tw ⚠️

I normally just share the balanced food recipes on Instagram but I recently have been feeling the urge to open up more, over the last six months I’ve been catching up on what seems like a decade of personal growth and now I feel like I’m at a place where I want to share more about it.

I’ve always had a issues with food, maybe it’s why I started creating recipe videos like this one, to help my healing journey after having my daughter. An effort to eat a more balanced lifestyle after years of counting calories and still hating my body. I look at both my kids and could not imagine hearing them say the things I say to myself - so why do I?

And I’m going to be honest and say I still don’t have it all figured out, but something about the labor of love it took today to make this eggplant parm reminded me of the all the effort it takes to break generational cycles. So I hope this heals you a little bit, too. Recipe below!

What you’ll need -

1 eggplant
3 eggs
2 tablespoons milk of choice
1 cup flour
2 cups Italian-style breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan
24 oz marinara sauce (best homemade recipe here)
salt and pepper

Instructions -
1. Begin by slicing the eggplant and then arranging the rounds in a single layer on 2 baking sheets lined with a paper towel. Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt on both sides and allow it to sit for at least one hour. This will help draw out the liquid and the bitter flavor, but this step can be skipped if you have limited time! After an hour, either rinse with cold water or simply wipe off excess salt and moisture.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, add flour, salt, and pepper. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. In a third bowl, add the breadcrumbs. Dip each eggplant slice into the flour bowl and shake off any excess. Then, dip into the egg mixture bowl. Then finally, dip into the breadcrumbs bowl. Be sure to coat both sides of the eggplant slice during the process! Arrange the coated eggplant on the baking sheets for frying.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add oil. Once heated, use a pair of kitchen tongs to add a single layer of the eggplant to the pan. Fry until golden brown, about 2-4 minutes on each side. Remove and transfer to a baking sheet lined with a paper towel. Continue until all slices have been fried.

4. In a 9-by-13 inch baking dish, spoon tomato sauce on the bottom. Top with a layer of the fried eggplant, then a fresh mozzarella slice on each round, then sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Spoon more sauce over cheese and repeat the layering 2 more times to make a total of 3 layers. End with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

5. Cook in oven for 35-40 minutes, or util cheese is melted and bubbly. I like to broil for the last minute or two for extra browning!

Enjoy!