Leaner lasagna recipe?

13

Replies

  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    jlemoore wrote: »

    Corn in lasagna? :(

    I was more disturbed by the broccoli. That is, at best, a veggie casserole. Not lasagna by any stretch.
  • neugebauer52
    neugebauer52 Posts: 1,120 Member
    I am not that keen on pasta; use grilled melanzane, red peppers and baby marrow instead.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    edited January 2019
    Not lasagna (and meatless - sometimes I even surprise myself!) but I love this baked ziti recipe. The cottage cheese is much creamier than ricotta. I have also cheated and made it with meat sauce before :tongue: Heavenly.

    https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/baked-ziti-from-cooks-illustrated-354885
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    edited January 2019
    pinuplove wrote: »
    Not lasagna (and meatless - sometimes I even surprise myself!) but I love this baked ziti recipe. The cottage cheese is much creamier than ricotta. I have also cheated and made it with meat sauce before :tongue: Heavenly.

    https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/baked-ziti-from-cooks-illustrated-354885

    I always feel like I'm being low-class when I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta, but I just don't like the dry, grainy nature of ricotta. ;)

  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    try2again wrote: »
    pinuplove wrote: »
    Not lasagna (and meatless - sometimes I even surprise myself!) but I love this baked ziti recipe. The cottage cheese is much creamier than ricotta. I have also cheated and made it with meat sauce before :tongue: Heavenly.

    https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/baked-ziti-from-cooks-illustrated-354885

    I always feel like I'm being low-class when I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta, but I just don't like the dry, grainy nature of ricotta. ;)

    I'm the same. I feel like I should prefer ricotta, but I just don't!
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    try2again wrote: »
    Well, that is what makes for diversity. For you, lasagna is a well rounded food choice. For me, not so much. I am trying to move toward fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and other lean proteins. And, logging the high calorie consequences of food choices train me to do just that.

    So just curious... would you consider the recipe I posted above to be a bad food choice?

    Did I say "bad"? Don't recall that. I thought I said "poor."
  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,899 Member
    pinuplove wrote: »
    try2again wrote: »
    pinuplove wrote: »
    Not lasagna (and meatless - sometimes I even surprise myself!) but I love this baked ziti recipe. The cottage cheese is much creamier than ricotta. I have also cheated and made it with meat sauce before :tongue: Heavenly.

    https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/baked-ziti-from-cooks-illustrated-354885

    I always feel like I'm being low-class when I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta, but I just don't like the dry, grainy nature of ricotta. ;)

    I'm the same. I feel like I should prefer ricotta, but I just don't!

    I didn't even know ricotta was a thing until my 20s. Growing up in western Canada, our lasagna was always ground beef in sauce, noodles, and the cheese layer was equal parts cottage cheese and mozzarella mixed together, then mozzarella on top.

    I made my family's lasagna the first time In stayed at my now husband's college apartment. His roommates loved it so much it got a shout out at a wedding rehearsal dinner years down the road, lol
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    try2again wrote: »
    Well, that is what makes for diversity. For you, lasagna is a well rounded food choice. For me, not so much. I am trying to move toward fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and other lean proteins. And, logging the high calorie consequences of food choices train me to do just that.

    So just curious... would you consider the recipe I posted above to be a bad food choice?

    Did I say "bad"? Don't recall that. I thought I said "poor."


    Oh, OK.

    "So just curious... would you consider the recipe I posted above to be a bad poor food choice?"

    :)
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    try2again wrote: »
    try2again wrote: »
    Well, that is what makes for diversity. For you, lasagna is a well rounded food choice. For me, not so much. I am trying to move toward fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and other lean proteins. And, logging the high calorie consequences of food choices train me to do just that.

    So just curious... would you consider the recipe I posted above to be a bad food choice?

    Did I say "bad"? Don't recall that. I thought I said "poor."


    Oh, OK.

    "So just curious... would you consider the recipe I posted above to be a bad poor food choice?"

    :)

    I suppose you are referring to the rotini recipe you posted that you said was not lasagna, right? What gave you the idea I was critiquing a skillet dish of rotini? Did I quote that above? I don't think I did. Seems like you are looking for a fight. You won't find it here. You mis-characterizing my comments doesn't matter at all to me. I like rotini. Great with a tablespoon of butter, garlic, and shrimp cooked from frozen raw. But, I don't see cottage cheese as a culinary improvement to anything heated in a skillet.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    edited January 2019
    try2again wrote: »
    try2again wrote: »
    Well, that is what makes for diversity. For you, lasagna is a well rounded food choice. For me, not so much. I am trying to move toward fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and other lean proteins. And, logging the high calorie consequences of food choices train me to do just that.

