Fuel Friday #1: A Cheesy First Blog

Hello readers! You may call me Kiwii, your friendly neighborhood food addict. I always found the hardest part about having a healthy balanced body is finding the right foods to put into it.

A Little About Me:
I’m a 23-year-old grad student working full time as a Software Engineer. I sit at a desk for 9 hours of my day. My exercise routine struggles to find a place alongside my costume crafting hobby, my horse, my food habits (food + me = <3), and my husband. Like Miss KoryBeth, I’m a Spartan racer and find that balance in my life as well! With all my activity I still fit in the category of “sedentary” (meaning sits for the majority of my waking hours). It’s physically and emotionally draining. I used to be told, “you shouldn’t eat more then 1,200 calories a day, and stay away from fruit because it’s high in sugar”. I then found out I not only couldn’t have lactose due to an intense intolerance, but I developed an ever worsening case of gluten allergies, and found out in February 2014. As an Italian this made my heart sink and the weight started packing on, even with me staying relatively low in calories.

Only recently have I given up on calorie restricting all together and increased my fruit intake to include several servings every day, and when I did I immediately felt more energetic, happier, and more ready to take on my days. Not only that but my gradual (and recently somewhat rapid) weight gain halted all together. I started eating between 1600 calories minimum a day (sometimes upwards of 2500) with 0 weight gain at all. There’s a trick to this that I may go over some day, but for now, lets cut to the chase, my love affair with food hit an all time high for the first time since I found out I was allergic to gluten.
        
The one rule I follow is “NO calorie restriction”. In my recipes I will never post calories, it is all about quality, not quantity. (If you calorie track, simply use your tracking tool and add each the ingredients divided by the number of servings you split it into). If you eat good food, your body will tell you when it’s had enough. But what is good food? I eat a whole foods, plant based (but still omnivore) diet (and by diet, I mean lifestyle). Now a little look into my heart… I love comfort food. For anyone who has heard about eating clean, this style of eating doesn’t mesh well with comfort food. Mac and cheese in particular, it is the source of lactose, gluten, highly processed foods, and I can’t get enough. The difference between a diet and a lifestyle is in a lifestyle, there is nothing that is completely off limits. Instead of blocking it out of my life, I’ve helped it find its place, and here’s how!

Steps to making good choices in your mac and cheese:

1. Stick with local or at least whole brick cheddar. Skip that shredded stuff; cheddar cheese in its brick form is your friend. The full fat version in your supermarket is rich, creamy, delicious, and naturally lactose free! Yes, even you lactose intolerant fellows out there can enjoy cheese again. Because it’s so rich you don’t need to add so much either!
2. Try to find pasta with a short ingredient list or even Gluten Free Pasta. Wheat is a problem for a large portion of people, but not everyone has that issue. When it comes to processed pasta, the less ingredients the easier on your gut. The rice pasta I buy has 3 ingredients: Brown Rice Flour, Rice Bran, and Water. Organic pastas can be the same way with wheat too. Wheat doesn’t always mean bad, but try to find pastas low in sodium and ingredients!
3. Add some Veggies! Your mac and cheese is a creamy, rich, and delicious meal. Its warm, hearty and comforting, lets add some nutrition into it. Even if you’re not a huge veggie eater, who doesn’t love something more when it’s covered in cheese?
4. Pair with Greens. I try to always pair something rich, heavy, and comforting with a nutrient packed side dish. I cover half the plate with a salad and sometimes a protein. I fill the other half with my mac and cheese.

Not ready to make your own recipe yet? Here’s my super easy, quick recipe for Green Mac and Cheese!

Recipe of the Week: Green Mac & Cheese

You will need:

• 12 oz Pasta
• 3 Tbsp oil/fat of choice (butter is best, for vegan option coconut oil)
• 3 Tbsp Flour (for gluten free option, replace with corn/potato starch)
• 1 C broth or water (low sodium vegi or chicken broth is best)
• ½ Large broccoli head (or 1 small)
• 6oz shredded cheddar cheese (heaping ½ cup)
• salt and pepper to taste
• optional: ½ tsp cayenne
• optional: ¼ c shredded cheddar
• optional: ¼ c panko (or gluten free panko)

Steps:

1. Boil your water. Add Pasta, follow cooking directions minus 2 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, chop broccoli in as large pieces (or small) pieces as you’d like. I don’t like broccoli in large pieces. You can use a food processor or persistence knife cuts for this part.
3. For the last 2 minutes of cooking, add broccoli to noodles in boiling water. Drain whole pot after 1 minute. Return to pot.
4. Take a sauce pan and melt oil/butter. Once melted add flour or starch. Cook for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Add cayenne if desired.
5. Add liquid. Whisk in. Cook until it thickens.
6.  Remove sauce from heat. Add cheese. Whisk until melted.
7. Add cheese to pot. Mix well.

Optional Additional Steps:

1. Add cheesy noodles and broccoli to pan.
2. Sprinkle top with panko and extra cheese.
3. Bake at 350 degrees in the oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.