Ok, so it didn’t exactly break the Internet. But my macro-friendly mac & cheese recipe from my old blog has been pinned over 1,000 times on Pinterest. That makes me Pinterest famous, right? I’m a one-hit Pinterest wonder.
To be honest, there isn’t anything crazy special about this mac & cheese. And you might be wondering what macro-friendly even means! Well, I’d need a longer post to explain counting macros. In a nutshell, if you actually measure the fat, protein, and carbs you take in every day, you can make big changes in your health and lifestyle based on these numbers.
At one time in my life (pre-baby) I measured and counted these macros to study my eating habits. I made adjustments and learned a ton about what I was putting into my body. (I will write a more detailed post about this in the future if you’re interested in how to do this yourself.)
While on this food journey, I wanted some mac & cheese. Because, well, who doesn’t crave a bowl full of cheesy carbs now and again?
The great part about tracking your macros is that you can eat whatever you want. It’s the anti-diet. But, you want to be sure you’re keeping your fat, protein, and carbs at a certain number for the day. So, I set out to make a single-serving mac & cheese that would fit within my daily numbers.
This can easily be made into a family-sized recipe, and it includes a serving of broccoli, which means the kids will be getting their veggies in. You could also throw together a single serving for your own lunch…if you have that kind of time!
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp coconut flour
- 1/3 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup skim milk or 2 tbsp light cream and 1/2 cup starchy water
- 1/3 cup elbow mac
- 1 cup frozen broccoli
- Dash of salt and pepper
- Dash of nutmeg
- Boil mac and cook broccoli according to directions, reserving starchy water from pasta.
- Heat EVOO in a small sauce pan. Add coconut flour and combine.
- Add milk or cream/starchy water mix, then stir in cheese to finish sauce. Set aside.
- Drain pasta. Combine with broccoli and cheese sauce, adding starchy water as needed to thin out the sauce to desired consistency.
- Add salt and pepper, sprinkle with nutmeg.
