Let's Talk About New Year's Resolutions...

2013 is about to begin, it's time to set goals for the coming year.

Light Turkey Meatballs With Spicy Tomato Sauce

I like to label some foods “Once I start, I can’t stop”. Since I was a kid, orange flavored Tic Tac make it to the top of this list. One mint after the other, until I completely empty the transparent box. It takes me about as much time as walking two NYC’s blocks to get that job done. That’s why I seldom buy them.Oh, while we’re at it. Do you know that Tic Tac box lids have a crevice made to catch exactly one mint? A friend of mine told that yesterday.
Not that I care. Personally, I like to shake the box until either 1 mint or better 10 come out. That’s just the type of life I’ve led up until now, and no amount of common sense will persuade me otherwise.

The Amazing Health Benefits Of Rooibos Tea

The herbal tea made from rooibos has been a popular drink in Southern Africa for generations. The plant, Aspalathus linearis, is a broom-like member of the legume family of plants growing in the Western Cape province.
What is generally referred to as rooibos tea is in fact an infusion made from the oxidised leaves of the rooibos plant. Technically it’s not even a close relative of tea.
Recently, rooibos has gained popularity in Western countries thanks to its amazing health benefits.
Its strong and pungent taste can be off putting for some. Nonetheless, its reputation has steadily continued to climb, especially among health-conscious consumers (like us!).

Three-Vegetable Wheel

I’m going to keep things short today because I’m soon off to watch The Hobbit movie. I can’t wait.
When it comes to fantasy movies I’m a real dork. Even more so if there’s Tolkien involved.
Considering the time constraint I thought that this dish would be perfect.
An all-time favorite in my family, this recipe is a compelling combination of a short list of ingredients that don't sound particularly exciting on the page, but come together into something more than the sum of their parts.
Fennel, cabbage, spinach, bread crumbs, parsley, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and a light drizzle of olive oil. That's it, really. Lightly boiled and then popped into the oven for a few minutes. Dead simple.
The real magic of this recipe lies not only in the fact that it’s vegan and low in calories, but mostly that even hard-core veggie haters will fall in love with it. It does happen. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. It’s the real deal.

Cardoon Flan

If you’re looking for an easy and healthy recipe to impress your guests, one that will make you look like a gourmet chef, you might want to hear me out.
This cardoon flan has all the features necessary to make you stand out among your peers and rightfully own you a spot among three-stars chefs.
The fact that it’s made with a not so common vegetable - cardoon - already implies a certain level of food-sophistication on your part. The presentation it’s certainly a show stopper, and when it comes to taste, well, the delicate yet rich flavor is made to impress. Lastly, I should add that it’s gluten-free and low in calories.
I know what you’re thinking right now: I’m overselling this. I’m really not. If I am, it’s just because I really want you to give this recipe a try.

Vegan Pumpkin Chili

Watching the NY Giants being routed 34-0 is painful. Especially considering that it was since 1996 that we didn’t get a regular-season shutout. Really upsetting.
Let’s be honest, Atlanta was very, very good, and we were very, very bad. An all-day disaster.
When I’m in a bad-football-mood I resort to comfort food and good friends. I thus invited my football clique to stay over for dinner and decided to make some tasty old-fashioned chili.
As I was about to start, I realized I didn’t have any ground beef at home. That gave me a good excuse to cook a vegan chili with pumpkin.
It was a huge success. Good food, good drinks, good laughs, there’s nothing else I’d rather have. We did consoled ourselves from the tragic game.
There were no vegans last night, yet no one complained about the absence of meat. I had the impression that some of them didn’t even noticed it.
Just to say that this dish is winner (unlike the Giants).

Why It's Easy To Store Fat And Hard To Lose It?

Once upon a time we were cavemen. Every single day we struggled to find food. We needed to eat what we could when it was available, storing any surplus because the next meal could be a long way off.
The fight would start anew each day: hunting and gathering food in order to avoid starvation.
As a consequence, our bodies’ metabolism was set in a “waste not” mode: accumulating all calories that were not burned.

Is There Anything Wrong With Ketchup?

