Damn the Freshman 15

Drinking the Kool-Aid (WORD PRESS)

2010-05-01T12:18:00.000-07:00

Hey kitties!

Check out my adventures at Damn the Freshman 15, now on Word Press!

Loopy Life

2010-04-21T20:31:00.000-07:00

Wet and wild? Why not?

Wow, it's almost the end of the school year. When I look back, I can say one thing: it's been loopy! Literally. Twists, turns...this year is no Norse saga, but a total Kafka mind-fuck narrative. But I don't think that's a bad thing.

Life is a roller coaster. Me, I hate roller coasters. They give me headaches and dips make me want to puke. But let's look at how a roller coaster works. It has to gain momentum--it takes speed and power and velocity to get through the course. Loops and twists guide the car along. Sometimes, you have no idea where you'll end up (like on those coasters that intersect with a dozen others). But you'll get there...just maybe with a few puke stains.

Just a few loops of this weird year...

Source

Eh, it'll be my summer internship anyway

- I wanted to be an editor at my university's newspaper. I thought it was the natural progression of things. Theeeen I saw my schedule for next semester. Either I drop my plans to study abroad in London, or I take 18 units. I want London. I also know that if I hit an impass between my schoolwork and newspaper, I would choose the newspaper, and my GPA would probably go to hell and I'd be a stressed out cranky bitch the whole semester. Not good!

Source

- I've gone from refusing to eat unweighted nut butter to having 8 unopened jars of the stuff, and 6 jars chilling out in my pantry. I've also learned that peanut butter and meat are forbidden lovers.

- Not too long ago I was an e-book downloading-aholic. Now, this summer, I'm going to be co-writing my own! More details to come on that little project, but let's just say I'm really looking forward to it!

- I've gone from being chained by my own disordered thoughts to being able to help people before they stumble onto that path, thanks to my work with a youth-oriented fitness studio.

Source

Life really is just like a roller coaster. You need the momentum and drive to get started, but once you have that, watch out! You're unleashing yourself on a journey. You made the decision to get on, now it's going to carry you through a mind-bending series of twists and turns. Eventually, you reach the end of the ride...even if it's in a vastly different state than when you started.

Life goes in loops. But the catch is you have to live life. Without that initial push, der Wille zur Macht, you won't get to life's interesting twists and turns. You just stall out, caught on a ramp and waiting for a cherry-picker.

What are some weird twists and loops in your life?

I've been on a few culinary adventures too!

Remember how I rhapsodized over Pure Food & Wine's Hot House Lasagna? Well, I made some myself! It came out damn good...not quite as good as Sarma's, but my roomies approved! Now I just have to get better at foodie construction, because my lasagna did not look quite as pretty as this:

Source

I also made this super awesome soup: Zucchini Soup with Crushed Pistachios. It's delicious! I HIGHLY recommend it.

Lastly, I made a totally awesome Coconut-Mango Curry Risotto with the ever-awesome Sophia! Ok, I brought some of the ingredients and provided the intellectual and verbal stimulation needed to get her through half an hour of stirring--but if that risotto didn't get stirred, it wouldn't have been risotto!

I'm also making a list of random-ass ingredients I want to get when I go home, to play with in my kitchen. So far...

- Coconut Flour (inspired by Allie and HEAB!)
- Almond Flour
- Hemp seeds

Anyone got any ideas for ingredients that are fun to play with? It can be anything!

I'm also psyched about getting a Vita Mix and a decent digital camera when I get back.

Aaaaand, I have my apartment sorted out!

This summer is going to be a roller coaster...but hopefully I'll be able to hold my cookies!

[Review] Raw Way

2010-04-19T18:16:00.000-07:00

From this grill-loving omnivore's perspective, "raw bars" have always struck me as a bit odd. Processing the unprocessed? Making food more convenient than an apple and a baggie of nuts? Regardless of what I think, raw bars are becoming more popular by the day. Some, like their granola bar ancestors, are desserts dressed up as snacks, while others are a solid on the go munchie. A few well known brands are Larabar, Pure Bar, and Raw Revolution.

Well, these three should pay attention. RawWay, a new bar whipped up by a mama in Michigan, delivers a solid line of raw food bars that in many ways edge out the competition.

RawWay bars come in five flavors: Berry, Lean Green Crunch, Apple Pie, Cinnamon Almond, and Banana Bread. I had the fortunate opportunity to sample all of them.

I have a problem with some raw bars--namely, they go down fast and sit heavy. For example, Larabars are tiny but the time I munched one before a workout have left me feeling like I was trying to do my weight routine around a giant brick. If a food's going to be heavy, I want to be aware of it before it suddenly expands in my stomach like those water-growing Steve Spangler Giant Dinosaurs.

What I love most about all the RawWay bars is the texture. These aren't Powerbars with flecks of nuts (ahem, like a few other raw bars I know). I like my chew and my crunch! Alternatively, they aren't rock-hard slabs of agave-glued nuts. Instead, the nuts are a little softer than normal, but still retain crunch, while the fruit base provides solid chew. So, you don't snarf it down in two bites and wonder why it feels like you just ate a cup of raisins. Beyond slowing you down, the texture is much more satisfying than a smooshbar. As well, I did not find RawWay bars to sit as heavy in my stomach as other ones I've tried.

Another neat thing is that RawWay bars don't shy away from lots of ingredients; they just happen to all be whole and organic. Instead of just using one nut and a bunch of dates, RawWay bars use flax seed, almonds, dates, raisins, walnuts, and sunflower seeds, which give them a unique taste and wider nutritional profile.

Onto the sampling!

The Berry Bar was pretty standard in terms of taste. Not bad at all (considering fruit and nuts are tasty by themselves) but not quite rapture to my tastebuds. What made this bar stand out more so than pure taste was the satisfying texture. It's kind of close to the original Larabar, but I would say it edges it out.

The Apple Pie was the biggest disappointed. Not because it tasted bad, but because it was merely good when it could have been excellent. The mixture of crunch and chew and the sweet-tart apple were all perfect...but it needs more cinnamon! I couldn't help but feel just a bit more spice would have made this bar superspecialawesome. Still, it's far from bad.

The Cinnamon Almond was excellent. It sounds simple, and it is, but sometimes simple is best. This bar tasted like a nutty cinnamon cookie, but made even better by the texture.

The Lean Green Crunch was definitely the most interesting, as well as my second favorite. It's made with spirulina, giving it a green tinge. You don't taste much of the spirulina, at least in any way that would be considered bad. Essentially it tastes like a slightly more herbal Cinnamon Almond, which means it tastes really good.

Now we get to my favorite, the Banana Bread. Labels don't lie--this bar is like a piece of banana bread, something I am addicted to. More so, because it has that delightful mix of crunch and chew, it's a pleasure to simply eat. I love banana bread, but who's with me with saying it's always better with walnuts? It's the crunch, I tell you!

What makes RawWay bars superior to many other bars is also the nutrition. RawWay bars, because they have a higher nut-to-fruit ratio, have higher protein--making them good by themselves as a well-rounded snack. Each bar contains around 6 grams of protein, except for the Lean Green Crunch, which dishes out a solid 9 grams. Ok, by my weightlifting standards that's not a huge amount, but it's much better than the wussy 3-gram bars you typically find. Plus, it's all natural--no supplemental protein powders added.

For those curious, here is the Banana Bread label:

Dang solid, in my opinion.

RawWay bars taste good by themselves, but also taste great crumbled over yogurt, for a chewy granola. Being a heat-loving heathen, I warmed one up a little bit in the microwave before eating, and it tasted lovely.

Overall, RawWay bars are definitely one of the best bars out there. I really hope this company expands, because these bars trump a good chunk of the Whole Foods Wall of Bars.

Fun in the Sun

2010-04-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

As you all might remember, I was on Catalina Island last weekend. It was a fraternity invite! Really, it was one of the funnest weekends I've had in YEARS! My camera was broken, so very limited pics, but it was lovely.

This trip also made me realize something. I seem to never act my age. I'm 19, but tend to interact more with older people. I think way more about professional pursuits. When I see a coffee shop, I think "Gee, that would be a great place to get some work done" instead of "Mmm...latte and catching up with friends."

Growing up, I was never really in my age bracket. I always remember feeling detached from my peers, and more easily able to connect with older people. When I was younger, this was almost a mark of pride. "I'm just mature!" Now, I just think I was poorly socialized.

We need to go through our ages. I don't think you are fully prepared for the world without the experience of progression. For example, most people who know not to get totally shitfaced and barf all over their bathroom know this because they gulped down to many New England ice teas. They know it far more painfully than someone who has simply read I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell.

That's not to say that all 19 year olds are retarded party whores. While my weekend did feature alcohol and parties, here are a few other scandalous activities we indulged in!

- Exploring Avalon
- Kicking it on the beach
- Hanging out with new and fun people!

- Dragging our comforters and blankets out onto the patio to watch movies

- Big brunches as too-tiny tables (with a few sips of mimosa cuz we're classy)

- Sampling huge-ass candy apples (the guy I was with split one with me--it was a caramel-covered beast swathed in Butterfinger!)

Actual apples from the shop!

After much tedious hesitation and hemhawing, I decided to go balls-out and post something I never thought I would ever see. Me in a bikini. In public. For the first time ever.

Psst, I'm the one who's not Asian or male.

And Operation Bulk-Up is now to be accompanied by Operation Six-Pack.

This weekend also reaffirmed my belief that one of the best things for those of you with food issues is just to go out and eat with friends. Really. Your friends will poke fun at you if you deliberate on a menu too long, and you're less likely to pay attention to grease dots if you're engaged in merry conversation.

I also sort of smacked around another eating hangup I have. Alcohol. I grew up always tasting the good stuff, so cheap-ass dorm room vodka (I'm looking at you, Prestige) is kind of repulsive to me, but when I first started to lose weight, I swore off the bubbly. After all, alcohol is not only high calorie, but it forces your body to stop working and metabolize the crap you just put in it. When I went on Wellbutrin, I was told I could not imbibe and frankly, it was damn fine with me.

I still am not a raging boozer, but I acknowledge that it's silly to be afraid of a beverage. Well, this weekend featured a 3-hour open bar. Midori Sours for the win!

Did I ever say I didn't like girly-as-hell cocktails?

There was no topless dancing Mimi, but I did get a bit ~~more than~~ tipsy. Not a routine thing, definitely, but it was nice to just do collegey things once in awhile. Still, if I'm going to consume illegal substances (I'm 19, remember), I'd rather just smoke some pot. I feel the same and weed doesn't give me the spins after a few hours. Yeah, I just said that on a healthy living blog, bite me.

And of course, it's the people you're with who make vacations truly memorable.

Anyway, that was my weekend!

[Review] Fine & Raw Chocolate

2010-04-14T00:42:00.000-07:00

Eh...I still like my flowers.

Confession: I am not a chocoholic. I know--it almost seems anti-trendy. I always hear rousing exclamations of "Screw cookies, but you will never have my chocolate!" At the same time, there seems to be a few protocols on "real" chocolate. Namely, it has to be dark. In fact, if it's not black as midnight, it's n00b chocolate.

Not in the Easter Basket of l33t chocolate lovers.

People also love to smirk and talk about how healthy their little indulgence is. Yeah, sure. Just like red wine, there are antioxidants and whatnot in chocolate--but do not tell me for a second that thoughts of polyphenols are going through your mind as you lick the splotches off your fingers. My point is, enjoy your damn chocolate because it tastes good, stop trying to justify it with good health.

I do like chocolate, and I like it dark. But more so than pure chocolate, I like chocolate flavored things like ice cream, more so than chocolate itself. So it takes a lot for a chocolate to really wow me.

And want to know a really good chocolate? Fine & Raw Chocolate.

Fine & Raw, as you may guess, is primarily made from cacao (raw chocolate). Cacao is believed to be higher in antioxidants and whatnot, and is a very good source of magnesium. But while some raw food companies take the "hear us RAW!" business kind of seriously. Fine & Raw, however, prefers to "save the world through silliness and chocolate." I say, if it makes for good chocolate, bring on the silliness.

Fine & Raw was kind enough to send me three samples: the Blueberry Bar, the Vanilla & Lucuma Bar, and the BonBons.

The Blueberry Bar is a dark chocolate bar with an underside studded with tiny blueberries. This was my favorite of the three samples. Typically, I don't like fruit-laced chocolate...it just tastes kind of medicinal, and completely different from chocolate-covered fruit, which is awesome. So imagine my surprise when I was trying to refrain from gobbling down the whole bar. The blueberries, sweet and but slightly acidic, were the perfect balance to the tart darkness of the chocolate. The chocolate itself, however, is much creamier than most dark chocolates, especially raw ones.

The Lucuma & Vanilla Bar, on the other hand, was my least favorite--which is not to say I did not like it. It is definitely a high-quality chocolate. However, while the site describes it as having "notes of bread pudding, toffee apple and burnt caramel." I've never tasted pure lucuma before, but I certainly got the burnt notes. It's not unpleasant, but it's a bit harsher than I would like. However, it tastes much better when put into things--I put one stick of it into a vanilla-cinnamon protein shake and talk about YUM. But for plain munching, it's not my favorite.

Lastly, the BonBons. Wow. These are nuggets of chocolaty awesome. The BonBons are extremely chewy--almost stick-to-your-teeth chewy. But the chewiness isn't accompanied by that cloying ubersweetness of some chewy chocolates. These nibbles pack a wallop of dark chocolate power, but it's tasty, not cheek-stinging. I really liked these!

In short, Fine & Raw makes a fantastic line of chocolate, and this comes from someone who does not bow to a god of cacao. The fact it's super healthy, unprocessed chocolate is a nice perk, but really, I still consider chocolate to be candy, and I don't eat candy for the health benefits. It's just nice to know I'm getting a few antioxidants along with some nippy, rich chocolate.

Chronicles of a Redhead

2010-04-07T14:52:00.000-07:00

The Chron's office is in there somewhere.

It's official! I'm interning for the Houston Chronicle this summer! Technically I was already offered the position, but first I had to survive a background check and drug screening. I think I did a good job of hiding those bodies back in Cabo, but I was a bit nervous about some recreational activities with a friend who recently got a job at a dispensary. Remember folks, this is LA--if you have a piece of paper saying you don't sleep well, the devil's weed is totally legal.

Luckily, I passed with flying colors...or else the Chron people figured I was a typical college student and were too distracted by the utter lack of alcohol in my bloodstream.

Anyway, this new internship has me stoked! I will be working in the editorial department, with most of the focus being in the Features section. The thing is, I need story ideas to march into the Chron with on my first day. I have a few ideas, but I'd love any contributions.

