Nothing says “Saturday Night Date Night” like Mexican Lasagna. After a Saturday morning at the Farmer’s Market, a satisfying Saturday evening meal with the family seems like the perfect day. Of course we eat out from time to time, but I know it’s a much better use of resources (both personally and environmentally) to eat our home-cooked meals. To quote the book The Food Revolution by John Robbins, “The U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Nutrition and Health says that two-thirds of U.S. mortality is diet-related.” He then states that the majority of Americans use advertising as their source of information about food followed by this juxtapositional statistic: “Amount spent annually by McDonald’s on advertising its products: $800 million Amount spent annually by the National Cancer Institute promoting fruits and vegetables: $1 million.” Jane Goodall’s book, Harvest for Hope, also points to the tremendous waste of water that occurs in most restaurants. She says, “Next time you go to a restaurant in America, for example, notice how many glasses, partially or even completely filled with undrunk water, are left on the tables when guests leave. Notice how waiters patrol endlessly to refill glasses, even after one has taken but a few sips.” Next she asks, “What will happen to the water if I do not drink it? It will probably be thrown out – without a thought.” I still go out to eat from time to time, but when I do I use these favorite Healthy/Green Dining tips: Choose restaurants that provide vegan or organic options – hopefully they’ll share the same passion for protecting the earth’s resources as you do. Tell your waiter that you’ll let him or her know if you need your water refilled, but be on the look-out because sometimes they’ll refill your glass out of habit. Don’t leave with another restaurant-supplied styrofoam container to carry home your leftovers only to be thrown away immediately after you use it. Bring your own container to cart out any leftovers. This idea was inspired by my friend, Elle, who always brings a sealable container in her bag. I’ve asked and most restaurants don’t mind at all! Choose your entrees wisely. As Michael Pollan advocates, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” And if you find yourself at home on a Saturday and no plans for going out, you might enjoy our favorite Saturday Night Date Night meal, Mexican Lasagna. Just be sure not to let your significant other fill your water glass without your permission.
Mexican Lasagna [Vegan, Gluten-Free]
Calories
3765
Ingredients You Need for Mexican Lasagna [Vegan, Gluten-Free]
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 package fajita seasoning
- 1 package soy crumbles
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup corn meal
- 1 package tofu, firm or extra firm
- 1 medium avocado, chopped
- 1 can chickpeas, drained
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt to taste
- 2 cups salsa
- 18 corn tortillas (6")
- 1 package vegan "cheese", shredded
How to Prepare Mexican Lasagna [Vegan, Gluten-Free]
Preheat your oven to 350 F.
For the Meat Sauce:
Sauté onion and garlic in a skillet with the oil until tender. Add soy crumbles* and fajita seasoning. Next, add 1/2 water and corn meal to the mixture, stir to combine and cook on low for 3 - 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
For the Guac Sauce:
Add tofu, avocado, chickpeas, turmeric, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt to your food processor and mix until well-combined. You may need to add a little bit of water to the food processor to get the Guac Sauce to a desired consistency.
To Assemble:
- Spoon some of the salsa into the bottom of a 9 X 12 baking pan. Place 6 corn tortillas over the enchilada sauce. Spoon half of the "Meat Sauce" over the tortillas, followed by half of the "Guac Sauce."
- Add another layer of corn tortillas followed by half of the grated vegan cheese and a layer of salsa. Follow that by spreading the remaining "Meat Sauce" followed by the remaining "Guac Sauce."
- Finally, top with one more layer of corn tortillas. Cover with remaining salsa and add remaining shredded vegan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes until cheese melts.
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Nutritional Information
Total Calories: 3,765 | Total Carbs: 429 g | Total Fat: 127 g | Total Protein: 170 g | Total Sodium: 11,077 mg | Total Sugar: 19 g
Note: The information shown is based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.Help keep One Green Planet free and independent! Together we can ensure our platform remains a hub for empowering ideas committed to fighting for a sustainable, healthy, and compassionate world. Please support us in keeping our mission strong.
About The Author
Marly McMillen: Blogger, Namely Marly
See My RecipesMarly McMillen has a passion for life, family, vegan food, and names. She writes about all of these and more on her site at NamelyMarly. Marly’s podcast, NamelyMarly, can be found on iTunes, where she interviews people about their names. The people she interviews include famous authors, models, and even the people she meets at the park. Marly is also passionate about healthy food and shares vegan recipes as well.
This recipe turned out really well, but the recipe has a bunch of problems, and I found it frustrating to make this. The biggest problem is the lack of specificity for the quantities of the packages. In ours we felt like we ended up with too much soy crumble (Smart Ground), and not enough cheese (one package of Daiya Cheddar shreds).
Secondly, step two mentions "enchilada" sauce, but it\’s not mentioned anywhere else in the recipe at all! As someone unfamiliar with this recipe, I was confused. I just omitted it and it\’s okay, but it was still frustrating.
Just be sure, soy you use isn’t with gluten….and it was there.. :) sounds delicious, that recipy..