Italian Eggplant Parmesan

If you love Eggplant Parmesan this is the recipe for you. All the flavor with 1/2 the calories. A few years back I was on a quest to lose weight but I wanted to Enjoy the Journey. So I went on a hunt for all my favorite recipes and created low calorie recipes with lots of flavor!!!

Now we all know that too many carbs are your enemy when counting calories, as are to many fats. Now I have done the gambit of diets, Atkins, Keto, low fat, No fat, all out exercise, and so on…. Now I am not saying these diets didn’t work. On the contrary they all work if I put my mind to it and followed the rules of the diet. But what I have found is that unless you learn to count calories and understand what you are eating you will never truly keep the weight off. Finally, I used the Weight Watchers App on my phone , and it was a big help the cost is about $19.95 per month. I lost a portion of the weight I had been trying to lose over the last few years and I was able to keep most of it off for a good year. I did go off the band wagon for about 9 months and gained about 10 pounds back. Then I got back on track and lost the 10 pounds and an additional 5. Again I fell off the wagon but not for to long and gained about 5 pounds back. This went on for a few years. But each time I gained it wasn’t all the weight it was just a small portion. So I was ultimately moving in the right direction. I was teaching myself control. It isn’t easy, fad diets are great, you see results fast, but you can’t sustain them. No one will drink 1/2 their meals for the rest of their life. I now use an App Called LOSEIT. I really don’t need the counting of points from Weight Watchers and Loseit is free with a premium level if you want that runs about $39.99 for the entire year instead of a monthly fee. I currently use the premium but I started out with the free version and was able to lose the weight and keep it off. I highly recommend either program as they will keep you on track!

So fast forward 7 years. I have kept the weight off with little blips along the way but totally able to get back on track and a real reason for my success has been the way I have changed the way I cook. YOU NEED TO ENJOY WHAT YOU EAT!!! And now you can.

Back to the Eggplant Parmesan. Now traditional Eggplant Parmesan is breaded and pan fried. I started out by oven baking instead of frying and this really cut down on the calories. Then one day I found a great recipe for Italian Eggplant Parmesan. These are the small baby sized eggplants you can find at you local grocery store. I was able to keep all the flavor and loose all those calories. Regular Eggplant Parmesan has anywhere from 500 to 1300 calories for a serving. This recipe has 200 per serving. Can’t beat that!!

There are 2 parts to this process. The first is your sauce. It should be a chunky based sauce. I use the same recipe that I spoke about in my blog about Galletta’s Galley style pizza with the addition of onion and oregano. But for this recipe I don’t blend it at the end. The recipe is listed here as well.

The process is simple. Each Italian Eggplant is 1 serving. You begin by taking an 1/8 to 1/4 cup of bread crumbs and 1 teaspoon of olive oil, season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, mix throughly and set aside for later. Next spray your cookie sheet throughly with Pam. Cut each eggplant in half, salt, pepper and add oregano and place face down on the prepared cookie sheet. Cover pan with foil and bake in oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes. Once they are nicely browned on the bottom place the eggplants in a baking dish with cooked side up. Try not to have to much space in between each piece.

Once you have the eggplants in the pan you will take your sauce and add 1 or 2 Tablespoons of sauce and place on the top of each piece of eggplant then you will add your cheese of choice. The original recipe called for Asiago cheese. I use no fat mozzarella or for my mom since she is Lactose intolerant I use a good Parmesan cheese. Just remember the type of cheese you use will increase the calories slightly. Finally you will use the bread crumbs you prepared and top each eggplant.

Finally you will place the baking dish back in the oven and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes. This is just to melt the cheese and brown the bread crumbs.

There you have it a highly flavorful meal with 1/2 the calories. Hope you take the time to try this meal you won’t be disappointed.

This meal is good with a salad and your ready to go. On this particular night we went with a Garden fresh tomato with Burrata cheese and marinated Artichokes. As I always say Enjoy the Journey!!! You won’t be disappointed.

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Italian Eggplant Parmesan and Tomato Sauce

If you love Eggplant Parmesan this is the recipe for you. All the flavor with 1/2 the calories. A few years back I was on a quest to lose weight but I wanted to Enjoy the Journey. So I went on a hunt for all my favorite recipes and created low calorie recipes with lots of flavor!!!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Eggplant, Eggplant Parmesan, Tomato Sauce

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 4 People

Calories 200 kcal

Author Phyllis

Ingredients

Eggplant Parmesan

• 4 Italian Eggplant Small size
• 1/8-1/4 Cup Breadcrumbs
• 1 Cup Cheese Your choice
• 2 Cup Marinara sauce
• Salt and pepper
• Oregano
• 2 TBSP Olive oil

Tomato Sauce

• 2 quarts Whole tomatoes
• 2 TSP Olive Oil
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 1/2 Onion Chopped
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Basil Fresh or dried to taste

Instructions

Tomato Sauce

1. Place Olive Oil in a large saute pan, add Onion and saute til translucent, add garlic and cook about 3 to 5 minutes longer.  Add tomatoes to pan, salt, Pepper and add Basil.  Cook Tomato mixture about 45 minutes to 1 hour on medium high heat.  As the tomatoes cook and you stir they will break down and the liquid will dissipate this will make a nice chunky sauce. Set aside for later use.

   

Eggplant Parmesan

1. There are 2 parts to this process. The first is your sauce. It should be a chunky based sauce.
   

2. The process is simple. Each Italian Eggplant is 1 serving. You begin by taking an 1/8 to 1/4 cup of bread crumbs and 1 tsp olive oil season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and mix throughly and  set aside for later. Next spray your cookie sheet throughly with Pam. Cut each eggplant in half, salt, pepper and add oregano and place face down on the prepared cookie sheet. Cover pan with foil and bake in oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes. Once they are nicely browned on the bottom place the eggplants in a baking dish with cooked side up. Try not to have to much space in between each piece.

   

3. Once you have the eggplants in the pan you will take your sauce and add 1 or 2 Tablespoons of sauce on top of each eggplant then you will add your cheese of choice. The original recipe called for Asiago cheese. I use no fat mozzarella or for my mom since she is Lactose intolerant I use a good Parmesan cheese. Just remember the type of cheese you use will increase the calories slightly. Finally you will use the bread crumbs you prepared and top each eggplant. 

   

4. The last step, place the baking dish back in the oven and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes. This is just to melt the cheese and brown the bread crumbs.