Roasted Salad Towers Recipe

Roasted Salad Towers Recipe

I stumbled across this great blog the other day (click here) written by Leanne Vogel, an RHN based in Montreal QC.  She has an amazing array of yummy recipes in addition to sections on travel, food, health, fitness and life!  It’s a very pretty and fun website that I have thoroughly enjoyed browsing through.  Let me know what you think!

Why Is Eggplant Good For You?

High Fibre

Eggplants are great for heart health because they are a great source of fibre, which helps you poop out fats, including your “bad” cholesterol (aka LDL) that clogs your arteries and can eventually lead to atherosclerosis, heart attacks and strokes.  They also contain a compound called chlorogenic acid, which decreases levels of LDL as well.

Weight Loss

Eggplants are a superfood that people who are trying to lose weight should definitely incorporate into their diet.  They contain lots of fibre, which is very filling AND inhibits the release of a hormone called ghrelin that tells your brain that you’re hungry.  This means that it can help to reduce your appetite and prevent you from over-eating.  It is also a little known fact that eggplants are a super low caloric food — 1 lb of eggplant only contains 100 calories!

Diabetes

It is also a diabetic’s dream food because it contains lots of fibre AND contains low amounts of carbohydrates, making it very low on the glycemic index.

Bone Health

And, eggplants are also great for bone health because they contain a compound called anthocyanins that give them their beautiful purple colour.  This helps to decrease signs of osteoporosis, strengthen bones and increase bone density.  In addition, eggplants also contain lots of iron and calcium, further contributing to their positive effect on bone health.

Cancer

And lastly, if you didn’t think that eggplants could be of any more benefit, it comes through with another surprise by also having anti-cancer properties.  The anthocyanins protect cells from free radical damage and prevent new blood vessels from forming (aka angiogenesis) in tumours to prevent tumour growth and block certain enzymes that help cancer cells spread (aka metastasis).

Here’s the Recipe!

One of the many great recipes that I’ve tried is for roasted salad towers.

Ingredients

Grilled Vegetables:

  • 1 small eggplant − sliced into ¼” thick coins
  • 2 large ripe tomatoes − sliced into ¼” thick coins
  • 1 zucchini − sliced into ¼” thick coins
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • sea salt to taste
  • freshly ground pepper to taste

Balsamic Maple Dressing:

  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp maple syrup
  • sea salt to taste
  • freshly ground pepper to taste

Extras:

  • 150 g soft goat cheese
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat
  2. Arrange the eggplant, tomatoe and zucchini slices in single layer on the prepared sheets.  Brush both sides with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper
  3. Roast for 7 min.  Remove and transfer tomatoes to a cooling rack.
  4. Place the baking sheet back into the oven and roast for an additional 20 min, flipping halfway through
  5. Meanwhile, prepare the salad dressing by adding all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until it is emulsified
  6. Once the vegetables are done, begin layering by starting with a tomatoe slice, then eggplant, zucchini, a bit of goat cheese and repeat once more.  Top with a couple drop of salad dressing and a sprinkle of fresh parsley
  7. Enjoy!

The Take-Away Message

All of these reasons above should lead you to conclude that over the next few weeks of sunny and warm weather, you should roast more veggies on the BBQ and enjoy!

 

If you’d like to sit down with me to discuss how I can help create a customized treatment plan for you, CONTACT ME HERE to set up a complimentary 15 min discovery call/meeting and we can get started.

What’s a discovery call/meeting?  It’s where we get to know each other better to ensure that I’m the right practitioner for you and that you have the opportunity to ask your questions about Naturopathic Medicine before we move forward with an initial Naturopathic consultation.

 

Here are some additional posts of healthy recipes that you might be interested in:

 

 

#drmoirakwokND #cleaneating #delicious #healthyeating #healthyfood #healthylifestyle #healthyrecipes #homemade #homecheflife #nutrition  #yummy #eggplant #purplegoodness #highfibre #weightloss #healthyliving #healthyweightloss #diabetes #cancer #cancersucks #bonehealth #bonesupport

SHARE IT:

Related Posts

Comments are closed.