The Hungry Twenties

Healthy Vegetable Fried Rice Recipe

2012-02-10T20:39:00.000-05:00

So, this is something that I was having an intense craving for lately and decided I really wanted to cook it myself. I've seen a number of recipes for "healthy" fried rice around and I knew that if I loaded it up with veggies, I'd be able to have a really healthy meal for a low amount of points. In fact, I went a little overboard in my mind and when I started cooking this meal, I was originally planning on making only 2 servings. However, about halfway through I realized just how much vegetables I was cooking. I last minute decided to double the amount of rice I had planned to use and make 4 servings with a good vegetable-to-rice ratio rather than 2 servings of mostly vegetables with a little bit of rice mixed in.

I chose not to use any meat even though this is a main dish due to preference. I don't often cook meat for myself and prefer veggies just fine. I also knew that I would be getting some protein from the egg in the dish (albeit not much... but it is there!) I swear, this is one of the most delicious dishes I have eaten in a while-- at home or in a restaurant. It was SO good and really filling, which is why I am immediately here blogging it for you. Seriously, my empty plate is still sitting next to me! I couldn't wait to share it!

And yes, I ate it all with chopsticks!

Vegetable Fried Rice

Serves: 4

Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 7 per serving

Ingredients:
- 1 cup (uncooked) brown rice
- 2 eggs
- 2 red bell peppers
- 1 large white onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 small can sliced water chestnuts
- 1 cup chopped or shredded carrots
- 2 broccoli crowns
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- Soy sauce
- Ground white pepper

Step 1: In its own pot, cook the brown rice according to the instructions on the box/bag (depending on whether you bought instant or stovetop, cooking instructions will vary. However, do not add salt or butter to the rice. When the rice is cooked, fluff, and then set aside.

Step 2: In a large wok over medium heat, first spray the wok with some non-stick spray and then add about 1/4 cup of broth and the broccoli florets. I covered the wok so that the broccoli could steam a little bit and also keep all of the flavor in one pot. However, you could certainly just steam the broccoli on its own. Steam the broccoli for about 3-4 minutes until it is bright green and still maintaining a bit of crunch. You want the stems of the broccoli to still be a bit firm and not fully cooked so that it will hold together in the fried rice.

Step 3: Remove the broccoli from the wok and set aside. Add about another 1/4 cup of broth at this time. Be sure to keep enough liquid in the wok at all times for the vegetables to cook in. You are essentially replacing broth as oil for the stir fry. Add your red pepper and onions. I wanted to have big vegetable pieces in my rice so I cut the vegetables to about an inch or 1/2 an inch pieces (sorry I didn't take any pictures of just the vegetables!) You can cut them into whatever sizes you would like.

Step 4: When the pepper and onion have gotten soft and the onion is translucent, add more broth, the chopped garlic, carrots, and water chestnuts. Stir and recover the wok for about 5 minutes.

Step 5: Okay, here is where it starts to get interesting. Move your vegetables up along the sides of the wok so that you have a small circle on the bottom of the pan. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and then crack 2 eggs into the bottom of the pan. Picture is below:

Step 5

Step 6: Begin to scramble the eggs right where they are to incorporate the yolk and the whites together and start to cook the egg. Slowly incorporate the vegetables into the cooking egg and stir all the vegetables and the egg together. Be sure to fully cook the eggs.

Step 6

Step 7: Next, turn the heat down to low and then stir in the cooked rice that had been set aside.

Step 7

Step 8: Sprinkle a small amount of ground white pepper over the stop and add about 1/8 cup soy sauce drizzled over the top. Stir in the pepper and soy sauce. This step very much has to do with taste. Take a bite of the fried rice and see how the flavor is. Add more soy sauce if desired. Soy sauce has a lot of salt so be careful with how much you add yourself. You do not salt the meal. If you are serving more than one person with this dish, I would recommend adding soy sauce sparingly and put the soy sauce on the table for guests to use on their own if desired.

Step 9: Serve and enjoy!

Enjoy!

As a side note... I cannot believe I initially thought that this was going to make only 2 servings. Good thing this was delicious, I know what I will be eating for the next few meals :) As a side note... I also wanted to point out how you can save yourself some prep time. For this meal, it may have seemed like a lot of chopping but it really wasn't that bad. I had chopped the carrots earlier in the week when cutting up carrot sticks for snacks. I also was able to prep some food to use tomorrow morning in an omelet while preparing this dinner. You can see my onion, red pepper and broccoli on the side and see that I portion my meals out right away into single serve Tupperware containers to save myself time later.

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I did!

Small confession.

2012-02-03T09:46:00.000-05:00

This morning I was rereading yesterday's post (yes, I'm lame) and started to feel guilty about one part of my blog entry that was not entirely true. I know that nobody would ever be able to call me on this but I have a guilty conscious and wanted to confess.

Yesterday after work I was not doing errands. I was getting a pedicure. Not being productive. *Sigh*

I don't know why I wrote that I was running "errands" but I felt that it was import to come clean. So, there it is, now you know :) Happy Friday blog friends!

Why I love "combination" meals & my Super-Quick Couscous and Asparagus Combo!

2012-02-02T20:45:00.000-05:00

Today I'm posting another one of my recipes that really isn't a recipe. I sometimes feel like I'm almost admitting to the world that I have low-brow tastes by posting what I eat on here, but hey, this is me, take it or leave it :)

I've been eating this "combination" for almost 4 years now and I love it. If I've said it once, I've said it a million times (BTW... what does that cliche even really mean literally?). I am a volume eater. I love to be able to have a big bowl of food in front of me and am comforted by that hand-to-mouth repetitive action. It is why meals like my spaghetti squash and turkey sausage combination are such a favorite of mine. I also am a fan of these "all in one" combination meals because they pack well.

Since I am cooking for myself, when I make something like the spaghetti squash meal or the meal I made tonight, before I eat, I split it right in half, putting the 2nd half right into a tupperware container to take to work for lunch the next day or save for dinner the next night. When cooking for myself, I like combining my starch, protein, and veggie all in one because I get a heaping bowl of food and I don't have to worry about packing the leftovers separately.

This meal is a particular favorite of mine because it is FAST! Today I did a few errands after work and by the time I walked in the door, I was starving. I originally was planning on roasting some vegetables and a sweet potato for dinner, but I knew if I had to wait for that to cook, I would have ended up snacking on something in the mean time and I didn't want to do that. So I went after my go to super fast, super quick meal, couscous and asparagus.

I promise, some day my photos will get better!

I'm not even going to write this out as a "recipe" because I feel that is giving myself far too much credit. But what I do, is cook one bunch of asparagus from the grocery store by throwing it into a pot of boiling water for 3 minutes. While I am doing that, I make a box of Near East Couscous Mix, which cooks in about 5 minutes (so quick!) Pretty much every box requires 1 1/4 cups water and a tablespoon of olive oil. They come with their own seasoning packs.

After removing the asparagus from the water and patting it dry on my cutting board with a paper towel, I cut it into 1 inch pieces, fluff the couscous, and mix them both together. [Cooking side note: if I am boiling asparagus to eat on its own, I will take it right from the boiling water and put it into a bowl of ice water. The ice water stops the cooking and helps your asparagus to stay bright green. I don't do that step with this recipe because I want it to stay warm since I will be immediately adding it to my dish. I don't know if this is chef-approved, but it is just what I do!]

Technically, a box of Near East Couscous Mix makes 3 servings that are each 6 Weight Watchers PointsPlus points (for the whole box, including the oil used in cooking and the seasonings.) Since I am eating the entire box in 2 meals and the asparagus is 0 Points, I consider this meal to be 9 Weight Watchers PointsPlus and I honestly love the dish and find it to be really easy and some-what addicting. Like my turkey sausage obsession, you can swap flavors of Couscous and even vegetables if you want (I've done it with broccoli many times.)

I stock up on boxes of Near East Couscous whenever they are on sale and I love them. My favorite flavors are "Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil" and "Parmesan." With tonight's meal I tried a new one, "Wild Mushroom & Herb" -- and although it doesn't quite make the favorites list, it was so good!! I also have a box of the Mediterranean Curry one that I am dying to try in a meal with perhaps some roasted mushrooms and onion. Yum!! (Side note: if you are considering trying any of these, I will say that the one I do not care for is "Broccoli & Cheese," I have never been unhappy with any other flavor.)

Let me know if you try this meal and I hope you don't think less of me :) What are your go-to meals when you come home from work starved and need something to eat FAST? I would love to get some more tips!

It's okay.

2012-02-01T21:44:00.001-05:00

Day one of February and my new list of goals to work on and strive for. I really wanted to be able to start the first day of the month by being a super rock star and thought maybe I should go for gold and file my taxes or read a whole book or go grocery shopping just so I could buy things on sale and use my reusable bags. However, this is life, and this really isn't about me trying to show off to myself and get these goals does as soon as possible. I need to not be so hard on myself sometimes. The reason that I gave myself a month for these goals and made so many of them is because they are a work in progress. I am trying to fit small changes into my life to make myself an overall healthier and happier person.

So, on that sentiment, I would like to say: it is all okay and I did great today. It's okay...

... that I ate a small piece of chocolate with my lunch today. It is a treat I sometimes afford myself with lunch and I count the points for it. It wasn't part of my off-limits "Valentine's Day candy" rule, which I did avoid today when I resisted grabbing a handful of candy hearts from the bowl out in the office today.

... that I left the gym after 10 minutes on the treadmill. I went to boot camp this morning at 5:30 a.m. and then was on my feet the entire day, which is not normal for me and I was a lot more tired than I realized. Also, I really pushed myself at boot camp this morning, where we did a fitness test we'd done about a month ago. I beat all of my previous scores in the test!

... that all I've been talking about lately is how happy I am to have a kitchen to cook in again, yet today I was so happy knowing that I had leftovers to come home to so I wouldn't have to cook tonight. I was wiped, and to be honest, the mushroom truffle risotto I made last night is DELICIOUS (recipe to come!)

... that I scarfed down my dinner really quickly tonight even though I know I should be trying to eat slower. I still stayed within my Weight Watchers points range for the day, even pushing aside the craving for a second cup of my fat free hot chocolate I had post-dinner.

Looking forward to tomorrow being a new day. Hope you all had a great February 1st, and remember, it is okay.

First blog in my new home!

2012-01-31T19:57:00.001-05:00

Hi everybody, I am happy to announce that I am writing my first blog from my new apartment! This past weekend I moved into a new place that I consider to be my first "Big Girl" apartment. I'm writing from my kitchen table -- the first I've ever had, in a kitchen that has great counter space and a brand new stove/oven!

My new kitchen!

I am SO excited to be able to have my own space and have this wonderful kitchen to try new recipes and entertain in. Now that I am getting settled into my own space, I feel like the year is really just starting for me. As you may have read, around the New Year, I posted my resolutions for 2012. These are big overarching goals that I am going to be working towards throughout the entire year and they are always in my mind. However, over the past couple weeks I have started to feel a little lost and have fallen into a bit of a funk with my workouts and eating. I've cheated a ton on Weight Watchers and am expecting to go up at my weigh in tomorrow. My exercise routine consists of spin class 2x a week, boot camp 3x a week, and running on the treadmill 1x a week. This is challenging, but getting a little old. I think the winter is getting to me and I am missing running outside (which is shocking for me to say!)

So, I've decided to add some new goals to the mix for the month of February to keep me on my toes and keep me challenged. I know many of you have these smaller monthly goal lists and I think that they are really great. I was super excited to put my list together and am looking forward to reporting back to you at the end of the month to let you know how I do! Let me know if you have monthly goals as well, I would love to read them and follow along as you work to achieve them!

GOALS FOR FEBRUARY 2012:

Blog at least 10x
Lose 5 lbs
Do a cardio workout 3-4x a week (running 2x a week)
Use my reusable bags at the grocery store
Buy fruits & vegetables that are on sale that week
Try cooking a new vegetable
Stay away from Valentine's Day candy
Use all of the food I purchase at the grocery store-- do not let anything go bad!
Bring my lunch to work every day
Do not purchase clothing for the whole month
Finish reading one of the books I am in the middle of
Recycle bottles & cans
Give up coffee completely
Go to 2 yoga classes at Good Karma Studio
Go on a date
Reconnect with a friend I haven't spoken to in a while
Celebrate my friends in little ways
Complete my taxes
Organize my recipe binder
Commit to a road race that I have never done before
Tell myself I am beautiful. Out loud. Every day.

A few of these things I have already started working on (cutting out coffee) and some I've been preparing for by treating myself beforehand (I bought myself a box of Valentine's Day Junior Mints yesterday... does that defeat the purpose?) Either way, starting tomorrow I am going to work to hopefully check each of these items off my list this month. I hope everybody has a great start to your February!

More chicken sausage -- this time with spinach!

2012-01-20T18:16:00.001-05:00

So, why another chicken sausage meal you may ask? Well, I have currently been living off of the stuff. My apartment is undergoing renovations and I don't have a full kitchen to work with right now. Pots & pans are stored in one part of the apartment, seasonings are stored in another place, food is in another place, and I have to gather everything together and pull a Rachel Ray by carrying it all to the kitchen (which is down a flight of stairs and in a completely OTHER place) to even prepare a meal. Therefore, chicken sausage has been my savior. It is low in fat, filling, and the best part is that it is fully cooked already AND comes in many different varieties, all extremely flavorful, so I use that as the seasoning on my veggies.

I promise, SOON, I will have non-chicken sausage recipes for you all. Until then, this is still yummy!

Spinach & Chicken Sausage

Makes: 2 servings

Weight Watchers PointsPlus (per serving): 8 (easily lowered by using less Panko & Parmesan!)

Ingredients:
4 links Spinach & Garlic chicken sausage
2 cups cooked spinach
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup whole wheat Panko breadcrumbs
2 Teaspoons olive oil

Step 1: In a dry pan, over medium heat, add your panko breadcrumbs to the pan and toast stir them continually with a wooden spatula to toast. Toast until they are all a light brown color. Then, set aside off of heat. Add Parmesan cheese to the toasted breadcrumbs and mix.

Step 2: Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to your pan to a big pan over medium heat. Add your spinach and toss continually to wilt the spinach down (6-8 minutes). Drain any existing water from spinach. I used one big bag of fresh spinach but you could also use as much or as little as you want. With Weight Watchers PointsPlus, spinach is a 0 point vegetable so if you want to make this a BIGGER dish, by all means, add more spinach! Then, set aside.

Step 3: Add other 1 teaspoon of olive oil to the pan, then add sliced chicken sausage. If you bought fully cooked chicken sausage, just cook until they are golden brown.

Step 4: Return spinach to the pan and toss with the chicken sausage. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and breadcrumb mixture, give it a final toss. And serve!!

It is amazing how much spinach wilts!

A meal in progress.

A meal that includes breadcrumbs and cheese has to be good!

Finished product. Bon appetite!

YUM!!!

What's for dinner?

2012-01-19T20:31:00.000-05:00

One of the new blogs I've started following A Running Tale recently posted an entry all about planning and scheduling meals. I found myself writing a long response in the comments because I'd recently had this topic in my mind. Just a couple of weeks ago the Weight Watchers weekly meeting topic was about this exact thing-- meal planning.

At the meeting, our leader asked the group, "Who here plans their meals?" Without hesitation, I raised my hand. Now, I always get quite a bit of teasing at the Weight Watchers meetings because I am seen as a bit of a teacher's pet since I follow the program very strictly. However, my meal planning has nothing to do with Weight Watchers and what they suggest. For as long as I can remember, as soon as I finished consuming one meal, my thoughts were already on the next.

Breakfast? Done. What's for lunch? Lunch over? Do we have dinner plans yet? I am ALWAYS thinking about food!

When I plan meals, it also helps me to enjoy the meals more when I actually eat them. I get excited thinking about my next meal throughout the day and savor the food as I have it. Like today, I was very much looking forward to my latest spinach, chicken sausage, panko, and Parmesan cheese concoction I've been eating lately. And yum, it did not disappoint! Recipe to come...!

The perfect chocolate chip cookie is on its way!

2012-01-18T13:36:00.000-05:00

I found this video to be totally adorable. And gave me a future date to start getting excited about now. According to Jeremy Snyder, the perfect chocolate chip cookie will be here in 2040.

What is on your list?

2012-01-11T19:20:00.000-05:00

Hi everybody! I haven't checked in since I made my New Year's Resolutions and as it turns out... I probably should have made a resolution to blog more. Oops! Anyways, I wanted to share a list today that I saw on one of my new favorite food/health/life blogs, Khushboo's Blog. She posted a list of “100 Things to EAT Before You Die” that got me thinking. How many have I had? I've been plagued for a long time of thinking I dislike foods just by not having ever tried them. Perhaps this list will do me some good. I'd like to make it a resolution to try 5 more. Let's see how that works out for me!

1. Venison - Check.
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros- Check.
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue - Yum, yes, yes, yes!
8. Carp
9. Borscht - Check. Not a fan though.
10. Baba ghanoush - Check.
11. Calamari - Check.
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich - Check (although I'd prefer a PB&Fluff!)
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart - Check.
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle - Check. I love everything and anything truffle.
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes? Check.
19. Steamed pork buns - Check.
20. Pistachio ice cream - Check.
21. Heirloom tomatoes - Check.
22. Fresh wild berries- Check.
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans - Check.
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters - Check.
29. Baklava - Check.
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float - Check.
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O - Check.
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail - Check-- just recently!
41. Curried goat - Check again! At the same time I had the oxtail.
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala - Check. Love it.
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut - Check.
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer- Check.
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzl- Check.
57. Dirty gin martini- Check.
58. Beer above 8% ABV - Check.
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores - Check.
62. Sweetbreads- Check.
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake - Check.
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain - Check. Thank you Nana!
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette- Check.
71. Gazpacho- Check.
72. Caviar and bilini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie- Check. (RIP Hostess)
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini- Check.
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict - Check.
83. Pocky - Check.
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash- Check.
88. Flower- Check.
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano - Check.
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta - Check.
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

I've got around 40. How many do you have?

My 2012 New Year's Resolutions

2011-12-30T11:43:00.000-05:00

For the first time in my life, this past year I kept my New Year's Resolution. I actually exceeded my goal of losing 40 lbs in the year, and ended the year with a total weight loss of 55.6 lbs! I've got some big shoes to fill in 2012 but I think I can do it. My resolutions for 2012 are as follows:

Resolution #1: Reach my goal weight and become a Weight Watchers Lifetime member.

What is my goal weight? Well, I haven't actually set it yet. Currently I am 6.4 lbs away from getting into the healthy weight range listed for my height. However, I would ideally like to be a bit below that. I want to keep working to get to a comfortable and HEALTHY weight for my body. I've also decided to stick with Weight Watchers until I reach Lifetime status membership. I have come so far with the program and really want to see this through to get Lifetime.

