Meatless Monday

Happy Halloween! Going meatless doesn't have to be scary. In fact, it can be a great way to add more flavor to your favorite dishes by incorporating in vegetables. Replace meat with other sources of protein such as beans, cheese, eggs, or vegetarian meat substitutes and decrease the saturated fat content too! Just be sure to buy reduced fat cheeses whenever possible. Here are few other benefits about going meatless:

• According to the World Health Organization, people who avoid red meat are less likely to develop various types of cancer (1)
• Plant foods are naturally low in fat and rich in antioxidants and other anti-cancer compounds
• People on low-meat or vegetarian diets have significantly lower body weight and body mass index (2)

So branch out tonight and reap the benefits of a vegetarian dinner by trying this meatless casarolle. You might be frightened to find you don't even miss the meat!

Spooky Baked Eyeball Casarolle

Ingredients

• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1 jar (24 ounces) Marinara Pasta sauce
• 1 container (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 7 cups whole wheat bow tie-shaped pasta , cooked and drained
• 1 package (8 ounces) part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 2 tbsp. sliced pitted ripe olives

Directions

• Spray a 13 x 9 x 2-inch shallow baking dish with the cooking spray.
• Mix 1 1/2 cups of the sauce, ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and pasta in the prepared dish. Spread the remaining sauce over the pasta mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese and cover the dish with foil.
• Bake at 400 degrees F. for 25 minutes or until hot and bubbling. Cut mozzarella cheese crosswise into thirds. Cut each third in 6 wedges, for triangle-shaped eyes. Arrange the cheese wedges randomly over the pasta mixture. Place a sliced olive on each cheese wedges. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Facts:

Calories 402, Fat 14 g, Carbohydrate 46 g, Protein 25 g, Fiber 8 g

1) Cancer facts- meat consumption and cancer risk. The Cancer Project. http://www.cancerproject.org/diet_cancer/facts/meat.php

2) Sinha, R. Cross, A. Graubard, B., Leitzmann, M. & Schatzkin, A. (2009). Meat intake and mortality A prospective study of over half a million people. Archive of Internal Medicine. 169(6). 562-571.