I wish I could claim this recipe as my own but I googled lasagna fillings and found Hungry Hungry Hippie. Here is her recipe which is pretty much genius and absolutely delicious. I used it as a jumping off point for a vegan lasagna. Lasagna typically is loaded with an insane amount of calories and a pain to make. This one is super healthy and pretty dang easy. I think I assembled it in under 10 minutes.
I used a 8x8 pan and made 3 layers. You can play around with it and make it as thick or thin as you want.
The important thing is to have everything ready and then the assembly goes quick.
List of Ingredients
lasagna noodles
28 oz jar marinara sauce or homemade
1 pkg firm tofu
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup Italian style hummus (i used Trader Joe's Tomato Basil but Garlic would work too)
4 cups fresh spinach chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Peheat oven to 375
Boil the lasagna noodles for about 6 minutes
For the filling...
In a bowl, crumble the tofu with your hands to resemble ricotta cheese
mix in the nutritional yeast, hummus, spinach, garlic, salt and pepper
Begin your layers...
Marinara sauce
Lasagna noodles
Tofu filling
Repeat
Pour all the remaining marinara sauce over the top and bake at 375 for 45 minutes
Let stand for about 15 minutes before cutting
I'm telling you this is so good. We had to force ourselves not eat the whole thing in one setting. I served it with a big green salad and homemade bread. I will be making this again v soon.
Oh and here is a great link that was left in the comments this week. It sums up why I am vegan so beautifully. I hope you enjoy it. Watch it HERE.
Let's start eating like we give a damn.
If you had to force yourselves not to eat the whole thing it must be fabulous!
ReplyDeleteWhen I make vegetarian lasagne I use the oven ready noodles or fresh and it cuts down the time even more.
Lately I have been eating tons of kale salad with a raw food dressing. I think you've inspired me to put together a post....
Are you still making the no knead bread? I use the one from You Tube by Chef John, no knead ciabatta....Google his recipe it is quite funny.
Kale. I want to love kale. I can't get onto the taste, especially in a raw salad. It's so healthy; such a super food. Janet, do you have a particular/favorite kale recipe you could share?
DeleteHi Vicki, I leave the cheese off this recipe: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/kale-and-brussels-sprout-salad
DeleteI never ever eat brussels sprouts, but they are surprisingly good in this salad, and I don't think the kale is as noticeable. I'm not the hugest fan of the taste either. If you don't like this, and want to incorporate it into your diet, the way I do it 90% of the time is in a smoothie. A frozen banana (it is FAR better after being frozen), frozen raspberries (or an orange - something tart), a bunch of kale leaves with the stems removed, and water. Blend until the kale is unrecognisable. I sometimes add nuts or seeds, or vegan protein powder (if I want it to be a meal and feel fuller). You can make it a hundred different ways. Hope that helps! :)
It does; thank you so much!
DeleteAnd I had been looking at a blog called Susan at FatFree Vegan Kitchen, reading about yeast, when she posted a great recipe for an Italian soup using kale, so I feel like I'm hitting the jackpot now. Kale HAS to become part of my diet. It is too important to be missed.
DeleteMy one 'healthy' eatery in our small town has an owner who is trying so hard to do everything right, with produce purchases from local farms, sustainable packing, etc. She always has a big compartment for fresh kale in her cold-salad bar and we had talked about kale. She told me she absolutely can't stand kale in soup (she's vegan!). Some things we can only try out for ourselves!
But she's going to start offering almond-milk frozen yogurt next week in her vast row of machines...no more cow's milk yogurt!
Looks fabulous. And way healthier than my vegan lasagna! Haha I used a ton of the galaxy vegan cream cheese. The hummus is brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI wish everyone could see this video.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the recipes, they are wonderful!
I'm giving this a try this weekend.
ReplyDeleteJanet, would you have a recipe for a decent vegan latte?
sue, i make vegan pumpkin latte's but i'll have to dig around for that recipe.
DeleteAwesome, thanks!
DeleteHow did you like it? I think it is absolutely delicious!
DeleteThank you, Janet, once more, for being such an inspiration!
i finally found it! most recipes call for 2 T pumpkin but this one doesn't and it's good!
