Baked Eggplant Parmesan

A delicious side, with a carbohydrate-free option.

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
1/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs (or crumbled pork rinds for a carbohydrate-free version, see note below)
1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp Italian seasoning
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 medium eggplant
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 ½ cups canned tomato sauce
½ cup part-skim mozzarella cheese
Method:
? Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
? Combine breadcrumbs (or pork rinds), parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and garlic powder in a medium sized bowl; set aside.
? Remove skin from eggplant and trim off ends; slice eggplant into ½ inch-thick slices.
? Dip eggplant first into egg whites and then into bread crumb mixture. Bake eggplant on a nonstick cookie sheet until lightly browned, about 20 – 25 minutes, flipping once.
? Place a layer of eggplant on bottom of prepared baking dish then add 1/3 of tomato sauce and 1/3 of mozzarella cheese. Repeat with 2 more layers in same order. Bake until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling, about 10 minutes more.
? Slice into 4 pieces and serve.
Pork rinds can be found in stores in the snack food section. Place pork rinds in a blender and pulse until they resemble fine bread crumbs.
Makes 4 servings; count each serving as 1 protein, ½ carb (if using bread crumbs) or ½ fat (if using pork rinds).