Low Carb Lasagna Rolls
Testimony of the Day
“I am 42 years old and have been morbidly or super morbidly obese for 30 years. When I was 11, I weighed 176 pounds and remember being very upset about it…that is when I started trying to lose weight. For thirty years I tried numerous things to lose weight…and each time I did lose a little weight…about 40 pounds usually…then I plateaued after about a month to six weeks…then invariably I started to gain weight. This weight gain happened while I was still working hard to lose weight…still eating low fat and low calorie foods, exercising, being hungry most of the time, and craving food all of the time. I know people thought I just wasn’t trying hard enough…I was cheating on my diet or not exercising enough…but I was doing everything I was supposed to…well, everything I was told I was supposed to do to lose weight. So, I thought…if I am miserable, hungry, and gaining weight…why not just eat what I want, be happy and at least not gain weight?!?!? Then I would feel guilty about ‘not trying’…giving up…so I would go at it again…completely committed and think “this time it’ll be different…I can do it this time”! But just as before…success was short lived and temporary…after years of this I just felt like a failure…what’s wrong with me? …why can’t I lose weight…maybe it’s my thyroid…my metabolism…my genes…maybe I’m just a loser…I was 41 years old and had come to end of my rope…I had resigned myself to the thought that I would be 360 pounds the rest of my life…using a seat belt extender, ordering my clothes online, feeling guilty every time I ate anything, and being uncomfortable most places I went.
About a year before I reached this point my Dad told me about Maria as well as The Wheat Belly book…I had a little interest but not much…how could eating more fat and less fruit and grains be effective? It couldn’t. Dad lost a lot of weight…which I somewhat dismissed as…”I’m sure it’s unhealthy…or short term…men lose weight easier than women…etc.”. He kept talking to me about it and recommending I at least try it…I was tired of trying and failing though…I didn’t want to try any more. But after a little while I was inspired so I decided to give it one more shot…I went to a weight loss clinic to sign up for appetite suppressants…which I was provided along with counseling on eating right and exercise…lots of whole grains, fruit, fish and other lean protein…very low fat and low calorie. I went back weekly to weigh in and lie about what I was eating…when asked if I was sticking to the diet I said yes but I wasn’t. I was following Maria’s advice instead and for about 7 weeks I continued with the clinic weigh ins and appetite suppressants…losing almost 45 pounds in that time but I knew how dangerous the drugs were and so I stopped taking them after that 7 weeks but continued with Maria. After 8 ½ months I lost 150 pounds, I am down to 210 pounds…less than I weighed in the 7th grade! (As a side note a few people who started the weight loss clinic at the same time as I did…and followed the eating plan they were given including continuing with the drugs for over six months…lost weight for a few weeks but unfortunately have gained that back at this point.) After all the years of struggling, feeling like a failure and being miserable…this lifestyle has been almost easy…the transition was a little hard in the beginning but the last six months have been a delight!
This has changed my life…I never thought I would lose weight…I had given up. When people ask how I lost weight and I begin to explain…I always get the looks…then the criticism…”well that can’t be healthy…you know fat is bad for you…you need whole grains…fruit is natural how can that be bad”…etc. But it makes me a little angry that there is a real solution available for weight loss and people are still struggling…and that I struggled so long when it doesn’t have to be that way…and, worst of all we are still getting the ‘mainstream’ lies shoved down our throats. I still have weight I would like to lose but I now look forward to each day…I love that I can actually live now and not be a prisoner of my weight and a slave to the addiction of food. I started in size 34 pants and size 5X/6X tops…I am now in size 16 pants and size XL tops…’regular people’ sizes…lol.” Candi
To get started on your transformation, click HERE.
HOMEMADE RICOTTA
Making homemade ricotta is VERY easy. I have an Instant Pot (and a slow cooker recipe) for organic ricotta in my cookbook Keto Instant Pot Recipes (which also has slow cooker directions for EVERY recipe!). Homemade ricotta topped with my homemade marinara sauce is one amazingly easy side dish or snack!
Thank you all for your love and support! It means the world to my family to be able to work from home and take care of my boys.
Here is a video of making these rolls!
Lasagna Rolls
Ingredients
- 8 long slices 1/4 lb organic turkey/chicken meat, sliced medium thickness (protein noodles) (click HERE)
- 1 cup homemade organic Ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup freshly and finely shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 cup freshly shredded Mozzarella cheese
- 3 medium tomatoes sliced very thin
- Handful of fresh basil
- 1 cup no-sugar and no soybean oil Marinara Sauce (click HERE to find the one I use)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Align Protein noodles in a single layer on a large sheet of parchment or wax paper.