    So just curious... would you consider the recipe I posted above to be a bad food choice?

    Did I say "bad"? Don't recall that. I thought I said "poor."


    Oh, OK.

    "So just curious... would you consider the recipe I posted above to be a bad poor food choice?"

    :)

    I suppose you are referring to the rotini recipe you posted that you said was not lasagna, right? What gave you the idea I was critiquing a skillet dish of rotini? Did I quote that above? I don't think I did. Seems like you are looking for a fight. You won't find it here. You mis-characterizing my comments doesn't matter at all to me. I like rotini. Great with a tablespoon of butter, garlic, and shrimp cooked from frozen raw. But, I don't see cottage cheese as a culinary improvement to anything heated in a skillet.

    I asked because there's nothing in lasagna that's not in my rotini dish- pasta, tomatoes, cheese, some kind of protein- so if you are criticizing one as a "poor" food choice, I wondered what your criteria were?

    At any rate, you can obviously eat whatever you please. You're in a thread about lasagna, so one might think that is something you enjoy. It's just unfortunate when people perpetuate the idea that a healthy diet and/or weight management requires eliminating foods we love, which is absolutely not true.

    Wish you well :)
  • tbduarte1
    tbduarte1 Posts: 83 Member
    Best thing I have come accross (I make the best ricotta lasanga but I think a piece would be like 1500 calories)
    So i took a spaghetti squash and roasted it. I then scraped out the meat. I cooked turkey sausage with some garlic and onions and added the lowest calorie spaghetti sauce I could find. I took out half of that and mixed in one cup of skim ricotta. I put a layer of spaghetti squash in a pan, the plain meat and sauce, the rest of the squash, the ricotta, meat and sauce mixture and then I put a light dusting of finely grated skim mozzarella on top. It was amazing and well under 500 calories for a 5th of the 9x13 pan.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    try2again wrote: »
    try2again wrote: »
    Well, that is what makes for diversity. For you, lasagna is a well rounded food choice. For me, not so much. I am trying to move toward fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and other lean proteins. And, logging the high calorie consequences of food choices train me to do just that.

    So just curious... would you consider the recipe I posted above to be a bad food choice?

    Did I say "bad"? Don't recall that. I thought I said "poor."


    Oh, OK.

    "So just curious... would you consider the recipe I posted above to be a bad poor food choice?"

    :)

    I suppose you are referring to the rotini recipe you posted that you said was not lasagna, right? What gave you the idea I was critiquing a skillet dish of rotini? Did I quote that above? I don't think I did. Seems like you are looking for a fight. You won't find it here. You mis-characterizing my comments doesn't matter at all to me. I like rotini. Great with a tablespoon of butter, garlic, and shrimp cooked from frozen raw. But, I don't see cottage cheese as a culinary improvement to anything heated in a skillet.

    It's the same foods -- pasta, meat, sauce, cheese -- just mixed up differently. I have no idea why someone who has to give up lasagna forever could continue to eat all the components of lasagna just arranged differently. Is it just the word that is the problem?
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    try2again wrote: »
    try2again wrote: »
    Well, that is what makes for diversity. For you, lasagna is a well rounded food choice. For me, not so much. I am trying to move toward fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and other lean proteins. And, logging the high calorie consequences of food choices train me to do just that.

    So just curious... would you consider the recipe I posted above to be a bad food choice?

    Did I say "bad"? Don't recall that. I thought I said "poor."


    Oh, OK.

    "So just curious... would you consider the recipe I posted above to be a bad poor food choice?"

    :)

    I suppose you are referring to the rotini recipe you posted that you said was not lasagna, right? What gave you the idea I was critiquing a skillet dish of rotini? Did I quote that above? I don't think I did. Seems like you are looking for a fight. You won't find it here. You mis-characterizing my comments doesn't matter at all to me. I like rotini. Great with a tablespoon of butter, garlic, and shrimp cooked from frozen raw. But, I don't see cottage cheese as a culinary improvement to anything heated in a skillet.

    It's the same foods -- pasta, meat, sauce, cheese -- just mixed up differently. I have no idea why someone who has to give up lasagna forever could continue to eat all the components of lasagna just arranged differently. Is it just the word that is the problem?

    Did you even read the thread in post order? Jeez, you lasagna people are like some kind of cult.

