No-Grain Creamy “Mac” and Cheese (Parsnips)

I’m on the hook for planning Christmas dinner. 

There will be not one grain planned for the table.

I will however splurge on some dairy, and by splurge I mean this grain free mac and cheese that is made with not one grain.

Last week, I put the call out on twitter for some grain free macaroni pastas and although I was directed to some promising gluten-free pasta producers none were totally grain free.

Some even had soy! I don’t do soy, and I’ll eventually write-up a thorough post on why you might not want to do soy either. 

I even  found some pretty promising grain free pasta recipes online, but all had eggs. I don’t do eggs much. I try to steer clear besides an occasional scramble here and there, followed by a few Benadryl. Yeah I have an egg allergy too. 

Then I got to thinking. What whole food could I use in replace of the macaroni noodles that will give me a comparable texture and a subtle flavor? 

And it came to me…Parsnips!

They are the perfect color, they can be cut into a macaroni similar shape, the texture is doable and the flavor is subtle yet tasty.

Parsnips are a root vegetable, which adds valuable nutrition and wholeness to this dish. 

I tried it. I loved it.

My husband tried it he loved it.

I made it again.

I ate way more than I should have. Sike! As long as it’s grain free, real food I can eat however the hell much I want without an ounce of guilt! 

Que in the Happy Dance. 

Seriously tho, I don’t workout as much as I did a year ago and my abs are truly popping. Popping in a good way, just by cutting the grains, and anything I can’t pronounce from my diet. 

Hopefully I’m convincing someone out there to give this grain free life a try. It’s worth it. 

This recipe is a great start. Whole healthy foods that will not only full your belly, and dance on your taste buds,  but will most importantly nourish your body.

So let’s get to these directions. 

First things first chop your parsnips. I don’t have any real instruction for this my knife skills are still in the  beginning stages of functioning.

But, how I did it was sliced them into long strips and went back to slice into small rectangles. 

Now bring a pot of water to boil. Season with salt. 

Let parsnips boil in water for ten minute remove parsnips from water, and set aside. 

 Preheat oven to 400°F.

I pot add 3 Tbs of butter. Melt butter. Saute chopped leeks. Whisk in 2 Tbs of Tapioca flour. 

When tapioca flour in dissolved in butter and it reaches a smooth consistency slowly pour in milk. 

Add 1 cup cheddar cheese, and 1 cup of Colby Jack cheese. 

Pour in heavy whipping cream. 

Mix everything together until cheese is melted. 

Season with salt and smoked paprika. Add parsnips to cheese sauce. 

Pour entire pot onto baking dish. 

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of Shredded Gouda cheese on top. 

Bake in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until top is bubbly brown and smelling delicious. 

Kind of like this… 

…and this…

What’s special on your menu for the holidays!