Thursday, January 8, 2015

Lasagna

You can have lasagna on 21-Day Fix??? Yes, yes you can!

I have a favorite lasagna recipe I always make for dinner parties, potlucks, taking people meals after they have babies, etc. It just needed a little modifying so that I could enjoy it myself, while keeping in line with the 21-Day Fix eating plan.

Enjoy!

21-Day Fix Portions:
Okay, so here’s what the official eating plan tells you to do when eat a meat lasagna- It says to portion it using a green container but count it as 2 yellow, 1 red. With this particular recipe, it seems more logical in my head to still use the green container for portion control, but instead count 1 yellow, 1 red, 1 green, 1 blue- that’s what I would personally count, but I think you will be fine checking off either of these portion recommendations.

Ingredients
  1. Whole wheat lasagna noodles (8 if you want 2 layers, 12 if you want 3 layers)
  2. 1 lb lean ground turkey
  3. 1½ jars clean pasta sauce (I like Classico. If you want it extra saucy, use 2 full jars. If you like less sauce, you can get by with 1 jar)
  4. 1 carton cottage cheese
  5. 1 8oz. package shredded mozzarella or italian blend cheese
  6. ¾ cup real shredded parmesan cheese
  7. 1 egg
  8. 1 green container (combined) finely chopped celery, onion, carrot
  9. 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  10. ¼ cup red wine (optional, for pan deglazing)
  11. ¼ cup finely chopped parsley
  12. Italian seasoning

Directions

  1. Boil water for noodles (add a splash of extra virgin olive oil so they don’t stick together). Cook noodles according to package instructions.
  2. Meanwhile, in a dutch oven, brown ground turkey. Season with italian seasoning and remove from pan.
  3. Add a drizzle of EVOO to the same pan. Saute vegetables and garlic until tender.
  4. Return the ground turkey to the pan. Add the wine to deglaze the pan and allow wine to reduce.
  5. Stir in pasta sauce and parsley and simmer until heated through. Feel free to adjust sauce seasonings to taste (you can use garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, etc.)
  6. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg until well beaten
  7. Add the cottage cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella, ½ cup parmesan, and a generous sprinkle of italian seasoning. Stir to combine with the egg until everything is well blended.
  8. When the noodles have finished boiling, rinse with cold water and pat dry completely using kitchen towels.
  9. Begin the lasagna layering process in a lightly-greased 13x9 pan: Sauce, noodles, cheese mixture, repeat.
  10. Once you have added the final layer, pour any remaining sauce over top. 
  11. Then sprinkle remaining 1 cup mozzarella and ¼ cup parmesan on the top.
  12. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue cooking an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese on the top is bubbly.

29 comments:

  1. This looks so good! Thank you for all the healthy recipes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much- its one of my favorites- hope you enjoy it!

      Delete
  2. Never realized how delicious a diet can be, i'm definitely trying this lasagna!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As they say, its not a diet, its a lifestyle change :)... Hope you enjoy the lasagna- its one of my favorites...plus it feels like a cheat meal, but its not!

      Delete
  3. What container would you use to portion out your piece?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Use a green container to scoop out your portion, but check off different color containers- see the notes above the recipe :)

      Delete
  4. This sounds like a great recipe! I just started the 21 day fix yesterday, I am already tired of rice and chicken! I had one question though, what size container was the cottage cheese you bought? Or would you know in cups about how much the recipe calls for? Thanks!!
    Angie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I bought the Breakstone's reduced fat cottage cheese- just the regular carton. I think its 16oz/2 cups...

      Delete
    2. P.S. Best of luck to you on your 21-day fix!

      Delete
  5. Did you use the whole container of cottage cheese or just 1 cup??

    ReplyDelete
  6. Is there a substitute for the cottage cheese as far as how it tastes? I'm not a huge fan of the texture.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can use ricotta as you would in any standard lasnaga. It also counts as a red on 21 day fix. But, the texture of the cottage cheese shouldn't be an issue in this- once its mixed and baked, you lose the texture. My hubby hates cottage cheese but loves this lasanga!

      Delete
  7. Can you use low fat ricotta instead of cottage cheese?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely! An equal trade off- counts the same as a red container

      Delete
  8. Hello there. I made this tonight and it was so so good! My whole family loved it! I had one question though. How many cups of mozzarella and parm cheese total are there? I feel like I added too much cheese for it to be only one blue. The ingredient list calls for 1 cup mozzarella and 3/4 parm? Then you add more to the top? I loved this so much!!! I just want to be sure I'm counting right. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are correct. Keep in mind the amount of mozzerella and parmesan listed in the ingredients is for the WHOLE lasanga- you are just eating a 1 cup portion (equivalent to what fits in a green container) so that should be about 1 blue's worth of cheese. Hope that helps :)

      Delete
  9. How many servings does the recipe make?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Can you help me adjust this. I haven't started yet but I'm getting my stuff together. I'm not a big meat eater so I think I would like a spinach and mushroom with no meat. I also don't eat onions. I know how I can make it but what would the serving containers be?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sure! Just don't count a red, and instead count an extra green. Hope it turns out great!

      Delete
  11. This is sooo delicious! Seriously everything you make is so good; there hasn't been one 21 Day Fix recipe on your blog that I haven't loved. I know you haven't updated frequently, but I would LOVE any other recipes you have to share :) Thanks so much!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much! Been a really crazy season for me recently, but starting to get back in the swing of putting together some new recipes- stay tuned!

      Delete
  12. Lasagna is one of my favorite meals, but only when my mother makes it. She does not even have to add all the extra parsley and seasonings like you have. I don't know what her secret is but it is the best. I've made it with her a couple of times and I still don't know how she does it.

    Felicia Curtis @ Amelias Balboa Island

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow! This is my typical lasagne recipe modified by using turkey and whole wheat noodles! I have always used cottage cheese mixed with an egg and it is wonderful. Thank you for sharing this....it's nice being able to use a favorite recipe (modified just a little) and know that it is healthy too!

    ReplyDelete
  14. This looks yummy!! I have a question about a substitution. If I were to swap out zucchini noodles for the whole wheat noodles, how would.that change my container count?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Fixed this tonight, substituted extra lean ground beef. Was delicious! Thank you for these wonderful recipes!

    ReplyDelete