Halloween mac & cheese-o-lanterns

Ingredients: 

• 8 medium red peppers (capsicums), carved into jack-o-lanterns 
• 500g gluten free macaroni (or other gluten free pasta)
• 2 cups Kent (Japanese) pumpkin, peeled, diced 
• 2 cups zucchini, chopped 
• 2 cups broccoli, chopped 
• 100g cheddar cheese, grated 
• 100g cream cheese
• 1/2 cup lactose free milk 
• Salt, to taste 
• 1/2 tsp low FODMAP stock powder 

Method: 

1. Rinse, dry, hollow out and carve 8 medium red peppers (capsicums) into jack-o-lanterns, set aside. 
2. Boil macaroni in water according to packet instructions or until al dente. 
3. While macaroni is cooking, chop vegetables. 
4. When cooked, remove macaroni from the pot, drain and place in a large mixing bowl. Add vegetables to the same pot and cover with water. Cook for ~7 minutes or until pumpkin can be pierced with a fork. Drain water. 
5. Place cooked vegetables, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, milk, salt and stock powder into a blender or food processor. Blend until a smooth sauce forms. 
6. Pour vegetable sauce over the cooked pasta and stir until well combined. 
7. Serve macaroni in red pepper jack-o-lanterns as is or fill and bake in the oven at 200°C (392°F) until red peppers are cooked to your liking. 

Tips: 

• Grate or finely chop your vegetables so that they cook faster in step 4. 
• This recipe simply requires 6 cups of vegetables. You can substitute any of the following above for other low FODMAP vegetables that you have on hand in the fridge. 
• Naturally sweeter vegetables like carrot and sweet potato make great substitutes for zucchini and broccoli if you are feeding particularly fussy eaters! Always check the Monash FODMAP app for low FODMAP serving size information before substituting ingredients.