Vegan (Quinoa) Mac & Cheese
We all know the blue box macaroni and cheese…
Remember the cute little girl singing
If you were like me, you totally asked your mom to buy you the blue box because it was the best, and no other mac ‘n’ cheese mattered unless it was in suh-weeet shapes of cartoon characters like the Looney Tunes.
Well, time to step away from the blue box my friends!
Blue box= yellow 5, yellow 6, sodium tripolyphosphate, and other questionable ingredients.
NOT OK!
I mean it’s good, and I totally ate it growing up and lived off of it in college (Sponge Bob Squarepants shapes to be exact) but seriously, the more I look at ingredients and nutritional info… that shiz scares me!
I totally appreciate a good mac and cheese. The oozy gooey and crispy baked kind made at home from scratch, but my skin just cannot handle that stuff anymore. When I eat super heavy foods made with full fat cheeses and milks, my skin pays for it. Funny how what we eat can really affect so many different things, with our bodies, mood, energy, etc., rights?
Being that my fav thing to do on my blog is show you healthier and veganized versions of your fav comfort foods, I’m shocked I haven’t made a healthy macaroni and cheese before!
I’ve taken out the dairy, processed vegan cheeses, artificial coloring, white pasta, and strange ingredients. I know what you’re thinking right now… is she giving us a recipe for water?
Nope!
Just protein packed fluffy quinoa and veggie infused vegan mac and cheese, NBD (no big deal)!
My vegan “cheese” is made from Nutritional Yeast, I know it sounds gross/weird, but don’t knock it until you try it! Want to know why nutritional yeast is good for you? I have tons of facts about Nutritional Yeast! Prepare your tastebuds, you’re in for a real treat, bunnies!
Vegan (Quinoa) Mac & Cheese
Serves 1
2 cups broccoli
1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 Tbsp whole wheat flour (you could also use spelt, rice, or tapioca flour)
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp garlic powder
pinch of salt
Cook quinoa over stove with water to package instructions until fluffy and soft. In a separate saucepan over media heat, combine almond milk, nutritional yeast, whole wheat flour, dijon mustard, garlic powder, and salt. Stir the sauce for about 4 minutes until it becomes thick. Cut and steam broccoli and add to the cooked quinoa. Transfer the cheese sauce to the quinoa and broccoli and coat evenly. Serve hot, enjoy!
