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Sunday, August 30, 2009

Girls Night: True Blood

So over the summer, while I was ignoring this poor blog, I got into the habit of going to the gym with a group of wonderful women. We were awesome. We went 4x a week and actually worked out... until the second half of summer came with all the freshmen came and filled up the gym. Instead of waiting in lines that only frusterated us, we made a girls night. A night dedicated to catching up, eating great food, and watching some sort of TV show/movie. Sadly I haven't written about the wonderful chicken parm that was made or the phenomanal enchiladas... but we're going to start now.

Tonight was dedicated to True Blood (as probably the next girls night, seeing as the Season finale is in 2 weeks). For those NOT on the band wagon, true blood is an HBO show about vampires coming out of the coffin and integrating into socitey. It's pretty much a guilty pleasure with bad dialouge, crazy storylines, and hot vampire sex.

So onto the food part. I was the main entree (I made Buffalo chicken and the bleu cheese dressing that goes along with it. What we do is one person normally makes the dinner, one side, and dessert. Tonight was great.


Above: My entry


Above: All our food with my horrible camera!
Please note french fries were not present in this picture.

This is probably the highlight of my week with getting together, getting to cook. It's wonderful and I suggest to every college student if you can do something like this it's wonderful!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Eat this...

Interesting article found on Yahoo! which gives some helpful tidbits on food substitutions:

Substitute Yogurt for Mayo

“When making tuna salad, use 2-percent Greek yogurt, about 75 calories for half a cup, instead of mayonnaise, about 450 calories for half a cup. Greek yogurt has the same texture and creaminess as mayonnaise but far less fat and calories. I use the tangy Greek yogurt as a lower-cal replacement anywhere I’d regularly use sour cream or mayo.”
— Leah Sipher-Mann,

Skip the Cheese

“Build a healthier sandwich: Hold the cheese because two slices can add up to well over 200 calories. Load your sammie with low-calorie veggies or go gourmet with slices of apple and pear.”
—Susi May, FitSugar

Make Over Your Milkshake

“I love milk shakes, but at 420 calories for a small strawberry fast-food shake, they can be a real diet breaker. So when I’m in the mood for one, I blend a cup of 1-percent milk with a cup of unthawed, unsweetened frozen strawberries and a teaspoon of agave nectar for a delicious and satisfying cold treat. It’s only about 170 calories, which is a savings of 240 calories.”
—Diana Swallow, Scale Junkie

Save Your Salad with Salsa

“When ordering salad out, ask for salsa or pico de gallo instead of dressing. Many restaurant-size servings of dressing have around 300 to 500 calories. Using salsa, even half a cup of it, will likely save you hundreds of calories and dozens of fat grams—half a cup has 35 calories and almost no fat. And salsa rocks on salads.”
—Lisa Lillien, HungryGirl

Beware the evil salad! Don't make these salad mistake!

Beat the Office Munchies

“Every afternoon at work, I tend to want a snack. With small chocolates in my coworker’s nearby office—five mini chocolate bars are 210 calories!—and a vending machine down the hall that’s calling my name, I avoid the temptation by chewing a piece of fruit-flavored sugar-free gum. Sugar-free gum comes in all kinds of fun, tropical flavors these days like sangria and pina colada, so I feel like I’m indulging even though I’m not.”
—Jenn, Fit Bottomed Girls

Embrace Water

“Many people forget that calories you drink count too, so I try to be aware of what I consume in liquid form and drink as much zero-calorie water as possible. Simply cutting out a 20-ounce bottle of regular soda saves more than 200 calories. Plus, when I’m hydrated, I can more accurately tell whether I’m actually hungry.”
—Erin, Fit Bottomed Girls

Pop Your Own Corn

“Next time you go to the movies, bring your own popcorn. Microwave kernels in a brown paper bag and use a little nonstick spray. Season them to suit your mood: savory with garlic powder and sea salt, sweet with cinnamon and a few dark chocolate chips, or ‘cheesy’ with sea salt, chili powder and nutritional yeast. It’s delicious and tastes just like cheese with fewer calories!”
—Gina Harney, Fitnessista

Here's exactly what to eat at the movies!

A Breakfast of Champions

“Instead of the average 450-calorie cream-cheese bagel, I have a Thomas’ English muffin with two tablespoons of fat-free cream cheese for a similar taste that saves about 300 calories.”
—Karolina Starczak, NeverSayDiet

Invest in a Steamer

“Food steamers save calories and your time. Before I got my steamer, which has multiple layers, so you can cook your entire meal at once, I would usually pan-fry salmon in oil or butter or cover it in sugary teriyaki sauce and bake it. Both of those methods add so many unnecessary calories. Now when I get home from work, I throw veggies, brown rice and salmon with a lemon slice and some fresh parsley in the steamer. It absorbs all the flavor, and it tastes so fresh that way. It takes 15 minutes, so I avoid fatty takeout.”
—Lara Baldwin, Thinspired

Slim Down Your Strawberry Shortcake

“In the summer, I particularly love strawberry shortcake at a barbecue. I bake my own angel-food cake, slice it thin and throw it on the grill for a few minutes instead of using a biscuit—that cuts about 100 calories right there. Then I use a balsamic reduction—cook the vinegar down slowly until it’s about half the volume it was originally—and drizzle it over the strawberries and cake. The flavors are so elegant, and no one misses the whipped cream, which would usually tack another 100 calories onto the dessert.”
—Katherine Tweed, That’s Fit

Check out these summer dessert dos and don’ts!