Resolution #2: Maintain, maintain, maintain!!

I know that the maintenance of my weight loss is going to be just as much (if not more) of a challenge as getting the weight off. I had the positive reinforcement and excitement each week of achieving small goals and seeing the numbers on the scale go down. Once I am maintaining, I will not have that anymore. That being said, there are a lot of other health & fitness goals that I have in mind and that I will be working towards in 2012. I'm hoping these goals will help me to have things to "celebrate" and keep me motivated. Which leads me to my next resolution...

Resolution #3: Run faster & further.

My fastest 5K so far has been a 30:08 and I am determined to break 30 minutes this year. I'm running inside this time of year so I've started some speed workouts on the treadmill, pushing myself harder and faster than I've ever run before. I'm also exploring races for 2012 and want to participate in a long race. I ran two 10Ks in 2011, making the furthest I've ever run 6.2 miles. This year I want to push past that distance with some longer runs, even just recreationally.

Resolution #4: Take care of me.

Plain and simple. I aim to be my own best friend in 2012 and do whatever it takes to just take care of me.

And with that, I bid you adieu 2011. This past year has rocked me to the core in every way imaginable. It has led me to not only question, but completely change, some of the beliefs that I have formed about myself and my life over the past 25 years. I have become painfully aware of some of the areas that I need to work on-- and also of a strength inside of me that I didn't know or believe existed. My farewell to the year 2011 is incredibly bittersweet because it started and ended a chapter in my life that I'm not sure I'm ready to say goodbye to yet. I think 2012 is going to be a year of growth for me; I'm excited to see what it brings. May your celebrations on the 31st be safe and joyful, and may 2012 bring a year filled with love, health and happiness. Happy New Year everybody!

Who holds you accountable?

2011-12-29T06:00:00.001-05:00

Yesterday morning I woke up to text messages from a friend, who has been close to me throughout my weight loss over the past year, saying,

"I just watched a documentary on the New York Times. At the end there was an info pop up that said one of the guys lost 90 lbs in some amount of time because he was broadcasting everything he ate on Twitter to his thousands of followers. I just thought that would be of interest for you to think about. Not to do it, but to think "If I had thousands of followers, what would they think about me eating ____ and ____ right now." Food for thought. Pun intended."

I love waking up to messages on my phone from friends and this thought-provoking text was no exception. I did think that this provided some "food for thought" and it got my brain buzzing bright an early that morning :)

To me, the reason that this individual was successful boils down to the fact that he had someone, in this case, thousands of "someones" in the name of his Twitter followers that held him accountable for his actions besides himself. I've seen that many people, including myself, need an external force outside of themselves to hold them accountable when trying to get in shape (or really, achieve any goal.)

I have a number of forces in my life that have helped throughout the past year, and continue to help, to keep me accountable for my actions. For me, it has been:

The Weight Watchers program: I mean, come on, what better way to be accountable than to have to get on a scale every week and have someone weigh you? On top of that, the essence of Weight Watchers is to track every. single. thing. you. eat. And THEN, assigning a point value to it. I don't think there is any way that you can do that without having some sort of feeling of accountability.

Work-out buddies: My roommate and I motivate and encourage each other to get up at 5:00 a.m. to go to boot camp three times a week. My co-workers (who are also great friends!) and I have become regulars at the spin class at our work gym and I know the question will be there every Tuesday/Thursday of "Are you going to spin?" And when I am home, my mom, a lifelong exercise junkie, keeps me moving and on my toes (nobody wants to be shown up by their mom!)

Blog followers: Although you may not know it, having you here helps to remind me to try new foods, take care in what I am eating, and enjoy and celebrate that food can make me healthier and taste delicious!

My weight loss support system: This past year there have been a number of key influential people who have helped me and kept me accountable more than they will ever know. My former roommate and best friend, my long-distance WW buddy, and a few of my closest friends have been especially helpful throughout this journey. These people deserve a post dedicated just to them, but they've all helped to keep me accountable in their own ways.

So, just as my morning wake up text me gave me some "food for thought" -- I want to leave you with something to think about. Who keeps you accountable as you work to reach your goals?

Merry Christmas... and by the way, you are fat!

2011-12-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

Last week the BBC online edition posted an article with the headline, “Tell loved ones they are overweight this Christmas” with the subhead, “Christmas may be a time of indulging for many, but health experts believe it is the perfect time to tell a loved one they are overweight.”

via BBC article

My first reaction to this was… are you kidding me? For many, the holidays can be stressful as it is, and now to top it off, people have to worry about being greeted with comments from their loved ones regarding their weight? Through my own personal experiences, I have learned that personal health issues such as smoking, obesity, etc. can only be fully addressed and overcome if an individual makes the decision to do that on their own. As well, I have never met anybody who has not been aware, ON THEIR OWN, that they are overweight and needed a loved one to let them know.

I am speaking from my point of view and from what has been successful with me and with friends. That being said, this holiday season, if your loved ones make comments indicating that they are are looking to shed a few pounds in the new year, show them that you can be supportive. Let them know how you can help and offer support rather than you opinion on their weight.

My family and friends have been invaluable throughout the past year as I made a journey myself to lose weight. Had someone told me last holiday season that I should drop a few pounds… well, I don’t think that would have gone over too well with me. I made the decision MYSELF to get healthy and to take action to improve my own life. The goal I gave myself was to lose 40 lbs in 2011 and I am proud to say that I exceeded that goal by 15 lbs!

As I mentioned before, weight gain and obesity is very often caused by underlying issues. An addiction to food, a method of coping, stress, depression, unhappiness, etc. can all lead to someone being overweight. Unless they are ready to make a change that involves eating healthier, exercising more, and ADDRESSING the issues that caused them to become overweight in the first place, there isn't a lot of chance for long term success. Family support can only go so far.

I urge anyone who may have been thinking about having a conversation with their loved one to take a step back and be careful before making the leap. Especially if you have never had a weight issue of your own, you don’t want to end up pushing your loved one in the wrong direction. Or at least, wait until after the holidays. January is a great time to start anew. A weight loss plan doesn’t need to start on January 1^st to be effective. Enjoy the holidays with your loved ones.

I would love to hear others thoughts on this. Has anybody successfully had a conversation with a loved one regarding their weight? Has anybody ever talked to YOU about your weight? How did they/you react? Any advice?

Is there anything cuter than a 2.5 year old?

2011-12-27T16:12:00.000-05:00

Okay, so this isn't food or really anything related... but I just had to share this series of photos. While at my Dad's house celebrating Christmas, my half-brother Tristan and I took a fun little series of photos on my iPhone. I was completely shocked that Tristan (who turns 3 at the end of January) was actually participating and making the silly faces with me and I just love every one of these photos.

I hope they make you smile :)

We couldn't quite get coordinated with the tongues...

This was supposed to be "Eyes closed!" but Tristan is peaking :)

That's all folks :)

Happy Holidays from The Hungry Twenties!

2011-12-27T13:14:00.001-05:00

Hope everybody had a great holiday season so far. We're right in the middle of it as far as I'm concerned and this week for me is going to be spent working, exercising, eating healthy, and finding some time to relax and enjoy the slowed down pace of life that comes with this sleepy week between Christmas and New Years.

I wanted to share a few photos of my holiday with my family. These are just a few quick snapshots, with more to come later. Hope your holiday was wonderful!!

Christmas tree at my mom's

Santa came!

Tear-jerker gift of 2011: My grandfather's framed childhood baseball uniform

The dessert table. Yum.

My gingerbread cookie :)

The annual family bow photo. Awkward family photos much?

The fam: Mark (brother-in-law), Nikki (sister), Mom, me, and Jeff (brother)

Myself with my best bud, one of my twin half-brothers, Tristan

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Oatmeal, peanut butter & banana lunch of deliciousness!

2011-12-23T08:07:00.002-05:00

I've been hearing really great feedback from friends about the recipe that I shared for spaghetti squash and chicken sausage. It makes me SO HAPPY to hear that many of you have tried it and loved the recipe. Please let me know if anybody else out there has tried it and/or if you altered my recipe in any way. I love to learn what you are doing in the kitchen as well!

I've done a couple posts lately about longer topics that I felt were interesting to write about and that I care about but I wanted to get back to what I know many of you love... tips for eating delicious meals that are also, fast, low-cost, and easy for the 20-somethings out there who are often on the go and/or cooking for one.

What I wanted to share today is actually what I have been eating almost every day for the past week for lunch. I actually got the idea of combining these things for a lunch from Courtney at Sweet Tooth Sweet Life's oatmeal/peanut butter breakfast. I like a lighter breakfast but thought it could make for a great, easy lunch! I make this at my desk at work and it is warm, delicious, sweet, and keeps me full throughout the afternoon. I probably shouldn't even call this a "recipe" but rather a "combination" however, let me indulge, will you? Here is my latest recipe for a super delicious, quick, and filling lunch:

I call this my Lunch of Deliciousness!

Oatmeal, Peanut Butter & Banana [aka Lunch of Deliciousness]

Makes: 1 serving

Weight Watchers Points Plus: 6

Ingredients:
- 1 packet instant oatmeal
- Hot water
- Banana
- Peanut Butter
- 1 Splenda packet (optional)

Step 1: Prepare instant oatmeal as instructions state. The water cooler near my desk has a hot water option, so I've learned that just by counting to 3 as I open the hot water faucet, is the perfect amount for oatmeal. My current favorite oatmeal is Quaker Instant Oatmeal in the Chocolate Chip flavor, this is 3 Points Plus. Another favorite is Quaker Instant Oatmeal Cinnamon Swirl, which usually comes in at 4 Points Plus. I add one Splenda packet at this point and mix it in.

Step 2: Cut up a banana into small slices and mix in to warm oatmeal.

Can you spot the extra little treat I added yesterday? Hey, it's the holidays! :)

Step 3: Stir in 1 tablespoon of peanut butter. I actually have Jif To Go packets that I keep in my desk at work and LOVE. In fact, I actually don't stir my peanut butter in to this but put a little bit on my spoon with each bite so I get a good amount of peanut buttery goodness. As well, the Jif To Go packs have a ton of peanut butter in them and one pack is a total of 7 points. That may seem like a lot but I use about 1/2 the pack with my lunch and then eat the other 1/2 of the pack throughout the afternoon with 0 points fruits and vegetables such as carrots, celery, apples, etc.

Step 4: Enjoy!!

I think one of the things that makes this meal work for me so well is that I love to have something sweet after I finish eating. When I have this for lunch I actually feel like I am having a dessert-like meal for lunch. I have an incredible sweet tooth so any way I can satisfy those cravings while eating healthy foods and staying within my Points Plus range for the day, I love!

Side note: you may have noticed that there is a Hershey's Kiss atop my oatmeal in the picture. I was eating a Chocolate Chip oatmeal yesterday and the Kisses have been floating around my office for the holidays, so I figured I'd add one to make my meal a little extra chocolate-y as a holiday treat. Hey, why not, right? Happy eating!

Yum!

25 Questions of Christmas!

2011-12-22T11:15:00.003-05:00

Today, I've seen a number of my favorite blogs post a short 25 question Christmas survey. Since my past 2 blogs have been rather "heavy" I thought it would be fun to lighten things up a bit and share a little bit about Christmas and what my families Christmas traditions are. Also, check out Emily's answers over at Perfection Isn't Happy, as she is one of the bloggers that inspired me to do my own. Merry Christmas everybody!

1. Eggnog or Hot Chocolate?

Hot chocolate all the way. I actually was thinking of doing a blog entry purely dedicated to the topic of Eggnog. I've seen various debates pop up across the internet and on the radio around what eggnog is and who likes it. It seems like people either love it or hate it. I am a chocolate girl through and through and eggnog does nothing for me, so pass the hot chocolate and don't forget the marshmallows please!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?

He wraps them! Does Santa not wrap some people's gifts? I didn't even realize that and feel bad for those who don't get to make a giant mess on Christmas morning by unwrapping gifts :)

3. Colored or white lights on tree and house?

I have to say I am a fan of colored. Growing up we had these huge colored tacky Christmas lights on our tree and I always loved them. In the past few years, my mom switched to decorating the tree with small white lights. However, I will always be a fan of the big colored ones. My own tree will always be colored!

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

I do not. To be honest, I don't think I've ever really seen mistletoe in real life...

5. When do you hang your decorations up?

My decorations go up right after Thanksgiving. I like to make the holidays stretch for as long as possible.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish, besides dessert?

Meatballs! Leave it to an Italian/Swedish family to have meatballs on Christmas but I look forward to it every year.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?

I remember barely being able to sleep every night because I was so excited. And trying desperately to listen for Santa and the reindeer on the roof. We'd always have a fire on Christmas Eve and eat Chinese food. I loved the time just spent as a family.

8. What’s on your Christmas wish-list?

Not too much this year. I asked for a teapot and the book Drew Ramsey and Tyler Graham's book "The Happiness Diet" that I discussed in my past entry.

9. Do you open presents on Christmas Eve?

When we were younger we opened family/sibling presents on Christmas Eve (and Santa's presents in the morning). Since the Santa thing has worn off and it is pretty much understood that all the gifts under the tree are family gifts now, we do them all the day of.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?

Very eclectically. The tree at my mom's house is full of a mish mash of new and old, homemade and store bought ornaments. Every year my mom tries to discard of these horribly tacky bird ornaments, but my brother insists. As well, she tries to insist on no tinsel, but that is one of my favorite parts.

11. Snow? Love it or dread it?

What is Christmastime without snow?? But then again... will someone please shovel my car out for me? ;)

12. Real or fake tree?

If possible, go real. I have a miniature fake tree for my apartment and this year I found myself encouraging my mom to go fake. We'll see what happens in the future...

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

I always loved getting a "Storybook" of Life Savers, as lame as that sounds. It was something that was in our stocking every year and I always looked forward to it.

14. What’s the most important thing about Christmas for you?

Being with family.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?

My mom makes the most amazing fudge of all time. She is a phenomenal baker and every December her kitchen turns into a fudge factory as she experiments and creates different fudge flavors. Nobodies fudge even compares and I look forward to it every year.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

I love opening the gifts at my grandmother's house every year. It is always a crazily chaotic event with ~20 people opening presents, shouting thank yous, paper flying, trying things on, etc. But it is a ton of fun and a great family tradition. As well, at the end of the day, we all take one of the ribbons from the presents and take a "Bow" picture. Silly, but fun :)

17. What tops your tree?

An angel!

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?

To be honest, I love giving gifts. Always have and always will!

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?

I am a sucker for "All I Want for Christmas is You" but I also really love "Last Christmas," "Please Come Home for Christmas," and "Baby, It's Cold Outside"

20. Candy canes, yuck or yum?

Yum! My grandmother always has them on her tree and by the end of the day, they are usually gone :)

21. Favorite Christmas movie?

Elf, A Christmas Story, and Love Actually. My college roommates and I loved Elf so much that last year we all went to go see the Broadway play they made from the movie!

22. What do you leave for Santa?

Cookies, milk, and some carrots for the reindeer!

23. Do you have a favorite Christmas morning tradition?

When we were younger, my brother, sister and I would not be allowed to go downstairs until 6:30 a.m. I barely slept Christmas night I was so excited but we would usually get up around 6:00 a.m. and talk about/guess what would be under the tree when we got downstairs. At 6:29 we would stand, waiting for the clock to move to 6:30 and then SPRINT to wake up my parents and then run downstairs to see the tree and gifts. My siblings and I always had our regular seats/opening locations that we would sit at year after year as well.

24. Do you prefer to shop online or in the mall?

I like to go to stores, but definitely shop online for unique/unusual gifts or gifts with better prices online.

25. Christmas letter or Christmas cards?

Cards with a photo please!

Please let me know if you complete the survey as well, I would love to read your answers!

Are weight loss programs really just money-making schemes?

2011-12-21T16:15:00.000-05:00

As a communications professional, marketing/promotions that companies use to attract attention have always intrigued me, and as a Weight Watchers member and someone who has personally struggled with weight issues, I find this industry’s techniques especially interesting. Recently, a New York Times article titled, “Weight Loss, With Divas and Public Service” discusses some of the tactics that the three major weight loss programs, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and Nutrisystem are using to attract new members.

All three programs are rolling out new campaigns that partner with celebrity endorsers. They have also begun to rally around health/humanity issues such as hunger/chronic obesity. As a communications/marketing professional, I see these promotions as smart ways to attract attention and publicity for the company, promote the company culture and values, and in the end, yes, make more money for the corporation by bringing in new members. As an consumer, it raises questions about whether or not the celebrities endorsing the programs are actually participants themselves? What exactly am I “buying” when I purchase a 17-week membership to Weight Watchers?

Jennifer Hudson, Weight Watchers spokesperson, looking INCREDIBLE at the 2011 Oscars [Photo via HelloBeautiful]

For me, I believe I pay money to be a part of Weight Watchers in order to learn a manageable way to organize and control my diet. For the money I have spent, I have become a part of a community of people who have the same issues and struggles as I do, who can help me, and who can support me. I pay money and get tips for cooking, new recipes, fitness, and advice on how to fit healthy eating into a chaotic, unpredictable lifestyle. Sure, seeing Jennifer Hudson looking AMAZING definitely is one form of inspiration, but I didn’t join Weight Watchers and spend money thinking I would look like her. I joined Weight Watchers to learn how to take control of my life and get healthy. I feel I haven’t spent the last year of my life “on a diet” but that I have spent the last year, changing my life.

Some people criticize these programs saying that they are money making schemes. This is criticism I have heard just recently and took person offense to it. And I do see how it can be a fine line. Weight Watchers offers free "Lifetime" memberships to those who reach and maintain their goal weight. If every person on the program reached goal weight, they would need a new business model. I do see and understand that.

Because when it comes down to it, business is business and most things in life are a business. Weight loss programs are not the only “healthy” companies that operate by making money… gyms, health centers, yoga studios, hospitals, etc. are all trying to make money as they improve the lives of their customers. I recently read a book called 'Yoga Bitch' by Suzanne Morrison that touches upon the authors struggle with being a yoga teacher when she realized that by charging people to participate in yoga, you really can't be "zen." Many businesses and industries are contradictory in this sense, yet they almost have to be in order to be profitable. Money makes the world go round.

I personally am happy to see the new techniques and approaches that Weight Watchers, Jenny (which apparently has dropped the “Craig”), and Nutrisystem are using to attract new members. I am particularly looking forward to seeing how Charles Barkley’s endorsement of Weight Watchers is taken by the male overweight population! To end this blog, which now just feels like a big rambling of words... the NYT article quotes Ellen Granberg, a Clemson University sociology professor who studies long-term weight loss as saying, “The companies are changing the way they are perceived, and how they influence the public. They may be transitioning from being seen as diet companies to preventative health providers.” And for that, I give two thumbs up and say way to go!

