The Fitness Gourmet: Pass the fortune cookie.

Have you ever eaten at a restaurant and thought to yourself "I wish I could make this dish. And not feel 10 inches wider after eating it"?

Story of my life.

I'm here to tell you that all of the above is possible. Especially eliminating the feeling of slipping into a food coma immediately after eating a hefty meal.

And if you're in the mood for Chinese today, you're in luck. If you're not in the mood...that's just unfortunate, because I have not one, but two recipes for you!!

Yeah. I went a little overboard on the gourmet while cooking this yesterday. But I promise it's super easy and every single one of you can make these dishes.

Eggplant with Garlic Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 long eggplants
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon chili paste
1/2 cup water
2 1/2 tablespoons canola oil

Chop the eggplant and place into a bowl. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt, toss the eggplant pieces, and let sit for a few minutes.

The salt will help release water from the eggplant.

In the mean time, prepare the sauce. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce and flour. Whisk the flour until dissolved, then add the water, minced garlic, and chili paste.

Check back on the eggplant. Empty the pieces onto a towel and dab off the water and salt.

In a skillet or wok, heat oil over medium and add the eggplant.

Turn the heat down slightly and lightly toss the eggplant until tender. Pour the sauce over the eggplant.

If necessary, add about 1/4 cup more water. Stir to coat, and cover the skillet.

The eggplant should absorb the liquid and the sauce should be thick. This takes between 7-10 minutes over low heat.

Try not to eat this out of the pot. (I couldn't help myself).

It's pretty delicious if I say so myself.

Now for recipe #2!

Gingery Tempeh Stir Fry

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 block tempeh*
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped broccoli
1 package stir fry mix**
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil

Notes:

*Some natural food stores don't keep tempeh in stock. If this is the case, I've found that it's possible to ask the store to specially order some for you. It doesn't hurt to ask, and it shouldn't cost anymore than usual! For this recipe, I used WestSoy 5-Grain Tempeh.

**I used this package of stir fry mix from an Asian grocery store:

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Chop the tempeh into bite-sized cubes.

Prepare the stir fry sauce according to package directions. Place all of the tempeh cubes into the bowl and allow to marinate in the sauce for 5-10 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium and add the ginger. Immediately, add the tempeh without the sauce. I fished the cubes out with a fork. A slotted spoon would probably be easier.

Lightly stir the tempeh around, making sure they are cooking evenly. Add the rest of the vegetables to the skillet, and then pour the sauce over the entire mixture.

Cover and let cook on the stove over medium-low heat. After 5 minutes turn the heat off and stir the mixture. Let cook over the remnant heat.

Serve with brown rice and more chili paste (if you like to sweat while you eat).

You'll never order Chinese take-out again.

Okay, a girl can dream. But I do hope that you make these dishes. They don't even taste that healthy!

Okay, you caught me again. Maybe the tempeh could throw someone off. But you could easily substitute tofu for tempeh to make it less "healthy" but really, it will still be healthy.