Receta King Calcium, Queen D
Healthier bones mean healthier bodies, and keeping your bones healthy means calcium, calcium, calcium. It works this way: 99% of your calcium is stored in bones and teeth, the other 1% circulates in the body, helping important functions like muscle contractions and blood clotting. If your diet is low in calcium, your body draws the mineral from your bones, which, over time, can make them brittle. This delicious recipe offers at least 40% of the recommended daily value for—you guessed it!—calcium.
Don’t forget vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium, and which comes from fortified dairy products, egg yolks, salmon, tuna and other foods. Research suggests that fruits and vegetables rich in potassium, magnesium and vitamin K may also be important for healthy bones (insert super-easy, no-cook tomato sauce here!)
Vegetable Three Cheese Stuffed Manicotti
INGREDIENTS:
14-16 dried manicotti shells
Nonstick cooking spray
- 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
- 1 1/2 cups shredded butternut squash
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups light ricotta cheese
- 1 cup shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning, crushed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can fire roasted red tomatoes
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flake (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook manicotti shells according to package directions; drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Set aside. Meanwhile, for filling, coat an unheated large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat over medium heat. Add mushrooms, squash, and garlic to hot skillet. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes or just until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Stir in ricotta cheese, 3/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese, the eggs, Parmesan cheese, salt and Italian seasoning. Spoon filling into cooked manicotti shells. For sauce, place undrained tomatoes in a blender or food processor. Cover and blend or process until smooth. Stir in fire roasted red tomatoes. Pulse one or two times rough chopping the added tomatoes. Spread about 1/3 cup of the sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13in baking dish. Arrange stuffed manicotti shells in baking dish, overlapping shells slightly if necessary. Pour remaining sauce over manicotti. Bake, covered, for 35 to 40 minutes or until heated through. Uncover and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake for 5 minutes more. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Nutritional Information
1 Serving: 2 Filled Manicotti Shells
Calories 360
Total Fat 13g
Cholesterol 140mg
Sodium 370mg
Total Carbohydrate 39g
Dietary Fiber 4g
Protein 22g