So in attempts to make it all better, I made a few changes to my regular lasagna recipe. Not only was it full of flavor, but totally delicious...and I did not really miss the cheese (hint hint to some of the change).
Lasagna
1 Box Gluten Free Rice Lasagna Noodles 1 lb Ground Beef 1 Zucchini 1 Yellow Summer Squash Homemade Sauce (I take a huge Costco Size can of tomato sauce and add fresh basil, lots of garlic, some onion, a little Italian Seasoning, sometimes mushrooms and simmer for about 2 hours)
Brown ground beef with desired seasoning (I like crushed red peppers salt and pepper and some herbs). Once beef is browned, place into a strainer and rinse with warm water. This will take off all the excess fat that you don't need (especially because it is saturated fat). If seasoned well enough, the flavor will not rinse out. Set this aside.
At this point heat your oven to 350 while you build your lasagna.
Slice the squashes into long flat strips (so they are like lasagna noodles themselves).
Place a layer of noodles into the bottom of a glass baking dish (you don't need to grease it). Cover lightly with sauce. Add a layer of meat, then zucchini. Add more sauce to cover lightly. Add more noodles, meat, summer squash then more sauce. Add the final layer of noodles and cover liberally with sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. After an hour, remove foil and bake for 30 min more. Serve hot.
Makes 6 huge servings.
You really can play with the veggies in this. Use eggplant, mushrooms, kale; anything you like really. This is a nice base for your own creation. You will notice, while a cheesy lasagna is great, this one is pretty damn good too! And your body will thank you!
I love to eat. Everyone I know knows that. I love the experience, the atmosphere, the flavors, the techniques, and the overall presentation. I think I became a fan of all the finer parts of dining when my best friend Wendy and I started dining out.
My first fine dining experience was with her at the Stein Erickson Lodge in Park City, Utah. It was everything you could imagine of a large expensive lodge in Park City. Rustic, but stunningly beautiful, high up in the mountains. I had loved food and cooking up until this point, but here it changed. Dressing up for a meal. The best service to create a perfect mood. I started to understand where it could end up. Eating was not just for survival, but to experience.
In most countries food is what brings people together. They converse over food, entertainment revolves around eating, and people enjoy life. It is an experience, not a necessary evil that gets in the way of your busy day. I hope we in America start to realize that more. So of us do, thank goodness, but unfortunately most of us don't.
Now starts my slight rant...
After going to the nutritionist I have learned a lot more about food and eating. I have shared this with friends and even some of them have gone for a visit to her. We are learning about healthier eating and that healthy food is good food. Natural flavors ARE delicious. You don't need pre-packaged processed shit to clog your body. It takes planning and a little more time, but I think the benefits are remarkable. Saying that, brings me back to the fine dining experience. You know why the food is so good? Is it the chef? The atmosphere? The price? Yeah, they all contribute to the experience, but the base product is fresh food. It is so good because it is fresh. Time was taken to prepare and cook it. It did not come frozen (like most chain restaurants), it did not come in a bag that needed to be cut open, and it was not microwaved. It was not scarfed down in a matter of minutes (I could eat a Big Mac in about a minute if I were in a hurry) but time was taken to enjoy and savor it. No matter how busy your day is, don't you owe it to yourself, your loved ones, to fill your body with fresh healthy food that is delicious?
The nutritionist made a good point to me. We were talking about soy creamer for my coffee as an alternative to half and half. She said, yes, soy is good for you, in it's pure form, but how much processing did it take to make it into a creamer you will enjoy with your coffee? Look how much had to change in that soy bean to make it creamer. If it is processed that much, it is no longer as good for you as it was. Good point. Purity is a key to eating healthy. I remember when living in Slovenia that I dropped weight drastically. I knew I was walking a lot more and getting more exercise than normal, but it was also that I was eating food in the pure form. At that time there were very few prepackaged meals, and you had to go to the store almost daily because there were no preservatives so the food did not last long in the refrigerator. It was not until I returned home to the US of A that I thought about it. If the preservatives are preserving food for that long, can't they be preserving fat in our bodies? AND our bodies themselves?
"It has long been an urban myth that corpses today don’t decay as fast as they did in the past because of the amount of food preservatives that have built up in our bodies. After watching the decay of exhumed human remains buried over the last30 years, Professor Rainer Horn of Kiel University in Germany has concluded that this is actually true. He believes that the combination of food preservatives and cosmetics is literally embalming us while we are still alive."
Not saying this is conclusive proof, but does make a very valid point.
Anyhow, back to my point...
Eating is something that should be experienced, not just done. Anyone can scarf a burger down and a few fries, but it takes time and thought to enjoy a burger and taste the seasoning of the fries. It takes time to cook it ourselves and play with seasonings we like, not that "Ronald McDonald" decides on for the masses. Use feta instead of a Kraft Singles. Use shallots instead of onions. Mix in some BBQ sauce and dry mustard to the beef. Do something! Just enjoy it. Invited friends over for a "Gourmet Burger" night. Use Turkey or Buffalo, or mix some pork in with the beef. Experiment and make life and dinner exciting!
It might be a burger, a lasagna, or some macaroni and cheese, but whatever it is, make it fresh, make it yourself, and make it an experience to enjoy! Just please take the time to enjoy every aspect of it...in moderation of course!
So for years and years you hear on TV and movies that kids just wont eat their brussel sprouts. It has kind of steered me clear of these little darlings. A little reading can tell you that they are full of so many good nutrients, antioxidents, detoxifying enzymes, healthier skin, and more (check out this article on Whole Foods website). These are great little buggars and should be eaten regularly. I saw them on sale one day, and as part of my new routine of buying something new to try every time I go grocery shopping, I purchased them. Thank you to the internet for the great resource it is in finding a recipe to make these. With a few alterations (like I always tend to do), here is the way I make my new favorite side dish:
Brussel Sprouts
Brussel Sprouts garlic (pre chopped is fine, or fresh if you like more potent flavor), as much as your palate like to have Olive oil
Cut the bottoms off the already washed (I hope you did that already) brussel spouts and then cut each in half. Heat a skillet and put in a liberal amount of olive oil. Once oil is heated add the garlic to start browning (and give the oil a garlicky flavor). Add the brussel sprouts cut side down. The heat should be medium to medium high. Let the brussel sprouts caramelize a bit then saute them a bit to cook the other side. Keep them moving to coat in the garlicky oil and cook through. They should have a little crunch to them still but not be so cooked they are mushy. Serve immediately as a side to a delicious meat dish. Enjoy.
I hope you all enjoy these as much as I do. It is simple, healthy, and delicious.