What kind of feature stories would you be interested in reading about in your local paper?

That said, a small part of me is a little nervous. After all, I was also looking forward to my internship last year, at a Houston fashion and social magazine. It was the biggest waste of my time and mental fortitude, beyond teaching me that I will never, ever work for a magazine...unless it's Game Informer or I'm the editor. Day after day of that unpaid bullshit, and only to come home to an empty apartment, jeez, it's no wonder I was hopped up on crazy meds by August. That and I was still weighing my apples and peanut butter, but whatevs, it was totally the internship.

I tell myself the differences:

- I'm being paid

- The Houston Chronicle is a good publication

- It's a newspaper--they need all hands on deck--I won't be stuck just sifting through dull information and making Cafe Express runs

- I'm in a much happier mindset

I think the last one is the most important. Besides getting paid, of course. When my summer started last year, I felt like I had fought and beaten my way through a thorn-tangled forest all year long, only to arrive at cliff and find nothing. Just a stormy sea and jagged rocks.

Even after breaking many of my bad habits, working my ass off, and hopefully escaping a future of obesity, there was no hallowed chariot to carry me to my deserved internship. Just my wussy little Toyota. I'm not a Puritan--I don't believe I'm toiling for some ultimate glory, but at the same time, I'd pushed so hard for so long that I'd let myself come to expect something.

Sorry cupcake. Beyond heaven (if you believe in it), it's up to you to make the journey awesome, because there is no golden walkway with unicorns that will usher you to your ultimate reward.

So I'm going to make this summer as awesome as possible. Most of my best friends won't even be in Houston, but I have plenty of acquaintances and casual friends who I'm vowing to drag to my apartment at every opportunity.

I want to get some more freelance experience (hopefully PR), but it will be on the side, as the Chronicle's paying me pretty dang well.

Most of all, I want to have fun. I've been having a steady dose of it lately, and it has made me realize that, for a long time, I really put it aside.

A few other things I want to do...

Now to put these mooscles to good use!

- Get some restaurant reviews published

- Take up a little bit of Krav Maga or kickboxing--I've always loved martial arts but never got around to checking it out last summer

- Take a cooking class--nothing hardcore, just a few fun little ones

- Get a little better with photography--along with a Vita-Mix, I'm also wanting a new camera for my birthday

Operation Bulk Up

It's operating. I was a little disquieted to notice a more padding on my belly. I won't lie--my first reaction was "OMFG AAAAH!!!" but that lasted around 30 seconds. I do have to recognize that, as much as I'd like to believe otherwise, I need a bit of padding to put on too, along with sexy muscle. It's just going to look a little funky for awhile. I addition, thankfully, I'm noticing more defined arms, shoulders, and even some slowly-developing thigh muscles.

At the same time, my workouts have been going really well. I met with a personal trainer a few times who offered me a huge discount. It really helped refine my routine and re-fire my motivation, as well as tighten up a few points on form, etc. I like weightlifting, but sometimes you need a shakeup and volte face.

If anyone's curious, I thought I'd post what I currently do. I've never really shared what exactly I do when I step into the weight room, and I mosey my way up to the squatting rack pretty often.

This is my arsenal-- I don't do each exercise in every workout, and I like to interchange certain ones. My workouts are usually a 4 or 3-day split that, by the end of the week, has worked each muscle group twice. It's designed for hypertrophy. Squats and deadlifts are done with an Olympic bar.

Back Squats - 4 x 12,10(3)
Sumo Squats - 2 x 8
Close-Stance Squats - 2 x 8

Deadlifts - 3 x 12,10,8 (pyramiding up)

Leg Extensions (warmup) - 3 x 15,10,8
Leg Curls - 4 x 10

Leg Press w/ Calf Press - 3 x 12/15 (bigass superset; I do this in one go!)
Seated Calf Raise - 4 x 12

Incline Dumbbell Chest Press - 3 x 12
Include Dumbbell Chest Fly - 3 x 10
Dumbbell Chest Press - 3 x 10
Dumbbell Chest Fly - 3 x 8

Lat Pulldown w/ overhand and underhand grip - 3 x 10 (done as a superset in increments of 10 over and 10 under)
Seated Long-Row - 4 x 10
Overhead Dumbbell Press - 4 x 10
Lateral Dumbbell Raise - 3 x 10
Bent Row - 4 x 10
Upright Row - 4 x 10

Also, in relation to Operation Bulk Up, I have to share the funniest videos ever! Anyone whose spent time in the gym and has noticed a few gym rats will totally get it.
Powerthirst

Powerthirst 2: Redomination

Kitchen Foolery

- Lavender. Check this stuff out guys! It makes a lovely addition to yogurt or protein shakes. I'm going to put it in oats soon. It needs a bit of sweetener to offset the herbiness though. But it tastes very spring-ish. I need to add it to something chocolaty and see how it does. So far I've only tried it with a vanilla/hemp-based shake.

- Chia Seeds. Sophia, you're going to throttle me, but these things are cool! I made a basic vanilla chia pudding using Averie's recipe for Vanilla Chia Seed Pudding. The next morning, I added strawberries, Sophia's coconut jam, unsweetened shredded coconut, and a dusting of cocoa powder. YUM. Super interesting texture. I will have to play with this more.
Anyone got any good chia recipes?

Sparks and Soul

2010-04-05T00:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! I'm not very religious, but I went with a roommate and her two friends to a Pentecostal service. It was very enjoyable! Jesus got air-lifted off the stage, the singers had some great pipes, and the bishop delivered a very good sermon (is that the Pentecostal term?)

For a quick recap, I was raised Catholic and attended a Catholic all-girls' school. From an early age though, my parents were a bit too zealous in enforcing religion for my naturally rebellious child self. Meanwhile, I've always had an academic interest in religion, and find the subject of the Bible and world religions fascinating.

Nowadays, I view well-done church services as an enjoyable experience. An inspiring message is an inspiring message, whether you view the source as solid truth or an influential story.

Afterwards, we hit up a soul food place my roomie liked. It's been years since I've had traditional Southern soul food. YUM.

Chicken, collards, cabbage, red beans, and cornbread.

Soul food seems so simple--you got your greens, yams, chicken, cornbread, and it's all so satisfying. But really good soul food has a kick. It smacks your tastebuds, giving you that savory twang that makes you keep eating...aka tear through a plate of collard greens like it was candy.

It has a spark. I think that spark, in any cuisine, is what separates good food from great food, savory from umami. I consider myself a decent enough cook, but sometimes it seems like no matter what I do, I can't quite get a dish to pop, and must settle for something good rather than great. It's the really great cooks who add a pop to whatever they prepare--you can't quite place it, but it digs into your tastebuds and stays with you long after you've licked the crumbs off your plate.

What do you do to make your dishes pop?

Life has its own pops and sparks. Cars, after all, operate through a series of explosions. Many people view progress as an ascending angle, but I think the real progress happens in sudden bursts. For example, I will suddenly meet a new contact for freelance. Suddenly, I meet 3 more. It might be over a month before I meet anyone else, but in one fell swoop I got a bunch of 'em. But sparks can be anything, for different people. Sparks can be people--that person who completes you, or that person who makes you realize that you have to change something that's slowly destroying your life. Sparks can be passions--that first time the narrative you casually scrawled wins a prize and you realize you want to fill the world with stories.

Sparks also can give you a kick in the ass. When motivations wander or run low, sometimes it takes a pop to get you back on track.

For example, last week I was jogging with Sophia, and we were catching up on life. This coming weekend I'm going to Catalina Island. I'm stoked, but need to buy a swimsuit. To Mimi, queen of Chubby Kid Syndrome, this concept is scary as fuck. Normally I'd never even consider buying a bikini, but I know I have body perception issues, and decided to just go for it and buy one.

For those curious, this is my future beach companion.

Anyway, Sophia replies "You're going to have to put on a few more pounds."

It might be true, but the sheer strangeness of this comment compared with media at large was a total what-the-fucker. I mean, think of any "Dear Abby" bikini segment in any women's or girls' magazine. Of all bikini problems, do any seem to involve gaining weight?

Lo' and behold, it arrives in the mail, and it's all true. While overall I think I look pretty dang cute in it, I'd look better if I had more meat on my bones--some to cover my jutty shoulders, and to give some substance to my legs, which have a bit of that "Holy shit you tried to starve us we are NOT getting rid of this!" jiggle.

Very much a spark. I need to refocus on gaining weight. I've been distracted lately, and not really thinking about consciously eating more than I need. So it's good sparks are there to give you a zap in the right direction.

But you have to look out for them. Unlike cars, life has no automatic transmission; it's all manual, baby.

Maybe it's because it's Easter, a time for resurrection, and the ultimate song of spring, but I'm thinking of past sparks. The dress I'm wearing in the pictures is one I bought last summer, so that I could cover parties for my internship. It was during the summer that I received a damn many sparks. Not all of them were good, either, but a few made me aware of just how bad things could get.

So, in a way, it's not the same dress as the summer. After all, it's spring time. I'm a lot happier wearing it now than I was back then.

So, what are the biggest sparks in your life?

Time Warps

2010-03-27T22:32:00.000-07:00

You're spaced out on sensation, like you're under sedation.

Time is so funny. It's romanticized, cursed at, sung about, and all too often, wasted. People waste hours looking for ways to become more productive. Some people fight nature itself for a few extra months. And all time does is go. In fact, time can't be funny, because it has no human attributes. It's not that time carries on, uncaring. Time just doesn't have the capacity to be anything but a transitory process we make our best attempts to measure and muck with.

The saying "Time heals all wounds" really irritates me. Time doesn't do a damn thing, it's what you do with the time you have.

The other day, I took my very last Wellbutrin. Talk about a closing door! I look back and think about all that has happened since I first went on the stuff, back during the summer. All I can say is, wow, I was so fucked up. But if I'd just smiled at my psychiatrist's assistant, took my prescription, and partied it up with the crazy meds for almost nine months, I'd still be just as screwed up.

In the field of psychology, it is believed there is a definite genetic and chemical element to depression--but there is also a huge environmental aspect. Without pushing through whatever demons have been set loose, you aren't getting better, you're just letting the crazy meds do their job of taking the edge off. And screw with your appetite and general friskiness. Because you aren't on happy pills--you're just on something that smacks the chemicals in your brain back into quasi-alignment.

These past nine months were never a straightforward, ascending angle for me. More like that wiggle worm on the playground you always fell off just as your 3rd grade infatuation was walking by.

But I made good use of my time. Maybe looking at blogs during Gender Studies isn't optimal, but as the summer rolls around again, I'm sitting with decent grades, tons of freelance, and lots of new friends and contacts. And a lot of new perspective. So much better than the exhausted, burned down, and unbalanced girl I was almost nine months ago.

A few things I've learned

- Synchronicity; none of that froo-froo The Secret stupidness, but if you've stacked your cards right, they will fall where they need to more often than not.

- In addendum, following your interests is the greatest helper in stacking your cards right.

- Carpe Diem; I'd bet on my life before I'd bet on time, because time just doesn't pan out.

- Tex-Mex is better than Cal-Mex.

And another funny thing about time. It's a loop. This summer, I'm getting my own apartment again. Same reasons--the Cajun Whore is having a midlife crisis. But things are different. I'm different. And most importantly, my father (whose using the apartment as a way to mediate the stepmommy's midlife crisis and the fact I'm coming back home) knows that this is not an adventure for me, that I'm doing it purely as a favor and I still think it's ridiculous. So this time, I think things will be different. And I won't be letting my mind rot over a useless, unpaid internship, as instead I'll be working for the 9th biggest newspaper in the country. So, things are pretty good!

Oh yeah, food!

I'll eat you Wednesday instead of Tuesday.

As I've mentioned, I've been playing around with less protein, more fats and carbs, and more vegetarian meals. I still eat my critters, but I'm curious to see how I feel when I have meals that don't contain animals. So, I've picked out a few recipes each week to make on Sundays, so that I have nibbles throughout the week. Here are this week's choices!

- Gena's (Now Famous) Cashew Pizza Cheese

- Plain Ole Falafel

- Beet and Cashew Croquettes

- Mole Sauce (from Sarma Melngailis' Raw Food Real World)

So I leave you with this: how do you make the best use of your time?

[Review] Kaia Foods

2010-03-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

Kaia Foods and Paris Hilton do not share the same views on the Simple Life.

Sometimes, simplicity is best. I can't count how many times I've messed up a dish because I just had to keep complicating it. "Hmm, maybe a dash of tarragon...ooh, what about some marjoram?!"

Kaia Foods says it likes to keep things simple. The have only three products: sunflower seeds, granola, and fruit leathers. All are vegan and raw. What they don't mention, however, is that when you keep things simple, simple things get more interesting. With its simple approach, Kaia proves just how awesome a bit of sunflower seeds and curry powder can be.

Kaia's granola's come in three flavors: Cocoa Bliss, Dates & Spices, and Raisin Cinnamon. I sampled the Cocoa and Date flavors.

I'm picky with granola. A lot of them are super sweet and taste cloying. I have to say, Kaia's granola is some of the best I've ever had. If you don't like buckwheat, turn back now, as Kaia does not douse the groats in agave or maple syrup. In fact, while agave is used, the granola is not particularly sweet at all--a good thing in my book, since I eat my granola with Greek yogurt or cottage cheese, which has natural sweetness anyway.

As you can see, the nutritional stats are awesome.

Keep in mind, a lot of that sugar comes from the raisins. Look at all of that iron, protein, and fiber! Buckwheat is a superior base to oats, in terms of nutritional punch.

There are a lot of textures going on in both--seeds and nuts are mixed with crunchy groats and chewy dried fruit. I like nuts more than fruit, so I might have preferred more nuts and less fruit, but overall, I was quite pleased.

The Cocoa Bliss is very cocoa-y, not chocolaty like many overly-sweetened breakfast cereals. You know, that chocolate taste that's almost savory? Still, it's not overpowering, and is balanced by sweet raisins. This stuff tastes REALLY good when topped with nut butter.

The Dates & Spices is like a little trip to a Moroccan bazaar. These are some big chunks of dates, and worthy of much chewing. If you're like me and like your chew, this granola is great. The spices are sweet but nippy.

I loved both flavors, but they are too different to pick a favorite.

Kaia's fruit leathers come in Goji Orange, Lime Ginger, Spiced Apple, and Vanilla Pear. I sampled all but the Lime Ginger.

They are all super tasty, and it's because of the blend of fruit and spice, not sugar. In fact, all that's in these little leathers are fruit and spice. They make great on the go snacks. I most liked the Spiced Apple flavor, though they were all good. Because there's no syrups added to blend everything together, you really taste the distinct fruit and spices.

