Eggplant Lasagna Rolls

 Ingredients

3 large eggplants

½ tsp salt, divided

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups crushed tomatoes

½ cup chopped fresh basil, divided

3 tsp minced garlic, divided

1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed

2 ½ cups part-skim ricotta cheese

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ tsp pepper pdr

1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

 

Preparations

Position racks in the middle and upper third of oven; preheat to 425 degrees F. Coat 2 rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray.

Slice each eggplant lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick strips. Discard any small or misshapen pieces. You should have about 24 strips. Sprinkle the strips with 1/4 teaspoon salt and let stand for 15 minutes.

Pat the eggplant slices dry and brush both sides with oil. Place on the prepared pans, overlapping the slices a little if necessary. Roast until soft and beginning to brown, swapping the pans from top to bottom midway, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, 1/4 cup basil, 2 teaspoons garlic and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Spread 1/2 cup of the mixture in a broiler-safe 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Squeeze spinach to remove any excess liquid. Combine the spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, pepper and the remaining 1 teaspoon garlic in a medium bowl.

When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, spread a generous tablespoon of the ricotta mixture on each slice. Starting from the narrowest end, roll up the slices and place in the baking pan seam-side down. Top with the remaining tomato mixture.

Bake the rolls on the middle rack until the tomato mixture is hot and bubbling, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and preheat the broiler to high.

Top the rolls with mozzarella. Broil until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup basil and serve.

 

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Stuffed cabbage

 Diced, crumbled or coarsely grated firm tofu is a fab substitute for ground beef from a nutrition and texrtural perspective. From a flavour perspecitve tofu is very bland so be prepared to up the umami flavours but adding some soy sauce, miso paste, Worcestershire sauce or Fish sauce.

  

 Ingredients: 

 Salt and Pepper - to taste 

Cabbage - 2 medium sized 

Olive oil - 2 tbsp. 

Onions - 1 large 

Garlic - 3 cloves (crushed) 

Thyme - 2 tsp. (chopped fresh) 

Ground beef - 1 lbs. ( use veg sub.)

Basmati rice - 1 cup (cooked) 

Crushed tomatoes - 28 oz. 

Chicken / veg. stock - 4 cups OR water

Bay leaves - 1 handful

Preparation: 

In a large pot, boil water with 1 tsp. of salt, then cook each cabbage individually until the external leaves are soft. (approx. 5min) 

Remove the soft leaves and return the rest of the cabbage until all of it is cooked (You will need 20 leaves in total). 

In a large frying pan, heat up the olive oil and fry the onion until it is translucent. Add the garlic and thyme and keep frying. 

Stir the ground beef / veg sub. into the pan and cook until it’s done. 

Transfer the meat to a large bowl, add the rice and season with salt & pepper. Stir well. 

Lay a cabbage leaf down, and put a healthy amount of the beef and rice mix in the center of the leaf. 

Fold the sides, and then roll the leaf into a cylinder shape (Do the same for all 20 leaves). 

In a separate pot, pour the stock/ water, crushed tomatoes, add salt & pepper and bring to a boil. 

Cook for 10 minutes on medium, then remove from the stove. 

Fire the oven to 375°F (190°C), place the leaves in a pan and cover them with sauce. 

Add the bay leaves to the dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 2 hours. 

 

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The Best Lentil Soup

 Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion finely chopped
• 4 carrots finely diced
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with basil
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 cups brown lentils washed and picked over
• 8 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tsp salt more to taste
• 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 and 1/2 cups spinach or kale chopped
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

 

Preparations In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, warm the oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions and carrots and cook, stirring frequently.  until the onion has softened and is turning translucent, about 8 to 9 minutes. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant while stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Pour in the wine and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the honey. Add in the lentils and broth, salt and black pepper. Stir well to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Then partially cover the pot and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for 45 minutes, or until the lentils are tender but still hold their shape. Add the chopped greens and cook for 5 minutes if using spinach, and 10 to 15 minutes if using kale. Remove the pot from heat and stir in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Taste and season with more salt, pepper and/or lemon juice.  Serve warm. Leftovers will keep well for about 4 days in the refrigerator, or can be frozen for up to 2 months (just defrost before serving).  

