Amy's Quick Cheese Sauce

The title of this blog might throw you off. A holistic nutritionist promoting cheese sauce? (That she sometimes makes in the microwave no less?)

Here is my rationale. 

Recently a fellow-pregnant friend came to me saying she's not happy with her diet. She feels sick most of the day and struggles just to keep down the foods she can stand. She wishes she would eat healthy food like the stuff she sees on my Instagram. 

My advice is never: shape up! This is your baby- you need to get off the simple carbs! Not at all. Especially when you're dealing with morning sickness it's better to eat something than nothing. And the same goes for someone struggling to eat healthy but lets say, uninterested in eating breakfast. I wouldn't say: if you can't get off the Cocoa Puffs just skip breakfast! But my advice is always: add something healthy. 

For a pregnant woman who can barely stomach a bowl of white pasta noodles with butter- try to add sliced cherry tomatoes. Or bits of flaked tuna. Or if you can handle the noodles cold add tuna and cucumber, and whisk Italian dressing into Greek yogurt for a pasta salad. 

If you religiously eat cocoa puffs for breakfast, will you notice if half the milk is almond milk? Will you let me suggest you add a handful of sliced strawberries? Sunflower seeds? 

See, what my Instagram feed shows are the meals I remembered to photograph. There are things you don't see (although not much, I recently photographed wienies and beans.) No one's diet is perfect but if you make a serious intention to add healthful additions and then follow through and celebrate those victories you will enjoy the perks of nutritious food! 

That's why I make cheese sauce. Because not everyone likes raw veggies or plain eggs or a stirfry on udon noodles. But if you make a batch of cheese sauce, I think those things will go down pretty easy. I use it for eggs Benedict, for an entire head of steamed cauliflower all to myself, and for green Mac n cheese- in which I make whole wheat Mac n cheese with homemade sauce and then any green veggies I can stir in. A beautiful compromise if I ever made one. 

Without further ado: Amy's Quick Cheese Sauce

1 T butter (or vegan margarine)

1 T flour (whole wheat works, so does gluten-free)

1 c milk (or vegan alternative but not vanilla-anything)

A few ounces hard cheese

Salt, pepper, extras (onion, garlic, hot sauce, etc)

In a small saucepan heat butter over medium til melted. If you want to add raw onions or garlic now is the time, cook til translucent and smelling yummy. Stir in flour and cook about 1 minute turning down the heat if it seems like might burn. 

Whisk in milk. Continue heating until small bubbles form then quickly turn down heat. It should thicken in this time. 

Add a few ounces (like an inch off a block) of cheddar or mozzarella. Whisk in until melted. At this point you can also whisk in other add-ins like powered garlic or onion, hot sauce or cayenne powder, mustard, lemon juice. Also add salt and pepper to taste. If you want a very thick sauce like for eggs Benedict, add a raw egg and immediately whisk in rapidly. In theory the heat will cook it but if yore worried or pregnant, turn the heat back on for another minute. 

Can store in a mason jar in the fridge for a couple days.