Gluten-Free/Lactose-Free, Homemade Mac-N-Cheese!

Last week, I was craving Mac & Cheese and headed to the grocery store with full intentions of buying a gluten-free/dairy-free boxed version. I looked at the back of the box to read the ingredients and immediately felt discouraged (many of the ingredients I could not pronounce). I decided I would make it myself, using items I felt comfortable with - the fewer ingredients on the list, the better. 

As someone trying to navigate a healthy diet while enjoying a normal lifestyle, I find balance really important. I don't want to be a slave to junk food, but I also don't want to be a slave to healthy/raw/organic/non-gmo/paleo food. When I dine out, I try to enjoy the experience while not worrying if my food was cooked in canola oil. When I'm home, I find joy out of cooking with healthy ingredients that I chose for myself and my family.  

This mac n'cheese recipe isn't paleo, or whole30, or even that healthy. But it's gluten free/soy free/lactose free and its DELICIOUS.  The recipe (which is at the end of the post) isn't perfect, I literally made it up and I'm not a trained chef so I encourage you to tweak it to your taste - more cheese, different brands, more toppings? Have fun with it!

So simple!

I've been preferring this New Barn brand of Almond milk because of the short list in the ingredient section. I would never drink a glass of it (not enough taste for me), but it's a great addition to smoothies/cooking/baking.

Grass-fed is best, and ghee is lactose free!

I chose jarlsberg cheese as it is naturally lactose free, as well as a grass-fed sharp, well-aged dubliner, the longer a cheese is aged, the longer the lactose has to break-down and become more tolerable (over 18 months). You could also use gruyere, almond ricotta, or a sharp cheddar.

Remember all that balance I was talking about? yeah...I added ketchup to my mac-n-cheese because, pregnancy.

Recipe //

1 1/2 cups brown rice pasta

1/2 cup Almond Milk

3/4 cup Jarlsberg

3/4 cup Cheddar

2 tbsp Ghee

Cook pasta according to the package. Combine cheese, milk, and ghee in sauce pan until melted completely, stirring often. Strain pasts and add to cheese sauce. Salt & Pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Things I'm Lovin' - Food Edition

Before I throw a "you should eat this!" food list at you, I feel like I should explain where my interest in food comes from as of late. It really stems from two places...

Reason 1) Six months ago, over the summer, I went through IVF as many of you know. I decided almost on a whim (with the encouragement of a few) to eliminate Gluten and Dairy from my diet. I wanted to feel my best going through something that can be quite intense on a body. I continued my new way of eating well after IVF and our transfers only because I found it provided significant results: better mood, healthier system, and a feeling of self-control, all with little effort on my part. I was surprised that

cutting out

something made me feel significantly better rather than trying to

add in more

(greens, exercise, meds). 

Over the Holidays, I was very lax on what I ate and how much Gluten/Dairy came across my plate. I noticed the effects almost overnight. My skin began to break out, I felt bloated - not that I had necessarily gained any weight - but my joints felt achy in the morning, and I knew there was a better way for me to eat.

On yet another whim, I decided on December 31st that I would start #whole30 on January 2nd. I saw a few food bloggers posting about it and decided I would give it a try. For the first 4-5 days I only ate vegetables, meat, and a few nuts. I cut out fruit, rice, quinoa, peanut butter, dark chocolate...all things I would normally eat. The first week was rough - I had a temper and felt sad/whiny. BUT by Saturday the 7th, I felt strong and compelled to keep going the entire30 days! I have now added a limited amount of fruit (mostly berries) back into my diet but that's really the only change from the first week.

The #whole30 challenge has encouraged me to try new recipes with new ingredients which I have found very exciting and motivating. There was no way I was going to last on chicken, broccoli, and sweet potatoes for dinner for 30 days.

Reason 2) The new recipes/new ingredients mentioned above leads me to the second reason for the list...

