Low fat Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 1 package Lasagna noodles
• low-sodium vegetable broth
• part-skim Ricotta Cheese (16 oz.)
• shredded parmesan cheese; part-skim mozzarella cheese
• fresh spinach, shredded carrots
• sliced mushrooms
• garlic clove
• one can of tomato sauce
• one egg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. In small bowl, mix 3 cups of Ricotta cheese, 1 cup parm. cheese, and egg.
3. Begin to boil the water for the lasagna noodles, add salt to taste.
4. Sauté separately each of the vegetables, adding one cup of vegetable broth (use instead of olive oil) to pan.
5. Sauté garlic with spinach mixture.
6. When the noodles are done, empty into colander and run some cold water on the noodles so they don’t stick.
7. At the bottom of the pan, add a thin layer of tomato sauce.
8. Then add a noodle layer, one vegetable layer with cheese mixture (mushrooms and cheese work well), noodle layer, then remaining vegetables.
9. Top the dish with remaining tomato sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
10. Cover tightly with tin foil and cook for 45 minutes at 375.
11. Take the foil off the last few minutes to brown the top.

Comments

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• Tip of the Month

  June 2010

  Abdominal Workouts: Frequency, Intensity, and Duration

  Over the past 15 years, there has been countless advice on how to “properly” train your abdominals, or core.  There isn’t a fitness magazine out there that doesn’t publish a different abdominal workout each and every issue.  Opinions and research may change over time, but there are a few things you should look at before you alter your workout with each Fitness Magazine you read!
  First of all, it is important to know what your overall fitness and health goal is before designing a strength program for any body part, especially the mid-section.  For overall fitness, it is smartest to treat your abdominal muscles as you would any other muscle group.  The tried and true guidelines for most exercise programs is to work specific muscles to fatigue within a 30-60 second set time limit (intensity and duration,) while giving the worked muscle group at least 24-48 hours of rest (frequency) before working it again.  The amount of sets you do in a given workout (frequency again) can vary from as little as 4 sets to up to 12 for the average workout.  The science behind these theories is sound.  While exercising, pushing your body significantly past the 60 second mark without fatigue generally incorporates aerobic energy, thereby not stressing the muscles most efficiently.  And rest is necessary so that your body can properly rebuild the muscle fibers that you have broken down.  Additionally, you want to be at 100% energy levels for your next workout!

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  click here to read past tips

• Recipe of the Month

  June 2010

  Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

  This healthy update of a traditionally rich ham-and-cheese breakfast strata is made lighter primarily by losing a few egg yolks and using nonfat milk. Gruyère cheese has a delicious, nutty aroma and flavor, which means that with the relatively small amount in this recipe you still get a big impact. To finish the makeover use nutritious, fiber-rich, whole-grain bread instead of white. The results: plenty of flavor, half the calories and one-third the fat of the original.

  4 large eggs
  4 large egg whites
  1 cup nonfat milk
  2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
  1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  5 cups chopped spinach, wilted (see Tip)
  4 cups whole-grain bread, crusts removed if desired, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1/2 pound, 4-6 slices)
  1 cup diced ham steak, (5 ounces)
  1/2 cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers
  3/4 cup shredded Gruyère, or Swiss cheese
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