Fuel up with Matt Lawrence's healthy Veg Lasagne

Understandably training probably takes up a lot of your time these days. Too much time really. You can train as much and as hard as you like, but without the correct nutrition you aren't going to be getting the most out of your workouts.

After a hard session there is nothing worse than getting home only to be greeted by the knowledge that you now have to either (a) slave away preparing and cooking a healthy and, unless you can actually cook, probably dull and tasteless meal, Or (b) demolish that disgustingly unhealthy ready meal you've left at the bottom of the freezer, only to instantly regret the decision and question why you even bothered to train.

Luckily for you guys Zone3 athlete, and pro chef*, Matt Lawrence has it covered with his quick and easy veg lasagne recipe. It only takes 10 minutes to prepare and 45 to cook; leaving you plenty of time for a quick bike session whilst it's in the oven...

Veggie or not here is Matt's favourite food for time crunched athletes. This will feed 4-6 or you can always have some for lunch the next day. Lots of goodness and easy to prepare, you can use a variety of ingredients to suit your taste.

Ingredients (Feeds 4-6)

• 1 x courgette – Large
• 1 x pack of mushrooms
• 1 small bag fresh spinach
• 8 slices ham
• Dried lasagne sheets
• 2 x carton chopped tomatoes (flavours can really help here)
• Bag grated mozzarella cheese
• Tub half fat crème fraiche (300ml minimum)

Optional Extras

• Broccoli – cooked and added
• Lean Chicken Breast – cooked and added
• Kale
• Pasta sauce instead of carton tomatoes for quicker prep! 

Preparation

Start by pouring a small amount of chopped tomatoes into the cooking dish - enough to cover the bottom of the dish.

Cover the base with dried pasta sheets – slightly overlapping

Layer the sheets with more of the chopped tomatoes.

Chop your courgettes and mushrooms (if you have any other veggies have them prepped now too)

Add a layer of veggies on top of the chopped tomatoes (not all of them as you will need more for the next layers)

Lay the spinach on top.

If you are sticking to vegetarian then skip the addition of the ham. If adding ham the simply layer on top.

Add a tablespoon of crème fraiche to each quarter and spread around the surface trying to cover as much of the surface as you can. Use a spatula if needed.

Once spread add a small layer of mozzarella

That is your first layer. Next simply add pasta sheets as before along with tomatoes and build another layer as before. The dish will get full but don not panic. When you finish the second layer of veg add one more layer of pasta sheets and gently compress.

Last thing to do to complete is add the remaining tomatoes and big dollop of crème fraiche and mix - making sure to cover the entire top.

Finally add a layer of mozzarella and a grating of pepper to taste. Voila!

Cooking

Put it in the oven on about 180 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes. Top should be golden and bubbling when you remove. Serve with side salad and warm ciabatta bread!

Calories 213

Calories from Fat 85

Total Fat 9.5g - 15%

Saturated Fat 4.6g - 23%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 46mg - 15%

Sodium 445mg - 19%

Potassium 249mg - 7%

Total Carbohydrates 17.7g - 6%

Dietary Fiber 1.5g - 6%

Sugars 3.1g

Protein 14.5g

*This may not be true.

Follow Matt on Twitter to keep up with his progress throughout the season.