Skinny Eggplant Parmesan

Oh hell yes this was good. Much much better than anticipated.
As with many popular dishes there are many bad ways to make eggplant parmesan (aka, eggplant Parmigiana). In a run-of-the-mill Italian restaurant or in almost every pizza parlor across the country if you order eggplant parmigiana you’ll get mushy slices of soggy, oily eggplant, slathered with greasy cheese and covered with a dubious tomato sauce.
Ok, this is the worst version possible. Besides that, there are many things where eggplant parmesan can go wrong.
This begs a question: if this get ruined so often why it is so popular? Because when it’s good, it’s awesomely good. Mouth watering good. That’s why it’s worth making.

Baked Eggplant Sandwiches

Last week I spent a lot of time waddling around the different Farmers’ market in the city; sniffing produce and stuffing eggplants, cucumbers, asparagus, tomatoes and a ton of other produce (I didn’t really need) in my shopping bag.
I guess I experienced some sort of compulsive shopping syndrome girls always talk about.
Whatever I was laying eyes on I had to buy; which in a Farmers’ market it’s kind of an ok thing to do. No actual risk of financially ruin yourself. Worst case scenario is that when you get home you realize there’s no space left in the fridge. Which is exactly what happened to me.

Coconut Oil Roasted Sweet Potatoes

I was on the fence about posting this recipe. Certainly you don’t need me to tell you how to make roasted sweet potatoes. You might need me tell you how to make stuffed whole wheat focaccia or why planks are better than crunches. Roasted sweet potatoes though, I think you can handle it on your own.

However (bear with me, I’m about to make my point) what you might need is for me to tell you that there’s a better way to make roasted sweet potatoes and it involves virgin coconut oil.
Yes, roasting sweet potatoes in coconut oil changes everything. It takes this dish to a whole new level. The crazy-awesome-delicious level.
Let’s be completely real with ourselves: everybody loves roasted sweet potatoes, but coconut oil roasted sweet potatoes are THE REAL DEAL. No brainer.

Breakfast Like A King, Lunch Like A Prince, Dinner Like A Pauper

“Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince, Dinner like a Pauper” this adage by Adelle Davis (which is also rule #54 in Michael Pollan’s “Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual”) delivers some valuable advice to maintain a healthy lifestyle. 
It stresses out the importance of front-loading the calories at the beginning of the day and decrease the intake as the hours goes by.
The rationale behind is that the human metabolism slows down as the day progresses and - furthermore - the chances of burning calories are fewer as nighttime approaches. 
Accordingly, breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day and dinner the smallest.

Kale Pesto

I’m dealing with a kale jungle kinda situation right now. It’s my undying love for kale that brought me to this “emergency”. You see, back in September I bought a packet of kale seeds at the farmer’s market. I was very excited at the idea of growing kale on my balcony. Too excited. In that state I didn’t care for reading the instructions printed on the back of the packet (1st mistake) and planted ALL the seeds in a large pot.
After a couple of weeks ALL of the seeds sprouted nicely. ALL of them. I definitely put a generous pinch of seeds in each hole rather than the required 1-3 per hole (2nd mistake). So there were LOTS of sprouts. LOTS.
Instead of thin them to one main sprout I just left them be (3rd mistake).
Then winter came; the sprouts stopped growing and I almost forgot about them. Better yet, I thought that they were never gonna make it through winter (4th mistake).
Oh man, I was wrong. As soon as spring began (like a month ago) the little sprouts started growing and grew, grew, grew, greeeeew. Like the magic bean in “Jack and the Beanstalk”.
Fortunately some of the sprouts died (they suffocated each other or something) but there is still a huge amount of kale growing a few inches everyday: the kale jungle.
To give you an idea, I’m harvesting a good ½ pound of it daily. Which is awesome. Don’t get me wrong. I’m saving loads of money and loving it.
The flip side is that I need to eat kale every day and need to be creative in kitchen in order to put this kale bonanza to good use (a kale salad won’t do it!)

Whole Wheat Focaccia With Cherry Tomatoes and Oregano

Turn of spring can only mean one thing…triathlon race season! There used to be a time, not too long ago, when triathlon race season didn't kick-off until the end of May. With the continued growth of triathlon, you can find a race pretty much any weekend of the year. But spring and summer is when the real action is.
Race season means, among other aspects, food boredom. Something very common for triathletes.
With a strict training and working schedule, food becomes little more than a source of fuel, and sticking to the same menu each and every day makes planning easier. Chicken, tuna, salmon, broccoli, greens, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, oatmeal...the same thing over and over again.
I can’t do it anymore. I need options and that’s why I learned to cook and create new recipes.
Whole wheat focaccia has definitely become my favorite source of complex carbs. Breakfast or lunch, if I need to carb-it-up, focaccia is what I crave.

Hot And Sour Shredded Salad

Whether you share an apartment with roomies, or live in your own house with friends coming over for brunch Sunday morning looking for something to eat, this Hot and Sour Shredded Salad is a quick and easy recipe to win over any guest you have. Seriously, any guest. Whether vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, paleo, primal or (more likely) omnivore. This salad accommodates everybody. No-brainer.

Are You Exercising Too Much?

Exercising too much, is that possible? Yes, exercise overload is just as much a problem as not exercising at all. 
It is in fact well documented that doing a load of exercise can easily do more harm than good. If regular exercise is a vital part of a healthy lifestyle, taking it to the extreme may cause severe health issues. 
For the majority of people, who struggle to exercise, the thought of doing too much may seem ludicrous. However, overtraining is much more common than one could assume. At the beginning, it may be simple enthusiasm, but then the idea that you can’t take a break from exercising creeps into your mind and before you know it you’ll find yourself falling into exercise overload. The problem arises when you feel the need to exercise beyond normal level, or better yet, beyond your normal level. 
Here are some of the most common signs that you might exercising too much.

15-Minute Chicken Cacciatore

I was in dire need for some good chicken, but not grilled chicken, I’m talking about tasty chicken. You see, I’m good at planning meals but not really when it comes to chicken.
In my mind chicken is a last-minute food, which means that when I’m clueless on what to eat (and have limited amount of time) I resort to chicken. A pan, a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, a pinch of herbs and voila’ grilled chicken is served. Boring, I know.

Socca Wraps with Spinach and Stracchino Cheese

Let’s talk about socca. If you’re not familiar with this food, let me give you some facts about it. Socca is an unleavened pancake (or crepe) originally made using chickpea flour, water and olive oil; cooked in an open oven and seasoned with salt and pepper. Of course, it originated in Italy. All good things come from Italy. It’s usually sold in bakeries and pizzerias and cut into irregularly shaped triangular slices. However, contrary to most popular Italian fare, it’s naturally gluten-free (woot woot!)
I love it. I really do. That’s why I thought it was a genius idea to create a wrap made of socca. For a moment I felt like a rocket scientist, or Nobel Prize winner or something. Alas, that lasted only for a couple of minutes as a quick trip on the internet brought me back to reality as I discovered that socca wraps are a common street-food in the South of France. Pff....Frenchies, always cramping my style.