help me makeover my baked ziti please!

Baked Ziti (from the biggest loser family cook book )

Olive oil spray
1(14 1/2 oz) box fiber enriched ziti or penne rigate ( I used Ronzoni Smart Taste)
1 (15 oz) container fat free ricotti cheese
2 large egg whites
8 ounces (4 cups) finely shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
crushed red pepper flakes to taste
Main Event Marinara Sauce or 3 1/2 cups other low fat , low sodium marinara
2 Tbsp grated reduced fat Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 450. Lightly list a 13x9x2 ceramic or glass baking dish with olive oil spray. Cook the ziti according to package directions until al dente. Drain. In large mixing bowl mix the ricotta, egg whites, and all but 1 cup of the mozzarella until well combined . Add the garlic powder and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Stir in the cooked pasta until well combined . Spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce on the bottom of the prepared dish . Add half of the pasta in an even layer over the sauce. Top the pasta evenly with another 1 cup sauce. Layer the remaining pasta over the sauce. Spoon the remaining 1 1/2 cups sauce evenly over the top of the pasta, the sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and the parmesan over the top. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes, Remove the foil and bake 10 minutes longer, or until the mozzarella is melted. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces or spoon among 8 bowls and serve.

Makes 8 servings..Per serving: 350 calories, 22 g protein, 57g carbs, 6g fat 20mg cholesterol 8g fiber 429mg sodium

Main Event Marinara sauce

Olive oil spray
1 cup minced yellow or white onion
2 Tbsp freshly minced garlic
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. no salt added tomato paste
2 tsp. honey
1 tbsp. dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
salt to taste (optional)

Spray a medium nonstick saucepan with the olive oil spray and place over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until just becoming tender (they should not brown), 4 to 6 minutes.Reduce the heat to low and with a wooden spoon stir in the tomatoes, water, tomato paste, honey, oregano, basil, and pepper flakes until we combined. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for at least 1 hour. Season with salt if needed.

Makes 7(1/2 cup) servings: about 3 1/2 cups sauce
Per Serving: 63 calories, 3g protein, 15g carbs, less than 1g fat, 3g fiber 156mg sodium

Both of these recipes are yummy ..Enjoy

Ground beef grosses me out - that gristle and grease, yuck! I only use ground turkey. But don't use the 99% lean turkey - it's too dry. Cut out some of the cheese. Don't use canned meat sauce, just use marinara (i make my own) - why would you need meat sauce if you're already adding your own meat? :drinker:

I LOVE all Italian dishes...but since cutting out all dairy, processed foods and gluten, It's rare that I get to indulge However, I still have managed to get my fix in. I use gluten free noodles (usually made out of quinoa or brown rice flour)...tastes great and you honestly can't tell the difference. WAY more nutrients. Also, I use ricotta nut cheese instead of ricotta. Sounds seriously crazy, but it's honestly SO good and you can't tell the difference. My fiance eats meat daily and usually turns his nose up to my meals, but I made lasagna with this nut cheese, and it's his favorite lasagna recipe now. So simple to make too! Here's the link: http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2010/06/vegan-chive-ricotta-nut-cheese-spread.html

I also would sub a large can or two of italian spiced crushed tomatoes with sauteed onions and garlic (in coconut oil). Saves on calories! I don't eat meat, so removing the beef would be an instant calorie saver. Maybe try adding veggies (peppers, onions, etc.) instead.

You might get a fair reduction by using regular sauce without meat. Maybe a basil tomato. Or do a four cheese sauce and leave the parmesian out of it, but I think parmesian is low in calories anyway. I would be doing sausage instead of hamburger, bigger flavor. Calories are higher though.

Honestly, my solution would be a five mile run followed by wa ting all the ziti...

And ignore a suggestion to sub cottage cheese for ricotta. Its so wrong, I dont know where to begin...

I'd rather sub a little cottage cheese than run 5 miles any day.

Forget the cottage cheese. Nonfat ricotta is 45 calories for 1/4 of a cup... it's about the same as nonfat cottage cheese. I don't know why people are trying to switch something that won't even save calories.

I agree though, using a ton of beef plus some meat sauce just seems overkill. Just use plain sauce.

I make this at least every other month, family and friends love it.

Original recipe makes 10 servingsChange Servings
1 pound dry ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
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Directions

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

I brown my beef, then drain and rinse it under running water. This significantly reduces the amount of fat and all of those fat calories. Just cook the beef, drain and rinse it, wipe out the pan and rinse it if you want, put the beef back in the pan, then continue with the recipe.

Other than my tip above, the only other way I know to reduce it is to reduce the amounts of cheese and pasta. You could add in some veggies to increase the volume without increasing the calories so much. Cut strips of zucchini the length of the pasta and put that in with it. This way, you don't have to use so much pasta. Add carrots, onions, bell peppers, etc. Reduced fat cheese would help, too.

You have to decide if you want to have the general taste of the recipe more often OR have the "real" recipe once in a blue moon.

You certainly don't need 1/2 lb of cheese for a topping. Make it portion out to 12 or 16 and serve a garden salad and sliced tomatoes.

Make your own sauce!! LIke another poster said. I'm also Italian and grew up on homemade sauce it is really easy. If you use a jar make it just a tomato basil or marinara not meat sauce and only use 1 jar.

also use lean beef and cut it to a half pound. Sometimes I use two Italian sausage links instead(cut the casings off) It adds a lot of flavor.

cut back on cheese. sometimes what ill do is add a ton more cheese to 2/3 of the pan for my family and I eat off the other side. get rid of the ricotta. save it for lasagna

add roasted red peppers and onion for bulk if your family permits or just eat a big whole heaping pile of veggies with it. Put it all together on the same plate for yourself so your plate looks full

My baked Ziti looks like this on a busy night where I forgot to pull sauce out of the freezer.

1 box of whole wheat pasta or Barilla plus (slightly less than 1 lb but you wont notice)
1 jar of tomato basil sauce
2 cups of part skim Mozzarella
1/2 lb of lean ground beef

8 servings at around 371 Cals per serving

Feeds my family of four with leftovers

I add ground vegetables to anything that calls for ground meat. In my spaghetti sauce I use my food processor to grind, carrots, broccoli, peppers, onions, garlic, zucchini, mushrooms ..any vegetable I have on hand really. It really adds to the nutritional content and makes the meet go farther reducing the calories.