I have been wanting to make Fat Free Vegan’s Easy Macaroni and Cheeze for a long time. I finally got to the bulk store and remembered to buy nutritional yeast. I have been looking forward to trying nutritional yeast ever since I heard about its’ nutritional benefits and cheese and nutty-like taste! Seems too good to be true, right?
Here are some of the benefits of nutritional yeast:
- very rich in B vitamins- great for vegetarians/vegans!
- Yellowish colour comes from the concentration of the B vitamin Riboflavin
- Rich in vitamins niacin, thiamin, biotin, and folic acid
- Rich in minerals selenium, chromium, zinc, phosphorus, and magnesium
- Can be used as a supplement or condiment
- Can be sprinkled on cereal, spaghetti, popcorn, and smoothies (note: huge foreshadowing for tomorrow AM!)
- Two teaspoons (10 mL) of yeast flakes provide one microgram of vitamin B12, the recommended daily intake for most adults!!
I am seriously kicking myself for not trying this sooner! Especially after the outstanding results I had making this super easy vegan mac and cheese. For some reason I thought this recipe was going to be difficult, but all you have to do is cook the pasta and then take ALL the ingredients and throw into a blender or processor. Then heat it all up and stir. It was that easy!!
Vegan Mac and Cheese
I adapted the recipe based on what ingredients I had on hand and it surprisingly still came out stellar!
My version with tweaks below.
Ingredients:
1 pound vegan pasta (or regular if you prefer!)
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup plain Almond Breeze (may use other non-dairy milk)
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons cornstarch or potato starch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon garlic puree
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon turmeric (curry powder)
1 tablespoons tahini
black pepper to taste
Directions:
Cook your preferred pasta according to the directions on the bag or box. I used pasta shells for a fun change. It brought me back to the wonderful Velveeta pasta my mom used to make us as kids! While that is cooking, throw ALL ingredients (including 1 + 1/4 cup water) into the food processor or blender and blend for 30-60 seconds. Once pasta is cooked and drained, add sauce into sauce pan with pasta shells and simmer over low-medium heat stirring frequently. The thickening process takes 5-10 minutes. Don’t despair if you think the pasta is too watery- it REALLY thickens up nicely thanks to the cornstarch! Serves 8. You can get creative with this and mix in some vegetables or spinach too.
According to Fat Free Vegan’s recipe:
Makes 8 servings. Per serving: 303 Calories (kcal); 4g Total Fat; (10% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 54g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 316mg Sodium; 5g Fiber. Also, if you use nutritional yeast fortified with B-12, one serving provides 100% of the daily requirement of that vitamin.
Hers + His:
I had to make Eric’s fun to distract him from the fact that he was eating cheese less pasta! lol. Well, I did sprinkle on some parmesan and threw in a cheeseslice for him to be fair. :)
The taste?
It knocked both our socks off– even with a bunch of modifications! I honestly can’t believe that it tasted that good. It was cheesey and nutty tasting. Next time I will definitely add spinach or peas to it. So awesome. I will be buying nutritional yeast on a regular basis now– WOW!!!
Look how creamy that is!!!!
GAH! :D It was the perfect comfort food today for a post-night of drinking and dreary weather outside!
I wasn’t planning on working out today due to only getting 4.5 hours of sleep last night after the crazy bachelorette party, but for whatever reason I am not tired at all today. Not even one bit. It’s strange! I have a feeling I am going to crash tonight! It must have been my handy Hangover Prevention Kit (HPK) not to be confused with an EPT. ;)
The workout:
- Duration: 52 mins (including water breaks- always)
- Speed: 3.9 mph, incline 15%
- Max heart rate: 165 bpm
- Avg heart rate: 146 bpm
- Feel the burn: 450 kcals
- Distance: 3.19 miles
It felt so good! Even though I sometimes don’t feel like working out after a late night it always makes me feel back on track and in my normal routine.
Eric finished all the sanding and is now on coat 2 of the primer in the dining room, family room, and sunroom. Things are shaping up! We will be painting COLOUR on the wall this week! I can’t believe it!!! :)
The sunroom is going to be Ashley Gray to coordinate with the mortar in the brick. We are turning the sunroom officially into a workout room. We will eventually be putting in a gym floor in there.
For the family room we chose Peanut Shell. It will go nicely with the brick colours!
I can’t wait to have the walls painted! It will be coming together soon enough. :) After the paint, we are putting in engineered wood floors.
Well, back to normal Sunday stuff- laundry, cleaning, organizing, and preparing for the week ahead! Have a great end to your Mother’s Day!
Coming up tomorrow:
- Cookbook giveaway
- Shop 4 A Cause: When, What, Where, How, etc
- Spirulina
- and more!
Tonight’s question: What’s your favourite way to eat mac and cheese?
I’m just…Ahhh! I’m blown away by this recipe. It’s soo good. I was craving nachos the other night and decided to try this to replace the cheese sauce and I’m ADDICTED. I’ve made so many of your recipes and not once have they not turned out for me. Thank you!
This recipe was fantastic! Although it does need 2-3x the amount of spice called for here. I also added red curry powder in addition to turmeric. It wasn’t as creamy as I’d like so maybe next time I will use soaked cashews instead of the tahini. Overall so delicious though, just make sure to up the spices significantly.