The Epi-Log: Food Trend for 2012 from Epicurious

2011-12-12T14:00:00.000-05:00

For someone who loves to cook and loves to blog, you would think I might be obsessed with Epicurious. Although, it is actually a site I visit pretty infrequently, recently, they had a post up n the Epi-Log that I enjoyed called, "Epicurious Predicts Top 10 Food Trends for 2012."

I love this time of year because I am a sucker for "Year in Review" and annual "Top 10" lists, and any that is food-related, is of course, a hit with me. One of the things that particularly stuck out for me on the Epicurious list was their prediction for the diet that would be popular in 2012. They called it the "Happy Diet" and afterwards wrote,

"Eating healthy shouldn't make you sad. That's why we're excited about Dr. Drew Ramsey and Tyler Graham's Happiness Diet, which focuses on foods designed to boost your mood--and shrink your belly."

This immediately caught my attention because of a conversation I had just had with a friend based on a New York Times blog article titled, "Exploring the Links Between Depression and Weight Gain" by Roni Caryn Rabin. Although the article was posted in June 2010, I stumbled upon it only just recently and found it fascinating. It discusses depression and obesity as sort of a "Which came first? The chicken or the egg?" type of question. Most assume that being overweight leads to low self esteem and depression. However, the article discusses studies and evidence that weight gain could often be an effect of depression, not the other way around.

Lately, I have become really curious about the physical and mental connection within the body. I have seen in myself and in others, instances where stress and anxiety has caused physical ailments. So a mental condition of depression or stress, causing a physical condition of obesity is intriguing to me.

The article quotes Belinda L. Needham, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, saying that “Chronic stress arousal leads to depressed affect, which then leads to excess weight gain." And what I thought was ESPECIALLY interesting was learning that the stress hormone corisol, stimulates and promotes fat storage, primarily in the abdominal area.

Tackling the "obesity epidemic" in the United States is something that has gotten a lot of media attention lately. This season I have been addicted to The Biggest Loser; I've read much about First Lady Michelle Obama's fight to end childhood obesity with "Let's Move!"; Chain restaurants are required to list calorie counts for their food; Cities are banning the sales of foods containing trans fats; and workplaces, including my own, are spending millions of dollars to help promote health and wellness in their employees.

Articles such as "Exploring the Links Between Depression and Weight Gain" make me wonder... is the solution to the obesity epidemic to remove trans fats from bakeries and encouraging employees to have "Treadmill Desks" or is it to address an issue that often causes obesity-- depression, stress, and unhappiness? Diet and exercise may be the solution in the short term, but for those with weight issues, you often have to address the underlying issues of WHY you have that issue with food and weight to begin with. I can personally attest to the fact that dieting can be a yo-yo phenomenon and with my current weight loss, I have been working to be sure that this is a lifestyle I can maintain but addressing the mental as well as the physical reasons why I have been overweight my whole life. One of the reasons that I like The Biggest Loser and I am looking forward to Tim Gunn's new show "Revolution" is because they address these facts.

It is also a reason why I loved seeing "The Happy Diet" on the Epicurious list of trends for 2012. I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to learning more about this and immediately put the book on my Christmas list. In addition, after reading the New York Times article, I have been working to make sure each day is filled with healthy eating, exercise, AND time devoted to things that make me happy. For the past few weeks I have been trying to make more of an effort to be just as diligent about my happiness as I am about the time I spend in the gym or preparing healthy foods. For me, that means a lot more reading, writing, and blogging. What about you? What makes up your "Happy Diet?"

Spaghetti squash, chicken sausage & shallots

2011-12-10T16:02:00.001-05:00

One of the side effects of taking part in a program such as Weight Watchers were you are carefully tracking and recording what you eat is that you learn a lot about your eating habits. Throughout the past year of Weight Watchers, I have come to learn a lot about my body and my behaviors. For example, I used to only recognize a rumbling in my stomach as a sign of hunger. However, after months of Weight Watchers, I now know that both feeling lethargic and a bit "cranky" are also signs that I need to find something filling to snack on-- and I likely need a big glass of water. I've learned that I tend to overeat on the weekends mistaking hungry for dehydration. And I've also learned that I am a volume eater. Even if a smaller portion of food may satisfy my physical hunger, I mentally enjoy and am comforted by seeing and consuming a heaping plate of food. Small portions feel too much like I am depriving myself and I usually end up eating more later on.

I have developed a number of recipes that rely heavily on vegetables and voluminous foods so that I get to serve myself what is essentially a BIG plate of food, but with maximum nutrition and low Weight Watchers PointsPlus values. What comes in handy is that with Weight Watchers PointsPlus, almost all fruits and vegetables have 0 points values. I've been playing around with spaghetti squash a lot over the past few weeks and have perfected a super simple dish that is already a favorite of mine and will soon be a staple in my diet: Spaghetti squash, chicken sausage, and shallots. Photo and recipe below... let me know what you think!!

Spaghetti Squash & Chicken Sausage

Makes: 2 BIG servings!!

Weight Watchers PointsPlus (per serving): 6

Ingredients:
- 1 Spaghetti Squash
- 4 links Bilinskis Mild Italian chicken sausage (or your favorite brand)
- 1 large shallot
- Salt & pepper
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- 2 Teaspoons olive oil
- Red pepper flakes (if desired)

Step 1: Season uncooked, halved spaghetti squash (seeds removed) with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder

Step 2: Roast spaghetti squash face down in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes (for full instructions on how to roast a spaghetti squash, with pictures, check out my blog on exactly that -- cooking a spaghetti squash!)

Step 3: While the spaghetti squash is cooling, chop shallots and saute in 2 teaspoons of olive oil until slightly translucent and aromatic.

Step 4: Cut up 4 links of your favorite brand of chicken sausage. I personally use Bilinski brand Mild Italian chicken sausage, most flavors, including Mild Italian, have a PointsPlus value of 2 points for one sausage link, 5 points for 2 links. They are all delicious with great flavor, but I particularly like the Mild Italian for this recipe. Another popular brand is Al Fresco, which have delicious chicken sausage in tons of flavors as well. They are both delicious but Al Fresco chicken sausage usually comes in at 3 PointsPlus per link, so I usually go with Bilinski. Either brand works great.

Step 5: Add the chicken sausage to the pan with the shallots. The chicken sausage comes fully cooked, but be sure to give it some time in the pan to release the oils and fats in the chicken sausage and give it some heat and get a nice brown crust on the sausage.

Step 6: Shred the spaghetti squash with a fork directly into the fry pan with the shallots and chicken sausage. If the spaghetti squash is still warm, hold with a paper towel or cloth to be able to shred the meat from the squash without burning yourself.

Step 7: Season again with onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper (the latter, only if you want a little heat.) Mix everything together, to combine sausage, shallots, and spaghetti squash.

Step 8: Split and serve. Bon Appetite!

How do you cook spaghetti squash?

2011-12-01T10:01:00.000-05:00

Recently, I've found myself answering questions from my friends and family about how to cook different foods or enhance recipes. I LOVE this because I love sharing my love of food and cooking with others (heck, it is why I started this blog!) So, I decided to take these questions and make blog entries out of them.

To start, the question I got a couple weeks ago from my friends in Boston... how do you cook a spaghetti squash? As is often the case, I had been asked a question I did not know the answer to. And as is often the case, I replied that I didn't know but would find out!

I had been wanting to try cooking a spaghetti squash for a long time. When I first heard of this vegetable that bears the same name as one of my favorite foods, I was totally intrigued. I actually looking through the grocery store vegetable section, trying to find something that resembled uncooked pasta. Needless to say, I couldn't find it :) Once I finally got my hands around a spaghetti squash, I was determined to cook one and see how it went.

The photo journal of my experience is below...

To my surprise, spaghetti squash looks nothing like spaghetti

I was told to cut in half lengthwise (which was actually a little difficult) and remove the seeds. When I cut it in 1/2 it immediately smelled like pumpkin. Yum!

As I removed the seeds with a spoon, I already started to realize where the "spaghetti" term came in to the title.

I roasted in a 350 degree oven (face down) for ~40 minutes and when I took it out of the oven, I started scraping the squash with a fork. It immediately shredded. Fun!

I continued to shred. And shred... and shred...

And voila! A bowl of spaghetti squash!

As this experiment was merely to figure out how to cook the mystery vegetable, I actually didn't season it at all. I have been eating this throughout the week with a hearty vegetable spaghetti sauce I made the same day. I am looking forward to seasoning this the next time I cook it and actually build flavor around and into the spaghetti squash! Let me know if you have any favorite recipes or methods of cooking my new fun favorite veggie-- I'm open to suggestions!

Recipe Recap:
How to Cook a Spaghetti Squash

Need: 1 spaghetti squash & 45 minutes

1. Cut in 1/2 lengthwise and remove seeds with a spoon

2. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray

3. Roast face-down in a 350 degree oven for around 40-45 minutes

4. Let cool, then take a fork to the squash, begin to shred.
5. Enjoy!

I love the library.

2011-11-22T16:24:00.000-05:00

When did I forget how amazing the library is? I headed to the public library in my town today to get a change of scenery to do some work. Small town, RI doesn't have a Starbucks that I know of so I figured this was my best shot. And by golly, it blew Starbucks out of the water!

It is comfy with lots of seating and nice couches! It is quiet! It is cozy with just the right temperature, nice lighting, big windows, and greenery! It has free Wifi, totally stable, with the supercute name of "Harry Potter!" It is safe, no worrying about weirdos stealing my stuff while I am in the bathroom! AND, the books!!!

Granted, I didn't take advantage of the books today because I am here doing work, but I forgot what the feeling of being in a room full of books and magazines that are totally mine to browse through. I sat here with my Nook tucked securely into my purse, hoping nobody can tell that I have transitioned to an e-Reader (woops!) But man, I forgot how great the library is. I'm loving it!

Via Instagram

The benefit of working from home: breakfast for lunch!

2011-11-21T21:52:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned, this week, I am working from home at my mom's house in Rhode Island. The pros/cons of working from home are debated constantly in articles I read. It seems to becoming more popular given the increased ease and ability to communicate and connect from almost anywhere with WiFi. As well, there are debates that working from home can boost productivity, increased work-life balance, and eases over-crowded office buildings and congested commutes.

Personally, I enjoy going into the office. My commute wakes me up, clears my head, and gets me ready for my day in the office. I enjoy being surrounded by co-workers and having face-to-face interactions. I like the comfort and consistency of my office space and my comfy desk chair. Sure, some days I would much prefer to work out of sweatpants and avoid the distractions and busy-ness of the office. And yes, I can often be more productive when I get rid of external distractions, interruptions, and just plug away, just me at my computer. But for now, I think the benefits of working from a centralized office outweigh the cons for me.

However, one thing that I do LOVE about working from home is the ability to prepare and put together hot meals for myself in the comfort of my own kitchen. Brown bag lunches and eating out can only take you so far. There is something about putting together a hot meal for yourself that you just can't recreate in the office.

Today I had a delicious breakfast-for-lunch meal of a veggie egg white scramble and whole wheat toast. Before leaving Albany, I had put together a bunch of veggies I had prepared and then been using in meals... caramelized onions, sauteed yellow bell pepper and mushrooms, steamed broccoli and fresh chopped tomatoes. For the past few days I have been eating egg whites with a large scoop of my veggie mixture chopped and scrambled in, with some of whatever cheese is nearby. Today it was shredded mozzarella.

This meal is so delicious and it is a perfect lunch for me. I don't usually eat too much in the mornings and this protein-flavor packed dish is such a great mid-day meal for me. I would eat this every single day for lunch if I could. Egg white/veggie scrambles are a far under-used part of my meal repertoire that I am definitely catching back up on this week while I work from home!!

Another PR at the Gear N Beer 5K!

2011-11-21T17:16:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving week everybody! I am blogging today from my mom's house in Rhode Island, where I will be working from for the week. I haven't been home for a full week in Rhode Island for quite some time and I am looking forward to getting to spend some quality time with my family and friends while I am in town.

My week at home started out well as my mom, brother, and brother's girlfriend and I went out on Saturday night to try a new restaurant called Razzle Restaurant Wine Bar and Cupcakery in Cranston, RI (read the Yelp! review here). I forgot to take photos of the food, but it was all delicious! I split a salad and a pizza with my brother's girlfriend and every bite was pure heaven. The 4 of us also each chose one of their specialty cupcakes to share. Between the 4 of us we had an Oreo cupcake, Snickers cupcake, Lemon cupcake, and Apple Cinnamon cupcake. Now, I have had a lot of cupcakes in my life, but let me tell you these were by far some of the BEST. They were so moist and fluffy and seriously worth every bite of the high number of Weight Watchers points they consisted of. Luckily, I planned ahead and had some exercise planned for my week at home.

On Sunday, my mom and I participated in the Mew's Tavern Beer N Gear 5K in Wakefield, RI. My mom has been a runner her whole entire life, and I have always been on the sidelines to this hobby of hers. It honestly gives me so much pleasure to be able to participate with my mom in races and share this passion of hers. This past year we have completed two 10Ks together, and this race was our first 5K.


Mom and I at the Mew's Tavern 5K November 2011

Jamestown Bridge 10K April 2011

Gilette Stadium 10K July 2011

I was looking forward to doing another 5K to test whether or not my PR from the weekend before was a fluke or a real new standard in 5K times for myself. Well, I certainly proved that the time wasn't just a fluke because I smashed that time by another 40 or so seconds -- and the Mews 5K was a considerably harder course than the Colon Cancer 5K (lots of hills, including a killer at the very end!!) I finished with a time of around 30:08 -- which is a big improvement from 30:56 and SO CLOSE to my goal of breaking 30 minutes!

My mom and sister later in the day asked me if I wished I had just ran A LITTLE faster at certain points to have beat that goal. But I am honestly really happy with that time... and am not sure where in the race to have pushed myself harder. I am still honestly amazed at my improvements over the past few months and am SO proud of the time of 30:08.

With some of my mom's friends at post-race.

The 5K was a great, well organized race that ended with a big party. Not surprisingly, since a Tavern hosted the race, there was beer aplenty at the finish. What did surprise me, was that it was all free! There were tons of beer selections, including my current obsession, Woodchuck Hard Cider's Fall brew. They also had a huge post-race meal for everybody. There was a shockingly large amount of food and beer considering the crowd was +1000! We really lucked out with beautiful weather so the post-race party was a lot of fun with lots of friendly runners and spectators enjoying the beer, food and sunny weather. Since I had splurged the night before, I was the designated driver for the day and also planned ahead and brought my own WW-points friendly snacks to keep me from being tempted by the BBQ, mac & cheese, and Chowder feast that was available after the race.

Check out that plate of food!!

Up next I have a 5K Gobble Wobble on Thanksgiving morning that I am running with my 4 best friends. I love that my life has changed to including these different activities with the people I love. I haven't decided yet if I am going to do a relaxed run or push myself to try and reach the under-30 minute mark on Thursday. I will keep you updated!!

I am a sucker.

2011-11-16T21:46:00.001-05:00

This week I went overboard with my Weight Watchers points and I gained at my weigh-in today. Usually when this happens I feel guilty and I can pinpoint a day (or a few days!) where I overindulged. Looking back at this week though, I feel a little different. I feel as though I had a pretty balanced diet throughout the week and made smart choices on what could have otherwise been a really out of control weekend, full of eating out.

However, what really got me is the fact that I am a sucker for snack foods that make me feel as if I am being healthy when I am really not. After a trip to Trader Joe’s on Friday, I spent the rest of the weekend munching on almonds, dried banana chips, and Powerberries… little dark chocolate covered fruit juice pieces. I kept these foods around and munched on them in between meals to curb hunger. Now, none of these foods are very low in Weight Watchers points but for some reason, they make me feel as if I am eating healthier than I actually am. Having been working on losing weight for 11 months now, I know my stuff and you would NEVER catch me sitting around just munching on a full fat bag of potato chips or M&Ms unless it was a special occasion and a controlled serving size.

Despite the fact that banana chips aren’t much better than potato chips and the Powerberries compare to M&Ms, I had no problem chowing away at these foods. I am a sucker for the marketing and the cues my brain picks up from these foods. Bananas? Healthy! Fruit pieces and “Power” in the title? Healthy! Nuts? Full of essential fats and protein, healthy!

Snacking has been one of the challenges for me as I go through Weight Watchers. I am someone who finds comfort and satisfaction out of eating and the repetition of food-to-mouth. I’ve definitely worked on breaking that habit but also on trying to find healthy ways to snack and make the right choices about what I am consuming. Some of my best friends throughout this process have been popcorn, Edamame, and grapes, which allow me to be able to repeat that food-to-mouth comforting behavior. I doubt I will ever grow out of being a “volume” eater but I am continually working on making smarter choices and eating a balanced and healthy diet.

Colon Cancer 5K playlist

2011-11-15T22:22:00.000-05:00

When I first PRed in a 5K in June, I shared my playlist from the race on the blog. Since I PRed again during this race, I wanted to again share the tunes that kept me going! I know it has mixed opinions in the running community, but I love running to music and finding new/fun tunes to run to. I am continually updating my playlists and spending way too much money on iTunes!

This weekend's playlist consisted of:

Do You? - Iffy
Countdown - Beyonce
We Found Love - Rihanna
Stereo Hearts - Gym Class Heroes (with Adam Levine)
Sexy and I Know It - LMFAO
Don't Hold Your Breathe - Nicole Scherzinger
Love on Top - Beyonce
Give Me Your Eyes - Brandon Heath
In the Dark - Dev
Better with the Lights Off - New Boyz
Mr. Saxobeat - Alexandra Stan
Lighters - Bad Meets Evil (with Bruno Mars)
The One That Got Away - Katy Perry
Mr. Know It All - Kelly Clarkson
What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) - Kelly Clarkson
Without You - David Guetta & Usher
Love You Like a Love Song - Selena Gomez
Faster - Matt Nathanson
Let's Get Married Remix - Jagged Edge (old school...I know!)
Good Feeling - Flo Rida
Rain Over Me - Pitbull

Mid-November running & food report

2011-11-15T12:04:00.003-05:00

This weekend I ran my first timed, registered 5K since I ran the Freihofer's race in June. I have been running pretty regularly, working out a lot, and just last week had one of the best runs I'd done in a while of 4.5 miles. That was the most I had ever done for just a "leisurely" run.

As I may or may not have mentioned before on the blog, since January I have been a part of Weight Watchers At Work. I attend Weight Watchers meetings and get weighed in every Wednesday and have been doing so since January 19th. I've had a lot of success with the program and as of my last weigh in, I was at a total of 49 lbs lost!

