Fake Food Thursday - Mackin' Cheese

Oh Mackin Cheese, how I long for thee as I grow weary of this long, unending diet! Jk guys, diet's going AWESOMELY, but I do really love my Mackin Cheese, so last time I was at the grocery store I thought I'd stop and pick up some Annie's . . . because, y'know, Annie's is the best one, right?

Wrong. Organic <> healthy (that's Geek for "organic food isn't always health-conscious"). I mean, it's still better than Velveeta Shells and Cheese (which always makes me sick, but OH MY GOD I COULD EAT IT TIL I DIED OF GOUT), but there are other options, people. And what are they? Well I won't ruin the surprise. Here's the table.


Mackin' Cheese Comparison Per 1 Cup Prepared Serving

	Calories	Fiber	Fat	WW Points
Velveeta Shells and Cheese	360	2	12	8
Annie's Classic Mac n Cheese or Annie's Shells and White Cheddar	280	2	4	5.5
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (regular)	259	1	5	5.5
1 Packet Easy Mac	240	1	6	5
Kraft Supermac & Cheese	230	3	4	4.5

Ta Da! Kraft Supermac & Cheese wins, and I'll tell ya, it tastes just like the original. Not as good as Velveeta, but hey, few things are. Supermac is marketed as uh, a health food for kids. It has whole grains (8g per serving! but mysteriously only 3g of fiber) and vitamins in case you don't feed them any vegetables. So you can call Supermac a vegetable? I dunno, I'm not big on the marketing, but for comfort food it doesn't get much better.

A few notes: I couldn't find how much a packet of Easy Mac yields, but if college memory serves (and it may not), it's about a cup, maybe a bit less. I know that means it shouldn't be ranked the way it is, but it's rarely a matter of deciding between cooking up a packet of Easy Mac or a third of a box of regular Mac.

Roasted Grape Tomatoes - 3 pts

Hooray! Finally a recipe that requires no modifications! Angies Pangies made this lovely recipe for roasted grape tomatoes, and you can eat an entire pint of them (and their accessories) for just 3 points. I know a pint of grape tomatoes is free, but there's something about food that is a) served hot, and b) roasted grape tomatoes that is just so delicious and satisfying. Pair with some whole wheat pasta of your choice and make it a meal!


Roasted Grape Tomatoes
By Angies Pangies




3 points for 1/2 batch: 166 calories, 4.2g fiber, 6.8g fat

Greek Pasta - 6.5 pts

In college I got this cookbook of quick (and cheap!) meals for Kids Who Are Just Moving Into An Apartment Where Mom Doesn't Cook, and it was fantastic. I had two copies, gave one away, and somehow lost my own, until I found the UNH Good Eats website which had all the recipes right there! Woohoo!

One of my favourite meals of all time (and truth be told, I've never made it for anyone who didn't love it) is Greek Style Pasta. This one doesn't require many modifications to add up to about 7 pts per serving, and we're talking big servings here—1/4 of a batch. I halved the amount of pasta to 1/2 lb, since the sauce is so delicious that I sometimes even eat it alone. Still, having a little bit of carbiness in there helps make you feel fuller.

Also, don't be scared of the spinach. This is an excellent dish if you think you don't like spinach because it's fresh and just barely wilted. The result is an unobtrusive flavour that doesn't make everything taste like dirt and almost has a cheesey sort of taste to it. If you're reheating this, however, I'd recommend leaving out the spinach til it's go time. More on that later.

Feta was included in the original recipe, but didn't seem to add much to the flavour. It's amazing how such a simple dish can be so delicious!

Greek Style Pasta
Adapted from UNH's Good Eats: Quick & Easy Food for Busy College Students

1 tsp olive oil
4 minced or pressed garlic cloves
1 x 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried oregano
2 tbsp Kosher salt
1 x 15-19oz can cannellini drained & rinsed
10 oz coarsely chopped fresh baby spinach
8 oz penne pasta (I used Dreamfields to calculate points)

Cook your pasta. While it's cooking, heat oil in a large pot and cook garlic for a minute. The large pot will be very helpful later one when you're trying to add a full bag of spinach to the mix and don't want it to flop out all over your stove. Add the full can of tomatoes, juice and all, the beans that have been rinsed, and your spices. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer, cook uncovered 10 minutes.

If you're making some of this for later on, remove that portion now. The spinach doesn't reheat well, and you're better off nuking the leftovers, then stirring in the fresh spinach at that point.

Now, scale the spinach to whatever you're keeping. So if you're serving half the batch tonight, then you'll want to throw in only half the spinach. Stir it in until it's just barely wilted, then remove from heat and serve on the pasta that is probably done by now.

Enjoy!

6.5 points per 1/4 batch: 355 calories, 16g fiber, 1g fat