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Stuffed cabbage leaves

 This is a traditional dish with many variations. This version is slow-cooked and mildly seasoned to perfection. Not many know how well beef and cabbage go together, but it's a marriage made in heaven if you ask me. These natural flavors are going to make this dish an immediate favorite among your family and friends.

Ingredients: 

Salt and Pepper - to taste

 

Cabbage - 2 medium sized 

 

Olive oil - 2 tbsp. 

 

Onion - 1 large 

 

Garlic - 3 cloves (crushed) 

 

Thyme - 2 tsp. (chopped fresh) 

 

Ground beef - 1 lbs.  ( veg. sub, soya granules/ chunks soaked in hot water, squeezed out)

 

Basmati rice - 1 cup (cooked) 

 

Crushed tomatoes - 28 oz. 

 

Chicken / Veg. stock - 4 cups 

 

Bay leaves - 1 handful

Preparation: 

In a large pot, boil water with 1 tsp. of salt, then cook each cabbage individually until the external leaves are soft. (approx. 5min) 

 

Remove the soft leaves and return the rest of the cabbage until all of it is cooked (You will need 20 leaves in total). 

 

In a large frying pan, heat up the olive oil and fry the onion until it is translucent. 

 

Add the garlic and thyme and keep frying. Stir the ground beef OR soya granules into the pan and cook until it’s done. 

 

Transfer the meat to a large bowl, add the rice and season with salt & pepper. Stir well. 

 

Lay a cabbage leaf down, and put a healthy amount of the beef and rice mix in the center of the leaf. 

 

Fold the sides, and then roll the leaf into a cylinder shape (Do the same for all 20 leaves).

 

In a separate pot, pour the chicken / veg stock, crushed tomatoes, add salt & pepper and bring to a boil. 

 

Cook for 10 minutes on medium, then remove from the stove.     

 

Heat  the oven to 375°F (190°C), place the leaves in a pan and cover them with sauce. 

 

Add the bay leaves to the dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 2 hours. Serve and enjoy! 

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The 7 Best and 7 Worst Foods to Buy Canned

Not all canned foods are made equal - some are delicious, healthy and will save you plenty of time and money, whereas others lack taste, texture, and will only harm your health. In our opinion, those are not worth the price, no matter how cheap they may be. In this article, we’ll explain what things to look out for when choosing canned foods, and we will also go through several common canned food varieties, examining their nutrition and culinary quality. Here is our list of the 7 healthiest and tastiest canned foods you can buy, as well as 7 of those you should definitely avoid.

                                                         The Best Canned Foods 

 

1. Legumes

Legumes, namely beans, chickpeas, peas, and lentils are some of the best foods to buy canned. Canned legumes don't have a lower nutritional value than cooked ones, and using them from the can will actually save you a lot of time in the kitchen. These protein-packed foods are also incredibly versatile - you can easily add them to soups, chilies, stews, or you can even mash some chickpeas up to make homemade hummus. 

 

The only important point to look out in all savory canned goods is their sodium content, as it can be ridiculously high. Aim for less than 300 mg of sodium per serving. But all in all, canned legumes are a handy pantry staple. 

 

2. Fish

Canned fish is also an excellent choice, and you have a large variety to choose from - tuna, salmon, sardines, anchovies, or sprats are just some of the most obvious options. All of these fish varieties are high in protein and B vitamins, so they are guaranteed to become a positive addition to your salad or sandwich. After all, nothing beats a good tuna sandwich, and canned tuna is the easiest way to prepare one. 

 

Note: As with legumes, watch out for the sodium content of canned fish. 

 

3. Pureed or Crushed Tomatoes

Pureed or crushed tomatoes are a no-brainer, and you'll be able to make a vast number of quick meals using them - a soup, a pasta sauce, a stew, a breakfast shakshouka, you name it. No dicing, peeling and pureeing needed, neither. You can also purchase tomato sauce or puree in jars or bottles, there is little difference in the product itself, but make sure to watch the sodium and sugar content in these products.

