Lasagna is one of my favorite comfort foods when the weather starts to get chilly out, (even though it has been unusually warm lately!) However it is not exactly a waist-freindly food, with the average calorie count for lasagna being 540 calories and 22 grams of fat.

One summer on the beach I was reading gossip and health magazines with my cousin Ellen, as we are known to do. I came across a Turkey-Spinach Lasagna in  Women’s Health Magazine.  After making the recipe several times, I adapted the Women’s Health version to included more vegetables and using ground turkey breast. This now is my go to recipe when I know my work week is going to be hectic. It is a great recipe because you can prepare it ahead of time and it reheat and freezes wonderfully. I cannot tell how great it is to walk though the door after a long day and already know that a healthy, home cooked dinner is ready for you.

This recipe is it has only 276 calories and 6.5 grams of fat per serving. It also only uses 6 noodles for the whole lasagna so it keeps the carbohydrate count down. You also get about 2 servings of vegetable in each slice and still have the cheesy and tomato flavor of lasagna that you love.

My Challenge for you this week, is to make at least one meal ahead of time, so when you walk though the door, you know a healthy meal is only minutes from the table.

You will need:

Short-cut: Most grocery stores have staple ingredients that are ready to use. Keep a look out for them in the produce section. Today there were vegetables that where washed, chopped, and ready-to-use. So I purchased my onion, peppers and zucchini this way. They cost a little bit more, but the payoff was the staved time. Step 3:In a small bowl, beat ricotta, egg, and pepper with a fork until well blended. Then gently stir in garlic and oregano.

Step 4: Spread on half the ricotta mixture, half the spinach, half the zucchini, half the turkey, half the tomatoes and half the mozzarella. 

Step 5: Top with the remaining 3 noodles, then the remaining ricotta mixture, spinach, zucchini, turkey, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.

Step 5:Coat one side of a 14-inch-long piece of aluminum foil with cooking spray. Lay the foil, sprayed side down, over lasagna and loosely seal the edges. Bake for about 45 minutes or until bubbling. Place under the broiler for 3-5 minutes until golden brown. Let sit for 5 minutes.