Gluten-free Sunday Family Lasagna without meat, that your kids will love

Gluten-free Sunday Family Lasagna

Sometimes I have to cave for the family, and make them some comfort food. There is so much that they've given up to be healthier. I remember the second day that my daughter had been taken off of dairy, she asked if she could have a yogurt squeezer. We always had the organic yogurt tubes in the fridge. I looked at her and said, "Baby, you can't have cow milk anymore and those are made from cows." She looked at me with those big blue eyes and sobbed. It was the one and only time that she reacted that way to changes in her diet, and it nearly broke me. Yet I stood strong because I knew where we were going, Thanks to eliminating dairy she is off of inhaled steroids, and she was on 6 puffs a day before I took her off dairy. I've never regretted that decision.

So now we're gluten-free, mom? Is there a Gluten-Free Sunday dinner? 

Now you have to remember that for over two years I've been off dairy, meat, and even longer off soy and corn. But the wheat had stuck around, even though I knew I felt better when I was off dairy. I did one ten day stink without any of it once, and lost 10 pounds, but still went back to it and gained it all back. There are some okay gluten-free pastas, the 100% qunioa for instance. But my daughter has been talking about how much she missed lasagna. Then the other day I saw the Manini's gluten-free lasagna sheets. So worth it if you want to eat lasagna.

Sunday Gluten-Free Paleo Vegeo Lasagna

Ingredients:
Himilayan salt
Good extra virgin olive oil
3/4 pound dried gluten-free lasagna noodles
4 cups unsweetened coconut milk
12 tablespoons vegan butter, divided
1/2 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds portobello mushrooms
Sliced (long) zucchini (one - two)
1 cup shredded daiya cheese
1 cup of crushed organic tomatoes

Could also add some baby spinach in to it like I do.

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon salt and a splash of oil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain and set aside.
3. For the white sauce, bring the milk to a simmer in a saucepan. Set aside. Melt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of the butter in a large saucepan. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture all at once. Add 1 tablespoon salt, the pepper, and nutmeg, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring first with the wooden spoon and then with a whisk, for 3 to 5 minutes, until thick. Set aside off the heat.
4. Separate the mushroom stems from the caps and discard the stems. Slice the caps 1/4-inch thick. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large (12-inch) saute pan. When the butter melts, add half the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and they release some of their juices. If they become too dry, add a little more oil. Toss occasionally to make sure the mushrooms cook evenly. Repeat with the remaining mushrooms and set all the mushrooms aside. I layer in the zucchini, mushrooms and baby spinach.
5. To assemble the lasagna, spread some of the white sauce in the bottom of an 8 by 12 by 2-inch baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then red sauce, then 1/3 of the mushrooms and other vegetables, and 1/4 cup grated daiya cheese, then white sauce. Repeat 2 more times, layering noodles, sauce (alternating sauces), mushrooms, and daiya. Top with a final layer of noodles and sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
6. Bake the lasagna for 45 minutes, or until the top is browned the sauce is bubbly and hot. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and serve hot.

I don't make this often, but when it's been a grey long month, like the last 12 days here in the Seattle area {12 days no rain, just fog and smog} then it's a treat for my family that will get inhaled.