Hi again!

It’s been really nice get­ting back to my reg­u­lar teach­ing sched­ule once again. Although hol­i­days are nice, com­ing back can often be tough and some­times painful. Just remem­ber though, that in a a few short work­outs (I always say 3 – 4), you’ll soon be feel­ing back to your ole’ self again. Tough it out, work through the dis­com­fort and know that it’s just tem­po­rary. I guar­an­tee you that your fit­ness and strength will soon return in full force, in no time.

When I came home today, I was starv­ing and needed some­thing fast.…I quickly grabbed my big stain­less steel mix­ing bowl and began to fill it with just a few of my favourite things:

kale

baby spinach

grape toma­toes

diced cel­ery

diced cucum­ber

grilled hoisin Japan­ese egg­plant (recipe to follow)

1 Tbsp humus

1 Tsp chia seeds

4 egg whites, scrambled

I opened the fridge and noticed I had about a half of a small cau­li­flower in the crisper so I steamed it off in salted water until very ten­der; drained and mashed it till it resem­bled mashed pota­toes and then mixed it with 1 Tbsp nutri­tional yeast for a deli­cious cheesy flavour. I grabbed a big spoon and in it went into the big salad bowl.

Nutri­tional yeast is often used by veg­ans and veg­e­tar­i­ans (no, I’m not either) for its good source of B com­plex vit­a­mins, includ­ing nat­ural vit­a­min B12. It is also gluten, salt, sugar and preser­v­a­tive free.

I really like it and use it alot as a replace­ment for cheese.

For my dress­ing, I driz­zled 1 Tbsp lemon flavoured fish oil and bal­samic vine­gar over the entire salad, tossed it all together and dug right in. It may not be pretty but is it ever del­ish! I have to say, my “kitchen sink” salad is one of my most favourite meals!

Hosin Glazed Grilled Japan­ese Eggplant

Ingre­di­ents:

4 Japan­ese egg­plants, cut in half ver­ti­cally, cut in half hor­i­zon­tally (8 pieces)

1 Tbsp hoisin sauce

2 Tbsp water

2 Tsp chili gar­lic sauce

2 Tsp fresh gin­ger, grated (keep your gin­ger in the freeer for easy grating)

1. Com­bine hoisin, water, gar­lic sauce and gin­ger. Set aside.
2. In a grill pan, coated with veg­etable spray over medium heat, place egg­plant flesh side down.
3. Cook until char marks appear and egg­plant is well browned. Brush mari­nade over each slice.
4. Flip egg­plant over and con­tinue cook­ing until tender.
5. Remove grill pan from heat and enjoy!
6. I love it tossed in a salad with edamame, as a side with salmon and bok choy or as a yummy fill­ing for an egg white omelet.