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{Recipe} Baked Eggplant with Meat Marinara Sauce

By Kira O’Donnell

baked eggplant and meat marinara sauce

I absolutely love going to the local Farmer’s Market in the summer!

Fresh veggies, everywhere! One of my favorite summertime veggies is eggplant. For the longest time I never knew a yummy way to cook this pretty purple veggie. I tried grilling and sautéing but didn’t love it. Then I was reminded up one of my favorite Italian dishes, eggplant parmesan. There is nothing healthy or fat loss friendly about frying our veggies so I came up with a different method that tastes just as good!

Ingredients:

  • large eggplant
  • ½ cup oat bran (I use Bob’s Red Mill brand)
  • Italian seasonings to taste (basil, oregano, garlic, cracked pepper)
  • eggs beaten well
  • Parmesan Cheese (optional)

    Directions:

    Preheat your oven to 350F. Prepare your coating by mixing the oat bran and spices in one bowl and the beaten eggs in another bowl. Cut your eggplant into thin circular slices. Dip each slice into the egg mixture and then toss in the oat bran mixture. Lay each slice on a baking pan lined with foil. Bake the eggplant for about 20 minutes. Once it is finished cooking I like to top mine with a homemade meat sauce and a little parmesan cheese.

    Meat Marinara Sauce

  • lb of lean ground beef or ground turkey
  • large can crushed tomatoes
  • tsp fresh garlic
  • Basil, Oregano, pepper, onion powder to taste
  • tsp extra virgin olive oil

    Directions:

    Heat a large pot with olive oil. Cook garlic and ground beef/turkey until browned. Add in the crushed tomatoes and spices. Allow the sauce to simmer on low for 20-30 minutes to obtain more flavor. If you like chunkier sauce you can chop up a tomato and add that to the pan as well.

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