Eggplant Fries with Tzatziki Sauce

Except for my mom's baba ganoush, eggplants always been on my No-No list- I just don't like it- no reason..so if you are wondering why did I bother about it now, well, I did not. sometimes being a dietitian is a perk (or not) because  people just assume that you worship any vegetable (most of the time I do) but not when it comes to eggplant-but you just don't say NO to free-eggplant from one of the sweetest lady at work, right ?

Did you know eggplant is  actually a fruit & native to India

My automatic thought was to call up my mom and ask for her baba ganoush recipe but again I figured  I should just leave it up to her.. no matter how hard I try to replicate the recipe, it won't be the same. Another idea sparked on my head- eggplant fries because I have had great tasting, crunchy zucchini & sweet potato fries- both baked..and oh boy I was right-eggplant fries turned out delicious too.

yield ~ good for 2 servings

Ingredients

1/2 eggplants, cut into strips

~ 1 cup bread crumbs

Italian seasoning mix, salt, paprika, garlic powder (to taste)

1/4 cup plain, low-fat yogurt

1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions

-Preheat oven to 450F

-Mix salt, garlic powder, italian seasonings, and paprika in a bowl.

- In another bowl, mix yogurt & egg together.

-First place the eggplant strips into egg/yogurt mixture then coat them in flour mixture evenly.

-Place them in a parchment paper or greased baking pan and bake for 10-15 minutes rotating once and until slightly brown.

Tzatziki sauce is perfect for summer heat with chips,  sandwich, or by spoonful

For the tzatziki sauce: 

- In a food processor, put cucumber (seeded, peeled), yogurt, dill, lemon juice, garlic cloves, salt together until smooth.

Crispy on the outside and little soft on the inside- YUM

And soon before you know it...it was all gone

...even if you are not-much-of-a-eggplant-lover give this fries a shot and see if it will change your mind because it certainly changed mine :)