One of life’s true pleasures is a big ole plate of macaroni and cheese.  I’m talking homemade oven-baked cheesy glory.  Once fall rolls around, I start to get some serious cravings for comfort food.  I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.  Comfort foods.  The foods that make you feel warm and cuddly from the inside out.  The foods that make you want to hug your belly and sway side to side just because they taste so dang good.  The foods that you’d like to pour into a giant tub so you could jump in and swaddle yourself in their heavenly gooey warmth….  What.. that’s just me?!

Anyway, tonight I decided to give healthified mac and cheese a go in an attempt to satisfy my comfort food craving.  I remember seeing a recipe a while back on the Hungry Girl email blast, and that was the basis for my dinner (though I couldn’t find the email).

The main components of my mac and cheese were Carba Nada pasta and lightly sauced broccoli:

 And 1 light French Onion laughing cow wedge:

Carba nada only takes 5 minutes to cook, so this meal was ready for chowing in no time!  While the pasta cooked I also threw together a small salad with romaine lettuce, tomato, onion, and some Ken’s Lite Caesar dressing (LOVE that stuff).

All together:

The flavors were a little mild, so I added some red pepper flakes and black pepper on top:

Cheesy goodness:

Not too shabby!  If you could get laughing cow in light cheddar that would take this dinner to a whole new level!

Stats on 1 serving mock mac and cheese:  235 calories, 32g carbs, 5g fat, 16g protein, 8g fiber

On a separate note, I’m debating on whether or not to join a gym for the winter.  Twice in my life I had succumbed to signing up for a year-long gym membership, and BOTH times I stopped going after only a couple months… yet still had to pay for the entire year.  I’m really not big on gyms… but without a gym, I see myself simply not exercising this winter.  Any tips for making the gym FUN?