Today was an active rest day. Not planned but my body needed it. I had planned to just walk but was pressed for time and had to pee so I figured a light jog here and there wouldn't hurt. It was so so nice not to worry about pace or intervals and just enjoy the gorgeous post rain morning.
After my walk Little Man and I got ready and headed to the beach to meet up with friends and babes. Sadly, I took no pictures but I was covered head to toe in sand. Little Man has had a love/hate relationship with the beach but today he loved every second of it. Maybe he just needed some kids his age to play with. It was really a lovely morning.
We also had a beachy picnic lunch which is always(never, unless you enjoy sand in your food) fun with toddlers. But since starting this new eating plan I've had a hard time coming up with yummy foods I actually want to eat. I looked at some 17 day diet recipes and blogs but there wasn't much new stuff or anything that struck me as awesome. I figured it was similar to paleo diet but with dairy so I looked at some recipes and one person mentioned eating cod for breakfast. After I threw up in my mouth a little I decided I just needed to get more creative.
One of my favorite meals is a simple sandwich. Two pieces of bread filled with yummy cheese, meat, avocado, veggies, etc. You can't go wrong. So I looked at the list of veggies available on the diet and realized eggplants are pretty big and when sliced they kinda resemble bread. So I Googled around and found a recipe for eggplant as bread. Score! But it wasn't exactly right for my needs. I needed something that would hold up after a few days and pretty fat free. So here's what I came up with.
Eggplant as Bread:
1 avg size eggplant sliced in 1/4 to 1/2 inch circles
2-3 egg whites or 1/4 c liquid whites
2 T milk (almond, soy, dairy, etc.)
1 1/2T chia seeds
1 1/2T hemp seeds
1/2 t garlic powder
S&P to taste (maybe 1/4t each)
So I know the seeds are another 17 day diet no-no but the fat and calories are so negligible, adding 20 calories tops to each slice, I decided it didn't matter and I liked the idea of the nutty consistency. If you're doing paleo I couldn't find either seed on the lists of encouraged or avoided foods but almond meal would be awesome and then you could use the leftovers to make an awesome paleo parmesan like this recipe.
Salt eggplant slices on both sides and let sit for an hour on a cookie sheet or plate until juices appear
Rinse and pat dry slices
Heat pan to medium high and add cooking spray, olive oil or a little coconut oil
Mix all other ingredients together
Dredge eggplant in "batter" ( I actually scooped up some seeds to manually put on the eggplant slices)
Transfer slices, in batches, to pan
Cook for 1-2 minutes each side until fairly brown but you want the eggplant to remain firm
Allow to cool before storing
I refrigerated mine overnight and they were a little soggy the next day. But because they were still firm I threw those puppies in the toaster and they were amazing!!! They were almost the consistency of a refrigerated pancake or waffle before toasting but they got a bit crispy and made a great sandwich that held up at the beach. Eggplant flesh is pretty spongy so it's a pretty great stand in for bread.
I have to say it again, I LOVED these. And's it's a welcome change from a lettuce wrap which is still good but lacks substance and flavor.
Lastly, Music Man's birthday is at the end of the month and the last few years haven't been celebrated properly due to the Little Man taking up a bit of my time so I want to make sure we have a nice celebration this year. I have been scouting out presents and have a few things in mind but found this card yesterday, which is so appropriate. I couldn't wait to give it to him so we just get to celebrate for a few weeks!
Have an awesome weekend!
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