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Lightened Up Comfort Food: Skinny Lasagna

I’ll be the first to say it. After a long, stressful day, the last thing I want for dinner is a salad or a light meal. When I’m stressed, I want something indulgent. And let’s face it: I’m not the only one.

Most of my patients tells me the same thing – when they’re sad, stressed out, or just in a rush, they want comfort. I did more research and found the most Googled recipes for the past few years. Guess what I found? What did all those recipes have in common?

They were comfort food recipes. Fried chicken, pizza, chili, ribs, banana bread, and lasagna. These are some of my favorite foods and I bet they’re some of yours too.

I’m going to teach you how to make a lightened-up lasagna that you’ll love. This is a great dish for entertaining as well as a hearty weeknight meal. It’ll even boost the performance of your BIO-X4? How? This recipe is packed with prebiotics.

What are prebiotics? They’re foods that are rich in the soluble fiber that those probiotics in your BIO-X4 use for food. By eating prebiotic-rich foods, you’ll strengthen the probiotic colonies in your gut, making them more effective. Prebiotic-rich foods include: Cherries, blackberries, brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, and asparagus.

In this recipe, we’re featuring a few other foods that are full of prebiotics – whole wheat, onions, garlic, carrots, spinach and kidney beans.  You’ll also get your fill of lean protein from the ground beef and calcium from the cheese.

Yes, I said cheese.  You can absolutely eat cheese, pasta and beef and still lose weight!.  Ready to cook?  I suggest you double this recipe, make 2 lasagnas and freeze one. That means you’ll have a healthy dinner option in your freezer for days when you don’t feel like cooking.

Supplies You’ll Need:

9 x 13 inch baking dish Mixing Bowl Knife
Large Pasta Pot With Lid Spatula Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons Cutting Board Large Nonstick Pan with Lid

Ingredients: 

  • 9-10 whole wheat lasagna noodles
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 4 carrots, finely chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 10-oz packages of frozen spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry.
  • 1 cup canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 24-oz jar of meatless pasta sauce
  • 1/2 pound 97% lean ground beef
  • 1 15-oz container skim ricotta cheese
  • 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 3/4 cup fresh-grated parmesan cheese
  • 3 egg whites
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon salt

I know, that seems like a lot of ingredients, but I promise that all of them are available in any grocery store. I’ve even seen all of these ingredients in my local Target. Plus, I bet many of them are already in your pantry.  

If you want to make this a vegetarian lasagna, skip the beef, double the beans and add ½ teaspoon of olive oil to the mix. 

Make the Pasta:Cook the noodles according to the instructions on box. Drain and rinse in cold water.

Preheat your oven to 375.

Make the Sauce:Over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef and a pinch of salt in the olive oil. Add the onion, carrot, garlic, and beans. When vegetables are tender, add pasta sauce, stir to combine and remove from heat.

Make the Cheese Filling:Add the spinach, ricotta, egg whites, mozzarella, herbs, spices, and salt. Add 1/2 cup of the parmesan (hold onto the other 1/4 cup for later.) Stir to combine.

Assembling the Lasagna:Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of your baking pan. Continue to layer as you would a regular lasagna, topping with the reserved 1/4 cup of cheese.

Baking the Lasagna: Bake covered at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

There you have it – a delicious recipe that is as comforting as it is good for you. I hope you enjoy! I love serving this lasagna to dinner guests – the only side dish it needs is a good salad and maybe some garlic bread if I’m feeling indulgent.

Enjoy!

About the Author

Dr. Amy Lee

Dr. Amy Lee has board certifications in internal medicine, physician nutrition and obesity medicine specialty. She practices internal medicine with a heavy emphasis on nutrition, wellness and weight management. Her Clinical nutrition fellowship training at UCLA has allowed her to incorporate realistic lifestyle modification in all her medicine patients.