    This was my post:
    A big pan of homemade lasagna with ricotta and pasta and ground meat is just one of those things a person with a weight problem needs to let go of. For my part, making it with cottage cheese or cauliflower or turkey just makes it worse. How about a jumbo shrimp cocktail with crisp lettuce and cocktail sauce?

    Do you really disagree with it?
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    try2again wrote: »
    try2again wrote: »
    Well, that is what makes for diversity. For you, lasagna is a well rounded food choice. For me, not so much. I am trying to move toward fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and other lean proteins. And, logging the high calorie consequences of food choices train me to do just that.

    So just curious... would you consider the recipe I posted above to be a bad food choice?

    Did I say "bad"? Don't recall that. I thought I said "poor."


    Oh, OK.

    "So just curious... would you consider the recipe I posted above to be a bad poor food choice?"

    :)

    I suppose you are referring to the rotini recipe you posted that you said was not lasagna, right? What gave you the idea I was critiquing a skillet dish of rotini? Did I quote that above? I don't think I did. Seems like you are looking for a fight. You won't find it here. You mis-characterizing my comments doesn't matter at all to me. I like rotini. Great with a tablespoon of butter, garlic, and shrimp cooked from frozen raw. But, I don't see cottage cheese as a culinary improvement to anything heated in a skillet.

    It's the same foods -- pasta, meat, sauce, cheese -- just mixed up differently. I have no idea why someone who has to give up lasagna forever could continue to eat all the components of lasagna just arranged differently. Is it just the word that is the problem?

    Did you even read the thread in post order? Jeez, you lasagna people are like some kind of cult.

    This was my post:
    A big pan of homemade lasagna with ricotta and pasta and ground meat is just one of those things a person with a weight problem needs to let go of. For my part, making it with cottage cheese or cauliflower or turkey just makes it worse. How about a jumbo shrimp cocktail with crisp lettuce and cocktail sauce?

    Do you really disagree with it?

    I disagree because I don't like shrimp or cocktail sauce, and lettuce is not much of a dinner. I'm also a normal weight and have no problem whatsoever with lasagna.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    try2again wrote: »
    try2again wrote: »
    Well, that is what makes for diversity. For you, lasagna is a well rounded food choice. For me, not so much. I am trying to move toward fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and other lean proteins. And, logging the high calorie consequences of food choices train me to do just that.

    So just curious... would you consider the recipe I posted above to be a bad food choice?

    Did I say "bad"? Don't recall that. I thought I said "poor."


    Oh, OK.

    "So just curious... would you consider the recipe I posted above to be a bad poor food choice?"

    :)

    I suppose you are referring to the rotini recipe you posted that you said was not lasagna, right? What gave you the idea I was critiquing a skillet dish of rotini? Did I quote that above? I don't think I did. Seems like you are looking for a fight. You won't find it here. You mis-characterizing my comments doesn't matter at all to me. I like rotini. Great with a tablespoon of butter, garlic, and shrimp cooked from frozen raw. But, I don't see cottage cheese as a culinary improvement to anything heated in a skillet.

    It's the same foods -- pasta, meat, sauce, cheese -- just mixed up differently. I have no idea why someone who has to give up lasagna forever could continue to eat all the components of lasagna just arranged differently. Is it just the word that is the problem?

    Did you even read the thread in post order? Jeez, you lasagna people are like some kind of cult.

    This was my post:
    A big pan of homemade lasagna with ricotta and pasta and ground meat is just one of those things a person with a weight problem needs to let go of. For my part, making it with cottage cheese or cauliflower or turkey just makes it worse. How about a jumbo shrimp cocktail with crisp lettuce and cocktail sauce?

    Do you really disagree with it?

    Given that I've told you previously that I haven't had lasagna for several years, it's odd that you'd ask *me* if I'm reading your posts. I'm not a lasagna person, I'm just applying logic here.

    Yes, I disagree that a person with a weight issue is required to "let go" of homemade lasagna. I disagreed when I responded to your initial post and you haven't yet typed anything since that justifies the comment. I understand why *you* no longer eat lasagna, I don't understand why you've concluded that nobody else with a weight problem should, especially since you aren't including a "skillet dish of rotini" on the ban list.

    Ricotta, pasta, ground meat, these are just foods. Like any food, they can be consumed in appropriate portions by people who wish to do so. If you disagree, maybe you can try explaining why instead of just throwing around accusations of cult membership.

  • COGypsy
    COGypsy Posts: 1,365 Member
    pinuplove wrote: »
    jlemoore wrote: »

    Corn in lasagna? :(

    I was more disturbed by the broccoli. That is, at best, a veggie casserole. Not lasagna by any stretch.