Give Mashed Potatoes a Healthy Twist

“For me, mashed potatoes are the ultimate comfort food. To make your potatoes healthier, try using equal amounts of potato and another mashable vegetable, like cauliflower or turnips. Not only is this reducing the calorie content, but you’re also adding extra nutrients to your plate. To add even more flavor, replace butter and whole milk with a small amount of tahini and some fat-free yogurt.”
—Melanie Thomassian, Dietriffic

Create Your Own Chips

“Instead of snacking on tortilla chips and salsa, I make my own pita chips in the toaster oven. I cut a whole-wheat pita into small triangles, spray them with no-calorie cooking spray, sprinkle with salt and toast for about two minutes. They taste just as good as regular tortilla chips but without the added calories and fat. You can even add garlic salt, cinnamon or paprika to jazz them up.”
—Tina Haupert, Carrots ‘N’ Cake

Coffee, Hold the Milk

“Instead of a latte, order your coffee drink Americano style, which is espresso with water instead of milk. A 12-ouce Americano is 10 calories versus the same-size latte made with whole milk, which comes in at 180 calories. Nix the sugar—two packets are 30 calories—and you’ve saved yourself 200 calories.”
—Stephanie Quilao, Noshtopia

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Asian Salad



Ingredients

1 bag coleslaw
1 cucumber
toasted pine nuts
Cooked chicken

Dressing
2/3 rice vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp oil
2 tsp soy sauce

Overall:
This was a really easy salad to put together. The longest part was cooking the chicken. It was good. I didn't like the dressing too much, I would have prefered a ginger dressing or something with a little more umph. But overall I very much enjoyed the coleslaw salad.

P.S. Pardon the picture it's from my cell phone.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

More Ice Cream!?!

Interesting tibit I found on TV

E-Creamery

Basically you can make ANY flavor you want of ice cream. The show I saw mentioned Avacado ice cream, green tea ice cream, and many more. Just thought it's be worth sharing =)

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Oreo Ice Cream

Cookies N Cream
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
Smashed up favorite cookies.

Directions:
1. Combine eggs & sugar, whisking until combines.
2. Heat milk and vanilla in a sauce pan til just before boiling.
3. Add to egg mixture SLOWLY! and continuously whisking (this prevents scrambled eggs)
4. Heat milk/egg mixture until thick & custard-y
5. While milk/egg is thickening whip the heavy cream until light and fluffy
6. pour custard into whipping cream and fold gently
7. pour into ice cream makerfor 30 minutes. About 20 minutes in add your favorite crushed cookies

Overall: So this is most certainly NOT how my sister and I made it. The book we were reading from had an akward layout in the directions for the ice cream so we completely missed the whipping cream step, instead assuming the "milk" meant cream + milk mixture. Because of this the custard was not very thick and our ice cream was more of an Iced milk. Also, we added the oreos (our cookie of choice) before the putting the mixture in the ice cream maker. The only down side to that step was turning the ice cream an ugly unappetizing gray color.

That all being said, it tasted fine. I would more or less start with a vanilla base and add cookies at the end next time. Also, the whole cooking eggs is different from the last ice cream we made. I won't really try this recipe again...

Friday, August 7, 2009

Kitchen First! Fish Dinner


So walking through the grocery store I noticed that Tilapia was on sale, and it looked pretty good. I figured it was time for me to break outta my comfort zone and try something new. I've had tilapia before & I enjoy it. But my dad always made the best fish and I'm hesitant to try others...

But I decided on a nice tilapia franchese dinner since my uncle had given me a recipe that Dad use to make. On my way home, I decide that I'm just going for a cajiun style fish and deal with the franchese later. So I start cooking....

Ingredients:

1 Filet of fish (I, of course, had tilapia)
Some Cajiun seasonings (I used a combination of paprika, cayenne pepper, chili powder, red pepper flakes, S&P)

Directions:
1. Rub the fish with the dry rub.
2. In a heated sautee pan, cook the fish (presentation side down) for about 3 minutes.
3. Flip fish and let it cook about 2 minute
4. Set the oven to "broil" and drop the pan in for about 1~2 minutes depending on the strength of the broiler.
5. Take out & enjoy

Overall:
Mmm... So I totally overcooked the fish. It was alright, but I didn't enjoy eating it. Not to mention the rub I used was full of fail. Next time I'll combine with flour and dredge with egg and that jazz. But It was my first attempt by myself without a recipe to go off of, so I'm not too heartbroken.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

One Year =)


I Am very upset that I missed my first Blogiversary (July 4th)... but better late than never. Here are some links to my favorite posts:

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Rice Pudding

I am alive, I know!

Quick explanation: Old apartment was a mess and I hated cooking because it meant that I not only had to clean my mess but I also had to clean up the mess my roommates left. I got tired. But I did recently make Rice pudding.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup cooked rice
  • 2 1/2 cups milk
  • 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup raisins
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-inch glass baking dish.

In a large bowl, stir together first 7 ingredients. Spoon into prepared baking dish. Place baking dish in a large pan; pour water into the pan to a depth of 1-inch. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until lightly browned and set. Combine cinnamon and nutmeg; sift over top of pudding. Cool slightly and cut into squares to serve.

OVERALL:Hmm. So I've never had rice pudding and this was the first time I've made/tried it. Not a fan. The texture freaks me out a little. But the taste was wonderful. I would suggest mixing it up before you serve it though lol.