When my husband told me this morning that it is national mac & cheese day I thought to myself, just another day of something. Then a friend of mine posted an article on Facebook about the chemicals in boxed mac & cheese. The article is about a new study that there are still high amounts of phthalates in our boxed mac & cheese, even the organic ones.

What are phthalates you ask…. The chemicals can disrupt male hormones like testosterone and have been linked to genital birth defects in infant boys and learning and behavior problems in older children. The chemicals migrate into food from packaging and equipment used in manufacturing and may pose special risks to pregnant women and young children. Read the full article here: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/07/12/well/eat/the-chemicals-in-your-mac-and-cheese.html?smid=fb-share&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com

This is scary stuff that we give to our children. I am not saying we are perfect by any stretch but we try. We try to pick better ingredients and not eat processed foods. I told my husband about the article and he set out to find a made from scratch yummy recipe for mac & cheese. As I am on my way to pick up Elliott from camp I start getting texts about stuff to get on the way home for the recipe. We set out to make a dish that even Elliott will like. Made a little healthier by using greek yoghurt and milk. Add spinach and artichoke for added veggies. Yummy! And I am happy to announce that Elliott approved it and ate a full bowl of it.

I got a couple of requests for the recipe on Facebook so I thought, why not make it a blog post and I can raise some added awareness of how we (USA) need change in regulations of what can be used in our foods, packaging and also skin care products.
If the EU can do it, so can we!

If you are looking for safe and good for you skin care check out Beautycounter. I use it and LOVE it. Let me know if you are interested and I can tell you more. Visit www.beautycounter.com/annawisjo More about this in another post…. now on to the recipe.

Greek Yoghurt Mac & Cheese

1 small box of elbow or spiral pasta
4 med. garlic cloves
2 cups shredded white sharp Vermont cheddar
~1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
1 cup greek yoghurt
1/2 cup 2% milk (add more if too thick)
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp salt (pinch first, add as needed)
1/2 tsp peppar
1/4 tsp nutmeg (fresh grated only!)
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika (optional)
1/4 cup of hot pasta water
2 cups fresh baby spinach (optional)
1 cup finely chopped artichoke hearts (optional)

Directions:
boil pasta according to directions on package
put fresh spinach in large strainer and set aside
shred the cheese
scoop out 1/4 cup of the pasta water and drain rest of the pasta over the spinach in strainer
in same pot, add a little olive oil and add garlic, sauté for a min then add pasta / spinach back in the pot
stir in cheese to melt
add remaining ingredient and mix well

Enjoy!!

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