Mac n Cheese with Anna Mae's & Lactofree

I never make mac n cheese at home. I don't think I trust myself not to add more cheese than white sauce and not to eat it all from the pan. There's no sharing when it comes to mac n cheese, its got to be unadulterated and extremely decadent.

So when Lactofree invited me to a masterclass hosted by Anna Mae's to learn how to make their lacto free version, I was a little sceptical to say the least. But I love Anna Mae's and I genuinely love Arla's Lactofree range so was convinced to give it a try.

A little background aside, a few years ago I suffered problem skin. Along with a few treatments and some changes to my diet, I'm pretty much over it. And Lactofree milk was the most obvious improvement for me. So any way to reduce some of the triggers in my diet has got to be good. Aka let's eat all the mac n cheese and still have lovely clear skin!

On the menu for the evening was mac n cheese topped with beef short rib and pickled red onions; deep fried mac n cheese balls with chipotle mayo; and doughnuts with butterscotch sauce. Stuff of dreams!

We started off by making our own white sauces, left to our own devices with adding in our preferred amount of cheese (in my case probably a whole block) before adding in the mac and sour cream to ensure it was super creamy. Topped with bbq beef short rib, sour cream and coriander, it was out of this world kinds of great!

Any mac n cheese left was scooped into balls, wrapped and smothered in breadcrumbs and fried. The sauce we made to dunk them in was a mix of cream cheese, coriander and chipotle paste. I managed to smuggle some of these home and had to fight for a share for lunchboxes the next day with the man friend.

And of course, not forgetting dessert: the doughnuts with a super quick and simple butterscotch sauce. These tiny balls of wonder were deep fried, tossed in sugar and then smothered in butterscotch. You'll see my elegant shot of my 'small' serving, but in reality I ate closer to a plateful.

No pressure in flipping the doughnuts in the fryer!

Everything in each of the recipes was fully free from lactose, from the Lactofree butter and cream in the butterscotch sauce to the cheese and milk in the mac n cheese.

So I suppose I ought to share a recipe. I'm super excited to make this mac n cheese over the weekend. I've never picked onions before and I absolutely love them and we've loads of beef in the freezer ready to roast away.

R I B S   A N D   R E D S
L A C T O F R E E   M A C   N   C H E E S E
T O P P E D   W I T H   B E E F   S H O R T   R I B   &   P I C K L E D   O N I O N S
(Recipe from Anna Mae's and Arla Lactofree, serves 4)

For the ribs:

6 thick cut short ribs  |  350ml red wine  |  1 onion, roughly chopped  |  1 carrot, roughly chopped  |  1 celery, roughly chopped  |  1tbsp tomato puree  |  4 garlic cloves  |  1 litre beef stock

For the pickled onions:

1 red onion, finely sliced  |  1tbsp sugar  |  1/2 tsp salt  |  3/4 cup cider vinegar  |  4 black peppercorns  |  2 cloves  |  1 bay leaf

For the mac:

400g macaroni  |  50g plain flour  |  50g Lactofree spreadable butter  |  1 pint Lactofree whole milk, warm  |  300g Lactofree cheddar, grated  |  1tsp mustard

For the sour cream:

4 tbsp Lactofree cream cheese  |  2tbsp Lactofree cream  |  juice and zest of one lemon

• Heat the oven to 160 degrees.
• Season the short ribs. Place in a roasting tray with the rest of the ingredients. Cover with foil and roast for 4 hours, until the meat falls off the bone.
• Add the pickled onion ingredients to a jar, cover with vinegar. Keep in the fridge till ready.
• Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil 20 minutes before the beef is ready. Cook the macaroni until just cooked. Drain thoroughly.
• Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pan over a low heat, add the flour and stir to make a paste. Cook for a few minutes, until it starts to turn golden. Slowly add the milk, continually whisking as you go. Cook for 5-8 minutes, until the sauce covers the back of a wooden spoon.
• Continue to cook on a low heat and add the cheese and mustard. Continue to mix until melted before adding the cooked macaroni and gently fold together.
• In a small bowl, combine all of the sour cream ingredients together.
• Transfer your mac n cheese to a serving bowl, top with short rib, pickled red onions and a big dollop of sour cream.

