One of my favorite things about winter food is how hearty and comforting it all is. When it’s cold and gloomy out, a steaming bowl of soup or a plate of lasagna can do the soul a lot of good. That said, those traditional feel-good dishes are not so good for your waistline. Recently Josh and I were craving a hearty and delicious casserole, but were hoping we could substitute a few staples to lessen the calories without giving up the taste. We think we succeeded.

I give you the Eat Your Veggies Casserole. In it you’ll find veggies, veggies, and more veggies. There’s Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and almondmilk instead of skim milk. I feel like everyone is in on the scoop about how Greek yogurt can cut down on calories and fat but did you know that Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened Original has 60 less calories per cup than skim milk? In this recipe, that’s a savings of 240 calories!

And the best part, this comfort food comes with a comfort-sized portion. When figuring out the calories for this dish I planned on people being very hungry, like we were at the time. You can eat a fourth of this:

for this:

If paired with another dish for a meal this casserole can serve 8. Josh and I had such a fun time preparing the casserole, and we had an even better time eating it! It was so delicious and had that comforting taste we were craving. I really hope you try this dish one cold frigid day and that it brings your taste buds happiness.

Eat Your Veggies Casserole Recipe

Veggies/Filling

1 lb Frozen spinach

2 12 oz bags of mixed frozen vegetables **(Use your favorites mixes. We used a carrot and cauliflower mix and then a green bean and potato mix. The green bean and potatoes were in a butter sauce so if you use a bag of veggies that were not frozen in a butter sauce you’ll cut your calories and fat by quite a bit. We just really wanted some potato and green bean goodness in there. )

Roasted garlic (5 large cloves)

Seasonings (to taste):

Black pepper

Paprika

 Sauce

2 tbs reduced-calorie butter/margarine blend

¼ cup white flour

4 cups unsweetened almondmilk (or skim milk)

6oz plain Greek yogurt

1 cup Shredded white cheddar

¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese

Seasonings (to taste):

Black pepper

Onion powder

Paprika

Pepper

Mustard powder

Ground nutmeg

Cayenne pepper

Topping

¼ shredded sharp cheddar

¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

¼ cup Panko bread crumbs

Instructions

• Thaw veggies and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
• Season veggies with pepper, and paprika, toss to combine everything.
• Transfer veggie mixture to a medium-sized casserole dish.
• Wrap bulb of garlic in aluminum foil and bake at 450 degrees for 1 hour.
• In a medium sauce pan, bring almondmilk to a simmer (not boil) over medium heat.
• Add spices (pepper, paprika, mustard powder, ground nutmeg, onion powder,  & cayenne pepper).
• Add approximately 5 cloves of roasted garlic (you can use more or less to taste—5 gives a pretty strong garlic flavor).
• Briefly remove from heat. With an immersion blender, blend until garlic cloves are fully pureed.
• Return to heat and add shredded parmesan cheese. Whisk until everything has dissolved.
• Reduce heat to low.
• Add Greek yogurt and mix until fully combined.
• Add shredded white cheddar and whisk until fully combined.
• Remove from heat and pour sauce over veggies.
• Mix gently, so that sauce coats veggies evenly.
• Top casserole with shredded cheddar, parmesan, and panko.
• Sprinkle with paprika for color. Cover and Cook for 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees, or until sauce begins to bubble through the topping.
• Remove cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
• For a crispier topping, finish for 5 minutes under the broiler.
• Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then serve.

Question of the Day: What’s your favorite winter comfort food?