It has been fun for me to become lighter on my feet and enjoy physical activities such as running, soccer, biking and hiking more This past year has also changed what I do with friends and loved ones for "fun." In the past, fun activities when visiting friends often included eating, getting a drink out, staying out late, etc. Whereas now, they involve cooking meals together, taking a yoga class, and running a 5K. Which brings me to this past weekend...

I was in Boston visiting friends and we signed up for and ran a 5K together on Saturday morning.

My time for the Boston Colon Cancer "Get Your Rear in Gear" race was an official time of 30:56 at a pace of 9:59 min/mile. Yes you read that right, 30:56!! That is a full 4 minutes and 28 seconds faster than my PR in June of 35:24. Can you believe it? I actually couldn't at first. I was scared to say my time out loud and get excited because I thought maybe I had made a mistake... maybe I had read the time wrong or read the race registration wrong... was this race actually shorter than a 5K? Well, no, it was not, I just ran it a lot faster than my previous race-- likely attributed to the fact that I am around 20 lbs lighter than when I ran my last race!!

Besides being proud of myself and my time, this race was special as we chose this race to run in support of a friend of a friend whose father is battling Colon Cancer. To see her, her family and her friends all coming together to support this cause was really meaningful and gave me a little extra burst of energy.

The race course was around Castle Island in Boston, right along the water. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful run along the waterfront. I am looking forward to my next 5K where I can try to push myself more. I never imagined I'd be saying this, but my running goal now is to break 30 minutes in a 5K. As for Weight Watchers, I still have ~15 lbs to lose before I am even in the healthy BMI range. However, I've got some fun goals ahead of me... like breaking into the next number range and reaching 50 lbs!!

Here is to setting and achieving your goals. And believing in yourself. Cheers.

Eating my way through Raleigh, NC

2011-10-11T23:39:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I headed south to Raleigh, North Carolina. Although I've been an East Coast girl my whole life, I have to admit that I haven't spent much time at all below the Mason Dixon Line. When the opportunity arose to visit my friend C, who was in Raleigh for a work assignment, I was excited to make the trip.

From the moment I landed and saw the airport traffic patroller zipping around on a Segway I knew I was going to be in for an experience:

What made me even more excited was the fact that I had been hearing rumors from Courtney at how amazing the food scene was in Raleigh. Most people assume that only big cities have great food, and that is something that I know not to be true. However, I was still surprised to think that Raleigh, NC had exciting food in store!

Upon doing some research on Raleigh, we learned that there is a walking food tour that you can do of the city! We weren't really sure what to expect, but I highly recommend it if you ever have the opportunity to do a food tour of a city. You get a great taste of what there is to offer and get to see the city. I tried to snap photos along the way, but forgot quite a bit.

Scallop atop homemade cornbread with pesto and red pepper sauce at Sunflower's:

Courtney and I enjoying homemade sparkling lemonade at Sunflower's:

Lamb kebab on sticky rice at the Troy Mezze Lounge:

No picture of the food, but we had Chicken BBQ at Clyde Cooper's!

One of the best parts of the weekend was actually the dinner we had on Saturday night. Yes, C and I went out for dinner after a food tour. It was that kind of weekend :) C brought me to one of her favorite Raleigh restaurants, Humble Pie. It is a small plate restaurant with dishes meant to be shared. We got four items to split and my goodness were they all good!!

Fried asparagus next to a spinach salad:

Chicken enchiladas:

Wild mushroom gnocchi in a white wine sauce:

The incredible atmosphere at Humble Pie!

We finished the weekend eating at UNC Chapel Hill's "Top of the Hill" restaurant with their own brewed blueberry beers -- served the best way, with fresh blueberries! It was an all around wonderful weekend in Raleigh with great friends, great conversations, and great food!

Much to be thankful for

2011-08-10T09:51:00.000-04:00

Throughout the past few weeks, my life has gone through some ups and downs and at times it has been a struggle to stay positive. When the thought went through my head after a particularly trying weekend, "Wow, this is probably one of the absolute worst weekends of my life." -- I was surprised and proud of myself that the next thought that popped into my mind was, "You know what? This is one of the worst weekends of my life. And in the scheme of things, this isn't so bad. I've had and still do have, a pretty great life. I'm lucky. I can get through this."

So, that being said, I wanted to write a short post with all that I am thankful for at this particular moment in time.

My loving family, for being a haven that I can always escape to, rather than something I have to escape from.
My friends, who are ridiculously silly and incredibly passionate and always fun to be around.
The understanding of both friends and family who have supported me without asking questions.
Having some people OUT of my life, who only brought about negativity.
My hearing. Music soothes me.

I could keep going. And I will keep posting about the happy aspects of my life to remind myself how wonderful it really is. I need to stop here for now though. I also owe you all posts about some of the great trips and meals I've had over the past few weeks... Niagara Falls, Lake Waukewan, Boston, etc.

Happy Hump Day blog world. I love you all!

Why your article on office "bromances" is sexist

2011-07-06T14:04:00.002-04:00

I don't often like to use this blog to take a public stance against something. I have done it once before though and today, I felt the need to do it again. I don't expect anything to come of it, however, it makes me feel a little bit better to know that I have a place where my voice can be heard and my opinion can be stated.

Today, I was forwarded an article from a colleague with whom I play on a work soccer team with. The team is part of a co-ed league and I am one of 3 females on the 25 person team (I know, it is a lot, but not everybody shows up to every game!) The article was sent to all members of our team, which I find makes the content even more ironic.

The article was posted on www.CIO.com by Medidith Levinson, who apparently writes a blog on "Insight and advice to help you carve your way in the cut-throat business world."

However, maybe the subject like should read, "Insight and advice to help heterosexual males carve their place in the cut-through business world." The article I was sent is titled, "Why You Should Develop an Office 'Bromance'" and was published on July 5th. The article talks about how "bromances" or platonic relationships between two heterosexual men in the workplace can improve productivity and morale. She goes on to say that corporations should promote and encourage "bromances" by offering outings to sporting events and breweries. Because heterosexual men love nothing more than sports and beer.

I find this article appalling in a number of ways. It does not allow commenting, so I chose instead to send a Tweet to the author, write her an e-mail, and publish both of those here.

Please let me know... am I crazy to react this way to the article?

-----------

E-Mail text:

Dear Meridith,

I just read your article "Why You Should Develop an Office Bromance" from CIO.com and truly wish that the site had commenting so I could publicly comment on this. I am appalled and baffled that a female author who writes about "insight and advice to help you carve your way in the cut-throat business world" could write an article that completely fails to mention that there are women in the workplace as well!

I get the point. And I agree. It is important and extremely valuable to have a "best friend" in the workplace. Or at least to socialize with colleagues outside of the work environment. I believe that you can be much more productive on a day to day basis if you know your colleagues beyond the realm of the projects/reports you are working on. Studies show that retention is higher and the work force is happier when employees report to have a "best friend" in the work place.

However, the sex of both you and your work best friend or friend, shouldn't make a difference! I cannot believe that a female writer could have even put together this article without feeling like a hypocrite not mentioning friendships between women in the workplace. Or between a man and a woman.

And on another note, you've displayed an incredibly narrow-minded view of the activities that men enjoy. "And that's why I believe corporations should actively encourage office bromances. They can do so through mentoring programs, corporate softball teams, company outings to sporting events and tours of micro-breweries." Really? Are all men sports-loving beer drinkers?

I honestly do see the point you are trying to make. And I agree with it. You were writing from your personal point of view and using your husband as a personal example. You used a term in your headline that you thought might drive traffic and spark some interest, maybe gaining you a few extra clicks. However, your article paints a narrow-minded picture of yourself, which distracts from the point you were trying to make.

I suggest you open your site up for commenting.

Best,
Katelyn

The best way to spend a Saturday morning

2011-06-12T21:56:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I decided to check an item off of my Upstate New York bucket list by getting a mineral bath at the Roosevelt Spa at the Gideon Putnam Hotel in Saratoga State Park. I booked the bath on Friday afternoon and decided to throw in a massage for good measure :)

I scheduled the mineral bath for 10:30 am and planned to arrive a bit early, as I had been recommended to do so by a friend. I arrived and was directed to the women's locker room where I changed into a soft and warm bathrobe that was waiting. They had secure lockers where I locked in my purse and clothing, leaving my cell phones behind for a morning of quiet and indulgence.

The book I have been reading, "The Happiness Project" was all I brought with me as I went out to the lounge area. I made a cup of tea and waited until an employee came out and called my name. He brought me to my private bath area. The tub was filled for me and I was informed I could turn the lights off if I wanted, there was a bathroom for me, and a warm towel would be brought to me when time was up.

The tub went 5 inches below the ground floor, so it was much deeper than it seemed. The water was brown so not too appealing in color, but the temperature was just right and with the lights off and a small candle going, the tub was incredibly inviting. I relaxed for about 20 minutes enjoying the soft music and solitude that the mineral bath brought me. Then there was a short knock on the door and a voice telling me that time was up. A towel was slipped through the door and it was seriously so warm and felt so wonderful to dry off in. If only I always had someone to drop off a warm towel, perhaps it wouldn't be so difficult to get out of the shower in the morning!

The massage that came next was just blissful (although nothing incredibly out of the ordinary as far as massages go... how can they not be blissful?) Afterwards I was near sleeping so I went to the lounge and just rested for a bit longer, read more of my book, and had another glass of tea.

I was having such a good time relaxing and enjoying the peace that I then went to the steam room. It was empty so I was able to just fully let the warm, moist air take over. After not too long, I left and returned to the women's locker room, where I showered, used their soft lotion, and returned to my clothes and blinking cell phone... ugh.

Seriously though, the bath was great. I felt so rejuvinated afterwards and my skin was incredibly soft and smooth. It was so nice to indulge for a bit and if I hadn't gotten the massage... the bath would have been only $25! I recommend to everyone and anyone. I am so glad that I tacked this off early from my list because I think it is something I may want to do again!

Today's lunch: Persian kabob

2011-06-12T21:27:00.003-04:00

The plate:

Traditional Persian "Kabob:" Sirloin steak tips marinated in olive oil and chopped sweet onion. Grilled.
"Kabob Kobideh:" Lean ground beef (10% fat) blended in a food processor with sweet onion. Formed into long, thin patties. Grilled.
Grilled tomatoes and the leftover onion from the steak marinade.

All served with a sprinkle of the Persian spice, sumagh, and over white rice. My roommate did all of the grilling on the Raclette grill that I got for Christmas. It was all SERIOUSLY delicious.

Cooking my first Persian meal

2011-06-05T22:28:00.000-04:00

As I have written about in the past, I am lucky enough to have a roommate with a completely different culture than mine, so I get to learn many new things from him. Language, religion, history, lifestyle, and of course... food. Usually, I enjoy the opportunity to sit and relax on the days that he is cooking and later have a delicious meal served to me. However, today I decided to take a more hands on approach and actually learn how to cook the meals myself. I might not have easy access to be able to have the delicious Persian food cooked FOR ME and I want to be able to incorporate all the unique flavors and tastes I've been eating into my own cooking in the future.

Tonight I helped prepare "loobia polo" and "salad shiraz" and a Persian spaghetti.

"Loobia" in Farsi means "green beans" and "polo" means "rice" so as you could guess... the meal is a green bean and rice dish -- with beef. The meal was pretty simple to put together although time consuming. First I cut the green beans into bite sized pieces and stir fried them in a big wok. In another pan I caramelized one large sweet onion and then added 1 lb of stew beef that I had cut into bite sized pieces. My roommate instructed me to add a little bit of water to the stew beef and onion mixture, even though the meat had already released a bit of moisture itself. We used tomato paste to then thicken the sauce and seasoned it a small amount of turmeric, salt and pepper, and mixed in the green beans.

Separately we made basmati rice, which is an art form all its own (that I have not yet mastered and handed the task off to my roommate.) In Persian cooking, many rish dishes are finalized with what is called "tadigh." Tadigh is made by putting oil at the bottom of the pan and thinly laying the rice or meal on top. The bottom layer fries and forms a crust. To serve the dish, you flip the pot upside down and the "tadigh" or crust is one of the most delicious parts of the dish (and my personal favorite!) Tonight, we actually made the tadigh with really, really thinly sliced potatoes, which is an alternative, but it can also be done with the regular rice in the dish.

The Persian spaghetti is similar to Italian spaghetti, however, made similarly to the beginning of the loobia polo. Caramelized onions, ground beef, tomato paste, salt, pepper, tumeric, and also some tomato sauce to thicken it up a bit. It is mixed with cooked thick spaghetti and made with a tadigh of spaghetti.

Finally, I made a Salad Shiraz by cutting up sweet onion, tomato, cucumber, tossing with lime juice and olive oil, and seasoning with salt and pepper. Everything was really delicious and I am looking forward to trying this on my own sometime!

Adventures in cooking risotto

2011-06-05T19:06:00.001-04:00

For the past few months I have been doing Weight Watchers and exploring health eating. The great thing about Weight Watchers is that you really can eat what you want, as long as you are careful about portions and of course, moderation. Recently, in the Weight Watchers weekly that I get at each meeting, there was a 5 point recipe for Asparagus Risotto. I have always been a crazy risotto fan but I have never actually tried to cook it myself. When I saw this recipe, I knew that fact was about to change. I will put in the recipe below and then write about the alterations I made.

Ingredients:
1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite size pieces
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 small shallots, minced
1 cup uncooked arborio rice
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4 cups canned chicken broth
1/2 cup grated Parmesean cheese

Boil a large pot of salted water and cook the asparagus for 3 minutes. Immediately after cooking, transfer the asparagus to a bowl of ice cold water. This will stop the cooking and help retain the color of the asparagus.

Coat a medium pot with cooking spray and melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add the rice and toss to coat; cook for 2 minutes. Add lemon juice and cook until it has all been absorbed, stirring continuously, about 1 minute.

In another pot, bring the both to a simmer to keep it warm. Add 1/2 cup of broth to the pot at a time and stir the risotto until the broth is absorbed and then add a 1/2 cup more. This process is a bit tedious but it is really, really easy. It takes about 20 minutes to do this and the rice will begin to become creamy. At the end I turned up the heat on the rice high to thicken it up a little bit more and then took it off the heat to add the cheese. The cheese will thicken the risotto even more. You can then add the cooked risotto and season with salt and pepper if desired. A serving is a scant 1 cup.

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So, I have cooked the risotto this way a couple times and it really is delicious. However, I wanted to try mixing things up a bit. I cooked the risotto except this time I swapped the butter for truffle oil. What is truffle oil you may ask? Only my favorite thing in the world! I bought the bottle months back and use it rarely, but I seriously love it. The aroma and taste is out of this world. Instead of lemon juice I swamped a white wine I had in the fridge. And instead of asparagus I used some mushrooms that I sauteed with the same truffle oil and a dash of italian seasonings. I swear... this was the best most amazing Truffled Mushroom Risotto and amazingly delicious. I highly recommend it!!!

As intimidating as risotto can be, it was honestly very easy and a simple weeknight meal. However, I would also serve this at the fanciest dinner party. I had with some salad and white wine.

P.S. My roommate and I put together a Persian meal for some friends tonight. For the first time I learned and followed the cooking process so I can recreate the dishes in the future. I am looking forward to seeing how they come out!!!

Freihofer's Run for Women 2011

2011-06-05T09:59:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I ran the Freihofer's Run for Women for the 2nd year. I was particularly excited to run in this race because last year, the Freihofer's was my first ever 5K road race that I finished running the entire thing! I set out to run the race this year and beat my time from 2010.

At some point when I was walking around the race pavilion yesterday morning, getting a massage, checking out the vendors, and enviously eyeing all the younger, fitter runners I decided... what the heck, why not set out to get my PR from all of the other 5Ks I have run in the past year as well?

Having decided this, I was particularly frustrated as the race started and I found myself stuck in a pack of runners that I could not break free from. I was itching to start off on a good pace but could not find a stride with all the swarms of people. I bumped into numerous people and continually was shouting, "Sorry, sorry!" as I looked for my pace and avenue to run it in.

As soon as I got going, I felt great and was able to run the whole race at the raster pace I had set for myself. Many thanks to my wonderful roommate who came out to cheer me on! I finished the race in a time of 37:20 and a chip time of 35:24 at a pace of 11:24... which is my best yet and a time I am really excited about. I am looking forward to trying to beat it in another upcoming 5K!

Congratulations to all the runners yesterday and for those interested, here was my Freihofer's 2011 playlist:

Hold It Against Me - Britney Spears
Rolling in the Deep - Adele
Backseat - New Boyz
Loser Like Me - Glee Cast
On the Floor - JLo
For Ur Love - Chris Brown
Marching On -Timbaland
King of Anything - Sara Bareilles
Edge of Glory - Lady Gaga
Keep Your Head Up - Andy Grammer
Give Me Everything - Pitbull
Good Life - One Republic
The Show Goes On - Lupe Fiasco
Tonight Tonight - Hot Chelle Rae
Rocketeer - Far East Movement
Price Tag - Jessie J
Judas - Lady Gaga
Firework - Katy Perry
Fucking Perfect - Pink
The Time - Black Eyed Peas
Monster - Kanye West

Back to basics with a post about yummy food

2011-06-01T22:00:00.000-04:00

As I have mentioned in the past on this blog, one of my favorite things about my job at GE Global Research is that I have made some amazing friends from all over the world. One of my favorite things about having friends from all over the world is having the opportunity to try foods from all over the world! I've been lucky enough over the past few years to have homemade authentic Indian, Persian and Italian foods just to name a few.

Last night I added another country to my list as a friend cooked an assortment of Ghanaian dishes that I had the pleasure of enjoying! The wonderful Nana made corned beef stew, white rice, grilled corn on the cob, fried plantains, and avocado. The plantains are first marinated in a mixture of spices including red pepper (I believe?) and although Nana mentioned that he was unsatisfied with how they came out, they tasted amazing to me! The dish is called "kelewele" in Ghana. Photos are below.

THANK YOU NANA!

Lake Placid and my Upstate New York bucket list

2011-05-31T22:40:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was Memorial Day and to me, that means summer has officially started. When I was a kid, our family swim club, Abbott Run, was open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Summers were defined in Abbott Run swim seasons and that philosophy has not changed for me.

I kicked Summer 2011 off by checking off an item on my newly created Upstate New York bucket list. It has recently come to my attention in a real way that I could not be living in Upstate New York for another full year. At GE, communicators move around jobs every few years and I am days away from hitting my 3 year anniversary of working at the research center. I don't want to move away and feel like I missed out on anything that this area has to offer. So many times people say to me, "Oh you live Upstate, have you ever been to _____?" The list is long and I have tried to define my own below. This weekend I visited Lake Placid with a good friend... we walked the main street, visited the Olympic ski jumps, ate Adirondack popcorn, and grabbed drinks at the Lake Placid brewery. It was a really relaxing and beautiful weekend and helped me to check off another item from my list. Do you have any other suggestions for me? My list is below...

