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.
- 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
- Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees celcius.
- 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).
- Cut broccoli into small flourets and steam for 5 minutes until just tender.
- 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.
- In a separate bowl mix ¼ cup of grated cheese, ricotta cheese and egg.
- 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.
- 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.
- Slice into 8 pieces and store in containers in the fridge.
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!)