Mac & Cheese for Runners

Happy Monday, folks!  Today's meatless recipe is a healthy take on one of my (everyone's) favorites ---> Mac & Cheese!  Pasta is a great source of carbs and energy for runners (and people in general) but all the heavy cream and cheese can really add up to some serious tastiness calories. 

In this recipe by Mark Bittman, one of those crazy advocates of eco-friendly eating, the cream and some of the cheese is replaced by pureed cauliflower.  If you were part of the South Beach craze back in the early 2000's, you probably know this trick.  We went South Beach crazy at our house (hi Mom!) but I had to quit once I realized that no carbs = no running.  Pureed cauliflower is still a handy little trick to add vitamins and replace some fat while maintaining a creamy texture.

Creamy Cauliflower Mac

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups vegetable
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cauliflower, cored and cut into large pieces
• 8 ounces whole-wheat elbow macaroni
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (such as sharp cheddar, Gruyere, or Emmental, or a combination)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (I skipped this.  Am I the only one who hates nutmeg?)
• Salt and black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup whole-grain bread crumbs

Method:

• Heat oven to 400° F. Boil a pot of salted water.
• In a saucepan, warm stock and bay leaves on medium-low heat for five minutes; turn off heat.
• Cook cauliflower in boiling water for 25 minutes. Put cauliflower in a food processor.
• Cook pasta in boiling water for five minutes. Drain and rinse to cool; put pasta in a greased, nine-inch square baking dish.
• Process cauliflower with stock (discard bay leaves), cheese, oil, mustard, nutmeg, salt, and pepper, working in batches.
• Pour sauce over pasta, toss, and spread evenly in dish. Top with Parmesan and bread crumbs. Bake 20 minutes. Serves four.
  
   

Dogs like Mac.

This version is actually really good!  I mean, its not the mac & cheese that Cheryl makes (OMG, so good), but it works for more of an everyday meal.  You wouldn't even be able to tell there is cauliflower in there unless you don't process it enough (like I did) and leave big chunks in there.

Drew likes Mac.

Happy {meatless} Monday!