Upstate New York Bucket List

See the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown

Ride Maid of the Mist in Niagara Falls

Cross the border and explore Montreal

See a Syracuse University basketball game - Check

Relax by the water at Lake George - Check

Visit the Olympic village at Lake Placid - Check

Take a stab at one of the high peaks in the Adirondacks

Learn the history of Albany on the Albany Duck Tours

Eat at New World Bistro, River Street Cafe and Miss Albany Diner

See a show at Upstate's Broadway, Proctor's Theatre - Check (Lion King!!)

Sit on the lawn for a concert at SPAC - Check (John Mayer, Maroon 5, Doobie Brothers and Allman Brothers, and down under for Phish.)

Check out a show at the The Egg - Check (RENT)

Enjoy some of the local theatre productions - Check (RENT, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Producers, and Clue: The Musical)

Taste some local brews at Brown's and Pump Station - Check

View an old movie at the Palace Theatre - Check (The Wizard of Oz and A Christmas Story; and I've also been to see Tracey Morgan and Chelsea Handler live)

Place a bet at the track in Saratoga - Check

Eat the fried chicken at Hatties in Saratoga - Check

White water raft in the Hudson - Check

Lazy river tube in the Hudson - Check

Eat at Dinosaur BBQ - Check (at Syracuse and in Troy)

Attend a Valley Cats game - Check

Run with the elite runners at the Freihofer's 5K- Check

Ski at Jiminy Peak - Check

Take the train to NYC - Check

Go to Jumpin' Jacks for the waterski show - Check

Take a mineral bath in Saratoga

Lay by the lake in Grafton State Park - Check

Eat at Cheesecake Machismo

Take one of the boat cruises on the Hudson - Check

Hike Plotter's Kill to see the waterfalls

Take cheesy photos of the flowers at Tulipfest - Check

Drink in the street during Larkfest - Check

See an Alive at Five show - Check

Drink a birthday boot of beer at Wolff's Biergarten

Spend an afternoon at Thatcher Park

Attend the St. Patrick's Day parade - Check

Ride the Hudson/Mohawk bike trail

Any other ideas? A few Lake Placid pictures are below...

Love.

2011-04-21T10:11:00.005-04:00

First 5K of the season!

2011-04-11T10:22:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to post quickly that this Saturday I ran my first 5K of what I will refer to as "running season." The race wasn't chip timed but when I crossed the finish line the clock said 36:10.

It was the "Bust a Move 5K" in Troy. The course was flat, which was nice (although no help for the hilly 10K I am doing in 12 days!) but the race was poorly organized. The roads were not closed and they were struggling with the T-shirts despite the fact that only pre-registered people got T-shirts.

Nonetheless, it was a beautiful day for a run and I felt great. 10K here I come!

My favorite flavor combos!

2011-03-17T13:22:00.002-04:00

I got a panini maker for Christmas that I finally took out of the box. I don't think it will be going very far now that I have had my first taste of what it can do.

One of my favorite flavor combinations ever... turkey, pesto, sundried tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, on warm bread. YUM.

Homemade sushi with the help of YouTube

2011-02-22T22:20:00.004-05:00

One of the best things in life are when you are able to bring together two totally separate areas of your life that you love. The past couple weekends I have been able to introduce some of my childhood best friends to some of the people who I am currently closest with in my everyday life. It is an incredible feeling to bring together two people I love and have them get along, laugh, joke around, and all around enjoy each others company.

Last night when cooking dinner I was able to combine two more of my loves. Cooking and YouTube. Last night we made homemade sushi with the help of a Howcast Youtube video, a bamboo mat I got for Christmas, and some ingredients we picked up at the Asian Supermarket over the weekend.

I am not a huge sushi person since I am not a fish person (at all), but I do like California Rolls and we made Inside Out California Rolls. They were delicious and a lot of fun to make. I highly recommend everybody who is a sushi fan to take the time to try and make it at some point. I think that sushi is one thing that is 99% of the time going to be best to purchase at a restaurant or from a pro, but as a once-in-a-while fun meal... I highly recommend trying to make your own sushi!

My first Raclette dinner!

2011-01-24T21:55:00.007-05:00

This year, my Christmas gifts from my family members all had a theme-- cooking. In addition to a pasta maker, an air popcorn popper, and a panini maker, I also received something called a "raclette." A raclette, I was told, comes from Switzerland, and is a small grill-type thing that has a rack underneath the grill where you melt cheeses that you then scrape and put over the traditional potatoes, or bread, meats, and vegetables (that you cook ON TOP of the grill.)

I had never heard of it before but it instantly had me thinking of one of the most memorable meals of my life -- fondue in Switzerland that ended with us scraping every single piece of cheese possible off of that pot and eating every bite of it (pictures below).

Friday night a couple friends came over for dinner to my apartment and I decided to try out the raclette. I warned them beforehand that I was trying something new and that it involved them sort of cooking their own dinner. They were down for it and it turned out to be a really fun and delicious meal! I was unsure of amounts/types of food to buy and I think I selected too many items and then didn't buy enough of all of those. But this is what I put out to eat:

- Chicken (raw, cut into bite size pieces)

- Sweet italian sausage (raw, cut into bite size pieces)

- Potatoes (boiled, cut into bite size pieces)

- Prosciutto

- Sliced bread

- Cut up red and yellow bell peppers

- Cut up red onion

You are supposed to use raclette cheese but I could not find it at the grocery store and instead picked out a smoked swiss, grayere cheese, and a garlic/herb cheddar. The cheddar and grayere were perfect and the smoked swiss had a little trouble melting. It was all delicious though and really fun. My roommates wanted to do it again the next night!

Happy Raclette Crowd:

Throwback photos to fondue in Switzerland. Every now and then I realize that I have definitely done some growing up over the past few years. This is true for this moment.

No mixer necessary.

2011-01-24T21:48:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to say, no mixer necessary for the angel food cake. It came out delicious!

Angel food cake!

2011-01-21T17:30:00.007-05:00

Tonight I am having a couple friends over for dinner. I started Weight Watchers on Wednesday so I wanted to make a dessert that was delicious for everyone but wouldn't absolutely kill my points (I am counting on dinner to do that!)

Obviously, I decided on angel food cake. With mixed berries and Cool Whip on top. Yum!

As anybody who knows me knows, I cannot bake. I rely on boxed mixes and I often have the uncanny ability of messing those up as well! When I went to make the angel food cake mix... that is pretty difficult to mess as all it consists of is emptying the powder from the bag, adding water, and... oh wait... you are supposed to beat it? Like with an electric mixer? Yeah, don't have one of those.

I am mid-attempt to bake an angel food cake with just whisking the batter. For any twenty-something out there that is trying to be figure friendly and wants to serve delicious desserts, angel food cake is your best friend. However, who the heck owns an electric mixer?? I used a whisk, which, to be honest, I am lucky that I own even that!

I DO have an angel food cake pan. That is the one that has a bottom part that separates from the sides. I bought it around the time of my holiday party in November to make monkey bread in. Turns out you cannot use an angel food cake pan to make monkey bread in. I learned that the hard way when minutes before guests were supposed to arrive for my party, sugar started dripping out of the bottom of the pan, burning in the oven, which set off the smoke alarm, filled my apartment with smoke, and let off a horrible smell. Way to go.

The cake is in the oven now. I will let you know how it turns out!!

State foods.

2011-01-14T10:13:00.002-05:00

I love this. Let me know what you think. Is your state correctly identified with the food item of choice?

http://blog.timesunion.com/tablehopping/20274/state-food/

Burger & fries my way.

2011-01-03T22:22:00.002-05:00

Tonight I was cooking for my roommate and I and I was unsure of what I even wanted to make until I got to the grocery store to do my cooking. I decided on an American meal of burgers and fries... but done my way.

First off, I would really call my burgers more something like "meatloaf burgers" since I throw a whole bunch into the meat. I am not a fan of ketchup, mustard, or mayonnaise (or condiments in general). Aside from the fact that I don't like how they taste... why should you need to put these things on top of a burger to be able to eat it? If you are a person who puts ketchup and mustard on your burgers... whether you order it from McDonald's, Applebees, a fancy restaurant, or a backyard barbecue... does that make sense to you? Shouldn't the flavor of the food be enough?

There is no other dish where this is an acceptable thing to do. In some cases, it is an insult to the chef if you even salt your food! Therefore, I like to make burgers that are delicious and flavorful enough without needing to top them with store bought condiments.

To start, I mixed together two different kinds of ground meat... lean ground turkey and lean ground beef. The ground turkey is much better for you but regular turkey burgers are not that flavorful or satisfying. To that I added some Italian seasoning, Italian breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, and my secret ingredient... Heinz 57 sauce. I mixed the ingredients and then made them into patties and cooked them medium well on the George Foreman because... come on... I'm 24-- you expect me to have a grill?

I served the burgers with a slice of mozzarella cheese on top and on a whole wheat bun with a large handful of greens from a spring mix bagged salad. I think the mozzarella cheese works perfectly with the italian flavors I put in the burger, the Heinz keeps the burger juicy despite the use of turkey meat that can dry out, and the spring mix greens just top it perfectly.

I made two burgers, one for my roommate and I, and cooked 2 more burgers which I will eat as patties on top of the leftover greens for 2 more meals. There was also about 1/2 the meat mixture leftover so I added even more breadcrumbs, italian seasoning, parmesean cheese, and 1 egg and mixed that together. I then made those into 12-15 meatballs and baked in the oven at 375 for about 20 minutes. These I will freeze and use for a meal in the coming weeks.

This is a delicious and simple recipe that I will now get at least 4-5 meals from! Tonight's burgers I made with roasted sweet potatoes. I cut 3 sweet potatoes into quarter size pieces, threw them into a quart sized ziploc bag and added some olive oil and salt, sealed it, and mixed it all around. I then lay on a baking sheet and roasted for around 25 minutes at 425 but took them out every 7-8 minutes to mix up the potatoes so all sides roasted.

Yum. This was a delicious meal that I still am satisfied from hours later. I beg you all to try this!

Stirfry leftovers-- sorry for the bad quality pic!

2010-12-29T10:26:00.000-05:00

Asian-themed cooking without the fuss

2010-12-27T22:17:00.002-05:00

Tonight I made my version of stir-fry for dinner. I have been thinking of trying to get into some asian-themed cooking and stir fry is something that I used to cook a lot in college so I decided to start there. In college, I would make some white sticky rice, a 20-minute time investment, which was huge for me then. And dumb some frozen stir-fry vegetables from a bag into a fry pan, heat them up, dump a little stir-fry or soy sauce on top of the veggies and rice, and dive in.

For my grown up but not-quite grown up take on this dish, I opted for fresh veggies and asian noodles instead of rice. I also decided to throw in a lot more veggies than the broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot frozen mixes I used to buy. At the grocery store I picked up some fresh broccoli, one red, one yellow, and one orange bell pepper, a bag of shredded carrots, and a bag of bean sprouts. I cooked all the vegetables, the asian noodles (I bought the clear glass-like noodles) and then tossed everything together. I also cut up chicken breast into small pieces sauteed them on the stove. I didn't use any seasonings beyond salt and pepper on either the vegetables or the chicken.

I still am not ready to dive into making asian sauces on my own. Seasonings in asian recipes cause for pastes and oils that I don't regularly stock in my (or I expect most Twenty-Somethings) beginner-cooking kitchens. I used a Kikkoman stir fry sauce that I bought in the asian section of the supermarket. I think that if you find a sauce that you love, it is a perfect way to dress stir fry and not have to keep loads of rarely used seasonings. This was my first time purchasing this brand and it wasn't my favorite. I am going to keep looking to find my perfect sauce.

Finally, I ate this meal with chopsticks :) For Christmas, my roommate gave me a new set of chopsticks that I was really excited to use. I still have a long way to go to master them, but I consider it a success that I was able to eat noodles with chopsticks. RICE would be another story. I will save that challenge for another day :)

I wish I was having a party.

2010-12-23T13:37:00.001-05:00

Blog posts like this make me wish I had a party to cook for.

http://www.biggirlssmallkitchen.com/2010/12/recipe-flash-roasted-fennel-asiago.html

Brownie that will change your life...

2010-12-23T02:59:00.001-05:00

How can I not try this??

http://zestycook.com/the-brownie-that-will-change-your-life/

I forgot to take a picture of my actual plate...

2010-12-19T21:53:00.002-05:00

TONS of leftovers, including lunch tomorrow!! YUM!

Also... to make this a little classier for guests or something. You are supposed to serve with parmesean cheese on top but what I like to do is bake little parmesean crisps in the oven. All you do is make a small pile of cheese and bake for 10 minutes (I did it at 425 but I am sure you can bake at whatever and just adjust the time). You get this crispy delicious cheese crisp that you can place on top of the bowl and it looks and tastes fantastic!

Chicken and Vegetable Tortellini Stew

2010-12-19T16:54:00.002-05:00

2 medium carrots, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 medium bulb fennel, chopped
1 can cannellini beans (19 oz), drained & rinsed
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
2 cups water
1 package of cheese filled tortellini (9 oz)
1 cup firmly packed fresh baby spinach leaves
2 medium green onions, sliced
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
2 tablespoons fresh grated parmesean cheese
salt + pepper

1. Spray a slow cooker with cooking spray. Layer carrots, garlic, chicken, fennel, and beans in slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour broth and water on top, stir to mix.

2. Cover. Cook on low heat 6-8 hours.

3. About 20 minutes before serving, stir in tortellini, spinach, onions, and basil. Increase heat setting to high. Cover. Cook 15-20 minutes longer or until tortellini is tender. Sprinkle with cheese.

-----

Dinner is cooking as we speak. Or as I type. Bundled under a blanket watching "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" -- Dinner in 2 hours!

I love this.

2010-12-10T00:53:00.001-05:00

Gobble Wobble

2010-11-26T10:44:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yesterday AM I kicked off my Thanksgiving by running a 5K road race in Southborough, MA called the "Gobble Wobble." I was a bit nervous because I haven't been running as much as when I have done the past road races and it was also my first time running in cold weather like this.

I ran the race in 38.16, which is far off from my previous road races but an accomplishment nonetheless because I finished the race without walking at all-- which was my goal. There were a couple hills and a couple challenging points but with some willpower, some fun music, and the support of my friends that I ran with, I finished the race "gobble wobbling" across the finish line.

Pictures of both the Gobble Wobble road race and the Thanksgiving dinner that led to the real "gobble wobble" that took place later that day. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Thanksgiving Party Foods

2010-11-22T21:00:00.002-05:00

This past weekend I had a party at my apartment. Whenever I have people over, I always like to cook some easy finger foods to have out. Over the past couple years of entertaining I have developed some party favorites that are quickly becoming what I am known for amongst my friends and what is requested by me for get togethers.

For the party this weekend I made:

- Funfetti cookies decorated as turkey's

- Pepperoni stromboli

- Broccoli stromboli

- Corn & avocado salsa with chips

- Prosciutto wrapped asparagus

- Pretzels w/ a Hershey's Kiss & Reese's Pieces on top

The funfetti cookies are out of a box. You buy the funfetti cake mix and follow the recipe for cookies that is on the side and I swear, you will get the best tasting cookies in the world. I feel like it is sort of cheap that I am known for something made off a box's recipe... but I have perfected the baking of them so that they are always the perfect softness. Frost with vanilla frosting and decorate for whatever occasion... Halloween, Thanksgiving, Lighting Appreciation Day, Laser 50th Anniversary, etc.

The stromboli... is something I copied from my mom. Take some store bought dough, roll it out, and throw in whatever you have. I've made them with pepperoni, broccoli, spinach, sausage & peppers, etc. Add a little seasonings and some salt, roll the dough up, and bake until golden.

Salsa... I copied this recipe from one of my coworkers who participated in our office's "Top Chef" healthy recipe event. I removed the black beans from the salsa because I am not the biggest fan of black beans. It is still hearty and delicious.

Prosciutto with asparagus. This was a first time for me making this. I have had this before at parties and I just made up my own version. Roast the asparagus for about 10 minutes in the oven so it is a little cooked but still has some crunch and holds its form. Wrap in prosciutto. Done.

And the final thing I put together... I just wanted another little sweet snack to have. One of my coworkers had brought this into work earlier this week and I made this. I bought the pretzels that are like little checkerboards, put a Hershey's Kiss on top and put in the oven at 250 degrees for 3 minutes. Then, push a Reese's Pieces on top so that they all stick together.

I had a great spread and all the food was gone by the end of the night-- but also not too soon! I think I had the right amount for the 30ish people that were here. Some of my friends hadn't had dinner and they were satisfied and some just munched and they were also happy.

I've also got to point out that I have amazing friends who always bring food and one friend brought DELICIOUS peanut butter brownies and another put together a cheese, cracker, and grape spread that included a cinnamon/apple/cranberry cheese spread that was to die for.

I think with this party... I can officially say... EATING SEASON HAS BEGUN!

Oprah's Favorite Things

2010-11-19T16:09:00.011-05:00

I remember saying when I was younger that one of my goals in life was to be an audience member during one of Oprah's Favorite Things episodes. Welp, looks like that isn't going to ever happen for me!

Here is the list of Oprah's Ultimate Favorite Things from the 25th and final season of The Oprah Show. The food items getting extra special love in bold, of course.

1. Diamond watch
2. Tory Burch tote and ballet flats
3. Nikon D3600 camera
4. Ralph Lauren cashmere sweater ($498)
5. Ralph Lauren cashmere robe
6. Judith Ripka crystal and sapphire earrings ($525)
7. Oprah's hair styling products, Andre's hair care line.
8. Full 18 piece set of candles
9. The Rebel Panini Press
10. Knives
11. Beecher's Mac & Cheese
12. Baker's Edge brownie and lasagna pan
13. Ghiradelli brownie mix
14. Course in Weight Loss book
15. Jay-Z's book "Decoded"
16. 5-year Netflix subscription
17. 3D TVs
18. The closet of your dreams from the Container Store ($1000)
19. Oprah farewell season T-shirt
20. Lululemon Relaxed Fit pants ($98)
21. Four pairs of Nike free run shoes (4 x $85)

Sausage-Cauliflower Spaghetti-- YUM!

2010-11-17T19:54:00.003-05:00

Hello everybody!! I've got another recipe for you all. It was delicious! I tried a recipe that appeared in my Food Network Magazine (which I LOVE) and it was really easy, delicious, and gave me some great ideas for the future.

