Wow, it's only day 5 and already I am finding this vegetable challenge...challenging! What's most difficult is the planning-ahead and preparation time that are necessary to pull off cooking a new dish every day...Typically my meals go like this: when I feel hungry I go look in my kitchen for something that sounds appetizing, combine it with some other ingredients to make a more complete meal, and prepare it based on how much time I have. Sooo, there's basically NO planning that goes into that way of eating. Plus, given that I attend school during lunch hour and work from dinner-time to midnight, I REALLY have to plan WAY ahead (2 meals ahead) to figure out how to eat complete meals 3 times a day. It's also a completely new concept to me to plan for ALL of the ingredients I will need in the week and shop for them ahead of time. I guess this challenge could also be called...welcome to adult life!!! There's no one to stock my kitchen with everything I need except me :)
So eggplant is a veggie that I do like if it is prepared in a way so that it's not mushy nor tough. What I did was cube it (including the skin!) and sautee in olive oil, along with some green peas, sundried tomatoes, and shrimp. Tossed in brown rice pasta it was fantastic! I seriously think it's my new favorite addition to pasta!
HOW GOOD IT IS FOR YOU:
+ eggplant has no fat or cholesterol, 1g protein, and is low-cal (35 for 1 cup)
+ has a small amount of all minerals we need, though nothing to boast about
+ all of the benefits are in eggplant's rich purple skin: 10% daily dietary fiber
and 13 different phytochemicals that are anti-oxidants
+ thought to help fight bacterial infections and to reduce blood cholesterol, though more research needs to be done
FUN FACTS:
+ eggplant was wildly unpopular until the 1700s, rumored to cause leprosy and drive people insane
+ belongs to the "nightshade" family of plants which include: tomatoes, potatoes, chili peppers, and tobacco!
+ it is almost 95% water
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