Over the past two months, I have been researching a lot about food, the effects that it has on our body, and how much insulin control has to do with our body storing fat. It’s quite interesting to me to see that complex carbohydrates, in particular grains, have to do with controlling our insulin production. Long story short (maybe sometime in the near future I will blog a bit more about this, but in the meantime, I’ll stick to the title of this post 
), I have decided for a month to try to go grain free. Can I just say that within two days, my bloating was gone and the days I have cheated, my stomach has had such a hard time with the carbs? So, I am trying to live about 80-90% gluten-free. (please note: this is my personal research and I am not a registered dietitian nor do I suggest this as something for everyone to try. This does not take presedence over your doctor’s recommendations or medical advice).
In this quest, I am trying a ton of different recipes. The other night, my oven caught fire (briefly, while broiling) so I need to spend some time cleaning my broiling element today and clean off the grease. But I needed to find something to make last night that was stove-friendly. That is when I stumbled upon this recipe for a skillet eggplant parmesan. I have found that I have a love for almond meal/flour and can get it at Trader Joe’s for really cheap, so much of my cooking these days are with it.
Gluten-Free Eggplant Parmesan
1 Eggplant, unpeeled, sliced
1 lb ground beef with onions, cooked and drained
2 Eggs, beaten
Almond Flour/Meal as coating (i didnt measure)
Olive Oil (i didnt measure)
1 jar Marinara Sauce (preferably no HFCS or added sugar)
Mozzarella Cheese (i used half a block of the good kind)
grated Parmesan (again, I didnt measure)
Preparation: (soak the eggplant in heavily salted water for 20 mins then rinse)
1. Add beaten eggs to shallow dish. Dip eggplant into beaten eggs. Coat with almond flour.
2. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in skillet over medium heat.
3. Add eggplant to skillet. Saute until brown, turn, brown other side. Transfer to plate.
4. Wipe skillet clean. add marinara sauce to the beef, combine over low heat in another skillet. Add ¾ cup marinara sauce to original skillet. Arrange half of eggplant slices over marinara (I could fit about 4 slices into my skillet, thus creating triple deckers. Mmm. ).
5. Spoon 1 cup marinara over eggplant. Sprinkle half the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over marinara.
6. Repeat layering procedure with remaining ingredients. (I made 4 eggplant servings of layers of 3)
7. Cover skillet (i used foil b/c my lid would have crushed my triple deckers). Simmer 20 minutes.
Oh, this looks so yummy! I’m not on a gluten-free diet, but I’m in Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet, so no grains. I have been absolutely craving eggplant, so I bought three today. I also bought some almond meal at Trader Joe’s to make chicken nuggets. Now I can also make my beloved Eggplant Parmesan. I can’t wait to try your recipe!