Road's End Organics Dairy Free Shells & Cheese

A busy weekend filled with family activities, coupled with a rainy Sunday afternoon, left me craving comfort food.  For me, that's always been macaroni and cheese.  Fortunately, there are a number of vegan friendly macaroni and cheese products on the market, including a number of products made by Road's End Organics.  (For my gluten intolerant friends, they make two vegan-friendly, gluten free products made with brown rice pasta).

Tonight, I tried the Dairy Free Shells & Chreese Cheddar Style pasta dinner.  The "chreese" sauce is made by combining a powder of nutritional yeast and seasonings with either water or a non-dairy milk.

To make the sauce, I used some of the coconut milk I had in the fridge.  I also took the box's suggestion to add a teaspoon of buttery spread and added in some soy-free Earth Balance.  Since I remember some boxed vegan mac and cheeses not being as creamy and cheesy as I prefer, I also added in a quarter cup of cubed daiya cheddar style wedge.

Making the cheese sauce is a bit more unwieldy than making traditional boxed mac and cheese.  After draining the pasta, you take the empty pan off the heat and whisk together the powder, the milk and the butter (and, in my case, the daiya) until the nutritional yeast power has completely dissolved in the milk.  You then bring the sauce back to a medium hot burner and stir in the pasta shells until the sauce completely coats it.

I actually thought the taste and texture of this was pretty good, and it hit the spot for me in terms of my mac and cheese craving.  Adding the daiya definitely helped give it a little more "cheesiness."  I definitely prefer it to the frozen vegan mac and cheese products I've tried before.

So, why might you choose a vegan mac and cheese over a traditional boxed brand?  Well, if you're not eating dairy because of ethical reasons or a lactose intolerance, this type of product will be a good fit for you.  On the nutrition side of things, it's also a slightly healthier option.  Granted, mac and cheese isn't exactly a health food, but let's play "eat this/not that" for a second, and compare the nutritional facts between the Road's End Product and traditional boxed mac & cheese.

Nutritional yeast is a great source of Vitamin B12, and, according to the box, one serving of the Mac & Chreese provides 40-50% of the DV for B12.   All humans need B12 to help maintain their metabolism and central nervous system.  Because of how sanitized our food system is, it can be difficult for vegans to get enough B12.  You don't get B12 from traditional boxed mac & cheese.  I'm not advocating for Vitamin Mac and Cheese, but it's nice to know this product has a good source of B12.

Nutritional yeast also is a good source of protein, and thus you get 13g of protein per serving of the mac & chreese, plus additional protein from your non-dairy milk. Traditional boxed mac & cheese has 10g of protein, plus whatever you have in the milk you combine.

Iron, calcium and fat are comparable, with the Road's End product having a slight edge on saturated fat.  There's also slightly less sodium in the Road's End product (380 mg vs. 580), and slightly more fiber (4g vs. 1g).

If you're concerned about food additives, the Road's End Organic might be also something you're more comfortable with.  It's certified organic, and the color and flavor come from annatto, garlic powder and mustard seed.   Unlike traditional boxed mac and cheese, there are no artificial colors.
 
So, if you've eliminated dairy, or are just cutting back, and craving the occasional mac and cheese, dinner, give this product a try!

Pasta with Kale, White Beans and "Cheese" Sauce

I had a bunch of random things in my pantry and fridge to use up, so I decided to do an easy pasta dinner tonight.

For the pasta, I used the remaining Quinoa pasta shells I bought awhile ago.  You can use any type of pasta for this dish, but I would recommend something on the smaller side - small shells, orichette, macaroni or orzo, mini fuslili, etc. - as I think it will hold the sauce better.

While I was bringing the water up for the pasta, I sauteed some red onion, kale and garlic in olive oil.  When the veg started to stick to the bottom of the pan, I added some vegetable stock.  I also stirred in the last of the navy beans from earlier this week and seasoned the mix with black pepper.

Meanwhile, I made the "cheese" sauce, which I got from Happy Healthy Life's Spinach Alfredo recipe.  Since I was only making enough for my own lunch and dinner, I scaled the recipe down a bit.  I used the nutritional yeast that I picked up from the bulk aisle, soy-free veganaise, dijon mustard, some of the pasta water and the seasonings the blog recipe recommended - garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper.

After I drained the pasta, I put it in the pan with the veg and then stirred in the "cheese" sauce.  The creamy texture was spot on, but I think I'd cut back on the mustard next time, as it dominated the other flavors in the dish.  I also wish I had had more beans leftover, as the small amount I had got lost in the dish.

This also might be a good time to mention that I am going to be posting my on 2012 Vegan Kickstart Page in conjunction with PCRM's 21-Day Vegan Kickstart.  The page will include both meals I prepare and meals I eat out.  At the end of the 21 Days, I'll have a customized vegan meal plan that hopefully anyone can follow!  PCRM also provides a sample menu you can use to follow along as well.  While the kickstart technically started today, I encourage you to try going vegan for any 21 day period and see how the experience goes for you.