Guest Blog Post: Annette Makes Gluten-Free Zucchini Ribbon Lasagna
One of the benefits of working for NuValis that I get to work with several Registered Dietitians. Chief among them is Annette Maggi, MS, RD, LD, FADA. Annette lives in super-friendly Minnesota with her husband, Dan, and her 11-year-old son, Jack. As part of her job as Senior Director of Nutrition for NuVal, she shares her views on nutrition in her blog, Nutrition Outlook. She was so kind as to share one of her favorite tricks recipes for getting more veggies into Jack with all of you A Better Bag of Groceries readers today. So without further ado, I bring you Annette!
As a dietitian and a mom, I’m always looking for ways to get more vegetables into my son’s eating habits. He’ll eat a variety of fruits and will eat them willingly, but vegetables tend to be a harder sell. So I was intrigued when I ran across a recipe for “Zucchini-Ribbon Lasagna” in a recent issue of Martha Stewart Magazine. While billed as a gluten free recipe (which it is), it definitely presented a way to get in an extra serving of vegetables at dinner.
Here’s the Recipe
For the Sauce
1 can (28 ounce) whole peeled plum tomatoes, with juice (NuVal score of 50 for Tuttorosso Plum Tomatoes – see note below)
2 tbsp. olive oil (NuVal score of 11)
1 small onion, finely chopped (NuVal score of 93)
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
12-oz. ground turkey (NuVal score of 33 for 93% lean)
2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
2 tsp. sea salt
For the Lasagna
2 medium zucchini, trimmed (NuVal score of 99)
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese (NuVal score of 25 for Sargento – see Note below)
¼ tsp. olive oil (NuVal score of 11)
Freshly ground pepper
Working for NuVal, I couldn’t help but trade up a few of the ingredients, which were:
- Instead of olive oil, which has a NuVal score of 11, I traded up to canola oil, which has a NuVal Score of 24.
- Instead of Tuttorosso Plum Tomatoes (NuVal score of 50), I traded up to Rienzi Whole Italian Plum Tomatoes, with a NuVal score of 82.
- Instead of Sargento Part Skim Ricotta Cheese (NuVal score of 25), I traded up to Sargento Fat Free Ricotta (NuVal score of 30).
Directions:
- Make the sauce. Pulse tomatoes with juice in a food processor until finely chopped. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook onion and red-pepper flakes, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender, about 8 minutes. Add turkey; cook, breaking up large pieces, until browned, 3-4 minutes. Add tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduced heat; simmer until thick, about 20 minutes. Stir in oregano and salt. Let cool.
- Make the lasagna. Preheat oven to 375. Slice zucchini lengthwise into thin strips using a mandolin or a sharp knife.
Place 5-6 zucchini slices, overlapping slightly, in the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. Top with 1 cup sauce. Dot with ¼ cup ricotta cheese. Repeat twice with zucchini, remaining sauce, and ½ cup ricotta, alternating direction of zucchini; brush with oil. Dot with remaining ¼ cup ricotta. Season with pepper. 
Bake uncovered until lasagna bubbles and top browns, 50-60 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes.
So how successful was the dish in getting more vegetables into Jack? While he did pick out some of the zucchini, he ate well over half of it, so in my book, definitely a success. Because zucchini tends to have a mild flavor, I think it worked well in this recipe where many of the ingredients have a lot of flavor. I also thought it was a good choice for Jack because lasagna is a food he’s familiar with and likes!
Melissa’s Note:
We made this at our house this past weekend, using zucchini that we bought at our local Farmer’s Market.. We served it to our kids with a few leftover ravioli on the side, figuring they would not be too into the Zucchini Lasagna. Well, guess what? They LOVED the Zucchini Lasagna. They ate it before their beloved ravioli and even asked for seconds. This recipe is a keeper!
Speaking of Registered Dietitians….
Christina, a graduate student in nutrition from Simmons College in Boston has been interning at NuVal this summer. Today, she has a great guest blog post over at Prevention RD. Check it out!
Question of the Day
What is your favorite zucchini recipe?
Posted by: Melissa 8 comments
Posted in: Dinner Recipes, Guest Bloggers
Tags: Gluten Free, Martha Stewart, Registered Dietitians, Zucchini, Zucchini Ribbon Lasagna
on Jul 29th, 2010 at 7:51 am
Bless you. I have been craving lasagna…it’s such comfort food to me but it’s a little too heavy for the dog days of summer. This version sounds lighter and “summerized” (<–totally not a word but you get my drift)
Thanks, thanks, thanks!
on Jul 29th, 2010 at 9:30 am
I love the receipe, but alas, being a vegetarian that can’t have cheese I will be making the following changes – I will you Boca Crumbles for the turkey and tofu for the ricotta cheese. Off to the market to get the “stuff” to make this. Happy eating
on Jul 29th, 2010 at 10:25 am
I haven’t used veggies in place of pasta yet, but after seeing Alton brown use eggplant as pasta and then this, I’m more than inspired!
on Jul 29th, 2010 at 10:30 am
Yum!!! I am most intrigued that canola oil is that much better than olive oil! What gives there?
on Jul 29th, 2010 at 11:35 am
Hi Lindsay -
We get that question a lot. Here is what Annette has to say about oils:
According to Annette, “The real differentiator in liquid oil scores is omega-3 fatty acid content. Canola oil has more than 9 grams omega-3 per 100 grams of oil, followed by soybean oil with 6.8 grams omega-3, corn oil with 1.6 grams and olive oil with less than 1 gram of omega-3 fatty acids.”
on Jul 29th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
This receipe sounds very good.
I have a zucchini casserole bake that you mix shredded carrots, zuchini, onions,sour cream, cream of chicken soup and stove top chix flavored stuffing mix. It is easy and great during the winter time
on Aug 2nd, 2010 at 2:39 pm
I just sautee sliced zucchini and vidalia onions in a little canola oil, and sprinkle with a tiny bit of sea salt.
on Sep 2nd, 2010 at 11:12 am
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