Vegetable (no pasta) Lasagna

Let's start by deciphering lasagna and understanding its components: Lasagna is basically a dish comprised of 5 main ingredients:

1. wide flat pasta noodles--in this case we're using wide flat strips of vegetables such as zucchini, squash, and eggplant,
2. tomato sauce
3. vegetables and mushrooms
4. cheese: commonly ricotta, mozzarella, but also feta and cottage cheeses can be used,
5. accessory herbs and spices: including garlic, basil, olives and other components to make a richly tasteful dish.

The "magic" of lasagna is how the tastes and textures blend together during the cooking process.  As long as you have the basic components included, you can make your own recipe depending upon what you like and what you have available. 

We started by cutting zucchini into strips.  This can be done with either a knife or with a vegetable peeler.

We layered strips of zucchini and squash, then a layer of cheese and tomato sauce, then more strips of zucchini and eggplant, then more tomato sauce, topped with basil and mushrooms.  This was our first version, and it was delicious.

We baked at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes.

For our second version, we added garlic and basil, and we cut the vegetables sideways with a food processor in order to have a more uniform thickness.  This version also included cottage cheese and ground venison for the filling.

The above version was coated with cheese and mushrooms before entering the oven, again for about 90 minutes at 350 degrees.  The remaining squash, eggplant, and zucchini were baked along side to make good use of the oven being on.

As you can see, the cheese was well cooked and deliciously crispy.  In the pan to the left of the photo, we were starting to cook some prunes in water for our delicious Chocolate-Prune Torte!

Health benefits of this meal include that 1) it is loaded with vegetables and thus fiber and phytonutrients, and 2) the cheese actually isn't so bad as long as it is consumed in moderation--cheese is a good source of protein, provided that one is not allergic to cow's milk.

Yes, many people are allergic to dairy, so of course we have to look out for this--runny nose, skin rashes, headaches, joint pain, sometimes hypertension.

Here are some of our favorite recipes

1. Recipe for Acorn Squash

2. Recipe for Raw Salad of Cabbage, Almonds, and Sesame Seeds (anticancer)

3. Cinnamon Apple Chocolate Almonds: a wonderful and healthy snack!

4. Eggplant Onion Recipe

5. Hazelnut-Fig-Almond bars with home-made almond milk (and whey protein powder)

6. Recipe for Fresh Fig Delight

7. Recipe for Fresh Gazpacho

8. Easy Green Beans and Almonds

9. Green Brownies Sweetened with Prunes and Honey

10. White Button Mushroom Miso Soup

11. Recipe for PhytoGreen Fiber Bars

12. Recipe for Protein-Power Pancakes (low carb)

13. Raw Fruitcake

14. Recipe for Shitake Miso Soup

15. Snack of Mango, Nectarines, Almonds, Prunes, and PhytoGreen "Green Brownies"... could add Yogurt or Cottage Cheese

16. Spelt berry breakfast bowl

17. Recipe for Sprouted Quinoa Bars

18. Almond Tort, aka Torta de Santiago

19. Recipe for White Button Mushroom Miso Soup (anticancer)

20. Recipe for Raw Protein Brownie Bars

21. Chocolate-Prune Torte