There's nothing better after a long day, than a nice, comforting, plate of homemade lasagna. Yes, lasagna. I said it. You might be thinking "Lasagna's hard! Why is she including it in #WWHD?" Well, because with my recipe, you make it once, and eat it 12 times (yes, TWELVE is the number of portions) -- making it ideal to pop in the oven and plan ahead for later (more stressful) times. Easy to freeze, this can be made on a weeknight or a weekend (up to you!) and easily heated-up when you're getting home from work and are just plain starving and tired. With the fresh ingredients and nutrients it provides you, you'll be jumping for joy. Get ready to bust out the wine, the Sinatra, and the latest episode of VH1's Mob Wives (ahem -- it's not like I've done this before.)
Servings: 12
What You'll Need:
- 1 package oven-ready lasagna noodles
- These are a life-saver, you can put them as is into the pan! Can you say hassle-free?
- 1 bottle marinara sauce
- Go for an organic brand, if you can (Giant has "Nature's Promise" for $1.99)
- If you can't go organic, try reading the ingredients on the side of the bottles available -- if you don't recognize something, don't buy it! You want your ingredients to be wholesome!
- 1 bag chopped kale
- 3 medium sweet potatoes (or 2 cans sweet potato puree)
- 8 slices of cheddar cheese (I used Sargento Sharp Cheddar cheese -- the sharper, the more flavor!)
- 1 small tub ricotta cheese (find one that's "low-fat" or "part-skim")
- Should be by the cream cheese in the supermarket
- Oven/13x9 pan (a brownie pan)
- OPTIONAL: 1 package silken tofu
- A great way to sneak in some protein to build strong muscles, especially if you're exercising!
- OPTIONAL: 1-2 fresh tomatoes
The Step-by-Step:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- If using fresh sweet potatoes, place them on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes. When time's up, take out of the oven, and put the potatoes in the fridge to cool down a little bit (about 20 min, be careful!)
- If you are using fresh tomatoes, chop them up and heat them in a pan with the marinara for about 10 minutes. (This is totally optional -- just a great way to get in more veggies!)
- When the sweet potatoes have cooled, remove the skins and throw away. Mash the sweet potato in a bowl. Set aside.
- If you are using the tofu, put in a blender with half of the ricotta. Blend, and set aside in a separate bowl.
- Take your pan, and spread a thin layer of your marinara mixture onto the bottom of the pan.
- Cover the marinara layer with a layer of noodles.
- Take 1/2 of the sweet potato mash and spread it over the noodles (it's okay if it's not perfect!)
- Spread 1/2 the kale over the sweet potato, and top with another layer of noodles.
- Spread 1/2 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles, then top with some tomato sauce, then more noodles.
- Repeat this pattern -- you should be towards the top of the pan by now.
- Lay the cheddar slices on the top, then spread the last of the tomato sauce mixture on top.
- Bake for 40 minutes, then take out of the oven to cool for about 20 minutes.
- Enjoy!
xoxo n
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a note on kale
Kale is QUEEN of winter greens, which is why I chose it for this mid-February post. It is loaded with incredible nutrients like fiber, manganese and Vitamin K, A, B6, and C, which all help you stay strong throughout your day. Not to mention, a cup of kale has only 36 calories, which to me -- screams bang for your buck. You really can't go wrong. Try it, eat it, love it!
For more info about the #WWHD feature, please see the below post, or head on over to The Gym Bag Diaries!
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