It used to be of the blue box variety. Spirals, shapes, mixed with hot dogs, you name it. I ate it.

Sometimes I went for the Velveeta option. Actually, in college, it was pretty normal for me to eat an entire box (!!!) of Velveeta macaroni and cheese after long hours studying in the library. With a can of dr. pepper. In my bed. Watching Sex and the City on DVD.Yes, I went there.

It’s just something about that cheesy, gooey sound when you stir together thick cheese sauce and hot noodles. You know what sound I’m talking about. Mm. Yeah.

However, since I’ve become much more aware of the food I put in my body, I’ve taken a step back to shy away from processed food as much as possible. Especially ingredients that I cannot read, pronounce, or that sound like an evil chemical or STD. Seriously read some of the scary ingredients on processed food labels and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Now-a-days I’ll make my macaroni and cheese from scratch, or if I’m feeling lazy and don’t have the time, I’ll cook up a batch of Annie’s Organic White Cheddar macaroni and cheese. At least the ingredient list is short and sweet, and consists of real food I can recognize.

So last week I was craving the creamy, cheesy noodle dish and planned to make it this week. I decided to go with a fool-proof recipe that I’ve made a few times now, and happens to be one of Eric’s FAVORITE things I have ever made. The original recipe came from Angela at OhSheGlows, and get this – it’s 100% vegan. I kid you not, it still is one of the tastiest macaroni and cheese dishes I have ever had and there is not one shred of cheese in the entire thing. How does she do it? I don’t know, but I’m so glad she does!

The recipe is somewhat intimidating at first glance, but after I’ve made it a few times now, I can practically do it with my eyes closed. Once I found nutritional yeast (bulk bin at Whole Foods), my life has not been the same. In case you have never heard of this nutritional powerhouse that has a nutty, cheesy taste (aha! that’s where the cheesy flavor shines through), here is a little bit of background from Wikipedia:

It is a source of protein and vitamins, especially the B-complex vitamins and is a complete protein. It is also naturally low in fat and sodium. Nutritional yeast has a strong flavor that is described as nutty, cheesy, or creamy, which makes it popular as an ingredient in cheese substitutes. It is often used by vegans in place of parmesan cheese. Another popular use is as a topping for popcorn. It can also be used in mashed and fried potatoes, as well as putting it into scrambled tofu or eggs. Some movie theaters offer it along with salt or cayenne pepper as a popcorn condiment.

I love that not only is it tasty, but it’s a complete protein and averages about 60 calories and 8.5 grams of protein per 2 heaping tablespoons. Sign me up. Douse tortilla chips with it. Bathe in it. Just go out and try it. Or better yet, try this recipe!

Tastiest Faux Mac N’ Cheese

(adapted from this recipe from OhSheGlows)

• 1/2 medium russet potato, peeled and diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1/4 of a large white onion, peeled and diced
• 1/5 c of raw, unsalted cashews
• 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk
• juice of 1 juicy lemon (about 1/3 cup)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 heaping Tbsp of nutritional yeast
• 1.5 tsp of mustard
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 c of bread crumbs (or make your own vegan breadcrumbs like Angela)
• 2 cups dry, uncooked pasta. I love to use whole wheat rotini
• Paprika for garnish

Start by chopping the onion, carrots and potato. Once chopped, add to a small sauce pan and fill with water until the vegetables are just covered. 

Bring water to boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling reduce heat to low and cook until vegetables are tender (about 15 minutes). You should also now preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F) as well as bring enough water to a boil to cook the pasta. Once the pasta water is ready, cook pasta according to package directions. Strain and set aside. Meanwhile,  get out your cute little food processor (note: I have a four cup food processor, and it’s almost too small to handle the cheese sauce, but it works! If you have a larger one I recommend using this). Add the cashews to the food processor and process until the cashews form fine crumbs.

Don’t go overboard here! Then add in the remaining cheese sauce ingredients and process until smooth (milk, lemon juice, garlic, nutritional yeast, mustard and salt and pepper).

Once vegetables are done, drain and rinse under cold water. Add the vegetables to the food processor (this is when mine is about to overflow), and process until smooth.

Then stick your finger in and taste this deliciously, faux cheesy sauce (seriously how is there no cheese in this?!?).Now here is the fun part! Mix the cooked pasta with the cheese sauce and pour into a greased casserole dish.

Top with breadcrumbs and a touch of paprika for the beautiful color.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove from oven and let cool (if you can handle to wait. this is when Eric gets impatient). Then dish up!

You will be so happy you made this dish!


---

In other news. I got two new books yesterday! Pictures of You and A Secret Kept (same author of Sarah’s Key – one of my favorite books of all time).

I started Pictures of You last night after reading Jenna’s review. 50 pages in and I am already hooked! In fact, I tweeted how obsessed with the book I am and the author contacted me to send me a bookplate! WOW! Social media is AWESOME.

Go read. Go eat. Enjoy your Wednesday.


---

Here are a few FUN things I’ve stumbled across today:

Superfoods for Glowing Skin

Morning Workout Motivators (from my favorite bloggers!)

