Eggplant lasagna with a creamy red pepper spread

It was nearing 5pm yesterday and I had no idea what I would make for dinner until I remembered that I had a big eggplant in the fridge from this weekend, from what I planned to make eggplant pizza but instead, I decided that I really needed real dough. 

Karel spent all afternoon moving our empty 75 gallon fish downstairs tank (our big Flowerhorn fish passed away a few months ago) upstairs to our bedroom, to swap it out for our 55 gallon tank.

Let's just say that our African Chichlid fishes (and our big Green Terror fish) got a nice house upgrade! They are already enjoying the room and redecorating by moving around the sand.

It took over 5 hours for Karel to get the tank ready as moving fish from one tank to another is not a project that can be rushed and you really can't stop once you start, so I figured Karel would be ready to eat when he was finished. I was hungry by the time dinner was ready so I yummed first and then when Karel was finish with the tank project, he enjoyed his dinner. 

So here is how the dinner creation went down.

With no clear direction on what I was going to make with the eggplant, I started to pull out ingredients from my kitchen. 

Ingredients

Red bell pepper 

1 can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)

1 can northern beans (rinsed and drained)

Curry powder

Olive oil 

Salt

Eggplant

White onion

Nutritional yeast

Farmers cheese

Tomato sauce 

Kale

With all my ingredients on the counter, I started to get creative. Instead of dressing the eggplant with the beans, I decided to make a spread instead (which could also be used as a yummy dip). 

This dip was so easy that it inspired me to make more variations of this in the future. Especially on the higher volume workout days when my appetite for fibrous foods is low but a nice spread on bread would be super tasty (and nutritious). 

Red pepper spread

Small red bell pepper (sliced with top and inside seeds removed)

1/2 can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)

1/2 can northern beans (rinsed and drained)

2-3 tsp Curry powder

1 tbsp Olive oil 

Salt

1. Place chickpeas and beans, along with entire red pepper (sliced/chopped), curry powder, olive oil and a pinch of salt in a food processor and blend until creamy. If needed, add a splash of water to help with mixing. You may need to use a spoon to mix if the top of the contents doesn't get mixed in. 

2. Taste the spread and add more curry and salt if needed, to your liking. 

2. Spoon into a Tupperware container. 

Now it was time to make the eggplant lasagna. 

Eggplant lasagna with a creamy red pepper spread

1 large Eggplant (sliced somewhat thinly, not too thick)

1/2 white onion (thinly sliced)

2-4 tbsp nutritional yeast

Farmers cheese

1-2 cup Tomato/marinara sauce 

Kale (about 2 cups chopped, washed, stems removed)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

2. In a large glass dish, spray or use olive oil to coat the bottom. 

3. Place eggplant slices on the bottom of the dish (cover bottom - it's ok if some overlap). 

4. Smear a little of the spread on each eggplant. Now top with sliced onion, handful of chopped kale, crumbled farmers cheese and a spoonful of tomato/marinara sauce over each of the eggplant slices. Top with 1-2 tbsp of nutritional yeast all over the eggplant slices. 

5. Now repeat this process: Eggplant, kale, farmers cheese, sauce, nutritional yeast. There is no wrong way to do this so layer however you wish. 

6. Try to finish with 1 layer of eggplant slices on top, topped with spread and then a spoonful of marinara. 

7. Bake for around 30-35 minutes. 

This will make leftovers if you are only feeding 1-2 people. 

Enjoy! Don't forget to yum. 

(Note: farmers cheese doesn't have a bold taste but instead, a creamy texture. If you are feeding to cheese lovers, you may want to use a more bold cheese like Parmesan or sharp cheddar. You could also broil some cheese on top. Farmers cheese is very common in Europe, thus why Karel often buys it here in the store. Another popular brand is Friendship farmers cheese, which can be found by the cream cheese). 

Friday night eats - Eggplant Lasagna

There are two things that I love about Friday night cooking - creating a delicious meal to fuel the weekend workouts and having delicious leftovers. 

Last Friday I made this delicious eggplant lasagna. No recipe, just a bunch of delicious foods in the refrigerator for me to use. 

Plus, Karel and I had just shopped at the Tomato Vine early that day, so we had lot of local, fresh produce to use. 

With two endurance triathletes in our household, a lot of food needs to be in our house to keep us well fueled and happy. We shop a lot, we cook a lot, a lot of dishes get washed, we eat a lot and we yum a lot. 

