The Food: Jan. 23, 2007

I'm 35 years old, and today I ate my first eggplant. And it was good. Very good.

I made Eggplant Parmesan (except that I just realized I didn't put any Parmesan cheese in it. Maybe it's named after a region?) It was completely organic and very healthy. And delish.

Eggplant Parmesan

Two eggplants
One can tomato sauce
One can diced tomatoes
Italian seasonings (I used basil, oregano, garlic and crushed red pepper)
Shredded mozzarella (I used about a cup)
Two eggs
Italian Breadcrumbs
Olive oil

Two things. One, you can use a jar of spaghetti sauce instead of the cans of tomatoes and tomato sauce and Italian spices. Two, I tried making this with Pam instead of olive oil and I didn't like the results, so I went ahead and used oil. Don't use too much, because eggplant is like a sponge and will soak up as much as you use.

Okay.

Peel the eggplants and salt both sides, put on a plate with paper towels on top and bottom, topped with another plate. The salt will release a lot of liquid from the eggplant, which is a good thing. It takes like five minutes.

Beat the eggs in a bowl and put the breadcrumbs on a plate. Rinse the eggplant VERY well, pat dry. Dip each piece in the egg then the breadcrumbs.

Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a pan. Add a quarter of the eggplant and cook until golden brown on both sides. The eggplant will suck up all the oil, so really watch that you just use enough. Let the eggplant drain on some paper towels while you repeat this process with the rest of the eggplant.

Mix the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and Italian spices.

Spray Pam in a casserole dish. Put some of the tomato mix on the bottom. Be a little stingy with the sauce, because eggplant is a very juicy vegetable and you don't want to end up with a soggy mix. I only used about 1/3 of the mix on my whole dish.

layer 1/3 of the eggplant, a handful of cheese, drizzle with sauce. Repeat three times, then top with the a little more cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes until bubbly and scrumptious!

Mmmm mmm mmm...SO good and heart healthy and really yummy.

***

I've decided to only weigh myself once a month. You know I have a love-hate thing with my scale. I'm finding myself slipping slightly into a diet mentality and I don't like it. I keep thinking to myself "I have XXX calories left, so I can eat this." Which isn't what I want. I just want to eat enough healthy food, not stuff myself, and that's that.

So watch for my next weigh in on Feb. 1. I'm going to start with my Jan. 1 weigh in...311.5 pounds, and go from there.