Whether you’re rejoicing because the kiddos are back
in school or you simply enjoy cool, crisp breezes, here
is another reason to cheer: tasty recipes for weight
loss and muscle gain! As summer produce winds down, fall
foods like apples, pumpkins and yams make their oh-so-de-
licious appearance. These recipes have one thing in common:
they offer yummy, minimally-processed or whole ingredients
that are high on nutrition and low on fat and refined sugars.
RECIPES PROVIDED BY CHARLOTTE LANGLEY
ROASTED
EGGPLANT
AND QUINOA
SALAD
Roasted Eggplant and Quinoa
Salad with Feta makes a deli-
cious vegetarian meal, side
dish, or salad. Made with qui-
noa, tender roasted eggplant,
spinach, parsley, and a sweet
paprika vinaigrette. A simple
one-bowl dish, this recipe is
heavy on flavour and high on
nutrition; quinoa is a complete
source of lean muscle-building
protein.
PREP TIME: 25 MIN
COOK TIME: 20 MIN
TOTAL TIME: 45 MINUTES
SERVINGS: 4
INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp olive oil
1 eggplant
Salt and pepper
1 cup quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth
4 cups spinach
1/2 cup reduced fat feta
cheese
4 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup parsley
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce (or coco-
nut aminos for GF)
1 tbsp honey
1.5 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
DIRECTIONS
1 Peel the eggplant completely or
peel the eggplant leaving a few
strips of skin showing, like you
would with a cucumber. The skin
can be bitter and tough, so I like
to remove most of it. Chop it into
bite size pieces. If you have time,
sprinkle the eggplant with kosher
salt and place on paper towels or
in a colander. Let rest for 15-25
minutes until you see small drops
of moisture on the eggplant. This
helps remove some bitterness
from the eggplant. You could also
buy baby eggplant, which are
naturally less bitter and skip this
step.
2 Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Toss the eggplant with the olive
oil, salt, and pepper. Spread out
on a baking sheet and roast for
20-25 minutes, shaking the pan
once or twice during cooking.
3 Meanwhile cook the quinoa.
Bring the quinoa and vegetable
broth to a boil. Turn down to a
simmer and cover. Cook for 15
minutes. Remove from heat and
let sit covered for 5 minutes.
4 Make the dressing by whisking
together the olive oil, apple cider
vinegar, lemon juice, soy sauce,
honey, paprika, and cumin.
5 Once eggplant and quinoa is
cooked, assemble the salad. This
can be done warm or cold, both
ways are delicious. Toss together
the eggplant, quinoa, spinach,
parsley, green onions, feta cheese,
and dressing. Season with salt
and pepper if needed.
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