The weekends are often hard for endurance athletes when it comes to meal prep and planning. Endurance athletes have every reason to feel too exhausted to prep and cook food but that is no excuse not to do it. If you want your body to perform and stay in good health, you have to nourish it on a daily basis - especially on the weekends when you expect your body to workout for long hours.
Eating should not be an afterthought when your 5 hour bike workout or 2 hour run is over as that is the time when it's easy to give into post workout "reward" foods and cravings, particularly when you are too tired or hungry to cook. If the right foods for your body and workout load are available and ready in your house, then you will be fueling in the right way for your body on the weekend. 

My eggplant lasagna was perfect on Friday evening..... and on Sat afternoon after training. Karel enjoyed his vegetarian lasagna on Friday night and then added some meat to his Saturday post-workout portion. 

When making your own lasagna, be creative. There are no rules or guidelines when it comes to how you dress-up (or fill-in) your casserole dish. 

Here are the ingredients in my eggplant lasagna (by layer):
Marinara sauce
Thinly sliced eggplant
Arugula
Chickpeas
Crumbled tempeh (~half package)
Thinly sliced eggplant
Marinara sauce
Sliced onions
Mushrooms
Garlic (powder or fresh)
Thinly sliced eggplant (whatever is left)
Marinara
Crumbled tempeh (the rest of the package)
Shredded cheese

Bake at 425 degrees for ~45 minutes

What are you making for dinner tonight? 

Eggplant and tofu lasagna

My body has not disappointed me in a long time and that is a great thing because I live a super busy and active lifestyle and I need my body ever single minute of every single day.

I have always told my body that we make a great team because if I don't take care of it, it will not take care of me. 

Just like so many of you all, I have a lot to balance in life. My priorities rarely change for triathlons are my lifestyle, not my life. Triathlons do not pay the bills but I do feel that because of triathlons I have become much more mentally and physically stronger in life and thus I am a better person because of what I have learned from calling myself a triathlete.

Thankfully, my body has performed beautifully over the past two months since I started my 2014 tri season and I am just so excited to use my trained body when it is time for our race-cations this year. 

With our 2014 Trimarni Triathlon Endurance Training Camp taking place in Clermont FL on Feb 28-March 2nd, we have had a lot on our plate lately, alongside Karel staying super busy with RETUL bike fits, our coaching business and me helping athletes and fitness enthusiasts reach personal fitness/performance/health goals.

With a busy life, I must keep myself in optimal health all the time. Sleep, stress management and daily movement are critical to functioning well in life but my passion for a real food diet never gets pushed to the side because I am too busy to cook.
Additionally, because I choose to train my body for performance, it is even more vital that I nourish my body so that I can live with a healthy immune system. 

Oh how I love my oven and stove top!
The oven is perfect for busy days. The key, however, is to make sure you don't find yourself too busy that you forget to start your meal so that it has time to cook. 

This meal is perfect to prep in the morning, afternoon or evening (or even for the next day). In less than 30 minutes, you have a delicious, heart healthy and satisfying meal that will make you want to slow down and enjoy this meal....at a table, with a fork and yumming with every bite.  

Eggplant and tofu lasagna

Squash slices
Purple Onions sliced
Eggplant slices
Marinara sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. In large casserole dish, lightly cover with marinara sauce. 

3. Add thin (about thumbnail size) slices of eggplant to cover bottom of the dish on top of marinara (do not overlap), the top with sliced squash and chopped onions. 

Mushrooms sliced
Jasmine rice (or your choice of rice/grain) - about 1 cup cooked

4. Top with mushrooms and rice. 

Firm tofu - crumbled
Marinara sauce
Onions
Garlic powder, pepper and basil

5. Crumble firm tofu (about 3/4 package) on top of rice/mushroom mixture and then spoon a bit more of marina on top and add a few more chopped onion.
Sprinkle with garlic powder, pepper and basil.

Eggplant slices
Shredded mozzarella
Marinara

6. Top with the rest of the eggplant slices and a few more spoonfuls of marinara. Spread marinara around and top with cheese. 

7. Cook for 25-28 minutes or until the top of the eggplant turns golden brown. 

8. Enjoy!

(If you think you don't like tofu, the flavors of the ingredients will mask the bland taste of tofu. This should serve 2 people with leftovers OR 304 people for one meal).