Kaia's sprouted sunflower seeds come in Sweet Curry, Teriyaki, Garlic & Sea Salt, and Cocoa Molé. I got to try them all!

Wow, these flavors were interesting! They really taste like the flavors they describe. The Sweet Curry is sweet and spicy, the Teriyaki is very, uh, Teriyakiish, the Garlic & Sea Salt makes you want to suck on them, and the Cocoa Molé is the perfect blend of chocolate and nippy pepper.

I'm not a fan of Teriyaki as a flavor in general, but I thought all the others were terrific. My favorite was the Sweet Curry, followed by the Cocoa Molé, which are complex and utterly delicious. These seeds are fantastic for adding texture to anything from omelets to salad. I've put them in egg scrambles, topped salads, and sprinkled them on top of oat meal. They are super versatile and super tasty. As well, the seeds are sprouted, which is said to make digestion easier.

Kaia is a great company. They really get how to go back to basics, but to do it with style. They deliver healthy, tasty snacks that will satisfy both your sweet and savory tooth.

Big Apple Throwdown

2010-03-21T16:46:00.000-07:00

I'm back! New York was fantastic--full of fun, relaxation, and some damn fine eats.

However, a word of warning. My camera finally died--utterly and irreparably. So no Mimi pictures. Just stuff swiped from Google.

The last time I was in New York, around my freshman year of high school, I could not fully appreciate the pure awesomeness of this city. What also struck me was how different I was from my last visit. Just a few ways...

Then: OMG mustseemustseemustseeeeee! Annnnnngel of muuuusic!
Now: Ugh, the melodrama, it burns us!

Then: Eh?
Now: Oooo, must try!

Then: Bah, fuck it, nothing's going to fit me anyway.
Now: I am SO on that shit!

Suffice to say, my trip was very different this time around. Let us recap a few highlights, darlings?

Lodging

My father and I have a thing when we travel--we usually always stay in moderately-priced hotels. This time, we stayed in a Comfort Suites. Some might cringe. My mother sure does. But here are two points about cheaping it on lodging:

- How much time are you actually spending in that hotel?
- How much money do you want to spend on other things?

As long as it's clean, well-kept, and has some sick-ass fluffy pillows, I don't care much. I would much rather save the money and put it towards clothes or spas or books. Now, if this were a vacation where the hotel was a significant aspect, like a resort, then yeah, going balls-out on lodging makes sense. But I'm here to see New York, not sleep. Plus, cheaper rooms mean I get my own!

Bar Americain

This is Bobby Flay's restaurant, smack dab in the theater district. For those who do not obsess over the Food Network, Bobby Flay is a celebrity chef known for his Southwestern flair and supposed jackassery. But the man is a damn fine cook, and an Iron Chef on top of that. Sadly, Bobby was not in when we went for dinner, but my meal still rocked.

Appetizer: Asparagus Chopped Salad
A perfect appetizer! Lots of nice textures from the crunchy asparagus, tender greens, nippy olives, and soft Vermont cheddar. I sort of forgot about the dressing (I had ordered it on the side), but the salad didn't need it.
Main Course: Grilled Venison Strip Loin with a Concord Grape Bread Pudding
I love lean, meaty venison, and this one was cooked perfect. The bread pudding was incredibly interesting with loads of flavor and texture.
Dessert: Sweet Potato Pie with Graham Crackers and Cinnamon Ice Cream
It was served like a little tart! It was good, but a bit too sweet for me. I think it was the cream stuff they doused it in.

I also took this little darling home:

The Addams Family Musical

I used to be a musical theater whore. Now, most of them are eyerolling, and Broadway's really gone downhill. If you want really good musical theater, go to Germany or Austria, they still know how to kick it. If you're stuck in America, stick with Sondheim and Kander & Ebb.

Annnyway, this is a brand new musical that's still in previews. It was one of the few things my dad would willingly see, and I was intrigued by the cast.

- Nathan Lane
- Bebe Neuwirth
- Carolee Camello
- Terrence Mann

This is a kickass cast. As for the musical, it was really enjoyable, though more for the cast than the show itself. The dialogue and lyrics were quite saucy, sardonic, and funny, but the music wasn't particularly memorable. Also, it needs some trimming--too many moments where the plot slows to a crawl for a soliloquy. But overall, I was very entertained.

Greenwich Village

This is a cute little neighborhood in New York. It doesn't follow a grid, so the streets all feel closer to Boston. It's super charming and full of interesting shops. I got a cute pair of shoes. Also, we visited the most adorable cafe, called Café Angelique.

It reminded me so much of San Francisco--loads of custom cakes and "we are vegan!!!" treats. Nostalgic moment!

Also, we stumbled across a health grocery store. Again, another SanFran moment--these puppies are on every other street corner. Since my dad was paying, I got a few goodies I was curious about.

- Cacao nibs
- Chia seeds
- Garam Masala
- Hemp protein powder

Hehe, I can't wait to play with them!

St. Paddy's Day

A good friend from school who happened to live in New Jersey took the train up to see me!

My dad and I like a lot of the same things, but our vacations tend to go smoother when we have some time to do our own thing, so this worked out well. I went off with my friend and my dad went to hit up bookstores and see Alice in Wonderland.

As for my adventures, my friend and I hiked all over New York.

- St. Mark's Place
Sort of the Haight Street of New York. So, tons of fun!

- Tasti D-Lite
I am addicted to this stuff, and they haven't made it to LA yet. Oh, beautiful Tasti!

- Spice
A totally bomb Thai place. I'm pretty new to Thai cuisine but I love it! I had this eggplant dish and my friend had Pad Thai. Both were delicious.

- Hookah bar
Who doesn't love hookah? I'm not much for alcohol, but hookah rocks. You get nice and relaxed but can't get arrested for it. It was hilarious--a few drunken Irish dudes wandered in with a total case of the drunkies. They were alternating between hookah and hot wings. Nice fellows though.

We braved the New York subway, roved around, and played "Spot the Drunk." Not exactly hard, considering it was St. Patrick's Day.

Go Green Organics Spa

This was the big "relaxation" part of my vacation. I signed up for a hardcore facial, and this lovely establishment delivered. They create such a relaxing, peaceful atmosphere. But they didn't mess around. Like massages, I don't like a wussy "just to make you feel better" treatment, as I'm paying good money for it. I want something that makes changes!

As you can guess, I asked for extractions. My skin, which I've never had a problem with, has gotten pretty irritated over the course of the semester. My lady went all out with extractions--my bumpy skin was smooth as a baby's bottom by the end of it. Extractions aren't comfortable, but she was very thorough, and the rest of the facial had tons of massaging and pampering.

I was really impressed with the product line--Eminence, a hand-crafted, organic line from Hungary. So impressed I actually bought a few!

In short, if you're in New York and wanting a great spa treatment, hit this place up. My bill came to about $350, which included the 90-minute facial, tip, and 4 high-end products. So it's not that unreasonably priced either!

Shopping

What would a trip to New York be without shopping? I hit up Hollister's and H&M, primarily. I love Hollister's. Here are just a few goodies I got!

Pure Food & Wine

Wooooow. So, I expected to really like my meal. But damn, this place did more than deliver! It was a delicious, complex, amazing meal. My dad also loved his meal (he got the corn-pumpkin seed tamales and the coconut parfait), and he is a steak-loving, very close-minded eater. But he was curious, because of the desserts that were sweetened with agave (he's a diabetic). Our food was excellent. I think I ate my body weight in nuts...but amazingly, no food coma!

Appetizer: Nori roll
Wow! Tart, crunchy, and really really uh...sushi-ish?

Main Course: Hot House Lasagna
I guess when you don't cook something, the flavors never meld. Pure Food & Wine REALLY understands this. My lasagna had three different spreads--a "ricotta," a pesto, and a tomato sauce. Each of them had such a distinctive flavor that it was like a confetti flavor explosion in my mouth. And it was super filling--even I had to leave a few bits of spread.

Dessert: Classic Sundae
I took a bite. I died. I told some stupid angel to back off so I could go back and finish my dessert. This thing is seriously the best dessert I've ever had. It's rich, creamy, cooling, crunchy...epic proportions, people! My new goal in life: Recreate This Miracle

Afterward, we went to One Lucky Duck around the corner. I wanted something for the flight home, so I got the S&M Salad to go. My dad and I both stocked up! Here are my goodies!

So I had a great time in New York! I'm definitely making it back soon...but I think I brought a respectable portion of New York back home with me!

Apples and Sundaes

2010-03-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

Some peeps (like me) need to chill.

Hey kiddos!

I've been busier than a March hare...oh wait, that's mad as a March hare. Shit, there goes my witty intro tag. I guess, as my dear father would say, I've been busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest.

Most of my business comes from a good source--work! Not lame-o schoolwork, but real line-your-pockets-work, and even some do-something-that-matters work.

I'd like to share a little about one company I have been working with for public relations and marketing. O2 MAX Fitness is a youth-oriented fitness studio. The big project I'm working on right now is their MAX Prom Program. Basically, it gets girls (on a national level) into great shape for prom, using personal trainers, customized nutrition plans, and coaching. The real goal of the program, however, is to get girls enthused about a healthy lifestyle. What's neat is all the perks the participants get--discounts on prom dresses, makeup, and shoes, but also really cool benefits, such as $150 off Princeton Review SAT prep classes.

I really support this program--it's great to work for something I feel strongly about. And it's really giving me solid PR experience, which is what I'm after. Journalism is still my baby, but I'm slowly moving out of the grasshopper stage of it.

What's also neat is that they are also looking for "Fitness Experts" to take the program for free and blog about their experiences. If any of you happen to be in high school and are going to prom, you might want to check it out--you can earn money, get all sorts of free stuff, and take the program free of charge.

BUT IN OTHER NEWS. Ahem. -dons less PR-y hat-

More Gingersnaps!

- Travel Snacks: Eat Right in Flight
- Culinistas Take the Stress Out of Cooking (super cool at-home cooking service)
- Microwave Cooking Not Just For Freshmen

For those of you who have followed my blog a little more closely, I am happy to say I am finally being tapered off the ~~crazy meds~~ Wellbutrin.

And most importantly...

I'm heading to the Big Apple!

For a week I'll be partying it up in NYC. Some stuff I'm looking forward to...

- 59-degree weather (as opposed to 30-degree weather)
- The Museum of Moving Images
- The Addams Family Musical (starring Nathan Lane)
- Bar Americain (Bobby Flay's restaurant)
- Pure Food & Wine (Sarma Melngailis's restaurant)
- Pure Food & Wine's Classic Sundae (I kid you not...this gives me happy dreams)
- Shopping for clothes/shoes
- A Facial
- Meeting up with friends (psst, any NYC bloggies who want to meet for lunch or something, let me know!)
- RECHARGING

Seriously. I need a week to recuperate. With all my schoolwork and professional pursuits, I confess, I am strung out worse than a hungover heroin addict. I need some relaxation. That is something I need to work on.

Does anyone else have this problem? To keep pushing, even when you know your performance is suffering, because at least you're still trudging forward?

Haha, I've been pretty good at sticking with my big New Year's Resolution: not to worry so damn much. But I'm still working on this one.

Regardless, I'm looking forward to some fun in New York! And that dang sundae!

Food porn just got an upgrade from Showtime to HBO.

Oh, and I guess since this is a food blog, here are a few random things I've shoved into my mouth lately. I haven't been big on photographing lately.

Chocolate Muscle Oats

Oats with protein powder and cocoa powder, topped with Kaia cocoa mole sunflower seeds, Greek yogurt, cranberries, and blackberries.

Pantry Clean Out!

Autumn sunflower seed pâté (sunflower seeds, cranberries, thyme, carrot, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, basil, and maple syrup), bell pepper cups with chicken and beans, a bigass spinach salad, all topped with some marinara sauce.

Beans of the Bloody Baron

Garbanzo beans with diced beet, chopped almonds, salt, curry powder, cinnamon, and balsamic vinegar, topped with blueberries and POM Sauce of Awesomeness (POM juice, cocoa powder, and coconut oil), served with spinach and hempseed butter and collard greens. Yes, holy shit, there is -no meat- in this!!! And it's not an accident. I'm trying a few meatless meals, just to see if my arms fall off.

[Review] SweetRiot

2010-03-05T22:09:00.000-08:00

I'm far from a chocoholic, but cacao (essentially raw chocolate) is an interesting substance. Packed with magnesium, phenylethylamine, and all sorts of yummy little antioxidants. And in nib form, it's like an uberpowered dark chocolate bomb. Perhaps too intense for some, who might be more used to Dove.

Sweetriot, a company based in New York, has found a gentler, incredibly tasty way to deliver cacao to the masses--swathing it in chocolate.

Sweetriot has two main products: tins of chocolate-dipped cacao nibs and UnBars, a four-piece fat little chocolate bar spiked with cacao.

The tins of cacao nibs come in Flavor 50, Flavor 65, and Flavor 70. Flavor 50 is sweetriot's gentlest introduction into cacao, with the chocolate being 50% dark. Flavor 65 has 65% dark chocolate, and Flavor 70 has 70% dark chocolate...mixed with espresso! They are all good, but I like my dark chocolate, so the 70% was the best for me. Not to mention, the espresso adds a lovely little flavor snap.

The nibs come in adorable little tins which feature the artwork of emerging artists. Each tin has around 140 calories and, because of the cacao, much less sugar than just chocolate.

These nibs are versatile too. I was popping them into protein shakes, sprinkling them on top of oatmeal and yogurt, and just nibbling on a few when I wanted a bittersweet jolt. When you're done, you even have a cute little tin.

The other sweetriot product I tried was the unBAR. It's made of four smaller squares, and comes in two flavors: Flavor 65 and Flavor 70. Both correspond with the percentage of dark chocolate. In addition, the bars contain crunchy bits of cacao. In an interesting but quite tasty surprise, the Flavor 70 has raisins!

In addition to creating a tasty product, sweetriot ensures that all of its cacao comes from Latin America and is fair trade. The company also puts a significant emphasis on keeping its ingredients pure, and actively supports social responsibility. In truth, I care more about the company's product than its mission, but it's good to know.

I was super happy with sweetriot. They really have created some great chocolate treats, and are doing a great job of bringing cacao to the masses.

[Review] VitaTops

2010-02-25T12:21:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am probably the last blogger to review these, but I recently covered them for Gingersnaps. Don't kill Daily Trojan, but I think I'm going to quote it all. With additional piccies.

Not quite grandma's but I'm not complaining.

