Less-agne: Healthy Lasagne.

I love lasagne. Layers of cheese, pasta and meat - could there be anything better? Turns out, there could. Because the one thing I don't like about it is how uncomfortably full and sleepy it makes me. Not to mention that there is usually no veg involved at all (in my books - unacceptable).

So here's how we solve that one:

- Add red lentils in with the beef (or Quorn mince if using)
- Include a layer of carrots and kidney beans
- Add a layer of courgette next to OR instead of pasta sheets if going lower-carb
- Use cottage cheese instead of bechamel/cheese sauce

BOOM, there's at least 3 of our five-a-day and a big reduction in the calorie punch right there.

Here's one I prepared earlier...

What You'll Need:
Feeds ~ 8 people
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 500g mince/quorn (as preferred)
- 1 cup red lentils
- 1 veggie stock cube
- 2 carrots
- 2 courgette/zucchini
- 1 jar tomato-ey pasta sauce
- 1 can kidney beans
- 1 large jar cottage cheese

- 200g cheese for melting on top- cheddar is usually good

The How-To:

For the meaty bit
1. Gently cook the onion and garlic over a low heat until see-through (~5 mins)
2. Meanwhile, bring a kettle to boil and cook the red lentils in with the veggie stock cube until mushy (about 20 mins). Don't worry about water:lentil ratio, just drain at the end. But somewhere around twice the water to lentils seems to work.
3. Add the mince into the onions and cook through (if quorn, cook until piping hot)
4. Add in the jar of tomato sauce (leaving a bit of sauce leftover) and stir through
5. When cooked, add in the lentils (drained)
6. Meaty bit ready.

For the rest
1. Wash the courgettes and chop the ends off. Slice length-ways to get 'sheets'
2. Give carrots a good old wash too, and cut into 'penny' shapes
3. Steam the carrots for 5-10 mins until chewable

Enough chat, let's build this thing

1. In your dish of choice, dollop the remainder of the tomato sauce at the bottom and spread out.
2. Layer pasta sheets over the top
3. Courgettes next 
(This order is important as the moisture from the tomato sauce and courgettes will soak into the pasta sheets and make them yummy and squishy)
4. Next, a layer of the meaty bit.
5. A layer of kidney beans (drained) and carrots
6. Cottage cheese
7. Another layer of pasta sheets and courgettes
8. Grate cheese all over
9. Cook in an oven at 180 degrees until cheese on top is golden (25 mins ish)

Voila! What you should have there is a lasagne that makes your insides happy (oh so much healthier than the usual), your eyes happy (so many colours!) and of course, your tastebuds.

Nom.