Ketchup has to be the most popular condiment in America. Can you picture french fries, a burger or even a hot-dog without ketchup? Probably not. What about grilled or fried meats? So much better if paired with this sweet and tangy sauce, made with tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices.
Ketchup is also often used as a basis for other sauces such as barbecue sauce. Which we all love.
Given its widespread use, you may well ask: is ketchup good or bad for us?

Dark Chocolate Bark With Sea Salt and Superfoods

I’m such a sucker for dark chocolate. It’s probably the one thing I could never walk away from.
The bitter bite with the subtle sweetness is IMHO the perfect combo. Add some coarse salt, crunch and dried berries and then you’ve got me hooked.
I’ve started making my own chocolate back a couple of years ago.
I did it in frustration, because I couldn’t find on the market a bark with salt and almond and goji berries and hemp seeds. I wanted all of these things in one bark and (obviously) no mass market brand made it.

Aerobic Exercise Boosts Brain Power

The physical benefits of regular exercise and remaining physically active, especially as we age, are well documented. However, it appears that it is not only the body which benefits from exercise, but the mind too.
The evidence for this is published in a new review by Hayley Guiney and Liana Machado from the University of Otago, New Zealand, which focuses on the importance of physical activity in keeping and potentially improving cognitive function throughout life. Their review is published online in the Springer publication Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.

Almond and Lemon Cloud Cookies (Gluten-free)

Let's talk about healthy foods. How would you define a healthy food?
Personally, I like to stick to this definition: “A healthy food is a food organically grown, with no additives, having a balanced nutritional profile, good dietary value and capable of bringing benefit to health.”
It’s pretty good, isn’t it?
Now, we should ask ourselves: would these Almond and Lemon Cloud Cookies fall within such definition? In order to get our answer, we must check whether they comply with the healthy food checklist.
These cookies are made with lots of almond paste, some brown sugar and two egg whites (plus some natural flavorings). No butter, oil or flour. Already a good start.
Organic? Yes (as long as you use organic ingredients).
No additives? None, it’s all natural stuff.
Balanced nutritional profile? Almonds are a superfood and egg whites are a great source of protein. There’s some sugar involved (there’s no denying that) but not a lot.
Good dietary value? With just 90 calories per cookie, I think we’re good.
Bring benefit to health? Almonds are packed with good stuff so there are definitely good things going on here.
Considering all the above, I suppose they will rightfully pass the healthy food test.

Vegan Yorkshire Gingerbread

Is there anything that says “Christmas time” more than gingerbread? I guess not.
I’m not talking about cookies, men, houses, snowflakes or stars though; I’m talking about real gingerbread. Bread made with ginger, allspice, and blackstrap molasses.
Gingerbread doesn’t simply say “Christmas time”, it literally screams it. The aroma permeating the apartment, while baking, is the most Christmassy thing ever. Isn’t it?

Beet and Potato Gnocchi

I struggle with beets. There, I said it. My mind keeps telling me to eat them, but my taste buds are in strong disagreement. There’s something in their taste and texture that I find off-putting.
It’s a shame though; beets are that healthy and that important in a sportsman diet. They’re an incredible natural source of nitrates, capable of boosting performance.
I drink beet juice though. Well, I gobble it, not really drink it. I find no pleasure whatsoever in that. I know that I need it to drink it to perform better, so I do it. Enjoying a drink, however, it’s something different.
Notwithstanding my hatred for beets, I keep buying them and keep experimenting different recipes. Hope die last, they say.
So far, however, I ended-up in utter disappointment. I made salads, vegetarian lasagna, risotto: none worked for my taste buds. They’re picky, I know.
Last week I decided to give beets a last shot. It was a do or die moment.
As gnocchi are my favorite food, I decided to squeeze two whole beets (no, not one, I said two!) in the potatoes dough, and see what happened.
I took a lot of pleasure into squeezing the beets. It suddenly all became some sort of splatter movie scene. Beets are so bloody and red.
Anyway, the [squeezed] beets turned the gnocchi dough into a shiny pink color. I’m talking about Nicki Minaj pink, my niece’s ballerina gown pink, sugar candy pink. A tad weird.

