Layers of creamy basil cashew cheeze lasagna with thinly sliced zucchini and sauce marinara.
Have you ever seen those recipes where they start replacing the tastiest ingredients with vegetables? This is not one of those recipes.
This lasagna has the best of both worlds…zucchini slices as well as the classic lasagna pasta noodles, saucy marinara and creamy basil cashew cheese that is so herby, rich and satisfying.
While you could absolutely cook a zucchini lasagna without the lasagna noodles. You can also eat the lasagna noodles too! In fact, if you enjoy the lasagna pasta noodles I encourage you to create this lasagna how you like it best.
There is this thing that happens when you start consuming a bit too much of fear based nutrition advice…
You might cut out or ban foods you heard are “bad” for you without even knowing the facts.
So when you hear a food is bad for you and start labeling the food as bad it actually causes you to then feel ashamed whenever you eat said food, in this case, lasagna noodles.
And who wants to feel ashamed for eating food you love? Not me.
I have felt this unease with eating before too. Unsure of what is healthy and just not trusting my self to know what is best for my body. But I’m now here on the other side eating my pasta and living my best life. So if you feel unsure, frustrated and overwhelmed when it comes to eating… I see you. Know that you are capable of shifting out of this way of eating, which will allow you to feel a renewed sense of freedom with eating.
So, if you are cutting out the lasagna noodles for zucchini because….
– You are trying to trick your body into thinking you are eating real pasta.
-You fear eating pasta since it’s a bad food and you think it’s going to ruin your healthy streak.
-You think it’s healthier even though you really prefer the classic lasagna noodle recipe.
^These are signs that you are silencing your true needs and not listening to your body.
When you ignore the messages your body is sending you, you are overriding your essential needs.
By quieting the “lasagna noodle are going to make me gain weight” story line and following your own inner wisdom you’ll instead honor your needs for nourishment.
Honor Your Taste Preferences.
-You eat for nourishment.
-You eat because nourishing your body with the nutrient dense foods allows you to breathe deeply, move your body, focus you attention, and naturally detox—hello kidneys, liver and lungs.
-You eat because nutrient dense whole foods allow your body to thrive, and function optimally which feels really amazing.
–You also eat for pleasure and enjoyment which is a form of nourishment.
Often times eating is positioned as if you either eat for nourishment or eat for pleasure. BUT delicious and nourishing meals do coexist. Probably more often then you think too. This Zucchini Lasagna recipe is a nod to this way of living. My goal is to design each and every one of my recipes to be just as nourishing as they are tasty.
Let’s get cooking…
If you give this recipe a try share your dish with me on instagram at @sidebarnutrition
Zucchini Lasagna
Ingredients
- 32 oz. tomato sauce
- 3 small zucchini, sliced thinly in circles
- 1 box lasagna noodles
Basil Cashew Cheese
- 2 cups basil
- 2 cups cashews, soaked for at least 30 minutes
- 1 lemon, juice
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 1 Tbsp. oregano
- 2 cloves of garlic
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- In a food processor or blender at all basil cashew cheese ingredients and blend until smooth, the texture of ricotta cheese, and then set aside.
- Cook lasagna noodles to package instructions.
- In a 9” x 13” pan, cover bottom with tomato sauce, layer lasagna noodles, cashew cheese, zucchini slices and then tomato sauce. Repeat layering steps for a few layers ending with cashew cheese on top most layer.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
- Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
- Let stand for 8-10 minutes then slice and enjoy!
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