Taking the Stairs, Not the Elevator

Side dishes of a plant seems reasonable, A dollop of carrots next to steak and potatoes- looks good, gives the plate some color. We'll eat it.



Next- making the plant side dish a half a plate dish. To do this, take 4 steaks, freeze 3, grill 1 and cut it into 4 pieces. No kidding, a 12 oz. steak can now feed 4. Our beloved potato is no bigger than a cue ball (verses the almighty football) per person. Mashed, baked, cut, broiled- doesn't matter how it is prepared, each person gets a cue ball portion. This becomes the dollop- the 1/4 plate side dish. Now, to fill the other half of the plate, I'll serve two to three vegetables that we will eat. Salad, asparagus, brussel sprouts... whatever. As long as it's a veggie that we will eat, I'll make it. Good so far.

Now, I have to create meals where the plant is the whole plate- 4 times a week. Baby steps. Do it. Make it. So, here is the first in my journey to making a plant a whole meal. This by no means is the healthiest way to go, but, I have to start somewhere and with something we can all eat.

Eggplant Parmesan

The sauce was canned tomatoes cooked with olive oil, garlic and basil.

I scored the eggplant and cut it into round pieces.

This part you can eliminate, but, I dredged the eggplant in flour (you can use wheat flour),

egg (you can use egg substitute),

Italian bread crumbs (you can use wheat crumbs)

and fried it in canola oil (or nothing).

I placed each piece in a baking casserole and topped every one with cheese (you can use low fat) and sauce.

Baked in a 350* oven until I smelled it. (I can't remember, I just winged it).

A bowl full of salad was the side dish. I did make a half a box of Dream Fields Angel Hair Pasta (this tastes like Barrilla, with very little carbs and full of fiber. We HATE wheat pasta.)

So, taking baby steps, I have turned plants from a side dish, to a half a plate dish, to a full meal. And, each step of the way, I made sure the plants were of a variety we would eat, not just used as a garnish.