Vegan Chocolate Walnut Biscotti

Biscotti is a generic Italian word that refers to any type of cookie. If you travel to Italy, walk into a bakery, and ask for a “biscotti”, they’re going to answer (in Italian): “Which kind of biscott[o] do you want?”The same will happen if you walk into a sandwich shop and ask for a panini.
“Panini” means sandwiches, “biscotti means cookies, and “pizza” means...pizza. Ok, we got at least that right.
Biscotti is just another “lost in translation” case. Well, now that I’m thinking about it, it’s not really that. We didn’t translate anything. It’s some sort of cross-language homonym. Same spelling different meaning.
Anyway, back to “biscotti”. The name biscotti is derived from the Latin word “bis” meaning twice and the Italian word “cotto” meaning cooked or baked. It just means twice-baked or baked-twice, as you prefer.

Does Eating Spicy Food Burn Additional Calories?

You’re eating a hot chicken Vindaloo at your fave Indian restaurant. Your tongue is on fire and you’re sweating buckets. You wonder: isn’t sweating a sign that my metabolism is speeding up and burning calories?
Well, you’re not far from the truth. There is indeed evidence that spices can increase the metabolic rate, up to three hours after finishing the meal. However, it’s not as clear-cut as it seems...

What Is A Heirloom Food?

I bet you have encountered oddly shaped black carrots in the produce section of your supermarket before, and wondered why anyone would buy those instead of the regular, tubular, orange variety.
Heirloom foods, such as black carrots, can look dramatically different from the “regular” ones you’re used to. Different to the point that sometimes it might get “scary”.
What you shouldn’t do, however, is to look away.
Heirloom foods are a rather flavorful, colorful, and tasty version of foods you already enjoy. Chances are you’re going to like the heirloom version just as much the “regular” one, maybe even more. If that isn’t enough, heirloom foods bring diverse and precious nutrients to your table.
So you definitely shouldn’t look away; reach for them instead.

Pumpkin And Potato Masala Curry (Vegan)

I have a favorite Indian cookbook. It’s “Step-By-Step Indian Cooking” by Sharda Gopal. A great cookbook if you want to master your cooking skills with Indian cuisine.
She keeps recipes short and simple. Just what any westerner trying to bring Indian flavors to the kitchen needs.
Over the years I became enamoured with one recipe in particular: Aloo Masala (also called Dry Spiced Potato).
It’s a popular south Indian vegetarian spicy dish. Made with a good amount of spices, fresh tomatoes, and potatoes.
As I prefer not to overstuff myself with starches, I tweaked the original recipe and tried several combination of vegetables over the years to replace the potatoes.
After many attempts I decided that my fave combo is pumpkin with one small potato (I didn’t dare to completely depart from the original recipe). Also, I used olive oil instead of ghee (or butter) to make it completely vegan and lighter.

How To Make A Perfect Flax Egg (For Vegan Baking)

Vegan baking can be intimidating. I know better. At the beginning of my healthy cooking journey I didn’t even care for vegan baking. In my mind baking involved eggs, butter, milk and cream. Considering that these ingredients are off-limits for vegans I thought: why even bother baking? If you can’t use proper ingredients just don’t bake, do something else instead.
I was mistaken all along. There’s nothing wrong with vegan baking. To the contrary, it's awesome. To non-vegans (like myself) it represents a further option to bring different flavors, textures, and nutrients to “regular” baking.
For the most part vegan baking entails just a simple 1:1 substitution on specific ingredients. Plant milk for dairy milk and plant fat for butter. With eggs, however, it gets a bit more tricky.
If you’ve encountered vegan recipes before, you’ll know that, most of times, they call for “flax eggs”.
The majority would think that it’s some expensive product you can buy at specialty shops. It’s really not. Making flax eggs is “easy peasy”. All you need is some flax seeds and water. In a matter of minutes you’ll have vegan egg substitutes that will “act” as a binder in your recipes, just as regular eggs.

