Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Another Indian Recipe, My First Luna Bar, Eggplant Fear

Thanks you guys! hehe I definitely lived it up on my BP! (and of course on my friend's!) I don't know how many BP's I have left in life - maybe a couple? Crazy!! So Monday I REALLY wanted to make this new Indian recipe from Fitnessista. It was an eggplant curry and I was SUPER excited. I had the whole recipe going then freaked out. The eggplant had SO many seeds and I didn't know if it needed to be deseeded. Then it smelled funny and I got nervous. So I threw the eggplant away (eeeek!) and threw in chicken. So here is my recipe for Chicken Bharta adapted from the fitnessista's recommendation!

Chicken Bharta
Makes 4 Servings

one serving - sorry for the odd shot - was in tupperware!

2 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 medium onion, diced
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tomato, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fage 0% yogurt
1 jalapeƱo pepper, finely diced
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
3 cups white rice, divided

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Mix in cumin seeds and onion. Cook and stir until onion is tender. Mix ginger, garlic, curry powder and tomato into the saucepan, and cook about 1 minute. Stir in yogurt. Mix in raw chicken and jalapeno pepper, and season with salt. Cover, and cook 10 minutes over high heat. Begin cooking white rice per instructions. Remove cover, reduce heat to low, and continue cooking about 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro to serve. Serve over white rice.

Nutritional Information: 456 calories, 58 carbs, 9 fat grams and 30 protein grams.

4 little servings - yay!

Review: Wow. I really loved the heavy curry flavor in this sauce mixed with the creamy yogurt and fresh tomatoes and onions. It was very flavorful. I will say that it wasn't super saucy (if you like your rice drowning in curry you won't find that in this recipe). To me though, it was plenty of sauce and definitely carried through.

I also downloaded my pics from this past weekend- here are a couple of group shots that I really liked! I did a bit of fun PhotoShop with filters and love them!
Friday night dinner


Yesterday I just worked, walked 4 miles during lunch and worked more. Then I headed home and cooked the following with Austin & Reuben in tow:
  • 4 servings of beef & bean enchiladas
  • 4 servings of Southwest Chicken & White Bean Soup
  • 6 servings of Potato & Sausage Breakfast Bake
  • 4 servings of Easy Madras Chicken Curry new!
I also had a new product - a Luna bar! I know many of you ladies swear by them and I finally had one. Amazing! Mine was Nutz over Chocolate. WOW. The flavor was amazing, the crunch was fabulous and it really tasted like better than a snickers. And MUCH more filling. I will be purchasing more of these to try!


So it was a pretty good day - lots of work done, lots of recipes made and lots of quality time with my family! I ended up at 1,742 calories, 240 carbs, 47 fat grams and 85 protein grams. Here's what I ate.

Q: Do you like bars? If so what's your favorite brand/flavor?

Q: Any eggplant tips? What's the deal with the seeds?

22 comments:

Christina said...

you have to try the iced oatmeal raisin!!!!! i am so obsessed. and i love peppermint chocolate too!!

Run Sarah said...

I love Luna bars but my favs are Clif Z Bars! I eat eggplant seeds - they are tasteless!

Pam said...

I am nervous about eggplant too but I need to take the plunge and just try it. I'll have to try the Luna bars - they sound great.

Melinda said...

I love LUNA bars- Yum!

I love to marinate sliced eggplant (long ways) in Annie's Green Goddess Dressing (I think that's right- I have to check and see) and put on the grill- amazing!

Tyler said...

I love Lara bars. The tropical fruit tart is devine! I also love the Clif Z kids bars as well. Such a tasty little treat!

Eggplant seeds freak me out too. They are just weird. No other way to put it.

Jessica said...

I recommend you make an eggplant parmesan, with slightly breaded eggplant that is well seasoned. There are also recipes for eggplant lasagna, where you replace the noodles with eggplant. I think it takes a lot like zucchini!

Sweet As Boys said...

I love Luna Bars! There hasn't been one that I haven't liked yet. My favorites are Peppermint Stick, White Chocolate Macadamia and Lemon Zest...yummy!

homecookedem said...

I do love bars!! I really like the kashi go lean roll bars. Such a good texture and they take care of my hunger.

Eggplant makes me nervous too. I think it was smart to trade it out for the chicken. More protein!!

The Blonde Duck said...

I've always wondered about luna bars.

Mica said...

I don't really like bars that much; they always have a weird flavor to me. I think, "This is trying to be a candy bar, but it is FAILING."

As for eggplant, no real tips. I don't cook them that often because I'm pretty ambivalent on the flavor, and they actually don't have much nutritional value at all.

Fun fact though--eggplants have sexes. There are male and female ones!

Unknown said...

You have to try Cliff bars - my fav. Great for protein and energy. I love the trail mix and the peanut/pretzel combo.

I love egg plant too. Very yum. You don't notice the seeds but I can understand how they might put you off. :)

Erica said...

haha you're too cute. Eggplant is yummy! Eat it all! No need to de-seed. Great job on all the meal making and cute pics from the party. You'll never guess what...I'm going to be in Atlanta on August 27 and 28 hahahhahaha. We have a quarterly for the programs I teach :) But I will be back late on the 28. Maybe we can do coffee on the 29th?

Unknown said...

I love Luna Bars and Clif Bars. Fav Luna Bars include: Peanut Butter Cookie, Peppermint Stick, and Cookies and Cream.

Yum -- I want my granola bar now!

Anna @ Doing Good & Living Well

Kacy said...

I'm a little freaked out by eggplants too, but I don't think they need to be de-seeded.

Erica said...

Love Luna bars - my favorites are Chocolate Brownie and Lemon Zest.. Delish!! Try those out. Also a tidbit for you, trader joe's sells them for $.99, while most other stores sell them for $1.50! Yum! I just had one this morning :)

-Erica

http://einthea.blogspot.com

Lisa @ I'm an Okie said...

I love the clif mojo dipped bars! any flavor

Anonymous said...

I published an eggplant recipe two days ago. Actually I love eggplants!

Regan said...

Haven't tried this Luna bar. Can't wait to try. My fave bars are Zone Cinnamon Roll & Chocolate Mint (which reminds me so much of Girl Scout Thin Mints!)

Eggplant - love it... but I've always salted it and let it sit for a while before cooking... supposed to take out some of the bitterness. I've never seeded... they don't bother me.

lee said...

You should try the Luna White Chocolate Macadamia Nut bar. That's my favorite.

Andrea@WellnessNotes said...

I used to eat a lot more bars but am taking a little break from bars right now... :) I do have a few Larabars that I'm finishing up though... :)

Anonymous said...

I like Luna Bars but don't eat them that often. I'm not sure about what to do with the seeds. I just cook eggplant up with them. Is that wrong? lol

Sarah said...

My favorite Luna Bar is White Chocolate Macadamia! DElish.