how do you make lowfat lasagna?
- Thread starter nancy2394
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OH! Instead of the noodles, use zucchini, sliced thinly, lengthwise.
Not really any reason to mix skim ricotta with lowfat cottage cheese; just use the ricotta and add several beaten eggs. The eggs will give you fluffy volume, protein and aminos at a caloric saving over the same amount of cheese.
The thing with lasagne is the portion . . . and eat slowly and have a nice large, leafy salad. Since the lasagne has tomato sauce, try using citrus or apple in your salad instead of tomato. The variety of flavors will satisfy you better.
Not really any reason to mix skim ricotta with lowfat cottage cheese; just use the ricotta and add several beaten eggs. The eggs will give you fluffy volume, protein and aminos at a caloric saving over the same amount of cheese.
The thing with lasagne is the portion . . . and eat slowly and have a nice large, leafy salad. Since the lasagne has tomato sauce, try using citrus or apple in your salad instead of tomato. The variety of flavors will satisfy you better.
It's hard to find zuchini in season this time of year. And we already got the wheat lasagna noodles.... so I think for this time I will use those and maybe try it with the zuchini slices when I can get them. Okay, I will just get the ricotta cheese instead of the cottage cheese. I think I'll be okay with the tomatoes since I've not had anything to eat today except a protein shake this morning before I went to sleep. I already have a salad made and it has some cherry tomatoes in it.. but again, I think it'll be okay since I don't plan on eating 1200 calories in one meal 
I'm excited about dinner now... MMmmm.. I love lasagna. I just hope it doesn't taste like crap because it's all going to be relatively low fat and most low fat stuff I eat has no flavor. But, it's worth a try. I'll let you know how it turns out. I really want some nice garlic bread sticks to go with it but I will pass since I will be having enough carbs in the lasagna. Oh, I can't wait until dinner!!
I'm excited about dinner now... MMmmm.. I love lasagna. I just hope it doesn't taste like crap because it's all going to be relatively low fat and most low fat stuff I eat has no flavor. But, it's worth a try. I'll let you know how it turns out. I really want some nice garlic bread sticks to go with it but I will pass since I will be having enough carbs in the lasagna. Oh, I can't wait until dinner!!
If your sauce is good the lasagne will be good
Add plenty of oregano and basil to your ricotta, too. And chopped mushrooms!
Add plenty of oregano and basil to your ricotta, too. And chopped mushrooms!
. Oh well, it will just have to be mushroomless...lol. I'm expecting it to taste like crap... that way if it tastes good.. it will be a pleasant surprise.My belly is growling so bad right now, I'm starving. I didn't want to go this long without eating anything but I was just too tired to get up at lunch. I didn't wake up until after 4pm...lol. Maybe I'll just go ahead and drink a protein shake to tide me over, and then maybe I won't be so starving which could very much cause me to over indulge in my portion size.
My regular lasagna recipe is very simple and it turns out really good. I usually just get 2 boxes of the lasagna noodles and boil them up until they are limp. I tried the pre boiled ones that you just put right into the lasagna as is and they were terrible.
I fry up hamburg and season it while it's frying and then drain the grease. In a large mixing bowl I would mix up the ricotta cheese with some eggs and lots of oregano and parsley and perhaps a few other touches of seasonings like salt and pepper.
If I'm in a hurry I use jar sauce... but you can make it from scratch and let it simmer for a few hours and I usually add some diced tomatoes to the sauce for texture and added taste.
I add the meat into the sauce and then you just start to layer the lasagna. The noodles go on bottom.. then I put the hamburg and sauce mixture followed by a relatively thick layer of the ricotta cheese mixture. I would then put a thin layer of the motzerella cheese with some fresh parmesan cheese too.
Just keep repeating the layers until you get to the top of the pan. I always top my lasagna with a fairly thick layer of the motzerella cheese and some parmesan cheese.
Pop it in the oven and drool as the smells of it cooking make it's way to your nostrils. I love lasagna... so I'm a bit worried this will disappoint me cooking it all lowfat, but I just can't afford to eat it the fat way... so I will force myself to get used to it the lowfat way.
Now keep in mind you can add different things to your lasagna for your own taste like the mushrooms. Some people prefer veggies in their lasagna. I was a traditional lasagna lover.
I fry up hamburg and season it while it's frying and then drain the grease. In a large mixing bowl I would mix up the ricotta cheese with some eggs and lots of oregano and parsley and perhaps a few other touches of seasonings like salt and pepper.
If I'm in a hurry I use jar sauce... but you can make it from scratch and let it simmer for a few hours and I usually add some diced tomatoes to the sauce for texture and added taste.
I add the meat into the sauce and then you just start to layer the lasagna. The noodles go on bottom.. then I put the hamburg and sauce mixture followed by a relatively thick layer of the ricotta cheese mixture. I would then put a thin layer of the motzerella cheese with some fresh parmesan cheese too.
Just keep repeating the layers until you get to the top of the pan. I always top my lasagna with a fairly thick layer of the motzerella cheese and some parmesan cheese.
Pop it in the oven and drool as the smells of it cooking make it's way to your nostrils. I love lasagna... so I'm a bit worried this will disappoint me cooking it all lowfat, but I just can't afford to eat it the fat way... so I will force myself to get used to it the lowfat way.
