“I practice rhythmic gymnastics, and my coaches always talk about the importance of good nutrition. They advise us to eat a balanced diet, including veggies,” says Aliana. “My mom loves eggplants. I do not like eggplants that much; they have millions of seeds! However, I do love pasta, so we came up with this recipe: eggplant lasagna rolls. We combined the eggplant with other veggies. We spread the eggplant filling over the lasagna pasta and rolled them up. As a pasta lover, I had to cover the rolls with a bit of tomato sauce and cheese. Yummy! For dessert, we chose fresh clementine oranges.” - Aliana Arzola-Piñero, age 9, Puerto Rico

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients: 

• 6 whole-grain lasagna sheets
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 small eggplants, peeled and diced
• 2 small carrots, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 18 black olives, pitted and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
• 3/4 cup tomato sauce

Preparation: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a large pot of boiling water, cook the lasagna until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain the lasagna and let it cool on a flat surface.
3. While the lasagna is boiling, in a large sauté pan over moderate heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, water, eggplants, carrots, bell pepper, olives, cilantro, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are tender, about 8 minutes.
4. On a work surface, spread about 2 tablespoons of the eggplant filling over each lasagna noodle. Using about half of the total amount, divide the cheese among the lasagna noodles. Starting with the edge closest to you, roll each lasagna noodle tightly then secure with a toothpick. Place the lasagna rolls in a large baking dish and cover each one with some tomato sauce and the reserved cheese. Bake until the cheese is golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

373 calories; 15g protein; 45g carbohydrates; 16g fat (4g saturated fat); 619mg sodium

More information about the Kids' State Dinner:

• Check out the other winning 2013 Kids' State Dinner Recipes here.
• Learn more about Kids' State Dinner here.