Every now and then, I miss pasta. So, I have been working hard to get back down a few pounds to my goal weight. Today is day two of two hours of exercise (Pilates and Elliptical). I should get to goal soon enough, so I ordered some low-carb lasagna noodles. I am going to attempt to make a low-carb lasagna with these noodles. I ordered them from FiberGourmet.com. 2 ounces of the noodles is 42g of carbs, but the fiber is 18g, making the net total to be 24g of carbs.
However, in the meantime, my caulflower-based pizza was so delish (haven’t done the delish zuccini-based one yet), I am going to attempt to make a low-carb zuccini (replacement of pasta) lasagna this week, since I am taking some time off to do things for the holiday week.
Here is the recipe that I found. If anyone does it first, let me know how it came out.
This low-carb lasagna uses zucchini “noodles” instead of lasagna noodles. The trick to making this work is to take some of the water out of the zucchini first by salting the “noodles”. Then they firm up and are more noodle-like, instead of mushy. This recipe can be made with or without meat.
The picture is what I am HOPING for!
Ingredients:
- 1¼ – 1½ pounds of zucchini
- salt – enough to lightly salt the zucchini – between ¼ and ½ teaspoon
- 1 lb. ground beef (can be made without the meat)
- 1 lb. ricotta cheese – whole milk preferred
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil or 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 cups jarred pasta sauce (any variety with no added sugars)
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded (not dried/powdered)
Preparation:
3. While the zucchini is dripping, cook the meat. Then, combine the ricotta, eggs, and basil or parsley.
4. Spread the zucchini strips on paper toweling or a cotton tea towel to take away most of the surface liquid.
DIRECTIONS:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
1. Put ½ cup of the pasta sauce into the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan, and combine the meat with the rest of the sauce.
2. Begin layering by covering the sauce with a layer of zucchini. Then cover the zucchini with about one third of the ricotta mixture, one third of the sauce, and one third of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat, only arrange the zucchini strips in the other direction, e.g. if in the first layer the strips are lined up along the length of the pan, for the next layer line them up across the width of the pan. Alternate again for the third layer. After the third layer, finish with the Parmesan cheese.
3. Bake until the cheese is golden brown, about 30 minutes. (Note, if you refrigerate the lasagna before baking, cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes covered, then remove the foil and cook an additional 30 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown.)
Makes 8 Servings.
Nutritional Information: Each serving has 8 grams effective carbohydrate plus 2 grams fiber (10 grams total carbohydrate), 25 grams protein, and 408 calories.
For Meatless Version: Each serving has 8 grams effective carbohydrate plus 2 grams fiber (10 grams total carbohydrate), 17 grams protein, and 242 calories.
Skinny-Rules 