You Don't Have to be Prego to Eat This!

Our baby boy is now going on 5 days late! He was due May 2nd and it's 9:05pm on the 6th. My parents drove out from AZ to be here for his birth and he's just not budging! My doctor said if he hasn't arrived by Thursday, he wants to induce me ;-( I DO NOT want to be induced!! I don't like medication of any kind and I'm planning a natural birth... so being induced would be upsetting to say the least. If it's medically necessary for our precious baby's health, I'll do it in a heartbeat, but I'd rather not. So... I'm trying EVERYTHING natural that I possibly can... Which leads me to this meal: 

Baked Eggplant Parm. I'm not really into Italian food, especially not fried, cheesy stuff... but this was amazing and I made it super duper healthy!! The entire dish has 850 calories!! You can add a side of whole wheat noodles to make it more filling, too.

BAKED EGGPLANT PARM

Makes 3-4 servings

What you need:

2 large eggplants, sliced in rounds about 1/2 inch thick

1C cottage cheese

1C low-fat mozzarella cheese

2-3C low sugar marinara

3TBSP parmesan cheese

1/2C fresh basil leaves

Seasonings: salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder

Optional: 1C sliced mushrooms, 2C spinach leaves, 1/2 sweet onion

Optional: 2TBSP ground flaxseed

How to:

Preheat oven to 400.

Grill or steam eggplant. I used the George Foreman and grilled about 7 minutes. Set on paper towel to let the water soaks up. Saute onion, mushrooms & spinach in pan... add marinara sauce (skip this step if not using added veggies). Pour 1/2 of sauce on bottom of a baking dish (spray w/ Pam first). Layer 1/2 of the grilled eggplant. Top with 1/2C cottage cheese, 1/2C mozzarella, seasonings & 1/4C basil. Add 2nd layer of all ingredients and top w/ parmesan cheese and flaxseed.

Bake 30-40 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling. Let set for about 10 minutes before serving.

Why would this induce labor???  

The following ingredients are thought to induce labor...

Basil, oregano, eggplant are all said to promote uterine contractions. I added a side salad with balsamic vinegar which is also on this list. I also drank red raspberry leaf tea (said to decrease labor time and intensity) AND had 2 capsules of Evening Primrose Oil (supposed to help w dilation and reduce tearing during labor)... Now, we wait and see if this meal works. Even if it doesn’t... it sure was fantastic!!!