[Meatless Monday] Healthy-ish Pumpkin Macaroni & Cheese

On Saturday, I ran the Sports Backer's American Family Fitness Half Marathon; and much like the two I've run before, it was a great experience. I've talked about how much I love this race is before, and guess what? I still love it :) Due to the cancelation of the NYC Marathon, there was an upsurge of marathon registrants last week; PLUS, for the first time ever, the half marathon reached its capacity. Although there were quite a few more people, from my point of view, the race weekend remained true to its name of "America's Friendliest Marathon".

Overall, I feel pretty-darn-good about how I ran the race. There was only one minor-ish hiccup. I was able to keep a consistent speed throughout a majority of the race; however, it was slightly faster than I needed it to be for my goal time of under 2 hours. I confidently passed all of the water stations for the first 9 miles. Instead, I popped in a jelly bean or two every mile or so after I reached 5. It wasn't until mile 10 that I went in for a sip of water...

Then, with l-i-t-e-r-a-l-l-y one mile to go, I got the worst side cramp of my life. I couldn't hold myself up straight as I ran, and I became scared to breathe too deeply because of the pain. With so little distance left to go, I (unbelievably) had to stop twice to stretch out my side and get my creeping state of panic under control. I was close to tears, being so close to the finish line and reaching my goal. I found myself with a 1/2 mile to go and resolved to keep running, no matter the pain. It was not five seconds later that someone ran up beside me, turned to me, and said "Hey! How's it going?".

And I turned to see the face of Boyfriend.

I hadn't seen him at all during the last 12 miles of my race, and then here he was, at the last second and in my moment of greatest need. Completely unintentional, yet perfect.

He stayed and coached me until we reached the final downhill stretch, where I crossed the finish line at 1:55:25. And then, once again, I almost cried. Yeah, it was a good race.



And since we're on the topic of running and all: Have I told you that macaroni & cheese is my "good luck" race food? For a number of the past races I've run, I've made sure to have a nice bowl of macaroni & cheese the night before. I think it works for me, mentally, because:

1. Its the *ultimate* comfort food - which puts both me and my nerves at ease
2. Its, like, ALL carbs...and not the kind covered in tomato-y (acidic) sauce
3. It puts me to sleep - Its hard not to pass out after a heavy meal of mac & cheese!

I didn't manage to have macaroni and cheese on Friday, but I did make some "special" mac & cheese during the week. This pumpkin version uses the same traditional macaroni and cheese making process (butter, flour, milk), but you add in some pumpkin along with the cheese. The pumpkin helps to further thicken the sauce, makes it creamy (so you can use a lower-fat milk!), and adds an extra punch of nutrients. Aside from that, the taste of pumpkin isn't particularly noticeable...good news, parents and girlfriends of picky eaters!

I didn't add any of the typical pumpkin-y spices, like cinnamon or nutmeg; instead I simply added some cayenne and BACON (whoops, not meatless!). Also, I tossed in some gruyere cheese, along with the cheddar. Its nuttiness and saltiness really paired well with the pumpkin.

Feel free to play with the flavors, including the cheeses, however you wish! The beauty of macaroni and cheese is its incredibly adaptable ;)

Pumpkin Macaroni & Cheese for Two

Inspired by Live Eat Run and Spoon Fork Bacon

Servings: 2

2 pieces bacon, cooked and chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup almond (or skim) milk, warmed
1/3 cup pumpkin
1 to 1 1/2 cup (packed) cheddar, gruyere, romano (or parmesan) cheese
Few shakes of cayenne
Salt & pepper to taste
2/3 cup uncooked pasta of choice (shells, macaroni, etc)
Toppings (optional): Italian bread crumbs, extra shredded cheeses

• Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Once melted, add in flour and cook for about 2 minutes. Slowly add in milk, stirring continuously so that no clumps form on the bottom of the pan. Cook until mixture begins to thicken 5-10 minutes. Add in pumpkin and cheese; stir until melted and well combined. Season with spices and add bacon.

• In a separate pot, cook pasta according to directions. Drain.

• Set oven to broil and spray two ramekins with non-stick cooking spray. In the pasta pot, combine pasta and sauce. Pour into ramekins and top with bread crumbs / cheese, if desired. Set ramekins on a baking sheet in the top 1/3 of the oven. Bake for about 5 minutes until cheese is melted and the sauce bubbles. Serve.