Nacho Mac & Cheese

I'm having a blast with the 300 calorie meals lately. My energy levels are back up, and I can wake up ready to rock n roll in the mornings and still have energy to do cardio and some horsing around in the evenings. Among other things, I've become more adventurous in cooking creations. This meal may take some tweaking in the future, but it served its purpose tonight.. a healthier version of mac n cheese.

[I'll inject a photo the next time I prepare this meal.]

Ingredients
63 grams Ronzoni Smart Pasta - Elbow Macaroni
1/2 cup milk (I use 1% organic)
1 tbsp. Wondra
1 tbsp. nacho cheese popcorn seasoning
Pepper
Paprika (optional)

Method

• Bring a small pot of water to a boil
• Toss in the macaroni, then move on to the sauce
• In a saucepan, mix milk and Wondra
• Heat saucepan on medium setting, stirring sauce very frequently
• After a few minutes, sauce will show thickening, add a few shakes of pepper
• Super optional - add a few shakes of paprika (this actually makes it a little spicy in the end)
• Continue stirring sauce and preparing macaroni
• Once sauce reaches the consistency of thick ketchup, mix in the cheese seasoning
• Drain finished macaroni, stir in sauce

A few notes

1. Smart pasta rocks. I personally like the taste as much as traditional pasta and it has a good amount of calcium and a bit of fiber as well. I recommend replacing any current pasta dishes with Smart Pasta for the nutritious benefit.
   
2. The nacho cheese popcorn seasoning I have is very low sodium and 1 tbsp. has 24 calories. I picked it up at wally world.
   
3. If you're used to adding salt or just have an average American salt diet (i.e. high sodium diet), this meal will not provide you with that salty taste each bite. I've put a decent amount of effort in reducing my personal sodium intake, and after a while, adding additional salt is rarely part of my culinary ways. If you're not concerned, add a few shakes of kosher salt to the sauce and you'll likely have a greater appreciation for this meal.
4. I have no idea what 63 grams of pasta comes out to in cup fractions, but I'll take a measurement next time. The amount was chosen since it comes out to about 200 calories of pasta. You can wing it pretty easily since a serving is 180 cals and tossing in a few more elbows. If you have a small food scale, that serves this purpose.