- For filling, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together ricotta cheese and egg until well blended. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Mix in the Mozzarella cheese.
- Place 1/4 cup of the mixture over each Protein noodle and spread into an even layer.
- Place 3 thin tomato slices over cheese mixture then top with fresh basil.
- Starting at one end of the Protein noodle, tightly roll the noodle up. Placing the roll seam-side down in a baking dish.
- Top each roll up with marinara sauce.
- Bake in preheated oven 20-25 minutes.
- Serve with my zero carb Keto Protein Garlic bread!
Notes
Traditional Roll Ups = 588 calories, 22.5g fat, 19g protein, 45g carbs, 2g fiber
"Healthified" Roll Ups = 359 calories, 20.8g fat, 33.9g protein, 7g carbs, 3g fiber (53% fat, 38% protein, 9% carbs)
Dairy Free Lasagna Rolls
I really love cheese, don’t get me wrong, but I often wonder… is it the flavor or the creaminess that I love… or both? I often have clients go dairy free in the beginning of their journey so I wanted to offer a tasty Italian meal that is ketogenic yet dairy free. I get so many positive comments about my Protein Noodle Lasagna so I decided to start with that idea of using thinly shaved organic roast turkey or chicken as the “noodles” and use avocado instead of ricotta.
To make it dairy free: sub out the ricotta and mozzarella for 2 cups of avocado (pureed) and sub out the Parmesan for nutritional yeast. The creaminess texture and the flavors from the basil and marinara will help you in your dairy free journey!
Another Great Testimony!
“Hi. Just wanted to let you know that our family is loving our new lifestyle of eating the Maria way. The total weight loss for our family is around 125 lbs in 71 days! Just amazing….and with almost no complaining! Thanks!
The Campbell family”
The recipe for this Lasagna, asks for
1. 8 long slices (1/4 lb) organic turkey/chicken meat, sliced medium thickness
but in the instructions it saying Protein Noodles.
Align Protein noodles in a single layer on a large sheet of parchment or wax paper.
Is it the thin chicken slices, it doesn’t look like that in the picture. ??
Yes, I updated it above.
Looks awesome cant wait to make them! I have a keto question unrelated to lasagna rolls…I have read about fructose creating uric acid as a byproduct and that’s one reason why it’s bad but I learned my anatomy and physiology class yesterday that uric acid is also a byproduct of red meat metabolism so I’m wondering why it’s okay for us to eat red meat but not fruit thank you for this awesome blog !!
There isn’t any good evidence that meat digestion causes high uric acid levels. There is some good info here.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/gout-primal-paleo-diet/#axzz31j6erROd
I’m a science teacher. Take it from me, even though the science backs up everything a keto diet does, there are no state approved books or sources that don’t carry the food pyramid and “healthy grain” rhetoric. I told my kids that I was required by law and policy to expose them to those ideas, but that the science backed up a different approach. The old Krebs (citric acid cycle now) cycle should have made it clear that the only path from extra carbs led to insulin insensitivity and diabetes. Just do what Maria suggests and see how your health responds, don’t listen to the propaganda.
K
Very true! 🙂
This is GENIUS Maria. Pinned. LOVE it! You are so creative!
Thanks!
Candi, Congratulations on your weight loss and new life style. You Look Amazing. 🙂
I clicked on the marinara sauce link. Which is the one that you use (that has no soybean oil in it)?
I like the Cucina one. 🙂
Marie, looks delicious! What do you recommend as a dairy-free substitute for tomatoes/tomato products for those with nightshade issues or just don’t like tomatoes and such? Thanks!
I meant Maria – sorry!
Hmm, not sure. Maybe some cucumber, pickle, or something like that. 🙂
Maria, Thanks for all the great recipes from your blog. I haven’t been receiving your newsletter since April. I tried to re-enter my e-mail but it said I was already signed up. Is there anything else I need to do?
I just deleted your email address. Try adding it again now. 🙂
Random question, but what are your thoughts on palm shortening for baking? I see a lot of paleo recipes using it. They say it has similar properties to crisco, but without the harmful trans fats. Would you recommend for or against it? Thanks!
