Everyone loves mac and cheese.  This is comfort food at its best.  Not only is it fast to make (those mac and cheese dinners in a box only take 7 minutes) but kids (any age) love it.  The problem you ask?  Well it’s only a bowl of carbohydrates.  It doesn’t have other important nutrients like those we get from vegetables.  You can still have the taste of mac and cheese only this time you will also get other nutrients plus the feel of “volume eating”.  In other words you can eat more of a great food rather than more carbohydrates only.  Who doesn’t love chicken, broccoli, and of course mac and cheese.  You get all of these in this recipe.  Plus it’s fast.  So here goes.  You will need.....

 

1 box of Kraft mac and cheese (whole grain) or any other brand.

1 pound broccoli, steamed

3 cups shredded chicken (You can use a rotisserie chicken in place of  having to cook the chicken)

1/2 cup extra cheese (I use Kraft fat free)

1 (14 1/2) oz can stewed Italian tomatoes

1 teaspoon dried oregano

 

Prepare boxed dinner as directed, using the light prep method on box.  

 

Spray a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray.  Add chicken and oregano; cook and stir on medium heat 3 minutes.  If you are cooking raw chicken, then cook until completely cooked.  Stir in tomatoes with their liquid and broccoli (be sure and steam the broccoli first).  Cook a few minutes more to blend the ingredients.  

 

Combine the prepared dinner and chicken mixture; sprinkle with cheese.  You can also mix the cheese with toasted bread crumbs and sprinkle on top.  Put under a broiler for just a minute or so until the cheese melts.

 

I sometimes add fresh basil to the mixture. This makes a generous 6 servings.  

 

Now for some facts about this dish:

 

1 cup of regular mac and cheese is 380 calories; 15g fat 9g protein and 1g fiber.

 

This version has 347 calories; 7g fat; 38g protein; and 5.1g fiber.  This is only 18% calories from fat.  

 

You can also change the flavors by adding Mexican stewed tomatoes and Mexican oregano.  You could also add a teaspoon of ground cumin.