RECIPE? - low sodium, low fat, low sugar

rrah
Mon, 03 Dec 2012 14:35:25 +0000

This recipe is from the New American Heart Assc. cookbook. When we started to cut back on sodium a few years ago I bought this book. This one has become one of our favorites. Actually DD just texted me asking for the recipe. I’m not sure about the sugars and this one is a bit higher in sodium than many of them, but I don’t use the olives or the table salt the recipe calls for so it’s lower in sodium than indicated below. I did include it in the recipe here also.

Tex-Mex Lasagna

1 lb. extra lean ground beef or ground sirloin (try to find 95% lean)
16 6 inch corn tortillas, halved
1 15 oz can no salt diced tomatoes
1/2 cup salsa
1 tsp salt (I delete this)
1 cup fat free or low fat ricotta cheese (since I can rarely find the brand I like, I use fat free or low fat cottage cheese–not the same, but an ok substitute and better than the nasty fake ricotta in the stores here)
1 tsp chile powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cup shredded low fat monterey jack or cheddar cheese
1 15 oz can no salt added navy beans
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/2 cup sliced black olives

Brown ground beef. (I often throw in some garlic and onion with this) and drain well. Add tomatoes, salsa,and salt to cooked ground beef. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Mix ricotta and spices together in small bowl

Drain beans and mix with thawed corn

In a 9 x 13 baking pan, sprayed with cooking spray, arrange 8 tortilla halves. Spoon 1/2 of the ground beef mixture over this layer. Sprinkle 1/2 of the shredded cheese over this. Arrange 8 tortilla halves over this. Spoon and spread ricotta cheese for the next layer. Top ricotta with corn and beans. Arrange 8 tortilla halves on top of this layer. Spread remaining beef mixture and shredded cheese for third layer. Top with 8 remaining tortilla halves. Sprinkle olives on top. Cover and back for 30 minutes at 375. (I like to uncover the casserole for the last 10 minutes so that the top layer of tortillas becomes crunchy.)

Serves 8
Calories 273
Carbs 30g
Fiber 5 g
Sugars 4 g
Cholesterol 30 mg
Protein 24 g
Sodium 423 mg
Dietary Exchange
2 starches
2.5 lean meats

If you eliminate the added salt and olives it reduces the sodium by about 290 mg. I do this, and we don’t really miss it. I also add 1 tsp chile powder and 1 tsp cumin to the ground beef for a little extra spice.

H and I feel like we’re being “bad” when we eat this, but it’s actually pretty good for us. H is not a left-over eater, but he will eat this microwaved for lunch.