Motherly advice
I know this is the second “tip” entry in a row but I’ve been working on some new recipes that just aren’t quite right yet. I promise next post will have food involved!
For this post I decided to write just a few of the life lessons I have learned from my mother. For my entire life, my mom has been teaching me things that I didn’t even realize until I called on them later.
- As many of my friends will tell you, you are NOT allowed to sit on my sheets or pillows in clothes you have been wearing all day. Gross! Your bed should be a clean place for you to relax and sleep at the end of the day. If you sit on your sheets with your gross jeans that have been in your car, on the bus, in the class room or on the floor, all of those germs will now be joining you every night until you wash your sheets again.
- This next point stems from the first one: do NOT wear shorts or a skirt or a dress to a movie theatre. I live in Florida. It’s hot. Even at night. So when I go out with friends, I’m usually wearing shorts. NOT AT THE MOVIES! Remember all those places your jeans have been all day? Well the person sitting in your sit before you had their jeans there too. Now all of those germs are all over your legs. And if you wear shorts that ride up (like all shorts do) those germs are going places no germs should ever go.
- This last tip is one that I never knew and am so incredibly happy my mom told me. Beware of powder detergent: Roaches love it!! Now, we’ve never used powder detergent (this may be way) so I never knew this. Apparently the roaches like to eat it because its protein. So watch out next time you do your laundry, you might be giving a roach the best bath of his life. (Side note: Roaches also love toothpaste for the same reason: CLOSE THE CAP!!)
I hope all this motherly advice has been helpful to you. I know that not a day goes by when I don’t use something my mom has taught me.
Tips from Grandma
Last week was spring break so needless to say, I did not do a lot of cooking. However, I did have dinner with my grandmother over break which is quite possibly the food highlight of any trip home. My grandmother is Italian (Sicilian but she won’t say that) and has the best sauce EVER! (Of course, any good italian grandchild would say that about their own grandmother.)
I am not privileged enough to know her recipe for her meatballs or sauce (my dad JUST learned them) but I did manage to pick up a few cooking tips from her.
Obviously my grandmother makes enough food for an army when it is only 5 of us so there are always leftovers. As mentioned before, her sauce is AMAZING! and needs to be taken home as well to accompany the sausage, meatballs, and raviolis. This leads me to my first “Grandma” tip:
1) Spray tupperware with Pam to prevent sauce stains
I’m not really sure how my grandma figured this out but it is pure genius. When you are packing a lot of sauce (as you always! should) into a tupperware container, especially the older ones, spray the inside with Pam or another cooking spray. This stops the sauce from staining the inside of the tupperware and keeps them new looking.
The next tip I got while we were talking about our dear friend Kelly and her daughters. One of her daughters stopped by with chocolate chip cupcakes for my grandma one night. But when my grandma took the paper down on the cupcake, all the chips were at the bottom. Why? “Grandma” tip number 2:
2) When backing with chips, flour them first, before putting them in the batter
The flouring lets the chips stick to the batter better (hehe) instead of letting them slide down to the bottom before they can get properly baked.
And since I don’t have any recipes for you this week, I’ll leave you with what Sundays at Grandma’s usually looks like:
Good luck sticking to that low-carb diet now!
Rabbit food CAN taste good!
With every new year, there are always the resolutions of getting in shape and losing weight. This year - I was serious. I cut out all fast food (mostly because I was out of job and had no income) and decided to listen to every Eat This, Not That tip created. I’ve never minded healthy food so the transition was easier for me than it may be for others. I started with (and maybe the only real change I made) shopping on the outside of the store. Not literally outside, but the outside of the aisles. 90% of my food came from the deli, produce section or meat counter.
One of the first meals that I really took a liking to was salad. Before the new year, I had been getting into the salad kits with the different flavors and ingredients. Now I decided to make my own combo. And the one that stuck is the one you’re about to find out!
My apple-grape-cheese salad with an olive oil vinaigrette dressing!
The darker the green, the better it is. Knowing this, I use a blend of spring mix and baby spinach. I also am in love with this Bolthouse Farms dressing. I have gorgonzola in this picture but you can use any cheese as long as it’s crumbled (I’ve also used feta, goat and mozzarella).
I like a lot of salad at at time so I split my lettuce into two different Tupperware. (Tip: using Tupperware allows you to shake it up for a nice evenly mixed salad.) I put one big spoonful of salad dressing into each container and shake. (Putting the dressing on and shaking before the toppings also weighs down the lettuce, allowing more room for the toppings.)
Add in the grapes and the cheese. The amount you want to use is up to you! I don’t put too much cheese in just because they’re expensive when not on sale, and I don’t want to bog down such a healthy meal with excess calories.
I use anywhere from a third to half of the apple. Cut thin slices and add it to the containers.
Combine the two Tupperware into one bowl and enjoy yourself a nice big HEALTHY salad any rabbit would be proud of.
VIVA ITALIA! vol. 1
Being 75% Italian, I have grown to love everything Italian, especially the food. I have made and eaten plenty of different kinds of pasta in many shapes and sizes. But when it came to pizza, we always ordered in. So recently I decided to attempt this classic Italian meal myself.
ingredients:
- pizza dough (I use the uncooked kind from the bakery)
- flour
- butter
- olive oil
- garlic
- onion
- spinach
- crumbled cheese
- chicken
- sun-dried tomatoes
While the oven was preheating to 450, I rolled out the dough on the cooking try dusting it with flour as I went to prevent it from sticking the roller and tray. I haven’t mastered the art of rolling a circle pizza (hence the oval pizza), but as long as the dough is the same thickness throughout, it’ll taste the same. After this, I put the dough into the oven for FOUR (4) minutes. I don’t like my pizzas too doughy, and I feel like this helps get rid of that.
