Vegetarian Lasagne

Question
Hi!

How do you feel about this lasagne from a nutritional standpoint? Will it be better if I used lower fat cheeses (cottage cheese and mozzarella) instead of the whole fat versions?

Mushroom-Spinach Lasagna

1 tub (500 g) of 2 % Cottage cheese

1/4 grated Parmesean cheese

1 egg beaten

1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

1 pkg (10 oz/300g) frozen spinach, thawed (drained, squeezed and chopped)

12 no-cook lasagna noodles

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

TOMATO MUSHROOM SAUCE:

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion chopped

1 carrot, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups sliced white mushrooms

2 tsp. dried Italian Herb seasoning

1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

One pinch of hot pepper flakes

1 jar (700 ml) pasta sauce

Tomato mushroom sauce: in saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Saute onion, carrot, garlic, mushrooms, herb seasoning, salt & pepper. Add flakes. Add pasta sauce and one cup of water. Lower heat to medium, bring to boil.

In bowl, mix cottage cheese, egg, paremsean cheese, nutmet, salt & pepper. Add spinach and stir.

Pour 1 cup of sauce into slow cooker, top with three noodles. Top with half of cheese mixture, cover with three noodles. Repeat alternating with sauce and cheese. When finished, sprinkle mozzarella.

Cover and cook on LOW for three (3) hours or until bubbling and pasta is tender. It serves 8!

Thank you in advance.

Answer
I am not a chef and can't tell you how changes in ingredients would affect the outcome of the product BUT it definitely would lower the fat and calories to use lower fat cheeses since dairy can be high in fat (and the BAD fat)!!  As well you can try using an egg substitute for the whole egg if you really wanted to cut some fat and calories.  You may have to do some testing with the recipe to see what works.
Kim Tessmer, RD LD
www.Nutrifocus.net

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