Roasted Eggplant  and a Halloween Treat!

Happy Halloween Friends!  

The best treats are “Nature’s Candies.”  They have extraordinary flavor, taste the best, and make you FEEL the best!  That’s because they’re loaded in vitamin C, antioxidants, minerals, and fiber!  Here are some of my favorite treats from nature:

Medjool Dates
Mangos 
Pineapple
Berries 
Grapes 
Roasted yams 
Watermelon 
Bananas:  I sometimes call them the “donut” of the fruit family! 
Cinnamon:  I love sprinkling it on everything!
Cacao powder:  Great for making brownies (see recipe below).  85% and higher dark chocolate  is full of flavonoids and low in refined sugar.

A great fall dish is Roasted Eggplant , which is super easy to make and gives you all the delicious Italian flavors often found in pizza (but without any gluten or dairy!) See picture above.
🟣 Slice an eggplant into 1/2 inch rounds and arrange in a single layer on a baking dish.
🟣 Drizzle the eggplant slices with a generous amount of olive oil.
🟣 Sprinkle the slices with salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and dried oregano.
🟣 Flip over the slices and repeat the oil and seasonings.
🟣 Bake at 425 F for 30 min.
🟣 Top with a little marinara sauce and freshly chopped basil. Enjoy!

For a Halloween Treat, I had fun making this cute and yummy Brownie with my son. See picture above. He named it “Billie.”

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup cacao powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:
1 egg 
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
Optional:  6 drops of food grade essential cardamom oil (if you enjoy cardamom flavor), or you can use 1/4 tsp dried cardamom spice along with the dry ingredients.

Mix the wet and dry ingredients separately, then mix together.  Pour into a greased baking disk and bake at 350 F for 25 minutes.  

To watch my cooking demo on making brownies, see link below .

Have a healthy and safe Halloween!

Rajsree Nambudripad, MD