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How many people routinely think to incorporate eggplant in their diet? Growing up, I was never exposed to this purple vegetable and so it wasn’t something I ever thought to make when I was on my own. I decided to make Eggplant Parmesan while I was in college though, because I saw a recipe with a delicious looking picture! I was diving in to uncharted waters, but this was the beginning of my obsession with discovering healthy recipes!
Turns out? I LOVED it. The eggplant was tender and flavorful, pairing nicely with the marinara sauce! I was thrilled!! I found a new vegetable to add to my repertoire! Do you ever get this excited about a vegetable??
Since I have been seeing eggplant recipes popping up through the blogosphere the last few days AND because eggplant is in season from August thru October, I decided I would devote this post to the wonderful world of eggplant!
The eggplant is naturally low in calories and fat and a wonderful source of vitamins, minerals, and important phytochemicals (caffeic and chlorogenic acid) and flavonoids like nasunin. This veggie is considered an excellent source of dietary fiber and a very good source of vitamins B1, B6, and potassium. Among other nutrients, eggplant is a good source of copper, niacin, folic acid, and manganese.
As if those reasons were not healthy enough for you, eggplant is even refered to as “brain food.” The flavonoid nasunin, an anthocyanin from eggplant peels, is a strong antioxidant that has been shown to protect cell membranes from damage. In animal studies, nasunin was found to protect fats in the brain cell membranes. This protection keeps those fats fighting free radicals, letting nutrients in and out, and receiving messages that instruct the brain how to perform. What a healthy and tasty addition to your diet!!
Last night, I intended to make an eggplant sandwich recipe that I discovered on the website for Monica Nelson Fitness. Seriously, the recipe sounds SO good and I had every intention of making it, but I had some whole wheat wraps to use up and made an Eggplant, Hummus, and veggie wrap instead. How did I prepare the eggplant? I sliced off 3 round medallions, seasoned each with basil and and oregano, and let them sit on in the skillet for ~5-7 minutes until they were cooked through and tender!! Then I diced each medallion in to cubes and added to my hummus and veggie wrap! DYNAMITE!
Even though I neglected to take a picture, I thought maybe the next images might spark your interest to try a new eggplant recipe!
Grilled Eggplant Caponata Salad courtesy of Smitten Kitchen
Smitten Kitchen: click link for the recipe…you won’t be sorry!!
Grilled Eggplant Parmesan Pizzas courtesy of Woman's Day Magazine
Grilled Eggplant with Ricotta Salata courtesy of Entertaining Recipes
Grilled Eggplant and Pepper Salad
Which one of these recipes intrigued you? Do you have an eggplant recipe to share??????? PLEASE DO!!
Great post. I love eggplant! I’m trying to concoct a healty version of eggplant parm, I’ll post a recipe if I’m successful!
The incredible, edible eggplant. I only eat this veggie if someone else cooks it.
i think eggplant is one of those things that you either love or hate. i really like it! i like to grill slices of it and make a yummy sandwich with some goat cheese and mustard.
Eggplant is so good! thanks for sharing this post, I’ll be thinking about new eggplant recipes
Hi Erin! Wow, what a great post on Eggplant. Sounds likes not everyone is in love with it, just yet.:) I have so many great dishes involving eggplant, it just takes knowing HOW to cook with it.
Thank you so much for the mention! You are so great. I am new to the blog world but I so look forward to keeping in touch with you! Try my Eggplant dish though, it is Delicious, and now we know-(from this post)it is also good for us.:)
Thank you so much for your comment on my blog! I’m enjoying visiting your beautiful blog! I’m especially excited about this post, as I adore eggplant!! Thank you for the fantastic info and the gorgeous recipes!!
I love eggplant but my husband is not a fan. Made a delicious batch of ratatouille a couple weeks back and ate it all myself over several days. I love it in omelets, on polenta, pasta, and on its own.
i love eggplant, unforunately my husband does not
that last recipe looks good though, if i mix it in with other veggies i bet he won’t even notice! he “doesn’t eat cheese” either but i’ve snuck it in with pasta and he loves it! (ha!)
the last time i got really excited about a vegetable (er, fruit?) was pumpkin. when i moved out to Oz, i discovered it was everywhere!! almost every restaurant has it on their menu: sandwiches, pasta, pizza, you name it. even the Thai place across the street uses it in stir fry
I’ve only ventured into the world of eggplants once but I really enjoyed it! Not sure why I haven’t cooked with it since.. I guess I’ve just never thought about it since it’s not one of the vegetables most people cook with.
I would love to try topping a pizza with it! Or eat it in some kind of stew.. that would be good too.
I haven’t had aubergine for ages! I used to love roasting it, I should be doing it more often!
I just don’t think I can eat eggplant any other way than deep fried and covered in cheese – it just doesn’t do it for me!
I have made roasted eggplant once and to be honest it was terrible — the texture was gross and it just tasted odd. I wonder if I bought a “bad” eggplant — I didn’t really know how to choose a good one.
Those pictures look wonderful though, maybe I’ll have to give eggplant another chance
Eggplant + pizza = can’t go wrong!
I will order eggplant dishes, but I never actually prepare it myself. It’s such a gorgeous vegetable though!
I love eggplant, at least when someone else is cooking it! I have a tendency to mess it up, but I think I’ll give it another shot with one of these awesome-looking recipes!
I can definitely relate to getting excited about veggies! I go crazy when I see a kabocha squash
I’m not a big fan of eggplant mostly because I just can’t cook it right. I have to use the more tender Japanese varieties. Your wrap sounds great!
Have you been able to comment? I think it was because I had ‘healthy weight loss’ in my spam box since I was getting spam and because your name has ‘healthy’ in it, it blocked it?
I love Eggplant (or aubergine as we call it in the UK) I really like slices of roast eggplant topped with tomato sauce and mozzerella with a basil leaf and grilled like a mini pizza. I also want to try making an eggplant bean burger sandwich with slices of roast eggplant in place of the bread! How tasty would that be!
LOVE eggplant! I think it’s my favorite in a black bean and eggplant asian dish. I can’t wait to try some of these recipes!
i love using eggplant in a “lasagna” instead of the noodles!
ha ha… sounds like yours turned out way better than mine!
It seems eggplant with the addition of cheese is key. Eggplant parm is what I did last time and it was fabulous!
ugh, Eggplant. I want to love it but I haven’t quite gotten there yet. I did recently read though that you’re supposed to salt it before cooking it, or something which I’ve never done because I had no idea. I made some Eggplant Parm from a recipe I found over at wearenotmartha.com and it was ok. Maybe I should try it again though because I KNOW it’s good for me! I just need to find a way to make it that appeals to my tastebuds.