Garlic Scallion Eggplant

Whenever possible, it's good to keep your recipes simple and from scratch—that way there are no hidden calorie bombs. This is super basic, easy and fast.

You'll need:
1 eggplant
1 scallion
1 clove of garlic
1 T. olive oil or sesame oil
Salt & pepper or soy sauce

Chop your eggplant into bite-sized pieces, mince your garlic, and slice your scallions. Heat up a wok or sautée pan with oil and add in the garlic and scallions; stir constantly for about a minute. Add in the eggplant and stir to coat, season with some salt and pepper, and cover, stirring every minute or two. Once the eggplant is cooked all the way through (about 10 minutes), serve it up. Feel free to season with a little soy sauce or similar, if this is a little to bare for you. This isn't 27g of protein, but it's lite and easy, so I say roll with it!

Spicy Garlic Eggplant with Shrimp

Spicy food is great for a healthy diet—it forces you to take your time eating, and even kicks your metabolism up a notch. Try this one for sure!

3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 eggplant
1 red bell pepper
1 tray mixed gourmet mushrooms
22 medium shrimp
2 T lite soy sauce
1 T garlic chili sauce
1 T tamarind paste
2/3c water

Spray a wok with non-stick spray and heat on high. Toss in the chopped garlic (do not mince—without oil, finely minced garlic can stick quickly) and stir constantly for about 30 seconds. Add in the eggplant, water, chili sauce, tamarind paste and soy sauce and stir well until eggplant is completely coated. Cover and cook for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally until the eggplant begins to soften.

Add in the red bell pepper, mushrooms and shrimp; stir, cover and cook for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally until the shrimp is done all the way through. The peppers should still be bright red and have a little snap.

And that's it! I added 1 whole hot red chili pepper while I cooked mine for a little extra kick. This super filling dinner serves 2 people, 27g each.

Eggplant with Tzatziki

My mouth waters just thinking about this one!

Ingredients:
1 1/4c fat free plain greek yogurt
1/2 cucumber, diced
2 T. mint, minced
1 clove garlic, minced (Though it's way better with the garlic, when I'm making this for a workday lunch, I skip it.)
salt & pepper to taste
1 large eggplant

Stir together the yogurt, cucumber, mint and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate—the longer the tzatziki sits together, the better the flavors come together.

While that's in the fridge, line a broiler pan with foil and spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Slice your eggplant vertically, 1/8"—1/4" thick, and lay out flat on the pan (do not overlap pieces). Spray the eggplant lightly with the spray, or you can brush with a little olive oil if you're not super concerned about a little healthy fat. Then season with salt and pepper.

Place under the broiler on high—I usually put it on the second rack from the top. Broil for about 10 minutes, until the first side begins to brown. It will look dry, but trust me, it is softening! Once it begins to brown, flip all the pieces over, spray lightly and sprinkle with salt and pepper again. Broil for another 8 minutes.

This is good eaten right away, or for lunch the next day. The recipe makes only one 27g serving, which is kind-of a lot to eat, so it's a great lunch choice when you know you might be eating a skimpy breakfast in the morning. Enjoy!