How Veggies Make The Meal (Their Hedonic And Heroic Impact)

Even though vegetables are known to be healthful, they are served at only 23% of American dinners. Chicken, steak, pasta, pizza, these classic dishes make the core of family meals.
Provided that better nutrition value alone doesn’t seem enough of an incentive to consume more veggies; are there other ways to promote the consumption of vegetables besides the “better for you” claim? What psychological motivation to include vegetables in meals exist?
A team of researchers at Cornell University Food and Brand Lab explored the topic; investigating whether serving vegetables changes the perception of an entrée’s taste as well as the perception of the cook.
To their own surprise, they discovered that serving vegetables improved taste expectations not only for the entrées, but for the whole meal as well.
Furthermore, serving a vegetable with a meal also enhanced perceptions of the cook. They were evaluated as being more thoughtful and attentive as well as less lazy, boring, and self-absorbed.
In other words, vegetables positively influenced the hedonic expectations of the meal and the heroic impact of the cook.

Turmeric Cauliflower With Lemon Pepper Dressing

Not everyone is a fan of cauliflower. I know this for a fact. It’s a non pretentious vegetable, that deserves much more attention it’s actually getting.
Cauliflower is cheap, versatile, and features a high concentration of nutrients for the calories contained.
The bad rep has something to do with the fact that it stinks badly when it cooks. The taste can also be a bit off-putting. I get that.
Nevertheless you should give this recipe a try, even if you don’t think you’re much of a cauliflower person.
It’s that good, that easy-to-prepare, and that healthy. Plus it’s vegan and gluten-free. It really accommodates everybody.

Is It Possible To Spot Reduce A Body Part Fat Content?

Spot reduction is the idea that if you work a specific muscle group you’ll be able to decrease the amount of fat in that area. As if there is a way to target one specific area of your body, such as your abs, your thighs, or even your bum and make all the fat disappear in that area just by doing one exercise.
As appealing as it sounds (and as much we would love for this to be true) spot reduction is, however, a misguided notion.

The Eat Right Rule

All around us, everyone (including myself) is yelling about eat this, don’t eat that, this is good for you, this is bad for you.
With so much rambling, feeling overwhelmed is most common. That’s why it’s important to have some simple rules to hang on to.
A smart one that I really like it’s the so-called “Eat Right Rule”.
It postulates that you should always prefer food that potentially can go bad, over food that rarely spoils. In other words, fresh food is considered to be an healthier choice than food that has an "unlimited" shelf life.

High-Protein Apple Oatmeal Bake (Vegan and Gluten-Free)

I’m currently going through a wintertime crisis. It happens every year. It has nothing to do with the cold temperatures or the darker days.
The issue is with my breakfast. When summer is over, my morning smoothies all of a sudden become much less appealing.
It’s freezing outside, and my body needs something warm in the morning. A cold ice smoothie just won’t make it.
I do like a bowl of oatmeal with apples and cinnamon. I get lazy though, and never feel like peeling and cutting apples. On top of that, I don’t like instant oatmeal, it tastes gross.
It seems like I’ve reached an impasse.
There’s an easy way out though. It’s called baked oatmeal.
You make a good amount of it one night, and it lasts for a whole week.
Winter breakfast issue solved!

Protein Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

Do you have a favorite mug? I do. It’s the one from Law School. I have 20 mugs or so in my cupboard, but I always use the same one. Green tea just tastes better in that one.
It’s not that I have an emotional attachment to it. My years at Columbia Law were ok, for the most part, even if they involved countless hours in class, studying in the library, drafting outlines, and way too many dreadful finals (bleah!).
Law School or not, green tea just tastes better if served in my CLS mug. My attachment to it got to the point where no one, and I mean no one, can use it besides me. My roomies know this, and respect it (although few “altercations” were necessary to get that message properly across).
I wonder what a shrink would say about this. Probably it’s wise not to ask, and just enjoy the green tea. Better if paired with a good treat, such as these protein cheesecake swirl brownies.

The 8% Weight Rule (Not Only For Endurance Athletes!)

Every endurance athlete has an optimal race weight. It’s the weight you’re at when you’re in peak race form.
However, almost no athlete carries that weight year round; there’s really no need to, and it’s also non-practical.
In fact, it’s natural, perfectly healthy - and well established within the “endurance athletes” community - that it’s acceptable to gain a little weight during the so-called off-season.
How much is ok? Of course, you don’t want to go too far, or it might be very hard to get back on track.
Matt Fitzgerald, renowned sports journalists, top athlete, and awesome writer, prescribes what he calls the “8% rule”
The 8% rule states that in no time, during the year, you should weight more than 8% then your racing weight. For instance, if your racing weight is 160 pounds, you wanna make sure that you don’t go beyond the 172 pounds threshold.
What’s cool about the 8% rule, is that it gives athletes some license to slack off when it’s possible to do it; while at the same time setting a simple limit that avoids things to get out of hand.*

