When you’re craving that tart tomato-ey taste, there’s really no substitute. Tomatoes are essentially all water with a little bit of carbs, but they’re also great sources of vitamins and antioxidants! (Vitamin C and potassium are good examples – see more here!)
Tomato fruits are just so tart (sometimes) but also sweet and moist all at once – which is what makes it a great base for so many dishes. It’s also relatively affordable in large quantities in Canada – especially preserved in a can. For the best nutritional value, it would be ideal to get fresh tomatoes and puree it yourself; however winter is long and sometimes we can’t get good quality fresh tomatoes or the price is much higher, so canned will do.
- Cabbage: $3-5 (use 1/4-1/2 cabbage head only)
- Ground Beef: $5-9
- Tomato Sauce: $1.50
- Tomatoes: $2
- Lactose Free Cheese: $5 (use 1/2 block – 1 block)
- Spice: from the pantry
- Total: $14-$22 depending on size of lasagna
Cabbage is a complex carb, which helps with a more sustained energy release meaning that you won’t get much of a “carb crash” that’s associated with carbs that are higher in sugar that require our bodies to send out insulin quickly to stabilize the blood sugar levels (ie. pop is an empty carb!). The combo of having the complex carb + protein helps you keep your energy level up for longer!
Other budget friendly recipes you may like:
Dairy Free Cabbage Lasagna
An enjoyable budget friendly meal that allows for those with lactose and gluten intolerances/allergies. Healthy and energy giving, this version of “lasagna” is great for group meals like potlucks or small family dinners.
Ingredients
- 1/4-1/2 head cabbage (green)
- 450 g ground beef (lean)
- 5 roma tomatoes medium sized
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 1/2 block lactose free marble cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 pinches rosemary
- 1 pinch onion powder
- 2 pinches oregano
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
Optional
- 1 tsp brown sugar
Instructions
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Shred the pieces of cabbage and boil in a pot until tender, about 6 minutes.
In a cast iron pan or a small pot, cook the ground beef on medium heat until browned. If using the pot, a lid can be used to help keep the heat in. Toss some salt, pepper, and onion powder in to taste.
On the side, grate the lactose free cheese into a dish and dice the tomatoes.
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Preheat the oven to 375 F and prepare a glass pan. If you’re following my ingredients list, take out a 9×9 inch pan but if you want something larger, you can use a glass lasagna pan and almost double the ingredients. You can likely get away with 1 to 1.5 ratio for the bigger lasagna pan.
Drain the water from the cabbage and carefully lay out a thin layer in the glass dish. Add a layer of tomato sauce, sprinkle some of the herbs in and layer half of the ground beef in. Add 1/3 of the diced tomatoes and sprinkle the cheese on top. Repeat this one more time.
Add the final layer of remaining cabbage, grated cheese and diced tomatoes.
Special
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Before adding the sauce to the lasagna dish, mix in the tsp of brown sugar. This helps take away some of the tartness of the tomato sauce!