You can find the complete recipe here but my adapted version is this....

First, you cook some spaghetti. I opted to use a whole box of Prince spaghetti because I knew that my roommate would eat some of this and figured we could both take some in for lunch for the next couple days. While the water was boiling, I started to brown the sausage. Whenever I cook with sausage, I always buy the patties that are supposed to be for sausage burgers. I break that up, which is really simple, and saves me from having to deal with disgusting sausage casings. Ew. I also chopped my garlic and broke up the cauliflower (into pretty small florets) and washed it.

While the pasta is cooking I finished browning the meat, added the garlic to the pan and cooked it, then added the cauliflower. Once the pasta was done and the cauliflower was browned, you take 1 cup of the pasta water and add it to the sausage, garlic, cauliflower mix, cover it, and let it simmer until cauliflower is tender (about 8 minutes) and then uncover, and boil in high until the liquid boils down. Then you throw everything together, add some olive oil, salt, parmesean cheese, toss and voila! The recipe calls for scallions as well, which I left out, and I also added some oil to my pasta so it wouldn't stick (since I had about 10 minutes where the cauliflower was steaming and the pasta was just sitting in its bowl).

Some of the selling points on this meal...

All you dirty is a pasta pot and 1 cooking skillet.

The ingredients are all inexpensive.

Makes a ton so it would be a good meal to entertain with (although I would definitely add the scallions if making this to entertain, the green would make it that much prettier and impressive.)

It is easily adaptable.

It tastes delicious!

Some things I learned that I will apply to other meals...

Adding the pasta water to the cauliflower/sausage. I have heard recipes call for this a lot before but I have never actually done it. The starchy water really pulled everything together and made the sauce thicken and stick to the pasta. I am SO excited to try making my Cappello Mastrociliega again and adding some pasta water to the sauce!

Steaming the veggie with the pasta water. Perfect!

Enjoy everybody!!!

Open letter to Southern Hospitality restaurant

2010-11-07T23:09:00.004-05:00

To the owners/managers of Southern Hospitality in New York City:

On Saturday, November 6th, I ate dinner at your restaurant located on 1460 Second Avenue in New York City. The food was wonderful and the atmosphere was great, however, I was disappointed by the dishonesty in one of your advertised promotions. You promote to customers that if you are following Southern Hospitality on Twitter (@BBQNYC) then you will get a "secret password" which entitles you 10% off of your entire bill.

I showed the waitress I was following the restaurant on Twitter but inquired because I had not seen the password for the day. She first let me know she was going to check with the individual in charge of the Twitter account. When she returned she apologized and said, "Nobody actually set that up for today." I pressed for more information as that wasn't really a satisfying response and there was a sign for the promotion on the wall directly across from me. I also asked about the promotion that the restaurant offers for those who check-in on FourSquare, offering a free pint of Miller Lite. The waitress left to find out more and returned with the answer, "I can get you the free Miller Lite but you actually can only use either the FourSquare promotion or the Twitter promotion." Somewhat understandable I thought, but a no-brainer, and let her know that I would like to use the Twitter promotion and not take the free Miller Lite. She left again to speak with the manager working at the time and returned saying, "We actually don't offer the Twitter promotion on the weekends." When I asked why it didn't say that on the sign, she did not have an answer and asked if I would like a free Miller Lite.

I did not press the matter any further (and accepted the Miller Lite). I wasn't looking to start an argument and was having a good time with my group of friends. However, the false promotion and advertisement is still bothering me. I am not seeking any sort of refund or anything along those lines, I just truly believe it is dishonest for a restaurant to offer a promotion and advertise it in their store -- but not follow through. At the very least, these signs should be taken down or updated to offer the correct information (although, I believe the "no weekends" response was just an excuse to not have to provide 10% off to my table's bill.)

Imagine if you were to show up to a clothing store with a coupon and have the cashier tell you that the coupon isn't valid on that particular day, despite the fact that was never mentioned in any of the promotions or coupon "fine print." At least in this circumstance, one would have the option to, upon learning of the misleading ad, not make your purchase. In my case last night at Southern Hospitality, we had already ordered our food and committed to paying the price.

As digital communications continue to grow and businesses more frequently are offering special deals and promotions through online mediums (Foursquare, Facebook Places, Twitter, etc.), I find it unsettling to think that they could not be held to the same standards of traditional advertising, marketing, and promotions. It is a dishonest practice and should not be tolerated.

It does not surprise me that 10% off the entire bill just for following @BBQNYC is not true (especially compared to the Foursquare deal.) However, please don't be misleading and take down or update your signs?

Thank your for a delicious meal and fun time at your restaurant yesterday. Please consider what I have suggested and show your customers that you are honest and straightforward and do not wish to mislead them.

Best,

Katelyn Buress

I've been "running" around this town on the corner...

2010-10-03T09:23:00.004-04:00

So.... here are all of my race results off of the Websites. The Susan G. Komen race is the same route as the Freihofer's so it is interesting to compare those results. What I wrote here is exactly off of the Websites but I don't understand how they calculate the pace for these races. I did some math and it doesn't make sense to me.

The way that I figure it... my pace for the Susan Komen race was 11.12 minutes. I really tried to up my pace for the last mile. I finished the first mile at 13.38, factoring in that it took a bit to get across the start line. The time at mile 2 was 25.38, which keeps right at my 12 minute mile pace I usually figure for myself. I really pushed myself to pick up the speed, especially as the race course went downhill for mile 3 and the extra .2 .... finishing that last 1.2 miles in 11.46.

And there ya have it....

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K, 10/2/10

Chip time: 35.52 minutes

Time: 37.22 minutes

Pace: 12.02

Link is here.

GE Energy 5K, 9/9/10

Time: 36.24

Pace: 11.43

Link is here.

Firecracker 4 Mile Race, 7/4/10

Time: 49.16 minutes

Link is here.

Freihofer's 5K, 6/5/10

Chip time: 37.40 minutes

Actual time: 38.48 minutes

Pace 12:08

Link is here.

Happy New Year!

2010-08-30T23:31:00.002-04:00

So... today is my "New Year's Day."

I've been celebrating my birthday for the past few weeks (I know, I know... even for me it was too long) and eating everything in sight but today I christened to be "New Year's Day" and I started by 10-week training plan for the 15K I want to run and gave my eating habits a quick makeover.

No, I am not perfect. No, I will never be. But I am trying.

I am going to aim more for fueling my body rather than cutting the most calories possible. Training for the 15K is going to be really tough for me and I hope I can do it. Today was an easy day. A "stretch and strengthen" day. I did yoga and spent a lot of time just stretching out my muscles to get back into the swing of things. For food.

Dunkin Donuts iced coffee with skim milk.

Dunkin Donuts egg white flatbread sandwich

Salad (all veggies, no dressing)

1/2 turkey sandwich on whole grain bread, no dressing or sauces

Apple

Steamed ginger chicken and green beans

And just to clarify, if there is anybody out there who still reads this thing. I am writing what I ate, not because I think you'll care, but because I need to hold myself accountable.

Goodnight and Happy New Year :)

Summer Seasonal Foods

2010-07-18T09:20:00.002-04:00

Hey everybody, so I wrote an entry in the fall about the fall seasonal foods that I was obsessed with at the time. Welp, we're smack dab in the middle of summer and smack dab in the middle of my obsession will all foods summery so I figured I'd share with you what some of those loves are:

- Ice cream! (I love, love seasonal ice cream places)

- Popsicles (even though I do eat year round)

- Corn on the cob

- Fruit salad (my favorite is simple... grapes, strawberries, and blueberries)

- Lots of ice cold water

- Iced coffee

- Frozen lemonade (I miss Rhode Island and Del's lemonade)

- Burgers and hot dogs on the grill

- Cold, crunchy salads with lots of veggies

I think some of the things that change for me when the summer comes around is not just the foods that I crave but the way I cook . In my apartment I don't have AC and I will now do anything I can to avoid using the oven. No more quiches or baked pies or roasted vegetables. Instead I try to eat food more in their natural and raw forms-- which is great with all of the seasonal, fresh produce that is available now.

No more baked chicken-- instead, chicken on the grill. No more sauteed veggies-- instead I will throw them into a big salad. No more fresh baked cookies-- instead I will go out for a soft serve cone of Guptill's ice cream or Kurver's. No more making a meal in the crock pot on the weekend to eat throughout the week-- instead I'll put together a nice big fruit salad to have for breakfast every day. And if I'm going out to eat, no more automatically opting for one of the Cap Region's italian restaurants with delicious pasta and chicken dishes drowning in delicious sauces-- instead, I'm drawn to the places I know I can get delicious, overflowing salads with crispy greens, or Mexican restaurants with fresh, cool, mountains of guac.

I love living somewhere with a change of seasons not just to enjoy the different outdoor activities that come with the winter and summer. I love living somewhere with a change of seasons not just because I enjoy seeing the way that the blanketed wintertime snow or the bright summer sunshine can make the same scene beautiful in two different ways.

But I love the living somewhere with a change of seasons for the subtle ways that the change in those seasons, change the little ways that we live our life. Everything from the clothes we wear to the food we eat to the way we cook and socialize with friends.

Happy summer everyone!

(and please, tell me what summer foods I'm forgetting in the comments, because I know there are more!!)

Update: I did better than I thought!

2010-06-07T10:50:00.003-04:00

Just a quick update... I checked the results on the Freihofer's Web site and my actual race time was: 37:40 minutes and I ran at a pace of 12:08. I know that is probably way slow for a lot of people's mindset but I'm proud of myself.

Yay!

Ghaza khoshmazeh bood!

2010-06-06T18:00:00.004-04:00

For the past year and a half I've been living in a beautiful 4-bedroom apartment. Throughout the time we've been here, we've had a bit of revolving door of roommates. Although there are definitely some hassles that go along with living with so many people, there is also many benefits. One of which for a food lover like me is getting to share a kitchen with people of different backgrounds, nationalities, tastes, preferences, etc. I definitely must say that many of my favorite recipes and food insights are inspired by my roommates (my other inspirations are my mom and the Food Network). One of the most notorious roommate-inspired meals is breaded chicken wrapped around mozzarella cheese in white wine/garlic sauce. I will forever think of 604 Walnut when I make mozzarella chicken (an apartment speciality).

Last week one of my good friends moved into my current Albany apartment and with him brought a box full of new spices and flavors that are new to my taste palate and cooking styles. My most recent roommate, Bahman, is from Iran and as I just learned today, he is an incredible Persian cook. For dinner tonight Bahman made Ashton and I chicken, steak, and rice. He marinated the chicken in saffron, onion, and olive oil. The steak in oil and onion. He made saffron rice, grilled tomatoes, and served with a post-cooking sprinkle of a spice brought from Iran called Sumac. It was all DELICIOUS.

One of the coolest things about Bahman's meal was that he was also able to tell me a bit about the spices and the meal that he was cooking. The saffron comes in a tiny, tiny tin and is steeped in hot water before used to marinate the chicken. The saffron is brought from Iran and is actually more expensive than gold due to the laborious process of hand picking the saffron from the flowers, then drying and curing the saffron. The rice that Bahman cooked us was made in a way where he boiled the rice with water, drained the rice and rinsed with cold water, and recooked on the hot water with saffron. This way, although delicious, loses some of the nutrients and in Iran, you'll see a lot of men with protruding bellies-- which isn't a beer belly but a rice belly!

I'm looking forward to learning more about Persian cooking and foods and very thankful to have a roommate who is nice enough to cook for me and share his culture with me!

Happy, happy weekend :)

2010-06-06T17:38:00.005-04:00

This weekend was absolutely wonderful. Saturday AM I ran my first 5K of my life. Although I ran in he 2005 Arnold Mills Road Race and then a few weeks ago in the Corporate Challenge road race... this race was the first that I was able to complete running the whole time! I ran the race in 38 minutes and 45 seconds. It was quite an accomplishment for me as I have always, always struggled with running. During elementary school gym class I was a member of the "slow poke's club" and not even Mrs. Kenwood's cheers of "Let's go joggers!!!" could motivate me to even run a mile. In middle school I was on the cross country team but just walked the runs, socialized, and snuck off the paths to find little streams and rivers to play in. In high school, I swam, joined the track team as a thrower, and played on the line during flag football-- anything and everything to avoid running.

But after months of training and hurt knees and physical therapy and icing and stretching... I ran for 3.2 miles without stopping! It is a big source of pride for me.

I prepared for the Saturday morning run by eating a nice meal of carbs on Friday night. I hadn't had a bowl of pasta in a while so I planned to make it special by recreating a meal that I

have eaten time and time again while at my favorite restaurant in Florence, Italy. Attached is a picture of this amazing meal at a trattoria called Mastrociliega.

The menu in Italy says it is made with gorgonzola cheese and truffle. There is asparagus in the dish and penne pasta. To try and recreate this meal, I first bought a bottle of truffle oil from a local specialty italian deli for $23.95. I had some fresh asparagus and a block of fresh gorgonzola cheese.

To make the sauce, which isn't very thick, I first started melting some (a lot) of butter in a pan and adding a small amount of the gorgonzola cheese. Right from the beginning, it was smelling good in the kitchen. I had been planning on adding some flour to the butter to make a rue and make the sauce a bit thicker, but alas, we were out of flour so I couldn't do that. I also wanted to add some milk to the dish... all we had was skim milk, which was a bit thinner than I wanted but I tried it anyway. I let the milk, butter, and cheese melt and simmer together and reduce. The truffle oil smelled amazing and it was the last thing I added. I also put a bit of salt into the sauce.

I boiled and salted the water, cooked the pasta, and for the last 3 minutes of the pasta cooking I dropped the asparagus into the water. I drained everything and mixed the sauce and the pasta. I finished it off with a bit of fresh grated mozzarella cheese.

Now, I don't think anything can compare to the dish that is made at Mastrociliega's but I have to admit. It was really, really good. And I still have a TON of truffle oil left so definitely more to come. I think in the future I will try the dish again using some flour to make a rue and using a fattier milk. Definitely not a diet meal... but it was good. Perhaps it will be a pre-race ritual for me??

You're doing it all wrong.

2010-04-23T09:00:00.000-04:00

Fallen off the wagon

2010-04-15T22:07:00.002-04:00

Lately, I've been going the route of full disclosure in my life. I'm opting to do that here by saying that, in the last week, I'm completely fallen off the wagon (I *think* that is the right phrase? please let me know in the comments if I am wrong, so I don't continue to say that).

Last night I ate a full pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

Today, I went to go for a run to the grocery store, and walked only after a few blocks.

I know, I have a legitimate reason for having a hard time with running. I have been having bad pain in my knee and am waiting for the "Health Coach" at work to get back to me with orthopedic recommendations. However, I don't need to have gone off the deep end with eating poorly. But that is exactly what I have done.

Since the beginning of February I have been working to build my endurance with running by doing a downloaded program that was recommended to me called "Couch to 5K". It has been AWESOME. For the first time in life, I have been enjoying working out and enjoying challenging myself. Yes, I always did sports but I was always mediocre at them. Probably because I didn't have that drive to push myself to the limits physically. I swam in high school because I loved the water (still do!) and loved the physical exercise and loved the feeling of having a good work out in the pool. But, I still didn't push myself past the points that I felt comfortable at. I have had to do that with my recent attempts to "become a runner" as I like to say.

In the process of working on becoming a better runner, I have developed, what I think, is a really healthy attitude around food. I found myself eating healthier, not because I thought it would make me lose weight, but because I wanted to fuel my body the best way possible for my workouts. I wasn't stressing over everything I put in my mouth because I knew that I was working my body hard. I didn't really lose any weight (maybe 5 lbs or so) but I started to not really be concerned with that. I FELT good.

But now I am not running. And although it has been just over a week, this past week has been pretty hard on me. I just don't feel as good about myself and don't have as much motivation to eat healthy. I'm not sure what to do to get me out of this fitness funk. I need to dig deep and find something to pull myself back onto the wagon.

And I'll just keep my fingers crossed that I can get to the doctor soon and learn what is going on with my knee.

Sorry for the rant! I want to get back to writing here and will be hopefully back soon. This entry was a bit like therapy for me... so thanks for listening.

Emeril!

2010-01-10T16:57:00.003-05:00

Hi All-- guess what??? I am in Orlando for a work conference and tonight I get to eat at Emeril's restaurant Chop Chop (I think that is what it is called?).

I am so excited! I think it might be inappropriate to take a picture of my plate for the blog... but I'll be thinking about wanting to the whole time.

Talk to y'all soon!

Things I want to make/eat...

2010-01-05T13:01:00.006-05:00

I started following a new blog on my Google Reader. Actually, I don't know if it would be considered a food blog but it is called Food Gawker and it has the most delicious looking pictures of food you've ever seen in your life. Apparently there are recipes to go along with them and they are all from random food blogs *such as this one, ehem*.

I must try each and every one.

Twenty Ten

2010-01-03T22:28:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year!

I must say that I am sort of pumped to be past the holiday eating festivities. My waistline is not happy with me. Or really, the waists of my pants are not happy. Problem.

I haven't been writing lately for a number of reasons... one of which is that I literally have been spending too much of my time eating to pause for even a moment to stop and reflect. Instead, I've been feeding my face as if there was no tomorrow with homemade fudge, pasta and homemade sauces or "gravies", french fries from some of the finest diners up and down the East coast, discount Christmas candy, soups, homemade chocolate covered pretzels, gingerbread cookies, chinese food, and then of course beer, wine, and champagne. Happy freaking new year. Sheesh.

Now that this is all over, I am back to work for a week and then will be leaving to go to Orlando, Florida for 10 days. Most of which will be for a work conference which are routinely also filled with mass amounts of eating (it is typical at one of these conferences for me to be working 14+ hours a day and constantly chewing and swallowing is one of the best ways to keep myself awake and focused).

All of that being said... I spent today getting back to some of my normal eating and cooking habits. I do everything that I can to have a Sunday routine that involves going to the grocery store and buying foods to prepare for the week. I like to eat the same basic things for lunch every week, which helps me to have a routine, manage what I eat, and not spend a ton of money overshopping or eating out.

At the grocery store today I purchased:

- Box of Special K Cinnamon & Pecan.

- 5 Dannon Light and Fit yogurts

- Carrots

- Green beans

- 5 Apples

- Box of Fiber One bars (peanut butter and oats)

- English muffins

- Turkey

These are pretty much weekly staples of mine. And alright, ready? Here is a tip I have, that I think actually works REALLY well. Every Sunday right after I grocery shop, I take out 5 ziplock sandwich baggies and I immediately bag up the vegetables into serving size bags. That way when I am up in the mornings getting ready for work, everything is ready for me to grab. If I ever purchase bags of chips or crackers, I immediately put them into baggies of one serving each as well.

