Is There Anything Wrong With Ketchup?

Ketchup has to be the most popular condiment in America. Can you picture french fries, a burger or even a hot-dog without ketchup? Probably not. What about grilled or fried meats? So much better if paired with this sweet and tangy sauce, made with tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices.
Ketchup is also often used as a basis for other sauces such as barbecue sauce. Which we all love.
Given its widespread use, you may well ask: is ketchup good or bad for us?

Dark Chocolate Bark With Sea Salt and Superfoods

I’m such a sucker for dark chocolate. It’s probably the one thing I could never walk away from.
The bitter bite with the subtle sweetness is IMHO the perfect combo. Add some coarse salt, crunch and dried berries and then you’ve got me hooked.
I’ve started making my own chocolate back a couple of years ago.
I did it in frustration, because I couldn’t find on the market a bark with salt and almond and goji berries and hemp seeds. I wanted all of these things in one bark and (obviously) no mass market brand made it.

Aerobic Exercise Boosts Brain Power

The physical benefits of regular exercise and remaining physically active, especially as we age, are well documented. However, it appears that it is not only the body which benefits from exercise, but the mind too.
The evidence for this is published in a new review by Hayley Guiney and Liana Machado from the University of Otago, New Zealand, which focuses on the importance of physical activity in keeping and potentially improving cognitive function throughout life. Their review is published online in the Springer publication Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.

Almond and Lemon Cloud Cookies (Gluten-free)

Let's talk about healthy foods. How would you define a healthy food?
Personally, I like to stick to this definition: “A healthy food is a food organically grown, with no additives, having a balanced nutritional profile, good dietary value and capable of bringing benefit to health.”
It’s pretty good, isn’t it?
Now, we should ask ourselves: would these Almond and Lemon Cloud Cookies fall within such definition? In order to get our answer, we must check whether they comply with the healthy food checklist.
These cookies are made with lots of almond paste, some brown sugar and two egg whites (plus some natural flavorings). No butter, oil or flour. Already a good start.
Organic? Yes (as long as you use organic ingredients).
No additives? None, it’s all natural stuff.
Balanced nutritional profile? Almonds are a superfood and egg whites are a great source of protein. There’s some sugar involved (there’s no denying that) but not a lot.
Good dietary value? With just 90 calories per cookie, I think we’re good.
Bring benefit to health? Almonds are packed with good stuff so there are definitely good things going on here.
Considering all the above, I suppose they will rightfully pass the healthy food test.

Vegan Yorkshire Gingerbread

Is there anything that says “Christmas time” more than gingerbread? I guess not.
I’m not talking about cookies, men, houses, snowflakes or stars though; I’m talking about real gingerbread. Bread made with ginger, allspice, and blackstrap molasses.
Gingerbread doesn’t simply say “Christmas time”, it literally screams it. The aroma permeating the apartment, while baking, is the most Christmassy thing ever. Isn’t it?

Beet and Potato Gnocchi

I struggle with beets. There, I said it. My mind keeps telling me to eat them, but my taste buds are in strong disagreement. There’s something in their taste and texture that I find off-putting.
It’s a shame though; beets are that healthy and that important in a sportsman diet. They’re an incredible natural source of nitrates, capable of boosting performance.
I drink beet juice though. Well, I gobble it, not really drink it. I find no pleasure whatsoever in that. I know that I need it to drink it to perform better, so I do it. Enjoying a drink, however, it’s something different.
Notwithstanding my hatred for beets, I keep buying them and keep experimenting different recipes. Hope die last, they say.
So far, however, I ended-up in utter disappointment. I made salads, vegetarian lasagna, risotto: none worked for my taste buds. They’re picky, I know.
Last week I decided to give beets a last shot. It was a do or die moment.
As gnocchi are my favorite food, I decided to squeeze two whole beets (no, not one, I said two!) in the potatoes dough, and see what happened.
I took a lot of pleasure into squeezing the beets. It suddenly all became some sort of splatter movie scene. Beets are so bloody and red.
Anyway, the [squeezed] beets turned the gnocchi dough into a shiny pink color. I’m talking about Nicki Minaj pink, my niece’s ballerina gown pink, sugar candy pink. A tad weird.

Vegan Chocolate Walnut Biscotti

Biscotti is a generic Italian word that refers to any type of cookie. If you travel to Italy, walk into a bakery, and ask for a “biscotti”, they’re going to answer (in Italian): “Which kind of biscott[o] do you want?”The same will happen if you walk into a sandwich shop and ask for a panini.
“Panini” means sandwiches, “biscotti means cookies, and “pizza” means...pizza. Ok, we got at least that right.
Biscotti is just another “lost in translation” case. Well, now that I’m thinking about it, it’s not really that. We didn’t translate anything. It’s some sort of cross-language homonym. Same spelling different meaning.
Anyway, back to “biscotti”. The name biscotti is derived from the Latin word “bis” meaning twice and the Italian word “cotto” meaning cooked or baked. It just means twice-baked or baked-twice, as you prefer.

Does Eating Spicy Food Burn Additional Calories?

You’re eating a hot chicken Vindaloo at your fave Indian restaurant. Your tongue is on fire and you’re sweating buckets. You wonder: isn’t sweating a sign that my metabolism is speeding up and burning calories?
Well, you’re not far from the truth. There is indeed evidence that spices can increase the metabolic rate, up to three hours after finishing the meal. However, it’s not as clear-cut as it seems...

What Is A Heirloom Food?

I bet you have encountered oddly shaped black carrots in the produce section of your supermarket before, and wondered why anyone would buy those instead of the regular, tubular, orange variety.
Heirloom foods, such as black carrots, can look dramatically different from the “regular” ones you’re used to. Different to the point that sometimes it might get “scary”.
What you shouldn’t do, however, is to look away.
Heirloom foods are a rather flavorful, colorful, and tasty version of foods you already enjoy. Chances are you’re going to like the heirloom version just as much the “regular” one, maybe even more. If that isn’t enough, heirloom foods bring diverse and precious nutrients to your table.
So you definitely shouldn’t look away; reach for them instead.

Pumpkin And Potato Masala Curry (Vegan)

I have a favorite Indian cookbook. It’s “Step-By-Step Indian Cooking” by Sharda Gopal. A great cookbook if you want to master your cooking skills with Indian cuisine.
She keeps recipes short and simple. Just what any westerner trying to bring Indian flavors to the kitchen needs.
Over the years I became enamoured with one recipe in particular: Aloo Masala (also called Dry Spiced Potato).
It’s a popular south Indian vegetarian spicy dish. Made with a good amount of spices, fresh tomatoes, and potatoes.
As I prefer not to overstuff myself with starches, I tweaked the original recipe and tried several combination of vegetables over the years to replace the potatoes.
After many attempts I decided that my fave combo is pumpkin with one small potato (I didn’t dare to completely depart from the original recipe). Also, I used olive oil instead of ghee (or butter) to make it completely vegan and lighter.