Deletei don't have a fancy coffee machine so i don't have a frother or foamer. i just brew a pot of coffee and in a saucepan i combine 2/3 cup soymilk or almond milk and add 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice and 2 teaspoons of agave or sugar. i heat it through and stir til well blended and use that for the creamer in the coffee. it tastes really really good!
I'm a huge latte snob and I panicked when I went vegan, but I've found something that works for me. The trick for me is a combination of cashew milk and proper aeration. I went ahead and splurged on a Breville espresso machine which seemed like an exorbitant expense at the time but has more than paid for itself by keeping me away from the $4.50 soy lattes. Using the steam wand on my espresso machine on the cashew milk gives it the perfect creamy texture. So Delicious is the brand of cashew milk I use. I actually did a taste test where I made 5 lattes with 5 different non dairy milks, and cashew milk was the winner for me, the best texture and flavor.
DeleteLovely post. As long as there's a link-sharing party, here's a recipe favorite: http://www.mynewroots.org/site/ Not all recipes are vegan, but most can easily be modified to be vegan. Stunning photos, loads of great nutrition info.
ReplyDeleteMmmm...lasagna. Yeah, maybe I have to make some this weekend.
Posting vegan recipes is a wonderful way to reach out to people who have no clue, yet. The Marinara sauce - would this be tomato pulp, salt and pepper?
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one who is getting told that vegans and vegetarians cause problems for the ecosystem, because we consume so much soy? A coworker told me so, a friend had told her ... I raised my eyebrows.
I had to give her the big picture - how the meat industry is in need of soy beans because the grass that used to feed the animals does not suffice. Europe has to import soy. Not because I eat a soy pudding or pour soy milk in my coffee.
It is interesting, how vegans and vegetarians get the label to be the ones who cause - and not solve - problems!
This could mean that the vegan crowd is growing to a substential size.
Yum! This looks so good! Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteI am embarrassed to say I rarely cook although I'm trying to improve on this because I want to make dining-in and slow food my life. However, I have a very few things I make over many years which can actually pass for good food. One was a spinach lasagna using cottage cheese instead of ricotta from the 1980s. It seemed so healthy then and, I have to tell you (even I can't believe this), I actually won first prize with it in a newspaper contest and was also published in a small/local cookbook, which made my family just about pass out with laughter. Of course, now, it doesn't look so healthy and I don't want the cottage cheese even though it was always meatless, so I am so glad (thank you!) for this much easier and much healthier version of oh-so-good lasagna.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are always so great; even though you say you don't have a good camera, my husband says you've got the eye; he knows, he used to be a professional photographer earlier in his career.
Oh...Janet, that video made me cry. I just can't imagine how people can justify the cruelty. I wish it didn't have to be such a long and hard campaign to get things to change.
ReplyDeleteThe lasagna looks delish. I usually throw a few soy sausages in and sometimes my boys eat their whole helping before they realize there's no "meat" in it.
Have a good weekend. ♥
I don't know that I'm brave enough to watch; it'll pop up in nightmares with me.
DeleteMy mom watched a TV piece on calves/veal once, so many years ago, and she announced to all of us at home that veal would never, ever be served in our family home again. I kept asking questions ("why, Mom, why????") and all she said was, "You don't want to know." When she was serious, she was serious. I never ordered anything with veal ever again; however, when I was age 20 and on a Europe quickie tour (If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium), where meals were often included, I could not get away from veal in a lot of Central Europe.
My mom died a year ago today, so I'm thinking about her. It's so cliche, but she really did know best on so many things and I'm glad she had a conscience.
Oh Vicki! As I wrote in my latest blog post, our mothers did know best and we listened too (as your comment attests). I reach my hand out to you today in cyber warmth and may God bless your caring mother forever. Love, Donna (of alovelyinconsequence.blogspot in case you forgot).
DeleteThank you, Donna: I am touched. You are the only person today who said anything; everybody in my circle, save my husband, has forgotten. I understand it, of course; people's lives are busy and data-filled (brain overload).
DeleteI wouldn't forget your blog again...where each post is a little gem to collect, like adding charms to a bracelet or pearls to a necklace. I was so pleased to see Janet mention you and provide a link in her January Wrap-Up so that other bloggers could discover you, too.
Did you see the commentary on Janet's previous post, when she graciously allowed me to deviate from her subject and bring up yours about Charm School? It struck a similar memory with another reader!
