Today's Recipe Quickie- Fried Eggplant/Zucchini- and yes, it CAN be Healthy & Fried!

This is just a picture showing how it will look, not mine personally, but I remove the skin.

Hello Everybody! I really need to get back into the swing of things, but wow, i've been insanely busy with school and life in general. I had a few requests for my fried eggplant and/or zucchini so here it is. It's not a perfectly proportioned (1/4 tbsp of this that and bla bla bla). It's kind of more using your judgement, which makes it easier and faster!


What you need:

• 1 lb Zucchini or Eggplant (Large or small)
• About 3/4-1 cup flour
• Progresso (or any other) Italian style bread crumbs
• 2 eggs
• More ore less a quarter cup of olive oil (depends on how much you are cooking!)
• Light/Fat Free Ranch Dressing OR heated Marinara sauce (for dipping of course)

What to do:

• If using Large Eggplant- Peel the skin off, if using zucchini or small eggplant, I prefer to leave it on.
• Cut ends off, and chop it into about 1/4" pieces
• Toss zucchini/eggplant pieces un flour to evenly coat (not too thick)
• Beat two eggs in bowl (salt and pepper for extra flavor)
• Pour about 3/4 to 1 cup of bread crumbs in separate bowl

• After evenly coated in flour, dip zucchini/eggplant in egg and then in bread crumbs put on plate until all are breaded.
• Pour just enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a skillet
• Heat Olive Oil in skillet until hot, about 2-3 minutes (be careful for hot oil splattering)
• Put zucchini/eggplant into oil and let sizzle until browned one each side (time varies for different sizes), use fork to flip, it won't be more than a minute or two on each side,  and when evenly browned and crispy, put onto plate with paper towel underneath (absorbs extra oil)
• Continue this until all of yours is done, dip in ranch, and voila! I personally love it, and it is very healthy, here's why:

Some people might ask me..but olive oil is moderately high in calories why would I fry vegetables in it?
Well, it has  omega-3 fatty acids which are essential to your body. They help keep your skin, hair, nails, and all that good stuff healthy! The average recommendation for olive oil each day is about 1-2Tbsp but when you are using 1/8-1/4 cup to fry an entire pound, chances are you won't be eating it all yourself. We also use the paper towel to absorb the excess oil, and a lot will be left over in the pain, so don't panic! It has no trans fat and is (in my opinion) by far the healthiest and most beneficial oil to the human body that can be used in cooking.
So you are getting a vegetable (the zucchini/eggplant), protein (eggs)- Keep in mind eggs do have a significant amount of cholesterol, but you are dipping them, not eating them whole, and there will be some left over, and 330mg of cholesterol is recommended daily. Your body needs to consume 20% of it's cholesterol form the diet, just don't over do it, guys! You are getting some carbohydrates which i LOVE in the bread crumbs, and your omega-3's in the olive oil. You are also getting your dairy in the Ranch dressing you may use to dip it in. I haven't figured the calories but if I think about it in my head real quick, but if I think about it with oil and all, I would say (broken up into 4 servings), each serving would have about 300-350 calories (not including dipping sauce). Maybe I will figure that out one of these days. That is not a bad little snack or you could even make a meal out of the eggplant, with a side of veggies or rice, like I do. =]

Leftovers: If you microwave them, they will not be crispy, so the next night I will re-fry them up with about 2 to 3 Tbsp of olive oil so they can maintain their "crunch". Hope you guys enjoy, let me know what you think!

Off to school. <3