Eggplant Parm (Paleo Style)
We made this delicious, totally healthy, totally paleo version of Eggplant Parmesan the other night. It’s very easy. The most time consuming part is cooking the spaghetti squash, but we found we could accomplish the other cooking, and other tasks while making this dish. Check it out:
One spaghetti squash
no salt, no sugar marinara sauce (you can also make your own!)
ground turkey burger
1 eggplant
olive oil
garlic
basil
oregano
black pepper
cayenne pepper (optional)
1.) Spaghetti Squash (Begin here! The rest can be done while it’s baking!)
Start by preheating the oven to 375. Cut the spaghetti squash long-ways. Fill baking dish with 1/2 inch of water and place squash halves face down in dish. Bake for 45 minutes. Then flip the squash and bake for another 15. When finished, scoop out the seeds like you would a pumpkin. Use a fork to string the flesh of the squash out…it will look just like SPAGHETTI!!!
2.) Sauce
Either buy a can already made without salt or sugar..or you can simply make your own by combining olive oil, canned tomatos, black pepper, oregano, and basil and a little bit of garlic. (**We also like to add a little cayenne pepper for an added kick!)
3.)Turkey meatballs
For the meatballs, you want to take the ground turkey meat and combine with spices…get creative! After you’ve mixed your spices, roll meat into little meatballs :)
4.) Putting it together
Start by slicing up the eggplant into pieces 1.5 inches in length. Lay them out flat through the pan, as you can see in the image above….then drizzle olive oil over the slices, followed by the sauce. Try to completely cover the pieces and the edges of the dish. Then place your uncooked meatballs around the dish…baking them will allow them to soak up the sauce so they will be moist when ready. Finally…top it off with some extra spices if you feel like it! Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes. Take it out…top the spaghetti squash with some eggplant and a meatball…ENJOY!!!!
Hope you guys try it out…it’s really delicious!
NOTE: Spaghetti squash is a great substitute for spaghetti…it’s about 42 calories a serving (a cup) and provides your body with vitamin A, potassium, and beta carotene. Also one squash makes a TON…so it’s a great idea to save it…so you can grab it quickly for a couple more meals throughout the week. Great for if you’re on the go (which we often are!)
Have fun…be healthy!
Peace,
Chelsea
