Gina’s Easy Lasagna Rolls

Easter Sunday was very low key at our house this year.

A nasty cold sidelined all of us, sparing only my husband. My daughter is at the tail end of her cold, and so is my son’s girlfriend. My son and I were just starting to sniffle. Needless to say, the rest of the family didn’t want anything to do with us, so we were on our own.

Did that stop Mom from making dinner for everyone? Never! I’m Mom, and I’m not going to let my family down. Besides, I’d already bought the ingredients to try  Gina’s WW Recipes Lasagna Rolls, and the makings for a healthy salad. Grandma was supposed to bring the rolls, but she was amongst the family that jumped ship, so no rolls.

So what did I think of Gina’s lasagna rolls? My daughter is a vegetarian, another family member can’t eat dairy, and the guys would want more than spinach and cheese in their rolls, so I was able to cater each roll to their needs.

I swapped out the lasagna noodles with whole wheat lasagna noodles, used fresh spinach instead of frozen, and added basil. I didn’t use Gina’s tomato sauce. I lacked the energy to make it, so spaghetti sauce worked just fine.

Was everyone happy? You bet!

The guys enjoyed their rolls with added Italian sausage, my vegetarian daughter enjoyed hers as is, and the dairy free rolls turned out just fine with added chopped mushrooms to provide some bulk. We ate our lasagna on the couch and watched a movie together. If you have to be sick, there’s nothing like being with family.

Notice there is no salad on the plate. None of us had the energy to make it.

Thanks Gina!

Fresh and Spicy Lasagna Rolls
Servings: 9

9 whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked
4 cups spinach, rough chopped
15 oz fat free ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
2 tbs fresh basil, chopped
salt and fresh pepper
32 oz spaghetti sauce
9 tbsp part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, basil, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Spread 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.

Lay out dry lasagna noodles on wax paper. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over a noodle. Roll up and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Ladle sauce over the top of rolled noodles and top with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes until cheese melts.

What’s good for me in this dish?

Spinach is another powerhouse of nutrition. Spinach contains iron for energy, and vitamins C and A, folic acid and B6 to help your heart. Spinach has 13 different flavonoid compounds that function as antioxidants, and as anti-cancer agents.

Basil is high in vitamin k, a vitamin that aids liver function and bone formation. It also contains iron, calcium, vitamin A and fiber. The flavonoids in basil provide powerful cellular protection. The volatile oils in this herb have anti-bacterial properties, as well as anti-inflammatory effects.

Serving Size: 1 roll • Calories: 188 • Points: 4 Weight Watchers Points

Nutrition details obtained from whfoods.org, nutritiondata.com, about.com, and abouthomecooking.com.

Last updated by Kristi Rimkus at June 3, 2013.

Tagged as: cooking light, cooking light recipes, easy healthy recipes, easy Weight watcher recipes, healthy and easy recipes, healthy cooking, healthy easy recipes, healthy lasagna recipe, healthy low calorie recipes, healthy quick recipes, healthy recipe, healthy recipes, healthy recipes for dinner, lasagna recipes, lasagna roll recipes, light lasagna recipes, Light Recipes, low calorie healthy recipes, Mother Rimmy's Cooking Light Done Right, quick healthy recipes, Recipes, recipes for lasagna, spinach lasagna recipes, weight watcher recipes blogs, Weight Watchers, Weight Watchers Points, Weight Watchers PointsPlus Recipes, weight watchers recipe blogs