"Tear open a Nabisco 100-calorie pack, and you get five little crisps that resemble the conveyor belt castoffs of Oreos or Chips Ahoy. Nabisco’s new slogan is “Diet Like a Diva,” and it bears some truth. Chances are you will feel so dissatisfied with these Oreo wafers that you’ll storm off to find a pack of the real thing. To add insult to injury, these shrimpy baggies have no nutritional benefit or anything filling enough to quiet the tummy rumblings.

This is not an Oreo.

But at the same time, the concept of the 100-calorie pack enforces portion control, and it’s no secret we are a nation of mindless munchers. For those who count Oreo consumption by the sleeve, consider this alternative: VitaTops, a product created by the New York-based company Vitalicious. For 100 calories, you get fiber, whole grains and the ultimate solution to the midnight sweet tooth.

Just like the muffin-top centric Seinfeld episode, VitaTops are the best part of the muffin packaged independently of its lower counterpart. They come in over a dozen flavors, from traditional BlueBran to sweet and savory Golden Corn and decadent Double Chocolate Dream.

Each VitaTop is only 100 calories but, unlike the Oreo crisps, offer something more than a quick sugar jolt. VitaTops are made with whole grains and have four to seven grams of slow-digesting fiber, which means they will stave off the munchies.

But the whole grains factor is the real winner here. Many foods that are advertised as “healthier alternatives” — such as a number of Newman’s Own products — still use enriched flour, which is devoid of nutritional value. Whole grains are heart-healthy and have fiber, which is good for digestion and keeps you full.

VitaTops are also low in fat and free of trans fat or cholesterol. Additionally, VitaTops are fortified with vitamins and minerals such as B vitamins, zinc and iron. Granted, vitamins are better absorbed from whole foods, but it’s still better than a bag of Fritos.

Instead of Nabisco’s 100-calorie yogurt-covered Nibbles, which taste nothing like real yogurt-doused pretzels, VitaTops are real muffin tops, albeit ones made with decent ingredients. No cardboard diet-food taste and no watered-down cakey hybrid — just an improvement upon Elaine from Seinfeld’s million-dollar business idea.

Because VitaTops are made without preservatives, they are mailed in ice. VitaTops must stay in the freezer or be consumed within five days. That leaves three dining options — microwaved, toasted or frozen. Actually, they taste good all three ways, though the traditional muffin flavors like CranBran and AppleBerry benefit from heat and toasting gives them a nice crunchy exterior. The chocolate flavors are great frozen.

After trying every flavor, I could not pick a favorite. The Golden Corn VitaTop tastes fantastic with chili or butter. The traditional bran and fruit ones go well with jam, nut butter or cream cheese — or marmite, if you happen to be British. The chocolate flavors, which include Banana Fudge and Chocolate Mint, taste great any way you like your chocolate. My favorite variation was a chocolate VitaTop slathered in peanut butter.

There are many opportune moments to eat a VitaTop. They work as part of breakfast, as a snack and especially as a dessert. I like to crumble one over a bowl of Greek yogurt. Add in some nuts and berries, and it’s a party in a bowl. At just 100 calories, VitaTops are small, but Vitalicious makes them satisfactory for taste, not just some silly notion of “guilt free.”

If your interest is piqued, there are two ways to get your muffin top on. VitaTops are sold in stores, though in limited distribution. Alternatively, you can order them online. The website has frequent sales and membership specials, so there are many ways to get them for less.

Yum. Especially with peanut butter.

In addition to VitaTops, Vitalicious also makes 100 calorie VitaBrownies, which are a great way to satisfy a brownie craving, as well as VitaMuffins (twice as big as a VitaTop) or Vita cake mix. The website even has customer-submitted recipes.

VitaTops are a great fix when you want something sweet but don’t want the whole cake or know you would not be able to stop at one slice. Unless you attack the box, your sweet treat ends at 100 calories and a shot of fiber — not too bad for a muffin top.

According to Nabisco, dieting like a diva means settling for unsatisfying little crispies — just another example of why diets are goofy. Skip the diet and try a Fudgy Peanut Butter VitaTop. You will feel much more like a smug little diva."

Chocolate Bliss and College Eats

2010-02-12T19:24:00.000-08:00

As Valentine's Day creeps up, so do chocolate sales. But good chocolate is like good wine/cheese/film/video games--so much misleading packaging, powerhouse marketing, and cult battles. Suffice to say, if you're confused about chocolate, or want a few great brands to try, read my latest Gingersnaps article!

Chocolate Options for Every Sweetheart

College Cuisine

Embrace the bulk, people! I think I know why therapists always encourage yoga and pilates over flat-out weightlifting. Because tons less women would be weight-obsessed headcases and they'd lose business. Not that I don't love my yoga!

Really, with weightlifting, I'm building good muscle, strengthening my bones, reinforcing good posture, and boosting my metabolism. And my cardio (for you cardio h8ers) consists of a weekly sum (to my gym and back) of 2 miles of vigorous jogging. Of course, I move a lot during the day, but I find myself rolling my eyes at those office-bound chickies who think they have to stroll on the elliptical for 45 minutes every day. If you love that stuff, go for it...but I'll stick with iron. Best of all? Ample room for good eats! Eating above maintenance...as women gain muscle at a slow rate, this will be a long process. And I'm not complaining. ;-)

If you haven't guessed, my enthusiasm is still up. But anyways, onto a few eats.

Open-Faced Quasi-Monte Cristo
Roast beef, apricot Stilton cheese, and maple syrup, all on a frenchi-fied Sandwich Thin with a bit of salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Yes, this had a mate. No, this mate was no longer with us at the time of the photograph.

Chocolate Dreams
Au revoir, my last Vita Brownie! Joining the sendoff was cottage cheese, blueberries, and SweetRiot Chocolate.

Jai Ho!

I am very new to Indian food, so this was an adventure. Chicken Tikka Masala, Aloo Ghobi, Paneer Tikka, Garlic Naan, and rice.

Big Mac Sushi!

Mackerel, with a Miso-Garlic Sauce, wrapped in Nori with a side of broccoli and AWOL kabocha.

Fish on the Green

Last of the Mackerel, topped with Cheddar Cheese and Onion, with a Honey Mustard-Balsamic Sauce spread, all on some farmers market bread. This little salad party has Kale, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Carrots, and a Sesame Oil-Honey Mustard Dressing.

San Francisco Memories

Remember how I said I wanted to toss the Hemp Seed Butter on Oat Bran? Here it is, with Blackberries and Bee Pollen. Surprisingly delish! Why San Francisco? Well, hemp completes the Mimi-San Francisco love triangle.

Tropical Mish Mash

Greek yogurt with Kiwi, Cashews, Cinnamon, and Maca Powder. Interesting, to say the least. This was one of my first maca adventures. Neat stuff.

Carrot Me Up!

~~Stolen~~ Borrowed from Gena's Choosing Raw, this bisque-like soup is made of carrots, avocado, soy sauce, lemon juice, and a dash of balsamic. I tossed in some almond milk because I didn't have carrot juice, just carrots. Worked out damn fine!

Eh? Lunch

Sometimes, nothing but the kitchen sink will do. Scrambled Eggs with Cheddar Cheese, Apple, Pepitas, all tucked into an Ezekiel Wrap. This Epic Salad (which was awesome) is composed of Kale, Cukes, Apple, Avocado, and drizzled with lemon juice and balsamic.

Saucy Goodness

Ground Beef with Tomatoes, Peppers, Onions, and Garlic, topped with Parmesan and ladled over Zucchini Pasta. Accompanied by steamed spinach and asparagus and honey whole wheat bread (for dipping into the carrot soup!).

Midnight Munchies

Yogurt mixed with Protein Powder, along with a Blood Orange, Chocolate Mini-Wheats, and a big dollop of Peanut Butter. I laugh at the people who refuse to eat past 7.

Butter Me Up!

2010-02-11T00:22:00.000-08:00

Just pass the damn jar.

Maybe I'm going out on a limb here, but nut butter seems pretty popular on the ol' internet.

For those who would like some brand recommendations, or are curious about the 50-trillion kinds of nut butters out there, check out my Gingersnaps article!

The Secret World of Nut Butters: It's More Than Peanuts

[Review] Manitoba Hemp Butter

2010-02-02T12:05:00.000-08:00

We've got almond butter, cashew butter, cashew-macadamia butter...hot damn, where's the pine nut butter? Oops, spoke too soon.

Meanwhile, people have been getting crazy with hemp lately--hemp protein powder, hemp milk, hemp oil...and they should because hemp, besides providing many stimulating (and hilarity-inducing) recreational activities, packed full of protein, essential fatty acids, and even calcium and iron. Turn it into a butter and what do you have?

GREEN BUTTER!

The folks at Manitoba Harvest, however, have wrangled this verdant beasty into a strange but potentially very tasty nut butter, and a worthy addition to any nuthead's pantry.

Let's get it out of our systems: this stuff is green!

So yes, that gives you the oppurtunity to craft green eggs and ham, if you are like me and will put nut butter on eggs.

The texture is pretty standard for less-processed nut butter. It's slightly gritty, but not "sandy." Personally, I like the mild grit--it gives a hint of crunch when spread on toast, or a bit or contrast when drizzled on fruit.

But what's it taste like? Hemp. Seriously. If you've tried hemp rotein powder, or some brands of hemp milk, then you know what it tastes like. It does not taste like pot. For those who have not tasted hemp seeds, I will try and describe it.

Think of walnuts, rolled through fresh-cut grass, and sprinkled with flaxseed. In short, it's earthly, slightly sweet, slightly nutty, and a tad bitter. It's definitely a flavor that changes depending on what it is served with. Fruit and sweeter breads bring out the sweetness. Deeper grains bring out the savory. Straight out of the jar, it's a bit too earthy for me, but I love to put it on apples--it's a much different experience than the good ol' PB and apples!

I would be very curious to use hemp seed butter in a pasta sauce, or in a pesto. Heck, because I'm crazy, I've love to mix it into oatmeal and honey and top it with blueberries. It will never be my go-to nut butter because it is such a unique flavor, but I'm definitely curious to try it out more.

Hemp Seed Butter is an experience, a very, very healthy one. I can't compare Manitoba Harvest's hemp seed butter with any other, but I like this stuff.

Organic Pwnage

2010-01-31T18:17:00.000-08:00

Is that an organic farmer?

A year ago, I drank the koolaid and hopped on the all-organic bandwagon. I would sneer at conventional apples, and flinch away from Dole spinach. Ah well, I was young and foolish.

If people want to buy organic, go for it, that's what capitalism is all about--consumer choices--...but after doing my own research, I can only conclude that conventional produce is not going to kill me. And it is easier on my wallet.

I'm not anti-organic. But as a snarky sceptic, I really hate this automatic reverence that organic food seems to command.

Yet I've always had problems concisely summarizing my arguments on organic food. So, much to my exultation, I found a podcast that summed up EVERYTHING.

For any curious, here is the podcast script that is a nutshell of my views on organic.

Some of the topics he addresses:
- The "Natural" fallacy
- Pesticides and fertilizers (both in fields and in us)
- Use of farmers
- The actual owners of many organic farms
- Crop output

Really guys...until I read a scientific study confirming conventional bell peppers led to the birth of a two-headed baby, I'm going to save my money and continue freaking out the Whole Foods people by asking where the conventional pears are.

That said, I completely support local produce and animal products. Vegetables that were picked yesterday, organic or not, are much more tasty and nutritious than what you will find in a store. And they taste way better. And you're supporting your local economy. So farmer's markets rock my socks (except the highway-robbery kind where they want to make you feel guilty for shopping at Safeway).

Enough of my soapbox high-riding. Just what have I been shoving in my gob lately?

Fruit on the Barbie
Barbecued chicken with pear, spiced with cinnamon and cumin, and topped with Apricot Stilton Cheese. Served with a side of zucchini pasta with carrot-miso dressing and a sweet potato with almond butter.

Lentil Scramble

Beluga lentils scrambled with eggs, basil, and spinach, and topped with more Apricot Stilton Cheese. This stuff is crack.

Brownie Breakfast
Half cottage cheese, half goat's yogurt, with blueberries, walnuts, and a Vita Brownie.

Tuna and Sprouts
Ahi Tuna Steak (in all of its mercury-laden glory) with spinach, carrots, and cukes, topped with carrot-miso dressing. But the real weird one was the side dish--wheat berry sprouts mixed with pepitas, bee pollen, and sea salt. What can I say, I'm ~~psychotic~~ adventurous.

Fruit Scramble aka What the Fuck Eggs
Eggs scrambled with wheat berries, strawberries, blueberries, and zucchini, spiced with basil and cinnamon, and topped with bee pollen, hemp seed butter, and almond butter. Served with a kiwi and Greek yogurt.

Spread of Cups

Not a main dish, but romaine lettuce filled with Sophia's miso hummus, cukes, carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, and drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

For this puppy, you'll just have to pay close attention to Sophia's blog!

Rich-as-Hell Walnut Pasta
Mouthwatering with a side of yum sauce? Pasta with a sauce made of walnuts, almond milk, bread, Parmesan, olive oil, oregano, lemon juice, salt, and paprika, all tossed with parsley. Served with a tasty side salad. I made this with a new friend, so it tasted even better!

[Review] Sunland Peanut Butter

2010-01-29T15:35:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love peanut butter? People with peanut butter allergies, usually, but not many else.

There has always been ferocious debate on the best peanut butter, well beyond the realm of Jif and Skippy. Is the battle of the butter over? Of course not, but Sunland Peanut Butter makes a very good peanut butter that comes in a plethora of crazy and yummy flavors.

Sunland's peanut butter only uses Valencia peanuts. According to the company, Valencia peanuts are higher in antioxidants and naturally sweet.That's also the connection with the name--Valencias grow in sunny New Mexico and Texas.

I had the opportunity to sample four Sunland peanut butters: original, raspberry, caramel, and hickory smoked. Yeah, you read the last one right. Sunland plows right past Peanut Butter &Co's White Chocolate Wonderful and dishes out a whole line of savory and fruity flavors.

Anyhoodle.

Original Creamy
Valencia peanuts are indeed sweeter than many other peanuts. This peanut butter does not taste as deeply roasted as some of the others I have tried, but it has a very distinct sweet, nutty flavor. If you've ever tried Naturally More, it's a bit like a flax-y version of that.For the peeps who are serious about their peanut butter, I would recommend this peanut butter more for fruit than bread, which I find a more deeply roasted peanut butter tastes better on.

Raspberry
This was my least favorite of the flavors. It just tastes kind of weird. Too much like candy, and even less of a roasted base. It's not terrible by any means, but the sweetness is cloying rather than tantalizing, though it does taste much better when put on something with a strong flavor.

