Light and Healthy Mac and Cheese?

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Created on 01, January, 2010

A nutrition consultant/chef’s recipe for macaroni & cheese is described as “light and healthy” in a news article.

This recipe uses very small portions to keep the calories down (only ½ cup cooked pasta per serving), but still uses plenty of cheese and whole milk in the sauce. According to our analysis, the result is a mac & cheese with 18 g fat (1/3 of the Daily Value/max), including 10 g saturated fat (1/2 the Daily Value/max) for something with only about 1/5 your daily calories and very little fiber (unless you substitute whole grain pasta). If this were served in a restaurant, it could not be described as “healthy” (a regulated claim), due to the high fat and saturated fat content. There are many ways to lower the fat and increase the nutrient value of this recipe (using some or all whole grain pasta, lower-fat milk and less or reduced-fat cheese; adding vegetables, etc.).