Healthy Turkey Spinach Lasagna

Went back to my Italian roots for my mom's birthday dinner. A healthy twist on the traditional, but she gave it a thumb's up and asked for the recipe - success!

A couple of the swaps: I used ground turkey instead of ground beef, low-fat cottage cheese instead of ricotta (cottage cheese has less fat and calories and more protein), and whole wheat lasagna instead of regular lasagna.

Healthy Turkey Spinach Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb ground turkey (I used 93% for more flavor)
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
2 (10 oz) bags fresh spinach
1 egg white
1 container (4 cups) 2% cottage cheese
1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
12 cooked lasagna noodles
oregano
fresh basil
salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Heat the oil in a large pot over low heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft (about 5 minutes). Add the turkey and cook until browned. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, oregano, and salt. Simmer 20 minutes. Add fresh basil at the end.

2. Meanwhile, rinse the spinach (do not dry) and transfer to a large non-stick pan. Cover and steam until wilted (about 3-4 minutes).

4. Mix together the cottage cheese and egg white.

5. Once the sauce is done, spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a lasagna tray. Lay down 3 noodles. Add 1/3 of the sauce, 1/3 of the cottage cheese, 1/3 of the spinach, and 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Continue two more times, then top with the remaining lasagna noodles and 1/4 cup of mozzarella. Bake for 30 minutes.