America's Top 10 Comfort Foods - The Healthy Way

So I’ve decided to take on the task of preparing healthy alternatives to comfort foods. In preparation for this I visited the Food Network website and found the list of America’s Top 10 Comfort foods and found that America’s Top 10 Comfort Foods are; 1) Pizza, 2) Biscuits, 3) French fries, 4) Spaghetti, 5) Chicken Soup, 6) Fried Chicken, 7) Mashed Potatoes, 8) Burritos, 9) Macaroni and cheese and, 10) Grilled cheese.

Over the next few blogs I am going to attempt to bring you a tasty and healthy alternative to these foods. Today I can cover a few of these with one simple recipe, Simple Cheese Sauce. This is a recipe you can use in place of cheese for pizza, macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese, and as a condiment for burritos but I will cover burritos later. Also, since this is my take on a healthy alternative it is 100% free of animal fat! That means its vegan vegetarian but don’t let that scare you, this stuff is so good my 13 year old said that this mac and cheese is now her favorite mac and cheese!

Simple Cheese Sauce

1 c. cashew pieces

2 c. water

¼ c. pimento

1 ½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. onion powder

½ tsp garlic powder

¾ c. nutritional yeast flakes

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until at desired consistency. Add to your favorite foods and enjoy!

For pizza you will need:

Whole wheat pita bread

Pizza sauce

Favorite pizza toppings

Simple Cheese Sauce, thick

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread 1-2 tbsp. pizza sauce over 1 pita. Top with desired toppings, then cheese sauce. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

For grilled cheese you will need:

Whole wheat bread

Simple Cheese Sauce, very thick

Vegan butter

Preheat a stove top griddle. Spread one to two tbsp. onto a slice of bread, top with another slice, butter both sides of sandwich, and grill on both sides until golden brown. Repeat until desired number of sandwiches is met.

For macaroni and cheese you will need:

16 oz. Elbow macaroni

Simple Cheese Sauce, saucy consistency

French Fried Onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook macaroni according to package directions for al dente. Mix 3/4 simple cheese sauce in with noodles. Pour into a baking dish, top with remaining cheese sauce and French fried onions, bake for 15 minutes. Serve hot and enjoy!

Come back next time for biscuits, mashed potatoes, and fried chik’n!