Eggplant

Eggplant isn't especially high in any vitamin or mineral, but it is high in fiber and very low in calories.  One cup of eggplant has just 19.68 calories.  There are a number of varieties of eggplant.  I tend to prefer the smaller Asian varieties.  They are less bitter than the typical American eggplant.

Baba Ghanouj is a middle eastern dish of mashed roasted eggplant, garlic, lemon and spices.  It is usually served with pita bread.

While shopping for this dish I found some small sized (3 1/2inch) pitas at Trader Joe's that are just 25 calories each.

Baba Ghanouj

(Baba Ganoush)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Coat a baking sheet with spray oil.

3 small Asian eggplants, cut in half, lengthwise and poked several times with a fork

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

a few sprigs fresh parsley

2 tablespoons sesame tahini

a dash of cumin

a dash of sea salt

Place the eggplants cut side down on the baking sheet.  Bake for 20-30 minutes or until soft.  Remove from oven and cool 10-15 minutes.

With a spoon scoop out the eggplant to make 1 cup.  Discard the skin.  If there is a lot of liquid, drain your eggplant and then measure it.  The Asian eggplant don't produce as much liquid as American eggplant.

Place the eggplant and all of the other ingredients in a food processor and process until fairly smooth.

Makes 5 servings, 1/4 cup each.  Each serving has 43 calories.

I served this with some raw veggies, two of small pitas, and 8 of our baked corn chips.  The total calorie count for the scrumptious snack was about 140 calories.  (The photo shows an 8 1/2 inch sandwich plate)

Baked corn chips: Cut a 6 inch corn tortilla into 8 pieces.  Coat a baking sheet with spray oil.  Place the tortilla pieces on the baking sheet and spray them with the oil.  Bake for 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees.  For a taco salad we cut the tortilla into strips rather than wedges.