Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

This recipe serves:  8  
Preparation time :   25 minutes
Cooking time :   35 minutes 

Ingredients
1 pound lasagna noodles
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 bunches fresh spinach, washed and stemmed
2 cups low-fat ricotta cheese
pinch of nutmeg
2 cups basic tomato sauce, homemade, jarred or canned
1 cup shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Cooking Instructions
1. Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil and prepare a large bowl of ice water. Add the lasagna noodles to the boiling water and cook until they are just al dente. Drain and plunge the noodles into the ice water to cool them quickly. Drain again and lay the noodles out on paper towels.
2. Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, season with salt, pepper and oregano and cook for two minutes. Add half of the garlic and cook until the mushrooms are browned on the edges. Set the mushrooms aside in a strainer to allow the excess liquid to drain.
3. Wipe the inside of the pan with a paper towel and heat the remaining olive oil in it over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, salt and pepper and cook for 30 seconds. (It’s easier to distribute the salt and pepper in the oil before adding the spinach). Add the spinach (with the water that clings to it) and cook until it is just wilted. Set the spinach in a strainer to allow the excess liquid to drain.
4. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
5. In a medium bowl, season the ricotta cheese with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
6. Cover the bottom of a large baking dish that is at least 2 inches deep with a thin coat of tomato sauce. Line the dish with a single layer of lasagna noodles. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles and sprinkle with some of the mozzarella cheese. Spread all of the mushrooms over the cheese and sprinkle with a few tablespoons of breadcrumbs. Repeat with another layer of noodles, cheeses, the spinach mixture and breadcrumbs. Continue with another layer of noodles, the remaining ricotta, a sprinkling of mozzarella and the remaining tomato sauce. Finish with a final layer of noodles sprinkled with the remaining mozzarella and breadcrumbs.
7. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the top is golden brown, about 5 minutes more. Let stand for at least 15 minutes before cutting into squares and serving. 

Nutrition Facts
 
Serving Size: 1 piece
 
Calories 419
 
Protein 24 g
Total Carbohydrate 60 g
Dietary Fiber 6 g
Sugar 9 g
Total Fat 11 g 

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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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• 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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