Clean Eating mac & cheese

This is not a typical elbow-pasta-slathered-in-orangey-cheese-topped-with-buttery-crumbs kind of mac & cheese. But it still ranks mighty high on the decadence scale, without the side of guilt. The recipe comes from the March 2012 issue of Clean Eating Magazine, which accompanied me to Chicago. With a few minor tweaks, I was able to make this gluten-free so The H could enjoy it, too. Because it'd be pretty rude of me to make dinner for the family and then stuff my face in front of him while he looked on forlornly (and hungrily), don't you think?

Clean Eating Mac & Cheese
from Clean Eating Magazine, Vol. 5 Issue 2
serves 4

I had a really great [camera phone] picture to post, but it was deleted before I could have The H send it to me. Alas, you're stuck looking at this dimly-lit, slightly unfocused version.

The broccoli and red pepper, not usually one of my favorites, were vegetation perfection in this meal. After a few bites, The H and I agreed that we could've done without the beans, though--too smooshy. However, we both think adding some cooked chicken would be delightful. The little guy was in a bad mood and pretty much refused to try this, even though it's packed full of things he usually loves. I'm sticking the kid-friendly tag on this anyway, because I truly believe if he was having a better day, he'd have asked for seconds of this one.