Free Articles on Food and Drink and many other topics
Another free Food and Drink article for you by Christine Steendahl
Titled: Spice Up Your Macaroni and Cheese Get the Food and Drink category RSS Feed

Spice Up Your Macaroni and Cheese

Article Summary: Tranforming macaroni and cheese.

My child's favorite meal is macaroni and cheese. The cheesier it is the the more he enjoys it. I like it myself, but the cheesier it is, the more fattening it becomes, too. Here are some suggestions to make that family favorite a little healthier for the kids.

Mix up the cheese. Macaroni and cheese is nothing unless it is oozing cheese from both ends of the noodle. But, the cheese your mother used doesn’t have to be the same cheese that you use. Opt for Velveeta® Light cheese spread. The light version has a third of the fat and melts even better than regular cheese. This cheese works well if you cook your macaroni and cheese in a pot on the stovetop. If you are the kind of person that bakes your macaroni and cheese like a casserole, you can substitute reduced fat sharp cheddar for the full fat version and use skim milk to make it creamy.

How about making that side dish the main meal? Macaroni and cheese can become the entire meal if you add some protein. Turn your side dish into a casserole dinner with lean ground beef. This transforms your dish into cheesy beef and macaroni. The beef will help to fill your kids up faster and will give them the protein that their body needs. Add a teaspoon of chili powder to give it a southwestern flavor. For a weekend lunch, add chunks of ham to their macaroni and cheese for a quick meal. The meat breaks up the monotony of just having the same dish all of the time. Chunks of boneless chicken breasts will also work as well as the ham if your child prefers chicken. Hotdogs also work with macaroni and cheese but because of the nitrites they contain, don’t use them as often as you use the ham and chicken.

Substitute your pasta. There are lots of nutritious alternatives to the standard macaroni pasta noodle. Now, grocery stores offer a whole wheat or multigrain pasta that is made from wheat flour instead of white. The pasta is brown in color but when you mix in the cheese, no one should know the difference. If brown pasta doesn’t do it for you, Barilla® makes pasta called Barilla Plus® that has additional nutrients to make it more nutritious for the eater. The pasta remains the natural yellowish color. Dreamfields® makes macaroni noodles that contain only five grams of digestible carbohydrates. That means nothing to your children, but to you it means that they won’t get fat from consuming that specific brand.

Add a little color to their macaroni and cheese. Chop a tomato and mix it into the macaroni and cheese before serving it. The red makes a bold statement in the sea of yellow. Tomatoes contain antioxidants which are awesome for your body. If your children like hot foods, mix in a few crushed red peppers or diced red and green peppers to their macaroni and cheese for a bolder flavor. If you don’t have any peppers or tomatoes on hand, use a cup of salsa in the macaroni and cheese in a pinch.

What about breakfast? Your kids would love to be served macaroni and cheese for breakfast. Add a few slices of turkey bacon or reduced fat bacon to their plate. Crumble the bacon on top of the macaroni and cheese and serve. If bacon is not your child’s favorite, add sausage crumbles. It’s a unique option, but it’ll taste good.

Article Source: http://www.upublish.info

About the Author:
Christine Steendahl
For Quick Ways To Make A Grilled Cheese Sandwich Healthier For Kids Visit: http://www.kidapprovedmeals.com/article-grilled-cheese.htm and For Quick Ways To Turn A Potato Into A Meal Kids Will Love Visit: http://www.kidapprovedmeals.com/article-potato-recipes.htm