If You Have Indigestion, Poor Vision or Mineral Deficiency, Start Consuming This Baked Miso Eggplant

I bet you’ve never had eggplant like this before. This recipe will make you experience eggplant in a brand new way.

Why Eggplant?

First of all, let’s talk about some of the reasons why eggplant is so great.

1. Aids Digestion. Eggplant is a good source of fiber which assists with the digestion process. Unhealthy digestion can result in unpleasant experiences like diarrhea and bloating. Fiber also promotes healthy bowel movements, helping with the cleansing of your colon, and it protects against type 2 diabetes [1].

2. Helps the Eyes. Eggplant is also rich in Vitamin A, which as most of us know by now plays an important role in vision health [1].

3. Rich in Minerals. Eggplant also contains essential nutrients like potassium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorous. These minerals support bone health, the nervous system and other important functions in the body [1].

Health Benefits of Miso

In this recipe, the eggplant is slathered with a miso dressing. Some of you might be familiar with miso. It is often served in Japanese restaurants in the form of miso soup.

Care2.com describes miso like this:

“Miso is a paste made from soybeans, sea salt, and koji (a mold starter), and often mixed with rice, barley or other grains. The mixture is allowed to ferment for 3 months to 3 years, which produces an enzyme-rich food. The binding agent zybicolin in miso is effective in detoxifying and eliminating elements that are taken into the body through industrial pollution, radioactivity and artificial chemicals in the soil and food system.” [2]

Other benefits of miso include the following [2]:

Contains all essential amino acids, making it a complete protein
Aids with digestion
Helps restore good bacteria in the intestines

Strengthens blood and lymph fluid
Lowers the risk of certain cancers including breast, lung, and colon
Boosts the immune system

Rich source of antioxidants which protects the cells from free radical damage

This recipe is shared with permission from our friends at healthydelicious.ca [3].

Baked Miso Eggplant

Ingredients:

1 eggplant, cut in half lengthwise
Olive oil, salt,and pepper
1 green onion, sliced

A few leaves of cilantro
Sesame seeds

Miso Dressing

2 heaping teaspoons organic miso paste

1 teaspoon tahini paste
¼ teaspoon ginger powder or thumbnail piece of ginger grated
Juice from ½ medium orange

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 425. Using a sharp knife, cut a crisscross pattern in the eggplant, around 1” wide and deep. Brush with a little olive oil, sprinkle a little salt and pepper and bake for around 30 minutes, or until very soft.
Remove from the oven and turn on the broiler. Using a brush, slather each eggplant slice with the Miso Dressing (make sure that it gets all the way down into the cuts). Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Place under the broiler for ten or so minutes, or until hot, bubbling and brown in places. Remove from oven.