Super Easy Grilled Eggplant Parmesan

This is a really easy, healthy meal. I also did a side of sautéed spinach with a little olive oil and garlic. Love sautéed spinach.

One large eggplant made enough for two people, plus a few leftover slices.

Cut the eggplant into a little less than half-inch slices. Cook on the grill on medium high, turning as they brown on each side and show grill marks; somewhere between 6 and 8 minutes on each side depending on how hot your grill is. You want them fairly crispy so the marinara sauce doesn’t make them mushy.

Put the eggplant slices on a cookie sheet, drop one to two tablespoons of marinara sauce on top depending on how big the slice is, and top with part skim/low fat shredded mozzarella.

Slide back onto the grill (you might want to spray the grates with olive oil; a couple of mine stuck a little bit) on medium for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. They look like mini pizzas! Mmmmmmm pizza.

An entire eggplant only has something like 130 calories, and I probably used about 1 1/4 cups of mozzarella, plus the tomato sauce... so you could eat half of these slices (which I definitely did - when I said there were leftovers those were David’s leftovers) and it’s only about 310 calories.

Healthy Feta Veggie Frittata – Eggs aren’t just for breakfast!

A finished slice! (Or two)

First, if you don’t use Trader Joe’s low fat feta, get on board. There are only 320 calories in the whole block so you can load it on! I love this frittata because it only requires dirtying one pan and a cutting board, and you get protein from the eggs and a lot of your veggie servings for the day.

You will need:

• 1 block of TJ’s low fat feta
• 12 eggs - 6 whole and 6 whites
• 1 bag of 9 or 10 oz baby spinach
• Quart of cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half or quarters
• One medium head of broccoli, cut into small bite-sized pieces
• One summer squash, sliced into rounds and cut into quarters
• 2/3 cup fat free or 1% low fat cottage cheese
• Olive oil, salt, and pepper
• Oven at 350

I like to do the frittata in a cast iron pan, because it goes right from the stove to the oven and makes a crisp crust.

Whisk together the 6 whole eggs and 6 whites with a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside. Crumble the block of feta and set aside.

Tomatoes, squash and broccoli

Heat the cast iron on medium heat. Swirl a little bit of olive oil in the pan and add spinach. Cook, turning constantly until wilted, remove into a colander, and use a paper towel to press out excess water. You might want to wait until it cools a little or risk burning your hands. Unless you’re a mom, in which case you almost certainly have a superhuman ability to handle hot things.

Add tomatoes to the cast iron. Add broccoli and squash and stir well. Add another drizzle of olive oil if the veggies are sticking to the pan. Cook until the tomatoes and squash have lost most of their water and the broccoli is soft on the outside but still a little crunchy when you bite into it.

Evenly distribute the spinach over the tomatoes and broccoli, followed by the feta. Pour the egg mixture slowly into the cast iron. Not because it matters for the recipe, but because it’ll splash out if you pour it too quickly. You’ll also want to pour it in a kind of circular motion all over the pan, so the egg gets evenly in between the veggies. Add the cottage cheese in teaspoon full dollops. Leave it cooking on the stove, without stirring, on medium-low for 5-7 minutes, until the egg starts to get firm around the edges of the pan. Transfer to the oven for 15-20 minutes; until you can shake the pan and it wobbles but the eggs are not still gooey.

I cut the frittata into 6 slices, and each slice has about 220 calories. Obviously, I ate 2 slices.

Left: just before it goes in the oven. Right: after it comes out! Yum melty cheese.

Whole Wheat Grilled Pizza

Pizza is my favorite food. By far. Ever. I wouldn't go so far as to call these actually healthy, but they are certainly better for you than fast food pizza.

My favorite dough is Trader Joe’s whole wheat, however I went to Harris Teeter this morning so used their whole wheat instead. Harris Teeter's pizza sauce is good, and low calorie. I got low fat shredded mozzarella, pearl buffalo mozzarella, and Boar’s Head pepperoni. You can use whatever toppings you want, but be careful not to load it too heavy with raw vegetable toppings because they'll lose water and your pizza will dissolve.