Caramel
Wow, talk about volte-face. Caramel and peanut butter sounds like a delicious combination, and Sunland totally pulls it off. If Jif were doing this, chances are the butter would taste like a big wad of over-sweet candy. This peanut butter, however, keeps the peanut butter flavor strong enough that the caramel is a lovely compliment instead of a taste destroyer. And this thing was made for apples! It's easily one of my favorite flavored peanut butters. Screw you, PB&Co Bee's Knees!

Hickory Smoked
Definitely not something you think of when making PB&J. Actually, this is a super tasty, very unique peanut butter. It's not complicated--the taste is just what it says, hickory smoked peanut butter. The hickory gives the butter a slightly bitter note that contrasts deliciously with the peanuts' sweetness. Oh, and think beyond the toast here. I put it on a hamburger. YUM. I am very happy to see someone has the guts to test out the savory qualities of peanut butter. Some of their other savory flavors include Onion Parsley and Thai Ginger and Red Pepper.

Aaand, you can check out one way I used Hickory Smoked PB, AND get a sneak peak of the soon-to-come College Cuisine!

Peanut Butter and meatballs! The PB is mixed with just a bit of BBQ sauce. Yum.

Sunland's peanut butters are what you would expect in a natural peanut butter--no trans fats or any of that nonsense. They use palm oil stabilizers for some of their peanut butters, to prevent having to stir, but a little palm oil never hurt anything. The caramel and raspberry flavors have a bit more sugar than I would like, but it's not too bad (about 8 grams).

I really like that Sunland goes beyond standard peanut butter and creates some very unique flavors. Even if I wasn't crazy about all of them, there are enough hits (and interesting-sounding flavors) to make up for it. And their original butter ain't too shabby.

Weights of Wrath

2010-01-28T12:25:00.000-08:00

Piss off Lara and you go up against quads of steel and big honking...guns.

When was the last time you got mad? Not annoyed, but flippin' pissed. For good or ill, did you make something move?

People I've grown up with have anger problems. For some, it's explosive, and comes out in shouts and profanity. For others, it's a quiet venom that builds in potency until something snaps and the rage strikes. I've seen both.

As a result, I've always reined in my anger. It's there (though it takes a lot to really piss me off), but I'm quiet about it. Not venom-harboring cut-the-breaks-of-your-car anger, but I definitely lean towards passive-aggressive.

Yet anger is useful. Anger is healthy. They say that revenge is a dish best served cold. That is true--it's far better to keep a cool head when doing whatever deed you've set out to do. But the drive comes from passion, and not just angry passion. In day to day life, it's passion that sets action ablaze.

Did I kill someone and am trying to construct a persuasive argument? Nope. But I did get friggin pissed.

The other day I had a really I-Am-A-Woman-Hear-Me-Roar workout. I was wiped!

I recently got an iPod app that allows you to track your workouts, including weight, so I usually do hop on the scale when I'm done with my workout. I jumped on and saw the number.

Nada. Same weight as the last few weeks. Wtf? I've been eating more but I'm still not making the gains I want.

Yet, I have a confession. When I would see I've gained weight, like towards the end of last semester, my knee-jerk reaction would be "Ack!!!" before I reminded myself that I am bulking. I was tired from my workout and knew I'd done the whole progression thing. Working out, while ultimately energizing, is a tiring business, especially weightlifting.

Finally, it hit me. To hop on the scale and see -no change- after I've been working hard...that's every bit as annoying as the girl who had weighed herself right before me and snarled "Still haven't worked off those fucking Christmas cookies!"

Maybe anger is infectious. Because for the first time ever, I can honestly say I was pissed that I had not gained any weight. Not the exasperation or frustration I've felt before, but legitimate RAWR.

From chats I've had with Sophia, I think this is a good thing. Anger moves you. So I stormed home and made myself a big fatass post workout shake. Screw you 19-year old metabolism!

Balls to the wall, fooding is on. Along with lots of lifting, of course.

So Operation Bulk-Up is getting a revamp. In addition, I was asked to try out Max O2 Fitness's College Fitness program. Basically, I get consultations and workouts from a personal trainer, for free, and will blog about my experiences. Pretty sweet. And I don't turn down anything labeled "free." Except STDs.

Passion is a great mover...and not just in terms of anger. I've finally gotten a summer internship! I will be working with the Houston Chronicle, in the features department. This is a very legitimate internship and I know I will learn a lot. Even better, I have also wrangled some on-the-side PR projects, so I can get more PR experience as well as journalism experience (I have career interests in both).

Rawk and Roll

2010-01-22T10:34:00.000-08:00

My quest to build the ultimate badass portfolio continues! I present the second edition of Gingersnaps:

Going Raw: Uncooked Foods Can Add To Any Healthy Diet

For this column, I have four people I would love to thank. These lovely ladies so generously gave me their time and honesty--it's time for a shout-out!

Gena, from Choosing Raw! Thanks so much for the informative and interesting interview. If any thought that eating high raw was just a loony alternative lifestyle, I think you've thoroughly convinced them otherwise.

Sarma, from One Lucky Duck! Dang, I got to interview a celebrity! I really enjoyed our talk, and am definitely checking out Pure Food and Wine next time I'm in New York.

Maggie, from Say Yes to Salad! I'm so sorry girl--you gave a great counter-angle and had some fantastic quotes. However, my editors were really pressing for a connection to our university, and since the school dietitian was around to talk, they went with her.

Kristen, from Kristen's Raw! Again, my apologies. You gave me such great information about raw food, but ultimately when word count came to shove, my editors unsheathed their garden shears.

The Nature of Yogurt

2010-01-19T22:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, in a rush of random serendipity, I got to go to Trader Joe's. These pilgrammages are rare, so I stockpile. Ahem, let's say I walked back through my door with 2 things of Greek yogurt, 3 boxes of almond milk, cottage cheese, nuts, veggies, frozen berries, and cheese. Oh, and I stumbled across something reaaaally cool:

Plain Goat's Milk Yogurt!

I've recently tried goat's milk and really liked it. This yogurt? Rocks my socks. Creamy, decadent, tart, delicious...and yeah, it's whole milk. But random fact: whole goat's milk is actually closer to 2% cow's milk, in terms of nutrition. Anyway, look at this royal pwnage in a bowl:

But as a typical pseudo-intellectual college student who doesn't actually know jack, this goat's yogurt made me think.

Some people would cringe at the fact it's whole milk. Heck, this time last year I might have raged against the fool who offered it to me. This yogurt is super rich and creamy. So much more rich than nonfat yogurt.

Because of this, a little goes a long way. All the fat simply fills you up faster than the fat-stripped nonfat version. If you are truly in tune with your body, you'll feel it, and not eat as much.

Many foods are this way--they have traits that fall in line with their natures. A handful of nuts and a handful of strawberries are not going to feel the same in your belly, if you're really listening. And they shouldn't--one's dense and hearty, the other is light and hydrating. Less processed dark chocolate is so rich and strong that it feels downright gross to wolf down a milk chocolate King Sized Hershey Bar equivalent.

If you just listen to your body, your body will take care of itself. It's when you ignore signals that you lose touch. For example, the person who sucks down a whole quart of full-fat goat's milk yogurt. And some people, I guess, never even get the chance to learn how to listen, usually because of a steady stream of Micky D's and Cheetos.

But my conclusion is not "aww, everything will be OK as long as you keep your ears and spirit open and never let dark thoughts cloud your heart!"

So much is made of "eating natural." Scowling at packaged Nabisco offerings. Eating foods that are whole and minimally processed. Good stuff, natural stuff. Many people hop on this bandwagon because they think they are being healthier.

That's the problem. They think.

What makes natural foods truly superior to over-processed junk, however, is that you don't need to think about them--your body feels them and feels when it's sated. I think it's good to know just what's in a Big Mac, because it is loaded with so much unnatural stuff that you can gobble it down and not realize you just ate a bottle of salt. But with a nice big piece of chicken, you should feel it. There's no reason to bring your mind to the party.

You should feel healthy. You should not think you're healthy. If you have to consciously think if all those veggies and sprouted grains are making you feel good, something's out of whack.

That's the reason that I've come to like natural, whole food. I used to know it was good for me, but, slowly, I'm starting to be able to listen to my body, and actually feel that it is good for me.

For a long time, my mind never shut up when I prepared food. I was always thinking "Is this a proper portion?" "Is this balanced enough?" Lately, my mind's piped down a bit. I'm losing the fear of accidentally gorging on yogurt. Seriously, to buy that whole milk yogurt, for me, is a leap of body faith. Maybe I'm just tired of thinking. Or maybe I'm getting better at feeling.

I'm not going to be a wannabe yogini and claim I've finally found my inner peace and balance, because I haven't.

But maybe I'm getting there.

And sometimes a Wendy's hamburger and chili does taste damn good. But on most days, I'd rather eat stuff like this:

Wrap-Ups!
Pesto, pistachios, cucumber, and carrots, all wrapped in a collard green. With pita chips and an apple. Alongside...

Crazy Kahuna!
Tuna, mixed with cucumber, onion, and the last of my Trader Joe's Ginger Mango Chutney

Green Dragons

Thus named a dragon and not a monster because I turn it into a protein shake! Of course it's also a vegetable garden.

Pastrami Power
Trader Joe's uncured beef pastrami with Havarti and cheddar cheese, topped with onion and honey mustard and grilled with a sandwich thin.With a side of carrots and snow peas. My concept of healthy food is probably shared by only a few select minds -coughSophiacough-

Maybe I shouldn't eat yogurt so often. It's bound to get very time consuming.

[Review] One Lucky Duck

2010-01-16T00:42:00.000-08:00

I admit, not too long ago, I was a bit skeptical of this raw food business. Mainly because of a particularly unpleasant experience with raw almond butter. And a rather disappointing visit to Cafe Gratitude. Oh, and stumbling across a few sites that demonstrated the...uh...Bill O'Reilly side of the raw food community.

But I've gotten the chance to whip up a couple of raw recipes, read a few neat blogs, and chat with some lovely people. And not too long ago, I got the chance to sample a few goodies from Sarma Melngailis' company, One Lucky Duck. Let me say, these treats have given me a much more positive look at raw goods.

Ms. Melngailis co-founded Pure Food and Wine, a gourmet raw restaurant in New York. Forget your quinoa-seaweed bowl of lukewarm suckage--this place features tasty-sounding entrees such as Tokyo Turnip Carpaccio with Marinated Provencal Truffle and Sweet Pickled Beet and Rosemary Cashew Chevre Ravioli. Her company, One Lucky Duck, produces all sorts of raw goodies, from cookies to crispies.

I got the chance to sample a few of her snacks. Forget just "good raw treats," these puppies are plain yummy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Italian almond flour is listed as the first ingredient. I have no idea if Italy is known for its almond flower, but it's a great base. Adding a bit of cacao makes the chocolate stand out too. These are some very nice chocolate chip cookies.

Honey Bunches Grawnola Bar

A raw take on a granola bar. It's tasty, but the honey makes it a little too sweet for me. Which is strange, considering every other Lucky Duck product I tried stood out specifically because it wasn't too sweet. Still, I'd take it any day over a Kellog's granola bar. The texture is especially interesting, considering it's made of buckwheat, almonds, and blueberries. I think it's the buckwheat.

Cinnamon Crispies

Imagine a lumberjack's version of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. The crispies are basically buckwheat cereal. Buckwheat makes them far hardier than traditional oat, corn, and wheat-based cereals. The cinnamon and maple syrup provide a lovely but not overpowering sweetness and the flavors meld excellently with everything from fruit to cottage cheese. This was probably my favorite sample.

Chocolate Crispies

These were my least favorite of the samples. Somehow, the chocolate makes the cereal taste almost musty, when it should be a nice pop of cocoa goodness. It's definitely edible, but far inferior to the Cinnamon Crispies.

Gingerbread Cookies

Right up there with the Cinnamon Crispies! What I love about these cookies is that they are very gingery, without all the syrupy sweetness found in a lot of gingerbread-flavored goods. Ginger is connected with SNAP for a reason. These are based in cashew flour, which gives them a very interesting, subtle taste along with the ginger. Super tasty.

Cheese-y Quackers

Remember the lumberjack? He decided he wants some cheesy goodness but doesn't want to hike down to vermont. These crackers are much heartier than your average Cheese-It, and have much more of a kick from the nutritional yeast. A little sharp in the mouth, so don't stuff them into your mouth all at once, but a very tasty snack for when you want something salty.

So, all in all, One Lucky Duck makes many great treats, even if you have no desire to explore raw cuisine. Actually, these snacks don't come across as raw--at least the stereotypical raw products one might find in a San Francisco health store. You know, the ones made by aged hippies that taste like cardboard...maybe it's a San Francisco thing.

Passion and Play

2010-01-15T21:46:00.000-08:00

Life is best served piping hot.

Holy crap, this IS NOT a review! Well, kind of. Consider it a review of life. Oooh, deep.

Do you sometimes feel a restlessness? A boredom? And at the same time, you just don't feel like doing work, even if you probably should?

This past semester, no matter how much I contributed to my school's newspaper, or how much freelance I did, or how many assignments I completed (or procrastinated on), I could never escape a nagging restlessness. I had no idea what it was--cue many growls of "you are just a lazy dumbass, shape up!"

But finally, over Christmas holiday, it came to me.

I need a creative outlet.

All my life, writing has been my creative outlet. I've heard gardeners claim they simply feel a desire to make things grow. This was me too. Sometimes, I just wanted to craft a nice little vignette. Or channel my rage into a violent fantasy story. Or use my word processor as a conduit for raw bursts of passion.

But for the past year or so, I've been tapped out. No epics. No stories. Not even an essay.

Except for school or work. That is where the creative juices flow--whether I'm fencing my way through a film review or sizing up the best angle for a news story, my editorial creativity all goes into my educational and career endeavors. And I still love those. I love that my jobs require thought and creativity, and allow me to craft something entertaining or informative.

But there's only so much fire to go around.

I've pursued my passion. I chased my love and so far I've managed to keep at its heels. And for that I'm very thankful. But I've realized that to catch your dreams, you have to give up a little passion. It's like marriage--you will be happy, as you should be, but the raw, creative passion is going to fade.

For the chance to have a job I love, I'm willing to sow a few wild oats. I'll sacrifice a bit of the fire.

Yet I firmly believe that everyone needs a creative outlet. Without one, we just dry up. By creative, I do not necessarily mean artistic.

I'm going to get back into drawing.

As a kid, I used to draw a lot. I even won contests. Then I just stopped. I blame crappy art teachers, busy life...however, I would say the biggest reason was that my heart belonged to my other creative outlet, writing.

