Hey
So after yesterdays post on iron, I started my mission to concentrate a little more on iron rich recipes. The other day when I was browsing blogs, I came across this recipe for courgette quinoa lasagne. It sounded good to me, so I have made a few tweaks (added in lentils, spinach, pepper and taken out the cheese) to make my own version.
Mine made 3 portions and I had trouble fitting them in the foil tubs!
First, cook 60g quinoa in some vegetable stock (I use a tsp vecon stock in about 150ml water). Once the quinoa goes “wiggly” add 1 tin chopped tomatoes, some dried basil + oregano, a chopped pepper and a tin of drained lentils.
While this simmers, slice 2 courgettes and line the bottom of the trays with half the courgette.
After about 15 minutes (once it has thickened a bit) add in a big bag (150g) of spinach, and some garlic puree.
Then spoon half the mixture onto the courgettes, top with the last of the courgettes.
(Excuse the blurry shot!)
Then bake in the oven for about 25 minutes. I would probably add a little grated cheese on the top, but I wait until it comes out of the oven as I do not like burnt cheese. The rest is going in the freezer for another day.
While I was making this I did think that I could amp up the protein (and iron) content even more, by blending in some silken tofu with some of the sauce to make a creamy layer. So I might try that next time as I love the creamy texture of the tofu pumpkin pasta bake.
According to WLR, one portion (no cheese or anything, just the ingredients above) contains 209 calories, 12.7g protein, 32.6g carbs, 3.5g fat, and 7.1g fibre, and I reckon it would go perfectly with some home made bread. Yummy.
Onto other things- body pump was great last night, although I found it harder than usual, and did not have the extra weights for the back track. But by next week I am sure I will be back to normal.
Today I also tried some of the raw chocolate (I shared a bar with Andy this afternoon alongside some tea)- I had the Twilight bar which is made of cacao butter, fructose, cacao mass and carob. It was lovely- the texture was a bit like an aero bar or something, not crunchy but not totally smooth. It was lovely and sweet too (the combination of fructose and carob I suppose), so if you are vegan and liked milk chocolate, this would be a good one to try I would say. Although Andy objected to the name!
We shared the 44g bar, and half was the perfect amount which is always good.
I was originally considering a run today, but I did not sleep well and was very tired, so I settled for a walk and decided to rest my legs in preparation for my long run tomorrow instead. I find it hard getting the balance between keeping the legs loose, and just tiring them out. If I have not run on the wednesday, then I find a gentle run on friday does not affect my run on saturday, but in fact I have not had a rest day since sunday, and as I am still not quite 100% I did not want to make myself over tired.
I need to plan my route now, as I have only run 13 miles during my half marathon races, not around here- how do you guys go about planning routes? I have a main route of about 8 miles that I can add loops to here and there, but I think now I need to get another “base” route to add to.
Oh, and the nakd offer I got here– it is still going on at the moment. 🙂
The lasagne looks really yummy 🙂 and I love the way you describe cooked quinoa as wiggly – I’m definitely going to use that one!
Courgette lasagne is such a great idea and it looks yummy! Will have to try that.
Good luck with your run. I plan my routes using runmap.net to check the distance. In terms of knowing where to go, I know most of the roads around here from cycling, but sometimes I will look at Ordnance Survey maps (Bing maps is the best way to see them easily) to check for footpaths across fields etc. I am lucky in that once I’ve seen a route shown on a map or Google Maps aerial photos I can generally remember the new bits.
That dish looks very tasty, I may have to give it a try! When I plan routes I use the take to the street website so I get a rough idea of mileage. I have a few that I can do alone or combine to make longer / more hilly routes etc. Hope you have a good weekend!
Those NVs are good. I think with an added tofu/cashew cream layer it would be really creamy too, and still low cal for good nutritionals.
When I was marathon training I’d often run the same routes, but once I got to 16 miles I couldn’t bear it anymore, so I started travelling to do different routes (along the river). It meant that pretty much my whole day was eaten up by the long run, but then I think that kinda inevitable with marathon training anyway..
That lasagne looks so GOOD! I’d love to try that, maybe with a few tweaks…
I usemapmyrun.com to work out routes! My route is pretty much the same each time, but I add bits on for longer runs! I need to shake it up too I think! 😛
A change is a good as a rest after all
Sarah- it does go wiggly 🙂 That’s how I know it is cooked!
Katy- I use http://www.mapometer.co.uk to find new routes, but I really hate going somewhere if I don’t know what it looks like as I get lost very easily!
Laura- that is kind of how I work it- I have combined 2 routes (and a bit added on) to make it one long route for today.
Alison- I love the idea of cashews in there too- I was thinking some nuts would add some good fats to the dish. Andy I think is going to want me to drive him a long way away and then he will run home, but I like the fact that with my runs I am never that far from home, just in case. But yeah, once the runs get long it will be my entire saturday!
Ah, I see! Google StreetView is great for an armchair recce, assuming you are running on the roads…
That lasagne looks tasty!!
That lasagne looks gorge! I ordered some of the nakd bars, can’t remember if I said or not, can’t wait for them to arrive!
Stacey- thanks 🙂
Laura- they were such a good deal- I think you might have said so? 🙂
I love the look of the lasagne!
Thanks 🙂