This colorful healthy mac and cheese will please your eyes as well as your palette. Nutritional yeast and cashews make it rich and creamy even when it’s oil-free.

Isabella Salimpour featured nutritional yeast as a delicious vegan food in episode #41 of the belly dance podcast A Little Lighter.

Isabella Salimpour on Body Empowerment & Legacy - 041

Third generation belly dance star Isabella shares what she learned from Suhaila and Jamila Salimpour, talks about the magic of Bal Anat, and reflects on dancing illegally in Egypt at 8 years old.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of kale leaves (stemmed)
• 16 oz brown rice pasta (elbows, fusilli, whatever you have 🙂
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 Tbps white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp agave
• 1 whole lemon (the juice)
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 diced tomato
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas
• 1 shredded carrot

Artistry:

1. Boil enough water to cook the pasta. Throw the kale leaves in for 3-5 minutes and scoop them back out and plunge into cold water.
2. Cook the pasta in the same boiling water according to the instructions
3. In a blender or food processor, combine the cashews, water, balsamic, agave, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and salt until saucy.
4. When the pasta is done cooking, strain it and toss it with the cheesy cashew sauce until it is coated with sauce
5. Add the tomato, chickpeas, carrot and kale on top or toss it in

And Maelle featured chickpeas in episode #49!

Maëlle on How to Dance for a Middle Eastern Audience - 049

Veil poi innovator Maëlle shares belly dance secrets from the Lebanese night clubs of Brussels, palaces of Dubai, and Suhaila Salimpour's dance studios. Hear her story.