So now, I'm courting my colored pencils.

What's this have to do with food? It's food for the soul, duh.

Gingersnaps

2010-01-14T12:09:00.000-08:00

In my quest for world domination, I now have a weekly food column in my university's newspaper, the Daily Trojan.

Meet Gingersnaps!

Any of you who know my hair color and...er...snarky disposition, may see the point of this simple little title.

For my first column I did a feature on Holey Donuts.

Doughnut company tosses out the fryer

Ignore the godawful picture; it is temporary. When our photographer's camera died, my editor broke out the iPhone...in a fluorescent-lit hallway with white walls.

If anyone has any neat food ideas, (really, it can be anything) feel free to drop me a note!

[Review] ProBar

2010-01-03T07:49:00.000-08:00

Is there anything grosser than a Power Bar? Maybe a Jenny Craig meal, but I don't know if I'd want to bet my nest egg on it.

Lots of bars are godawful, be it a consistency like ancient peanut butter or a taste like Gummi Bears dipped in fish sauce. I guess in the beginning bar makers were less concerned about taste because their consumers cared more about not boinking during a marathon than getting in an afternoon nosh. Yeah, believe it or not, food bars were not originally made into small and convenient sizes so that you won't have to make room in your purse.

Yet with this new wave of guys and gals who had time to taste what they were cramming into their mouths, bars had to smarten up and taste good. Lots of them have succeeded, most often by mugging a Snickers and stealing its clothes.

A few bars, however, have succeeded in balancing delicious taste and solid nutrition. ProBars are one such bar.

ProBars were created by Art Eggertsen, for the purpose of making a bar that was a legitimate food source, not a glorified candy bar or a lump of space food.

The result?

Forget the frou-frou little snack bars — ProBars are both the manly man and creative artist of the bar world. Despite their brawny package, ProBars have an artisanal quality with complex flavors such as cherry pretzel and cocoa pistachio. They are also made from whole ingredients such as rolled oats and almonds, providing healthy fats, carbs and protein.

ProBars come in three lines--the Original Collection, with flavors such as Nutty Banana Boom and Whole Berry Blast; the Sweet & Savory line, with flavors such as Cherry Pretzel and Sesame Goji; and the Fruition line, a slimmer, fruity collection with flavors such as Strawberry and Cran-Raspberry.

To compare with a few better known bars, ProBars have less of a fruit base than a Larabar, but less of an grain base than Kashi bars. They fall somewhere in between, with some of the most creative flavors I've seen. And these aren't just for a catchy title. In the Cherry Pretzel, for example, there are totally little pretzel pieces smooshed in.

Each bar has around 350-400 calories, 40-45 grams of carbohydrate, 18 grams of fat, and 9-12 grams of protein. As a protein whore, I'd like to see a bit more protein, but these have much more than, say, a Pure Bar. The bars are also vegan and non-GMO. For a more detailed nutritional look, check here.

For once, don't be scared of the long ingredients list. It's pretty solid, even though I can't say I'm wild about the use of evaporated cane juice and soy oil. But compared to the chemistry set of a Balance Bar, this is pretty sweet.

The Fruition line is much smaller and simpler, with a base of fruit and oats. They run about 160 calories, with 34 grams of carbohydrate, 2 grams of fat, and 3 grams of protein. Again, I'm not wild about adding in sweeteners, but they are pretty pure sources. However, I do think they need better balance. If I were to snack on one, I would always pair it with something to give it more fat and protein, like string cheese.

Speaking of sweet, the creative flavors are what make the Original and Sweet & Savory bars really stand out. I sampled the Koka Moka and Cherry Pretzel. What I loved about both was the complexity of the flavors--in the Koka Moka, I could taste the careful blend of coffee and chocolate, with the beautiful backing of Brazil nuts. In the Cherry Pretzel, I loved the contrast of the crunchy, salty pretzel with the softer, not-too-sweet cherries. Because they aren't baked, the flavors never really melt together, creating a very tasty experience. As far as flavor, ProBars really knock it out of the park.

I wasn't quite as wild about the Fruition bars. They don't taste bad, by any means, but they do not have the sample delicacy of flavor, and the actual flavors aren't as interesting. They taste good, but the Original and Sweet & Savory lines definitely trump it.

Additionally, I have one small hangup with ProBars. Not counting the Fruition line, these puppies are full-on meals, not snacks. Not that they advertise as snacks, but they are what they are. If I were a rugged explorer needing a fuel-up as I fled a tribe of angry Huaorani, I would be ecstatic over a big brawny ProBar. But I am a college student who likes to snack on bars, not dine on them. Sure, I could cut it in half, but these puppies are dense. Half of one is, per volume, quite small.

If I wished anything of ProBar, it would be for a snack-sized line of their really neat, complex flavors (which have a better nutritional balance anyway). Come 4pm and a snack-sized Kettle Corn bar with a small coffee sounds damn fine.

In short, ProBars are a great bar, just a little on the heavy side for my personal needs. But next time I break out my pistols and backpack and go tomb raiding, I'm bringing a few ProBars.

Ho ho ho!

2009-12-26T09:11:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas cats and kittens!

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. I know I sure did. What goodies did Santa bring y'all?

Let's see, what did I find under the Christmas tree? Here are a few of the stars!

IPod Touch (64 gig)
Oooh yeah! I'd wanted a SmartPhone and this basically is one--sans the monthly fee. If I hook up a Skype account, I'll actually be able to make phonecalls on it. This baby does it all--music, movies, internet, and a slew of crazy applications.

Forever 21 Explosion!
I love Forever 21..where else can I get decent, interesting stuff that won't gut my bank account? Ma mere, of course, is the only person I trust to shop for me. In addition to these three pretties, I also got two skirts, a sweater, and another shirt. Smexy! If you haven't guessed, I have a thing for military-inspired fashion.

No pics, but Christmas lunch was fab. Turkey, sweet potatoes, basically Thanksgiving 2.0...which is damn fine with me! Also, this time around, did I have any misgivings about butter and cream and whatnot? Nope. Nada. This day was nonstop delicious, family-loving fun.

Oh! Random tip for those of you who like sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top! Get the marshmallows that are white and pink. The pink ones add a fruity flavor that's super interesting.

And of course no Christmas feast would be complete without Christmas pie! Blueberry, topped with vanilla ice cream. No better way.

Not the actual pie, but a decent approximation.

The day's festivities were capped off with a trip to the cinema to see Nine. Um...this may be the only time I'll ever say this, but Fergie is awesome. She had probably the best song in it. And I think it's safe to say the females of Nine all recently had a bikini wax.

I've also been hanging out with friends and getting all caught up. Isn't it funny, for those of you in college, how all your buddies now cover the country? Yet everyone can come together for a little old-fashioned movie-going (Avatar). Or fro yo trips!

So, suffice to say, Christmas vacay has been great so far, despite any initial ahem....kitchen bumps...Merry Christmas!

Back Home on the Range...

2009-12-20T09:23:00.000-08:00

People had much better solutions to anger management in the good old days

And some varmints need shooting.

As some of you might know, my stepmother and I do not get along. She is, in fact, the Cajun Whore, which is a double-insult because she is actually Creole.

While the surrounding issues are much more complex, messy, and fraught with soap opera drama and sizzling backstory than I care to go into (I'd probably give myself carpal tunnel), I am left in a strange predicament.

Banned from the kitchen.

Ok, severely restricted. Basically, I can use the minifridge and microwave in the billiard room, and only venture down to use the stove/oven at carefully arranged times. And no cooking anything that has a fragrance. And no using the garbage disposal.

If you have not guessed, my stepmother is batshit crazy.

The easy answer is for me to say "Fuck you all!" and go to my mother's, who lives 45-minutes away. But I don't exactly want to do that because all my friends and favorite places are here.

Beyond the principle of the thing, the answer is simple: go eat out. My pussywhipped father is giving me money for it. I think he's finally noticed how I need to gain some weight, because he said to me, "Really...I'd actually feel better knowing you were out eating hamburgers."

But really...does he think this is giving me the wild freedom to go sinfully indulge in all of the naughty things I've been missing?

Sophia, of course, earned her namesake by giving me this piece of advice: Why not use the opportunity as a chance to really challenge myself, to get over the few hangups I still have left? Easier said than done, perhaps, but I'm going to give it a go.

At least this won't be too costly of an endeavor

Eating junk food for health? Compared to my earlier life, this is a volte face like no other. And probably the most scandalous thing to be uttered in the blogger community after "almond butter sucks!"

Of course, I'm not going to be consuming an endless supply of junk. See, Mimi is a passive aggressive bitch. Mimi managed to get the Cajun Whore to agree to her using the blender.

The house now cries with a cacophany of squeals and gnashing of metal teeth.

I've been whipping up Green Monsters in the morning. Despite my illogical mind, sometimes I can get very scientific about trying things out, and I've been hearing about these things for years. So now we shall see if my skin will start glowing like a moon maiden and I will suddenly have supernatural agility.

I have to say, I like the taste of them. They are definitely refreshing.

My first go at it was this:

2 Kale Leaves
Bigass handful of Spinach
1/2 Cucumber
1/2 cup Almond Milk
1/2 scoop of Protein Powder
Pinch of Cloves
Dash of Salt
Fuckton of Stevia
Tray of Ice

Quite tasty!

So in a few days I'll let you all know some of the crazy things I've stuck in my mouth. I feel a bit like the Bride from Kill Bill. Jack in the Box Supreme Croissant, I'm looking at you.

Bovina Sancta! Cursum Perficio!

2009-12-15T17:55:00.000-08:00

My Broadcast final

I survived my last exam today!

Yeah, so I went AWOL. But the truth of the matter is sometimes when I get crazy distracted with life, I don't care as much about being a "good blogger." I am a fickle creature, and my interests churn like winter tides.

But I'm back for now!

Anyways, a quick catchup.

Thanksgiving was fab...except my father and sister both broke their wrists (albeit at different times). My sister fell off a horse and my dad tripped over the dog. Personal vow: If I break something, it WILL be badass. I've been good about that so far. When I was three, a 6-foot mirror came crashing down on my foot, smashing the growth plate and enveloping me in a whirlwind of shattering glass.

So, a few pics to show off my Thanksgiving! Not everything, but a few of the stars.

The Bird Herself
(being disemboweled)

Rockin' Cranberries
(what separates good cranberries from rockin' cranberries: red wine)

Tropical Fruit Salad

(oh, pristine fruit!)

Nippy Sweet Potatoes

(old favorite)

Cream and Broccoli

(broccoli with cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, and butter. totally worthy of This is Why You're Fat...but oh SO delicious)

The meal was delish! Dessert was pumpkin pie--my favorite! I'm happy to say I was able to really and truly enjoy all my food (even if some of it was a bit too sweet).

My parents also seem unable to process that I can't drink while on Wellbutrin. A bit in the food is fine, but Jesus, can I turn down a glass of wine and not be seen as a teetotaler? If my parents had their way, I'd fly back to LA with a pickled liver, haha. But I guess there are far worse things parents can encourage their kiddos to do!

Right now, I am super excited about going home!

In other news, I might be doing a food column in my school newspaper next semester. We will see how it plays out.

Oh! And bloggies, I'd love your help in a matter: I'm doing an article on raw food. Is anyone here a raw foodist or has tried going raw? Love it? Hate it? Weird experiences? Let me know; you might wind up in an article.

[Review] Holey Donuts

2009-11-22T10:40:00.000-08:00

Cardiac arrest just not cutting it? Don't worry, we'll throw in skyrocketing blood sugar and type II diabetes, all for the price of one HMO!

Any way you look at it, doughnuts friggin' suck. True, moderation in all things, but whereas ice cream has some calcium and cookies can come packed with fruit, protein powder, and whole grains, doughnuts are just fried freaks of nature. And they taste awesome.

My ultimate doughnut as a kiddo? A no-hole cherry-filled, doused in powdered sugar.

Coincidence? I think not.

I'm no longer the type to look for "diet food," so I was a little wary when I heard of Holey Donuts. Then I looked at the website and was intrigued. Holey Donuts was kind enough to send me a sample.

Holey Donuts are not some frankenfood Weight Watchers concoction. Instead, they are a healthier way to make doughnuts--without killing the doughnuty goodness...for the most part.

I had a slew of samples to try, so let's get cracking.

Oh, and because Blogger was being a brat and not letting me upload the nutritional labels, all nutritional information can be found here.

Vanilla, Chocolate, and Caramel Crumb

The most "old school" of the bunch, these doughnuts were begging for a microwave and coffee. All three were tasty, but the chocolate wins for best overall taste while the caramel wins for most interesting. With these doughnuts, the "icing" seems a lot less sugary, which is dandy for my haven't-had-a-doughnut-in-years sweet tooth. I especially liked the hot caramel-- the microwave caused the caramel icing to melt and awash the whole thing in a light, sweet caramel glaze.

Fresh out of the microwave, these puppies were soft and chewy. Be warned though, this is NOT one of those treats you take your sweet time to savor. Once heated, they dry out pretty quick, so nosh away!

Triple Powdered Winter Donut

These are plain-Jane powdered doughnuts. I liked these the least. They do not taste bad, but that they don't really pop with any special flavor. What makes normal powdered doughnuts so good is the fried dough and truckload of powdered sugar. Scale those back, and there's not much left.

I spread some blackberry preserves on of them and the flavor much improved. For those of you who like to play with your food, these make a good springboard. They would taste great with Nutella.

Jumbo Cinnamon Bun

Wow. This cinnamon bun is one proud punk. A Cinnabon at the mall would cost you 800 calories. Holey Donut's cinnamon bun clocks in at 340 calories. And it's a behemoth.

As far as taste, it's basically a less sugary, slightly blander version of the real thing. But it still delivers a big punch of cinnamon and sweetness. Strangely, it has little apple chunks in it. They taste fine, but it's sort of like finding prawns in your chicken noodle soup. And like chicken noodle soup, the cinnamon bun tastes best HOT.

Sexy Idea: Get it nice and hot, top with some vanilla ice cream, and share it with your boyfriend. It's big enough to split AND it makes a great dessert.

Donut Holes -- Raspberry, Lemon, and Boston Cream Pie

These are a triple threat, with raspberry, lemon, and Boston cream pie. What I really liked about them was the FILLING! Not too sweet and perfectly gooey. As for my favorite, I really can't pick because the flavors were very different. The raspberry ones reminded me of my old jelly-filled childhood treat though, so I guess it wins out.

The donut holes would also make a great party treat.

