Healthier Lasagna with Roasted Tomato Sauce

I am a lustful person. I know. It’s not a good quality to have, be lustful, but I just can’t help myself!! I mean, just look at all that chees-y, meat-y goodness!! I lust after lasagna. But it’s just not healthy. The meat has fat, the cheese, has fat, and if you’re one of those that doesn’t do the carb thing, then there’s the noodles to contend with. The only healthy thing? The sauce. That’s it.

I’m pretty sure I’ve talked about this before, but when I was growing up, they referred to me as Garfield. Ya know. The lasagna loving cat? I even had a stuffed Pookie doll. I loved lasagna THAT much. My mother would always ask, “What do you want for your birthday dinner,” knowing full good and well what the answer was. At least until I hit my teenage years, I think…

Then it probably switched to fettuccine Alfredo. Yeah. Cause that’s healthier!

So, I'm forever looking for a healthier way to make lasagna. I know. There are those that say, "Just don't eat it often and eat small amounts when you do." And don't you think I do that? Lasagna is not all that fun to make and not something you can whip up on a weeknight unless there's some secret I'm not privy to... Is there? IS THERE?

Anyway.

The concept here is to intensely flavor those small amounts of ingredients you DO use and to substitute some items are that are lower in fat. Cause that’s what we do here at AKHA; lower the fat. So, instead of using a jarred sauce, which is flavorful none-the-less, I roasted the canned whole tomatoes along with two large fresh tomatoes.

I’m stealing this idea from an Alton Brown marinara sauce recipe where he roasts the tomatoes first. I added fresh tomatoes for a little vibrant color and taste. I also hoped to cut some of the sodium from the canned tomatoes. This is the base of the sauce for the meat that lines the bottom layer of the lasagna.

Next, I split the ricotta with cottage cheese. Not just any cottage cheese, but a fat free version. I’ve been using fat free cottage cheese in quite a few sauces and recipes lately; not just as a substitute to ricotta, but as a base substitute for some cheese sauces like Alfredo and cheddar. The pureed cottage cheese acts like a béchamel ready to accept other ingredients to complete the sauce. I know, it sounds weird, but you should try it! People are making that cauliflower sauce; try a cottage cheese sauce!

Any way you look at it, healthier meals are just a matter of swapping out the fatty items for leaner products, cutting your portion size, and eating it all in moderation. But when it looks THIS GOOD how can you do that??