Flamin’ Hot Mac n Cheetos (paleo, grain-free, gluten-free, gut-friendly)

C and I live by one of the trendiest restaurants in all of El Lay but because of it’s proximity to our home, we often take it for granted. It’s not until we run into a stranger from out of state who has made the perilous trek from their posh Malibu Airbnb to the mysterious and edgy world of Long Beach just to eat at this hyper trendy converted bungalow that we are reminded of its undeniable appeal to the youths.

The popularity of this place never ceases to amaze us. 3PM on a Tuesday? There’s a line out the door. Want dinner on a Saturday? You better book it now and expect to wait months. There’s a constant stream of influencers setting up their tripods across the street and herds of 30-year-old men with beards sipping on absinthe and discussing women’s rights.

Look, it’s a great place.

You may think that the adorable converted bungalow setting is what put this place on the map. Or maybe the seasonal menu or local ingredients, perhaps the constant stream of press coverage?

But no.

It was the Flamin’ Hot Mac and Cheetos. Pictured below.

If you have both eyes and taste buds, I don’t think any further explanation is needed.

Now imagine, if you will, that you live a stone throw away from this edible work of art. It’s dangerous. Walking past it is a risk that C and I take almost every day. But because we are broke, because we don’t have a couple hours to wait for a table, and because we value the health of our arteries, we resist. But it doesn’t mean that we aren’t reminded of that delectable flamin’ hot mac and Cheetos dish every time we pass the bungalow, and it certainly doesn’t mean that our heart doesn’t yearn for the unbelievable combination of creamy cheesy pasta and spicy Cheeto crunch.

So in an attempt to save our pocketbooks and our heart health, I devised a grain-free, gluten-free, paleo version of the dish that C and I can indulge in without taunting the Crohn’s Gods or handing our pocketbooks over to waiters with amazingly tall hair and amazingly terrible attitudes.

The sauce is made with cultured cottage cheese and a splash of almond milk for blending.  That means its far easier on the tummy than your traditional cheese sauce and far higher in protein.

To paint you a picture, a typical cheddar cheese sauce comes in at 253 calories, with 18 g of fat and 9.6 g of protein. The cheese sauce pictured below is equally delicious at less than half the calories, a whopping 1.5 g of fat and almost 20 grams of protein.

Perhaps the best part of this dish is it’s super quick to whip up. By the time the pasta is cooked, the sauce is done and ready, making this a 10-minute, low-carb, high protein dinner. What’s not to love?! Give er a try, you won’t be disappointed.