Soul Food · Authentic-ish Soul Food
Macaroni and Cheese
404 kcal a serving, against 549 for the traditional version. That is 145 kcal off, or 26%, with 21.8g of protein. Serves 8. 50 minutes.
What the traditional version is
The traditional southern macaroni and cheese starts with elbow macaroni cooked until soft, then stirred into a sauce made from a roux base (flour and butter) whisked with double cream and whole milk. Strong Cheddar and sometimes a little American cheese get melted in for body and stringiness, before the lot is baked with yet more cheese on top for a crispy, bubbling crust.
What changed, and what each change costs
Double cream for semi-skimmed milk
Double cream is where most of the fat and luxurious mouthfeel come from. Swapping to semi-skimmed milk gives you a sauce with far less fat and less weight in the stomach.
What it costs you. You'll notice the difference in richness. The classic's thick cling is gone; this is more a creamy hug than an embrace that won't let go.
Half the Cheddar for low-fat cottage cheese, blended smooth
Cheddar is great, but swapping half for blended cottage cheese slashes the fat and triples the protein. Blending saves you from graininess, but don't expect it to melt perfectly.
What it costs you. Cottage cheese doesn't have the strong Cheddar punch. The sauce is paler and a bit tamer. If you want full cheese pull, you'll miss it.
Butter for olive oil and cutting the quantity
Butter is pure fat and gives you flavour and gloss in the roux. I use half the amount, and swap in olive oil. The sauce thickens fine, but there's less outright richness.
What it costs you. You lose that buttery backbone. The olive oil's almost invisible, but don't expect the same taste.
Plain flour roux for a mix with whey protein powder
Flour thickens the sauce but adds little else. Swapping half for whey protein gets more protein in without thickening too much. It isn't traditional, but it works in a pale sauce.
What it costs you. If you're using a weird vanilla whey, this will taste like pudding left out in the sun. Stick to flavourless baking whey.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 549 | 404 |
| Protein | 18.6g | 21.8g |
| Fat | 33g | 14.7g |
| Saturated fat | 20.4g | 7.7g |
| Carbohydrate | 44.6g | 45.3g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 3.4g | 5.4g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Soul Food prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. gluten, milk.
The method is in the book
Is this as good as classic mac and cheese? No. You lose that heavy, velvet sauce that only double cream delivers. This one's lighter, a bit more savoury, and you can eat twice as much without feeling like a python digesting a goat. The cottage cheese trick (or ricotta, if you must) gives you the protein, but don't expect wonder - you're chasing a memory, not a doppelganger. Still, it holds its own on a big table and won't have you dozing off by pudding.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Soul Food, along with 52 more. It is not out yet. The swap kit is free in the meantime.