Monday, January 20, 2014

because eggplants are better

As I talk about probably more than you care to hear, I am all about balance in life.

This applies particularly to my diet.

One of the things I firmly believe in is eating the things you love in moderation.

I follow this rule when I eat shit like pizza. No matter how you slice it pizza is not the healthiest option for you, it has carbs, fatty cheese, and often fatty meats on it. But it is also delicious.

I will never stop eating things i love like pizza, but when I do order it I go for a lighter version think all veggies instead of peperoni, because it still tastes amazing and cuts a lot of the calories out.

I try to eat things that only have one super heavy element to them. Like if I eat beef I pair it will all veggies, carb heavy dishes with no meat, if something has a lot of cheese I keep the meat out of it, etc..

Likewise if I am drinking copious amounts of booze I forgo snacks that day. (wise I know)

One of my favorite examples of this philosophy is my eggplant lasagna. I can even get my meat loving man friend on board with this one, because it honestly doesn't taste much different than regular old lasagna.



You will need:

-One eggplant peeled
-Jar of tomato sauce
-Garlic
-Mushrooms
-Light ricotta cheese
-Parmesan cheese

Directions:

-Pre-heat oven to 350.

-Peel your eggplant and cut it into long thin strips (they are essentially your lasagna noodles so try and cut them like that).

-Place one layer of eggplant in a square baking dish mine was 9x9.

-In a bowl combine one cup ricotta with a few cloves of garlic (I used about 4 but I am a freak), and a tablespoon of your tomato sauce.

-Add a layer of the ricotta on top of your eggplant.

-Now add a layer of sliced mushrooms and top that with a little more ricotta.

-Add another layer of eggplant and top with a cup of tomato sauce.

-Bake for 40-45 minutes or until eggplant is tender, sprinkle Parmesan cheese on the top for the last ten minutes of baking.

This dish is super rich and filling, it tastes naughty but with the use of low-fat ricotta it is actually fairly light calorie wise.

11 comments:

Kathy@MoreCoffeeLessTalky said...

i consider pizza in the 10% category in my 90/10 rule (90% clean, 10% whatever). i've recently loosened the reigns on my strict eating and have reintroduced yummy (bad) foods back in moderation. my one thing though: i make the bad stuff so i know exactly what is in there. i made pizza on friday and used only fresh ingredients -- i even made the crust. i'm actually pretty proud of that.

-kathy
Vodka and Soda

Kerry @ Till Then Smile Often said...

I have seen zucchini lasagna but not eggplant. This sounds really good. I am not about the carbs so this is a great alternative.

Helene in Between said...

I LOVE EGGPLANT. gimme all of this and pizza and wine and snacks

Amy @The Crazy Wise Woman said...

I wish I could be that strong when I am drinking copious amounts of booze. I snack more when I'm drinking. Which is why I need to quit drinking. Yeah right.

Morgan Sparks said...

Yum! I love eggplant and this sounds delicious! Steven is the same way about having to have his meat, but if you got your man on board for it then maybe I can get Steven on board too! I'm at least going to try (and if he doesn't eat it then that just means more for me!). Thanks for sharing!

Jordan said...

Thanks for sharing this! My coworker asked if I'd ever had a dish with eggplant and after saying no, he proceeded to name off everything that tastes good with it. He specifically recommended eggplant parmesan. I'm intimidated because I've never cooked with eggplant before so I have no idea what to do with it... thank Jesus for Google.

Miss Riss said...

Never had eggplant before...in fact, I'm not even sure I really know what it is. Is that weird?

SMD @ lifeaccordingtosteph said...

If I'm not getting pizza from my favorite pizza place, I'm making it at home so I know what's in there.

Not a huge eggplant OR lasagna fan, but otherwise I smell what you're cooking, sister.

Tiffany Khyla said...

I hate vegetables, but eggplant is one of the few that I enjoy. This sounds AMAZING! I want some now.

Amanda - Voyage of the MeeMee said...

This sounds delicious! And it looks much easier than some of the other recipes I've seen for it... some look good but then they're so complicated that it turns me off from making them, ya feel? This is gonna be in my belly fo sho.

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