As you can see, Emily LOVES her rice cheese (although admittedly the rest of us have a hard time with the smell)! She also loves trying to be like her older sisters. My middle daughter Nikki eats a lot of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (cut me some slack, some nights I have to cook 3 different meals to accomodate everyone) and Emily always used to look longingly at it and say "I wish I could have that" in her most pathetic little voice...the same voice that had spurred most of my creations for her. Well, anyway, here it is, Emily's dairy and gluten free mac and cheese. Who would have thought that was possible???
*Just for the record this dish will work better for a child who already has a safe cheese that they really do like than it will for a child who was just eating Kraft a few weeks ago before they were diagnosed with allergies...it is good...but it is different.
1 c Dry pasta (we use http://www.tinkyada.com )
4 oz Meltable dairy free cheese (PLEASE READ THE LABLE TO MAKE SURE IT IS ALSO CASEIN FREE) We use Vegan Rella, made by Panos, which is also soy free but is nearly impossible to find online. If you can have soy, I have tried Follow Your Heart brand and I loved it, but Emily doesn't care for it.
2 T Soy milk or rice milk
1 T Margarine
1 t Nutritional yeast
Cook the pasta according to the directions. Drain,rinse, and set aside. In the same pot (I am the queen of 1 pot dishes), over medium heat, melt the cheese with the milk substitute, the margarine, and the nutritional yeast. Once it is all melty and gooey add the pasta back in and stir until warm and well coated. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Now, like I said, my kids actually prefer this pre-fab looking version of mac and cheese. If you want a homestyle mac and cheese then lay this in a casserole dish. Mix together a pat of margarine and safe bread crumbs. Sprinkle it over the top of the mac and cheese and then grate a lttle more cheese over the top of that. Put it under the broiler for a few minutes and voila!
Yay for Emily! Not to mention, Mom's creativity in the kitchen. ;) Gotta have mac and cheese!
ReplyDeleteDo you know if they sell vegan rella at whole foods? :) I'm looking for a good dairy free cheese.
ReplyDeletesophie
I'm sorry Sophie, I don't know. We live in Oregon and we dont have a WF here (I wish we did). The only thing I do know about Vegan Rella is it seems to be a fairly small company that's hard to get ahold of, and that it's in New Jersey. Best of luck to you in your cheese search...and if you DO find one you love let me know! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. I am a vegan who is soy free due to soy intolerance. I have tried the Galaxy foods rice cheeses, but really didn't like them and did not know another option exists.
ReplyDeleteNow I just have to hope that someone in the St. Petersburg metro carries this.
You are very welome, but I feel I should warn you...
ReplyDeleteEmily loves this cheese but she has never had "real" cheese, her sisters say it smells so bad that it makes them sick when she eats it. Personally I don't mind the taste, but the smell takes some getting used to. My mother likes to say "well, it's not like limbuger smells good!"
Just a FYI, because I know people have been having a hard time finding Panos cheese's. Here is two alternatives, the first is the best, and the second is a good but does have a sharper cheese flavor that not everyone likes. The 3rd on mentioned I can't recommend yet. I list their complete ingredients list to help you out.
ReplyDeleteDaiya = Top 8 free, award winning.
However, it does contain Canola Oil and Corn, and sometimes safflower oil (they prefer Canola, I asked them). I'm technically allergic to Daiya, but everyone I talked to raves about it as it actually tastes like the closest to the real thing and it melts extremely well. The only complaint I found about them is they don't make a sliced cheese.
Daiya Cheese =
Cheddar
Filtered water, tapioca and/or arrowroot flours, non-GMO expeller pressed canola and /or non-GMO expeller pressed safflower oil, coconut oil, pea protein, salt, inactive yeast, vegan natural flavours, vegetable glycerin, xanthan gum, citric acid (for flavor), annatto.
Mozzarella
Filtered water, tapioca and/or arrowroot flours, non-GMO expeller pressed canola and /or non-GMO expeller pressed safflower oil, coconut oil, pea protein, salt, vegan natural flavours, inactive yeast, vegetable glycerin, xanthan gum, citric acid (for flavor).
Teese Chees: They put out a cheese spread that tastes okay, but melts well.
Teese Cheese =
Organic: Soy milk (filtered water, non-gmo soybeans), corn maltodextrin, soybean oil, tapioca starch, palm oil salt, carrageenan (a seaweed), yeast extract, vegan natrual flavors, corn derived lactic acid, titanium dioxide (natural mineral) annatto - all vegan.
Galaxy Foods Vegan Cheeses, doesn't melt very well, has a really bad texture. But, they do have a Vegan Rice that is Casein free. Gritty taste. They need to uses a finer ground on their rice and they'd solve half their issues. I tried their Vegan Soy slices, which does contain rice flour as well.
Hope this helps someone who finds your blog. :D