Getting to our healthiest selves is important to us, so I want to do whatever it takes to make the journey more fun.
One way I am pushing outside the box is in finding ways to make comfort food more 21-Day friendly.
I used thinly sliced eggplant instead of pasta in my lasagna. The eggplant was firm enough to hold up to the meat sauce and ricotta.
It turned out better than I expected. We will have this one again.
Noodleless Lasagna
1 pound ground beef...I used 93% lean and drained the fat before adding sauce.
1 medium onion, diced, minced or julienned
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 container part skim ricotta cheese
2 eggs, beaten
8oz. shredded mozzarella blend cheese
Baby spinach
Salt and pepper to taste
Italian seasoning to taste
- Preheat your oven to 350.
- Brown the ground beef with the onion until the onion is cooked.
- Add Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the spaghetti sauce and let it simmer while you prep the rest.
- Peel and slice the eggplant. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Spread some sauce on the bottom of a lasagna-suitable baking dish.
- Add a layer of eggplant, covering the bottom.
- Spread leaves of baby spinach on top of the eggplant.
- In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta and beaten egg.
- Add the ricotta mixture on top of the eggplant and spinach layer.
- Add another eggplant layer.
- Add half of the meat sauce.
- Add another eggplant later.
- Add the rest of the meat sauce.
- Top with the shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, or until the cheese on top has browned.
Enjoy!
Have you ever reworked a recipe to make it healthier or more diet-specific, like Paleo or vegan? What did you do? How did it work?
I've made noodle-less before! Eggplant and zucchini work wonders!
ReplyDeleteSo smart. I need to do this. I love lasagna, but avoid it due to the noodles.
ReplyDeleteYum! This looks really good. I love using eggplant instead of pasta, I did it recently with cannelloni and it turned out really well :) x
ReplyDeleteJasmin Charlotte | UK Lifestyle Blog
Jasmine, it would make great cannelloni. Such a great idea! Thanks. :-)
ReplyDeleteThe eggplant worked better than zucchini, which I have also tried in the past. I was really pleasantly surprised.
ReplyDeleteThe eggplant worked better than zucchini, which I have also tried in the past. I was pleasantly surprised.
ReplyDeleteThis looks AMAZING!! I always use ravioli or tortellini, but I should use veggies! Brilliant!!
ReplyDeleteAnd yum. I'll have to pin. :)
That's great your hubby lost weight. We were also dieting, so No
ReplyDeletenoodles for us. this dish looks heavenly and my husband's favorite
foods, eggplant.
oh!!! I've been really missing lasagna since going grain free... totally gonna try this!
ReplyDeleteI love using eggplant in the place of noodles! This looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteEggplant is one of my favorite vegetables! I love roasting it and tossing with pasta/rice/quinoa, fresh mozzarella, olives, and spinach. This is pretty similar to that :)
ReplyDeleteThat looks amazing! I can't wait to try.
ReplyDeleteI love using eggplant in place of the noodles. Looks good.
ReplyDeleteI've seen lasagna made with zucchini before but not egg plant. Either way it makes it a much lower carb meal!
ReplyDeleteChanging recipes to fit my dietary needs are a daily thing in our household! I substitute mushrooms, nuts, beans, lentils, chick peas and (sometimes) tofu for meats/fish. It seems like a pain at first, but you get used to those little changes.
ReplyDeleteProps to your husband for his success!
It came out really good. I will be adding it to our regular rotation for when we want comfort food Italian. I hope you like it as well.
ReplyDeleteIt came out really good. I will be adding it to our regular rotation for when we want comfort food Italian. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteIt came out really good. I will be adding it to our regular rotation for when we want comfort food Italian. I hope you like it as well, Mandee. :-)
ReplyDeleteEggplant is so versatile. This came out really good. I will be adding it to our regular rotation for when we want comfort food Italian.
ReplyDeleteI hope you like it. Thanks for stopping by, Andee. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt came out really good. I will be adding it to our regular rotation for when we want comfort food Italian. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI preferred this to the zucchini. It holds up better. I will be adding it to our regular rotation for when we want comfort food Italian. I hope you like it as well. Thanks for stopping by, Bijee. :-)
ReplyDeleteI preferred this to the zucchini. It held up better. I will be adding it to our regular rotation for when we want comfort food Italian. I hope you like too. Thanks. Rachel!
ReplyDeleteYou do get used to it. And when it makes positive health changes, who can argue? He's doing great...down almost 11 pounds now. :-)
ReplyDelete