Tuna Noodle Casserole

Hello all! I've been out of town, which usually means no cooking!

In an effort to get everyone to sit at the table and eat the same thing, I have had to evaluate recipes when I look at them to determine several things. One thing - is it fairly healthy? Second thing - is there something, at least one thing, on the dinner table that everyone will eat?

Like most people, I have kids who can be picky eaters, especially when it comes to healthy veggies. On top of that finickiness, I have a son who is autistic and with that comes sensory challenges, particularly with food and the texture.

With this recipe, I determined to try it out and see if my son would eat it. I knew we, the adults, would and my daughter tends to like tuna anyway as well as vegetables. This casserole surprisingly has a creamy texture that makes it almost as tasty as mac and cheese, which all three of my kids love. I was skeptical if my son would buy into this -- after all it has tuna in it, plus other veggies. I have a rule, though, that he must at least attempt to eat what I am serving and this night was no different.

Imagine my surprise when my son not only ate it all up, but asked for a second helping! Score one for Mom getting vegetables, and healthy fish, down her picky child. (I use a food processor to chop the veggies so it's very fine and barely detectable by texture.)

This recipe comes from the Alli diet book of recipes. It is low fat and fairly lower sodium than most dinners.

This recipe makes 4 servings at 4 grams of fat and 262 calories per serving.

Tuna Noodle Casserole
serves 4

• 1 cup whole wheat elbow macaroni
• 1 cup of chopped celery
• 1/3 cup of chopped onion
• 1 can of low fat, lower sodium cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) evaporated fat-free milk
• 1 can (9.5 ounces) of white albacore tuna, packed in water
• 2 tablespoons grated low-fat Parmesan cheese

• Cook macaroni according to package directions.
• Coat a large saucepan with nonstick cooking spray and place over medium heat for 1 minute. Add celery and onion; cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the soup and milk. Cook for 2 minutes until heated thoroughly. Stir in tuna and macaroni
• Coat 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Add the macaroni mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Serve with a large garden salad, and maybe a vegetable on the side. For dessert, we had fresh berries and non-fat plain yogurt with a bit of splenda to sweeten it.

Enjoy!