Hello ZestyCookers!  I’m Lainie from Deliciously Fit, and I am thrilled to be doing a guest post for Zesty while he’s away!  I had a hard time deciding what to post about because, well, let’s face it:  all of Zesty’s recipes are AMAZING and pretty much impossible to compete with!  After much thought, I finally decided on eggplant parmesan because it’s an easy, tasty and impressive dish that just about anyone can whip up.

By the looks of that picture, you can tell this recipe is rich and decadent…what you can’t tell is that it makes 8 huge servings for under 300 calories each!  I paired this recipe with a simple salad, and even my meat-obsessed husband thought he had died and gone to heaven…

Ingredients

• 2  (1-pound) eggplants
• 1/4  cup  water
• 3  egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1 1/4  cups  Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/4  cup  grated Parmesan cheese
• Vegetable cooking spray
• 2.5  cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
• 1 jar of your favorite pasta/marinara sauce

Directions

1. Slice eggplant crosswise into 1/4-inch slices



2. Place eggplant slices in a large bowl and add water to cover.  Let stand 30 minutes.



3. Drain well, and blot eggplant dry with paper towels.
4. Combine 1/4 cup water and egg whites in a shallow bowl.
5. Combine breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese; stir well.
6. Dip eggplant in the egg white mixture, and then dredge it in the breadcrumb mixture.
7. Place the eggplant on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Broil 5 minutes on each side (or until browned).



8. Spread marinara sauce in the bottom of a 13X9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
9. Arrange eggplant over sauce; top with mozzarella and cheddar cheese.



10. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes (or until bubbly).  Serves 8.

Next time you’re tempted to go out for Italian, try making this dish at home instead!  The average restaurant dishes up eggplant parmesan with a calorie count of 1270 and 69 grams of fat!  Ouch!  This version of the Italian staple clocks in at under 300 calories and 8.5 grams of fat – that’s a savings of almost 1000 calories!

(recipe adapted from www.cookinglight.com)

Thanks Lainie (Deliciously Fit) for a great post!  Have a great weekend and I will see you on Monday with a huge house update.  Stay tuned.

Take care

zesty

When ZestyCook asked me to do a guest post, I knew I had to come up with something ZESTY enough to be grouped with all his wonderful recipes and amazing pictures. He has inspired me to reach to a higher level with my kitchen experiments and my food photographing skills. I hope you enjoy this recipe for an easy to make skillet meal. This would be the perfect comfort meal for a cool fall night!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked small pasta noodles
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup mashed or canned pumpkin
• 1/2 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 tsp sage
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method

1. Saute onion in a large skillet until tender.
2. Add pasta, water, pumpkin, sage, and nutmeg. Mix until well blended.
3. Bring mixture to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and mix in the ricotta and Parmesan cheese.
5. Let the mixture simmer for 15-20 minutes or until pasta is tender and sauce has thickened, stirring frequently.
6. Serve and top with additional Parmesan cheese.

If you enjoy this recipe by all means…. tell me about it and go pay Megan a visit over at her blog.  If you like pumpkin, you will find tons of great pumpkin recipes for all your fall cravings!  Thanks again Megan for a great post….