It is an ok option. I haven’t used it. I find coconut oil works well most the time. 🙂
Candi’s testimony is the best I’ve ever read on your blog. It really strikes a chord with me because it also drives me crazy that so many people have been brainwashed with the mainstream beliefs of nutrition and continue to blindly follow it. So much so, I’ve been recently looking into distance Ed Masters programmes in Nutrition, so I too can start dispelling the myths and spreading real nutritional advice.
I’ve learned so much from your books, blog and other low-carb books and blogs, thank you for changing the way I eat, changing the way I see food, taking away the guilt and giving me space in my mind to educate myself instead. Oh, and I’m 7kg down in a month and a half 🙂
Thank you!
Hi Maria, I Just put my own twist on this. I used fresh chicken breast, sliced in half lengthways.flatened between gladwrap. I spread riccotta, grated cheeses , fried bacon and capsicum, then a layer of sliced tomato and freash basil leaves on. Roll up and keep in place with a skewer. Top with tomato and basil sauce. place in oven for 30 min. This was just yummy. I have recently found your website , as my husband and I are sick of the crap food available on the shelves in supermarket. When you read the ingredients its amazing what is in it.Thankyou for your great food.
Cool! Thanks!
Maria, I can not find the flat protein noodles anywhere, not even on your Amazon store. Suggestions?
A protein noodle is just thin sliced turkey or chicken deli meat. 🙂
🙂 so smart u r!
just made these. my teenager devoured them! Imagine me tee heeing with glee in the corner that she was eating real food. you’re brilliant.
my net carbs are carbs minus fiber, is this correct?
I always use total carbs when talking about keto-adpation. 🙂
maria – some of my kids are going to camps this summer. they want to eat right and the camp meals are okay most of the time. does a bar exist that can be a compromise meal for a situation like this? some of my kids do dairy free, too, so that makes quest bars out…is there even a higher carb option that would be better than camp food? ideal would be gluten-free, dairy free, lower carb…would the ones with soy be an okay compromise for the short term? any specific suggestions? they already take nuts but you can’t eat those all the time. no refrigeration available..
Sorry, there really isn’t. The best option I would suggest is Quest. Some of my keto fudge would be great. Coconut oil is very stable and lasts for a long time outside the fridge. 🙂
the fudge will be okay for some of it. I am more afraid it would melt with plane travel….maybe you can get with Jay Robb or quest and desire a “Maria” shelf-stable bar…..there is a real need for this ….love the blog. thank you
if a child avoids dairy routinely, would you still say Quest bars are the best option even though they use whey protein? that over a bar without dairy that uses soy protein? this is for a short term solution. they might eat 10 bars over a 10 day period. out of 30 meals there might be 1/3 of them without good options. I guess I am asking what is the least bad choice, not a good choice.
No, I would avoid them in that case. There might be some ideas here that you can use:
http://mariamindbodyhealth.com/healthy-eating-tips-for-traveling-families/
This looks awesome, but I don’t eat meat. I know this is off topic, but how do you feel about tofu, Maria?
Soy is too estrogenic for me. 🙂
Hi Maria, Love your cookbooks, I have them all and have bought them for my siblings and our 3 children. I also have recently purchased several of your plans for my mother and myself. Thank you so much to you and your family for all the hard work you have put into these cookbooks and plans to help all of us get healthy and address problems the medical professionals disregard, at least in my past experiences.
I also am not receiving your emails anymore. I did try and resubscribe today and received the reply that my email was already subscribed. Could you please unsub my email address so I can try and sign up again. I really miss your informative emails.
PS: I really like that you combined 3 cookbooks in one. I bought several of those for my children and myself, and gave my individual ones to more family members.
I
I am fixing this issue. We are switching to a new service that shouldn’t have this problem. It will be up in about a day or so. 🙂
Those look delicious! Victoria Trading Company sauce is all natural, no sugar. In the tomato basil sauce, the ingredients are: tomatoes, onions, olive oil, basil, salt, garlic and spices. It’s delicious and pretty easy to find! 🙂
Thanks!
Hi Maria!
I’m trying to find your ricotta recipe in the Slow Cooker book. Do you happen to know what page? I have all your books 🙂
Page 29 of the slow cooker book. 🙂
I am so sorry but I am new to dairy free. What is nutritional yeast?
Thanks!
Here you go. 😉
http://astore.amazon.com/marisnutran05-20/detail/B009NI86TW
I can’t find your ricotta cheese recipe, even in the slow cooker book. Could you send it to me? I have all your cooks. Thanks!
Oops, books!