(Paleo) Flourless Chocolate Cake

OK guys, I think I just found my new fave sweetener: raw coconut palm sugar.
We all know that white sugar is empty calories with no nutritional value whatsoever; meaning it doesn't have vitamins and/or nutrients, just calories.
So what about replacing it with a nutrient-rich, low-glycemic crystalline sweetener that looks, tastes, and melts almost exactly like sugar, but it’s completely natural and unrefined?
Yep, that’s raw coconut palm sugar.
Raw coconut palm sugar is acquired from the flowers growing on coconut trees. The nectar of the flowers is collected and air-dried to form a crystalline sugar, dark brown in color.
It’s rich in potassium, zinc, iron and B vitamins. There’s quite a lot to it!

Eat When You're Supposed To (and Snack Very Little!)

Today, we eat all the time, munching on snacks, convenience foods, or sipping lattes, sodas or smoothies at every hour of the day.
It’s a fact. Just take a look around yourself.
We eat while driving or riding in a car or walking or at our desks or while watching TV. We are snacking more and eating fewer meals.
We do so little eating at the table that sociologists and market researchers - who study American eating habits - report that we have added to the traditional big three meals (i.e., breakfast, lunch and dinner) a fourth one that lasts all day long: the constant snacking meal.
Snacks are less and less the hunger-soothing bridge between formal meals. They have become a meal in their own right.
As a result, we eat much more food than we need and we're gaining weight at an alarming rate.
We’re a nation of overweight and obese people, because we eat too often, not only too much.
The solution? Going back to our roots — eating only at designated meal times and limit snacking.
It’s OK to feel hungry between meals. However, being hungry doesn’t mean you have to eat.
If it isn’t breakfast, lunch or dinner, always ask yourself: “Am I really hungry?”
Maybe you’re just bored, tired, distracted, sad, or happy. Try to understand what you’re really feeling before you grab something to eat.

Cheesy Chia Seed Crackers (Gluten-Free & Low Carb)

I love crackers, and I love even more making crackers at home. It’s incredible how much better they taste than store-bought.
Whenever my niece is visiting, we usually make whole wheat cheese crackers together. Just like Cheez-It, just better.
She always has a blast doing it. I recently bought a set of animal farm tiny cookie cutters and she cuts the cracker’s dough into cows, pigs, sheeps, etc. Then she places them on the baking sheet in a very specific order, sheeps close together, hens with cows, etc. You know, kids’ fantasy.
When we’re done, I give her the whole batch to take home, so that she can bring them to school for her lunch and MOST OF ALL parading with her friends.

How To Make Super-Nutritious Germinated Brown Rice

Today we’re talking about my beloved brown rice.
As an athlete, I consume a ridiculous amount of brown rice; it’s an important source of proteins, complex carbs, precious fiber and many important nutrients and minerals.
Brown rice is awesome and you’re getting nothing but goodness in every spoonful.
I was contented with my brown rice, until one day my colleague Sohyoung told me that you can even get more out of it.
She said that if you soak brown rice at room temperature overnight, the rice will germinate and get even more awesome.
Really?
I wasn't convinced, so I looked into that and found out that Sohyoung was right all along.
Sprouted (or germinated) brown rice is the way go!

Caramelized Cauliflower and Mushroom Casserole

So apparently today it’s the third day of Autumn. Yeah, I didn’t saw that coming either. Mostly because it doesn’t feel like Fall yet; at least in my hood.
With the turn of the season, there are a number of things that change, not only the weather.
Fall crops come into their own just as summer delicious fruits and veggies are packing it in (sigh!)
But there is no room for despair people. Spices, roots like turnips and carrots, cabbages, and of course pumpkins, apples, and mushrooms will helps us coping with the end of summer's sweet corn and sun-warmed peaches.
When temperatures dip and the leaves drop, it’s time to fire up the oven. And that’s when this casserole comes into play.
You see, I am a HUGE fan of mushrooms and an even bigger fan of cauliflower (you probably already know this, don’t you?); so combining the two to make a delicious dish has to be my ultimate food fetish (not foot, FOOD!)

