What do I do with squash and/or eggplant???

hippietofugirl
hippietofugirl Posts: 430
in Recipes
I've never prepared either of these in my life, and I've recently acquired a large quantity of both. I've looked for ways to prepare them online, and its looking like I'm going to have to use a good bit of oil which doesn't agree with a low cal diet:grumble: I'm just looking for a quick and easy (preferably oil-free) way to fix them! Ideas anyone?!

Replies

  • hippietofugirl
    hippietofugirl Posts: 430
    bump
  • hippietofugirl
    hippietofugirl Posts: 430
    Anyone ?? :(
  • Ulfgard
    Ulfgard Posts: 49 Member
    I use a few different types of squashes slice them up thin and pan fry them w/ garlic an onions throw a can of rotel tomatoes serve over pasta or rice. I use about a teaspoon or two of olive oil and pam instead of a ton of the normal 2-3 tablespoons my mom used to use.

    squashes can be steamed, baked, deep fried, pan fried, boiled what ever you want to do to it.

    Eggplant I'm not a fan of making myself it always tastes funky when I cook it.

    heres a link on some healthy cooking recipes. http://www.skinnytaste.com/
  • Timmyttt418
    Timmyttt418 Posts: 103 Member
    Squash lasagna, layer the squash as would would lasagna noodles and bake as usual!
  • Timmyttt418
    Timmyttt418 Posts: 103 Member
    Eggplant parm would be standard, could also do eggplant lasagna layering instead of lasagna noodles, could use eggplant in a stirfry, or steam with other fresh vegetables and season.
  • shorty35565
    shorty35565 Posts: 1,425 Member
    What? u could fry some in less than 1tbsp of oil. I use .66 of EVOO to fry my squash. It's got good fats, so no worries! U could always grill it tho.
  • hippietofugirl
    hippietofugirl Posts: 430
    I use a few different types of squashes slice them up thin and pan fry them w/ garlic an onions throw a can of rotel tomatoes serve over pasta or rice. I use about a teaspoon or two of olive oil and pam instead of a ton of the normal 2-3 tablespoons my mom used to use.

    squashes can be steamed, baked, deep fried, pan fried, boiled what ever you want to do to it.

    Eggplant I'm not a fan of making myself it always tastes funky when I cook it.

    heres a link on some healthy cooking recipes. http://www.skinnytaste.com/

    Thanks! I just saw a recipe on there I think I'm going to try
  • hippietofugirl
    hippietofugirl Posts: 430
    Oooooh the lasagna sounds delicious. I'm getting myself all worked up and hungry now. lol
  • maremare312
    maremare312 Posts: 1,143 Member
    Do you have a George Foreman grill? When I was in high school and a vegetarian I ate a ton of grilled eggplant on that. Slice, salt, rinse, drain as usual, then spray the grill with Pam, season as desired and grill until soft and has nice grill marks. Very yummy, you can eat it plain, top with marinara sauce and low fat cheese, use it as the "meat" in a sandwich or "hamburger," stuff it in a pita pocket with lettuce, tzatziki, etc (gyro style) or chill and eat in a salad. Toss with other grilled veggies and eat in tortilla or as salad with light vinaigrette. Squash is good grilled too, just throw it into anything that you are already putting veggies in--scrambled eggs, cooked up in meatloaf, fajitas, stir fries.
  • TanzaMarie
    TanzaMarie Posts: 94 Member
    Pistachio Crusted Eggplant Cutlets - Even those who don't like eggplant seem to like this recipe. The only oil in it is what doesn't drain off the sundried tomatoes. Delicious!

    http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/pistachio-crusted-eggplant-cutlets/

    Side note: I always make my own sauce to go with it rather than using their "sauce", either way it's still good and there are only 270 calories for 3-4 cutlets
  • jerbear1962
    jerbear1962 Posts: 1,157 Member
    I like to take the squash and eggplant slice them fairly thin, mix them with onions, peppers and tomatoes toss them with about 2 T oil, 1 T chili powder, 1T black pepper, 1t kosher salt, and 1 t garlic powder. Mix well and roast in a 400 degree oven for about 15 or 20 minutes. Serve with Chicken and a salad...if you're a vegetarian skip the chicken
  • Heather_Rider
    Heather_Rider Posts: 1,159 Member
    1 tsp oil in a pan.. slice squash VERY thin (yellow squash) season with "no salt" and mrs dash table blend and garlic powder. sautee until cooked through (soft) its delish and one entire squash is like 20 calories!!!
  • hippietofugirl
    hippietofugirl Posts: 430
    Thanks guys! Those all sound really great. Maremare, when you say "plain" do you mean sliced and uncooked? Do people just eat raw eggplant?
  • StevLL
    StevLL Posts: 921 Member
    You can use Zucchini and yellow squash sliced thin in place of cucumber in cucumber salad. Sliced about a 1/4-3/8 inch thick and grill usimng the spray oil which is near zero if you use it as directed on the can.

