Eggplant Parmesan - Baked

This Baked Eeggplant Parmesan is a wonderful vegetarian dish and is almost like a meatless, noodle-less lasagna. Very yummy!  We like to serve with a side of baked zucchini coated in olive oil and garlic and garlic bread.

Prep time: About 20 minutes
Bake time: 1.5 hours
Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Medium to Large Eggplants


• Olive Oil


• 2 Large Eggs


• 3/4 Cup of Italian Bread Crumbs


• 3 tablespoons Italian Seasoning


• Salt & Pepper


• 48 oz  Tomato Sauce  (I like 1/2 smooth and 1/2 chunky)


• 1 1/2 Cups of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese


• 1/4 Cup of Shredded Parmesan Cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush 2 baking sheets with oil. ( Put foil over baking sheets for easy cleanup ).  Set aside.  Peel eggplant and slice into 1/2 inch thick rounds.


2. In wide, shallow bowl, whisk 2 eggs and 2 tablespoons of water. In another wide, shallow bowl, combine breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. ( If you have finely shredded parmesan cheese you can also add it ).


3. Dip eggplant slices in egg mixture and dredge in breadcrumb mixture to coat both sides. Place on baking sheets.


4. Bake eggplant until golden brown on bottom for 20 - 25 minutes.  Flip slices, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake again for 20 - 25 additional minutes.


5. In a 9 x 13 baking dish, spread 2 cups of sauce along bottom of dish. ( Add a dash of Italian seasoning to the sauce ). Arrange half the eggplant over sauce. Cover with 2 more cups of sauce and then 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Repeat with another layer of sauce, eggplant and mozzarella cheese. Finish the top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.


6. Bake 20 - 25 minutes until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving

Low-Carb Pizza

Original Recipe by Linda

Crust: 

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened 
• 2 eggs 
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano or Italian seasoning 
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder { I used 3/4 teaspoon - we like garlic }
• 8 ounces Italian cheese blend or mozzarella cheese, shredded

Toppings:

• 1/4 cup pizza sauce { I used 1/2 cup to cover the entire crust - this ups the carb count a bit }
• 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded 
• Assorted toppings: pepperoni, ham, sausage, onions, olives, green peppers, bacon, etc. 
• Dash of garlic pepper or garlic powder and some Italian seasoning for top of pizza

Directions:

1. Put the softened cream cheese, eggs, parmesan cheese, seasonings and 8 ounces of mozzarella in a medium bowl. Mix with a spoon until well-blended. 
2. Spread the cheese mixture evenly in a well-greased 9x13" glass baking dish or a 9x13" rimmed baking sheet that is lightly greased and lined with parchment paper (see note below). 
3. Bake at 375º 20-25 minutes or until evenly browned, but not too dark. 
4. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
5. Spread the crust with the pizza sauce, then the cheese and toppings of your choice. 
6. Lightly sprinkle with the seasonings of your choice. 
7. Bake at 375º about 15-20 minutes or until toppings are bubbly. 
8. Let stand a few minutes before cutting.

Makes 8 servings
Can be frozen

Per Serving: 304 Calories; 25g Fat; 17g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 2g Net Carbs

Zucchini Fries

Photo by Our Best Bites

 Original Recipe from Our Best Bites

Ingredients:

• About 1 lb. zucchini


• 1/2 c. Italian-seasoned panko bread crumbs


• 1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese (the crumbly stuff, not shreds)


• 2 eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.


2. Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.


3. Whisk 2 eggs together in a shallow pie plate and set aside.


4. Cut the ends off the zucchini and then cut the zucchini in half so you have two short, stubby pieces. Set one piece on its end and cut it in half lengthwise. Cut that half in half, making 2 planks. Repeat with the remaining halves (so you’ll get 16 planks per zucchini).


5. Stack 2 planks on top of each other and cut into strips. Thicker strips will yield “meatier” fries with more zucchini flavor while thin strips will be crispy and taste virtually nothing like zucchini. When all the fries are cut, blot the pieces with a paper towel.


6. Working with a small handful at a time, dip the zucchini sticks in the egg, shake them to remove any excess, and then roll them in about 2-3 tablespoons of bread crumbs at a time, adding more as needed; you just don’t want to work with all the bread crumbs at once because they’ll soak up moisture from the egg and won’t stick to the zucchini. Place the coated strips on the prepared baking sheet and repeat until all the zucchini strips have been coated.


7. Bake for 10-12 minutes in the prepared oven then remove from oven, flip the fries, and bake for another 10-12 minutes or until the zucchini is not soggy and the coating is crisp and golden brown. Serve immediately with Pizza Sauce or Buttermilk Ranch Dressing. Serves 6-8 as a side dish.

Approximately 20 Net Carbs for entire batch

Shakeology No Bake Cookies

Tonight I was craving something chocolate and sweet - a craving I don't often have.  Since I'm trying my best to stick with a healthy diet I decided to try some homemade no bake cookies made with all natural ingredients, including chocolate Shakeology.  I'm very impressed with how well they turned out!  And, the best part, two small cookies satisfied my chocolate sweets craving!

