Week 4: Meals to Impress, Broccoli Almond Mac Cheese. (serves 2-3)

Whenever I check out a new recipe this little 3-step filter runs at an almost unconscious level. Likely a combination of nearly 2 decades as a personal trainer and much longer as a somewhat lazy cook!

Today I am applying this to Broccoli Almond Mac Cheese.

I made a few tweaks to this recipe which is thanks to the team at Veg Me Up (fabulous vegan food delivery service in Australia)

Where can I lower the fat? In the below recipe, I lowered 2 tablespoons oil to 1. I also added 1 tablespoon white miso paste for extra umami flavour.
Where can I increase the protein? I chose high protein pasta made from: peas, lentils, chickpeas and beans. I also added 1/2 cup baby peas (4gm protein) 1/2 cup edamame would be 8gm.
How can make it simpler / faster? Using a herb mix is the simple option here. Or even just ensuring you are cooking a large enough serve for abundant leftovers so it's MUCH simpler / faster in the next meal.

FULL RECIPE:

200gm pasta (made from: peas, lentils, chickpeas and beans)
150gm broccoli, cut into small florets
1/2 cup baby peas
30gm almonds, shaved
60gm cashews, raw
2 carrots, skin on
2 tbsp Nutritional yeast
1 tbsp miso paste
1 tbsp mixed herbs (pinch of nutmeg, then equal parts garlic powder, onion powder, Italian herbs)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil

Soak cashews in boiling water for 10 minutes. Cut carrot into 1cm cubes and cook for 6-7 minutes in boiling water. Strain and rinse under cold water.

Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add pasta and cook till al dente (slightly firm in the middle) after 2 mins, add broccoli. After 4 minutes add peas, After 5 mins, strain and rinse under cold water to slow down cooking process.

Dry roast almonds in a non-stick fry pan on medium heat until golden.

Place carrot into blender with yeast, oil, vinegar, herb mix, 1/2 cup of water, miso, soaked cashews and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

Heat the sauce in a saucepan. Gently add pasta broccoli and peas. Stir well to coat and combine. Serve in bowls and garnish with roasted almonds.

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