Thank you to the Lactofree team for letting me loose with all the cheese and to Anna Mae's for all your mac wisdom. So excited to recreate!

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Review: Arla Skyr Breakfast & Feed Your Adventure Tour

You all know by now, I'm pretty keen on yogurt. Whether its in baking, cooking or just for snacking. Its such a fridge staple for me that there's even a whole shelf dedicated to the stuff; tubs in all shapes and sizes.

Last week, Arla introduced their traditional Icelandic Skyr (pronounced 'skee-er') yogurt to the UK market and celebrated with a bloggers breakfast at Ham Yard Hotel. 

Our breakfast started with an introduction to the yogurt by expert nutritionist from Channel 4's Food Unwrapped, Charlotte Stirling-Reed. We learnt the importance of protein in a balanced diet and how it can make a big difference on satiety. That's the feeling that helps you to feel fuller for longer and to help curb snacking throughout the day.

Charlotte explained that the key to healthy eating is to concentrate on eating well around 80% of the time. Those 'superfood' goji berries aren't going to budge that McDonald's breakfast and even that wheatgrass shot won't be so 'super' if you've had takeaways the past 3 nights in a row. Everything in moderation is the key!

Skyr contains 10% more protein than other brands on the market. In their 150g snack pots, there's 14.1g protein and only 114kcal. Not only are these perfect for a desk snack, the high amount of protein means they also make a great post-workout recovery snack. 

The snack pots come in a selection of Nordic inspired flavours; Apple and Ligonberry, Nordic Sour Cherry, Strawberry, Mixed Nordic Berry and Simply Natural. Perfect as is, or to mix up with some chopped banana, nuts and berries. 

Almost unbelievably, the Simply Natural flavour yogurt is made with just one ingredient. Simply plain milk turned into yogurt using traditional Icelandic straining and filtering methods. No added sugar or preservatives, you can't really get better than that.

The Simply Natural flavour is a great foundation to any meal throughout the day. My favourite being to help make porridge creamy or served with a sprinkle of granola and fresh blueberries. For dinner, try a yogurt dip for Mexican or to cool down a curry. It also helps make chicken extra tender if you make a marinade with a few dollops of yogurt per teaspoon of spice paste.

Not only have Arla released the small snack sizes, there's a range of three 450g big pots including, Simply Natural, Strawberry and Honey. 

Filled with yogurt knowledge and a yogurt breakfast, we set off to stretch our legs and take in the natural beauty of Soho. Now, you may be laughing, but I certainly don't mean 'those' shops. Peter Berthoud from Londonist gave us a guided walking tour and encouraged us to look a little further into an area we were all familiar with.

For example, in Georgian London you could buy your milk from St James's Park. Up to 8,500 cows were kept in and around London delivering and selling milk over a 20 mile distance. Not bad considering today's food miles. Although, to some these 'urban' cows didn't quite cut the mustard, often with pints being topped up with water or milk even being blue due to pollution. The Oxford Express Dairy on Frith Street took delivery of their pure milk to sell from the early morning milk train all the way from the west coast of Wales. 

Next up, Phoenix Gardens. One of those spots you only dare to tell one other person of in the fear that it'll become even busier than Soho Square around the corner. The community gardens are managed by volunteers who use sustainable techniques ensuring that the plants can sustain themselves, look good all year round and attract wildlife. A brilliant spot to read in the sun or for your lunch break if you're a local. 

Did you know London had its own type of tree? Nope, neither did I! The London Plane tree counts for over half of the trees across the capital. First discovered at the start of the 17th Century, these trees not only are pollution resistant but can take up to 80% of pollution of the surrounding air. To do so, its camouflage patterned bark flakes off to cleanse itself of pollutants. Its roots can survive in pretty much any soil type. And, its sleek waxy leaves mean that grime just rinses away in the rain. 

In just two hours I learnt so much, not only about healthy eating but in Soho's natural hotspots. Since, I've been enjoying a quick pot of Skyr for breakfast before running out the door to work and after my runs in the afternoon to help tide me over until dinner time.

Thank you to Arla and Cow PR for a great morning!