Boston Cream Oreo Cookie

Saving the best for last, holy fudgemonkies, batman! If this is an example of what Holey Donut's filled doughnuts are like, then skip anything with a hole in it an snag one of every flavor. This baby is a filled with Boston cream, and the whole top is topped with a thin coat of Oreos. Fresh out of the microwave, this thing sent me into spasms. Soft, chewy dough, hot cream, and the sinful chocolate taste that Oreos claim as their own.

If you've pissed your girlfriend off, buy her a box of these and she'll be offering to do your laundry. They are delicious.

Holey Donuts really delivers on what it promises--a healthier alternative to doughnuts. Nothing can quite replace the real thing (though the Boston Cream Oreo Cookie is in a class of its own), but they are very good. They are also handmade, which keeps them from feeling assembly lined.

What I'm not as keen on are the comments that dot the website gushing that these are "healthy." Please dear ones, call a spade a spade. Healthier /=/ Healthy. I would not eat a Holey Donut for breakfast, as there's no real fiber and the wheat is not whole grain. But I would definitely eat this as a dessert. Or for you gym vixens who like fast-releasing carbs post-workout, snag these.

And to its credit, Holey Donuts does not claim to offer a health food. It does offer a great treat for those who want a sweet dessert but not a quadruple bypass.

College Cuisine

2009-11-16T00:12:00.000-08:00

So my camera kind of died. And I've been busy. Now the baby's kicking again!

Operation Bulk Up:

It's official, I'm up about six pounds since the start of the school year. The dietitian is very happy. I admit, my first thought was "eeeeugh, the fat, it returnith!" and so any perceived squishiness in my tummy is met with the most ardent of grimaces. I know damn well it's not all muscle, but I'm hoping some of it is. I also know that if you're underweight, you are going to get some belly fat. But I keep telling myself it's a good thing. My body is just recalibrating.

A person who I greatly respect, the personal trainer Leigh Peele, said something that really helped my confidence. She was answering a question from someone who was scared of regaining weight she'd lost. Leigh responded that she herself is not scared of gaining weight--and she has gained some, due to an injury--because she knows exactly how to lose it, and can do so any time she wants, and not through stupid shit like lemonade. No, I do not want to lose weight, but her answer gave me a more logical perspective.

Kitchen Foolery:

- Balsamic vinegar and cottage cheese are BFFs
- Thai Kitchen? Makes fucking awesome microwave noodles
- Because of the wonderful Sophia, I can finally poach a damn egg ON THE STOVE
- Pumpkin, cottage cheese, and BBQ sauce are totally Carole, Lisa, and Stevie from those dumb Saddle Club books

Creamy Pumpkin Bran

Cottage cheese, kabocha, and walnuts, spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. Simple and yummy. Pumpkin oats are a blogger staple for a damn good reason!

Gourmet Game Day Dog

Trader Joe's Sweet Basil Sausage with Mountain Bread, kabocha, and steamed veggies. What's game day without a hot dog? Go Trojans! This is not from this weekend's godawful game, but the previous one.

Holey Donut's Cinnamon Bun

So, Cinnabon can suck it. This baby tastes amazing and won't send you into cardiac arrest.

I Can Haz Cheezeburger?

Ground Beef, Gorgonzola, Grilled Onions, and BBQ sauce, on an Orowheat Sandwich Thin. Oh hells YES. I LOVE that Trader Joe's has 96/4 ground beef. I am also digging these sandwich thins.

Hamburger Sushi!

Ok, no sushi rice, but we gots some hamburger and avocado! With a lovely side of peanut butter-drizzled sweet potatoes.

Chocolate Explosion

Plain yogurt mixed with chocolate protein powder, an Attune bar, and one Newman Peppermint Cup. Stuck into a freezer. Great crunch with this one.

Flying Pig's Tamarind Duck Taco and Steamed Pork Buns

This was from a food truck. They are kind of crazy in LA. Damn, these little treats were good.

Balsamic Berries

Cottage cheese with raspberries, strawberries, pistachios, and balsamic vinegar. This was a super refreshing breakky. The balsamic vinegar was deliciously tangy.

Texas Kabocha Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese with kabocha and BBQ sauce, spiced with cumin and cinnamon, on an Orowheat Sandwich Thin. Ok, I'm insanely proud of this. YUM! Cottage cheese is awesome, but I had no idea that BBQ sauce and kabocha would go so well together.

Protein Coffee Chip

Protein powder microwaved with almond extract, stevia, a bit of milk, and instant coffee. A nice, sharp little side. I love protein powder.

POM Crazy

Cottage cheese with pomegranate, almonds, and pistachios. I am so happy that pomegranites are in season. Soooo happy.

Mexican-ish Salmon

Salmon fillet with white beans, steamed artichoke, avocado, and Trader Joe's No Salt Added Salsa. This was very tasty. Salmon goes great with so many flavors.

Bar Brawls!

2009-11-07T21:16:00.000-08:00

For my school newspaper I wrote a roundup of bars. Edible ones, that is.

Check it out!

[Review] Zevia

2009-11-03T23:47:00.000-08:00

But first...stare in horror, chickies:

This bottle of carbonated toxin has a twin. That twin sits in my belly, feasting on my intestinal lining and waiting for just the right group of cells to infect with flesh-rotting cancer.

I drink Diet Soda. Oh nos! I drink plenty of water and tea as well, and so far I haven't died...yet.

But that being said, if I had a non-Splendid alternative to my diet soda, I would take it. Just because I'm pro-choice doesn't mean I want to go on a baby killing spree (except on days I'm really stressed).

Ergo, I was thrilled when Zevia sent me a sample pack. Zevia is a relatively new non-caloric beverage, sweetened with stevia and erythritol. Stevia is an herb, erythritol is a sugar alcohol. Both are zero-calorie and do not spike blood sugar.

And stevia > aspartame

But I'm not going to drink something that tastes like goat pee just because it is embraced by Mama Earth. So how does Zevia stack up?

Damn fine stuff!

I sampled virtually all of the flavors:

Ginger Ale
- Quite a bit like Canada Dry. This was always my tummy-soother as a kiddo, so I warmed immediately to this flavor.

Black Cherry
- I hate most cherry-flavored drinks...but for some reason I really like this. The cherry flavor is light, not sickly.

Orange
- Ok, Diet Sunkist and I have an occasional torrid affair in the hall closet. I LOVE orange soda. To pieces. The orange flavor was a tad too light here, but I still enjoyed the flavor.

Lemon Twist
- Hullo Spri--uh, I mean Lemon Twist. It's quite close. I like Sprite well enough, so I liked it.

Cola
- I know this flavor has gotten flack...but I found it to actually be quiet enjoyable. It does not taste like Coke. What I instead was reminded of was saspirilla. Just a tad. It was an unexpected twist.

Overall, I really like Zevia. They are lighter in flavor that the flavors they are inspired by. Sometimes I like this, but other times I was hoping for a tad more flavor. All of the drinks carry a similar undertone that's hard to describe; it's definitely from the stevia. It's not unpleasant though.

At OrganicDirect.com, Zevia goes for $7 a 6-pack. The Zevia website charges $23.99 for a 24-pack. Zevia isn't sold everywhere yet, but my location finder turned up Whole Foods and Albertsons.

I would not pay the online price for Zevia, but if I saw it on sale at the store, I'd definitely snag a pack. However, as it seems to cost a bit more, it won't be replacing every drop of Diet Dr. Pepper to pass my lips. But it might divert a few.

College Cuisine

2009-10-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

Heya chickies!

Midterms are over. All is well in the world. Ok, all should be well in the world, but I seem to defy "shoulds" at every turn. I won't lie; the past few days have been so emotionally draining. What bites is that they have no earthly reason to be, considering I have no pressing deadlines.

At my most miserable I was wondering if the only thing keeping me going was the constant call of work to be done, and that without it, my life has no validation.

Then I realized I was being an emo little teenybopper. Or at least I was staring into Neitzche's abyss and not even trying to look away. I have depression. I was warned that sometimes I might feel like crap for no reason. Or, as a friend of mine (who has needed Cymbalta since she was 16) so primly describes it, "Whale shit at the bottom of the ocean." But you know what? Screw it. Progressive overload, dear ones. For change to happen, you have to make it happen. I went out and got a manicure--one of the things that will always make me feel better. Goofed around with the roomies. Read a book for pleasure. I feel much better today.

Operation Bulk Up:
Since school started, I've gained about 2-3 pounds. I am noticing more muscle in my arms and legs. I can pump out way more pushups. I've also taken up light morning jogs. Not too far, but I find that running is easier now than when I was heavier. Running isn't directly contributory to Operation Bulk Up, but indirectly, I believe it is.

Hear me out: I am a firm believer in the Halo Effect--when people eat more because they feel they've "earned it." Take, for example, the elliptical queens at the gym who justify their vigorous Cosmopolitan session with a pomegranate-acai-mocha smoothie ("and gimme the burner boost"). I'm not immune to this. Doing a bit of cardio makes it easier for me to eat. The information-flooded side of me knows damn well I probably don't burn that many calories, but I tell that side to shush. Since people (including me) almost always underestimate how much they consume, I figure it balances out.

But again, I won't lie. I still get freaked about the concept of eating 2000 calories. I worry that my gut's getting bigger, that my thighs are going to touch again, and that I'll come home for summer and need bigger clothes. Or that I didn't push myself hard enough at the gym for my body to even need those extra calories for some building work. So I have to remind myself, again and again, that I need to put some meat on. I'll flex in front of the mirror, suck my tummy in, and hope that some of the thoughts of the muscle junkies at the gym rub off on me.

At the same time, these...moments...are becoming less frequent. And that's what I'm aiming for.

Hot damn, I am still sounding like a college art film. Is that violin music I hear? Despite my mopiness, like I said, I'm feeling much better lately.

So, onto the long delayed eats!

Rockin' Giveaways:
Goji Gourmet Cookies
Valerie Bertinelli Fitness DVD

Kitchen Foolery:
- Frozen apples rock--super sweet and refreshing
- BBQ sauce tastes great with miso
- Muscle Milk Light Creme Brulee flavor + oat bran = tastebud orgasm

Someone Say Salmon?

Salmon, cucumbers, basil, Galeo dressing, and honey mustard, all wrapped up in a bigass lavash wrap. Side of collard greens and more cukes.

A Holey Standoff

The Holey Donutholes have chased a herd of Honeycrisp Apples onto the Troy East plataeu. With nowhere left to run, the herd rounds on its pursuers. Who will win? The cashew butter waits to feast on the remains.

Savory Dinner-Breakfast

Eggs, both micro-scrambled and sunny-side up, with smoked apple chardonnay chicken sausage. On the side is a slice of Carrot Raisin Manna Bread with a dab of Smart Balance. Rounding everything out are collard greens and zucchini, topped with Gorgonzola.

Why Bulking Rocks

Cottage cheese with chocolate whey powder, peanuts, and two frozen strawberries. Sprinkled with some cookie crumbs (haha, a roomie's empty bag, I couldn't resist).

An Apple a Day

A Honeycrisp apple with Heritage Flakes and almond milk, drizzled with peanut butter. Sometimes, simple just kicks ass.

Sophia's Hot and Cold Pasta Salad

Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum.

Egg Cottage

Teehee, I hadn't made one of these in forever! Take a whole egg and some egg whites. Put the whites in a bowl or mug with whatever veggies and spices you like. Nuke for a minute. Top with the whole egg and nuke for another minute. Then flip onto a plate and you have an egg cottage. My egg cottage had broccoli and cauliflower...and cheese.

It even comes with a fireplace!

More Breakky-Din-Dins

An Ambrosia Apple with Apple Chardonnay Chicken Sausage, with a side of eggs and collard greens. I can't believe I used to not like sausage. What a young, silly girl I was. These are high quality sausages though--tons of meat, with their high protein content. No frankenfood here!

Hot Apple Peanut Butter Pocket

Apple with peanut butter and cinnamon, all wrapped in some Mountain Bread. Holy yum! This has to be the best thing I've made in forevs! Seriously...get Mountain Bread. They sell it at Whole Foods. It makes the best thin wraps, for when you want some breadiness but really want to taste the filling.

Protein Pudding and Raw Gingerbread Cookies

Plain yogurt with vanilla protein powder, ginger, and lemon extract, sprinkled with cinnamon. The gingerbread cookies are Sarma's from One Lucky Duck. They are based in cashew flour. Needless to say, I am now on the lookout for cashew flour. Delicious! What made them especially awesome was that they were not too sweet. Ginger is a snappy spice, don't spay her! And yes, I see the whole foods hilarity of raw cookies and protein powder in the same snack.

Chicken Tamale with Cabbage and a Pork Papusa

Sophia and I had a lovely trip to Grand Central Market. This was tasty as hell. And probably the most challenging meal I've eaten. I think it's because of my history with Mexican food. With the Pad See Ew and Singaporean dishes, I had never eaten that sort of stuff, so even if I knew it was full of greasy noodles, there was still the curiosity factor. For the Umami burger and Mr. Pizza, I was starving. I enjoyed all of these meals, and they have definitely helped me get over some of my silly fears. But Mexican food has always been a part of my life. My fat life. Tamales especially. And this was a mucho grande tamale. Made by a very authentic El Salvadorian mamacita...so of course this was a greasy, no-holds barred affair. No lies, I was antsy on eating the whole damn thing. But I did. YUM. Best papusa I'd ever had, too. The real deal.

Salmon Scramble and Lentils

Carb me up, Mr. Scott! Salmon scrambled with egg whites, walnuts, zucchini, and onion. Paired with Trader Joe's Beluga Lentils. Spiced with curry powder, turmeric, cumin...and a random shot of balsamic vinegar.

The Ultimate Sweet Potato

The chicken and collard greens are just dressing. It's all the sweet potato. There are many badass ways to top a sweet potato. One kicks them all to Nantucket. Cottage cheese, cinnamon, and peanut butter! Yummonkies!

Great Bowl of Tteok

Bye-bye my sweet tteok! It went out with a bang--Kashi Autumn Harvest Shredded Wheat with almonds, blackberries, and raspberries.

Deconstruction

Sardines with cucumber, peppers, Mountain Bread, and pistachios. Some honey mustard and ketchup as a sauce. Obviously I was on deadline.

Tea Time!

Heart Thrive Cranberry oat cookie with blackberries and almond butter. Sophia speaks the truth--these Heart Thrives taste way better hot.

A Salute to Fall

Kashi Autumn Harvest Shredded Wheat with Honeyscrisp Apples, cashews, and almond milk. The cashews were lightly salted, and a delightful contrast to the apples.

Vegans Beware

Run little vegans! This ~~big green penis~~ chicken sausage is the Sweet Basil flavor. Very savory and umami-ish. With a side of scrambled egg whites, sprinkled with basil.

