Vegetarian Meal Idea #1 - Cheese-less Mac & Cheese
(a little fyi before the rest of my blabber this meal is not complicated to make believe me it wouldn't on this blog if it was)
Cheese-less mac and cheese, WHAT?!!! WHY? Yes, I know the vegetarian diet permits for cheese, so why am I suffering myself like so. However, I tell you no suffering here because this cheese-less mac and cheese came out delicious.
Yes, cheese is delicious and makes everything tasty and it does have some nutritional component to it but you are weighing it against its high calories and high-fat content. So it's something to enjoy but in a controlled quantity. But, who wants to just eat like 1 scoop of macaroni and cheese and the alternative is using fat-free or low-fat cheeses and you know that is not what is up.
If you are like me and want more than a scoop of macaroni and cheese while eating a flavourful and healthy meal, and that will also please the vegans (they are watching us), this meal is your option.
I will list all the ingredients I used to make this meal and there will be a video at the end showing how it all came together.
The preparation for this can be divided into two parts:
First Part. The macaroni but which is fairly simple, open a pack of macaroni and boil them up or if you hand make them then bravo oh great one, you are clearly too good for this blog but please I beg stay, don't go.
Second Part. Is the "cheese" part of things, which in this case its more like a "cheese" sauce that some parts of this sauce were boiled and with the boiled bits and other got blended up.
First Part
1. Le Macaroni (free)
Didn't you know????? It is in the human constitution of the world that every person has the right to macaroni. Yes so just go to your local grocery store and grab yourself one. Joking aside, it was only free for me because someone I know thinks I am a human trash bin and decides to give their not used groceries to me which I gladly accept. Remember I am broke guys and I have like 3 subscription services I am signed to (maybe that's my problem there, no not really, long story). So there was no kind of frou-frou reason why I chose this brand even though it does have a fancy name and I could have just gone with it.
"Hi, I am Marie Le Better-Than-You, I only eat slow dried bronzed cut enriched macaroni crafted with golden amber durum wheat semolina imported from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. How about you peasant what do eat? Kraft Mac and Cheese (cue evil fancy laugh muhaahahahahahahahah)" and on the next scene.
This is very well one of the most important ingredient you would need in this meal to mimic some of the flavour and texture of cheese. If you don't have it you can still make this recipe without it but I suggest to get it.
I know nutritional yeast, what the heck is that, for those that are out of the loop like I was. Nutritional Yeast is an inactive yeast made from sugarcane and molasses. It has a nutty, cheesy flavour and it is often used to emulate cheese in vegan dishes, thicken sauces and dressings. To be very scientific it is high in everything good and low in everything bad. It is considered a super food. Sorry I didn't want to go on about all its health benefits because it has a lot of nutrients which are googleable :)
Being a vegetarian, we need all the nutrients we can get, I am not trying to die over here, so it is why this ingredient became a subject of interest for me and I decided to make a meal around it. What is also great about it is if you don't want to make a meal with it, you can just sprinkle it on whatever you like (like a less hypertensive carnivorous #Saltbae) and you will get to enjoy the nutrients without slaving in the kitchen.
The best place to get them is in the bulk bin at any store around you that sells things in bulk so you can end up getting just about enough of what you need. You can also get them at any healthy food store / nutritional supplement store.
3. Cashews ($3.28 at Target )
Cashews are one of those things again like other nuts you can get cheaper in bulk bins. I lucky enough or not lucky enough to find this on clearance at target. I am currently sick as I continue to finish this blog and looking back I somehow blame this clearance cashews for my illness. Coincidence or not I have my eyes on it and no I will not be buying a clearance item food anymore. nope!!!!! never!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Any ways regular bulk bins cashews are usually are your best bets. its always good to have some nuts around and cashews are one of the most delicious.
If you don't like cashews, use another nut you like. if you have a nut allergy you can replace it with your favourite seed like sunflower seed. If you don't like cashews or seeds then skip this part.
4. The Vegetables (White Potatoes, Carrots, Onions, Garlic)
I suppose for the potatoes you can use whatever kind you like or whatever is on sale. I pretty much chopped this all up and boil them and then add them to the blender or food processer for those non-broke people. More reasons to watch the video I posted down below to see how it all happend.
5. Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almond Cashew Blend (Unsweetened)
To keep in the vegan trend I used non-dairy milk. I went for quick store run and I got this at my local grocery store called Foodorama, I don't remember how much it cost and also didn't bother taking a photo of it hence the much better lighted stock photo. I usually have a non-dairy milk around in my fridge specifically almond milk and luckily I had the cashew blend which I thought will go nicely with my "cheese" sauce since I was also using real cashews. Although I am vegetarian and in our official code of conduct we are allowed dairy milk but I prefer non-dairy milk. That's another long story that I will save for another long winded caption oppourtunity.
If you don't have milk of any kind you don't have to be extra like me and use water. Everything is going to go into the blender and you need a liquid.
5. Seasonings
I mostly buy my seasonings from the store brand. I know its cheaper but I am not sure how the quality is compared to other fancy brands. Well, I am sure the fancy brands quality is better but I have been curious how much quality am I losing?
6. Partanna Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Well, my olive oil of choice cause I got no choice, it's a big bottle and I just use about a capful of it on about everything.
Video of Preparation
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