Whole Wheat Ricotta Gnocchi with Tomato and Fresh Herb Sauce

I was craving gnocchi earlier today for lunch. Unfortunately, I neither had potatoes nor pumpkin at home to make them.
Just when I was about to give up that idea, I remembered that my grandma had a recipe for gnocchi with ricotta cheese (I had a good amount of that in the fridge). A quick phone call to my mum to get the recipe (she still has my grandma’s cookbook), and I was ready to fix myself some gnocchi for lunch (YAY!)
The cool thing about making gnocchi with ricotta is that you don’t have to wait for the potatoes or the pumpkin to cook. You make them in a snap.
The down side is that the gnocchi are no longer made with veggies.
However, ricotta is a cheese made from whey, which means that it’s very high in protein and low in fat. We love that, don’t we?

When You Eat Is As Important As What You Eat!

If you’re one of those people always keeping an eye on what you’re eating, you might want to consider also when you’re eating.
In a study published this week in Nature Medicine, two researchers at the University of Pennsylvania by investigating fat cells in mice, were able to identify the existing link between daily rhythm and metabolism.
In particular, their findings showed that when a species' typical daily rhythm is thrown off, changes in metabolism also happen. These results shed light on the complex causes of obesity in humans.

High Protein Pumpkin Bread

Have you ever been to France? If so, did you try the Pan d’épices (aka, spice bread)? It’s a French classic, sold in loaves, but sometimes sold in squares, cut from giant slabs. It’s something between a cake and a bread, but neither one nor the other. It’s delicious. Made with a lot of spices, honey, and some other rad stuff. 
This high protein pumpkin bread reminds me a lot of Pan d’épices.
To be honest, I didn’t actually notice the resemblance at first. It was my Parisian friend Charles who after tasting it said (in his very thick French accent): “Is this some kind of Pan d’épices?”
His comment was right on point. This pumpkin bread is quite similar to that French goodness, although the recipe is completely different.

Aspartame: Good Or Bad?

Aspartame is used in tons of products you can find at the grocery store: diet sodas, fruit juices, cordials, yogurts, chewing gums, cooking sauces, chips, drink powders, and of course, sugar substitutes.
It has been reported that aspartame is used in around 6,000 consumer foods and beverages sold worldwide.
With such a widespread use, chances are that you’re consuming aspartame on a daily basis, without even knowing it.
That alone is a good enough reason to learn something more about this sugar substitute.

Suggested Reading: The Omnivore's Dilemma, A Natural History of Four Meals

The Omnivore’s dilemma is not some sort of boring food manifesto written by some left-wing intellectual in which the author rambles about the “evil” food industry which poisons all our meals, and makes us sick.
It’s something more, much more.
In a way, it is a kind of food manifesto, and Michael Pollan is indeed an intellectual (he’s a professor at UC Berkeley), and most probably he’s also left-wing, but the book doesn’t feel any of these things while you flip through the pages.
Instead, it’s a tantalizing journey up and down the food chain, that will probably change forever the way you’ll decide which foods to put in your mouth. Eggs, meat, dairy, even organic produce will never look the same to your eyes.
You’ll learn a great deal on food, and that’s precisely why you should read this book.

The Fountain Of Youth Is Filled With Your Sweat!

For millennia mankind has been obsessed with what can be considered the greatest of all myths: the fountain of youth. A magic water with the power of stopping the passage of time, and grant immortality to its drinker.
Legends about it have been recounted across the world for centuries, and can be found in writings by Herodotus and Alexander the Great.
Many explorers spent their lives tormentedly looking for the spring from which poured the mystical water. Practitioners of alchemy brewed all sorts of herbs, spices, condiments, powdery and minerals, as the hope of achieving immortality was too hard to resist.
Of course, fiction has thrived on this tale. Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray or Peter Pan, are just two of the numerous characters brought to life by novelist struggling with an ageless existence.
What about the present times? After searching the four corners of the Earth we have finally settled that the elixir source of eternal youth might be indeed just a legend. More significantly, science has ruled out the existence of a magical potion that could grant immortality.

