Recipe: Healthy Eggplant Parmesan. Thanks, HungryGirl!!

This past weekend I was lucky enough to receive an absolutely gorgeous eggplant from my friend's garden. Blasted by the heat of the central valley it was ripe, purple, smooth and just waiting to be made into something delicious. What to do? Grilling it sounded boring. Baking and turning it into a baba ghanoush did not entice me. Eggplant parmesan came as a suggestion and so I headed to HungryGirl (aka Best Blog EVER) to see if she had any recipes to try.

Here it is - tried, tested, and absolutely delicious!!! Extremely flavorful, the eggplant comes out completely crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. This "oven frying" method deserves a big thumbs up. You could make it even better by making your own tomato sauce. Super easy, too!

*****
1 large eggplant,

1/2 cup egg whites (about 4 large egg whites) - I used Egg Beaters

1 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original) - I used Flax Cereal from Trader Joe's, popped it into a blender with a little bit of salt, pepper and Italian seasonings and ground it up to a cornmeal-like consistency.

1 cup canned tomato sauce w/ Italian flavoring (such as Hunt's Tomatoes Sauce with Basil, Garlic & Oregano) - I used a jar of Trader Joe's Bruschetta Sauce that I had in the cupboard

1 cup shredded fat-free mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup reduced-fat grated parmesan-style topping - I just used some regular parmesan I had on hand. Slightly defeating the low-cal goal, but whatever

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice ends off of eggplant, and cut it lengthwise into 1/2-inch strips. Use a paper towel to blot eggplant slices on both sides (to remove excess moisture). Spray a large baking pan with nonstick spray (I skipped this step).

Coat eggplant slices on both sides -- first with egg whites, and then with cereal crumbs. Place slices flat on the baking pan, and cook in the oven for 30 minutes. Then, flip slices over and bake until browned on both sides (about 10 minutes longer). Remove pan from oven, but leave oven on. Spread 1/4 cup of sauce over the bottom of an 8" X 8" baking dish sprayed lightly with nonstick spray. Arrange half of the baked eggplant slices evenly over the sauce. Continue to layer ingredients evenly in this order: sauce (1/4 cup), mozzarella and parm topping (half of each), sauce (1/4 cup), eggplant (remaining slices), sauce (1/4 cup), and cheeses (remaining amounts). Cover dish with foil and return to the oven. Bake for 25 minutes, or until heated throughout. Allow to cool slightly, and then cut into quarters. NOTE: I had some regular tomatoes that I needed to use so I sliced these on top of the last layer of eggplant and sprinkled a little more seasoning on top before popping it in the oven.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Serving Size: 1 generous portion (1/4th of recipe) Calories: 170Fat: 2.5g Sodium: 872mg Carbs: 29g Fiber: 13g Sugars: 5g Protein: 15g