A Healthy Pasta Idea

I love to indulge in a nice pasta meal every so often, but I realize that it's not always the healthiest thing in the world. I noticed that it's usually easy for me to consume a lot of pasta and not be full at all. Therefore, now I usually add an eggplant to my pasta dish. It's very simple and inexpensive to do:

1. First I wash and then cut an eggplant into 1/4 inch thick quarter moon pieces.

2. Lightly season the eggplant pieces with salt and pepper

3. Lightly drizzle a large sautee pan with olive oil

4. Sautee the eggplant on high heat for about eight to ten minutes, stirring on occasion to make sure both sides are thoroughly cooked. 

5. When plating I put some pasta, a large scoop of eggplant, followed by marinara sauce. (You could also add a small portion of mozzarella cheese. I bet that would taste really good).

This technique cuts the portion of pasta I eat in half to reduce the amount of starches I eat. Eggplant is a great vegetable because it has a lot of fiber, potassium and other vitamins and minerals. It also contains phytonutrients, many of which have antioxidant activity. I love eggplant parm, but that has a lot of fat because the eggplant is fried, and you also don't get as much eggplant because you are busy eating the batter (although it is delicious). So when I feel like a healthier, faster alternative, I turn to this.