air fryer Eggplant fries- keto variation too

[BJK]

The recipe also contains my notes for keto
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Air-Fryer Eggplant Fries

My kids love these air fryer fries—and I like that they're healthy. Coated with Italian seasoning, Parmesan cheese and garlic salt, these eggplant fries are delicious and guilt-free. —Mary Murphy, Atwater, California

Ingredients
2 large eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (far below)
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 medium eggplant (about 1-1/4 pounds)
Cooking spray
1 cup meatless pasta sauce, warmed

Directions
Preheat air fryer to 375°. In a shallow bowl, whisk eggs. In another shallow bowl, mix cheese, wheat germ and seasonings.
Trim ends of eggplant, peeling is optional but the breading doesn’t stick to the skin; cut eggplant lengthwise into 1/2-in.-thick slices. Cut slices lengthwise into 1/2-in. strips. Dip eggplant in eggs, then coat with cheese mixture.
In batches, arrange eggplant in a single layer on greased tray in air-fryer basket; spritz with cooking spray. Cook until golden brown, 4-5 minutes. Turn; spritz with cooking spray. Cook until golden brown, 4-5 minutes. Serve immediately with pasta sauce.

Test Kitchen tip
In our testing, we have found cook times vary dramatically between brands of air fryers. As a result, we have given wider than normal ranges on suggested cook times. Begin checking at the first time listed and adjust as needed.

Nutrition Facts
1 serving: 135 calories, 5g fat (2g saturated fat), 68mg cholesterol, 577mg sodium, 15g carbohydrate (6g sugars, 4g fiber), 9g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 1 fat, 1/2 starch.


Brians Notes:

I’d make these again in a heartbeat.

I’m in keto so the wheat germ is a no-no. I’d love to have the nutrition, but I wouldn’t love to have the carbs. I substituted ground Chicharonnes aka pig skins for it. Amazon has them pre-ground. I used a small bag of flavored pig skins and ground them myself. I sub’ed them 1:1 with the wheat germ. I found the flavored pig skins made the fries tasty all on their own and I also used RAOs pizza sauce as the dip because I had some on hand from a crustless pizza bowl I made. With or without the sauce they were good. But again I used flavored pig skins.

I also omitted the garlic salt since the cheese had plenty of salt. I did add gran’ garlic.

Use the real deal parm’ or romano cheese, not the “cheese” found in the cardboard box.

Changes next time? I had fries maybe 6" long since I saved a few slabs for keto eggplant parm’. Next time I plan to make the fries fork size. It’s just easier to put them on a fork for scooping up sauce. Kids would probably like them full length as finger food. I might also make them in slabs and cut them into bite size pieces as I eat... no kids just adults.


Italian Seasoning recipe

Ingredients

3 tablespoons each dried basil, oregano and parsley flakes
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions
Place all ingredients, in batches if necessary, in a spice grinder or small bowl. Grind or crush with the back of a spoon until mixture becomes a coarse powder. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Nutrition Facts
1/4 teaspoon: 1 calories, 1g fat (0 saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 1mg sodium, 1g carbohydrate (0 sugars, 1g fiber), 1g protein.

[GregLaROCHE]

Be careful. Eggplant does have carbs. 6 grams per 100 grams. With the keto diet you need to pay attention and often need to make choices.

[richhodg66]

Those sound good. I like egg plant.

[BJK]

Be careful. Eggplant does have carbs. 6 grams per 100 grams. With the keto diet you need to pay attention and often need to make choices.

Absolutely. ALL veggies are carbs. I allow myself 40 grams of carbs/day and generally stay under 20. But we can't eat a no carb diet.

Rich, if you like the scent of Italian food, well I made them a few hours ago and it is winter so we're buttoned up, but the kitchen still has the wonderful aroma of their cooking. But even for folks who say they don't like eggplant, just make sure they use the sauce. They'll never even know the eggplant is there.

For keto check the sauce for carbs. There are low carb sauces and too many have sugar added. I'm sure anyone on keto is a label reader by now or they won't be on keto for long.

[bluebird66]

That sounds delicious!