Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Baked Ziti



I am so excited about this recipe! Not only is it Clean Eating and 21-Day Fix Approved, but you would have no idea its healthy- its tastes THAT good!

Yield: 6-8 servings
Fix portions (per serving):  1 yellow, 1 red, 1 green, 1 blue



Ingredients
  • ½ box whole wheat penne or ziti
  • 1 red container (about ¾ cup) part-skin ricotta cheese
  • 1 jar “clean-eating” approved pasta sauce (I use Classico Tomato & Basil or you can make your own pasta sauce using this homemade recipe)
  • ½ pound 93% lean ground turkey
  • ½ cup shredded Italian cheese (I use Sargento or Kraft)
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 tbsp each garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, oregano, basil, parsley, black pepper (This measurement is an estimate- I just eyeball the seasonings and adjust to taste. You can always start with 1 tsp and then add more to your personal taste.)

Directions

  1. Cook noodles to al dente, according to package directions
  2. Meanwhile, brown ground turkey. Sprinkle with seasonings
  3. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, pasta sauce, balsalmic, honey, seasonings, ground meat, and noodles. Stir until well mixed
  4. Pour mixture into 13x9 pan
  5. Spread shredded Italian cheese over top. Sprinkle with parsley.
  6. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly
*Use a green container to scoop out your portion and enjoy





45 comments:

  1. Does the fix portions include the salad or just the baked ziti?

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    1. The fix portions are just for the ziti :)

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    2. that doesn't make sense. wheres the green?

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    3. I think the green is the tomato sauce.

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  2. How do you know much of each container if it isn't all separated? Do you just estimate?

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    1. There is a page near the back of your 21-day fix eating plan book that gives you suggestions on how to count combined foods like lasanga, so I used that as a guide for the portions in addition to making sure all the "colors" of ingredients in the dish were accounted. This section of the meal plan book also says to use a green container to portion out your serving of foods like lasanga, so I followed that portion recommendation for the ziti as well. Hope that helps!

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  3. It is a tbsp of the spices, not a tsp right?

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    1. I eyeball the seasonings and add more as I go along, just based on tasting. I estimate that I ended up adding about a tbsp of each spice to it... But, you can start with a tsp and add more as you wish, according to your preference. I always try to tell myself "you can add more but you can't remove" :)

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  4. I dont have balsalmic vinegar on hand. Is it necessary or can I sub something else for it?

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    1. You should be able to eliminate it just fine! It just adds a little flavor to the sauce, but is equally delicious without it :)

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  5. This recipe is super good and delicious. My whole family loves it. But, it was way too spicy with a TBS of each spice. I made it again tonight and cut all the spices in half to 1 1/2 tsp. It was absolutely perfect.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it! I just eyeball and estimate the seasoning measurements to taste- plus I like things a little spicier than most... So, I added a little note to the recipe above based on your feedback :). Thanks!

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  6. Does the tomato sauce count as a purple?

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    1. Tomato sauce should be counted as a purple.

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    2. Not if you make it yourself and don’t add sugar

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  7. I love this recipe for 21df! My husband even LOVES it! - and trust me that's saying a lot. LOL I love that you have recipes for the program. It really helps me meal plan and everything has been so yummy!

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  8. Can you give me the recipe for the salad that is next to the ziti??? Looks delish!

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    1. I'm pretty sure its spinach leaves, mushrooms, tomatoes, and cucumbers (1 green container spinach leaves, 1 green of the other veggies combined) topped with my greek salad dressing recipe (also on the blog!)

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  9. This was great! Thanks for doing the leg work of figuring out how the recipe was divided up (into color containers)! My husband loved it too!

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  10. Do you think it would work if I added a thing of frozen spinach (with the excess water squeezed out)? Just to add in some extra veggies

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  11. Just made this last night on my first day on the 21 day fix. Loved it!! Kids loved it too! I used a tsp of each of the seasonings (since usually a tablespoon of fresh=1 tsp of the jar seasonings) and it was perfect! I'm going to try some of your other recipes too! Pecan crusted chicken is next, I have picky kiddos!

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    1. So glad your family enjoyed it. Fingers crossed that they like the chicken fingers too- its usually a kid-friendly favorite :). Keep up the good work!

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  12. Hello! I am on round 1, week 1 of 21 DFX and I'm so glad I found your recipe! I am an Italian food LOVER! So you can probably imagine my joy when I found this! Lol I made it for the first time tonight and it was sooooo delicious! You are a genius! Next time I think I'll add less pepper, but other than that it was perfect! Thank you so much! My husband and I have this self-made recipe book where we find healthy recipes and try them out. If we like them, they go in the book and if we don't, then obviously it goes in the trash. Our absolute favorites go in the front. This one, we both decided, goes in the VERY front. Lol Can't wait to try your other recipes!

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  14. I'm just starting to plan my meals for this, and am a little overwhelmed right now, lol! Can you tell me what contributes to the blue container besides the shredded cheese? With 6-8 servings, I'm confused why each serving is a whole blue. Thank you for your help!

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    1. Good point- going back and looking at this, there's not enough cheese to count an entire blue- maybe check off 1/2 blue instead? Good luck to you on the Fix- don't be overwhelmed, you'll get it :)

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  15. Do you have any idea how many calories are in just one serving?

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    1. I'm honestly not sure since 21 day fix works to count containers/portions and not calories. Sorry I can't help more :(

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  16. This was absolutely delicious; thanks for the recipe! I used 1/4 cup smoky southwestern seasoning and fresh garlic to season meat. I would count this just like the lasagna - 2 yellows, 1 red.

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  17. The book lists tomato sauce as a purple, why is counted as a green in this recipe? Thanks!

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    1. I have the original version of the book where its listed as green. I think at some point, a newer edition was released where it reclassified tomatoes but I'm not 100% sure. I did see recently on social media, Autumn confirmed tomatoes and tomato sauce as a green. I think either way you count it is fine :)

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  18. Hi. So I made this tonight and measured everything (because I couldn't help myself :) ) and decided to make it 6 portions. The only change I made was to use 1 lb turkey and to use a whole blue container of cheese per portion. So the whole recipe comes out to be 8 yellow (4 c cooked pasta), about 4 red (the meat and ricotta), 5 purples (the jar had 5 c of sauce) and 6 blues. So per serving, it's 1 1/3 yellow, 2/3 red, almost 1 purple (tomato sauce is purple) and 1 blue. If you're not as anal retentive as I am, and you don't need exact numbers, then yes the calculations of 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 blue and 1 purple are perfect. And just divide evenly into 6, no need to use the green container :) Hope this helps.Oh, and it is delicious, by the way.

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    1. Sorry, forgot to mention that the only extra spice I added was a Tbsp of Mrs. Dash Italian Seasoning instead of all of the separate spices.

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    2. Awesome! Thanks for doing the math- definitely not my strongest point lol :)

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  19. Hi! I'm new to the Fix and made this last night. It was SO good and the fam loved it!! I used my green container to measure and almost felt guilty because it seemed like so much pasta...but I enjoyed every bite! Thanks for the great recipes!

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    1. So glad to hear. Thank you so much and best of luck with your Fix!

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  20. I made this for my 3rd day of round 2 fix. It was absolutely yummy! I love how you have so many good recipes. I already made the banana pancakes too. Thank you so much!

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  21. Hello, when you say 1 jar of tomato sauce is that the 32oz Jar?

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