Raise-the-Roof Sweet Potato-Vegetable Lasagna

"Amazing" is what I wrote on the recipe page, p. 202. This is my daughter's favorite, and I made it for her as her last meal before leaving to study abroad. It has also become a Thanksgiving dinner tradition with family all helping to chop the many veggies. It's gluten-free if you use brown-rice pasta noodles. You can double the recipe or halve it (see photo towards end with dish sizes). And the left-overs are extra-yummy. :) There is more prep-work for this meal, that's why I save it for special occasions. It's so worth it, though! If you make the smallest version, the prep-work isn't too much. Bonus: you don't need to pre-cook the noodles.

Have you seen the life-saving documentary, Forks Over Knives? Fire-fighter and athlete Rip Esselstyn is in it showing how a whole-foods plant-based (wfpb) diet improved the health of his fellow firefighters and can be flavorful at the same time. This recipe is from his book, The Engine 2 Diet. I've been enjoying many of his recipes. His father is Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., famous heart surgeon who shifted his focus to reversing and preventing heart disease, proving heart disease need not exist at all when following a wfpb diet.

Ingredients: (conversions not verified by my kitchen scale, yet)

1 medium sweet potato or yam, cooked and mashed

8 oz (127 g) frozen spinach, thawed, drained/squeezed (see photo towards bottom)

8 oz  (127 g) firm tofu, pressed, diced

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 head garlic, all cloves pressed or chopped

4 oz (113 g) mushrooms sliced

1/2 head of broccoli, chopped (I should have seen how many cups that is. See photo)

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 can [4about 5 oz (142 g) worth] corn, drained (can save liquid for cooking veggies)

1/4 tsp (1.2 g) cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp (2.3 g) basil

1/2 tsp (2.3 g) oregano

1/2 tsp (2.3 g) rosemary

1.5-2 jars pasta sauce [each jar at least 25.5 oz (722 g, 780 mL)] (may not need a full 2)

1 package (12 oz, 340 g) of whole-grain lasagna noodles (can use brown-rice noodles for gf)

1/2 c (113 g) raw cashews, ground (via blender, processor, or crushed in bag with hammer)

9 x 13 inch (23 cm x 33 cm) oven-safe dish

Aluminum foil to cover

L-R/T-B: yam/sweet potato, drained spinach, pressed and
diced tofu, onions, garlic, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli,
corn, red bell pepper, spices, ground cashews.
Not pictured: whole grain or brown-rice lasagna noodles,
jars of pasta sauce.

Directions:

-Do-ahead: Make sure the sweet potato is cooked (boil whole until soft, about 30 min, when knife can easily be inserted) and mashed, the frozen spinach is thawed and liquid squeezed out,* and the tofu is pressed and diced. *I tried fresh spinach, but the water content made the lasagna extra runny once cooked.

-Pre-heat oven to 400 F (200 C, gas mark 6)

-Sauté the onion, garlic, and mushrooms until onions are limp and mushrooms give up liquid, then place them in large bowl (reserve any mushroom liquid in the sauté pan)

-Sauté broccoli and carrot for 5 min. Add to same bowl.

-Sauté pepper and corn until just beginning to soften. Add to bowl.

-Add the tofu and spice to bowl. Gently stir and combine.

To assemble: (see the following 3 photos)

-Cover bottom of 9x13 in. dish with a layer a sauce. Add a layer of noodles, then cover the noodles with another layer of sauce. The liquid from the sauce will cook the noodles in the oven.

-Spread the veggies over the sauced noodles, add a layer of noodles then more sauce.

-Add the spinach on top (I have to use my fingers to pull it apart)

-Cover the spinach with the mashed sweet potato (plop it on then spread thin)

-Add another layer of sauce, then noodles, then sauce. Make sure the top layer of sauce covers the noodles so the noodles soften. The original recipe calls for one 25 oz jar, but that just didn't seem enough. That's why I list 1.5 to 2 jars of sauce in the ingredients. You may not need the full 2.

-Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes

-Remove foil, add cashews, return to oven for 10 min.

