Comfort Food Friday: Lower Fat Mac & Cheese

 I am not going to lie. I make some mean mac and cheese. I start with the classic bechamel sauce that includes real butter, whole milk and a dash of freshly grated nutmeg then I add the cheese.  Lots and lots of wonderful, full fat cheese that turns plain white sauce into mac and cheese heaven.  Unfortunately, this lovely dish is not exactly a healthy food.  I do indulge and make this recipe for my family a couple of times a year and it gets devoured almost instantly.  My goal with this recipe was to find an alternative that was cheesy and delicious enough for the pickiest mac and cheese lover in my household, my 15 year old son.  It looks like I have succeeded...yeah!  

Low Fat Mac & Cheese

4 to 6 servings

2 1/2 cups small elbow macaroni (I regular, whole wheat or a combination of both)
2 cups shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
1/2 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
2 egg whites lightly beaten
1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/3 cup grated reduced fat Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a casserole dish by spraying it with cooking spray.  Add noodles to rapidly boiling salted water and cook until just al dente to prevent mushy mac & cheese. Drain the noodles and return to the pan.  Add the shredded cheese and stir to combine. In a large bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy.  To the egg whites add the almond milk, yogurt, mustard powder, Dijon mustard and cayenne pepper.  Stir to combine and season with salt and fresh ground pepper.

Pour  mixture into the prepared casserole dish and top with the Parmesan cheese.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until brown and bubbly.  Let cool slightly before serving.  Enjoy!

Friday Ramblings:

This blog post was made from the chemo chair. Yes, it is Chemo Friday

Looking forward to next week off of chemo. 

Celebrating my wedding anniversary next week with a trip to Newport Beach and whale watching!

Rigby the Yorkie is getting "fixed" next week. There will be a blog post!

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!