You lift heavy, track your macros and make sure you get eight hours of quality sleep each night to maximize your efforts and turn them into gains.  It’s worth it right?  Of course it is.  But that doesn’t mean you need to be weird. . .

Yep, that’s mac n’ cheese.  If you want to make your other half drool with delight and sing your praises this will do the trick.  Or you can keep it all for yourself!

ISOCALORIC Pork N’ Cheesy mac NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PER SERVING:

4.5 oz pork
1/10th of the mac n’ cheese
1 cup steamed broccoli (not shown)
Calories:  468, Protein 38 g, Fat 18 g, Carbs 38 g (33/33/33%’s)

INGREDIENTS

Chops
2 3/4 pounds pastured boneless pork chops (you can use bone in chops – just account for the added weight of the bone)
2 teaspoons garlic powder
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mac n’ Cheese
1 tablespoon grass fed butter
1/4 cup King Arthur gluten free flour
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 oz Bionaturae gluten free elbows
2 1/2 cups raw milk
2 cups (8 oz) raw cheddar cheese, grated

Broccoli
10 cups fresh broccoli

PREPARATION

For the chops
Season the chops with the garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Fire up your grill and cook 4-5 minutes per side for chops that are about 1-inch thick or until desired doneness.

For the mac n’ cheese
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the elbows, return to a boil and cook for 9 minutes. Drain and place in a buttered casserole dish.

Melt the butter in a medium size saucepan over medium heat.  Add the flour, mustard and salt and pepper and stir until smooth.  Remove from heat and slowly stir in the milk until well combined.  Return to heat and continue to cook, stirring constantly until thickened and slightly bubbly.

Remove from heat and add 1 1/2 cups of the cheese to the hot mixture stirring until melted.  Add to the elbows in the casserole dish stirring until well coated.  Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and bake at 375 degrees until slightly browned.

For the broccoli
Steam for about 15 minutes or until desired degree of tenderness.  I like mine a little on the crisp side

For more Power Athlete friendly recipes check out my blog Paula Lean Primal Queen!

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