-Remove from oven and let sit for 15 min before serving

Put thawed frozen-spinach in a cloth and squeeze
out liquid. Discard liquid.

8x8 in. (20x20 cm) cook 35 min/10 min
9x13 in. (23x33 cm) cook 40 min/10 min
11.5x17 in. (29x43 cm) cook 45 min/15 min

💚Happy Thanksliving! 💚

Mashed Yams with Pineapple

Easy. Can do ahead. Great as left-overs. So healthy! No oil, no processed sugar, no salt. 

I originally wrote about this dish nearly 9 years ago, and the original recipe contained butter, brown sugar, honey, and salt (click here to see original). Since then, I've removed those ingredients because our tastebuds have changed, and we enjoy the natural flavors so much more. And removing those makes the recipe that much simpler and easier to clean up after. It's a nice holiday dish, too.

I should try sprinkling hemp seeds on top
for added omegas

Ingredients:
4-5 yams or sweet potatoes
1 20 oz can crushed pineapple (in own juices), drained
cinnamon
pecans (or walnuts)

Directions:
-Boil a pot of water, enough water to cover yams
-Add yams and gently boil for about 30-40 minutes until inserted knife goes in smoothly
-Remove yams and drain
-Cut skins and remove (I have a great yam-skin recipe I still need to enter)
-Mash naked yams in large bowl
-Stir in whatever amount of pineapple, cinnamon, and pecans you want (I use the whole can)

Something else I didn't know:
Not all carbohydrates are created equal. In the diet and diabetes industry, a carb-phobia has been created, and unfortunately the good-carbs have been dragged down along with the bad carbs. This has resulted in a lot of confusion and messed-up metabolisms and eating habits.
Good "whole" carbs have natural fiber and include all vegetables, whole fruits, legumes, nuts, whole grains, tubers (potatoes).
Bad "refined" carbs include processed foods like sugar, white flour, sugary drinks, fried potatoes, white rice.
The good news:
We need good carbs and can enjoy them knowing they help us thrive! And, T1 diabetes insulin resistance can be greatly helped on a plant-based diet with good carbs while T2 diabetes can be reversed!! No one used to think T2 could be reversed and that those suffering from it would be on meds the rest of their lives. There is actual hope to get off the meds...tangible, doable, life-saving hope and results! Click here to find out more at MasteringDiabetes.org It's the animal protein and fats that interfere with insulin resistance...not fruit!

Yams with Pineapple

Kid Rating: 3 out of 3 like it

Do Again? Yes

I never used to like sweet potatoes or yams -- even with melted marshmallows. Then one Thanksgiving a few years ago, some dear friends invited my children and me over for Thanksgiving while my hubby was out of town. Out of politeness, I had some of Mr. Rizzi's yams. Out of greed, I had some more. Yum for yams. I asked him for the recipe. He said he has been making it for years (the only way people would let him in is if he had the dish with him - LOL), and there is no recipe. You just put together this, this, and this.

Update 10-10-19: Butter, sugar, nor salt are needed. The sweet potatoes are amazing just with the pineapple, cinnamon, and pecans.

4-6 sweet potatoes or yams (the store only had 4 small ones left - usually I have 4-5 larger ones)

1 can crushed pineapple

1-2 T butter

1 T brown sugar

1 T honey

cinnamon

walnut pieces (or pecans)

dash of salt

Everything is to taste. Make it with as little or as much of what you'd like. I've made it without honey. I've forgotten the butter. You just can't forget the pineapple.

Boil yams about 30-40 minutes until inserted knife goes in smoothly (or desired firmness/softness).

In a sauce pan, add all other ingredients and heat over medium. Reduce to low if it starts to boil.

Remove yams skins and give to my mother to eat (she looks at me strangely for throwing them away; I look at her strangely for eating them).

Mash or slice yams to your preferred texture.

Add contents of sauce pan to yams and stir.

(Zap in microwave to reheat).

Family Review:

We all love these yams; the pineapple compliments them well. I can hide the turkey in them for my five year old. Left overs are wonderful.

Honestly, the butter adds a wonderful flavor to it. Try it without first -- if you like it, great! Because once you try it with butter, it's hard to go without.