 

4. Corn

 

Canned corn is another one of those canned foods that will diversify your meals, be it a salad, a soup, or a one-pot of sorts. The preservation process is also not altering the texture and taste of corn, and it's not reducing the excellent nutrient profile of this vegetable.

 

5. Pureed Pumpkin 

Prepping pumpkin is always my least favorite part of cooking, and it doesn't matter if I'm baking a pumpkin pie or making pumpkin soup. Luckily, pureed pumpkin is available pretty much at any store, and it can cut down the cooking time by at least an hour. Do make sure there are no added flavors or sweeteners before purchasing a can of pumpkin puree, though, since pure pumpkin puree is the most antioxidant-rich and healthy option. 

 

6. Condiments

If you're looking for an instant taste infusion to your meal, don't shy away from canned condiments, such as pickles, artichokes, olives, capers, or water chestnuts. These will work great as a topping to salads, a snack to serve on the side, an addition to sandwiches or a topping for the main dish. Capers, for example, make a deliciously savory topping for fish. Don't be afraid to experiment with these condiments, but make sure not to eat too much of them either, as most of these will be quite high in salt. 

 

7. Coconut Cream

Trust us, a can or two of coconut cream goes a long way in the kitchen. In addition to being an excellent dairy alternative with an insanely long shelf life and a reasonable price tag, it's indispensable for making the creamiest, most delicious curries and sauces to go with rice. You can even whip it up and make delicious coconut whip cream that works extremely well with practically any dessert and even in coffee. 

 

If you're watching your fat intake, you might also find it useful to know that full-fat coconut cream is comparable to light cream in terms of its fat content, and light coconut cream is the same as skim milk.

 

  

                                   The Worst Canned Foods 

8. Soup

Canned soups may save you some time, but it will be at the expense of your own health in the vast majority of cases. These highly-processed soups are typically full of preservatives, sweeteners, and many contain one's entire daily allowance of sodium and more saturated fats than you should have a day, all just in one can of soup! 

 

Honestly, it's much healthier, not to mention tastier, to add veggies, canned legumes, and fresh herbs into some chicken or vegetable stock and prepare your own soup it just 15-20 minutes.

9. Fruits

We all know that canned fruit are not the tastiest treat one can have, but did you know that these are more often than not loaded with added sugar as well? The package may state that the pineapple or peach slices are preserved in their own juices, but the truth is that most of these contain a lot of sugar. 

 

What's a good alternative? Both frozen, dried and fresh fruit are an excellent choice to consider, but if you're looking for something to store long term, frozen or dried (with no sugar added) fruit are obviously a better choice for you. 

 

10. Some Vegetables

When it comes to certain canned vegetables, things can get a bit tricky. After the canning process, their taste and texture may become altered, which can make the meal a bit less flavorful and nutritious than one would expect. This is especially true when it comes to asparagus, green beans, and baby carrots. 

 

Although everything boils down to personal preference, we say it's always nice to know that you have an alternative, namely frozen veggies, that have a similarly long shelf life, but a better taste and no added salt. 

 

11. Ready-made Meals

Canned meals, such as canned chili, sloppy Joe, corned beef and the like, are another dangerous choice. First of all, let's face it, none of these choices use the freshest and highest quality meat, but that's not even the biggest problem. These foods are also sky-high in salt and preservatives, which is exactly why they can have such a long shelf life. 

 

In addition to that, many of these ready-made meals will also be packed with saturated fats, which are known to contribute to cardiovascular issues. Generally speaking, it's just best to leave the canned foods that contain more than 3 g of saturated fat per serving on the shelf. 

 

12. Processed Meats

Processed meats are bad enough for you on their own, with things like liquid smoke, high animal fat content, and countless additives all making them not the best choice health-wise. Processed meat, such as sausages, ham, and bacon, has even been linked with several types of cancer, as well as cardiovascular issues. 

 

When these highly-processed animal-derived ingredients are further mixed with salty brine and preservatives, you can imagine that it doesn't make them any healthier. Virtually all of these foods contain saturated fats and salt in excess. 