*WARNING* The dough will rise! Don’t freak out! You can simply it pat it back down
When the pizza came out, I butter the dough very lightly (less than 1 tbsp). This is also a good time to cook the onions and garlic in the olive oil.
And now the fun part! Cover the dough with anything you want! I started with the garlic and onions, then spinach, cheese, grilled chicken, and finally sun-dried tomatoes.
Because the dough is already partly cooked, the pizza with the toppings only need to be cooked for 8-9 minutes.
And voilà! You’re very own home made pizza! Buon appetito!
Shopping, Planning, Preparing
In today’s world it is just simply too easy to gain instant gratification in almost every aspect of our lives. When it comes to food, take a drive down any main drag through almost any town and you’ll find more fast food joints than you can count (and I bet you missed some too!). To maintain a healthy lifestyle, these can not be options in your life. In some cases though, you just can’t help yourself: road trips with the girls, late night drunk munchies, and don’t even get me started on finals week!
If you didn’t already notice, those three instances all have something in common: college! I am about to graduate, and as my father loves to remind me, I’ll be in the grown up world soon, so I need to start acting like I’ll be a grown up soon (gross, I know). One of the best characteristics to start developing now is planning. Too many times I have pulled all-nighters writing papers and studying when I could have been sleeping comfortably in my bed had I prepared properly and studied early.
Planning isn’t just important in scheduling your life, but also the diet of your life. Food is the fuel that keeps us going throughout the day. You can’t just last minute think of what you want to put into your body. Each decision should be thought out, making sure what you’re eating is not only immediately satisfying but also long-term satisfying.
I’m no nutrition health-nut by any means, but I know some basic stuff:
- Always eat breakfast (see previous post)
- Always pair carbs with protein
- Avoid sugar late in the day (including fruit)
- Just because it is healthy, doesn’t mean it has to taste bad
Since some of my classes run over meal times, I like to bring my lunch to school (another planning tip. This avoids the internal struggle between Salad Creations and Papa Johns).
This was all the food I used in my lunch, snack, and dinner for one day. When I went shopping, I didn’t know exactly what I would be eating for the next 5 days, but I did know the kind of food I would want to eat. And since I had been shopping and had food available, I was able to plan healthy meals for myself.
Shopping
You have time to make healthy decisions while at the grocery store. No one is going to line up behind you in the produce section. Think about each item and what you can make with it. I try to stay with sale items unless its crucial (eggs, bread). The salads I make (almost daily) include apples and grapes, so I always stock up when those are on sale (and by the time it takes me to get to the end of 2 pounds of grapes, they’re usually on sale again).
*Remember* You don’t have to know exact meals. Just buy healthy ingredients and you’re set.
Planning
I know that I will get hungry every four hours so I plan ahead when I know I will be out of the house or on campus for that long. I’ve recently left a bag of almonds in my car so I can have a snack if I’m getting hungry early, or errands are taking longer than expected.
Also, think about where you are going to be when you eat your meal. I know that I will not have access to a microwave on campus so I can forget about bringing grandma’s leftovers with me to class (as upsetting as that is). Instead, I’ll bring a sandwich and fruit, or a salad.
Preparing
The other two steps won’t get you anywhere if you don’t actually make the food. I have a handful of go-to recipes that I know I’ll enjoy if I’m in a time crunch. If I have extra time, I’ll google some ideas and either use those or modify them to make my own version.
Almost anything you make will taste good as long as you’re using ingredients that already taste good to you.
Breakfast of Champions
Hey guys! I wanted to start off this blog letting you know what I eat (practically) every morning for breakfast. Its quick and easy and super delicious while also being very! healthy and a great way to start off your healthy eating for the day.
It is basically my own version of an egg mcmuffin and depending on my mood and supplies that day depends on how I make it, but really, you can use what ever you want.
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs (scrambled)
- Turkey (1 slice)
- Cheese (2 slices)
- Spinach (5-6 leaves, no stem)
- Thomas’ English Muffin (whole wheat, light, double fiber; just not white!)
- Can’t forget your gummy vitamins!
I set my stove on 5 so the eggs cook quick but still allow me time to clean while they’re cooking. When I’m using spinach, I like to put that in first so that the eggs cover them and the leaves really get into the eggs. After I covered the spinach with the eggs, I tear up a slice of turkey and put that on top of the eggs and do the same with one of slices of cheese (basically you’re making an omelette).
After the eggs starts to get a little firm on the bottom, I pick up half and fold it over the other half (I do this because I don’t have a regular, small egg pan, just a big frying pan).
When the eggs are about half done, I put in the english muffin and toast it until right before its how dark I want it. Then I take the other slice of cheese, halve it, and put one half and each half of the english muffin. I put those back in the toaster and let the cheese melt into the bread.
When the eggs are done and just slightly browning on each side, I put the ‘omelette’ onto the muffin, cover it with the over half, and using the spatula, squish the sandwich together. Cut the sandwich in half, pour a glass of milk, and enjoy!!
Again, you can use whatever type of ingredients are available to you, but I usually have these three in stock at all times.
Welcome!
Hello readers! After much thought and consideration, I have finally heeded my mother’s advice and created a blog! I am about to graduate from college and have learned so much in my (almost) four years. I want this blog to be a collection of the lessons I have learned as well as the ones I continue to learn. Feel free to ask questions and I will answer them to the best of my ability. I am so excited to end this chapter of my life and can not wait until my next one opens!
