Lasagna

Low fat.

Low carb.

High protein.

Gluten free.

Lasagna.

Sounds too good to be true?  

   

  
It’s real!

You will need;

10g olive oil

3 cloves garlic, crushed

100g (1 medium) onion

500g lean beef mince (or any kind you like)

250g (one large) grated zucchini

150g finely chopped mushrooms

100g (one small) grated carrot

600g jar of passata tomato cooking base 

400g tin tomatoes, diced

1 1/2 tsp Italian herbs

600g cottage cheese

Over a low heat sauté onions and garlic until soft. Add in beef mince, turn heat to medium. Brown mince, breaking apart well. 

Add in the rest of the ingredients except cottage cheese. Turn down to the lowest simmer possible, or transfer to a slow cooker or on top of a fireplace that’s burning slow.

You need to cook this for as long as you can do.

3hrs to 24hrs! It makes a difference! If I do it on the stove, the heat is a bit higher so 3hrs is good. In a slow cooker, perhaps 8-12hrs. On top of the oven, all day/night.

Stir occasionally and make sure it’s not losing too much liquid. Add some water if it does.
When you are near ready to assemble you can make the ‘pasta’ sheets. 

50g oat flour

100g unflavoured whey protein powder 

200g egg whites

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp Italian herbs

To make you pasta sheets, mix these in a blender until a thin batter. Cook a 1/3 of a cup at a time in a large non stick pan.

Once you scoop the batter into the pan roll it around to spread it. You want nice thin even sheets. Cook on a very low heat, flip and cook second side. Repeat until batter is finished.

Stir the batter with every sheet you make as the whey settles to the bottom.

Sit the sheets aside to cool. Use a little spray olive oil in between to prevent sticking if you need to.
  
To assemble the lasagna, put a quarter of the meat mixture into the base of a very large baking dish.

  
  
Lay some sheets to near cover the meat. Spread a quarter of the cottage cheese on the sheets. Add more meat, sheets, cheese and repeat until you have a quarter of each of the meat & cottage cheese left. Mix the two together and add an egg into it also.

Spread this over the last ‘pasta’ sheet layer evenly, to the sides.

Bake in the oven at 160 degrees for 30-40 minutes. The top should be golden and set. 

Serve with a green salad.

A little tip 🙋 I find it easier to allow the lasagna to cool before slicing up. Then reheat the peice/s you want.

Serves 10

Calories 244

Fat 6.5

Carbs 15.4

Protein 30.5

Pumpkin

I love pumpkin!
Soup, bread, mash, anything! Here are some great reasons why you should give it a go too….

It is one of the very low calorie vegetables. 100 g provides just 26 calories and contains no saturated fats or cholesterol; however, it is rich in dietary fiber, anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins. The vegetable is one of the food items recommended by dieticians in cholesterol controlling and weight reduction programs.

Pumpkin is a storehouse of many anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin-A, vitamin-C and vitamin-E.

With 7384 mg per 100 g, it is one of the vegetables in the Cucurbitaceae family featuring highest levels of vitamin-A, providing about 246% of RDA. Vitamin A is a powerful natural anti-oxidant and is required by the body for maintaining the integrity of skin and mucus membranes. It is also an essential vitamin for good visual sight. Research studies suggest that natural foods rich in vitamin A help a body protects against lung and oral cavity cancers.

It is also an excellent source of many natural poly-phenolic flavonoid compounds such as α, ß carotenes, cryptoxanthin, lutein and zea-xanthin. Carotenes convert into vitamin A inside the body.

Zea-xanthin is a natural anti-oxidant which has UV (ultra-violet) rays filtering actions in the macula lutea in retina of the eyes. Thus, it helps protect from “age-related macular disease” (ARMD) in the elderly.

The fruit is a good source of B-complex group of vitamins like folates, niacin, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), thiamin and pantothenic acid.

It is also rich source of minerals like copper, calcium, potassium and phosphorus.

Pumpkin seeds indeed are an excellent source of dietary fiber and mono-unsaturated fatty acids, which are good for heart health. In addition, the seeds are concentrated sources of protein, minerals and health-benefiting vitamins. For instance, 100 g of pumpkin seeds provide 559 calories, 30 g of protein, 110% RDA of iron, 4987 mg of niacin (31% RDA), selenium (17% of RDA), zinc (71%) etc., but no cholesterol. Further, the seeds are an excellent source of health promoting amino acid tryptophan. Tryptophan is converted to GABA in the brain.

Source : http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/pumpkin.html

My breakfast at the moment is pumpkin puree, egg whites and cinnamon scrambled! Delicious!

Here is a recipe for an amazing pumpkin bread;

3 cups grated pumpkin
4 free-range eggs
1/2 tsp sea salt
pinch nutmeg
1/4 cup olive or macadamia nut or cold pressed coconut oil
2 teaspoons gluten free baking (you can also use (3/4 teaspoon baking soda + a tablespoon lemon juice)
3 cups almond meal
1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup (optional )
pumpkin seeds to sprinkle on top (optional)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Mix everything (except almond meal and baking powder) together in a large bowl. I used a food processor.

Combine the two dry ingredients well and then add into the wet mixture and combine well.

Pour into greased, lined loaf tin and bake for 1 hour, then check, it will need perhaps another 1/2 – 1 hour.

Allow to cool in tin for at least 1 hr.

✨Sprinkle pumpkin seeds on top before baking for a nutritious boost with a crunch. ✨

✨ Use pureed pumpkin (see below) and only 2 cups of almond meal for more of a pudding, serve with cottage cheese and maple syrup. ✨

I know alot of people like pumpkin but find it hard to prepare. If this is you, try out the method below;

Take a whole pumpkin and put the entire thing in the oven, on a baking tray at about 150 degrees.

After about 45 mins, take it out and cut it in half, and scoop out the seeds (dont throw them out, wash and roast them too) then put cut side down and back in the oven. It will need at least an hour, maybe 2?

Using a spoon, while its still warm, scoop out all the lovely flesh. Then you can put it in the food processor until pureed. Suitable for freezing.

Now you can make soup, scones, scramble, oats, bread, anything you like… Try this Baked Pumpkin Oats recipe 🙂