 

13. Pasta

Apart from being significantly inferior to any pasta you can cook up yourself with just some dried pasta, herbs and a can of crushed tomatoes in terms of its taste, canned pasta is also horrible for your health. Salt and sugar are in large quantities in these foods. 

 

While you can control how much salt or sugar you add to a homemade pasta sauce, you can't do that with these ready-made options, and producers of these canned pastas add way too much of it in order to compensate for the lack of taste and texture in these products. 

 

14. Baked Beans

While canned beans in a low-sodium brine are an excellent high-protein choice, baked beans are less so. This is because tons of saturated fats, sugar, salt, and other additives, like the hormone disruptor BPA, are a common find in baked beans. 

 

Generally speaking, baked beans encompass all that is bad about canned foods in one package, transforming a healthy choice into a long-term health hazard. Instead of buying baked beans, make your own from canned beans, tomato sauce and the spices of your choice.

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Eggplant Bolognese

 Makes 4 to 6 servings. 

 

Ingredients 

 • 1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound) 

• 1 pound cremini mushrooms (about 2 pints), stems removed and sliced 

• 2 tablespoons olive oil 

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped 

• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped 

• 2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped 

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided 

• 2 cups dry red wine (such as Chianti) 

• 3 cloves garlic, minced 

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil leaves 

• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh oregano leaves 

• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves 

• 1/4 cup tomato paste 

• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes 

• 8 ounces dry rigatoni or penne pasta 

• For garnish: Fresh herbs, nutritional yeast, or Parmesan cheese 

Method 

1. Bake the whole eggplant: Heat the eggplant in the middle of the oven at 350°F. Bake until very tender (1-1 1/2 hours). After it has been cooked, leave it to cool.

2. Brown the mushrooms: Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat until hot. Add 3/4 of the mushrooms and brown (stir occasionally), until they've shrunk by about half. This should take around 8-10 minutes. Once done, set the pan aside. 

 

3. Make the Soffritto: Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over a medium heat until it is shimmering. Add the onion, carrots and celery, and season with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are softened. This will take 10-12 minutes. 

 

4. Add the wine: Pour the wine into the Soffritto mixture and mix well. Reduce the wine by half - 5 to 7 minutes.

5. Add the aromatics and tomato paste: Add the basil, garlic, oregano, thyme, and tomato paste and cook until the mixture has thickened and becomes fragrant. This should take about 5 minutes.

6. Add the eggplant and tomatoes: Peel and coarsely chop the cooled eggplant. Add the eggplant, the remaining mushrooms, crushed tomatoes, and 1/2 a teaspoon of salt to the mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.

7. Simmer: Reduce the heat to low and cover. Let it simmer for about an hour. Remember to stir occasionally to prevent scorching. 

 

8. Cook the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.

 

9. Finish the pasta in the sauce: Drain the water and add the cooked pasta to the sauce. Let it cook in the sauce for a further 2 minutes.

10. Garnish with herbs: Serve with fresh chopped herbs and Parmesan cheese (if desired).

 

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Simple homemade tomato soup

Ingredients: 

2 tbsp. olive oil 

 

2 carrots, diced 

 

1/2 an onion, diced 

 

4 cloves of garlic, crushed 

 

1 1/2 tbsp. tomato paste 

 

1 tbsp. flour 

 

4 cups vegetable stock 

 

1/2 tsp. thyme 

 

1 bay leaf 

 

800 g crushed tomatoes, canned 

 

a little mozzarella cheese, grated for garnish 

 

a little heavy cream (optional), to add at the end to taste 

 

Directions:  

1. Place a large pot on the stove over a high flame, pour olive oil and fry the garlic, onions, and carrots together for about 5-7 minutes. 

 

2. Now add the tomato paste and mix until the sauce turns caramel brown, and immediately add the flour while stirring quickly. 

 

3. After the flour is well incorporated, pour in the vegetable stock, crushed tomatoes, thyme and bay leaves, mix well and bring to a boil, then lower the flame to medium-low and cook for another 30 minutes. 

 

4. Before serving, it is recommended to blend the soup with a hand blender, pour into a bowl and sprinkle some grated mozzarella over top. If you want another upgrade, add a little heavy cream to make it richer.

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