Healthy LASAGNA!!!! Yes, there IS such a thing!

Alright, guys. This is fantastic!!! This week's cardio goal was 250 minutes and I completed 253 of varied cardio activity. I LOVE being able to say I met my goal. Not feeling too hot today, and I think the kids' colds finally caught me. =( Bummer, indeed! BUT, Im going to the gym. Gonna work hard. Gonna see results!

This recipe came about a couple of weeks ago when I realized at 2:45pm that I had NO plans for dinner. I had to leave to pickup my daughter in less than half an hour and wanted to go straight to the gym after that. WHAT TO DO??? I decided I could make lasagna in less than half an hour and leave it to cook while I went to school, run by home to take it out of the oven, and have it waiting for us when we returned. Let me tell you, the stress reduction I felt at the gym KNOWING dinner was here for us was AMAZING. How healthy it was made it even more amazing. I've already had one friend (now a follower on my blog!!!) make this and she found it to be delicious as well. Try it tonight!

I decided to get creative and see how this would taste. I thought it was pretty darn good to have left out so much stuff.

1 lb Ground Turkey, browned
1 Orange or Red Bell pepper finely minced
1 pint of mushrooms finely minced
2 cloves of garlic finely minced
Dry Italian Seasoning, about 1 Tbsp
Package of No-cook/No-boil whole wheat lasagna noodles (I bought Archer Farms from Target)
1 Can Spaghetti Sauce, any variety
4 oz or so of shredded cheese, any variety, reduced fat

Brown the turkey with all the ingredients except noodles, sauce and cheese. I finely minced the veggies bc I was trying to sneak them past the kids, which worked! But, you could leave it chunky if that sounds better to you. Once the turkey is cooked through, add Sauce. Spray a pan ( I made a ton to freeze, like an 11X15 pan or something) with Pam no-stick spray and put down a thin layer of the sauce mixture, then a layer of noodles. Repeat - I did this 3 times. Then put a little more sauce on top and the shredded cheese. You can put as much or as little as you want. Bake covered with foil for 35 minutes then 10 uncovered at 375. (This step may vary depending on the brand of noodles you use)

So, this is healthy bc of the added veggies (high in antioxidants and vitamins!), which I would never have known were there if I didn't put them in myself. The turkey is lean and healthier than red meat. And I deleted the ricotta and eggs entirely from traditional lasagna. Some people use Cottage Cheese instead of ricotta and that cuts down too, but this was really good without it - both kids asked for seconds. I served with a big side of steamed broccoli.

Enjoy! Give me credit if you share =). The picture above is from my friend, Steph, who was able to make the chunky version. Apparently, her kids dont need stealth veggies!

Lauren~

P.S. I am going to make this again tommorrow and add minced carrots. More veggies, vitamins, GOOD stuff for the littles and me!