A Maryland mother and women's weight-loss coach is sharing her recipe for high-protein baked ziti.
Ann Marie Lawrence told Fox News Digital that she created this recipe – and more – to help other working mothers "learn how to create a sustainable, healthy lifestyle without having to spend hours in the gym and without having to spend hours in the kitchen feeling like they're making 100 different meals for themselves, for their kids, for their husband."
The former bodybuilder-turned-CEO of Inner Alpha Fitness said that, due to her Italian heritage, she has all sorts of pasta dishes she enjoys and shares on social media.
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Yet because pasta is high in carbohydrates and cheese is high in calories and fat, she had to find a high-protein substitute, she said.
"If you find a high-protein pasta … and you substitute the ricotta cheese for cottage cheese, it's a great alternative," Lawrence said.
"It tastes practically the same. The cottage cheese has more protein, it has a fraction of the fats and a fraction of the carbs, and you save 300 calories on just that swap alone."
The result is a baked ziti that has 40 grams of protein per serving.
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Lawrence also suggested choosing a leaner ground beef or even ground turkey.
"And you just took a 10,000-calorie dish and condensed it down to the entire dish for 2,500 calories," she said.
"So, little swaps make a huge, huge, huge difference."
Ann Marie Lawrence's Baked Ziti: macros and calories
6 servings
420 calories
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14 grams of fat
35 grams of carbohydrates
40 grams of protein
Ingredients
½ box of protein pasta (ziti, penne or whatever you can find)
1 pound of ground beef
1 cup of low-fat cottage cheese
1 cup of low-fat mozzarella cheese
1/5 cup Parmesan cheese
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1 jar of pasta sauce of choice ("I used Classico Fire Roasted Tomato & Garlic; it's lower calories than most pasta sauces I have found," she said.)
1 whole chopped zucchini
½ chopped yellow onion
Spices (garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper)
Directions
1. Cook your pasta according to the instructions on the back of the box. While that cooks, also brown your ground beef, adding garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
2. Once both the noodles and beef are cooked, combine all above ingredients and mix together well.
3. Transfer all ingredients into a Pyrex dish; top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
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4. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes.
5. Wait 15 minutes for it to cool down and serve. (Optional: serve with parsley, red pepper flakes and more Parmesan cheese.) Enjoy!
This recipe is owned by Ann Marie Lawrence and was shared with Fox News Digital.
