Do you love grilling on the barbecue as much as I do? Cooking food over a fire just transforms how everything tastes.

So if you’ve been wanting to switch to eating more vegetables- for all those good reasons- here’s another win-win recipe that gives you what your body needs and what you will enjoy. It looks- and even tastes- like a steak!

And this trumps your ordinary sandwich, being packed with 10 g of protein, 781 mg potassium, 9 g of fiber, 0 g of saturated fat (yes, 0), plus folate, magnesium and Vitamin C!

Grilled Eggplant & Portobello Sandwich

Ingredients
1 small clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 medium eggplant, (about 1 pound), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 large or 3 medium portobello mushroom caps (optional- remove gills)
Canola or olive oil cooking spray
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
8 slices whole-wheat sandwich bread, lightly grilled or toasted
2 cups arugula or spinach, stemmed and chopped if large
1 large tomato, sliced

Preparation
1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
2. Mash garlic into a paste on a cutting board. Combine with mayonnaise and lemon juice in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Coat both sides of the eggplant and mushrooms with oil and season with salt and pepper.
4. Grill the vegetables, turning once, until tender and browned on both sides: 2-3 minutes per side for eggplant, 3-4 minutes for mushrooms. When mushrooms cool enough to handle, slice.
5. Spread 1 1/2 teaspoons of the garlic mayonnaise on each piece of bread. Layer the eggplant, mushrooms, arugula or spinach, and tomato slices onto 4 slices of bread and top with bread.

Serves; 4
Preparation time: 30-35 minutes

Remember: By eating what you love AND making substitutions like this one, you’re on your way to creating your own long-lasting style to staying fit and feeling great. And that’s what we do at Gourmet Fitness.

“Enjoy Healthy!”
Michele Risa
Beyond Body Mind Spirit, NYC

Author's Bio: 

Michele Risa is a Health Consultant with a BA from New York University and a MA from Columbia University. She is certified as a Kundalini Yoga teacher by the Kundalini Research Institute and certified in Therapeutic and Hatha Yoga by Satsang Yoga Center. Risa has certifications in Breathwalk, Conflict Resolution, Divorce Mediation, and Yoga for Children, and has completed courses in Vipassana and 16 years of White Tantric Yoga with Yogi Bhajan.
Since 1989, she founded Beyond Body Mind Spirit (www.BeyondBodyMindSpirit.com), which offers her four main areas of expertise - weight-loss, anti-aging, stress management and yoga, using non-traditional approaches. Risa has produced her own yoga TV show since 1998, has been a frequent radio guest, and has co-authored a book, “Conscious Entrepreneurs: A Radical New Approach to Purpose, Passion and Profits,” Winner of the National “Best Books 2008″ Awards.
She has lectured at corporations such as Boeing, Viacom, and Forbes and produced a 6 month program at NYSE where she reduced stress and lowered health care costs. Although the majority of Risa’s clients are in NYC, she has conducted seminars as far west as California and as far east as Russia.
Her motto for healthy living is, “When you find your personal formula for self love through body, mind and spirit, you create the life you want.”