If You Must Tip #1: Chosing and Prepping Boxed Mac 'n Cheese

I am going to be running a series of "If you Must" tips and tricks. I would love to say I would never stoop to the likes of Campbells Soup or Kraft Dinner, etc but practicality and demand over cost occasionally just requires. As I have mentioned before, I also have a very picky (aren't they all?) 3 year old who would really prefer to eat nothing but mac 'n cheese and fish sticks for the rest of her life. The result? I have figured out some handy ways to sneak nutrition and cut the "bad stuff" out of even the most pre-packaged, processed foods. One big secret? Don't always believe the package, read the nutritional facts, and bring a calculator to find some surprises.

So, tip #1:

I used to go to great lengths to attempt to buy "healthier" mac 'n cheese options for those occasional quick lunches on days you just aren't into or are unable to compose lunch and would really rather just put some mac in a pot and forget about it. (C'mon, we all have a day on the weekend when you just want to relax, yes?)

Well, suprisingly, here is the comparison between Kraft's new Kraft Dinner Smart, regular Kraft Dinner, Annie's Homegrown Classic Mac & Cheese, and Annie's Organic Classic Macaroni & Cheese (all based on 1 cup of mac 'n cheese and the percentages are daily recommended amounts based on a 2000 calorie diet):

Annie's Classic: 280 Calories, fat 4g, saturated fat 2g, cholesterol 10mg, sodium 530mg, Carbs 47g, fiber 2g, sugar 5g, protein 10g

Annie's Organic: 280 Calories, fat 4.5g, saturated fat 2.5g, cholesterol 10mg, sodium 520mg, carbs 46g, fiber 2g, sugars 5g, protein 10g

KD Original: 280 Calories, fat 2.7g, saturated fat 1.3g, cholesterol 5mg, sodium 547mg, Carbs 53g, fiber 1g, sugars 9g, protein 9g

KD Smart: 280 Calories, fat 2.7g, saturated fat 1.3g, cholesterol 5mg, sodium 398mg, Carbs 26g, fiber 2g, sugars 9g, protein 8g

So you can see the quandry developing with no clear winners. All have the same calories, Kraft brands are certainly lower fat and cholesterol, the sodium is high accross the board with Kraft Dinner Smart being the clear winner in that catagory. Kraft Dinner Smart also has the fewest carbs but this is where we need to start being careful, adults watching waistlines may not want carbs, but children (and the ones most likely to be eating packaged mac 'n cheese) certainly require carbs for energy! So, in the category I make Smart the winner for grown-ups and KD Original the winner for tots.....until we look at what those carbs are made of. Well now it would seem that Classic KD is mostly sugar, as is KD Smart, so in this case we go for the lower sugar, median fiber and chose either of the Annies products. Annies are also the clear winner in the protein category. But really, what I am attempting to show you is this:

There is no such thing as healthy boxed mac 'n cheese so "If you MUST" just buy the one you like and will put less of a dent in the wallet, buy the one on special, we could go back and forth for days trying to decide which is better and go cross-eyed from all the math doing it because they all list different serving sizes and weights as guidlines.

Here is the real tip:

When preparing boxed mac 'n cheese, skip the part in the directions where it says add "this much butter" and "such and such milk". Buy some plain unsweetened yogurt and keep it in the fridge. Use about 2 tablespoons of yogurt to mix up your mac adding a little more nutrition, a lot less fat and some vitamins to boot. Plus, the flavour is tangier and more filling.

Enjoy!

Is it Muffin Day?

At my daughter's daycare they do Muffin Day every Friday. This means on Friday mornings there are fresh baked muffins for the tots and their parents (and coffee, what says "worth the money I'm paying for this place" quite like coffee to go right at the door of your child's daycare on Friday morning?) My daughter looks forward to Muffin Day all week long and asks every night if it's going to be tomorrow.

I like to make muffins at home for her for this reason. It makes her so happy when she asks if it's muffin day and I can assure her that yes, yes it is. She also loves to help me cook and muffins are a great easy task for a pre-schooler to help with. HOWEVER! I do not like feeding my daughter sugary snacks, mostly because I hate the buzz she gets off the stuff. I also know she does not eat veggies, ever, never, picks out even the teeny tiny bits and puts them on my plate saying "here you go Mom, I don't like this" So I found a muffin that not only has protein in the form of peanut butter (yeah, I said it, peanut butter, for a small child, how dare I!?), but also has vitamin B, vitamin C, potassium, vitamin A, and a good amount of fiber.

These are definitely a great way to supply your child (or spouse, or yourself, just don't let other kids eat them, there is contraband peanut butter in them after all) with a healthy snack or breakfast munch when served with some yogurt and fruit. Kids (and spouses) go nuts for the chewy muffins with an almost brownie-like consistency and you love how healthy they are!

Here is my kid-helper friendly recipe (credit to Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld):

* I suggest getting all the ingredients lined up and carrots and bananas pre-pureed before calling your child over to help so that the process keeps their attention.

Peanut Butter Muffins (...with bananas and carrots)

1/3 cup agave syrup
1/2 cup light peanut butter
1/2 cup pureed carrot
1/2 cup mashed banana
1 egg white (I use brown eggs for everything)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Spray a muffin tin sheet with a natural cooking spray and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine agave, peanut butter, pureed carrot, banana, and egg. If you have a child helping you can let them carefully mix all the ingredients together using a large wooden spoon or heavy rubber spatuala.

An easy task for kids is the dry ingredients because they can just shake them up in a ziploc bag. I usually do the measuring and let my daughter dump them all in the bag, then I close it up and let her shake away (make sure the bag is well sealed)

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet and combine until it is a good mixed but lumpy consitencey, you should never mix muffins until smooth or they will be tough. Evenly distribute the mixture into muffin tin, it should nicely divide into 12 muffins.

Bake the muffins at 350 for between 15 and 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out nice and clean.

These muffins will store in the fridge for about a week, I don't like to store them at room temperature because I worry about fermentation but they can be warmed with a quick zap in the microwave if you prefer your muffins served warm. Some say these can be frozen for a month but I presonally don't like how it depretiates the taste.