Everything Eggplant

This week I'm going to talk about my newfound love; eggplant. 

Eggplant helps our digestive process and fights against coronary heart disease because of the high fiber content.  Eggplant also plays a role in regulating blood pressure and is packed with a number of vitamins, proteins, minerals and important phytonutrients (act like antioxidants).  If your looking to shed a few pounds for summer, incorporate eggplant into your diet as it is very low in calories and has a high moisture content.

Now that you know eggplant a little bit better, lets talk about how you can cook with it.

Stuffed Eggplant

1 .Cut Eggplant in half and scoop out the inside

2.     2. Cut the inside remains into very small pieces and fry over the stove with a little bit of oil.

3.     3. Add in you favorite ingredients, I used: tomato sauce, mushroom, celery, broccoli, garlic and pepper

4.     4. When browned scoop your mix into the shell of the eggplant

5.     5. Put a thin s layer of pasta sauce over the top, followed by spinach leaves (this can also be  substituted with cheese if you are not a vegan

        6. Place in oven for 45-50 min (until brown) on 350 F. 

Stuffed Eggplant: doesn't look very appetizing, but  it is delicious!

You can get out of knife and fork and eat the skin with the inside or choose to just eat the inside. Best paired with

a salad.

Eggplant Fries

These are quick, tasty and easy to make that can be served as a finger food or side dish.

Eggplant Fries: A tad over cook

1.    1.  Cut off the skin of the eggplant

2.     2. Cut the remaining eggplant into strips (make them as thin, thick, short or long as you like)

3.     3. Dip each strip in a boil of oil, then into a boil of breadcrumbs mix with Parmesan cheese. (Cheese is not needed, just ads additional flavor)

4.     4. Place of baking pan and cook for 20 minutes (until brown) on 375 F. Don’t forget to flip them halfway through.

You can eat your fries plan or dip them in pasta sauce, ketchup, plum sauce ect. 

That's all or this week, enjoy what you eat, Bon Appetite! 

OMG, what do you eat?!

“You’re a vegetarian.. Oh. ” What usually comes next? One of two questions: " why would you EVER give up meat?" or " what on earth do you eat?" 

Yes, of course those are fair questions, however after being asked them for the hundredth time, you begin to feel like a robot with a prepared speech. I hope this blog provides a space to answer these two very common questions that vegetarians are asked everyday and to show that not all vegetarians are tree loving hippies and don’t eat bird seed three times a day. I promise.

I grew up eating the typical Americanized foods: hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, pizza and chicken fingers. My first year university I thought, "if I made it, it's got to be good for me"- however my freshman fifteen and calorie counting freak roommate felt otherwise. This is when I started understanding and paying attention to words such as, “ calories, sodium, vitamins and fat.”

After my Papa was diagnosed with Cancer in 2009 I started doing a lot of research on cancer and health related issues. After seeing the reality of dieses/cancer and how awful the attack is on someone’s body, everything became very real and I knew the, “ everything happens for a reason” analogy wasn’t going to do it for me. If I wanted to be healthy- I had to do something about it.

It wasn’t until the end of that summer when I saw my dad slab the raw steak onto the BBQ for our dinner- my stomach turned. There was no way I was putting the steroid-injected, raw flesh into my body. From that point on I was a vegetarian.

Since this transition I’ve felt great and now have more variety in my diet then ever before. Cooking doesn’t feel like a chore anymore- cooking is a time you can be creative, have fun and be proud of the work you’ve created. I love food more now then ever before.

This blog will provide facts about how to get all your proper nutrients, how meat negatively effects us, and first and foremost – how to make delicious, easy and healthy meals!

Once a week I will share a new recipe, some recipes will be ones I’ve grown to love and others ones I’m trying for the first time. I’ll let you know if they were good or god awful, cheap or a bank breaker and how the meal benefits you.

I will also post interesting and fun facts along the way while your waiting for your next recipe to try! 

Please feel free to comment/ ask questions and make requests. I look forward to cooking with you.

Options are endless – feel good about what you eat- bon appétit!