• Heat oven to 375°F.

Cooking the Onion, Garlic, Meat, and Tomato Sauce

• Heat the olive oil over medium hight heat. Add the finely chopped onion until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add mashed garlic and cook for a few minutes until fragrant.
• Add ground meat and cook until browned, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks. Season with salt and pepper and a small handful of fresh sliced basil leaves or dried basil for added flavor.
• Once the meat is fully cooked, pour in the pasta sauce and mix together. Let the mixture simmer for about 10-15 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld together.

Vegetable & Cheese Mixture

• In a separate pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced vegetables (carrots, red bell pepper, yellow squash and zucchini) and sauté until they are tender. Then add in fresh spinach until it wilts a little.
• Transfer the cooked vegetables to a high-speed blender. Add the ricotta cheese and cottage cheese, then blend until smooth and creamy.

Assemble the high-protein lasagna

• Add 1 cup of the tomato sauce and beef mixture to a 9×13 baking dish and spread evenly. Top with 3-4 sheets of lasagna noodles. Layer with ⅓ of the vegetable and cheese mixture, then add ⅓ of the mozzarella cheese and then ⅓ of the remaining tomato and beef sauce. Continue for 2 more layers, and finish with noodles topped with tomato and beef sauce and the remaining shredded mozzarella cheese.
• Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese is golden and bubbly.
• Let rest for 15 minutes before cutting.