Gentle Nutrition: Apple N' Cheese

 Hello eaters! 

 That reminds me eaters, have I told you why I’ve been so blissful this week?A couple of reasons: 

1) My PT is progressing really well. There haven’t been stellar improvements or anything, but it feels good to be doing something about it. I’ll be doing another post about it soon once we have decided if the new thing we’re trying works.

 2) Manly friend is coming back on Saturday. I’ll get to spend some quality time with m’dude before helping him move in with Will on Monday.

Yeah, both of those things make me smile.

Oh, and the second apple-tastic recipe makes me smile. A lot. 

 Apple Mac n’ Cheese

•  3 c pasta and cooking water 
•  2 T butter/Earth Balance 
•  ¼ c nutritional yeast 
•  1 c milk-substance 
•  1/3 lbs cheddar cheese, made into small pieces 
•  2 apples 
•  1 red bell pepper 
•  cayenne, to taste 

 Set the pasta water on to boil.

 Shells catch the most sauce. 

 Once it’s boiling add the shells. Cook them to al dente and then drain. The cooked shells can sit around as long as you need them to while you prepare everything else.While that is all happening dice both the apples and pepper. There’s no need to peel the apples, the skin will give this dish extra texture and nutrients. Both are important. 

 Now heat a sauce pan on medium-low heat and add the butter-substance. Once that’s melted add in the nutritional yeast. You want to slowly cook these two together until it gets a little brown. 

 This is kind of like a bastardized roux.

No, French/New Orleans eaters, I’m not actually calling this a roux. I wouldn’t do that to your cuisine.

Once the faux-roux is made, add the milk-substance and turn the heat up to medium. Toss in the cheese. 

 Stir continuously until the cheese is melted. Then taste to figure out how much more nutritional yeast and cayenne you should add.

Note — dairy is a natural heat neutralizer, so because of the dairy here you can really ratchet up the cayenne so you can reap the benefits without setting your mouth on fire.

Stir regularly until the sauce thickens up just slightly.

At this point, mix the apples, peppers and shells in a large casserole dish. Make sure everything is somewhat evenly distributed. And now…pour on the cheese. 

 The beautiful, golden cheese.

 It may not seem like a lot of cheese sauce. Because really, it’s not a lot. But go ahead and bake it in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes anyway. 

 This is just to warm everything through and thicken up the cheese a bit more.

A generous scoop will reveal that despite your doubts everything is evenly kissed by the oh so delicious cheese. 

 This is nothing like the mac n’ cheese you get from a box. This is nothing like the Southern mac n’ cheese Stepmother’s family makes. 

 This is a little bit lighter mac n’ cheese with a little bit of a new flare. 

 The apples and peppers don’t add much flavor, but they do add a very welcome bite of freshness with just the slightest little hint of sweetness when you least except it. 

 And that, eaters, should be music to the ears of everyone who’s looking to up their nutrition value in a gentle way.

Oh and by the way, eaters, the ample amount of nutritional yeast ups the nutritional value, too.

Yeah, I am looking out for you. I do it because I care. And because I like to eat healthy, too.....