Weigh In Week 8 - "A Veggie Tale"

Starting Weight: 242 lbs
Current Weight: 226 lbs
This Week's Results: -1 lb
Total Results: -16 lbs

Since we're trying to eat more healthfully at our house, Lindsay and I have been poring over the many Weight Watchers and Cooking Light cookbooks that I have, and have found some new favorite recipes, like N0-Meat Loaf and Eggplant Rollatini.

While reading a local newspaper this afternoon, I saw a suggestion for making spaghetti sauce with eggplant instead of meat, so I developed the following recipe for our dinner tonight, since we just happened to have an eggplant handy!

Heidi's Eggplant Pasta Sauce

1 cup raw onion, chopped
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 large eggplant (about 1.5 pounds), peeled and cubed in about 1" pieces
1 TB extra virgin olive oil
3 TB of your favorite Italian herbs (we love Cork & Olive's Taste of Tuscany)
1 tsp salt (optional; taste first)
16 oz Ragu Light Sugar Free Tomato Basil Sauce
1.5 oz Kraft Parmesan/Romano cheese

In a large pot, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil. When the onions appear soft and translucent, add the eggplant and Italian herbs. Allow the eggplant to become slightly soft, and then add in the Ragu and cheese. Let the sauce remain on very low heat for about 30-45 minutes, and serve with pasta, spaghetti squash, or use as an amazing pizza sauce.

This sauce makes about 4 servings per batch, with 180 calories, 8.1 grams fat, 0 grams cholesterol, 21.5 carbohydrates, and 7.2 grams fiber.

Note: Be sure to include in your journal the nutrition information for any accompaniment you have with the sauce!

What I learned: I would probably peel the eggplant the next time. If you can't find the Ragu sauce, canned diced tomatoes would do just as well (or better; more texture to the dish).