    Actually, broccoli is great in a veggie lasagna. Chopped into tiny florets, it adds a more substantial mouthfeel to the casserole.

    And I say that as someone who is no great fan of vegetables or Italian food.
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    This may not be what you're looking for at all but I made it with zuchinni in place of the noodles and it was amazing. The pasta can really jack up the calories alot. I used a lower fat mozzarella and if you used ground turkey you could cut a bit more there. I still used some parm and I use a cheese here called quark in place of the ricotta just cause I prefer the taste. Good luck.
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    Sorry just realized this is 3 years old. :s:s
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    crazyravr wrote: »
    Ditto for zoodles, its not spaghetti.

    Zoodles are pasta.

    haloh2pzj2i3.jpg

  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    crazyravr wrote: »
    @Tacklewasher well played, well played.... but you know what I mean :)

    Actually, before I joined MFP, I had no idea that there was another kind of zoodles.
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    crazyravr wrote: »
    This may not be what you're looking for at all but I made it with zuchinni in place of the noodles and it was amazing. The pasta can really jack up the calories alot. I used a lower fat mozzarella and if you used ground turkey you could cut a bit more there. I still used some parm and I use a cheese here called quark in place of the ricotta just cause I prefer the taste. Good luck.

    Ok. Anytime, and I do mean anytime, we substitute veggies for pasta, its not the same dish. So what you are making is a veggie casserole. Not lasagna. Ditto for zoodles, its not spaghetti. It will never be the same.

    Actually it was just like lasagna and we all enjoyed it immensly. Not everyone is going to feel the same. But that's what makes us all individuals. ;)
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    Just use your favorite recipe, and use reduced fat ground beef (and/or Italian sausage), reduced fat ricotta, and reduced fat mozzarella. Read labels on your sauce ingredients, and choose one that has lower calories. If you make your own sauce, use stevia instead of sugar and watch the added fat. If you sautee your vegetables, do it in a no-stick pan with olive oil spray. You should be able to shave two or three hundred calories off a serving of your favorite recipe that way. You can also choose whole wheat pasta to increase the fiber, or protein pasta to increase the protein if you'd like. The recipes I've used for lasagna are from Evelyn Tribole's "Healthy Homestyle Cooking" and "More Healthy Homestyle Cooking". She does a great job of tweaking home cooking recipes and comfort food to make them "leaner".
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    crazyravr wrote: »
    This may not be what you're looking for at all but I made it with zuchinni in place of the noodles and it was amazing. The pasta can really jack up the calories alot. I used a lower fat mozzarella and if you used ground turkey you could cut a bit more there. I still used some parm and I use a cheese here called quark in place of the ricotta just cause I prefer the taste. Good luck.

    Ok. Anytime, and I do mean anytime, we substitute veggies for pasta, its not the same dish. So what you are making is a veggie casserole. Not lasagna. Ditto for zoodles, its not spaghetti. It will never be the same.

    I tend to agree. I consider the pasta essential to a pasta dish ;)
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    edited January 2019
    try2again wrote: »
    try2again wrote: »
    Well, that is what makes for diversity. For you, lasagna is a well rounded food choice. For me, not so much. I am trying to move toward fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and other lean proteins. And, logging the high calorie consequences of food choices train me to do just that.

    So just curious... would you consider the recipe I posted above to be a bad food choice?

    Did I say "bad"? Don't recall that. I thought I said "poor."


    Oh, OK.

    "So just curious... would you consider the recipe I posted above to be a bad poor food choice?"

    :)

    I suppose you are referring to the rotini recipe you posted that you said was not lasagna, right? What gave you the idea I was critiquing a skillet dish of rotini? Did I quote that above? I don't think I did. Seems like you are looking for a fight. You won't find it here. You mis-characterizing my comments doesn't matter at all to me. I like rotini. Great with a tablespoon of butter, garlic, and shrimp cooked from frozen raw. But, I don't see cottage cheese as a culinary improvement to anything heated in a skillet.

    It's the same foods -- pasta, meat, sauce, cheese -- just mixed up differently. I have no idea why someone who has to give up lasagna forever could continue to eat all the components of lasagna just arranged differently. Is it just the word that is the problem?

    Did you even read the thread in post order? Jeez, you lasagna people are like some kind of cult.

