By Molly Patrick
Jun 17, 2014,
It breaks my heart that so many people are in a funk with their health and don’t know what to do about it.
I’m bummed by the number of people who are just getting by, when life is meant to be made sweet passionate love to.
I’m saddened by how little power people think they have over their health and well-being.
I’m angry that we have a “health” care system that pushes drugs on people after they’re sick, and talks nothing about what can be done to prevent crap from happening in the first place.
It makes me do a face palm, accompanied by a “WTF?!” when I think about all the research that has been done by amazing people like Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn and Dr. Dean Ornish on the clear health benefits of plant-based nutrition that people have no idea about, and that scientists and people in the medical field don’t take seriously.
Do you know why they don’t take it seriously, btw?
Because people don’t profit from cruciferous vegetables.
There’s a way to prevent and even reverse some cancers, diabetes and heart disease.
Why the hell is this not a huge global discussion?
When my girlfriend and I decided to turn Clean Food Dirty Girl into our full time business, I knew that I wanted to do more than just write cookbooks. Cookbooks are fun and sweet, but I wanted to create something that was tactical, guided, personal, a step-by-step solution to eating better.
I wanted to put my passion, skills and know how to use in a way that people could get the maximum benefit from. I wanted to create something that would actually change the course of someone’s life for the better.
I needed to know how I could best do this, so I stopped talking and started listening.
You know what I found?
People are fed up.
People want to detox from junk food and processed sugar, people don’t want to be addicted to salt, sugar and fat, people want to be healthy and live full lives, people want to get off their medication, not be given more of it, and people don’t want to be skinny, they just want to lose a little weight and get their lives back.
Doctors are great for a lot of reasons.
If I break my arm, no amount of kale will set the bone. But apart from emergencies, we as a society must do better in taking responsibility for our own health, and stop leaving it up to government agencies, doctors, big pharma, and agro-chemical giants.
They do not have our best interests in mind. It’s their bottom line that trumps everything.
Here’s a chart of the biggest pharma companies and their revenues for 2014 to ponder on.
What I really, really, really want to tell you my love, is that it’s time to put your health into your own hands, because you have the power to feel good all by yourself.
You don’t need your doctor’s permission. You can break free from processed junk food, untangle the web of what’s healthy and what’s not, and then reap the benefits of eating plants.
Benefits like releasing weight naturally, getting your energy back, sleeping better, having a more positive mindset, regaining your confidence and generally feeling like the badass that you are.
And when you’re ready for a change, I have something for you.
I created our weekly whole food plant based meal plans because I came to the conclusion that people want change, they want to feel good, they want to release weight in a natural way, they want a damn pep in their step, and they want their mojo back… they just don’t know how.
Each Friday, our weekly plant based meal plan subscribers receive a new meal plan with everything you need to eat like a plant based boss all week long. Grocery list, batching recipes, tips – it’s all there. And the food tastes damn good. When you’re ready, I’ll will show you exactly how. I will hold your hand, and I will show you a better way. I will help you detox from all the crap so you can get on with your life.
In the meantime, here’s a plant based gluten free eggplant lasagna recipe from one of our meal plans for your sampling pleasure. Go make it!
Ingredients
Eggplant
- 2 large eggplants cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices
- Small sprinkle of salt and pepper
Vegan Ricotta
- 1 package extra firm tofu 14 oz./397g
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast 25g
- 1 heaping teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 heaping teaspoon dried dill
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup water 60ml
Veggie Mixture
- 1 cup chopped red onion 130g
- 5 cups sliced mushrooms 385g
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley 15g
- 1 bunch spinach washed and chopped into large pieces.
Marinara Sauce
- 3 1/2 cups marinara sauce 945g (recipe linked under Assemble, step 2, click on Marinara Sauce)
Instructions
Bake the eggplant
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Place the eggplant on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, take out and set aside.
Make the vegan ricotta
- Remove the block of tofu from the package and rinse with water. Place the block of tofu on a plate and then set a cutting board on top of the tofu. Place something heavy on top of the cutting board, like a few cookbooks or a heavy skillet, and set aside for 10 - 15 minutes.
- Crumble the tofu in a mixing bowl until there are no big pieces, and then add the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, dried dill, salt, apple cider vinegar and water. Stir until everything is combined and set aside for now.
Make the veggies
- Heat a skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add onion and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently so they don’t stick. Add a splash of water if they start to stick.
- Add the mushrooms, salt and parsley and saute for an additional 3 minutes. Add the spinach, turn off heat and stir until the spinach is combined. Set aside for now.
Assemble:
- Make sure the oven is preheated to 350°F (175°C).