    We use the srpay oil and parmesan on thin sliced squash and then cook it on parchment paper at 425deg turning every 15min.
  • mccbabe1
    mccbabe1 Posts: 737 Member
    egg plant parmesan recipe is good.. google it.. and im sure theres low cal ways about making it!
  • foxfirekenzie
    foxfirekenzie Posts: 244 Member
    I eat yellow squash or zucchini almost every day-my garden is going crazy with them! Here is what I do:

    Slice them thin with skins on.
    Put them in a dry (no oil or butter) non stick skillet and cook them till they are soft. If you cut them thin and stir them around a lot, sometimes they turn to mush-no good.
    I also will add any other veggies I have kicking around (tomato, onion, garlic, mushroom)
    Add in some basil if you like that kind of thing or some pesto for some healthy oils.
    Once everything is just about done, I plop in one egg and mix it all in.
    Season it as you like.
    Plate it and finely grate some parm. or other hard cheese on top- a little goes a long way for me here.
    I like to put tobasco on it to liven it up a bit.

    YUM! Making me hungry just thinking about it.

    I also slice up the beauties and eat them as scoopers for hummus in place of chips. Delish.
  • dvisser1
    dvisser1 Posts: 788 Member
    what I've been doing lately with summer squash....zucchini, yellow summer squash, crook necked squash, etc....is chopping it into bite size pieces and sauteing along with onions and fingerling potatoes seasoned with a spicy curry powder. Actually been doing this on my charcoal bbq in a small cast iron skillet (about 6" diameter base, 1.5 inch tall). Makes 2-3 good sized servings using only 1 tbsp of olive oil.

    eggplant....I would slice it into rounds 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick, rubbed in a minimal amount of olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt, allow to sit for 10-20 minutes so the salt pulls out some of the moisture, blot with a paper towel, and oven roast to soft. Eat like that or then assemble for lasagna.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Squash - cut it in half length wise, maybe spritz it with a little olive oil, and bake.
  • SandyAnnP
    SandyAnnP Posts: 252 Member
    Someone asked this earlier today. go to

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/677160-eggplant
  • maikastar
    maikastar Posts: 78
    Baba Ganoush!

    http://www.food.com/recipe/baba-ganoush-the-best-in-the-world-67570

    You can use it in all kinds of things. It's traditionally a dip, but it's also really good on toast or in sandwiches as an alternative to butter, I also use it in salad dressings, or even tossed through pasta. There's a bit of fat, but it's from the olive oil and the tahini, so good fats, and the tahini is a good protein source too. Plus you can omit the olive oil if you want to, and it freezes well, so you can set yourself up for quite a while without having to worry about getting bored of it.
  • Bevigal
    Bevigal Posts: 66 Member
    You can make little sandwiches out of eggplant. Slice eggplant medium thick. Spray lightly (I use canola oil spray) on a baking sheet ...350 deg for about 20 mins. let them cool. Put what ever you want in between them. It cuts down on the use of bread or crackers.
  • hippietofugirl
    hippietofugirl Posts: 430
    Thanks everyone! I'm going to have to try all of these!
  • chelseaalicia
    chelseaalicia Posts: 164 Member
    Eggplant Curry! SO GOOD:

    1. Roast the heck out of the eggplant until it "deflates" and is very soft. Cut it in half and remove insides and mash or chop. Set aside.

    2. In a pan: chopped onions, garlic, olive oil with some curry type spices: garam masala, turmeric, ginger, coriander, cardamom, or just a bunch of curry powder. Cook until soft.

    3. Add chopped fresh tomatoes, the cooked mushed up eggplant, and spinach (fresh or from frozen). You can add a protein of your choice at this point too if you want- tofu, cooked chicken, seafood, etc...

    4. Let this cook down until tomatoes are soft and the flavours meld.

    5. Eat as is or on couscous, brown or jasmine rice, quinoa, whatever you like.

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