Low Sodium Recipe: Lasagna

Lasagna is, without a doubt, one of my favorite foods.  So it just about broke my heart to find out that most lasagna recipes are loaded with sodium.  Both of my low sodium cookbooks have lasagna recipes in them, but none of them looked A: easy, or B: delicious so I ditched the books and headed straight for the internet.  I found one on BetterRecipes.com that looked good, but it called for an "envelope of spaghetti sauce mix" which is just fancier phrasing for "Italian spices and TONS of salt".  A few more searches and a couple of test runs, and I am pretty darn happy with the low sodium lasagna recipe I've come up with.  Is it the lasagna I've been in love with all of my life?  Certainly not.  But it's good in its own way, and best of all ... I don't have to freak out about the sodium content while I eat it.  Win-win.

Low Sodium Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground beef or ground turkey (I use the latter)
1 small onion chopped
1 can (28 oz.) no salt added crushed tomatoes  (this is tough to find; look for Cento brand tomatoes)
1 3/4 cups water
1 can (6 oz.) no salt added tomato paste
1 Tbsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. basil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 bay leaf
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups (16 oz.) low sodium, low fat cottage cheese  (Breakstone's makes a good one that should be easy to find)
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
6 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

In a large saucepan, cook beef/turkey and onion medium heat until the meat is no longer pink and the onions are tender; drain.  Stir in the tomatoes, water, tomato paste, parsley, oregano, basil, garlic powder, and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl, combine the egg, cottage cheese, and Parmesan cheese.  Remove the bay leaf.  Spread 2 cups meat sauce in a 13" x 9" baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Layer with three noodles, half of the cottage cheese mixture, and half of the remaining meat sauce.  Repeat layers.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160 degrees.  Uncover; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  Bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until bubbly and cheese is melted.  Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

With all the cheese, this obviously isn't a low, low sodium recipe, but it's light years better than most other lasagna recipes.  Selecting your ingredients wisely is key; you wouldn't believe all the things they add sodium to.  Just take the time to read labels, and you should be able to find everything you need to make this a healthier dish.

Enjoy!