ice Cream bars (in the organic frozen food section)
- "Cherrybrook Kitchen" bread, cookie, and brownie mixes (in the organic baking section)
- "Amy's Kitchen" products (in the organic frozen food section -- Amy's kitchen also has a great website that allows you to put in your allergy, and generates a list of products that you can eat! http://www.amyskitchen.com/products/special_diets.php)
- "Vegenaise" (in the produce section, by the tofu)
* Cheerios, Chex, Life, and most Kashi cereals are also dairy free.

A few easy, DELICIOUSLY dairy free recipes!

Spinach Lasagna


















1⁄2 lb. lasagne noodles
2 10-oz. pkgs. frozen chopped spinach,
thawed and drained
1 lb. soft tofu
1 lb. firm tofu
1 Tbsp. sugar
1⁄4 cup plain soy milk
1⁄2 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 tsp. minced fresh basil
2 tsp. salt
4 cups dairy-free tomato sauce (examples of some dairy-free tomato sauces - Amy's Organic Pasta Sauce, Emeril's Orginal Pasta Sauce, Classico Pasta Sauces, Buitoni Fresh Pasta Sauces, Newmans Own Pasta Sauce and MY FAVORITE - Rao’s Homemade Pasta Sauce)

• Cook the lasagne noodles according to the package directions. Drain and set aside. • Preheat the oven to 350°F.• Squeeze the spinach as dry as possible and set aside. • Place the tofu, sugar, soy milk, garlic powder, lemon juice, basil, and salt in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Stir in the spinach. • Cover the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with a thin layer of the tomato sauce, then a layer of noodles (using about one-third of the noodles). Follow with half of the tofu filling. Continue in the same order, using half of the remaining tomato sauce and noodles and all of the remaining tofu filling. End with the remaining noodles, covered by the remaining tomato sauce. • Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Blueberry Pancakes














1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup white flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sea salt
2 cups vanilla soy milk
3 Tbsp. canola or safflower oil
1⁄2 cup frozen blueberries
1⁄2 cup fresh blueberries

• Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and sift together. Add the soy milk and the oil and mix until smooth. • Ladle onto a hot pancake griddle. Add the frozen blueberries. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. • Serve with the fresh blueberries.

** For more information about dairy free products or recipes, visit:
www.godairyfree.org