Lasagne

Family dinners with a lasagne are part of many people’s childhoods, and even as adults we never stop craving it. But when someone embarks on the journey of transforming their body and to “eat healthy”, lasagne somehow drops out of the options what is going to be put on the dinner table. And then when you grant yourself a cheat meal, you go for it in a restaurant, or when coming home asking your mother to make you one. But do you really need to find a special occasion to eat it? Trust me, from now on you will prepare it so many times that when you go for a cheat meal, you will choose something else, since you will already have so many lasagnes stuffed into your lean muscle mass that it will lose its special status.

The traditional Italian lasagne may not be well-suited for a cutting, and its macro ratio disqualifies it even from bulking, but with a few modifications we can preserve its authentic nature, while making it fully suitable for a fitness meal plan. The first thing we are going to do is to throw away everything American we know about the recipe. For real, America should be bring to court for crimes against humanity for their gastro-terrorism, it is no joke. Therefore, ricotta is a no-no. The traditional Italian recipe is with bechamel, but we will get rid of that as well, sorry, not sorry. As for the other ingredients, we just switch something here and there to get rid of unnecessary saturated fats, add additional extra virgin olive oil for more calories if needed, and we get the heavenly dish in its most sinless purest form ever. Lasagne is perfect for being prepared for multiple days, and portioning is also simple, as you just cut it in as many pieces as many meals you will need.

Video is coming in spring or summer!

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• onions, carrot, celery (sofrito)
• lean ground beef
• tomato puree (without added sugar)
• salt, pepper, basil
• whole grain or durum lasagna pasta
• mozzarella (can be light if you are desperate)
• extra virgin olive oil for additional calories (if needed)
• extra: parmesan

Method:

• heat up a pot, add the cooking oil
• add the chopped onions, carrots and celery
• saute
• add the ground beef, and stir it until brown
• add the tomato puree and seasoning
• simmer (60-90 mins)
• you want it to be still juicy at the end, so the pasta can absorb it
• before the ragou is ready, pre-boil the pasta
• if you need more calories, pour the additional extra virgin olive oil into the ragu a few minutes before you take it off the stove
• preheat the oven to 200C
• add a little ragou on the bottom of the baking tray, then layer the pasta, and repeat
• on the top pour some remaining juice, and some shredded/torn mozzarella
• if you’ve been a good boi, you can add parmesan on the top as well, and if you’ve been the goodest boi, even between the layers
• cover it with tinfoil pretending it believes in conspiracy theories
• put it in the oven for 30 mins, then take off the foil, and cook for additional 10-15 mins

Bon appetit!