Lasagna has been a favorite of mine for as long as I can remember. My mom always made it for Christmas Eve dinner and so I suppose it always reminds me of the warm spirit that surrounds the holidays. I have attempted to make lasagna in the past but when I tried to cut calories and fat, the end result was horrific. But I was still determined to succeed, especially after the mistakes I made at the work luncheon the other day! I found a recipe for lasagna from a blogger on The Noshery that intrigued me to 1. make it healthier, 2. simplify it, and 3. make it my own.
The greatest challenge in making lasagna healthy is that there is just SO much filling in the layers and layers of pasta. How can you possibly leave a layer topping-less to cut fat and calories? It just doesn’t work. So I thought about nixing the lasagna noodles altogether and opting for whole wheat egg noodles and also cutting back on the meat. The idea was planted, now I just had to put it in to practice.
I kept the sauce the same as the original recipe, I mean come on I’m no Italian Mama, but I did cut way back on the meat! As the sauce simmered, the flavors all blended to create a chunky marinara that was both sweet and tangy from the balsamic vinegar and cayenne. Yum! I could not wait to put the dish together!
I mushed together the ricotta, spinach, parmesan, and one egg white. The egg white made the cheese mix a lot more spreadable. I decided to mix the noodles with the ricotta spread and then layer with mozzarella. The end results? A lusciously cheesy blend of good old Italian food! I was so pleased with the taste and the fact that I cut just over 200 calories, 16 grams of fat, and shed 40 minutes off the baking time!! Impressive? Why yes… if I do say so myself!
Let me know what you think!! My husband and I both loved it and this is one meal I can’t wait to eat for leftovers tonight!
Three Cheese “Lasagna” Bake!
Adapted from Three Cheese Lasagna from The Noshery
Makes 9 servings
Sauce:
1/2 T Olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
7.5oz diced tomatoes
7.5oz tomato sauce (I used Meijer Organic Tomato Sauce)
2 T Fresh Parsley
1 T Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 tsp dried Oregano
Couple dashes of Cayenne pepper
1 Jennie-O Turkey Sausage link, casing removed
Add Olive oil to a skillet over medium heat and add onion and garlic. Sauté until softened and then add the sausage link; sauté until cooked through and crumbled (~5 minutes). Add the remaining ingredients, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the flavors blend.
Pasta:
4oz wide whole wheat egg noodles (~4 cups uncooked)
7.5oz part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh spinach leaves
1 large egg white
3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Cook egg noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, combine ricotta, parmesan, and spinach, seasoning with a dash of salt and pepper. Mix in egg white. When pasta is finished cooking, drain and combine with ricotta mixture until blended well.
To assemble the dish, in a 9 x9″ dish coated with cooking spray, add a thin layer of sauce to the bottom of the pan and then add half the pasta mixture, a thin layer of sauce, and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Then add the second half of the pasta, pour the remaining sauce over the top, and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese. Bake ~35-40 minutes. Makes 9 servings.
Nutritional Profile: 180 calories, 7.5g Fat (3.8g Sat.), 406mg sodium, 17.2g Carbohydrate, 2.6g Fiber, 12.5g Protein
Nutritional Comparison to Three Cheese Lasagna: 443 calories, 23.8g fat (11.3g sat.) 696mg sodium, 27.5g carbohydrate, 2.2g Fiber, 27.7g Protein
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