Dairy Free Mac and Cheese….& a signed cookbook giveaway!

Before my newest book, The Food Allergy Mama’s Easy, Fast Family Meals came out in February, I used to get emails all the time about how to make a dairy free, classic kid favorite, Mac and Cheese. I know the blue-boxed version is an orange, chemical disaster, but as a kid of the 1970′s and 80′s…I grew up loving the stuff and thinking it was a real “dinner”.

Truth be told, I still love Mac and Cheese, but not that boxed kind. Homemade is the only way to go, whether you have food allergies or not. My version is completely dairy free, fast, easy and tastes like the real thing. Pinky swear.

Hope you like it as much as we do around here. One more thing, It’s Food Allergy Awareness Week. Take a moment and email your school; principal, nurses, teachers and administrators to educate them about the importance of using Section 504 Plans in schools to protect our FA children in their classrooms. Emphasize that food allergies can and do KILL. It’s called Anaphylaxis, not an intolerance. Tell them food allergies are not a choice, but a real disability and that our children’s rights should and will be protected under the American with Disabilities Act. Educate every chance you can. We are all in this together, and it’s so important we speak out on behalf of our food allergic children across the nation.

In honor of FA Awareness week, I’d love to give away a signed copy of my new book! Comment below about how you made a difference in food allergy awareness this week and I will choose a winner at random this Friday! Good luck! And love you all! xo

CLASSIC MAC N CHEESE

Serves 4

The stove top portion of this dish only takes 20 minutes start to finish–almost exactly the same amount of time it takes to make that other boxed, powdery, fake cheese brand. 

• ½ pound elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions, drained
• 1 ½ cup soy or rice milk, slightly warmed on stove top
• 4 tablespoons dairy free margarine
• ¼ cup unbleached all-purpose or gluten-free flour blend
• ½ teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup dairy free cheddar cheese, shredded (I use Follow Your Heart, this doesn’t have pea protein. If you are fine with pea or legume protein, you can also use Daiya)

In a medium saucepan, melt dairy free margarine over moderately low heat. Add flour and whisk for 1 minute. Add 1 c. of the warmed soy milk and whisk constantly for 3 minutes until the mixture is thickened and coats the back of the spoon. Add the dairy free cheese and stir with a wooden spoon for about five minutes. Then add the remaining ½ cup warmed milk, salt, pepper and dry mustard and pasta. Stir until the dairy free cheese is nearly melted, about five minutes.  Once the cheese sauce is smooth and melted, add the drained, cooked macaroni. Stir and serve.

Serve immediately.