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Family Kitchen
Mac & Greens: Because Orange Powder Isn’t Really Cheese
Mac and cheese! Mac and cheese! It’s all my kids ever want for dinner. It’s what they order when we eat out (agh! Five bucks for a bowl of mac and cheese? I shudder every time they ask for it off the menu.), it’s what they beg for at the grocery store, it’s what they ask for lunch and a midnight snack. Since mac and cheese such a popular item in our house, I thought it was high time I give the kids what they want…with a lot of what I want. So, I created this version to include greens and veggies and oodles of nutrients. And, would you believe it’s almost as quick to cook up as that boxed cheesy stuff? You’d better believe it!
Healthy Mac and Cheese with Sneaky Greens
For a video tutorial of Tastebudding founder, Jonathon Yeatman, preparing Mac ‘N Greens on live T.V., CLICK HERE.
1 pkg. egg noodles
3 c. fresh spinach, diced
2 T. butter
2 T. flour
1 1/2 c. chicken broth (vegetable broth is a good substitute if you want to make this vegetarian)
1 c. cheddar cheese
1 c. asiago cheese (or another sharp cheese of your choice)
1/2 c. diced ham
1 c. green peas, frozen
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook according to package directions.
While noodles are cooking, melt butter in a large skillet, over medium-high heat. Stir flour into melted butter then slowly add the broth and whisk until flour & butter are completely dissolved. Cook just until mixture starts to boil. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.
Three to four minutes before the noodles are finished, add the peas to the pot of water. One minute before noodles are finished, add spinach and diced ham to the pot of water. Drain noodles, peas, & spinach, then transfer to a large serving bowl. Pour cheese mixture atop and stir. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
You can find this recipe and many other kid-friendly meals featured on Tastebudding, a website dedicated to providing simple, whole food recipes to nutrition-minded parents.
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0 Comments
mangiabella commented on Aug 06 10 at 1:31 pmi can’t WAIT to feed this to my daughter!
EMS commented on Sep 18 10 at 6:58 pmI use a recipe similar:
Whole Wheat Egg Noodles
Mix Non Fat Milk (rather than broth, NO flour necessary) and Butter
Drain the noodles and stir in milk and butter, then in a casserole dish, poor half the noodle/butter/milk mix, layer with shredded cheese, poor remaining noodle/butter/milk mix and layer with remaining cheese…
As for the veggies, I prefer Broccoli, which I would add to the noodles after the milk and butter are stirred in. Bake for about 15 min (until golden brown) at 450*. Also, I love to use a chicken sausage (butterfly cut) across the top for an extra yummy treat. Try chicken apple or chicken mango…or ANY of your favorite!
Wangeci commented on Sep 18 10 at 9:43 pmthis looks like a very nice recipe. i would like to know the serving size and the nutrition facts, though
Jennieff Snowden commented on Sep 18 10 at 9:52 pmthis is something healthy and good
Ron commented on Sep 19 10 at 4:59 amMy grandchildren love EDAMAME?sp? The soybeans that are cooked in the shells. Certainly they would add a great flavor and the kids could do the shelling and popping them into the pot. Full of protein and fiber.
A former child commented on Sep 20 10 at 6:33 amhere’s the lowdown: your children WILL notice those peas in there. my father would make mac & cheese and put peas in it, ruining it every time. i guess this is a good way to get your kids to STOP asking for mac & cheese, though–they know you’re going to screw it up with peas.
jennifer commented on Jan 06 11 at 4:02 pmMy 2.5 yo LOVES peas, so I guess it depends on your kid, and how old they are maybe! :) Looking fwd to giving this a try
D commented on Mar 12 11 at 1:46 amYou can also make macaroni and cheese with real cheese and it’s good.
BatheSheba commented on Apr 16 11 at 2:36 pmTo me this isn’t mac and cheese. Egg noodles? This is more of a vegetarian stroganoff and shouldn’t be put in the category of “Mac and Cheese”. Great idea to get kids to eat veggies, but they’ll end up not knowing what TRUE mac and cheese is and missing out on one of the GREATEST dishes that is a side dish and/or can be a main meal (with cheese being priced like meat)!
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