Another "skinny" recipe "huskified"

I remember back in my earlier years accompanying my mother and brothers to nearby department store Woodies, which soon became a Macy's before being replaced by Bloomingdales. I remember the pants section of the store and distinctly recall the range of sizes and fits categorized with humorous labels such as "husky" or "loose and tall." The women's department wouldn't dare categorize the women's clothes as such. But, maybe it would've been a better way to direct me to the right rack of clothes and proper pant sizes.

In order to stop increasing my pant size, I've slowly made more of an effort to find and cook healthier recipes. But, so far, I haven't seen the results. I think it's because I continue to find myself inflating the ingredient amounts. If a recipe calls for 1 cup of cheese, I use the entire bag since the smallest size bag they sell is usually 2 cups. One cup of cheese does not go a long way!

Well on Sunday night, I decided to give a recipe from blog Skinnyms.com a try: Skinny lasagna rolls. I have never been a huge fan of lasagna because it usually tastes dry and bland to me. I find that the ricotta filling, even with lots of garlic added, just doesn't excite my taste buds whatsoever. I assumed that this recipe, which called for freshly chopped then sauteed spinach with garlic, might change my mind. Oh and I decided to add a flavorful meat sauce on top of it instead of plain marinara would seal the deal. The recipe was fun to make...and visually appealing with the bits of bright green spinach peeking out through each lasagna noodle rolled in a hay-bale-esque fashion.

Well, it wasn't as zippy as I had hoped and dreamed it would be. And no way near as healthy as it should have been. A pound and a quarter of ground beef, an extra cup of cheese, plus whole-milk ricotta must've upped the per-serving calorie count by a couple hundred. It was good, but still, it lacked zing. I think I need to mix the filling with very sharp cheese next time...maybe Pecorino Romano. Or maybe it's time to give up on any recipe related to lasagna or ricotta filling. I do recall loving a sausage and spinach (I think) lasagna that friend Julie made once during a ski trip. Maybe sausage is the key. I don't know. All that's left now is a baleful of questions and no answers. And me...husky and bothered.