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Make Ahead Meals Monday: Low Carb Lasagna

Make Ahead Meals Monday: Low Carb Lasagna
Carly Jacobs

People often email me asking for healthy meals that they can make ahead and pop in the fridge to re-heat at work for lunch, so I’ve decided to do a regular series called Make Ahead Meals Monday where I publish an easy, healthy recipe that you can make ahead and grab in the morning on your way to work.

Today I’ve got a super simple low calorie, low carb lasagna that works out at about 300 calories per serve. It’s super clean and really delicious, particularly in winter when you want something warming and tasty for lunch.

Low Carb Lasagna
 
PREP
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TOTAL
 
A quick and easy low carb, low calorie zucchini and beef lasagna that you can make ahead for a week of easy lunches.
By:
Serves: 8
What You Need
  • 5 large zucchinis
  • 2 heads of broccoli
  • 600 gms lean beef mince
  • 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 1 large red chilli, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
  • 1 bunch of fresh basil, roughly chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 500gms low fat ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup low fat grated cheese
  • ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
  • Olive oil
What You Do
  1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees celcius.
  2. Wash and thinly slice zucchini length ways. Place zucchini slices on baking trays in a single layer and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until soft. (Alternatively you can use a food processor to very thinly slice the zucchini, in which case it will be thin enough to put in the lasagna raw and it will cook through with the rest of the lasagna).
  3. Cut broccoli into small flourets and steam for 5 minutes until just tender.
  4. Heat olive oil in a fry pan. Add chilli and garlic and stirfry until fragrant. Add beef and stirfry until cooked through. Add tomato paste and basil and stir through.
  5. In a separate bowl mix ¼ cup of grated cheese, ricotta cheese and egg.
  6. In a large lasagna dish (about 12 cup capacity) layer the bottom with half of the zucchini slices. Next add the broccoli, then the beef, then a layer of ricotta. Cover with the remaining zucchini slices, sprinkle with the remaining ¾ cup of grated cheese and ¼ cup of parmesan.
  7. Cook in the oven for 1 hour. When the lasagna is cooked, leave on the bench for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
  8. Slice into 8 pieces and store in containers in the fridge.

smaggle-low-carb-lasagna

If I don’t have time to do a make ahead meal on Sunday, I’ll do one for dinner on Monday night and use the left overs for lunches for the week. Easy peasy.

If you need some other healthy packable food ideas check out the posts below.

5 Easy and Healthy Lunchbox Ideas for Grown Ups

3 Easy Make Ahead Lunches For Work 

5 Weekday Breakfasts To Go (… and under 300 Calories each!)

What’s in your lunch box today? Or are you planning on sneaking down to the local cafe for a cheeky sanga?

15 Comments

  1. Raquel 10 years ago

    I saw ‘low carb’ and ‘lasagna’ and I got really excited! And then I read how easy the recipe was and got even more excited! Call me crazy, but do recipes from NZ/Aus seem more simple and straightforward than US recipes? Maybe it’s just the measurements that throw me off….I honestly have no idea how much 3 oz. of cheese is and I can never be bothered finding a conversion.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      US recipes I find a bit confusing too. The measurements obviously but also they use lots of brand named stuff in their recipes which is impossible to replicate here in Australia. This is SO EASY – even easier if you have a food processor. 🙂

  2. Kelly NH 10 years ago

    This sounds amazing. Im nearing the end of my Whole30, and am getting excited for the end of the month when I can add back in some dairy and OMG wine!!! This may just be on the menu….

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      Oh wow. The Whole 30 is INTENSE! I’ve done half done it twice and it wasn’t fun. Definitely put this on the menu for when it’s all over. I’m doing the 5:2 at the moment and this is perfect for fast day dinners!

  3. Caroline 10 years ago

    use a peeler to get nice thin strips of zuch if you don’t have a food processor 🙂

  4. great recipe Smags! I’m sending it to Jim to make x

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      It’s so healthy and it reheats beautifully. Perfect for easy dinners after events etc…

      • jimbutcher2014Jim 10 years ago

        Yup, this is definitely one I’ll be trying. One thing I’ve really missed since we’ve scaled back on the ol’ glutenarini… not sure why I went all Ned Flanders then… Anyway, thanks, Smags. Great recipe!
        Jxx

        • Author
          Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

          Chrissie said she’d make you make this for her. Totes-arino gluto-free-o! x

  5. Nicole (@dorkabrain) 10 years ago

    Definitely want to give this one a go when we’ve returned home and there’s an oven available.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      Oh my lord living with an oven must be torture! I love my oven. Well I don’t love it because it’s kind of shit but it’s definitely necessary!

      • Nicole (@dorkabrain) 10 years ago

        We’ve been in a hotel for four months now. It has a small kitchenette, but no oven and that got old pretty fast. Also, it did have a two burner stove top, but their pans were gross so we didn’t use that either. Looking forward to eating real food again.

        • Author
          Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

          That’s sounds like the place I stayed in New York! Literally a bedroom with a stove in the corner. We loved it but not for any longer than a few weeks!

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  1. […] ever make lasagne is because I HATE washing up the giant pan. Problem solved! I might try to make my low carb lasange or my mushroom and spinach lasange like this next […]

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