Green Mac 'N "Cheese"

As a way of building a little excitement for the final week of the “Keep it Simple” giveaway, here is just one of the delicious recipes from the book!

This simple meal takes less than 20 minutes to throw together and I promise after you taste this nutritious dish, it’ll become one of your regulars. Don’t believe me? Even my persnickety sister, who is something of a connoisseur of mac and cheese loved the dish… Just more evidence that home-style comfort food doesn’t have to destroy your health!

To create that cheese-y goodness, this dish calls on an old school vegan staple, nutritional yeast. While many promote the yeast for being a good source of B-12, most studies show that it is not an active source, and hence should not be depended on for this essential vitamin. However, the yeast is still worlds healthier than any of the heavily processed faux-cheeses that have recently saturated the market. For some, this may be a new ingredient but it is relatively inexpensive and available at most health food stores and many local grocers as well. Make sure what you get is actually nutritional yeast and not brewers yeast, and if possible look for a non-fortified version, as fortified vitamins and minerals are really just isolates added to foods.

Makes 2-3 servings

1 box of quinoa, rice, or whole-wheat pasta (elbows are traditionally used)

1 cup raw cashews

1 small-medium red onion

¼ cup Nutritional Yeast

2-3 cups spinach

1 tsp onion powder

water or veggie broth as needed

Cook the pasta or grain of your choice according to the package.

While the pasta is cooking, add the cashews into a blender or food processor.

Process until the cashews are like a flour. Then add 1 cup water, nutritional yeast, and onion powder and blend again until creamy.

Now roughly chop the onion and place on a skillet with just a little bit of water to sauté the onions.

Once the onions start to caramelize, add the spinach and cook for another minute or until the spinach is wilted and begins to cook down.

Add the onion and spinach to the blended mixture and blend/process again until bright green and creamy. Add more water if the sauce becomes too thick.

Once the pasta is al dente, pour the Green “Cheese” over the hot noodles and serve.

This is just one of the great recipes. Trust me, you don't want to miss out on this book, so make sure you go sign up for the giveaway!


As always the information presented in this blog is for educational purposes only. It should not be considered as specific medical, nutritional, lifestyle, or other health-related advice.