Turkey Lasagna!

One of my favorite things to make (and eat) is lasagna. However, every time, I make it I come to the realization of two things:

        1. This is definitely not going to be the healthiest thing I eat all week.
        2. Why did I decide to make lasagna? It takes FOREVER!!

Well one of those things still holds true. Lasagna takes forever to make, but it's a labor of love, because its deliciousness is well worth the effort. Lasagna doesn't, however, have to be that unhealthy. Matter of fact, it can almost be kinda healthy. Imagine that? The trick is to use all clean or mostly clean ingredients, and stuff as many veggies as you can into it!

I was inspired by a friend who has a lasagna recipe using thinly sliced zucchini as lasagna noodles  for a low carb rendition of this tasty meal. However, I knew I couldn't use just zucchini as the pasta. My family would disown me. Therefore, I decided to alternate between the zucchini "pasta" and Bionaturae organic lasagna noodles.

My favorite marinara sauce!

It only has 7 ingredients and they're all natural, which I love!

Lower Carb Turkey (and veggie!) Lasagna


2 large zucchini, sliced lengthwise 1/4" thick (like a thick flat ribbon of zucchini)

1 rib of celery, diced

3/4 C diced bell pepper
1 C chopped mushrooms
1 medium carrot, grated
1 medium onion, chopped
4 gloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs olive oil

1 lb ground turkey

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp italian seasoning

1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce or 25 to 28 oz of homemade sauce

1/4 C parsley, chopped

1/2 C frozen peas

Salt & Pepper

1 egg

1 3/4 C ricotta cheese

1/2 tsp dried basil

6 lasagna noodles (or as many as you need for 2 layers in your baking dish)

4 C mozzarella, shredded, and reserve 2 C for top of lasagna

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Heat olive oil in pan over medium high heat. Add all vegetables, and saute until veggies start to let out moisture (Approx. 5-7 minutes). Stir frequently to avoid browning or sticking to pan.

3. Add ground turkey, red pepper flakes, and italian seasoning. Let cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly to incorporate turkey into vegetables and to reduce clumping.

4. Stir in tomato sauce, parsley, and frozen peas. Cover and reduce to low flame. Let simmer for as long as you'd like up to 45 min (I let mine simmer for about 30 minutes). Be sure to check on it and stir frequently to ensure turkey is well broken up, and nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. While sauce is simmering, place thinly sliced zucchini strips on baking pan (or pans. You may have to use more than one) in a single layer. Let bake for 10-15 minutes until soft. Let cool.

Before baking

6. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water until JUST BEFORE al dente (approx 6-7 minutes). If you're using no-boil noodles, then just sit on your pretty little ass for 6 to 7 minutes and take a few sips of that coffee you made to get you through this laborious task.

7. In a bowl, mix together egg, ricotta, and basil until well combined. 

LASAGNA ASSEMBLY AT LAST! I don't have measurements for this, as I tend to eyeball it, so here's the basics.

In your baking dish, spoon 1 cup of meat/veggie mixture and spread into an even layer.

1. Add a layer of lasagna noodles.

2. Ricotta mixture

3. Meat/veggie sauce

4. Mozzarella

5. Zucchini strips

6. Ricotta mixture

7. Meat/veggie sauce

8. Mozzarella

Nobody said this would be pretty

One cup of Mozzarella 

Repeat as many times as you have to. Make sure to press each layer down a bit with a spatula. 

Use 1 cup of your reserved mozzarella to top lasagna. Put into oven to bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella, and bake for another 15 - 20 minutes.

I usually like the middle a little more brown, but we were in a rush and hungry. Still delish though! 

I have a tendency to not let my lasagna cool enough before cutting it, and it ends up being a blob of gooey deliciousness instead of a tower of deliciousness. If you want your lasagna to actually stay in layers, let it cool for at least 10 min. I didn't know this until a week ago. LOL! 

Bon apetite! 

I eat avocado with everything

Crustless Spinach Zucchini Pie

As usual, I was sitting innocently on my couch one morning, writing my daily to-do list, and I got an instant craving for something: spinach pie. I've never made a spinach pie before, but I knew that they tend to have crust and I definitely didn't want that. I'm making a more conscious effort to exclude refined carbs from my diet, and also excluding carbs where they're not needed. So I googled: crustless spinach pie. After several recipes that looked very "blah", I found one that seemed good enough to satisfy my craving! While getting the spinach from the veggie crisper drawer, I saw a stack--yes an actual stack--of zucchinis that I bought a few days ago. Not exactly sure what I intended to do with all of these squashes, but I decided they'd go just fine with my spinach pie!

Here's the original recipe.


Spinach Zucchini Pie

1 1/2 C     Spinach, chopped
1/2 C        Zucchini, chopped
1 C           Ricotta cheese
2              Eggs
2              Egg whites
1/4 C        Parmesan cheese, grated
1              Small onion, finely chopped
2              Garlic cloves, finely minced
 Salt & Pepper    (Use your judgement here on how much you want. I used about 1/2 tsp of salt)
1/2  tsp     Tabasco or other hot sauce
1/2 tsp      Nutmeg
1/4 C        Mozzarella cheese, shredded


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook spinach and zucchini in pan until wilted, let cool.
3.  In a bowl, mix ricotta, eggs, egg whites, parmesan cheese, onion, garlic, salt and pepper, hot sauce, and nutmeg until well incorporated.  Add spinach and zucchini to bowl.
4. Spray pie pan with cooking spray and pour mixture into pie pan.
5. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella.
6. Bake for 40 min or until knife comes out clean.


Yield:  8 slices
Calories per slice: 95 measly calories per slice!

Mm... bubbly cheesy goodness...

Seriously, thats it. It's THAT easy. Now you have a yummy breakfast, or brunch, or lunch for a week! You're welcome.  :)

Served with chopped avocado and tomato salad