    This was my post:
    A big pan of homemade lasagna with ricotta and pasta and ground meat is just one of those things a person with a weight problem needs to let go of. For my part, making it with cottage cheese or cauliflower or turkey just makes it worse. How about a jumbo shrimp cocktail with crisp lettuce and cocktail sauce?

    Do you really disagree with it?

    Given that I've told you previously that I haven't had lasagna for several years, it's odd that you'd ask *me* if I'm reading your posts. I'm not a lasagna person, I'm just applying logic here.

    Yes, I disagree that a person with a weight issue is required to "let go" of homemade lasagna. I disagreed when I responded to your initial post and you haven't yet typed anything since that justifies the comment. I understand why *you* no longer eat lasagna, I don't understand why you've concluded that nobody else with a weight problem should, especially since you aren't including a "skillet dish of rotini" on the ban list.

    Ricotta, pasta, ground meat, these are just foods. Like any food, they can be consumed in appropriate portions by people who wish to do so. If you disagree, maybe you can try explaining why instead of just throwing around accusations of cult membership.

    did I say "required?" I said "needs to let go." They need it, but are not "required" to do it. And, from the looks of this thread are not going to let it go and are not planning on better food choices (the thought of cottage cheese substituted for actual ricotta in a dish make me want to throw up).

    Tell your favorite nutritionist that a good food choice for an obese person is a big ole pan of homemade lasagna with ricotta and pasta and ground meat, and they will think you are nuts. But, I have been flamed enough. Chow down on that big pan of lasagna, and I'll be making more sensible choices for myself.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    try2again wrote: »
    try2again wrote: »
    Well, that is what makes for diversity. For you, lasagna is a well rounded food choice. For me, not so much. I am trying to move toward fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and other lean proteins. And, logging the high calorie consequences of food choices train me to do just that.

    So just curious... would you consider the recipe I posted above to be a bad food choice?

    Did I say "bad"? Don't recall that. I thought I said "poor."


    Oh, OK.

    "So just curious... would you consider the recipe I posted above to be a bad poor food choice?"

    :)

    I suppose you are referring to the rotini recipe you posted that you said was not lasagna, right? What gave you the idea I was critiquing a skillet dish of rotini? Did I quote that above? I don't think I did. Seems like you are looking for a fight. You won't find it here. You mis-characterizing my comments doesn't matter at all to me. I like rotini. Great with a tablespoon of butter, garlic, and shrimp cooked from frozen raw. But, I don't see cottage cheese as a culinary improvement to anything heated in a skillet.

    It's the same foods -- pasta, meat, sauce, cheese -- just mixed up differently. I have no idea why someone who has to give up lasagna forever could continue to eat all the components of lasagna just arranged differently. Is it just the word that is the problem?

    Did you even read the thread in post order? Jeez, you lasagna people are like some kind of cult.

    This was my post:
    A big pan of homemade lasagna with ricotta and pasta and ground meat is just one of those things a person with a weight problem needs to let go of. For my part, making it with cottage cheese or cauliflower or turkey just makes it worse. How about a jumbo shrimp cocktail with crisp lettuce and cocktail sauce?

    Do you really disagree with it?

    Given that I've told you previously that I haven't had lasagna for several years, it's odd that you'd ask *me* if I'm reading your posts. I'm not a lasagna person, I'm just applying logic here.

    Yes, I disagree that a person with a weight issue is required to "let go" of homemade lasagna. I disagreed when I responded to your initial post and you haven't yet typed anything since that justifies the comment. I understand why *you* no longer eat lasagna, I don't understand why you've concluded that nobody else with a weight problem should, especially since you aren't including a "skillet dish of rotini" on the ban list.

    Ricotta, pasta, ground meat, these are just foods. Like any food, they can be consumed in appropriate portions by people who wish to do so. If you disagree, maybe you can try explaining why instead of just throwing around accusations of cult membership.

    did I say "required?" I said "needs to let go." They need it, but are not "required" to do it. And, from the looks of this thread are not going to let it go and are not planning on better food choices (the thought of cottage cheese substituted for actual ricotta in a dish make me want to throw up).

    Tell your favorite nutritionist that a good food choice for an obese person is a big ole pan of homemade lasagna with ricotta and pasta and ground meat, and they will think you are nuts. But, I have been flamed enough. Chow down on that big pan of lasagna, and I'll be making more sensible choices for myself.

    Who said anything about a "big ole pan". It's a perfectly fine meal. Calorie dense, yes. Nutritionally dense, yes. Something that can be weighed and fit into a diet, yes. Did it, do it, and will do it again. No issues here.
This discussion has been closed.