I did see it Vicki...thank you. Growing up in our era has given us some wonderful collective and yet, unique memories. Yesterday was a secret anniversary of the heart for you. And you were entitled to pause. xo
DeleteVicki, I read about the treatment of the poor calves many years ago and also refused to eat it from that point on.
DeleteLinda
I'll have to try this soon! My doctor thinks vegetable lasagna is the fountain of youth because she's mentioned it more than once. I think she said it has lots of calcium. And she wrote it on a list of dishes good for menopausal women.
ReplyDeletelooks delicious!! xx
ReplyDeleteLooks so delicious! I don't usually like any type of lasagnas because it's a greasy mess, but this one I might like. It doesn't sound greasy at all! Is nutritional yeast different from active dry yeast??
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely weekend, Janet ox
Is it bad blog etiquette for me to jump in here before Janet has a chance? Only because I had JUST been reading about this subject; I, too, have been 'confused.' I'm a relatively new reader of a blog called Susan At Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen; she has really substantive posts. If I'm following what she's saying, nutritional yeast is NOT the same as active dry yeast/Brewer's yeast. Nutritional yeast has no leavening ability; it doesn't grow like baking yeast (so, in a sense, dead? whereas active dry yeast is alive...). Nutritional yeast is oddly grown somehow off molasses as opposed to, say, brewer's yeast being a product of beer (this is all her content, not anything from me; I'm just trying to learn). Susan says that some brands of nutritional yeast can be a good source of Vitamin B12 and also contain no whey (whey being animal-derived, right?).
DeleteJanet? Do you buy it in bulk at the health food store?
yuko - what vicki said. :)
Deletevicki - yes i do buy it in bulk. :)
Vicki - Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question! That's exactly what I wanted to know. I just wikipedia-ed about Vitamin B12 and it said VItamin B12 deficiency can cause fatigue, depression, and poor memory - wow, I better make sure I'm taking enough of that! I'll add nutritional yeast to my next grocery list :) Have a wonderful weekend, ladies! ox
DeleteYuko-
DeleteWhen thinking about using nutritional yeast, think of it as "cheese" flakes. They aren't cheese, of course, but have a wonderfully cheesy flavor. My kids used to love nutritional yeast sprinkled on potatoes, eggs, steamed veggies, even tortilla chips. Salad dressings benefit from some, as does just about any savory dish to which you'd like to add a cheesy taste and of course, some extra nutrition. Love it. Both my kids, now adults, have nutritional yeast in their kitchens. Love that, too. Enjoy the new addition to your cooking options!
Thank you so much for letting me know how to use it. I'm so excited to have found such a healthy addition to our every day eating :)
DeleteThis recipe sounds delicious! Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteI don't cook much, I tend to go for super fast and easy.
I do like MorningStar products. (I love their Spicy Black Bean Burgers).
I tried to watch the video but had to look away. Images like that tend to haunt me.
Also... I hesitate here because I hate sounding so cynical, but I really doubt the possibility of changing some people's minds with a plea to their sense of compassion. The reason I say this is because I work at a veterinarian clinic and we had a client bring in their pet pigs for procedures and afterwards I asked co-workers if that didn't make them rethink their love of eating pork? Instead I heard laughter and comments about bacon tasting so good.
These same people who work all week savings lives of dogs and cats, have no qualms about going hunting on the weekends. They try to say it's to cut down on the deer population so that other deer don't starve. Or that they are doing it to feed their families because of a limited income. I've refrained from starting a HUGE fight in which I would have pointed out that they obviously have funds for cigarettes and beer, or bring up that if it was to indeed an attempt to stop over-population, then why are they so focused on the numbers of points on the antlers? And why would they want to mount it on a wall?
I did state once that if any sort of killing had to take place, it should be done as humanely as possible and with a heavy heart and a deep sense of gratitude for the sacrifice of life and not with a sense of glee. That there should be no joy in any of it. I said that the happiness and anticipation they had for the hunting season made me sick. Most of them just looked at me with shocked faces as though I had lost my mind. It's hard to be surrounded by people like this, but I think living in the Midwest where people are either farmers or hunters, it's impossible to escape this mentally.