- Evenly spread 1/2 cup of marinara sauce (135g) on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish and layer evenly as follows:
- single layer of eggplant over the sauce
- 1/2 of the veggie mixture
- 1/2 cup of marinara sauce (135g)
- layer of eggplant
- remaining veggies
- 1/2 cup marinara sauce (135g)
- remaining eggplant
- all of the ricotta
- 2 cups of marinara sauce (540g)
- Place in the oven uncovered and bake for 30 minutes.
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28 Comments
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This looks amazing! Should I dry the tofu before crumbling or break up fresh out the container?
Hi Derek, you’ll want to dry the tofu by pressing it first then crumble it. This removes the extra moisture from it that will make the dish more soggy/wet with the extra water from the tofu.
Hi! I can’t find the link with recipe of marinara sauce.
In step 2 of “assemble” click on the words marinara sauce
Hi, I click on the marinara sauce link and it takes me to an error saying it may be a fraudulent site and when i select go anyways its asking me to login even though i already am. I am not sure if this is correct.
Hi Tara,
Sorry for the trouble and thanks for pointing this out, it was linked to our old site but it’s been updated now.
Karen
Team Dirty Girl
does this freeze well
Hi Angela,
I think as long as you cooked it before freezing, it would freeze just fine.
Karen
Team Dirty Girl
The tofu cheese is surprisingly good. I can finally eat lasagna without the guilt and upset stomach from dairy. This recipe is a keeper!
The tofu ricotta is a fave of mine too, Natalie! I’ve been guilty of eating it with a spoon. 😀
I tried this recipe last night and it turned out awesome – I could not believe that it had 0% added fat and yet tasted so delicious. This is going to be a regular in my recipe rotation now!
Thank you!!
Woohoo! Thanks for stopping back to share, Laura! ~Karen
I don’t know what I did. But mine came out so watery. It’s good. But kind of a mess.
Hi Sara, I checked with Molly on this one and she’s going to update this recipe shortly to make sure it doesn’t turn out watery if you try it again, we hope you will. Thanks so much for posting this so we could take a closer look at the recipe instructions to make them clearer. ~Karen
mine too! there is a lot of excess moisture in the veggie mix, eggplant, and tofu. the flavors were excellent though. next time, I will slice the eggplant thinner and pat down the tofu after I press it, and omit the water from the tofu spice mix. I think with those modifications it should be great!
This was so good I made it twice in as many weeks! Why dill in an Italian dish, though? I used oregano and basil instead.
Hi cecdkc, So glad you loved this recipe! I checked with Molly for her inspiration and she says that she sometimes tries different spices that aren’t traditional out of sheer curiosity. She thought it went well with the recipe but it’s totally fine to leave it out. ~Karen
Hi Molly,First df all, I just have to tell you again I love you, love you.thank you .My question is ,can I sub whole wheat lasagne noodles for the eggplant?
Hi Dora, Thanks for sharing this love for Molly! You can definitely sub whole wheat lasagne noodles for the eggplant. You’ll want to go with the no-boil noodles. ~Karen
We are new to this lifestyle but enjoyed this meal! I have been struggling to find things my family will eat and we got a 4 out of 5 to eat this. My 1 year old twins had 3 servings which I guess makes up for the fact that my 4 year old wouldn’t touch it! I am not much of a mushroom person but still enjoyed it. The marina though…..YUM!! I will be saving that recipe for all sorts of different meals! I have a hard time finding meals to fix and I am now excited to look through all of your other recipes as this was the first one we made!
How long will the ricotta keep by itself?
Hi Jennie, Thanks for stopping by! The ricotta should keep about five days in the refrigerator. ~Karen
My eggplant did not get cooked enough even after 40 minutes in oven. Next time I will slice in 1/8 slices or bake longer in oven before adding to dish. Also had about 2 inches of liquid in the bottom of pan, so am using the dish as a wonderful pasta sauce. pasta sauce.
Hi Lynn! Thanks for stopping by with this note to let us know the eggplant didn’t cook enough and you had so much liquid. Molly is going to make this recipe over the weekend since it’s an oldie. We are super glad you used it as a pasta sauce, though! ~Karen
Hi! I want to avoid the tofu, do you have any other suggestions for ricotta? Excited to try this!
Hi Rosie, check out the Packaged Ingredients tab of our Substitutions spreadsheet for ideas to substitute tofu in this dish. If you can find chickpea tofu (or even hemp tofu), I would go with that, otherwise, any white beans will work. Though, using beans will not have the same mouthfeel – the ricotta will be thinner but still tasty. Tofu, by design, has a denser concentration of protein and fat compared to regular beans. ~Karen
thank you!
This tasted so good! It did take about 50 minutes until the eggplant was cooked . I will probably bake them 10 to 15 minutes on sheet pan before adding all the other ingredients next time. I also used about 1-2 tbl of fresh dill instead of dried and it was so yummy! Oh and I used kale instead of spinach and cooked it in pan to soften .