Pizza is America's favorite food for many reasons. Mostly because bread, tomato sauce, and cheese go So. Damn. Well. TOGETHER. Everyone agrees! But, maybe you can't eat gluten or high amounts of carbs... Great news! There are still many ways to enjoy pizza!

Don't be intimidated! Eggplant is readily available in all grocery stores, but maybe not the easiest to work with. They are made up of 90% water! The texture is spongy and very absorbent. But, they are delicious and only 33 calories in 1 cup! So, we just need a little bit of prep work.

For best results, sweating the eggplant is recommended. This requires sprinkling salt on both sides of the eggplant slices and allowing them to sit. Then, rinse and pat dry.

Voilá! The eggplant is now ready to be used in any recipe.

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Ingredients for Eggplant Pizza Bites

• Eggplant
• Salt
• Olive Oil
• Tomato Sauce
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Dried Oregano
• Fresh Basil

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Best Tips for Cooking with Eggplant

        ♦ Sweating- salt the cut eggplant and allow to sit. This draws out the water. Then, rinse and pat dry before cooking.

        ♦ Don't overcrowd when cooking. Then, they will steam.

        ♦ Add oil slowly- eggplant will quickly absorb.

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Is eggplant a carb?

Yes, fruits and vegetables have carbohydrates; however, the amounts are much lower than bread and pasta. One cup of eggplant has 4.8 grams of carbs, while a serving of pasta has 40 grams.

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Do you peel eggplant before cooking?

The skin is edible and a beautiful deep purple color! You can peel the skin if you'd like, but there's no reason you need to.

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