My youngest looked at me the other day and asked if we would be on this diet for the rest of our lives. ”Yes!”, I replied.  She then proceeded to ask if she would still have to be on the diet when she was a mommy. ” Well my precious, that will be for you to decide when you are a mommy.  But I hope so.”  My enthusiasm deflated slightly, but I completely understood.  The first stage of Feingold is not easy for an adult, let alone a child.

During the first stage , in addition to removing aritificial goodness, you also eliminate fruits and veggies that contain salicylates.  Oranges, apples, grapes, tomatoes, cucumbers….  Then, after six to eight weeks, you begin to add them back in one by one to see if you have a reaction.  Five weeks of eating bananas, pineapple and pears can get a bit old.  This is especially true when you cannot have your favorite foods, such as spaghetti.

This past Wednesday marked our sixth full week on the program.  Yippee!!!  (Insert me doing the wave here.)  To celebrate, we have decided to add tomatoes back first.  We will welcome our dear old friends the Lasagna (my youngest’s BFF), Spaghetti and Pizza to name a few.  To help celebrate, we are sharing one of our favorite recipes that was created by combining two of our family’s most used lasagna recipes.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Our House Lasagna

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef, ground turkey, italian sausage  (1/2 lb of each)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 16 oz pkg baby bella mushrooms, chopped
• 4 cups pasta sauce
• 1 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1 tablespoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups cottage cheese
• 2 whole eggs, beaten
• 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 16 oz sliced mozzarella cheese
• 1 package lasagna noodles (cooked or uncooked, your preference)

1. In a large skillet or dutch oven, combine meat and garlic. Cook until brown.  Drain fat.
2. Meanwhile, cook mushrooms, until they begin to brown.
3. Add mushrooms and pasta sauce to the ground beef.  Let simmer while you make the cheese mixture.
4. In a bowl, mix cottage cheese, eggs (already beaten), 1/2 of the parmesan, parsley, basil and salt. Set aside.
5. Spread a thin layer of the meat sauch on the bottom of a baking ban.  I use a 13x9x12 pan.
6. Then begin the layering:  noodles (overlap as necessary), 1/2 cheese mixture, mozzarella cheese (6 slices), meat sauce.  Repeat.
7. Sprinkle top with extra mozzarella and parmesan cheese.  (We break up any left over mozzarella)
8. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 45 minutes.

Source:  adapted from Pioneer Woman and Ellie Krieger