Eggplant Carbs and Glycemic Index

Type 2 diabetes requires a healthy diet with an eye toward lower carb, lower glycemic index foods for good management. When checking out produce for healthy additions to your diet, don't forget the eggplant. It's a low-carb, high-fiber vegetable that has infinite possibilities for adding variety to your meals.

• Using the Glycemic Index for Managing Blood Sugar

Cultures the world over use eggplant in their cuisines. From Italian eggplant Parmesan to Turkish baba ganoush, eggplant is a tasty, filling and healthful vegetable. Get to know eggplant.

Low Calorie and Carbs, High Fiber Superfood

An entire 1-1/4 pound eggplant has only 110 calories, 0.9 grams of fat and 26.1 grams of carbohydrate. The glycemic index for eggplant is 15 out of a possible 100, which is very low. The fiber count is a whopping 18.6 grams if the eggplant is unpeeled.

1 cup of cubed eggplant has 20 calories, 0.2 grams of fat and 4.7 grams of carbs.

I've bought the eggplant, now what do I do with it?

There's more to eggplant than Parmesan, which can be a heavy, high-fat dish. Some healthy recipes, including a healthy version of Eggplant Parmesan, can be found here and also on About.com's Calorie Count website...

• Classic Caponata
• Eggplant (Aubergine) Patties
• A Healthy Eggplant Parmesan

For more diet-friendly eggplant recipes, check out these from our About.com Guides to Low Carb Diets and Low Fat Cooking:

• Grilled Eggplant with Middle Eastern Spices
• Eggplant Dip - Baba Ghanoush
• Low Fat Eggplant Bake