What Are You Putting Into Your Body?

Whole Grain CRAZE      

By Megan Domingue

We all know how important consistent exercise is, but remember what you are putting into your body is just as important as your work-outs!  Anyone who knows me is aware of my love for healthy cooking.   In the last few years you've probably noticed when you go to the store products are claiming to be, “organic”, have “zero trans fats” or “whole wheat”.   I’ve learned to be very careful and read the back of what you’re buying, not everything is as it seems.  I want to share with you things to be aware of when you are grocery shopping. Let’s start with this Whole Grain CRAZE….

Pasta labeled 'made with whole grains' 'durum flour' 'durum wheat' or ‘multigrain’ does not mean that it’s whole grain. I was recently at the store and I was looking at the whole wheat pasta for my vegetable lasagna recipe (yum!)  The first one I picked up was dark in color, and the label included the words ‘whole grain’ but when I looked over the ingredients I found that it was actually a mixture of both refined and whole grains. Look for the words 'whole durum flour' (durum is a type of wheat often used in pasta), '100 percent whole durum wheat' or ‘whole wheat flour.’ If you don’t see the terms ‘whole’ or ‘100 percent’ in front of wheat or durum, the grain has likely been processed and stripped of much of its nutrients. 

Now check out my favorite Vegetable Lasagna recipe:

Ingredients:

·         1 tbsp olive oil

·         1 clove garlic, minced

·         2 shallots, diced

·         1 medium eggplant, diced

·         6 large mushrooms, sliced thin

·         1 6 oz bag of baby spinach

·         1 64 ounce jar prepared or pre-made tomato sauce

·         1 pound wheat lasagna noodles

·         16- 24oz low fat cottage cheese

Preparation:   Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Saute the garlic for two minutes, then add the eggplant, shallots and mushrooms and stir. Cover the frying pan and cook until the eggplant is just tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.  Set aside

In another pan, saute spinach in a tiny bit of olive oil until wilted then salt and pepper to taste.  (You can also use frozen spinach)  Mix spinach and cottage cheese in bowl.

Cover the bottom of a 9x12 inch baking pan with 2 cups of the tomato sauce, and then cover the tomato sauce with 4 or 5 uncooked noodles. Cover this with a thin layer of sauce, and then add the cooked eggplant mixture and another thin layer of sauce. Add another layer of noodles followed by a thin layer of sauce, then the spinach and cottage cheese mixture and another thin layer of sauce. Add the remaining noodles and sauce.  (Topping with Mozzarella cheese is optional)   Cover tightly with foil and bake for 45-50 minutes. Noodles are cooked when they can be pierced with a fork.