And the english muffins? I typically don't eat more than 4-5 in a week and they come in a bag of 6 so right away I will put a few into the freezer.

Anybody with a similar lifestyle to me, I swear doing these things right after grocery shopping on a Sunday will help you to get out of the house faster in the mornings, eat proper serving sizes, and waste less food.

Happy New Year-- sorry for the random and rambling post!

P.S. I am so pumped for the results of Jackie's salsa challenge... anybody else?

Salsa Challenge

2010-01-03T17:49:00.002-05:00

Those who know me understand that my favorite meal consists of guacamole, salsa and chips (and maybe a margarita on the side -- but a dirty vodka martini is always my number one beverage of choice).

Good guacamole is hard to find, but I have discovered that good salsa is even harder to find. Over the next several weeks (I hope that's all it takes), I am going to embark on a quest to find the best salsa money can buy. At the end of my quest, I plan on making my own salsa -- and including the recipe here -- by figuring out which ingredients I like more and which ingredients I like less in what I perceive to be the perfect salsa.

I'm not going to discriminate: I will try store-brand, sit-on-your-shelf-for-a-year-and-not-go-bad glass-jarred salsa and I will try fancy, plastic-container, short-shelf-life organic salsa -- I will try every salsa I can. I will then write about them here, on this blog.

I invite you to send in suggestions of your favorite salsas and salsa recipes. If you wouldn't mind including a note about why you love it, I'd love it!

Happy Eating.

Love,

Jackie

Ramen Noodle Salad. For Realzies.

2009-12-15T23:56:00.003-05:00

Hey All... I will post pics from the potluck soon but I also wanted to put up the recipe for the Ramen Noodle Salad that our friend Jenna brought over on Friday. I got such a kick out of this salad because it is made with ramen noodles. The most stereotypical college-kid-no-money meal is Ramen Noodles. So, now, a step up from that, we're at for a just-started-working-and-on-a-very-tight-budget meal, you can make a ramen noodle salad!

We all started to joke on Friday.... what if someone opened a restaurant with ALL recipes made from Ramen Noodles? The profit margin would probably be extremely high, no? Anyways... the Ramen Noodle Salad recipe is below. Thank miss Jenna for bringing this over!

Anybody else have a Ramen Noodle recipe?

---------------------------------------

Here is the recipe for Ramen Noodle Salad!!

INGREDIENTS:
1. A head of lettuce, chopped
2. 6oz mandarin oranges, drained
3. 1 pkg chicken Ramen noodles, uncooked and crumbled
4. 1 cup chopped mushrooms
5. 1 cup chopped celery
6. 1 cup green chopped onions

DRESSING:
1. 1/4 cup salad oil
2. 1 tbsp sugar
3. 3tbsp vinegar
4. 1/2 tsp pepper
5. seasoning mix from the noodles

DIRECTIONS:
Mix together lettuce and onions. Add all other ingredients except noodles and set aside. Blend together dressing and just before serving, add the dressing and noodles to the lettuce mixture!!

and there you have it!!

Potluck

2009-12-15T16:36:00.003-05:00

I decided this weekend to throw a potluck dinner. While I love cooking, most of my friends love it too -- and they've been doing it for longer, meaning that their skills are a little more honed in.

One attendee brought a huge, delicious bowl of homemade guacamole (upon my request) and another friend brought a delicious mandarin salad with a surprise ingredient: dry ramen noodles! I made mini Italian club sandwiches and potato and squash pancakes while someone else brought a squash soup/puree.

While the food didn't necessarily go together, I don't think anyone left feeling hungry. I was perhaps most impressed by the squash soup. It was made from ingredients my friend found in my friend's kitchen! It was the most delicious squash-y, cumin-y, sweet and salty dish with a perfect texture. I'm still thinking about it.

There were several aspects of the potluck that were enjoyable: first, it was fun to see (and taste) what everyone brought, there wasn't as much pressure on me to provide all of the food for my hungry guests, and it was also nice to get a taste for some new recipes. Unfortunately Chris (squash-soup-chef) doesn't have a written set of instructions for his delectable concoction, but at least it gave me a new idea -- creating dishes from ingredients laying around the kitchen! It forces you to be creative, it's a great way to use up what you have, and it won't cost you anymore money than you've already spent! Who's interested in some avocado - apple - tortilla chip roulade?

THANK YOU!

2009-12-14T23:12:00.003-05:00

The next few days will be pretty busy for me with work but I want to give a quick update on the Christmas miracle from this weekend.

It turns out, it actually was NOT a Christmas miracle. Well, not exactly. What it actually was, was the first issue of a two-year subscription to The Food Network magazine-- a Christmas gift from my cousin Heather. How awesome is that?!?! I got a card in the mail today explaining the gift and I am so happy and so thrilled and also feeling so bad that I still have Heather's birthday present from August sitting on my desk waiting to be mailed. Eeek.

Well, Heather dearest, thank you so much!! I already tried some of the cookie recipes from the magazine and will tell you all about them shortly. However, tonight I need to get some sleep before another busy day at work.

A Christmas Miracle?

2009-12-12T14:39:00.002-05:00

So upon getting the mail today.... I stumbled upon a Christmas miracle. In the mailbox, addressed to me, but was definitely never ordered by me, was an issue of the The Food Network Magazine! Holiday treats edition!

I do not know where this came from, or how The Food Network got my address, or why they decided to start sending this to me, but I am THRILLED.

There is only one answer here. A Christmas MIRACLE!

From writer to chef: the story of unemployment.

2009-12-10T18:44:00.005-05:00

Hi everyone!

I'm Katie's roommate, Jackie Sher. Not only do we share an apartment, bathroom, washer and dryer, but we also share a kitchen, utensils, cooking and love of all-things food. I have always enjoyed eating out, flipping through recipe books and looking at pictures of food, but never, ever thought that I would be able to assemble anything edible myself (unless it was in sandwich form with raw ingredients or made in a microwave).

I also love to write. Until recently, was paid to do it. Now I am a professional stay-at-home roommate. In my new found free time, I have learned that I *can* cook and that I absolutely love it! There is something deeply satisfying about trying a recipe that I found in a cookbook, or getting inspired by something that was made on the Food Network, and then trying it out myself. It is even more satisfying to feed these culinary inspirations to others.

Katie's mom bought her a slow-cooker a few weeks ago that was still sitting in the box. Every now and again, Katie and I would sit around flipping through recipes and picking out what looked good. Finally, we decided that this past Tuesday I would make something in the slow cooker. I picked out a chicken and mushroom merlot recipe from a crock-pot cook book. We thought this would be a nice dish because it sounded hearty and we were expecting our second snow fall of the year.

Preparation took about 40 minutes. The total cook time took about 7.5 hours. I served it with a huge spinach salad with veggies, fresh bread and some pasta that my boyfriend expertly prepared with seasonings we had laying around the kitchen. Voila! Dinner was served. And will be served again and again for the next 18 days. I made a lot of chicken and mushroom merlot.

It was (relatively) easy to make, with the exception of some cut fingers -- always use caution when working with knives -- and came out, in my opinion, deliciously. I would recommend this dish to anyone who is looking to make a hearty meal that doesn't take too, too much preparation and wants leftovers after.

Next project? I am throwing a holiday potluck tomorrow. I am going to try making three appetizers including zucchini and potato pancakes and mini Italian club sandwiches. If I'm feeling adventurous I might try my hand at making a cocktail for everyone to enjoy involving clementines and vodka ... We'll see.

As Julia Child would say, bon appetit!

(This photo was taken this past summer when I held a dinner party but ordered out all of the food. However, this is a thing of the past. Welcome to the new world of Jackie.)

Much to be thankful for.

2009-12-05T16:00:00.002-05:00

It is hard to believe that we are past Thanksgiving and finishing up our first week of December, yet that is exactly where we are. As I sit in my apartment and look out the window at the first real snow fall of the winter, makeup still on my face from my first holiday party of the season the night before, I am content and happy and filled with emotions. I am slightly overwhelmed that I have yet to really begin my holiday shopping. I am nervous, that my finances won't be able to cover all of the gifts I want to be able to give to the many people who have loved me and been there for me throughout this past year. I am satisfied, although I have yet to eat today, the $2.25 coffee from the Daily Grind coffee shop around the corner is running warm through my body, which is curled underneath my gray Syracuse University blanket. I am warm. I am happy. I am a tid bit anxious but I am comfortable. More so than anything else though, I am thankful.

I am thankful for an apartment that I love being in so much. I am thankful for roommates who help me with my makeup and accessories before a night out, who comfort me when I am upset, and who make me laugh. I am thankful for my family, that spreads from Rhode Island to Massachusetts to New Hampshire to California and back. My family, who loves me and protects me and pushes me to be who I am not matter what the situation. I am thankful for my network of friends, that spreads around the world and who have known me from a range of one year, five years, or twenty years. Friends that know me better than myself and who I have no doubt in my mind will continue to get to know me as I change and grow throughout the years. I am thankful for Skype and video chatting, which helps me stay in touch with those friends, whether they be in New Jersey or Indonesia. I am thankful for my own self-conviction. I am thankful for a lot.

This past Thanksgiving was a really happy one for me. It was filled with so many people I love, so many people that make my life rich and fulfilling and happy, so much goodness, and SO MUCH good food.

I ate my first Thanksgiving dinner the Saturday before the actual holiday at my friend Andrew's house. We had a potluck dinner, with everybody bringing a different dish. This is a tradition that I had the pleasure of taking part in for the first time in 2008. I don't know if it was my state of mind or the food itself, but this year's dinner at Andrews was perfect. Everybody's dishes complemented each other perfectly even though they ranged from Persian rice to mashed potatoes to pumpkin to chili to a variety of stuffings and then oh, my, gosh, the deep fried turkey. It was delicious.

My second Thanksgiving dinner was at Cumberland House of Pizza with my girls Erin and Meag. Although it may not have been an official Thanksgiving dinner and although our crew was missing some very key people, it is definitely something I am thankful for. Broccoli and mushroom pizza. Antipasto salad. Good conversation. Loud and boisterous. Yeah, it was definitely a Thanksgiving dinner.

My third Thanksgiving dinner was at my grandmother's in Massachusetts. A smaller crowd than that of years past, but the room was just as full with love and laughter and over-eating. Again, it may have been my state-of-mind or it could have been the actual food, but everything tasted more delicious than ever. And for the first time in my life, I ate gravy. Yum, yum, yum.

(if you know my family... tell me if you notice anything about the photos below... hehe)

My fourth Thanksgiving dinner, which was actually a lunch, was at my Dad's on Friday. Again, lots of laughter and love and food. This year brought new family members to the table and new excitement for all of us.

My fifth, and final Thanksgiving dinner took place at a bar in Manchester, NH with my sister, her husband, her sister-in-law, and her sister-in-law's boyfriend. Chicken fingers and potato skins. Not the most traditional, but it was fun. It was a meal that I am again, incredibly thankful for. I had a wonderful night visiting my sister and her husband. Our relationship has progressed so much throughout this past year and we have some amazing memories to take with us into 2010.

So there you have it. My Thanksgiving in pictures and food and memories. Outside, the snow continues to fall. Accumulating now and covering the rooftops and tree branches in a soft blanket of beautiful white. My coffee is finished and my stomach is starting to rumble. No big cooking plans today. Perhaps tomorrow. Today I am enjoying the beauty outside and am thankful for all the beauty within my life as well.

Happy holidays.

Are you a Martha or a Rachel?

2009-11-19T20:17:00.000-05:00

So Martha Stewart just had her first on-air interview and when asked about Rachel Ray, she was pretty harsh in dissing her skill sets and the the sophistication of her recipes and what is in her cookbook. Martha says,

"Well, to me, she professed that she could -- cannot bake," said Stewart. "She -- just did a new cookbook which is just a re-edit of a lot of her old recipes. She -- and that's not good enough for me. I mean, I really want to write a book that is a unique and lasting thing. Something that will really fulfill a need in someone's library. So, she's different. She's -- she's more of an entertainer than she is, with her bubbly personality, than she is a teacher, like me. That's not what she's professing to be... She does it very differently than I do, she's a totally different kind cook than I am. I don't know if she has a garden, I don't think so, but if she does, she doesn't show that on her show so much."

Now, I know that Rachel Ray gets dissed a lot and many, many people do not like her. However, I happen to be a Rachel fan. I cannot bake. I am not a formally trained cook, nor do I really desire to be. I have learned how to put together simple recipes or cook basic things that people enjoy and don't involve a heck of a lot of skill. This whole notion is basically why I started this blog in the first place. I know I haven't been putting up a lot of recipes, and I will try to do more. However, I wanted to post Rachel's response because I think it is pretty darn classy. I love classy responses. Her and Beyonce both have gold stars from me lately. Rachel's response was...

"Why would it make me mad?" said Ray. "Her skill set is far beyond mine. That's simply the reality of it. That doesn't mean that what I do isn't important too... I don't consider it needling. I really just think she's being honest. She does have a better skill set than I do when it comes to producing a beautiful, perfect, high-quality meal. I'd rather eat Martha's than mine, too."

Love it. I'm so a Rachel and am perfectly happy with that. What are you? A Rachel or a Martha? What do you aspire to be?

The full article via www.eatmedaily.com and found via @vasta's RT of @amateurgourmet

Chocolate Expo at State Museum

2009-11-18T20:53:00.001-05:00

Chocolate? Wine? Specialty foods? Art? Jewelry? Live music? FREE?

Yes, I know where I will be on Sunday, December 6th. Who is with me?

http://blog.timesunion.com/tablehopping/11419/state-museum-hosting-chocolate-expo/

"Eat everything in sight" days

2009-11-18T20:47:00.000-05:00

So, recently I e-mailed the members of the Communications Leadership Development Program (CLDP) that I am a part of. The CLDPs have become somewhat of a family over the past 20 months, despite the fact that some of them I have only met in "real life" a handful of times. We talk daily about work, bosses, life, becoming grown ups, relationships and anything that one of us needs the other for. When I started this blog I sent a note around to the crew to check it out if they got a chance and also, to pass along any recipes or food ideas that they had.

The following is the e-mail chain that took place between me and the one male in my program after I sent out that e-mail. I found it funny and it went along with a few other conversations I've had recently.

Pretty much every girl I know can relate to the feeling of having an "eat everything in sight" day. In fact, one of my friends e-mailed me the after I posted about what to do with leftover Halloween candy (which happened to be the very next day after I had this e-mail conversation with Matt). She told me to save leftover candy for one of these days.

Is it really just girls that have "eat everything in sight" days? Do any other guys agree with Matt?

From: Benvie, Matthew (GE Infra, Aviation, US)
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 2:02 PM

To: Buress, Katelyn (GE, Corporate)
Subject: RE: Read my blog!

I made killer chocolate chip pancakes last night. Secret ingredient? Extra chocolate chips.

From: Buress, Katelyn (GE, Corporate)
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 2:31 PM
To: Benvie, Matthew (GE Infra, Aviation, US)
Subject: RE: Read my blog!

That sounds so delicious. I'm having an "eat everything in sight" day. Do boys have days like that or is it just girls?

From: Benvie, Matthew (GE Infra, Aviation, US)
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 2:36 PM
To: Buress, Katelyn (GE, Corporate)
Subject: RE: Read my blog!

I can only speak from anecdotes and personal experience... but boys treat every day like it's "eat everything in sight" day.

Adventures of Vegetables: Brussel Sprouts.

2009-11-11T21:00:00.001-05:00

So, I have decided that I want to explore cooking new veggies. My staples are asparagus and broccoli but I want to branch out more. I recently tried brussel sprouts for the first time and despite their bad rep as a scary and despised veggie, I actually liked them.

On my last trip to the grocery store I was intrigued so I bought some with the plan of looking up a recipe online. I actually didn't have to go that far and was recommended a way to cook them by my boss at work. I made them for dinner tonight and ate them alongside some risotto that I made (it's from a box, I'm not that good... yet).

Cooking the brussel sprouts isn't really a recipe but just a method so the amounts and the actual ingredients don't really matter. However, what I used was...

- brussel sprouts

- almonds

- olive oil

- butter

I started by cutting the white, stemmy end of the brussel sprout off and unwrapping the outermost layers of the brussel sprout and throwing it away. My boss advised me to clean them well and remove the outermost part because they can taste bad otherwise. I wasn't sure exactly how much to take off but I thought of it as a mini head of iceberg lettuce, and pulled off the first layer.

Then, I steamed the brussel sprouts for about 7-8 minutes using my flexible steaming basket thingy (don't know the actual term for it, but it is essential)... I figured out when they were done by pulling one out and cutting through the sprout. I tested a couple times and when I was able to cut through them easily, I decided they were done (I have no idea if this is an advisable method or not, but it worked for me).

In a frying pan, I heated a little oil and tossed in some chopped almonds. I was told to use almond slivers, but I adjusted that based on what we had in the apartment. I added so

me butter to the oil and just let that warm together and the almonds brown a bit. When the brussel sprouts were steamed, I cut the big ones in half and tossed it all in the butter/oil/almond mix. Voila!

My delicious meal, eaten by candlelight with a glass of wine and my Twilight book. Perfection.

It was quite delicious, I must say.

Dinner for two.

2009-11-10T19:30:00.003-05:00

When you are 23 and you work 10+ hours a day, this is sometimes how you eat dinner.

My meal:

- 2 Toasted english muffin with margarine

- Carrots and hummus

- Cheez-Its

Jen's (my roommate) meal:

- Goldfish

- Mortadella

- Some radish, celery, and mushroom with hummus

- Some pickles & olives

- Cup of shredded wheat cereal

This is all for today. We're going out for a celebratory drink in honor of Jen kicking some butt at work. Tomorrow I'll attempt to cook brussel sprouts. Seee ya!

P.S. Add a little pepperoni onto my list. Ooh la la!

What to do with all that candy

2009-11-03T18:31:00.001-05:00

Yes, I know, my favorite thing to do with Halloween candy is eat it. However, in the spirit of being healthy, I found an article on the Albany Times Union Web site that offers some suggestions of what to do with excess Halloween candy.

We had some rain in the Capital Region on Halloween so people saw less trick-or-treaters coming around. If you've got bags of leftover Halloween candy, I suggest you check out this article. I love the idea of sending your candy to Operation Gratitude to be included in care packages for U.S. troops. It might even been a nice idea to pick up some of the 50-75% off candy and send over to this group anyways.

Hope you all had a great Halloween. We've got a few weeks before the holiday eating season really kicks off, so I'm going to try and be healthy before that! Some pics for your enjoyment from my Halloween...