Recipe for No Bake Shakeology Cookies

• 1 cup chocolate Shakeology
• 1 cup of rolled oats
• 1 cup of natural peanut butter
• 1/3 cup of honey

Simply combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  It is very thick so I recommend washing your hands, removing jewelry and digging in with your bare hands.  It's messy, but faster than with a wooden spoon.  Once all ingredients are combined, roll tablespoon size chunks into balls and place on a cookie pan.  ( I flattened mine a little bit for a more "cookie" type look. ) Place pan in the refrigerator for an hour to chill before eating for best results.  Makes about 24 cookie balls.

Organic Yumminess

Apples, Clementines and Avocado, Oh My!  All organic, all delicious!  The perks of eating healthy is that you can also eat yummy!  Brought to you by Costco.

Chicken Curry & Veggie Stir Fry

This is what is going to be for dinner tonight!   Jason's chicken curry with stir-fry veggies.  Simmering in the crockpot all day.  Making us hungry every time we go upstairs.  It's been a while since we've had this meal - I'm quite excited!  ( I would post the recipe but Jason just pretty much throws chicken, veggies, curry, pepper, garlic and whatever other spices he deems fit - so, there ya go. )

Waiting for the Thaw - 30/365

Waiting for my frozen strawberries to thaw so I can add them to my cup of Danon Oikes plain Greek yogurt.  A great 130 calorie snack that helps curb ice cream cravings - which seems to be the only thing I always crave these days.

Shakeology - 20/365

This is what I look forward to every day for lunch. It may seem like a boring old diet drink - but it's not.  It is a meal replacement. It is full of natural vitamins, minerals and nutrients that the body needs on a daily basis. It DOES taste like a milkshake! I am not kidding. Lunch has become my favorite meal because of these bad boys.  It is called Shakeology. This one is the vanilla variety - there is also chocolate, tropical strawberry, greenberry and vegan alternatives.  The shake shown here is the Shakeology mixed with one cup of almond milk, 2 tablespoons of almond butter and six ice cubes, all blended into a perfect, yummy lunch!  And I do mean yummy!

A Bowl Full of Cherries (Tomatoes) - 13/365

Our cherry tomatoes in the garden exploded over the last couple of days.  This is a very large bowl and it was filled to the brim with nice, sweet, delicious cherry red tomatoes!  None of them will make it into a salad or other meal if I keep snagging one to pop in my mouth every time I walk by the bowl.

Fruitful O's Cereal - 12/365

It turns out you can eat good for you and organically and still have a similar cereal to Fruit Loops!  Yes!  You heard me correctly - Cascadian Farms makes an organic cereal called Fruitful O's and they taste a LOT like Fruit Loops! I eat mine with almond milk and they are so GOOD!  Don't care for fruity cereal?  They also make a cheerio's alternative called Purely O's...!

Fruitful O's Nutrition Info (Image from Amazon.com)

Genghis Grill - 9/365

We're still on "stay-cation" this week so we did lunch and a movie with friends, Charlie and Christina.  We went to Genghis Grill, a place that opened here last year but we had not yet been to.  It's one of those places where you "build your own bowl" and take it up for the cooks to grill it all up. It was really, really good. I built the Special Fried Rice bowl since it was only 445 calories ( even on vacation I'm still keeping to the good eating ).  It was a little costly for what it is, but it was extremely good and I wouldn't have any issues doing it again.

After lunch we went and saw the movie The Wolverine.  It certainly wasn't the best of the Wolverine / X-Men movies I've seen, but it was good.  After that we went for a two mile walk at a local park before heading home.

Later the boys were busy gaming so Christina and I made a last minute trip back out to the theater to watch The Conjuring.  Wow, talk about a scary movie!  I've never tensed, jumped and screamed out so much during a movie in my entire life!  Well worth the thrill and the second trip back into town! I didn't think I'd be able to sleep very well after that movie, but it was after 1:00am by the time we got home and I ended up pretty much zonking right out.

A few more days left to this vacation - we'll see what else we can get into!  :)

( Note: Thank goodness for cell phone cameras or I'd have already flunked out on this Project 365. Though I way prefer the quality of my Nikon, the phone has saved me twice already! )

Experimental Home Cooked Meal Was a Success!

Jason and I generally aren't seafood fans - not at all. But we are trying to eat healthier so decided to try some baked fish on recommendation from friends. We invited them over to help us prepare it and, of course, to eat it!  We ended up making baked cajun and blackened tilapia fish, zucchini patties (both dipped in plain Greek yogurt) and a side of Texas caviar ( a cold salad consisting of beans, corn, cilantro, peppers and some other stuff pre-made from Costco ).  None of us were too thrilled with the Texas caviar salad, but the rest was fantastic!  We have vowed to attempt to get at least one fish dish a week consumed.

First Tomato!

Our first tomato of the season came out of the garden yesterday! Looks yummy!  We are hoping the tomatoes do better this year than they did in years past. So far they are looking good!