Bring the dough to room temperature, otherwise it’ll be too hard to roll out. The other advantage of wheat crust (besides that it is better for you and lower calorie) is that it’s easier to work with and roll out than white. Divide the dough in half, and roll out each dough ball to about 1/4 inch. It’ll be vaguely circular, but I gave up trying to make a pretty circle.

Preheat the grill on high and clean the grates well once hot. Spray with olive oil.

Carefully place the dough on the grill grates; if it’s too sticky and isn't at all elastic any more, throw it in the fridge for a few minutes to cool it down. When it’s the right temperature, you should be able to quickly place it on the grill without burning your hands.

Leave crusts on high for 3-5 minutes; watch carefully and when the bottoms are nicely browned and have grill marks, slide them off onto a cutting board, cooked side up.

Top the cooked side with tomato sauce (not too much, otherwise the dough will soak and you won't be able to get it off), cheese, and whatever toppings you picked.

Turn the grill down to medium high, and carefully slide the pizza, which should be uncooked side down, back onto the grill. I use a big pizza paddle and a spatula for easier maneuvering. Cook for 5-7 minutes, or until bottom is browned and the cheese is melted.


Carefully slide back onto the cutting board, cut, and serve!

I might attempt my own dough at some point, or even try using some cauliflower instead of flour to lower the calorie count of the crust.

Enjoy!

Dinner last night: healthy Mexican Chorizo casserole (and my first post!)

I have a recent obsession with eggplant, both because it is delicious and because it can be used as a substitute for pasta. I also have an obsession with Chorizo, but that is much more longstanding than my eggplant obsession.

This is unfortunately the only photo I took of any parts of this meal, as I just decided to start this blog today and wanted to hurry up and write my first post. The final dish is a sort of hybrid lasagna/casserole but good for you and without noodles. If Logan's sausage is gluten-free (I have emailed them to ask), then the recipe would be gluten free. *Update from Logan's - all of their products are gluten free, with the exception of the Irish Banger. Woo hoo!

I made this in an 8x11 pan and made 6 servings out of it; all three people eating each had a half a piece of seconds.

Divided into 6 servings, this is only about 290 calories per serving - so eat up!

Here's what you need:

• 1 large eggplant
• 4 links of Logan's Mexican Chorizo sausage (this is my favorite brand, and it has less calories than chicken sausage)
• 1 cup of low fat cottage cheese
• 1 egg white
• 1 1/2 cups of low fat Mexican blend shredded cheese
• 1 cup of RAO's Homemade tomato basil sauce (or make your own, but this stuff is delicious and doesn't have preservatives or added sugar. It's all ingredients you can read.)
• 1 1/2 cans of black beans, drained

Preheat the grill on high. Slice the eggplant up into 1/4-inch thick slices and set aside. Cut the sausage links in half lengthwise and remove the casing. Turn the grill down to medium-high and place the eggplant slices and the sausage, butterfly side down, on the grill. The sausage takes about 10 minutes on each side, and the eggplant varies depending on the size of the slices. Start checking them for grill marks after about 6-7 minutes, and flip them when they're crispy. I like to cook them until the edges start curling a little and both sides are crisp. (See photo!)

Chop the sausage up and put in a small mixing bowl along with the 1 1/2 cans of drained black beans. Mix in about 3/4 cup of the tomato sauce - so everything is very well-coated, but not "saucy." My plan was to add some cumin and cayenne, but the Mexican Chorizo and the tomato sauce is so well seasoned that I didn't end up adding anything. Set this mixture aside.

Blend the cottage cheese and egg white in a small mixing bowl and set aside.

Grease a 8x11 glass baking pan and drizzle 1/4 cup tomato sauce on the bottom and spread it around so that the bottom is mostly covered (but not dripping with sauce.) Place a layer of eggplant on top, and then 1/2 of the sausage bean mix. Use a spoon to dollop half of the cottage cheese mixture evenly over the surface, and cover with half of the shredded cheese. Repeat the eggplant-sausage-cottage cheese-shredded cheese layers.

Make a foil tent and cover (so that the cheese doesn't stick to the foil and come off when you remove it) - bake on 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover and put back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes until the cheese is browned. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

This is my first post (and attempt at writing how I made something), please leave feedback if you make this or if anything is unclear in my directions!