Peanut Butter Fudge Stuffed Cupcakes from How Sweet Eats (I mean HELLO YUM I need to make these stat)

It all started with a fabulous little Friday evening in with Eric. I made some stir fry using Emily’s healthy peanut sauce recipe. Seriously this sauce is so good. I’ve made it so many times, and now add my own touches such as minced garlic and fresh ginger. This is one of Eric’s favorite meals, and every time we make it there are NEVER leftovers.

Eric’s Favorite Stir-fry

Stir-fry Ingredients:

• 1 package broccoli slaw
• 1 package Tofu Shirataki spaghetti noodles
• 1 package extra firm tofu, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup green onions, chopped
• 1 T freshly grated ginger
• 1 T mined garlic
• peanuts for garnish
• Peanut sauce (see below for recipe)

Peanut Sauce ingredients:

• 1/4 c peanut flour (Trader Joe’s carries this. It’s AMAZING)
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1 T sesame oil
• 1 T rice wine vinegar
• 3 T water
• dashes of garlic and ginger powder

Start by draining the extra water from the tofu. If you’re fancy, use a tofu press. If you’re me and cry because you don’t have a tofu press, use every heavy book you can to sit on top of the tofu wrapped in a towel in between two cutting boards or cookie sheets to absorb the excess moisture.

There really is tofu under this huge pile of alcoholic beverage books – I swear. While your tofu is being pressed (approximately 10 minutes), prepare and chop all of the vegetables (onions, garlic, bell pepper, ginger and garlic). After about 10 minutes time (longer is better) spray a non-stick pan with cooking spray and turn up the heat to medium.

Sauté your 1 inch cube pieces of tofu until they are browned on one side – approximately 5 minutes. Flip the tofu and continue to brown. About 5 more minutes.

Meanwhile, sauté your onions and garlic in another large pan. Sauté over medium-low heat about 5-10 minutes until onions are translucent. Add in the bell peppers, broccoli slaw, ginger and let the veggies cook down about 10 minutes or so. Reduce heat to low and add in tofu and rinsed shirataki noodles. 

Whisk together all peanut sauce ingredients in a bowl. Stir into tofu/veggie/noodle mixture. Serve in bowls and topped with chopped green onions and peanuts. You can make this so many ways with any vegetables or meat you have on hand. That’s why I love this recipe – it’s so versatile!

In an effort  to make more dinners for Eric during the week I’ve created a meal plan for this week!

Sunday: Tofu enchiladas + black bean cilantro rice

Monday: Vegan Mac N’ Cheese

Tuesday: Protein Power Salad

Wednesday: Sweet potato flax balls + cauliflower and brussel sprouts gratin

Thursday: Free for all – any leftovers, etc.

Friday: Chicken and broccoli stir-fry (clearly we love our stir fry)

Do you like to meal plan? I find it helps me keep my grocery bill in check as well as give me something to look forward to all day! I love coming home to cook dinner after a stressful day.

Almond and Lemon Biscotti with White Chocolate Drizzle

But sometimes you encounter a baking flop.

Vegan funfetti “cupcakes.” so much for a valentine’s day surprise.

Or two.

And you feel a bit defeated. Especially when you are not making your own recipe, but following someone else’s beautiful recipe. Like I did last night. I attempted to make Mama Pea’s Brown Sugar Bars because I had all ingredients on hand and they looked downright scrumptious.

At the mention of baking, Eric gave me a look and said “the kitchen is going to be dirty, isn’t it?” One thing you must know about Eric is that he is a neat/clean freak. I love him for it because it’s got me amped up on cleaning. In fact, on Friday evenings when we get home from work we vacuum. And we enjoy it. Yes, we have very little social lives.  Anyway, I laughed at him thinking this impromptu baking urge would be a breeze and he really should be thanking me for baking him such tasty treats. 

Unfortunately it did not pan out this way. I did however keep the kitchen squeaky clean, and even stirred everything over the sink to avoid a messy stove top, cleaned the dishes IMMEDIATELY, and tidied up parts of the kitchen that I didn’t even use (bestgirlfriendeverawardthankyouverymuch), but the end baking result was not pretty. I think somewhere I must have missed a step. Because the outcome was not nearly what I was expecting.

Enter “unintentionally picture framed (literally), deflated, wannabe brown sugar bars”

Even though they looked dreadful, they still taste divine. They are just impossible to eat because they are not so much bars as they are a pile of chocolately, brown sugar goop trying to find a way to grasp on to any bit of solidness (is this even a word?) they have. Once I tried to cut them they actually got uglier. I told Eric I refused to even look at them. I then proceeded to eat a bite with my eyes closed.

Sometimes you have a baking flop or two. It happens. I was a bit discouraged after this, and I kept whining to Eric (which he just loathes let me tell you) because I felt like a stupid idiot who couldn’t even throw a bunch of stuff into the oven to produce some bars to feed my man. I mean I’m supposed to know this stuff. Anyway, it’s refreshing because it just makes me want to keep on chugging along to bake something even more delicious and outrageous.

Anyone have any amazing baking recommendations?