As I mentioned in my New Year's resolution post, I'm trying to cut out impulse purchases. SO instead of browsing around Target or T.J. Maxx, I have started browsing Whole Food aisles, looking for random ingredients like macadamia nut oil, chile chipotle peppers, and nutritional yeast. I'm filling my urge to "shop" while making healthier food for Paul, myself, and Roswelle - a win, win or sorts (gotta start somewhere)!

One could argue I'm probably spending the same amount of money in the end (esp at Whole Foods) but Paul and I have made the collective decision to never make financial cuts when it comes to the food we eat. Buying healthy, sustainable, life-giving food will improve our life quality...

eek, I'm starting to sound like one of those annoying podcast people...

I think it's time to get to the food list!

I have a mediocre surface level understanding of the significant health benefits of the food listed below. I encourage y'all to do some of your own reading if any of these items seem particularly interesting to you!

Clockwise-ish from top left:

1) Macadamia Nuts/ Macadamia Nut Oil - The Macadamia nut has the highest level of Omega 3's, which many nutritionist are saying we don't get enough of in our diet. We get plenty of Omega 6's however, maybe too much. I've recently limited my intake of walnuts, pecans (which are high in O-6's) and significantly increased consumption of fish, raw macadamia nuts, and macadamia nut oil (I suggest replacing any recipe calling for vegetable/canola oil with macadamia, avocado, or coconut oil).

2) Ginger - Another immune booster and anti-inflammatory agent, I pop a knob of ginger in my shake every morning.

3)Pasture-raised eggs - There always seems to the next best thing with food, and for us, it's pasture-raised eggs.  Organic eggs are great, but the chickens are often kept in confinement. Pasture raised eggs are from you guessed it, pasture raised (roaming) chicken. Doesn't that just seem better? 

4) Sardines - Speaking of Omega 3's, I have a personal goal to eat sardines once or twice a month. It can be difficult to stomach for some, but I've find them very manageable when on a seed cracker with a little goat cheese. A dairy cheat for me, but I consider it worth while to get the nutritional value of sardines into my diet. Sardines are also high in calcium which can be difficult to come by when eating dairy free!

5) Taza's 80% Dark Chocolate - Just enough sweetness and high in antioxidants, but it's also bitter enough to keep me from eating the whole bar. Also Taza's chocolate is made locally here in Boston and it has a distinct texture that I really like!

6) Green Juice w/ low sugar - I read an article in W magazine interviewing the nutritionist to Gwyneth Paltrow, Frank Lipman. He says that green juices, if you are going drink them, should only have 5grams of sugar or less per bottle. I have found this extremely difficult to manage, as an apple which is commonly found in green juices, has 19g of sugar on it's own! However I have found 2 that get close enough -- Evolution: Sweet Greens with 10g of sugar & Suja: Uber Greens with only 6g of sugar per bottle!

7) RAW nuts - Go RAW y'all. Skip the roasted almond butter, peanuts, or cashews and grab the raw version instead. This will ensure you are getting the most nutritional value out of your nuts or nut butter. 

8) Tumeric - The super spice/seasoning of 2017. The health benefits and healing powers of this little plant go on and on and have been on several health food lists lately. I've even seen a coffee shop offer a tumeric latte!

9) Nutritional Yeast - I just used this for the first time last week. Some things just seem too good to be good for you...and this was one of them for me. A golden flaky powder that is supposed to taste cheesy when cooked? How can this be good for me? But the flakes are high in B vitamins, notably B12, and considered to be an antiviral, antibacterial immune booster. My favorite way to use it is over steamed broccoli or meat sauce/spaghetti. Many friends use it on popcorn as well! The Bob's Red Mill brand carries it and can be found in most grocery stores.

10) Home-made Bone Broth - Our grandmother and great grandmother will roll their eyes at us for making this a "super-food" or "super-fad" because they have been making it for generations. Either way, this is something I suggest adding to your rotation of cooking. The collagen/gelatin extracted from the bones is extremely restorative - even wrinkle resistant!

Next Tuesday, Things I'm Lovin' - Home Edition will be up!