I love eggplants and can easily include them everyday in my dishes since they can easily replace bread and pasta as hey can mimic their shape and texture with less calories and much more fiber.They are also a very good source of vitamins B1, B6 and potassium.I decided to prepare a lasagne made of sliced eggplants, soy meat chunks and a delicious tomato base sauce.

In Turkey they believe that dreaming about three eggplants brings happiness to the dreamer!

Ingredients:

For the ragu

Cooking spray

2 green onions, finely chopped

2 carrots finely chopped

1 medium onion finely chopped

2garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 diced yellow pepper

500g soy meat chunks

5 diced tomatoes

5 tbsp of tomato paste

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the lasagne

 

5 large eggplants

cooking spray

Method of preparation:

 

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
2. For the ragu, in a pan over a low heat cook the carrots and onions and yellow pepper for approximately 15 minutes, until softened and golden. Add the garlic tomatoes and tomato paste.
3. Add the soy meat chunks and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
5. For the lasagne, cut each eggplant into slices and place them on a tray with cooking spray and baked them in the oven for 10 minutes.
6. Spoon a third of the ragu into the bottom of an eggplant dish in a layer, then place some of the eggplant strips over the top. Follow with a layer of ragu. Repeat this step twice until all the ingredients have been used up. Sprinkle the cheese on top and cook in the oven for 30 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and completely cooked through.

 

Preparation time: 45 minutes                                           Makes: 6-8 servings

I started my lunch with a salad made of lettuce, tomatoes, fresh mushrooms, green onions, yellow peppers with lemon mustard dressing and had a portion of eggplant lasagne!

As an afternoon snack i enjoyed eating a bowl of home made mhallabiyeh with fat free milk …

Mhalabiyeh is typically a Lebanese dessert and can be found in other Middle Eastern countries (Syria, Jordan, etc.). It is made of milk, sugar, corn flour and rose water! A true delicacy ranked among my favorite desserts! It is a great source of calcium and should be eaten in moderation just like all other sweets! If prepared at home, one could easily decrease the caloric content by substituting regular milk with skimmed-milk! And in case where you won’t have time to prepare it, i recommend Taanayel les fermes’ Mhallabiyeh! One serving provides you with 138 Calories!

I had for dinner a special labneh mixture made of 2 tbsp of labneh light, 1 tomato diced, 2 cucumbers diced, purslane, yellow peppers diced  that i enjoyed eating with lettuce leaves!

I believe that replacing bread with lettuce is a smart way that will help you reduce calories and avoid consuming carbohydrates allowing yourself to have an apple right after your dinner!

 

Dietitian Nicole Maftoum