We seem to have an issue with vegetables. I know this is fairly common among families with little kids, but I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm not much better than my 3-year-old when it comes to eating right. I've recently decided to keep track of my nutrient intake and have found that I don't even come close to meeting all of the recommended servings of, well, any of the food groups. Except for fats, oils, and sweets; I seem to do fine in those areas.
I heard about Jessica Seinfeld's new cookbook Deceptively Delicious and decided to give it a try. So far, I really love it, but I've only tried two recipes. I loved the French Toast (made with pumpkin), but really didn't really like the oatmeal.
I put my own spin on one of her recipes by adding sweet potato puree to my super-easy lasagna recipe. I've decided to call it Loaded Lasagna.
Ingredients:
Whole wheat lasagna noodles, uncooked
Jar of marinara or spaghetti sauce (I like Prego Traditional)
Large tub of low fat cottage cheese
A lot of shredded mozzarella (about 3 cups)
1 sweet potato, steamed, then pureed
Fresh baby spinach
Start with a thin layer of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the pan (just enough to provide moisture for cooking the noodles). Spread one layer of uncooked pasta on the sauce. Mix the pureed sweet potato into the spaghetti sauce, then spread about 1/3 of the sauce on top of the noodles. Top that with a layer of spinach leaves (however much you think you and/or your kids will tolerate). Then spread about 1/3 of the cottage cheese over that and top with about 1 cup of shredded mozzarella. Repeat 3 times. Cover with foil and bake for 45 min. at 375. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes at 425.
I usually triple this recipe and make it in 6 small square foil pans, then freeze them for easy last-minute meals. If you want to make it fresh, this is enough for one large pan of lasagna, which will easily serve 6-8 adults.
Enjoy... especially since you'll be getting at least one serving of vegetables and one whole grain serving. Which cancels out the minor amount of fat you'll get from the cheese.
Um... my blog title (What's a Blog?) says it all. I seriously don't really know what a blog is. I know this doesn't make sense--especially since I'm (aparently) posting an entry--and that it means I'm not fully participating in this century, but it's true. I hear people throwing the term "blog" around like it's no big deal. I try to nod and smile and act like I know what they mean, but I really don't get it.But. I have this friend who's completely amazing. She's beautiful and funny and smart and one of the best moms I've ever known. And SHE blogs. And I stalk her site. Sydney was one of my surprise friends from the last few months we lived in Idaho. We have boys almost exactly the same age and we share some of the great loves in life: food, family, books, and stalking friends. Okay, that sounds bad; I just mean we like to look at what other people are doing and what their kids look like. Hmmm... that's even worse. Let's see... how about... we cherish friends and family and don't have a lot of free time for phone calls and e-mails, so we enjoy keeping up with them online?So, thanks to Sydney, I'm starting a blog, so people can keep up with me, too. I have no idea what to post and even less of a clue how to put pictures on the site, but the hardest part is starting, right? Right. 
Check back in 6 months and you can prove me wrong; the hardest part isn't starting, it's keeping up. Sort of like running. I don't know why everyone says the hardest part is starting. I think the first few steps are enjoyable; it's the next 10,000 I don't really like. Oooh! I know: I'll post an entry about running and how much I hate it. Now everyone will want to stalk MY site. Get your own blog, stalkers!PS I actually have a photo of me sitting at the computer, so I'll try to post it here:
