Vegetable Lasagna Rolls (Vegetarian)

I love this recipe because it looks complicated but it’s so easy to make. Come back Monday for a review and giveaway opportunity for the low carb pasta I used in this recipe! Have a great weekend! :)

Ingredients

  • Onions, thinly sliced
  • 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into small pieces
  • 1/2 medium eggplant, cut into small pieces
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 box of Dreamfields lasagna noodles
  • ricotta cheese
  • Mozzarella cheese
  • 3 cups of your choice of tomato sauce
  • Olive oil
  • 6 cloves of garlic
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or a heaping handful of fresh basil)
  • 1 teaspoon of sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
  • Optional: sauteed spinach
  • Tomato sauce – you can use your own or use the recipe below
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Start cooking pasta noodles according to directions on box. When you drain and rinse be sure to add some oil so they don’t stick together.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and add the onions, garlic, basil and some S&P. Saute until tender (about 10 minutes or until browned) then add carrots, eggplant, and peppers and saute another 10-15 minutes. Add spinach if using cook for another 5 minutes or so. (I didn’t add spinach but I wish I had)
4. Add cheese and stir until thoroughly mixed.
5. Coat baking dish with non-stick spray and spread a cup of tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish. Take one lasagna sheet and add a sizable dollop of the veggie/cheese mixture, then roll up into a roll. My dollop was about 1/2 cup, give or take. Place the roll seem-side down in the baking dish on top of the tomato sauce. Repeat until baking dish is full then add remaining tomato sauce on top of rolls.
5. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for about an hour. Remove the foil and continue baking until browned and bubbling, about 10-15 minutes. Remove and let sit for a few minutes, then serve. You can add some parmesan cheese on top if desired….which I desired!
Homemade Tomato Sauce
  • 1/4 cup of olive oil
  • 4 shallots, thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 can of crushed tomatoes
  • 1 cup of low sodium chicken or veggie broth (you can also use water if you don’t have broth)
  • 2 tablespoon of fresh chopped basil
  • 1 tablespoon of oregano
Directions
Heat oil in  a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallots, garlic and salt and saute for about a minute. Add tomatoes and broth (or water). Bring to a simmer, then decrease heat to low and simmer stirring frequently until it reaches desired consistency. I like mine a bit thinker so out of lack of patience I increased the heat to a gentle boil to thicken it up a bit. Finally, add basil and oregano, stir and remove from heat. 

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Strawberry Shortcake Muffins (and some healthy baking tips)

Strawberries have been on sale at the grocery store a lot lately so I’ve been looking for recipes to use them for. I’m not a very good baker and I’m not really a muffin person but for some reason these strawberry shortcake muffins on Dashing Dish just spoke to me. The best part is it is super healthy!

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cup oats
  • 1 cup plain low fat greek yogurt
  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 cup Stevia
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 cup strawberries, diced, and patted dry + (reserve handful to place on top of muffins)
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • Optional: ¼ teaspoon lemon zest

*Important: The paper liners don’t work well when baking with a base that does not include flour. If you don’t have a silicone muffin tin or liners, I recommend only using foil cupcake liners.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tins with silicone or foil liners.

2. Place all of the ingredients (except the strawberries) in a blender or food processor, and blend until oats are smooth. Add strawberries and pulse a few times just to get some of the strawberry flavor into the mix but not so much so that all of the strawberries are chopped.

3. Divide batter among cupcake liners, add a few diced strawberries on top and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Yummy!

Make baking healthier

After many failed attempts at baking I pretty much gave up. Not only did my food always turn up somehow “off” I hated that every recipe called for a cup of sugar or oil – yuck! I found some really great healthy substitutes for common baking recipes in Oxygen Magazine that I have started using to healthify my recipes.

If a recipe calls for heavy cream, substitute it with evaporated skim milk.

If a recipe calls for 1 egg, substitute it with 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce.

If a recipe calls for 1/2 cup of butter, substitute it with 1 smashed ripe banana.

If a recipe calls for all-purpose flour, substitute it with whole wheat flour or 1/2 to 1/3 cup of protein powder for that fraction called for.

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S’more Cups

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. I have some really fun recipes coming up this week. I’ll start you out with this little dandy I found on The Mighty Vegan site. I made some changes so it is no longer technically vegan but you can always follow her directions.

Ingredients:

  • 18 whole graham crackers
  • 1 cup of rolled oats
  • 6 Tbsp of Stevia
  • 4 Tbsp of butter, melted (or butter substitute)
  • 6 Tbsp of plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 tsp of salt
  • 1 Tbsp of vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup of chocolate chips
  • 1 bag of marshmallows

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350º and grease a muffin pan.

2. In a food processor mix together the graham crackers and oats until they are finely ground. Add in the rest of the ingredients and blend until a moist crumb forms. I usually stop once it starts forming into a ball. Use a muffin pan and press the mixture into each cup making sure to go all the way up the sides, so you are forming a “cup”.

3. Bake for about 15 minutes. Take the cups out of the oven and fill each cup with some of the chocolate chips, put it back in the oven for about 5-7 minutes so they are somewhat melted. Take it out again, and add the marshmallows on top. Put it back in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, depending on how cooked you like your marshmallows. (She had called for 15-20 but I think the non-vegan marshmallows cook differently than regular ones so keep an eye one them.) Let them cool down, remove them from the tins and serve.


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