You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Lane 2: Nutrition<br />
A Healthy Dish on a Traditional Favorite<br />
Spinach Turkey Lasagna<br />
by Kathy Gorman MS, RD, LDN<br />
As a dietitian, modifying recipes to make them a little<br />
healthier is second nature. Much to my fiancé's chagrin, I<br />
rarely follow a recipe as written from start to finish; I’m<br />
always throwing in extra veggies, reducing the fat or<br />
throwing in a little flax to boost omega-3s. Mickey doesn’t<br />
get upset about this because he doesn’t like the food, in<br />
fact it’s quite the opposite—he loves it and is annoyed that<br />
it’s not written down anywhere for him to repeat later.<br />
He’s also taken to appreciating eating things that are<br />
healthier while still tasting delicious.<br />
As runners, we all enjoy our carbs. While the rest of society<br />
can often shun them, we embrace them! This adapted<br />
lasagna recipe is one that we both love and think you will<br />
too. I’ve done this one enough that I have all my adaptations<br />
memorized, but here I’ll write it down for the first<br />
time. The original recipe is from my bible of cookbooks,<br />
The New Best Recipe, from the editors of Cooks Illustrated.<br />
Mine is healthier in that it cuts back on fat by using lean<br />
ground turkey instead of a combination of fattier ground<br />
meats, uses less cheese, swaps out part of the ricotta<br />
cheese for fat-free cottage cheese, and uses part-skim<br />
mozzarella. I add in some frozen spinach for extra vitamins<br />
and fiber and I completely leave out the added salt<br />
and fat. Full disclosure: I can’t say my recipe is better<br />
than the original, because I’ve never tried it as published,<br />
but this lasagna can’t last long enough in my house!<br />
Directions:<br />
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.<br />
2. Using a heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high<br />
heat and add the onion. Sauté for about 2<br />
minutes or until translucent.<br />
3. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant—about 1-2<br />
minutes.<br />
4. Add the turkey and pepper and cook until no longer<br />
pink. Break up and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula.<br />
Turkey Spinach Lasagna<br />
Ingredients (makes 12 servings)<br />
5. Add both cans of tomatoes and the spinach. Stir together<br />
then allow to simmer while you create the<br />
cheese mixture. Stir occasionally.<br />
6. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the ricotta, cottage<br />
cheese, 1 cup of the Parmesan, egg, basil and<br />
pepper.<br />
7. Assemble the lasagna in a 9x13 pan: Start by spreading<br />
about ¼ cup of the sauce in the bottom of the pan.<br />
Place 3 lasagna noodles over the sauce. Spread 1/3 of<br />
the cheese mixture over the noodles, sprinkle ½ cup<br />
of the mozzarella over the layer and top with 1 ½ cup<br />
of the sauce. Repeat layers 2 more times, and top with<br />
the final 3 lasagna noodles. Pour the remaining sauce<br />
over the top and sprinkle with the rest of the mozzarella<br />
and the remaining ¼ cup of Parmesan.<br />
8. Spray one side of a piece of foil (big enough to cover<br />
the pan) with cooking spray. Place foil spray-side<br />
down over the pan and wrap tightly. Place in oven for<br />
15 minutes.<br />
9. Remove foil and cook for 25 minutes more once<br />
cooled, cut into 12 pieces, and serve (try to eat only<br />
piece!)<br />
Nutrition content per serving: 331 calories, 13 g fat, 6.5 g<br />
saturated fat, 637mg sodium, 434 mg potassium, 27g carbohydrate,<br />
3.5 g fiber, 27 g protein. For the average<br />
American, 1 serving also meets nearly 50% of daily Vitamin<br />
A requirements, 40% of calcium needs, and 25% of<br />
your daily vitamin C.<br />
For the sauce For the Cheese Mixture For the Layers<br />
Serve your lasagna with a big green salad topped with<br />
your favorite low-fat dressing. In our house, it works best<br />
when we put our leftover pieces of lasagna directly into<br />
individually sized freezer bags and freeze right away. We<br />
pull them out to bring for lunch or heat up the leftovers for<br />
dinner. Pre-portioning right after the lasagna has been<br />
made helps keep portions appropriate. Granted, if you<br />
did a 20-miler on lasagna day, go ahead and treat yourself<br />
to 2 pieces—you deserve it!<br />
Recipe adapted from The New Best Recipe by the Editors of<br />
Cook’s Illustrated, 2004.<br />
1 Tbsp olive oil ¾ cup part-skim ricotta cheese 12 no boil lasagna noodles<br />
1 medium onion, finely chopped 1 cup fat-free cottage cheese 2 cups part –skim mozzarella<br />
cheese, shredded<br />
6 garlic cloves, minced 1 ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese<br />
20 oz package lean ground turkey* 1 Tbsp dried basil<br />
½ tsp ground black pepper 1 large egg, beaten lightly<br />
28 oz can strained or pureed tomatoes ½ tsp ground black pepper<br />
28 oz can diced tomatoes, drained<br />
10 oz box frozen spinach, thawed<br />
*look for a label that says 93% lean or higher—some ground turkey can have as much fat as ground beef<br />
6
Change language