Chia Chocolate Mousse

When you think chocolate mousse, you think of copious amounts of chocolate, sugar, eggs and butter whipped together to create a luscious, fluffy and airy dessert.
My mum used to make Julia Child’s Mousse au Chocolat when we had guests over. She would serve it topped with a dollop of homemade whipped cream and some orange confit.
It was so good, she would win raves. I remember it got to a point where people would actually ask her (more like beg her) to make it when she invited them over for dinner.
I loved her mousse au chocolat, and I still do. To me, mum's mousse au chocolat means home, family and friends.
It’s a special dish, but let’s be honest, it’s a calorie bomb. There’s point no denying that.
Sugar and butter and eggs and chocolate, all natural ingredients, yes, but a lot of them, too much of them.
Once in awhile it’s OK to have it - on special occasions such as birthdays, Christmas; but that’s about it.
So what about the rest of the year? 363 days without mousse au chocolat? How sad...
That’s when this chia chocolate mousse comes into play. This is a great little recipe that has become a chocolate fix favorite in my apt.

Eggplant Parmesan Quinoa Casserole

Who doesn’t love eggplant Parmesan? Raise your hands.
Ok, let me check...apparently everybody does, not surprisingly.
Even kids who don’t eat veggies can’t resist their Parm, and never make a peep about the eggplant in the first place - pretty awesome.
Eggplant Parm is pure comfort food, or (let me rephrase that) it’s comfort food at its best.
And as you might have noticed, fall is fast approaching (yesterday morning was like in the 50s ‘round here, brr...) Which means we need warmth and comfort food, like a piping hot bowl of oatmeal for breakfast or something with pumpkin OR eggplant Parm.

Light Egg Salad

Originally, this post was supposed to be about a LCHF (low-carb-high-fat) bread I baked Saturday afternoon.
A bread packed with psyllium, flax seeds, shredded coconut and a bunch of other awesome+wholesome ingredients, 100% paleo and (supposedly) delicious.
I found the recipe on a cookbook I received a couple of weeks ago, and TBH my expectations were pretty high.
I meticulously followed the recipe verbatim. My first time trying my hands at a grain-free, gluten-free bread - there’s no room for improvisation.
I wish I could tell you what came out of the oven was worthy of a photo spread in Martha Stewart’s Living. Not so much. The taste was spot on, the texture OK, but it was deformed; NOT looking like a loaf of bread, not even a close relative.
You might say: “So what? It doesn't really matter as long as it tastes good.”
A fair point, but there was just no way I could take a decent picture of it.
I tried different angles, different lights, different composition, but I guess it would take a much more gifted photographer than me to save the day (or better yet, the loaf!)
Ultimately, I gave up.
Plan A failed, so I went with Plan B - Light Egg Salad.

Find 60 Minutes Each Day For Yourself

Photo credit: nike.com

There are 24 hours (or 1440 minutes or 86,400 seconds or 86,400,000 milliseconds) each day. In that time, we manage to carve out the time to work, to eat, to sleep, to watch TV, to stare at our smartphones, to go out, to bathe and to brush our teeth. When it comes to exercise however, we like to pull out the “no time” card.
Modern lives are busy; there’s no point denying that, and there are some legit reasons for not working out - we’re working very late or recovery from an injury - but often, we’re just talking ourselves out of it. Am I wrong?

Concord Grape Sorbet

If you follow me on Instagram, you may remember that last Saturday, at the Farmers’ Market, I got my hands on some amazing Concord grapes from the Finger Lakes District (NY).
But before we proceed any further, let’s make things straight and clear: If you don’t like Concord grapes I’m afraid we can’t be friends. Sorry, it’s not negotiable.
How can you not like Concord grapes? These things are a-mazing. They are tart, strong, and the taste is usually acquired; which is why kids love ‘em.
To me, the taste of Concord grapes is an absolute flavor explosion and a true marvel of nature.
→ Brief historical digression. Do you know that when Concord grapes were first introduced in Europe in the 1800s; Italians, mesmerized by their sweetness, started calling them uva fragola; which translates literally as strawberry grapes. Cool, right?
Btw, ever notice how everything sounds better in Italian? “Uva fragola” v “Concord grape”; I mean, come on!