Sweet potato mac and cheese

Mac and cheese gets healthier and lighter in this creamy sweet potato mac and cheese recipe.

I freakin' love sweet potatoes.

Come on -- you've got to love a vegetable that is so naturally sweet that it tastes more like a fruit and, with a little dab of butter and a drizzle of maple syrup, practically becomes candy.

Now, take that sweetness and pair it with rich, comforting mac and cheese? Awesome. And then tell me that it's actually a healthier mac and cheese, not loaded with cheese?

Wicked awesome. It's a Detox January Miracle!

Perhaps even better -- well, at least for The Ninj in January 2014 -- this sweet potato mac and cheese is nice and soft. (You might remember I mentioned last week that I started the new year with some oral surgery -- not fun, trust me -- which necessitates eating a lot of soft foods.)

Now if you've ever have any kind of oral surgery, you know that when the dentist tells you to eat soft foods, the list includes things like ice cream. Jello and milkshakes.

Yeah, now that's a nice healthy diet for a week. Jeesh.

I survived the first post-op days by drinking my favorite green smoothie, which also made me feel pretty darned superior as it was healthy and loaded with veggies to boot.

(Go Ninj!)

But a Ninj cannot live on smoothies alone. I needed some real food.

Enter mac and cheese. And not the orangey kind out of the box (which is what was recommended -- pffft.). I came across a version of this recipe in Eating Well magazine and knew that, minus the crunchy baked topping, it would be the perfect combination of healthy Detox January and soft post-op food for me. Booyah.

And it meant that Mr. Ninj and I could once again eat the same thing for dinner. Which wasn't drinkable.

This one will make more appearances around Casa de Ninj for sure, even when I'm allowed to eat crunchy things again.

So, how do you feel about sweet potatoes? Leave a comment: The Ninj wants to know.

Stovetop Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese

(adapted from Eating Well)
This recipe can be easily made gluten-free by substituting a qunioa-based or brown rice pasta and GF flour.

Ingredients:
16 ounces whole-wheat pasta
1 large sweet potato
2 cups skim milk
2 tablespoons flour
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese (I use Cabot Seriously Sharp)
1 1/2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2/3 cup thawed frozen peas

Directions:
Pierce the sweet potato a bunch of times with a fork and cook in the microwave until very smooshy and tender (about 10 minutes). Set aside to cool slightly.

While the sweet potato cooks, cook the pasta according to the package directions. In a saucepan, whisk together the milk, flour and garlic and heat until hot but not boiling. Remove from heat.

Cut the sweet potato in half and scoop out the flesh. Add it to the hot milk mixture and puree until smoothy and saucy (it will be a lovely bright orange!). Add the cheese, mustard, salt and pepper and stirring until the cheese is melted. Add the sauce to the pasta and fold in the peas. Top each serving with a little more pepper (and salt to taste).

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