I was recently looking for some Lean & Green crockpot ideas, because I am all about the easiest meal possible. And it really doesn’t get any easier than the crockpot, right? I stumbled across a recipe for crockpot lasagna. As it was, fully vegetarian, but not approved for the 5&1 plan, because it still had noodles in it. So I played around with it a bit, and here is what I came up with, along with a few modifications from Nutrition Support. This is fully Lean & Green approved as shown here. Cost was about $10, or a little over $3 a serving. Which is pretty good for ANY lasagna recipe! Hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups zucchini, trimmed & diced

1 cup sliced white mushrooms

1 cup sweet red pepper, diced

1 container (15 oz) low-fat ricotta cheese

5 oz low-fat shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 jar Walden Farms pasta sauce

8 slices or 1 cup eggplant, sliced lengthwise & halved (used in place of lasagna noodles)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Coat slow cooker bowl with non-stick cooking spray (10 sprays)

2. Thinly slice/dice zucchini by hand or with food processor. Place in a large bowl and add mushrooms and red pepper. In a medium-sized bowl, combine ricotta, 1 cup shredded cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic and black pepper.

3. Spread 1/2 cup pasta sauce on bottom of slow cooker. Top with 2 “noodles” (4 halves), overlapping as needed.

4. Blend 3/4 cup pasta sauce with 1/2 cup water and set aside.

5. Stir remaining sauce and 2 tbsp parmesan cheese into zucchini mixture. Spread 1/2 of zucchini mixture over “noodles” in slow cooker.

6. Top with 2 more “noodles” (4 halves). Spread ricotta mixture over “noodles”. Top with 2 more “noodles”. Spread remaining zucchini mixture over “noodles”, and top with remaining “noodles”. Pour pasta sauce/water mixture over the top, cover and cook on HIGH for 4 1/2 hours or LOW for 6 1/2 hours.

7. Add remaining mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese for last 10 minutes of cook time. Let sit for 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Makes 3 Lean & Green servings. Each serving is 1 protein, 3 veggies & 3 condiments.