Vegan Macaroni and Cheese {SOY FREE, GLUTEN-FREE OPTION}

I recently started a new category here: Veganize It.  I take someone's non-vegan favorite dish and try to veganize it, in hopes of recreating my challenger's favorite tastes and memories.

Betsy was my first challenger.  Since she and part of her family quit dairy they had missed Mac & Cheese.  I tinkered around in my kitchen a couple of nights ago and made two different vegan, soy-free, Mac & Cheese recipes.  This one came the closest to what I remember that dish to be.  It is by no means the "real" deal, but it does make me think of it.  In the future I might adjust the recipe a little bit more, but for now, since I am hearing that there are at least 3 great kiddos [and other people] salivating while waiting for this recipe, here it is.

Vegan Recipe: Macaroni and Cheese

Soy-Free! To make it Gluten Free use Gluten Free Noodles!!!

Ingredients

• 2 cups almond milk*
• 3/4 cup nutritional yeast [if you are new to nutritional yeas you might want to try 1/2 c less to start]
• 3 tablespoons corn or potato starch [I used corn starch]
• 3 tbs lemon juice, fresh
• 2 tsp sea or Himalayan salt [or to taste]
• 3-5 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 yellow onion
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tbs dry mustard
• 1 tsp turmeric
• pepper to taste
• 3 tbs tahini paste
• any other seasoning you might like
• 16 oz of your favorite vegan pasta [I prefer whole grain]

Preparation

• Prepare pasta according to instructions and set aside
• While pasta is cooking blend remaining ingredients in a blender [I used my trustworthy total-Blendtec!]
• Strain pasta and transfer back to the pot, pour sauce over it and keep cooking on medium-low-medium heat
• Stir constantly while sauce is thickening
• If you desire more flavor add more mustard and onion/garlic powder and/or turmeric
• Serve hot--I sauted 1 chopped onion in 2 tbs of olive oil and mixed into the pasta

*To make almond milk [yes, I do make my own], take

• 1 cup pre-soaked almonds [they can be dehydrated, if still wet, make sure to rinse off soaking water]
• 3 cups water
• Blend in a blender for 1-2 minutes until almonds are broken and milky consistency is achieved
• Strain milk through milk bag or wine bag [I got mine for $1 at Michael's craft store!]
• If you don't use all of the milk, flavor remaining milk with a pinch of salt and a tad of raw honey

The dish can be made creamier by adding Earth Balance butter. However, I do prefer to exclude concentrated fats as much as possible--we don't need them.
Serve with a huge GREEN salad!

You can use almond pulp to make various dishes, such as raw cookies, which I am not going to cover now.

PS: My hubby tried Mac and Cheese... and liked it! Even asked for seconds. So, it looks like you are safe to make and eat it :) [Mac and Cheese used to be one of his favorite dishes :)]

STAMP: Demetrye Approved :)

PS2: The dish actually tasted pretty good when I tried it the day after making it [I had to give my tastebuds a chance to rest overnight ;)].

Next Veganize-It recipe-Lemon Bars [Melanie's challenge].

HEALTHY-FY and VEGANIZE MY FAVORITE DISH!

Good morning loves!

In the last couple of weeks I had barely any time to spend in the kitchen. My meals are now simple [that is how I really like them] and very nutritious. However, I think I should try to get back in the kitchen and get things a-cooking!

I thought it would be fun to do something different, though. Many times I have people telling me how much they miss/would miss their FAVORITE non-vegan dishes or desserts, sometimes I feel like they are mourning the loss altogether :). My husband, for example, has a thing for desserts. When we became vegan I looked for ways to satisfy his cravings without compromising his health. I have become quite skilled at it through the last few years.

This is one of the VEGANIZE IT examples

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

As for me—I like things simple… However, if you are like my husband, and struggle with even the thought of not having your favorite meal in the vegan repertoire, today is your chance to test me and see if we can migrate your favorite meal with you into your new and improved diet. So, I am introducing a new category on this blog: VEGANIZE IT!

Here is how it will work: if you have a favorite dish that is non-vegan, but you REALLY like it and will MISS it a lot and REALLY would like to bring it over with you to the HEALTHY side of things... go ahead, give me the recipe [leave it as a comment on this post] and I will do my best to HEALTHY-fy and VEGANIZE it for you! When leaving the recipe tell me what you enjoy about it the most: taste, texture, seasoning, etc. Be VERY specific!

How does that sound? It can be any dish [save meat, of course]. Now, there is a possibility I won’t be able to accomplish the task, and I will be honest with you about it. But there is also a possibility we can make something fun and delicious out of this experiment.

Go ahead, CHALLENGE me!

PS: don’t forget to enter the amazing BESTORGANICWHEATGRASS wheatgrass giveaway!