Not long after our son was born, we discovered he had GERD (severe acid reflux), which was aggravated by a protein intolerance. This has made for some incredibly hard times over the past year, but also a lot of growth. One of the ways we grew, (by force) was in our eating adventures! I breastfed for the first 4 1/2 months, and any proteins I ate that our son couldn't digest made for an unpleasant few days (to put it mildly). This caused us to search out foods that wouldn't bother his digestive system, but also didn't taste like cardboard. This was one of our favorites; even a year later, my meat-loving husband asks for this frequently - it's that good!
Recipe adapted from http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com.
1 bag orecchiette pasta, 16 ounces 3/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes (or to taste - we usually use a bit more) *start small and add more nutritional yeast as needed 3 Tbsp Dijon mustard 2 tsp garlic powder 1 medium or 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled/baked 1 1/4 cups plain non-dairy milk (we have used rice and coconut - both work well!) 1/2 tsp black pepper 3 Tbsp EVOO
1/2 tsp sea salt (to taste) 1 Tbsp maple or agave syrup 2 Tbsp paprika a few dashes cayenne powder (opt'l-a little goes a long way) 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
Instructions:
1. Cook your sweet potato until soft (in microwave or oven).
2. Start a pot of salted water to boil on the stove. Add your pasta when boiling. Cook pasta for about 8-10 minutes, or until tender.
3. In a bowl combine: milk, mustard, spices, nutritional yeast, agave, salt, vinegar and oil. Stir well until all ingredients are blended.
4. Drain pasta and pour into another large bowl; toss with additional nutritional yeast flakes if desired.
5. Remove skin from your sweet potato. Add it to the sauce. You can mash by hand, or if you own a handy-dandy immersion blender, use that to incorporate into the sauce until smooth.
6. Add sauce to the pasta and coat well.
7. Steam peas (or other veggies) and mix in.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste!
This is wonderful re-heated as well, and I promise, you won't even miss the cheese!