Healthy pasta bake

I could eat macaroni and cheese every day - it's one of the most comforting foods ever. Unfortunately, actually eating this every day wouldn't really be ideal. 

However, using low fat and low calorie substitutes and adding some healthy bits here and there you could actually have a pasta which is almost as creamy but actually good for you!

For instance have whole wheat pasta or one which has high fibre content. Use quark cheese, a sort of a curd cheese which is creamy and low in fat, or low calorie cheese triangles. Addition of vegetables like broccoli, carrots, celery etc. add to the quantity, make you feel fuller and obviously make it healthier too! Using these substitutions I made a nice creamy pasta bake for lunch today. 

You don't have to bake it; you could just combine everything with the pasta and have it as it is. 

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

200 gms uncooked pasta

200 gms broccoli florets

2 garlic cloves finely chopped

2 spring onions chopped

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

4 heaped tbsp Quark 

1 tsp of chopped chives

50 gms grated cheddar cheese

Pepper for seasoning

Method

Boil the pasta in water. Add the broccoli about 2-3 minutes before draining the pasta.

In a bowl add the cooked pasta and broccoli florets, chopped garlic, chopped spring onions, chilli flakes, Quark, chives and cheddar. Season with pepper. Mix well.

You can eat this as it is or bake it for 15-20 minutes at 180 C. If you are baking it, cook the pasta al dente. On baking, some of the pasta had a nice crunch to them which I really liked. :)