Friday, 2/6: Macaroni and Cheese

I used this recipe, with the following changes:

-I doubled it (it fit perfectly in my 6 qt. crockpot, with a bit of headroom over it even.)
-I used fat free evaporated milk instead of regular
-I used 2% milk low fat sharp cheddar instead of full fat cheddar
-I used non-fat milk instead of regular, and because I was using no whole milk products and fat free tends to be thinner, I shorted the milk a bit-- 2 1/2 cups or so instead of the 3 cups that a doubled recipe would usually call for
-I used organic, whole wheat macaroni. It cost $0.50 more a box (store brand) than the other brands of pasta, and it ups the fiber from 3% of your daily requirement per serving to 9% with that one simple change. More on the health differences later.
-I mixed it in the pot I cooked the macaroni in. Why get a bowl dirty?
-For that matter, I beat the eggs in an empty can from the evaporated milk, too. And also, I used the can as my measuring cup for the milk. Seriously, why get more dirty than you have to?

The changes I made, other than doubling, were mostly for health reasons. Here's a look at how the changes I made affected the nutrition of the dish (based on the un-doubled recipe making 8 servings):

Original recipe (full fat products, regular macaroni)

Per serving (1/8 of recipe):

Calories 438
Calories from Fat 227 (51%)
Amount Per Serving %DV
Total Fat 25.3g 38%
Saturated Fat 15.4g 76%
Monounsaturated Fat 7.3g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.0g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 130mg 43%
Sodium 728mg 30%
Potassium 317mg 9%
Total Carbohydrate 28.6g 9%
Dietary Fiber 1.0g 3%
Sugars 0.9g
Protein 23.8g 47%

Modified recipe (non-fat milk, low-fat cheese, whole wheat pasta):

Per serving:

Calories 259
Calories from Fat 51 (19%)
Amount Per Serving %DV
Total Fat 5.7g 8%
Saturated Fat 3.0g 15%
Monounsaturated Fat 1.8g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 67mg 22%
Sodium 721mg 30%
Potassium 309mg 8%
Total Carbohydrate 28.9g 9%
Dietary Fiber 2.4g 9%
Sugars 6.8g
Protein 23.8g 47%


See what a big difference a few different choices in ingredients makes? And I'm sure that it will still taste delicious. :)

This will cook for 5 hours on Low, then stay on Warm for a few more hours. It should make 16 servings, with 10 people eating it, there ought to be some left over, but we will see what happens with that. ;)