We may live on an organic farm powered by renewable energy, but our son, Liam, requested standard kiddie supper fare for his recent sixth birthday party: macaroni and cheese. No problem, said his parents, and we made a few casserole dishes of the mac and cheese recipe you see below. Both kids and parents ate heartily and were satisfied — and no cheese sauce came in a powdered form out of a box.

For those of us trying to eat both healthy and earth-friendly, stereotypical "processed" food can be a double-edged sword: we may not want the additives, the packaging, the lack of nutrition, but we’re still lured by the fact that we crave easy-to-serve-up comfort food like mac and cheese or pizza. Instead of trying to rationalize your guilty purchases with "it was on sale," or "this is the only stuff my kids will eat," think out of the expected blue box and take an un-processed approach to processed food. Some tips to get started:

• Focus on your favorite. What’s the processed food you eat the most? Focus on creating healthy alternatives to that one dish. For us, mac and cheese motivated our out-of-the-Kraft box thinking as Liam kept requesting it on a daily basis. That is what led to our recipe below, now in our cookbook, Edible Earth: Savoring the Good Life with Vegetarian Recipes from Inn Serendipity. Surprisingly, healthy unprocessed alternatives to processed foods are simple to make and don’t have nearly the long ingredient list as you’ll find on the back of the blue box — and you can identify all of them.
• Cook in bulk. Part of the lure of processed foods is the heat and eat convenience. Sure, most recipes for healthy processed food equivalents make a big batch, like this casserole-sized dish of mac and cheese, but that lends itself to easy meals of leftovers that can be quickly reheated in the microwave.
• Use "grown up" ingredients. Processed foods are designed for the mainstream palette, catering to the expected same old, same old. But when you’re making your own homemade versions, feel free to experiment with the ingredients for your grown-up, more mature tastes. We like to sometimes substitute smoked cheese for the cheddar cheese in our mac and cheese recipe.

This Macaroni and Cheese recipe from our cookbook, Edible Earth: Savoring the Good Life with Vegetarian Recipes from Inn Serendipity, takes the most kid-friendly recipe around and makes it "gourmet" enough for grown-ups.

Ingredients:
1 package (10 - 12 ounces) elbow macaroni
6 T. butter, divided
3 T. all-purpose flour
2 c. milk
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
2 c. Cheddar cheese, shredded
2 t. Dijon mustard
½ t. salt
¾ c. dry bread crumbs
2 T. minced fresh parsley or 2 t. dried

Directions:

• Cook macaroni according to directions on package.
• Meanwhile, melt 4 T. butter in a large saucepan. Stir in
  flour until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil;
  cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat; add cheeses, mustard,
  salt and pepper. Stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth.
• Drain macaroni; add to the cheese sauce and stir to coat.
• Transfer to a greased shallow 3-quart baking dish. Melt
  the remaining butter; toss with bread crumbs and parsley.
  Sprinkle over macaroni.
• Bake, uncovered, at 400 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Serves 8-10.