New year, new recipe.

*cringes from over-used New Year joke*

BUT – in all seriousness, I want to continue sharing healthy recipes that still satisfy our disgustingly unhealthy cravings.

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE @boxed mac n cheese, @processed brownie mix, @McD’s chicken nugs.

We *strongly dislike* to love these so-called unhealthy foods, but I don’t believe that all derivatives of these foods are unhealthy.

Let’s take mac n cheese for example.

When I was a little ballerina, I would come home after every class and eat mac n cheese with by ballerina BFF. I guess you could say that our mac n cheese carbo load was a ballet tradition?? Now, I avoid processed mac n cheese because the ingredients won’t my optimize my health.

Fast forward a few years to the 2018 “Gorski Family Christmas Vacation”. My family and I traveled to Grand Cayman and seized EVERY opportunity to split the mac n cheese with lobster app ( AKA – “adult” mac n cheese ). I haven’t had mac n cheese since… GOD KNOWS WHEN… my ballerina days?? But my god, this app reminded me of how damn good mac n cheese is!

Given, this form of mac n cheese was less processed, but it was still drowning in butter.

ENTER: one buttery addiction

Another Gorski fave was the breakfast egg white truffle frittata. Unlike the lobster mac n cheese, I would not, could not share this dish – not even a bite! 😉

ENTER: one expensive addiction

These cravings followed me all 1,600 miles back to Chicago. My mom and I went grocery shopping and I found myself scanning through the olive oil section – LASER FOCUSED – for my beloved truffle olive oil.

I wasn’t going to dive into the seafood section because I did plenty of that on our trip! Also, you don’t need protein from the lobster in this recipe because the Banza pasta has protein… It’s kinda like sneaking spinach in your smoothie – except sneaking protein into pasta.

It’s too easy!

ENTER: healthy, “adult” mac n cheese… ya know, for the adult palate 😉 

Recipe

1 box Banza shells

2 cups canned pumpkin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp ground mustard powder

3/4 cup skim milk

2 T truffle olive oil

1 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

salt + pepper to taste

Directions

Combine all sauce ingredients in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and stir until the cheese melts completely. Prepare the Banza pasta according to directions. Drain the Banza pasta and stir in the sauce.

OH and did I mention that this recipe is perfect for the leftover can of pumpkin from Thanksgiving? This is a great way to crack open that can of pumpkin instead of letting it collect dust until next year’s turkey day.

I hope you enjoy!!

Thank you Banza Pasta for providing product for this recipe! As always, all options are my own.