For those of you who have been following my blog since the beginning, in one of my very first posts I made the comment that, at one time or another, I had messed up quite a few recipes. Well this morning was a doozie, and I don’t think it was my fault. I suspect it was a flawed recipe. As a Diabetic, I am constantly looking for granola-type bars with low calories and around 15-18 grams of carbohydrate, to have as a snack when my sugar is low. I LOVE granola bars, but I think I have read the nutrition label on every bar ever sold in a store. They are NOT low calorie, or low carbohydrate. Even the ones that proclaim themselves to be low carb are not, when seen through the eyes of a Diabetic. I have even seen bars that have the stamp of approval of the American Diabetes Association, but contain too many grams of carbs for me to eat without injecting insulin to compensate. This means that I am constantly on the prowl looking for recipes for homemade granola-type bars that are tasty, low-ish in calories, and low in carbohydrates. The other day I found one that looked rather promising. OOPS! Big mistake. Usually, I make the substitutions that are necessary to meet the calorie/carb needs of a Diabetic. With this recipe I did not. I followed the ingredients and instructions exactly because it looked pretty good and, as a finished product, I could cut the bars smaller than indicated, thus reducing the calories and carbs. The finished product was supposed to be 4 crunchy, chewy bars. Well my finished product came out of the pan like loose granola cereal you can buy in a box in the breakfast aisle of any grocery store! I could see the problem as I was making them, but I continued anyway. The recipe contained 14 ingredients and only one Tablespoon of that was any form of adhesive material (ie: honey). The rest was nuts, seeds, dry coconut, etc., etc. To be a crunchy, chewy bar, there absolutely must be something that, when baked, “glues” the dry ingredients together. Needless to say, I am not even going to bother posting the recipe.
Instead, I will talk about what we are having for dinner tonight. Eggplant Zucchini Spinach Lasagna —- Delicious, low calorie, and low carbohydrate — Diabetic friendly. For starters, about once every couple of months I make a huge pot of what I call spaghetti sauce. Every good cook has their own version of spaghetti sauce and, probably, no two are exactly the same. In my opinion, of course, mine is the best. When I make it, it takes the better part of a day so all the seasonings can meld to the maximum. I then freeze it in various sized containers to use as needed in different Italian-style dishes. I used a 3.2 cup container of the sauce in this “lasagne’.
Eggplant Zucchini Spinach Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3 medium zucchini’s
- 1 large-ish eggplant
- 1 very large handful of fresh spinach
- 3 plus cups pre-made spaghetti sauce of your invention
Cheese mixture:
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 5 oz. container 3-cheese blend (asiago, parmesan, mozzarella)
- 6 oz. fresh parmesan, grated
- 2 egg equivalent boxed eggs
* season to taste ( I used pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic to taste)
Directions:
- Spray a 9X13 inch cake pan liberally with cooking spray
- Slice the zucchini into very thin slices lengthwise
- Slice eggplant into very thin slices crosswise
- In mixing bowl, combine all the cheeses, egg-equivalents, seasonings. Stir and mix thoroughly.
- In the cake pan, place layers of zucchini, eggplant, cheese mixture, spinach, spaghetti sauce. Repeat.
- Place in pre-heated 350 degree oven and bake for one hour.
Don’t forget to document the calories and grams of carbohydrates in each ingredient and then do the math per serving so you know exactly what you are eating. My particular creation will be cut into 8 servings. Each serving (made my way) has 283 calories and 13.15 grams of carbohydrates. Eat that for dinner with a leafy green salad and just gloat over your calorie/carb intake compared to regular lasagne, garlic toast, and a side of cole slaw. You are the winner in that comparison! Enjoy.