Now keep in mind you can add different things to your lasagna for your own taste like the mushrooms. Some people prefer veggies in their lasagna. I was a traditional lasagna lover.
Traditional lasagna is quite good!
My mother makes a zucchini bake that, while not an actual substitute, is still very good. Slice up zucchini and yellow squash, red onions and a couple other veggies (I haven't had it in a while so I can't remember what all goes in it), pour over a good hearty sauce (meatless goes best) and then cover in mozzarella cheese. Bake (350 for 30 min. I think) and serve! There's lots of good protein in it from the veggies and since you don't have meat in the sauce, the fat from the cheese is ok, so long as you don't go overboard with it.
Now I'M starving...
My mother makes a zucchini bake that, while not an actual substitute, is still very good. Slice up zucchini and yellow squash, red onions and a couple other veggies (I haven't had it in a while so I can't remember what all goes in it), pour over a good hearty sauce (meatless goes best) and then cover in mozzarella cheese. Bake (350 for 30 min. I think) and serve! There's lots of good protein in it from the veggies and since you don't have meat in the sauce, the fat from the cheese is ok, so long as you don't go overboard with it.
Now I'M starving...
Oh, I forgot all about sausage. Sometimes I would cut up some italian sausage I had fried up and put it in the meat sauce mixture and it adds a nice taste to it. But I think I tended to gravitate to the "traditional" style lasagna for some reason. Oh, my mouth is just watering thinking about lasagna.
we have this local italian restaurant in chattanooga that I absolutely love but rarely go there because they are so expensive.. but oooohhhh.... it's soooo good. I always leave there feeling like I had an orgasm in my mouth. I've never gotten their lasagna but it sure smells good.
Renee... the next time you are in the chattanooga area you MUST go to Carabas. That is hands down my favorite restaurant ever. Oh.. I want so bad to go there again. But seeing as we dropped 80 bucks for lunch when my sister was here for just 3 of us to eat.. I won't be going there anytime soon...lol.
we have this local italian restaurant in chattanooga that I absolutely love but rarely go there because they are so expensive.. but oooohhhh.... it's soooo good. I always leave there feeling like I had an orgasm in my mouth. I've never gotten their lasagna but it sure smells good.
Renee... the next time you are in the chattanooga area you MUST go to Carabas. That is hands down my favorite restaurant ever. Oh.. I want so bad to go there again. But seeing as we dropped 80 bucks for lunch when my sister was here for just 3 of us to eat.. I won't be going there anytime soon...lol.
There's a Carabas' in Knoxville, Nancy
There's also a little place in one of the older sections of Knoxville that still has the old red and white checked oilcloth tablecloths, the candles in chianti bottles, etc. . . . and is still run by an Italian family Oh man . . . Trouble with me, though, is that I've only got so many splurges I'm willing to do and I will ALWAYS pass up Italian for Mexican, lol.
There's also a little place in one of the older sections of Knoxville that still has the old red and white checked oilcloth tablecloths, the candles in chianti bottles, etc. . . . and is still run by an Italian family
Oh man . . . Trouble with me, though, is that I've only got so many splurges I'm willing to do and I will ALWAYS pass up Italian for Mexican, lol.
OOOhhhhh... I'm a very bad girl....lol. That lasagna turned out so friggen good that I over indulged and now I'm miserably full. The sauce was good.. the meat was good.. everything was good and it just amazes me that it was all made lowfat.. even the cheese! I was not expecting it to have much taste and I figured the textures would be different. But it was sooooo good. I ate a big piece and was stuffed and then Arielle was going back for a second piece and I thought I might like one too. Then I decided "no, I'm full... nevermind" But TJ says "you haven't eaten anything today except a shake this morning so another small piece won't hurt you" and he brought me over another piece. I knew I didn't need that extra piece even if it was way smaller than the first piece I took... but I ate it and forced myself to finish it.
I had been doing so good to push food away when I was full. Not sure why I failed to do so this time... I wonder if it's because we actually ate dinner on the couch in front of the TV tonight because american idol was on. We usually eat at the dinner table.
So... it was a big hit... I can't believe Arielle even loved it. I will definately make that again, but only one piece for me next time.
I had been doing so good to push food away when I was full. Not sure why I failed to do so this time... I wonder if it's because we actually ate dinner on the couch in front of the TV tonight because american idol was on. We usually eat at the dinner table.
So... it was a big hit... I can't believe Arielle even loved it. I will definately make that again, but only one piece for me next time.
There's a Carabas' in Knoxville, Nancy
There's also a little place in one of the older sections of Knoxville that still has the old red and white checked oilcloth tablecloths, the candles in chianti bottles, etc. . . . and is still run by an Italian family Oh man . . . Trouble with me, though, is that I've only got so many splurges I'm willing to do and I will ALWAYS pass up Italian for Mexican, lol.
There's also a little place in one of the older sections of Knoxville that still has the old red and white checked oilcloth tablecloths, the candles in chianti bottles, etc. . . . and is still run by an Italian family
Oh man . . . Trouble with me, though, is that I've only got so many splurges I'm willing to do and I will ALWAYS pass up Italian for Mexican, lol.