Is your healthcare provider recommending you cut down on foods with simple carbohydrates and those high in cholesterol and saturated fat? Are you trying to eat more vegetables? Then you may be interested in cutting down on foods with lots of cheese and white pasta... what if you can do so but still enjoy foods like lasagna?
Typically dishes like lasagna can be heavy quite calorie heavy. If you are watching your calorie intake, you want to focus on including foods that are more nutritionally dense than they are calorie dense. This way you get more on your plate, you get lots of nutrients and still achieve a calorie deficit without a focus on "cutting" calories.
Enter my plant-based lasagna with cashew cheese and lentil & brown rice noodles!
Filled with filling fiber & plant protein from lentils, healthy fats from cashews and with tons of veggies and most importantly FLAVOR.
Ingredients:
🌱No bake Whole Foods Yellow lentil & brown rice lasagna noodles (You could also substitute red lentil or chick pea lasagna noodles)
🌱2 jars Monte Bene no sugar added tomato Basil pasta sauce (or any no sugar added sauce of your choice!)
🌱1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water (enough to cover them)
🌱1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
🌱 1 tsp nutritional yeast
🌱2 zucchini, 1/2 onion, 1 bell pepper, 1/2 package frozen spinach- all chopped
🌱 Trader Joe's Soffritto seasoning 1-2 tbsp, to taste
🌱 Dry oregano 1 tbsp
Method: Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
1. Soak cashews right at the start of prep
2. Chop all veggies (except frozen spinach is already chopped) and saute lightly in olive oil. Add spinach once veggies look slightly cooked through
3. Drain off most water from cashews and just leave enough to grind. Add to a mini food processor, add the apple cider vinegar and nutritional yeast, grind until ricotta cheese like texture
4. In a lasagna dish (swipe to see mine before it went in the oven!), layer the no bake pasta, topped with pasta sauce until all covered, then add a layer of the veggies, sauce and cashew cheese
4. Keep repeating until all noodles and veggies have been used
5. Bake at 425 for 45 minutes
Serve with your favorite whole grain bread and salad!
Are you a lasagna fan?! Plan to make double of this one and freeze for another day 😁
In health,
Richa Mittal MD