I think the only possibility of change is if these people begin to see how it could ruin their health and endanger their own lives.
Sadly, they appear to be only concerned about themselves.
whoa cynthia. what a story.
Deletekd lang says it best..."why do we call some animals pets and others dinner?"
ps - since i posted that link (which is incredibly beautiful and not even close to being as graphic as the real situation is) approx 400 people have watched it vs 4k who viewed the post.
DeleteWow. Oh, I feel pierced thru the heart right now. Cynthia, I have visited your blog a few times; I know how you love animals and that you are a rescuer.
DeleteI have also adopted a number of special-needs pets, did some volunteer work with County ("the pound" AKA The Last Resort) and was asked numerous times by my vets to come work with them but I do not have your courage. I wish I could do it for the animals. But I have no patience with some of the owners.
I saw the worst of the worst at County. (Thankfully, wonderful workers at the facility, though; incredibly strong and dedicated people.) I believe had I been face-to-face with the owners of neglected dogs/cats/horses/farm animals (et al), my non-confrontational side would have fallen away and something violent could have taken over.
Everything you said speaks to your compassionate heart and I applaud you. You have posed questions to your co-workers which I've asked of myself. My ancestors helped invent the long rifle (ala Hawkeye and Last of the Mohicans; think of the movie and dreamy Daniel-Day Lewis, not the hard-to-get-thru book), which meant settlers could protect themselves from a variety of predators and more-easily hunt game for a very hungry family, but I also know that, that was then and this is now; also, I have come across in much reading that when there was a 'kill' in those early times, they wasted nothing of the dead animal.
Dear janet, dear readers of Janet's blog:
ReplyDeleteyou might enjoy this. It one goes out to all the skeptics who think a vegan diet is not healthy.
Some good reasons to go vegan:
http://ratherthanfacebook.blogspot.co.at/2014/02/bloody-iron.html
greetings, a quite happy Paula
...following you on email now; thanks...
DeleteLove the link, and your lovely blog. I have been waiting impatiently for Kite Hill to start putting their vegan lasagna on the shelves. I wonder if you have tried their cheeses, they are nut milk cheeses, sold exclusively through Whole Foods, and are, in my opinion, the most delicious vegan product I have tasted in my last 3+ years of vegannity
ReplyDeleteHow do you prevent the lasagne noodles from sticking together? I caused a brick of lasagne noodles. Solid. And ended up with a pasta-mosaic in the pan. rip rip rip ;-)
ReplyDeletepaula when the lasagna is done just take them out of the pot and lay them flat on a cookie sheet.
Deletemaybe I should have put them in the water piece by piece. seems as if I am a total lasagne-rookie!
Deletethis did not hinder Mr Paula from enjoying the lasagne when he came home from an exhausting weekend in the workshop.
I would say the hummus is the secret.
chambray and lasagne--you are one cool chick Janet!
ReplyDeleteThis is for sure going on the menu for this week - but following my new non-shopping rules I am not going out to buy Hummus but will make some myself and flavor it with fresh Basil, garlic and some other things to make it Italian Hummus
ReplyDeleteLast week I made 2 vegan cakes (a carrot cake and a cashew "cheese" cake) and brought them to the office - people looked shocked when I told them they were vegan and made faces as if I was going to make them eat poison... so weird, right? But what can I say.... at the end of the day both cakes were gone to the last crump and several colleagues asked me for the recipes...
xo
Mireille
i bet yours will be better with homemade hummus.
Deletei rarely tell people anything is vegan until after they taste or eat it. sneaky. :)
Hi Janet, I watched the video and it brought tears to my eyes...not just because of the factory farming images, but also the third world poverty and starvation, and finally because it shows the love and bond to the planet and all animals and humans that a plant based diet promotes. I plant to try your lasagna this week and am excited...even thinking about incorporating some of the ingredients into a vegan mac and cheese bake...yum. Joanna
ReplyDeleteI'm excited about trying this! What size box of lasagne noodles did you use? Thanks, Karen
ReplyDeletethe noodles came from the .99 store and it is a 13 oz box. enough for at least 2 lasagnas. :)
DeleteHands down, BEST lasagna EVER...More recipes, PLEASE!
ReplyDeleteThis is delicious! Everyone at dinner loved it, kids included.
ReplyDelete