how would you make this mac and cheese recipe lighter?

[nageov3t]

not calorie-wise, but lighter as in "I'd like to be able to eat more than 2 bites of this without feeling like I'm going to die."

I've been trying to use my crockpot more, and this week I tried mac and cheese... it tastes great, but I can't eat more than a couple bites before it starts feeling like a brick in my stomach.

recipe:

28 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 x 12-ounce cans evaporated milk
2 x 11-ounce cans condensed cheddar cheese soup
3/4 cup water
salt/pepper
1 tsp dry mustard
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
8 ounces monterey jack cheese
1 pound elbow macaroni

-bring all ingredients (except pasta/cheese) to a simmer
-add cheese, whisk until melted
-stir in macaroni
-transfer to slow cooker, cook on high until tender (2 hours)
​

any suggestions from the ATOT cooking brigade on what I can change? I love the idea of slow cooker mac and cheese, but goddamn the mac and cheese is heavy.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Mac and cheese is supposed to be "heavy." If you want to eat healthy, try cheddar rice cakes.

 

[Exterous]

helium?

 

[Alone]

How about you just eat less?

 

[Modelworks]

You can't substitute things for cheese and have it come out the same.

Maybe lose the canned cheese. That stuff isn't real cheese anyway, more like those cheese food slices

 

[Meghan54]

Add some ham......that'll definitely fix it!

 

[shortylickens]

Lose the tomato's. And the cheap ass cheese.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

One of my biggest 'pet peeves' is folks who try to copy fat tasty food with 'healthy' ingredients. I've got nothing against eating healthier although in most cases that's easily done through portion control. No, what I have a problem with is, rather than capitalizing on the textures, colors and, tastes of the 'healthier' food to create a new cuisine, most try to copy familiar foods with ingredients ill suited to the task.

 

[nageov3t]

One of my biggest 'pet peeves' is folks who try to copy fat tasty food with 'healthy' ingredients. I've got nothing against eating healthier although in most cases that's easily done through portion control. No, what I have a problem with is, rather than capitalizing on the textures, colors and, tastes of the 'healthier' food to create a new cuisine, most try to copy familiar foods with ingredients ill suited to the task.

nothing to do with health or calories, I'd just like to be able to eat more than two bites without feeling like I've got a brick in my stomach.

 

[frostedflakes]

Tomatoes in mac and cheese? Is that any good?

 

[JulesMaximus]

nothing to do with health or calories, I'd just like to be able to eat more than two bites without feeling like I've got a brick in my stomach.

Are you lactose intolerant?

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Are you lactose intolerant?

Trust me, I know. That's not what being lactose intolerant feels like.

 

[nageov3t]

Tomatoes in mac and cheese? Is that any good?

I like it. I also thought about throwing some diced up jalapeno peppers into the pot.

I also used to make mac and cheese with tomatoes, diced up pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese, but that was back before I started hating pepperoni.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

nothing to do with health or calories, I'd just like to be able to eat more than two bites without feeling like I've got a brick in my stomach.

Bad habits take dedication, perseverance and, practice! Get in there and make us proud.

 

[Matthiasa]

Hmm... take smaller bites if 2 of them feel like a brick.

 

[herm0016]

i would loose the evap. milk and cans of soup. yuck. i make mac and cheese by using cheese, milk, and/or cream for a sauce and pasta. yum. just heat up your cold cream/milk and then melt in cheeses untill satisfied. pour over cooked pasta and season.

 

[CFP]

Less mac and cheese, really. It's pasta, and it's cheese. Ain't never going to be light.

 

[apac]

i would loose the evap. milk and cans of soup. yuck. i make mac and cheese by using cheese, milk, and/or cream for a sauce and pasta. yum. just heat up your cold cream/milk and then melt in cheeses untill satisfied. pour over cooked pasta and season.

This. Put milk, flour, salt, pepper in a saucepan, simmer til it's pretty thick, add cheese, presto: simple, delicious cheese sauce. Add to macaroni, optionally put in the oven to melt it all together, done.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Your recipe could use a little worcestershire.

 

[ultimatebob]

Lose the diced tomatoes and the cheddar cheese soup mix, and use light cream, butter, and crumbled bacon or diced ham instead.

Oh, and don't forget to top it with some bread crumbs before finishing it in the oven. Put the slow cooker away... real homemade Mac&cheese needs to be baked.

There, I just made the recipe BETTER instead of healthier.

Better yet, just ditch the whole recipe and get one from Alton Brown on the Food Network. That will fix it real nicely

 

[ViperXX]

Eat the Mac and imagine there is cheese it.

 

[sandorski]

Lose the diced tomatoes and the cheddar cheese soup mix, and use light cream, butter, and crumbled bacon or diced ham instead.

Oh, and don't forget to top it with some bread crumbs before finishing it in the oven. Put the slow cooker away... real homemade Mac&cheese needs to be baked.

There, I just made the recipe BETTER instead of healthier.

Better yet, just ditch the whole recipe and get one from Alton Brown on the Food Network. That will fix it real nicely

I would keep the tomatoes.

 

[IronWing]

Add some ham......that'll definitely fix it!

This. Diced ham and a bit of bacon. Lose the macaroni, nothing but stodge, empty calories.

 

[sandorski]

Maximum Mac and Cheese

 

[DCal430]

Mac and Cheese needs to be made in the oven with crumb topping.