There's nothing better than a classic, homestyle meal, and this Cheesy Buttermilk Cheddar Mac is just what you're looking for. Creamy and sharp Cheddar cheese combines perfectly with the subtle flavor of buttermilk for a classic mac & cheese that's anything but boring. The perfect lunch or dinnertime indulgence, this meal is hearty and satisfying. Visit CookingtoLose.com/mac-cheese-waffle for more info.

1. Optavia Cheesy Buttermilk Cheddar Mac Hack Bar
2. Optavia Cheesy Buttermilk Cheddar Mac Hack With Pudding

Not only am I a food blogger, photographer and recipe developer…I’m also a certified health coach! I’ve lost over 20 pounds eating 5 portioned Fuelings and 1 healthy meal of protein and vegetables every day. So many people ask me how I’m able to work with food all day AND still lose weight and this health plan is the reason! Email me at kitchentested@gmail.com if you want to know more about the Take Shape For Life program. Below is what I call an Opta-Makeover and it’s a great way to play around with the texture and flavor of the Fuelings.

Optavia Biscuit Pizza

1 Fueling, small portion of Lean and Green

Scale

Ingredients

• 1 sachet Optavia Buttermilk Cheddar and Herb Biscuit
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp tomato sauce
• 1 Tbsp low fat shredded cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven or toaster to 350 degrees F.
2. Stir together biscuit and water and spread into a thin circle on parchment paper and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Add tomato sauce then shredded cheese and bake for a few more minutes, until the cheese has melted.

Notes

• Email me at kitchentested@gmail.com to find out more about the Take Shape For Life health plan.

Jump to Recipe

Okay I have got to share this Optavia Pizza Hack! I’ve posted a few pics on Instagram of my attempts. But I’ve finally got a nailed down recipe to share with everyone!

I love pizza, who doesn’t!?! My husband and I used to get pizza once a month regularly. Always the same order too. It was a go to winner when neither of us were up for cooking.

Once I started to eat healthier and try to lose some weight we tried all different kinds of pizza crust. Almond flour crust was pretty good. The cauliflower crusts pizzas were okay but always a little weird. Over all they just weren’t pizza enough!

Once I started the Optavia diet I thought my pizza days were behind me. I didn’t want to buy an expensive cauliflower pizza crust and fill up my freezer if I didn’t have to. Especially when I didn’t really like them anyway. The almond crusts had way too many carbs. There was no way I could fit that in my daily carb count. I definitely went through some pizza withdrawal.

Instead of throwing in the towel, I started experimenting with the Optavia bread hacks. I couldn’t get the Rosemary Biscuit to get crispy without getting dry. Luckily, the Garlic Smashed potato packet makes really great crust! It took a little bit of tweaking to get that balance of crispy crust and a doughy middle but I think we got it!

The technique to make this pizza crust is just another adaptation of the Garlic Potato Bagel recipe on Pinterest. (Click here if you haven’t tried those yet because they are delicious!) Typical to most Optavia hacks you need a liquid protein to bind everything together and some leavening to make it rise. The trick here is to get the bread crispy on both sides.

Since this is more of a technique than a recipe I created a video walking you through the process. I highly suggest watching that first. It will make the blind bake so much easier.

Heads up this is my first cooking video. And it’s sideways. I’ll get better!

Optavia Pizza Hack

Equipment

• 2 Baking sheets

Ingredients

Pizza Crust

• 1packetGarlic Smashed Potato Packet1 Fueling
• 2Egg Whites*1/7 Leanest
• 1tspBaking Powder**2 Condiments

Pizza Toppings

• 1/4cupPizza Sauce***1 Green
• 1/2cupSliced white mushrooms1 Green
• 3ozReduced Fat Shredded Mozzarella3/4 Lean
• 1.5ozGround Beef 1/4 Leaner
• 2Black Olives sliced1/4 Fat

Instructions

Bake Crust

• Mix together the garlic potato packet and baking powder.
• Pour batter onto parchment paper lined baking sheet.
• Top with another piece of parchment paper and spread out the batter to a 1/8 of an inch circle.
• Top with second baking sheet so the crust is sandwiched between the two sheets.
• Bake for 8 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Add Toppings to Pizza

Optavia Cheesy Buttermilk Cheddar Mac Hack Bar

• While crust is baking, brown ground beef in a saute pan, wash the mushrooms, and measure your toppings.
• When crust is done, pull out of oven put aside top baking sheet and peel back the top layer of parchment paper. Be careful as paper might stick at this step.
• Bake for another 8 minutes. When the pizza is ready it should slide right off the parchment paper and easily transfer to a plate.

Notes

Optavia Cheesy Buttermilk Cheddar Mac Hack With Pudding