Swiss Chard And Spinach Quiche

Have you had your greens today? If not, you might want to revert this asap, as we all know too well how greens are crucial for better health.Let’s face it, it’s not always easy to get your daily green fix. Sometime it’s difficult to know what to do with them besides juicing, have them raw in a salad or just lightly steamed.
In order to give you one more option, today I’m gonna share what I believe to be one of the “greenest” quiche you can ever imagine. Made with lots of spinach and swiss chard. So much of it, that one slice will provides a full two servings of greens. What about that?

Maca: The Ultimate Superfood! (Or So They Say...)

I’m sure you’ve heard about Maca already, it’s the latest superfood everyone talks about.
It always the same old story: a “never heard before” superfood appears on the market.
Everybody jumps on the bandwagon praising it to be the next miracle food; only to find out after a while that, as with any other superfood, it might have some health benefits but, alone, it’s never enough.
It happened to spirulina first (remember when, few years back, it was called the miracle algae?), chia seeds, hemp seeds, psyllium fiber, just to name a few.
Now it’s maca’s turn: celebs, wannabes, athletes, in-the-know health fanatics, superfood enthusiasts, hipsters, hippies, yuppies (are there any yuppies left? I wonder...), I mean everybody wants a piece of this wonder root.
According to Details Magazine, some of the celebs hooked on maca include: Jude Law, Marc Jacobs, Miranda Kerr, Erin Wasson, David Wolfe, Woody Harrelson, and Mike D of The Bestie Boys.
With such an amazing line-up, don’t you already wanna know more about it?

Some Reasons Why You Should Use More Saffron In Your Diet

Saffron is one the least known spice in the world. Few people know where it comes from, how it’s harvested, and what to do with it.
I find this to be a real pity, as saffron it’s only delicious, but also full of health benefits, and quite versatile in the kitchen.
It’s true that saffron is very expensive (that’s why it’s also referred to as the yellow gold), but the high price is balanced out, as you just need to use very small pinches in your dishes.
Let’s discover a little bit more about this amazing spice...

Protein Chocolate Chunk Cookies

The story of these cookies begins with a challenge thrown at me by a friend who follows a strict gluten-free diet.
He asked if I could bake him a batch of gluten-free, high-protein cookies. No wheat flour allowed - of course - but also no flour subs allowed (such as rice flour, quinoa flour, or similar). As he didn’t care for them either (I know, picky friend...)
“Just don’t use flour, or any flour sub please. Try to be innovative!” he told me. However, I could use oats, he said that oats are gluten-free.
“Really? I didn’t knew oats were gluten-free. Interesting. Are you sure?”
I was not 100% sold on this, and some research was definitely necessary.
I then discovered that what he said was not entirely correct. According to the scientific literature available, most of the people suffering from celiac disease can tolerate small amounts of pure oats, provided that they have not been contaminated with other cereals.
The official guidelines for celiacs, however, discourage the consumption of oats, because the contamination risk is almost always present (just really small amounts are permitted).
Notwithstanding that, I decided to use oats anyway in these cookies (he’s not celiac, so there’s no risk). Still I didn’t want to label them as “gluten-free”. When I’m not sure about something, I prefer not to make a statement. I believe that this is more cautious way to proceed.
Enough digressing on oats; let’s start baking...

New Study Reveals That Every Single Junk Food Meal Damages Your Arteries

If you believe that hitting a fast-food from time to time, binging with a junk food meal is an ok to do, you might want to think again. A newly published study suggests that even one single junk food meal is detrimental to the health of your arteries.

Lemony Curried Chickpeas

If you live in LA (or have been in LA) chances are you've already eaten at Joan's on Third. A great store/restaurant located between the Beverly Center and the Grove, with a refreshing yet comfortable atmosphere and a great menu selection.
They have amazing food there; the lobster rolls, the chinese chicken salad and the carrot cake are among my fave dishes. But my #1 choice is the curried chickpeas, a simple salad full of flavor and depth.
I'm so obsessed with that salad that every time I go there (not often enough as I live on the other side of the country, sigh!) I order it as part of the salad trio (a selection of three salads from their daily specials on the menu). Except that I don't pick any other salad, just three portions of the curried chickpeas. Because they're all I ever want to eat when I go there.
The mixture of spices is superb. The touch of lemon sublime. The combination of flavors unique...OK, I might be exaggerating a tad, but it's really yummy.
So when I found the recipe on the LATimes, I couldn't believe my eyes. I could finally make the curried chickpeas at home: SCORE!

