Just because you’ve chosen to feed your family healthier food, doesn’t mean you have to give up things like pizza and pasta. I married an Italian, there is no way he would be on board if I didn’t keep feeding him these staples. Delivery and frozen pizzas are usually far from healthy or organic, and they are also costly. This at home version is my solution to keep my family, wallet, and waistline happy. Mini Eggplant Pizzas are made with all the sauce and melty cheese you’d expect on a pizza, but slices of eggplant make up the crust. You won’t miss the carbs though, you’ll still get a dose of those comforting carbs with a side or pasta marinara.
All of this is far less than delivery, at just $6.23 for the meal. That’s only $1.55 per person. In order to stay on budget, I did have to do some comparison shopping. I found the store brand Mozzarella cheese was a full $3 less than brand name. I also saved by purchasing bulk dried organic pasta at Costco. I got 6 pounds of pasta for $7.99! It’s a perfect item to buy in bulk because it has a long shelf life. Those were the big money savers, but I also got the eggplant and sauce on sale as well. It’s the biggest tip for How to Eat Organic on the Cheap, shop sales and use coupons. I plan my menus based off what is on sale, so I can make the most of my budget. Here is how those sales worked out for this meal:
- $1.47 Eggplant on sale at Sprout’s. Part of the Clean 15.
- $1.43 Muir Glen Organic Basil Tomato Sauce from buy one get one free at Sprout’s.
- $0.67 Garofalo Organic Pasta for an awesome price at Costco.
- $2.66 O Organics Shredded Mozzarella cheese, at Von’s.
Be sure to check out the rest of this week’s recipes and to check back next week for another family meal plan all for under $25!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Eggplants (unpeeled, unless you prefer it with no skin)
- 2 cups Organic Pasta Sauce
- 1/2 pound Organic Pasta
- 4 oz Organic Mozzarella Cheese (shredded)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.
- Slice eggplant into 1/2 inch thick slices.
- Place the slices onto a cookie sheet. (You may want to line with parchment paper or brush with olive oil to keep the eggplant from sticking)
- Lightly spoon sauce atop the eggplant slices an spread out evenly. (I used about a 1/4 cup of sauce for all the pizzas.)
- Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the pizzas.
- Bake until cheese is golden brown and bubbly, about 11-15 minutes.
- While the pizzas are in the oven, cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
- Drain the pasta and coat it with the remaining pasta sauce.
- Serve the pizzas and pasta, and enjoy.
