meatless zucchini lasagna recipe

ya'll

i was in for a rude awakening this morning

last night i completed level 1 of the 30 day shred and this morning began level 2

my ass was kicked

jillian would be disappointed because i phoned part of it in

i found myself longing for the side lunge/lateral raise move of yester-yore

while i was in plank position doing a plank/jumping jack combination

even my favorite part - the abs - were spent trying to keep up and catch my breathe

you win this time jillian.

i know i promised to hop back on here last night and share a recipe

and i didn't

sorry about that

but if you have a garden full of summer squash

i found the perfect recipe!

inspired by this one

mine was a few steps easier

ingredients:
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
6 no-boil lasagna noodles (barilla flat noodles are the ones i used - which is important if you care about the calories, as these were better than the kroger wavy noodles)
15 oz part-skim ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 super large zucchini (or 3 small)
salt+pepper+italian herbs

preheat oven to 375

1. wash and thinly slice zucchini - if you have a huge homegrown zucchini you may want to slice in half first and scrape out the larger seeds.  they don't really bother me, so i just ignore them
2. place zucchini slices in pot and cover with about 1/2" water - bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.  drain 
3. while zucchini is simmering - mix ricotta with egg and season with salt + pepper +herbs (the originally recipe doesn't season the ricotta mixture at all, but it will greatly amp up the flavor - eyeball the amounts)
4. spread 1/2 Cup of marinara sauce of the bottom of a 13*9 casserole
5. cover with 3 lasagna noodles, half of the ricotta mixture, and half of the zucchini.  cover with 3/4 Cup of marinara sauce and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese
6. repeat layers
7. cover and bake for 25 minutes
8. remove foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is starting to brown

let sit for about 10 minutes so the lasagna cuts and plates better - otherwise you may have slip-n-slide noodles

i entered the recipe into myfitnesspal and calculated 8 servings at ~240 calories each.  bill and i enjoyed 2 servings each - and it was super tasty!

alternatively, you could use yellow squash or pretty much any vegetable you like.  i was thinking some steamed broccoli, and my coworker mentioned mushrooms (yuck).

it reheated well and made a yummy lunch the following day!

today's lunch is...bleh

i'm trying to become a fan of kale

but this curly variety raw is not doing it for me (mixed with lemon juice, a touch of olive oil, orange juice, pineapple, apple, green pepper and sunflower seeds)

i promised myself to try a less pungent variety before writing off kale all together

or banning it to my juicer

yep!

i finally said what the hell and got one.  i had some money left over from my work anniversary gift - so it was practically free (save for the 5 long years i've put in at this office)

this one is the breville fountain juicer JE98XL 

bill and i were of course inspired by the documentary fat, sick, and nearly dead

i'm not trying to go on a juice fast

but i figured a juice a day couldn't hurt

 our first experiment was 2 carrots and 1 apple

down the hatch!

we both agreed it was good - earthy and good. 

i needed mine poured over ice.  i don't do room temperature beverages

which i guess means i wouldn't make it so well in other countries.

i had good intentions to make the mean green juice from the movie last night but i was tired

anyone have a favorite juice recipe?


 

i'm compulsive

truly compulsive

last night i was drinking a glass of lemonade

maybe because it was 70+ degrees out

maybe because i gave up coffee (!) (it was easier than i thought, and i'm not giving it up forever, just going through a period to ween myself off the caffeine)

maybe it's because i'm slowly backing away from soda too (yeah, not forever, and i've still snuck in a coke or two, but my daily afternoon fix as of late has not been happening)

and more than likely it's because water starts to get really boring after chugging it all day.

the thought of lemonade just sounded so good last weekend that i bought some country time mix - i remember that being a staple growing up

and perhaps as a child it's sugary powdered tartness tasted delicious

but as an adult, it tastes like...sugary powdered tartness.  not like real, sour, lightly sweet lemonade.

so...i went on amazon and bought a juicer





damn you amazon instant prime!  seriously - free 2 day shipping? it's the instant gratification i need and a little box waiting for me on my doorstep!  whoop!

so i guess my plan is going to try and make my own lemonade?  and orange juice?  grapefruit juice too?

i'll let you know how that works out this weekend...

and also, this is the first attachment i've bought for my mixer - hopefully i don't break the whole dang thing.

anyone got any good recipes?