This Is Not Just Another Post On The Health Benefits Of Kale...

I love kale. I munch it, juice it, bake it, shred it, etc. It’s one of the staple foods of my diet. Yet, I haven’t wrote a single post about it.
I really don’t know why. Probably because there is already so much literature on kale (and its health benefits) that I reckoned another post would just be redundant.
Just take a look around on the web: there are entire websites and blogs completely dedicated to kale. Chefs have created entire meals with kale: from the appetizer to the dessert.
Women around the web that have sworn love to kale forever, promising that they will never ever leave it.
With all this fuzz around, what could I possibly bring more to the kale’s table?
Probably nothing, but I’m still going to write a post about kale.
The Romans said back in the days: “Repetita iuvant” (i.e., repeating does good), and I’m gonna honor that saying today by talking about kale. Hearing about the amazing properties of this veggie one more time can do only good.

Exercise Is Smart For Your Heart, and Makes You Smarter

A study conducted at the Montreal Heart Institute, and presented yesterday at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2012, shows that high-intensity training can make you fitter than ever: Mentally fit!

Omega-3 Intake Improves Memory

It’s well known that Omega-3 are necessary for proper body function, but their effects on the working memory was not completely known, until recently.
A team of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh have determined that healthy young adults can greatly improve their working memory by increasing substantially their Omega-3 fatty acid intake.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Gnocchi

Is there a point when you had too much pumpkin? Probably yes, but as far as I’m concerned I have’t hit it yet. It’s very unlikely that this will happen, I just love it too much.
Lately, I found myself buying one whole pumpkin a day. If for some unfortunate reasons I can’t cook for a couple of days, the apartment slowly starts to resemble more to a pumpkin storage unit than a place where a person lives.
Yesterday, for instance, I found one “sitting” on my triathlon bike (the most sacred place in the world). In that precise moment I knew that I needed to take action. I’m no good at carving pumpkin, but I know pretty well how to cook them, and to turn them into tasty meals.
That’s why I found myself making whole wheat pumpkin gnocchi. An amazing dish, if you want my humble opinion.

The Holiday Feast Survival Guide

Holiday dinners are filled with comforting, and delicious foods. Most of the times these meals leave us feeling stuffed and with some remorse to have consumed much more calories that we should have.
What we can do about it? Two registered dietitians have drawn up a survival guide that we can implement this coming holidays.
Patricia Nicholas, a registered dietitian at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, suggests to add "new favorites" to the traditional dishes. "Healthy meals can be festive as well and hopefully, you have been making healthy changes to your diet all year."
Michelle Morgan, a registered dietitian at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, further adds "Stay in tune with your hunger during holiday meals. If you feel satiated and comfortable – stop eating!"

Kale & Sweet Potato Pie With Caramelized Onions

What happens when you pair together two of the most healthy vegetables around? Magic, just pure and simple magic.
That’s what this pie is really about: magic.
Kale (the healthiest green veggie) and sweet potato (the healthiest orange veggie) complement each other on all levels to make this pie a magic wonder.

Suggested Reading: Born To Run

If you love to run you have to read this book. You might lose a couple of good nights of sleep, but it’s totally worth it.
It’s interesting, compelling and, most of all, fun to read. Even if you’re not a runner, give it a go, you’ll learn some valuable lessons from it.
Personally, I have not been entertained by a story such as this one in a long time, and I'm pretty sure you'll be as well!

Seaweed: An Amazing Source Of Protein

Historically, edible seaweeds were consumed by coastal communities across the world and today seaweed is a habitual diet in many countries, particularly in Asia. Indeed, whole seaweeds have been successfully added to foods in recent times, ranging from sausages and cheese to pizza bases and frozen-meat products.
Today, researchers at The Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority looked to seaweed for proteins with health benefits for use as functional foods.