Erin's Artichoke Pie

2009-11-02T17:37:00.002-05:00

Ingredients:

- 3 cloves garlic

- 2 T olive oil

- 2 cans non-marinated artichoke hearts, quartered

- uncooked pie shell and top

- 4 eggs

- 1/2 c grated cheese

- 1 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Saute finely-chopped garlic in olive oil. Drain artichoke hearts and add to oil. Brown lightly over high heat. Spoon into 9 inch uncooked pie shell.

In a bowl, beat together eggs and grated cheese until blended. Pour over artichoke mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese on top. Top with pastry, flute the edges, cut vents.

Bake in a pre-heated 450 degree over for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. Cover outer edges with foil. Remove foil 10 minutes before end of cooking.

Voila...

The recipe is my friend Erin's and she has always made this pie whenever there has been a potluck type event. It is delicious and I was excited to try and make it on my own.

Whenever I've had it, I've always been impressed with the presentation as well as the taste, so I was excited and surprised to find out that it was surprisingly simple to make! I make quiches often and it really wasn't all that different. I have never made anything that I'd call a "pie" though and somehow the word scares me. I'll tell you though, store bought pie crust is amazing.

I picked up some from the frozen food section and bought a package of two 9-inch ready to bake crusts, in convenient silver dishes also that you can bake and serve them in. Since this pie requires a top, I just used one of the two as the top of the pie. It didn't make for the prettiest pie, but I was still proud! The pie came out delicious... I shared it with my roommates and still have a ton leftover for meals the rest of the week. It is good served both warm and cold so it is good to bring to picnics or potlucks. I had a piece for lunch today cold so it is definitely a leftovers friendly meal!

And a few additional notes on my first pie baking experience...

I noticed after I put the pie in the over that I was supposed to wrap the edges in tinfoil. I wasn't sure if this was a really necessary step, but I wanted to be sure. So, I took the pie out, awkwardly wrapped the edges in tinfoil and put it back in until 10 minutes until the end. It seemed to work out well... not burnt crusts here! However, I have no idea if this was necessary or not.

Also, I am already thinking of the future and how I can personalize this pie and make changes to make it a little different. I think that if I add spinach to the pie, it would come out really good. And some melty, stringy cheeses... mmm... I feel like it wouldn't be too hard to basically turn this into spinach/artichoke dip wrapped up in pie crust. And how freaking good does that sound?

Enjoy!

A chicken chili feast!

2009-11-01T22:40:00.002-05:00

We are deep into fall now, and as I mentioned, I am really into “fall” foods. Over the past few years, I have been getting more and more into the cold-weather classic, chili. I'm not the hugest fan of beans so when I was recommended a beanless chicken chili recipe by my colleague, Becky, I was game to try it!

When looking at a recipe, I try to look at them as a guideline or suggestion for the meal. I think one of the major things that people need to realize when they are starting out with cooking, is that you have the freedom to experiment and alternate the recipe to your tastes.

So with this dish, I used less onion and more red peppers than recipe called for. Based on my tastes, I figured I would like it more if I switched those things around. I also put a little more garlic in than the recipe suggested, because I just loooove garlic. When you are cooking (baking is another story), look at a recipe as a guideline and not a rule.

The recipe actually was from Ina Garten on the Food Network and has pretty simple ingredients and is low maintenance. I planned ahead and wrote out the ingredients before I headed to the grocery store, but wouldn't you know it, I left the list at home so I shopped off of memory. Luckily, the recipe is really simple, and after visiting the grocery store, I realized it is really cheap also!

Visit the link and read the full recipe for yourself, but what I purchased and the prices are below. I couldn't remember what kind of canned tomatoes to buy so I just guessed at what I thought would be best and ended up using them all.

- Small can of diced tomatoes .79

- Large can of smashed tomatoes .99

- Package of 4 chicken breasts 6.98

- 3 Red peppers 2.99

- Large red onion 1.29

- McCormick white chicken chili seasoning mix 1.49

- Skim milk .89

- 6pack of eggs .89

- Corn bread mix .47

The total for this complete meal is around $17 and it feeds a lot. I served 4, including myself, we all had seconds, and there was still some leftovers to put in the fridge. Definitely beats a restaurant price any day! Ingredients that I already had on hand were the very basics. I had garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Also, the milk and eggs were for the cornbread mix, which is totally optional. The ingredients for it all were really cheap, so why the heck not though?

You'll also notice that instead of all of the different seasonings, I bought a McCormick mix. Well, some may call that cheating, but I call it practical. I don't keep a lot of spices and seasonings in the house. I have a small kitchen I share with 3 other people, it is hard to keep things around unless they are used on a regular basis... which I wouldn't with my seasonings. The McCormick mix was a great way for me to still complete this recipe but not have to buy a bunch of seasonings I probably wouldn't use for a long time again. It was cheap, it tasted great, and nobody knew my secret when I served the meal :)

My dinner guests and critics on this day were my roommate Jackie and our two friends Ernest and Alex. We had a lot of fun hanging out, cooking, carving pumpkins, watching scary movies, and drinking pumpkin beers. It was a great weekend recipe and I highly recommend it for anybody. I think it would be good for large groups, movie nights or game days, etc. and it is also easily adaptable. Chili is a pretty common thing, but a chicken chili is a little unique and it offers a lot of possibility for you to make it your own. I so loved this recipe and so did everybody else, Jackie's exact words were, "This is the best thing I have ever eaten in my life." ... not too bad, eh?

This is why you're fat...

2009-10-30T08:21:00.002-04:00

So, I just stumbled upon a few blogs and such that I had to post immediately.

First, off "This Is Why You're Fat". A Web site that I have heard about, but tried my best to avoid due to the nature of the site. I feared what I might find there. And yes, the Web site is all that the name promises it will be and I think I gained weight just by looking at the ridiculous deep-fried, chocolate-covered, bacon-wrapped creations that are within this site. If you thought that donut-bun burger was bad... you'll want to stay away from this site. View at your own risk.

Second, "The Ridiculous Food Society of Upstate New York." Well, one of this guys recipes was featured in the new "This is Why You're Fat" book, so he can't be all that bad! I haven't had a change to browse too much of the site but I'm excited to check it out.

Third, this challenge. Sponsored by "This Is Why You're Fat". Read for yourself and if you are in the NYC area... I dare you.

Alice's Teacup

2009-10-27T17:25:00.002-04:00

So, another place I ate during my eating tour of NYC was Alice's Teacup. The lovely @KateSarah brought me there as well (she is too good to me) and recommended all the best things. Before I get to the food though, let me tell you a little bit about Alice's Teacup itself. It is completely and totally adorable. As soon as you walk in, you feel like you are in a 5 year old girl's heaven. There are big butterflies on the walls, characters from Alice in Wonderland, fairies, and everything is in pastel pinks and like purple. It may sound cheesy but it really was very sweet and cute.

Alice's Teacup has a huge variety of teas and we were there around brunch time so they were serving both breakfast and lunch. Kate got eggs and I decided to get the combo of 2 scones and a pot of tea that was around $10. Alice's Teacup is known for both these things and I wanted to try their signatures (plus, as soon as I walked in I saw the pumpkin scones out of the corner of my eye and they looked TO DIE FOR). We also ordered a side of their french fries because Kate said they were worth it. And my goodness they were. Pics are below from the food extravaganza at Alice's Teacup in NYC...

P.S. So the story with the last photo is... we had these two french fries left on the plate and TWICE waitresses walked by and asked if we were done. Both times, I let her them know that we were NOT done and I fully planned on finishing every last bite of the french fries. They were delicious.

Fudge and licorice and gumdrops, oh my!

2009-10-24T16:37:00.005-04:00

Last Friday through Wednesday I was in New York City visiting friends and then working at GE’s healthymagination showcase on 44th and 5th Ave. I always really enjoy visiting NYC due largely to the fact that many of my friends live there, but there is also something exciting and inspiring about being in the city that I love in itself. There is so much to explore, to see, to do, and my God, so much to EAT.

This blog is supposed to be dedicated to healthy and affordable eating, but you know what, sometimes you just need to indulge. And for me, this past weekend in NYC was the time and place to do it.

I stayed with my friend Kate (@KateSarah) from Friday to Sunday at her beautiful studio apartment she is currently sharing with a friend. After years of friendship, she has learned where my passions lie and therefore was eager to introduce me to something she knew I’d love. It is a little piece of heaven that is located right here on earth in the convenient location of the upper east side manhattan.

What I am referring to is none other than Dylan's Candy Bar.

Dylan’s Candy Bar is the Disneyworld of candy stores that covers every scale of the candy spectrum from fudge to gumdrops to giant lollipops, bulk candy, packaged candy, seasonal candies, and everything in between.

For someone like me, who is decends from a family with a rich heritage of a vicious sweet tooth (we’re talking annual family reunions that are built around when we’re going to visit the local penny candy store), this place was magical.

My $12 of twizzlers, chocolate covered cookie dough, sour watermelons, rock candy, Swedish fish, nonparrels, and peanut butter malt balls later, my friends and I left Dylan’s (and went across the street to see Where the Wild Things Are!). The bag of candy lasted me until the end of the weekend but the memories (and the calories) will be with me for much longer.

Empire State of Mind

2009-10-18T10:42:00.006-04:00

Hey all, in New York City for the weekend... food stories to come. But for now, the song I can't get enough of. Miss Alicia Keys is such a rockstar and from what I heard, she completely kicked butt at the Keep A Child Alive Black Ball that took place Thursday night in NYC. KCA is an incredible organization and I've had the honor and pleasure of being able to attend the Black Ball a couple times in the past. Love KCA. Love Alicia Keys. Love NYC. Enjoy.

Eating American

2009-10-16T00:45:00.000-04:00

It figures that the week that I start a blog about food and cooking, I actually do ZERO cooking the entire week. Lovely. But alas, such is the life. It was a pretty busy week at work straight through and with a moderately active social life combined with laziness and a dash of exhaustion, the result is a week full of Lean Cuisines for dinner. Hoorah!

Tonight, however, the frozen meals were left frozen and I met up for dinner with a few colleagues/friends that are in town from Munich. We actually ate at the restaurant with the truffle fries for dinner (at their request, I swear!) and it was just as good this time. However, what I am really thinking about now is the concept of "American" food and what it is like for someone from outside of the U.S. to go out to eat at an American restaurant.

I spent five weeks this summer in Germany and every time I went out to eat it was a struggle. I was constantly asking those I was dining with (whether or not they were a German native) for advice on what to get, what to try, and what tastes best at different locations. I was a foreigner and wanted the help of those around to try some authentic German food.

With my friends from Munich tonight, it didn't even feel as if I was dining with foreigners. They knew what they wanted (burgers), how they wanted them (one rare, one well done), and how to order them. It felt so normal, that I didn't even think to think that maybe it should feel abnormal. I didn't even think about their lack of questions on questions about what they should try or what was good, until, about.... 10 minutes ago?

Granted, they have both been to the U.S. and both speak English way better than I speak German. Which, isn't giving them enough credit because a parrot could probably speak English better than I can speak German. But, still!

I thought about it afterwards and thought about how both guys ordered burgers. It made me realize that I guess burgers are probably the most "American" food we have to offer. The menu at the Van Dyck only has one burger on it. So, was what their eyes gravitated to?

I'd like to go out with them again, but this time, take them to the Red Robin. If the most American food is a burger, than the most American restaurant has got to be the Red Robin. A menu full of greasy, meat-packed combinations, complete with a bottomless basket of french fries? Really? What could be more American than that?

Edamame and mommy love.

2009-10-15T00:17:00.001-04:00

Edamame.

One of my new favorite things in life.

It is a great thing to keep in the freezer, is easy to make, is filling, and is delicious to snack on in front of the TV. I highly recommend.

That's all for today... I'm exhausted and have an early morning as well, but I just wanted to give a shoutout to my love for edamame. It came in clutch tonight.

AND a shoutout to my mom, as I now know she is reading :)

Goodbye Gourmet

2009-10-12T21:30:00.002-04:00

Last week Conde Nast announced that they would be closing Gourmet magazine, which has been a staple for foodies since 1941. I must say, I think that Gourmet is before my generation. I occasionally buy Cooking Light magazine, which I really enjoy and I occasionally buy the Food Network magazine, which I also enjoy. However, I am completely not surprised that something like Gourmet doesn't have sticking power any more. Just by the name of it, Gourmet doesn't seem like something I would want to buy. I just looked up the definition of "gourmet" on www.dictionary.com. It says...

–noun

1.	a connoisseur of fine food and drink; epicure.

–adjective

2.	of or characteristic of a gourmet, esp. in involving or purporting to involve high-quality or exotic ingredients and skilled preparation: gourmet meals; gourmet cooking.

3.	elaborately equipped for the preparation of fancy, specialized, or exotic meals: a gourmet kitchen.

Read that definition. Now, read it again. I don't have a desire to be a gourmet chef. If I want something gourmet, I'll go to a restaurant. In my opinion (which is why you're reading this blog), this is exactly how people of my generation DO NOT want to cook. I don't have the time or energy to seek out exotic ingredients. I do not have the supplies or ambition to master "skilled preparation". And I don't really care if my food would be described as "fancy".

I want to eat something simple, with easily acquired and affordable ingredients, that is DELICIOUS. And if it comes off as fancy, all the better, but that isn't my main goal.

USA Today just posted an article that confirms my opinion and explains how the internet, television cooking shows, and social networking has changed the world of food. I really enjoyed this article because it validated me starting this blog. Vain? Maybe. But listen up readers, so far, my opinions are right on :)

And, Gourmet, see you later. You may be missed, but not by me.

Fall Food Weekend

2009-10-11T23:12:00.002-04:00

Since I graduated from college and joined the working world, I have come to have a new appreciation for the fall season. In the past, fall was about returning to school, new classes, friends, the return of homework and early mornings, etc. Now that I am working, the transition from summer to fall isn't so much about a lifestyle change but about the seasons themselves.

I have begun to much more appreciate all things fall. The crisp air, bright Upstate NY foliage, and of course, all of the seasonal fall foods.

On my Twitter page I've started to list out some of my favorite seasonal fall foods as I indulge in them, but I thought I would dedicate a special little post as well. I have been spending the past few weeks indulging in some of my favorites:

- Apple cider.

- Candy corn.

- Cinnamon anything.

- Cider donuts.

- Apples.

- Caramel covered apples.

- Pumpkin pie (just tried it for the first time this year!).

- Pumpkin spice coffee (love the pumpkin spice lattes at Panera).

- Soup.

- Chili.

The past two weekends I have spent my Saturdays going to Bowman Orchards in Rexford, NY, which has been really enjoyable. They have pumpkins, apples, an incredible bakery, petting zoo, etc. It really is adorable but in addition, one of the neat things that they have is a taste test of almost 20 different apple varieties. The apple experts at Bowman can help you find your perfect level of tartness, sweetness, and crispness. My favorites I've learned are Pinova and Ambrosia apples.

Head to an orchard and pick up some of your own. An apple a day keeps the doctor away!

P.S. I need to remember to get pictures for this thing. I actually took some pictures this day with my roommate, but not of the food. I'll get better. Pictures to come!

Truffled french fries? Yes, please!

2009-10-09T00:48:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday of this week I went out to lunch with my team from work to a newly reopened restaurant in Schenectady called The Van Dyck. Although the entire meal was really delicious and I enjoyed all of the food, I have to say, one item on the menu stuck out. And that delicious and savory item was a little thing called truffled french fries.

Truffled french fries? Have you ever heard of this before? Because it is the first time I have seen them on the menu and I found it quite exciting.

My love of all foods involving "truffle" began when I studied abroad in Florence. My friends and I discovered the most delicious meal of all time that involved a pasta served in a "cappelo" of pasta with a sauce made with gorgonzola cheese, asparagus, and truffles. It is simply amazing and it wasn't until trying a pizza made with truffle oil at a different restaurant that we realized... it was the truffle that made the pasta dish absolutely divine.

So truffled french fries? Yes, please! I highly recommend.

I can haz cheezburger?

2009-10-07T20:28:00.000-04:00

Has anybody seen the episode on the Food Network or perhaps just the YouTube video where Paula Dean makes a cheeseburger and uses glazed donuts in place of a bun?

I have for a long time thinking that only someone as ridiculous as Paula Dean would dare try that, but clearly I am wrong. Check out how pissed this guy is about the thought of a cheeseburger with donuts as a bun. He says it is the sign of an apocolypse... I love it.

Am I sick because I kind of want to try one now?

Change of Plans

2009-10-07T19:08:00.000-04:00

Generation Y is notorious for changing their minds. It is said that college students will change their majors 2-3 times, young professionals are changing their jobs every 1-2 years, and we're constantly changing everything from hair color to sexual preferences to relationships. It is only expected that we change our minds about what to eat.

As I mentioned earlier, I generally just buy the basics when I do my weekly grocery shopping trips. I am probably abnormal from my many people my age in the fact that I have a very routine grocery shopping regimen. Every Sunday is my grocery shopping day and I stock up on lunch options, snacks, beverages, etc. There are some regular things like yogurt, fruit, vegetables, Fiber One bars (Oats & Chocolate are my favorite), and pudding that I always buy and eat throughout the week for breakfast and lunch. However, I have a very hard time determining on Sunday what I want to eat throughout the week for dinner. I find that whenever I TRY to make a decision and buy ingredients for a certain dish or meal, I end up changing my mind and not using what I bought.

Tonight for example, I had planned to have leftover chicken from a roasted chicken I bought this week and some broccoli for dinner. Not too glamorous, but it would have been a quick and really delicious meal. However, instead I got a text message from one of my roommates while I was on my way home... "Want to order out tonight? I'm craving Indian food."

Now, I had not been craving Indian food myself... but I changed my mind. Many forkfuls of rice mixed with palak paneer (and far too many calories) later, my leftover chicken and uncooked broccoli is still sitting in the fridge.

Hopefully I get through that by the end of the week...

I love food.

2009-10-07T18:44:00.000-04:00

What's a girl to do?

I'm a Food Network addict, a wannabe cook, and a lover of all things edible that contain more than 5 grams of fat. I generally cook dinner for myself, am tired from a long day of work, and want something simple, healthy, yet delicious. My fridge generally contains the most basic staples of food. When I do a weekly shopping, even if I buy the smallest size containers of milk or packages of chicken, I never end up using it all and things go bad. I find comfort in eating foods I like and the foods that I like are generally bad for me.

So, I propose the question again... what's a girl to do?

I wanted to start a blog that explores this question a little bit. My adventures and relationship with food has grown a lot throughout the years. I've become more adventurous in what I will eat and what I will try cooking for myself and through that, I've learned a lot. I spend a large amount of my time thinking about food, talking about food, and now as I learn more, and as I eat my way through life, I will start to write about food. The good, the bad, and the delicious.

Open up!