[Angeleah:] Hi, I'm Angeleah.
[Tori:] And I'm Tori.
[Angeleah:] And we're with SNAC,
Student Nutrition
Advocacy Collaborative,
and today we're making
veggie lasagna.
[Tori:] Alright, we
chose veggie lasagna
because it's relatively cheap,
and it has some ingredients
you might find in your fridge,
or that are relatively
easy to find at a store.
[Angeleah:] So first,
we are going
to preheat our oven to 350.
[Tori:] And then we're going
to start boiling the water.
[Angeleah:] Now we're
going to chop our veggies.
We're first going to
start with the onion.
So what you're going to
do to chop the onion,
is that you're going
to chop it in half,
through the two cores...
So now you have two halves.
Next we're going
to peel the onion.
So now we have two halves.
First you're going to cut off
one side of the core, like this,
so now basically you
have half of a softball.
So what we're going to
do, watching your fingers,
you're going to cut
horizontally into the onion...
Two cuts ought to do it.
You don't want to
cut through the core
because the core is right
now keeping the onion
slices together.
So now we're going
to cut vertically.
Watching your fingers,
again, just make little cuts
through the top of the onion.
So now, keeping the tip of the
knife on the cutting board,
you're just going to make
cuts down this onion slice,
and you will get
even-chopped onion pieces.
[Tori:] Onions are
in this recipe
because they contain flavonoids
that act as antioxidants
and help support
your immune system.
[Angeleah:] So now we
have one onion chopped.
Moving on to the carrot...
So this recipe calls
for two carrots
that are peeled and grated.
So, take a vegetable
peeler, and peel the carrots.
Cut off both ends
of the carrot...
and grate.
[Tori:] Carrots are
a great vegetable
because they contain
vitamin a and fiber.
Vitamin a helps keep your
eyes and skin healthy,
and then fiber kinda
helps with digestion,
and it also helps
to keep you full.
[Angeleah:] Okay, so now we have
the carrot grated and peeled,
and the onion chopped,
and now we're going
to move on to the zucchini.
So first we're going
to take the zucchini,
and we're gonna cut
off both ends
like we did with the carrot.
Watching your fingers,
just cut down the middle.
Then flip over both sides
over so the flat side
is on the cutting board.
Again we're just
gonna cut it in half.
So now we have four
sections of the zucchini.
So now, like we did with the
onion, we're gonna keep the tip
of the knife on the
cutting board,
and we're just gonna
run our knife
through the zucchini, and
we're gonna get thin quarters.
[Tori:] Zucchini
is a great source
of vitamin C and potassium.
Vitamin C is an antioxidant, and
it helps with the immune system,
and then potassium kinda
helps with the food balance
of your body, so it counteracts
the sodium that you take in.
[Angeleah:] Alright,
so now we have all
of our vegetables chopped,
and ready to saute.
[Tori:] Alright, so we're gonna
add the extra virgin olive oil
to the sauce pan.
[Angeleah:] Olive oil is
a monounsaturated fat,
and it's good for your heart,
but it is high in calories,
so consume in moderation.
[Tori:] Sauteing is just
another form of cooking.
It means that you're using
a small amount of fat,
and you're using high heat.
[Angeleah:] We're gonna
saute the vegetables
for about five minutes until
the onions are translucent.
Basically, you can
see through the onion.
Now that our onions have
sweated, and now translucent,
we are going to open
the can of mushrooms,
drain them, and then add them.
[Tori:] Mushrooms are a
great source of B vitamins,
and your body uses B vitamins to
produce energy, as well as help
with your carb metabolism,
and fat metabolism.
[Angeleah:] ...and
we're just gonna saute
that for a couple more minutes.
[Tori:] So once the flavors
are well-blended, about two
or three minutes once the
mushrooms are in there,
we're gonna add a little
bit of cottage cheese.
Cheese is a great
source of protein.
Your body uses protein to
build and maintain muscle,
and it also helps with your
concentration and focus.
[Angeleah:] This recipe is
also completely vegetarian.
It offers 22 grams of
protein per serving,
thanks to the cottage cheese.
So we're gonna let this saute
for another five minutes.
While the vegetables
are sauteing,
we're going to boil
the pasta noodles.
[Tori:] So you use a 16-ounce
container of lasagna noodles.
[Angeleah:] If you have
a smaller pan at home,
don't worry, the
noodles will cook down,
and they will soften
to fit into the pan.
We're gonna cook the noodles
for about four to five minutes
until they're soft and pliable.
We don't wanna cook them all the
way, or as the Italians say it,
"el dente."
Okay, so the pasta
has been boiling
for about four to five minutes,
so now we're gonna drain 'em.
Okay, we're gonna run
them under cold water
so it stops the cooking process.
Okay, so now our vegetable
mixture has been cooking
with the cottage cheese
and we're gonna drain it.
The reason that we drain
it is that the cheese
and vegetables give off a lot
of water, and we don't want
to make the lasagna mushy.
[Tori:] Alright, so now
we're gonna start layering
the lasagna.
[Angeleah:] We're
gonna start with a nine
by thirteen baking
pan, and grease it
with a cooking spray like PAM.
First we're gonna add a
little bit of tomato sauce
to the bottom of the pan
so the noodles don't stick,
and add flavor to the bottom.
[Tori:] So once we
have the first layer
of sauce down, we're gonna start
laying down the noodles.
[Angeleah:] Next,
we're gonna add half
of the the veggie mixture.
After the veggies, we're going
to add a third of
the bag of cheese.
Now repeat: sauce, noodles,
veggies, and cheese.
[Tori:] Now we're gonna
cover it with aluminum foil,
and have it bake in the oven.
[Angeleah:] We will be baking
it off for thirty minutes
with the aluminum foil on,
and then we're gonna remove
the aluminum foil and cook it
for additional ten
to fifteen minutes,
or until the cheese
is nice and bubbly.
