Hi everyone!
So once again me and Morgan are starting something new in our lives. When we became friends like 1000 years ago, we didn’t really care about what we ate. Well since we have gotten older we have changed our eating habits drastically. Now, don’t get me wrong, just like everyone else we enjoy a good cheeseburger and fries every now and then. And who can resist a piece of cake! However, we have tried here lately to expand our food ideas and try this whole eating healthy type thing. Now I know what you are thinking eating healthy is nasty. That’s kinda the way I thought about it when I was younger however, I’ve really found that both of us really enjoy being healthy. So here goes the turning over a new leaf!
To start out we decided that we should eat a salad at least once a day. We read into the Salad in a Jar diet and that really soundedgreat. So for a while now we have incorporated a salad into our meals at least once a day. We have been eating way more fruit and really paying attention to what goes into out tummys! I think one big problem with people is they think they can lose weight and get healthier by just eating low fat and fat free foods. Well, I hate to break it to you guys, but you can’t. We looked into some of those things and they are terrible for you. Yes they take out the fat in it, but they add things to substitute for that fat, and that stuff can cause complications later on in life. So No thank YOU!! Instead I think that people should really pay attention to what they are actually eating. I know that as college students that can be very hard. But it’s pretty important when you start thinking about it. And there are simple things you can change that would help you alot! For example, instead of frying french fries pop them in the oven. And if you eat a big salad with something you have then you will get full faster on the salad and not eat so much of the stuff that’s not good for you! Another thing that I read was that if you eat on smaller plates you will eat less because your eyes are being fooled.
Now, when we say we added salads to our meals that means lettuce, tomatoes or other veggies, a tsp of Parmesan Cheese and about a tablespoon or so of dressing that is oil based or homemade. We have been very careful about that. Not that that is for everyone but so far it has helped us out alot!
So, as part of this new health movement, we decided to try something. And what is great about this is it’s very cheap!!!
We were shopping in Kroger’s yesterday and saw an eggplant, which was $1.49 for one! So Morgan had mentioned let’s try EggplantParmesan! Well why not! I love the color purple and it’s always intrigued me. So we bought an eggplant! We got home and unpacked the groceries and set it aside for tonight! When Morgan got home this afternoon we were in our kitchen and just kinda starred at it wondering what to do. Do we slice it thin? thick? Do we peel it? Leave a little on? Do we fry? Or do we bake? UGH! So manyquestions….so after a little research, this is what we came up with and thought we would share.
First fun fact: You should cut them all the same slice thickness, and of course baking is the healthier alternative to frying however either one is said to be good.
Second Fun Fact: You cannot and I repeat do not eat an eggplant raw! As Morgan said this I was slicing and thought Oh my Goodness! because the peeling has a toxic chemical that can cause you to get sick if you do not cook it! SO DO NOT TRY IT RAW!
Third Fun Fact: It smells like a cucumber.
Fourth: You want to purchase and eggplant that is medium sized, semi soft, and waxy purple. Not all roughed up.
Fifth Fact: It can sometimes be bitter so make sure to season it well!! (oh and you can eat the seeds!) However we tried it and it tastes a lot like squash or noodles. Just everyone should really try it!
Now…on to what we did. After hearing all of this and reviewing many eggplant recipes we decided just to wing it as usual and I’mreally glad we did!
For baking the eggplant or frying:
-Three Bowls
-One with Flour
-One with Egg mixed with a little milk and a little water
– One with breadcrumbs, we used Italian season breadcrumbs, but your fave will work!
– A few greased cookie sheets( we used three)
Preheat oven to 350. Slice up your eggplant, we sliced ours fairly thin, but you can slice it according to how thick you want your layers. Take each eggplant slice and coat it in the flour then the egg, then coat completely in the breadcrumbs, placing them in a single layer on the cookie sheets. Bake for around 20 minutes, you might have to bake them for 30 depending on your oven. Ours cooked for 30 minutes and got a little too done.
We prepared our Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna style, so if you want to do this you will need:
1/2 a cup of Parmesan Cheese
1 1/2 cup of Mozzarella cheese
2 cups of marina sauce
1 cup of sliced mushrooms (optional)
2 cups of raw spinach (optional)
In a greased baking dish put some of your prepared sauce in the bottom, just enough to light coat it. Place one layer of the baked eggplant on top of the sauce, try covering the bottom completely. Sprinkle some of both of your cheeses on top, (I really did this to my preference.) If you are adding your spinach and mushroom add half of those now. Next add another layer of sauce over the spinach. Keep repeating this. Your finally layer should be cheese , but really you can assemble this any way you like as long as your cheese is on top. Next put in the oven at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes until it’s all melted and the cheese is a little brown on top. Let sit a few minutes once you remove from the over then cut and plate up!
Hope everyone enjoys this! I know that we really did and it was a first for us! It really is a cheap idea for dinner and very easy tomake!
Let us know if you’ve ever had eggplant though and what’s some other ways to cook it! Would love more ideas thanks!
Collegefoodhotmess's Blog 