We are going on vacation in about a month and Emma will be staying with my parents, so I have been making meals or components to meals that are kid-friendly lately. The idea is that I can freeze the leftovers and she can have them when she is at my parents house since they sometimes have trouble finding something that is (1) vegan and (2) she will actually eat.

So for dinner last night, I made the Lentil-Rice Balls from Vegan Lunch Box. I found these to be pretty good (almost too bland for me, actually, but that’s the aim for a kid’s palate I suppose), but Emma wouldn’t even take one bite. I gave her some ketchup to dip, but all she did was eat the ketchup with her spoon.  At least I try.

To go with our Lentil-Rice Balls, I challenged my culinary skills with pasta with jarred marinara sauce. That’s pushing it!    To redeem myself for such a lame side dish, I made some awesome eggplant and zucchini. I am not usually a fan of eggplant, but I bought some this week to try out.  It was really good.

Crispy Oven Baked Eggplant & Zucchini

1 medium eggplant, sliced about 1/4″ thick

1 large zucchini, sliced about 1/4 ” thick

1 cup flour

1 cup soymilk (you really need to use soymilk here)

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 to 1.5 cups panko breadcrumbs

3 TB Italian seasoning mix

After slicing the eggplant, lay it out on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Allow it to sit for 15 minutes, then rinse and pat dry.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray.

Station 1:

In a shallow bowl or on a plate, combine the flour with some S&P.

Station 2:

In a shallow bowl, combine the soymilk and apple cider vinegar. Add in some S&P.

Station 3:

In a shallow bowl or on a plate, combine the panko, Italian seasonings and some S&P.

Start the breading process at Station 1- dust the eggplant/zucchini with flour. Then pass through Station 2. At station 3, be sure to press the breadcrumbs into the veggie to give it a thick crust. Put on prepared baking sheet.

When all of the veggies have been coated, spray the tops of them with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning once halfway through the cooking time. Top with marinara sauce.