The eggplant, that big and yet lightweight vegetable, with its rich dark purple color is a very interesting choice of food. The nutritional benefits of the traditional dark purple eggplant are wide-ranging. The eggplant otherwise known as aubergine, melogene, gardren egg is low in calories and high in fiber.
You can cook the eggplant in various ways, including steaming, boiling, baking, roasting or frying, and because of its almost blunt taste, it can soak up every spice you add to it, and the distinctive texture makes it an impeccable ingredient for lunches or dinners.
Eggplant contains the chemical nasunin, which is antioxidant that improves the blood flow to the brain, which contributes to improving memory and age-related cognitive disorders.
Nasunin is an anthocyanin – a dominant antioxidant which protects cells from free radicals and their damage.
The eggplant also benefits the heart and its health because of the high amount of dietary fiber. It was shown that eggplants help reduce the presence of bad cholesterol and help maintain healthy cholesterol balance. Because of the bioflavonoids, eggplants are the perfect food for reducing high blood pressure. All of these properties, the eggplants protect the heart and the whole cardiovascular system from heart attacks, strokes, and other heart diseases.
Eggplants contain a striking amount of minerals and vitamins, great amounts of fiber, folic acid, manganese, potassium, Vitamins C, K and B6, magnesium, copper and phosphorous.
All these compounds are great for providing overall health to our organism.
Other health benefits eggplants provide are helping in skin diseases, inflammation, foot pain, toothache, and stomach and throat infections.
Here is one delicious eggplant recipe perfect for lunch or dinner time, easy and simple to prepare and this is what you’ll need:
- 1 Eggplant
- 1 Tomato
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese
- Olive Oil
- 2 cups baby arugula
- Oregano
- Salt
- Pepper
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees (Celsius)
Put a baking sheet onto your baking dish. Cut the eggplant and the tomato into circles and arrange the eggplant into the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle the eggplant circles with salt and pepper, add some olive oil, then add parmesan cheese, about 1 teaspoon on each eggplant circle. Put the tomato on top and sprinkle with oregano.
Bake it for 30 minutes, or depending on your oven, but when the tomato is browned that is when it’s done. Once you have it out of the oven, put the fresh baby arugula on top of each eggplant/tomato circle and enjoy.