[Review] Arctic Zero

2009-10-25T23:46:00.000-07:00

I actually wrote a feature review for my school newspaper, the Daily Trojan.

Check it out!

In Spirit We Love

2009-10-22T21:52:00.000-07:00

"It is so bitter, death is scarcely more;
But of the good I found therein to treat
I will speak of other things seen there of yore."

-- Dante, The Inferno

This week has been really rough. I've been swamped with work and the stress can feel overwhelming.The hobo world discovered this when I was racing to get quotes for a newspaper article. I had also just come from the store, groceries, backpack, and laptop piled on me. But finally I found a student. I had to put all my stuff down. We spoke, I wrote, she went on. All was well.

But y'see, there was this Hobo Lady.

Crazed hobos are to LA what stoned hippies are to San Francisco, and what pigeons are to New York. But this Hobo Lady was an annoying one--the type that gets snippy if you don't give her change. So she was already on Mimi's Softcore Shitlist.

I'm ~~deadlifting~~ picking up my gazillion pounds of stuff.

"Why you got all them bags? You can't carry all them bags. You're too weak."

Oh dear.

Oooooh dear.

Mimi has issues with feeling weak. Mimi has issues with being called weak. Mimi is also a passive aggressive little bruja. And she was having a shitty day.

You know what the Joker said?

"All it takes is one bad day."

You know what popped out of my little yap?

"Shut your motherfucking mouth!"

Everyone in front of the Starbucks stopped. Everyone in front of the 21 Choices stopped. The sorority girls on the opposite sidewalk stopped. I beat a hasty retreat to the nearby Denny's to email my quotes to my editor.

But then the smallest thing made my day a hundred times better. A simple email from Sophia. Aren't little things funny?

Then Sophia came out with this lovely post, and like all of Sophia's posts, it made me think. There are so many people I want to give shout-outs to. There are so many things I'd like to say that I LOVE. But I think, to fully love the world around us, first we have to love ourselves. And that means taking care of ourselves, in body, mind, and spirit.

I didn't have to let stress get to me. I should have taken more care. I'm not the most emotionally stable right now and I know this, but sometimes I still find myself repeating the mistakes that got me here in the first place. You know how on an airplane you're instructed to put your mask on first, then help the kid next to you? Life writ small.

It's ok to say no to people. Sometimes, you just need to drop everything and go get a manicure.

In the spirit of love, here is my big shout out to people and things that make me happy to be where I am today.

Sophia!

How could I not? Sophia has helped me grow as a person in so many ways. It may be the elephant in the corner, but I don't think I've ever fully stated it here. I'm working through an eating disorder. And the person who has given me so much strength, support, and inspiration is the lovely Sophia. Somehow, this girl has gotten me to eat noodles, bigass sandwiches, and globs of glutinous rice. But what truly speaks of her character is that she helped me so much before we'd even met. And now at USC we have so much fun!

Kelly from Every Gym's Nightmare!

For being such a sensible fitness expert. And sharing her smarts with the world!

Tina from Carrots 'N' Cake!

This was the first foodie blog I ever read. It my gateway into the blogging world, actually. And Tina shows what a healthy, balanced lifestyle really is.

Holly from The Healthy Everythingtarian

At a time when I'm still figuring out how to live at a healthy median, Holly's blog is great inspiration. This girlie has such great handle on what life's all about.

Now for a few of my favorite things...

Manicures and Facials

Eyeshadow

Tim Burton

Burton's films basically define a lot of my mentality towards a lot of things. Slightly morbid, slightly funny, and usually off the beaten path. My fav favs? Sweeney Todd, Edwad Scissorhands, and Nightmare Before Christmas.

The previews at movies

Campfires and Ghost Stories

Haunted Houses

Video Games

Basically, my catharsis. I really wish I'd brought my PS3 along with me. Or my XBox 360. My favs?

Final Fantasy
Ico / Shadow of the Colossus
Harvest Moon
Kingdom Hearts
Xenosaga
God of War
Elder Scrolls
Legacy of Kain

Good coffee shops

Discovering offbeat clothing stores...

Canterbury Tales

Pirates

Considering I am one, I should like my fellow plunderers.

Running into teachers in public...

Being praised by professors...

A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R. R. Martin

Best fantasy series ever! I was in love the moment an 8-year-old kid got chucked out of a tower window.

When you get to your seat just as the previews are starting...

When you meet up with a group of friends and they stop talking to celebrate your arrival...

Rennasaince Festival

This is fall for me! My dad and I go every year!

When your laptop or cell phone is just about to die but you manage to run and plug it in before it completely shuts off...

Lord of the Rings

When you’re sitting in the backseat of a packed car and the driver takes a turn really fast...

When people are speaking a foreign language you happen to know and you hear them mocking the people around you...

Having a whole row by yourself on the plane...

Hayao Miyazaki

I despise things labeled as bringing out "the child in all of us." With Miyazaki, I just stare at the screen and feel really really happy. Or sad. Actually, Miyazaki can do both. My favorite films of his? Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and My Neighbor Totoro.

Breakfasts at fancy hotels...

Crazy Epic Dreams

Christmas morning...

So, what are your favorite things?

College Cuisine

2009-10-18T00:40:00.000-07:00

I have quested to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods! My pockets are lighter and I forgot the motherfucking almond milk, but oh well. Also had a lovely lunch meet-up with Sophia and Froyoaholics Anonymous's Kathryn.

Operation Bulkup:
More weightlifting! The gym was hot as hell on Friday, which was a bit of a sapper. I nearly blasted my eardrums out with Kamelot. "The Fourth Legacy" is on my list of Ultimate Workout Songs. I'll weigh in on Monday to see if I've gained any. I don't weigh myself often, but I want to keep loose tabs.

Kitchen Foolery:
- Barney Butter really does kick ass
- Honeycrisps are back. I am stoked
- Frozen strawberries are awesome
- My new secret ingredient: instant coffee granules

Fruit and Cashews

Kashi Autumn Harvest Shredded Wheat with strawberries and papaya, topped with raw cashew butter. A very refreshing breakfast!

Sea Kale and Kimchi

Steamed kale topped with nori, with chicken, kimchi, and egg whites. Nori makes anything taste better!

Holey Donuts Winter Wonderland and Vanilla Crumb

More donuts! Heh, these might be speeding Operation Bulkup a little too fast. The Winter Wonderland one was pretty dull, but the Vanilla Crumb was delicious. Review soon.

Clearly Missing Texas

Chili, chicken, steamed Kale, and a cornbread VitaTop. I was verrry happy with the cornbread's sweetness when dipped into the chili. Chili rocks my world, let's leave it at that.

Eggy Mountain

Oats with chocolate whey powder, unsweetened cocoa, and instant coffee. Topped with an overpoached egg (dusted in coriander) that sits at on a lake of almond milk. Some strawberries are just chilling out.

Power Breakfast

Egg with tteok and frozen strawberries. In the bowl we have cottage cheese, Heritage Flakes, and peanuts. This is an amazing breakfast.

Pantry Wrap-Up

A wrap made of turkey meat, celery, Laughing Cow, and mango chutney. Ham with honey mustard and basil, wrapped in nori. Sides of broccoli and an apple, served with cheddar cheese. This was part of an effort to clean out some stuff I had left...and test out some new goodies! The wrap is Mountain Bread, which I found at Whole Foods. Super good--very light and flakey.

Almond Butter and Snow Drifts

A base of oat bran with chocolate whey, unsweetened cocoa powder, and instant coffee. Topped with two poached eggs dusted and almond butter. This is my first dive into Barney Butter. Holy crap, NOW I see why this was an internet phenomenon.

Post Workout Snack

A protein shake made out of vanilla whey, milk, Diet V8 Splash, ginger, lemon extract, and a fuckton of xanthan gum. Served with a pear, almonds, and Gorganzola. Screw the person who advised not consuming fats right after a workout. Pears + Gorgozola + Almonds = Trinity of Yumminess.

Laksa, Rojak, and Mee Goreng

My first dive into Singaporean-ish food. According to Sophia it wasn't very authentic. Tasted fine to me though, even if the soup was kind of greasy. The salad had jicama, apples, and cucumber! And yes, this is me eating noodles...from two different dishes. -spooky music-

[Review] POM Wonderful

2009-10-17T01:15:00.000-07:00

Juice is often a monster of health books and dietitian offices. High in sugar, devoid of fiber...in truth, most juices are basically over-sugared fruit mixers. So POM is an odd duck in that its concentration of antioxidants and lack of additives make it a juice that actually is very good for you. Topping it off, it's nice and tart.

I guess I'm the last person on earth to finally try this stuff. POM was kind enough to send me a sample.

Now, I don't drink much juice. But pure juices have a very important use in my kitchen: they make bomb-ass marinades and sauces. It has to be pure juice though--the wimpy Motts concoctions don't have enough juice to maintain flavor.

By itself, POM has a lovely tart flavor. It really jolts your tongue. Pomegranite is an interesting flavor--a tad like cranberries, a dash of cherry...it's a distinctive flavor. I can see why some people dislike drinking POM plain--it's very tart. But I like that. It reminds me of how much better pure cranberry juice made me feel when I had a UTI.

More so, though, POM contributed to a quite a few yummy dishes in my kitchen.

POM-marinated eggplant and zucchini

These tasted delicious with a POM marinade:

Eggplant
Zucchini
Mushrooms
Chicken

It works well drizzled onto veggies while cooking--the pomegranate flavor is so strong that it stands up to a bit of heat. Of course, it works delightfully as a reduction.

I also used POM in my oatmeal. It was delicious!

Nutritionally, POM juice is loaded with antioxidants. Scientists believe pomegranates may help prevent prostate cancer, curb erectile dysfunction, and improve cardiovascular function. Of course it seems like everyone is scrambling over some superfruit or another, be it raspberries, goji berries, or acai. But the research on pomegranites is pretty solid.

At the same time, remember, juice is still juice. It has quite a bit of natural sugar (34 grams per cup), and none of the insulin-regulating fiber found in whole fruit. But in moderation, POM makes a solid juice, and a very good cooking agent.

[Review] Perfect Foods Bars

2009-10-14T00:10:00.000-07:00

I do not believe in replacing a meal with a bar, unless one is trapped in the Amazon or something. But bars make great snacks, especially for a busy college student. Unfortunately, stuff like Balance Bars and Pure Proteins taste godawful and are full of overprocessed garbage. Natural bars, like the ever-popular Larabars, are a little low on the protein front for my taste. I thought I'd never find a truly balanced natural bar for a mid-class munchie. Then the folks at Perfect Foods sent me a sample.

I consider myself a connoisseur of bars, great and small, junky and healthy, fruity, nutty, or soybeany. From Atkins Advantage to Pure Bars, I've tried 'em all. So please, do not take this review as the immature ramblings of a childish fangirl.

With delicious taste, divine texture, and a damn-near perfect nutritional profile, Perfect Foods Bars really are perfect foods in bar form.

Perfect Foods Bars, by Perfect Foods, are based in peanut butter and honey, a stark change from the more typical date-based bars. They come in three flavors: peanut butter, carob chip, and fruit & nut, with a snack bar called cranberry crunch (courtesy of some ricey bits). The carob chips and fruit just play sidekick though--this baby is all nut.

But before we get on to the important stuff (like how it christens your tastebuds in peanutty goodness), let's eyeball a few numbers.

Can I count how much this bar rocks? Or let me spell it out.

First off: 18 grams of protein! But even more, none of this cheap, crappy soy protein. These bars use egg, milk, and rice protein--all far more bioavaliable. They also contain 33 grams of carbohydrate. For a 77 gram bar, this proves that they aren't just dousing the thing in sugar. Fat, mostly unsaturated, clocks in at 16 grams. Vive the peanuts!

Number-wise, this is a great balance of protein, carbs, and fat. A marathon runner needing a mid-chew might need more carbs, but for a girl who just wants to hear her professor over her growling tummy, it's just right.

Perfect Foods Bars also contain high vitamin levels. Unlike Balance Bars, these are legitimate nutrients, not the cheapened lab concoctions that barely absorb anyway. They contain no GMOs, soy, or gluten.

In the field, did these work? I would say so! I ate half before I worked out, and had no end-of-day slug feet.

But most importantly, taste. Who's bitten into a bar enticely called "Chocolate Peanutbutter Nut" only to meet with Reeses Pieces' PMSing sister? Yuck.

Perfect Foods Bars taste like a heartier Bit O' Honey, without the cloying oversweetness. The different flavors are all similar, with carob chip tasting more chocolaty and fruit & nut having a few raisins. The bars are yummy but don't taste like a calorically empty dessert. Instead, the fats and protein give the bar real substance.

The bar also melts in your mouth--it's delicious and decadent and is still amazingly healthy. It's not chewy like a PowerBar or fruity-gooey like a Larabar, but closer to a However, the bars are very moist, meaning that a plastic baggie might be better if you are noshing on the go. As well, the natural oils can make the wrapper a tad slippery. I was inclined to wipe my hand off but didn't want to stain my jeans. Yet these are but small quibbles in light of such a strong product.

Ultimately, I highly recommend Perfect Food Bars. They make a substantial snack (just eat half if the calories are too high) Not only are they great for you, they embrace your worst peanut butter demon and turn it into a purring kitten.

College Cuisine

2009-10-10T17:53:00.000-07:00

The positive responses to my previous post made me very happy. While this blog is often a creature of snark and strangeness, I do try to discuss what I've learned. And not all of those lessons came wrapped in bows and ribbons.

Operation Bulk Up:

I met with my school's dietitian, on the recommendation of my gyno. The lady was quite lovely. She helped me suss out how much I should be eating in accordance with my activity level (which I've never been sure of) and goals. Her recommendation: 2000 calories, more grains, and extra dairy. This is for a 5'5", 109 pound girl who lifts weights 3x a week and gets her cardio in running to the gym...and classes she's running late to. It seems like so much food! But I guess I gotta eat big if I wanna get big guns and a non-pancake ass.

But I'm trying truly to chuck calorie counting, so I'm going more by servings. Except that pussy 2 1/2 servings of veggies a day. Bah, I could eat that for lunch! But I am making a genuine effort to get more grains and dairy in. And not just in the form of Holey Donuts.

Kitchen Foolery:

AAAAH! My freezer is even MORE PACKED now that I have the Holey Donuts. Hopefully my roommates will be assuaged by the "enjoy, just be sure to leave at least 1 of each flavor" policy on the doughnuts.

Anyway, onto the eats!

Wahoo Fish and Taters

Wahoo fish, sauteed veggies, fresh spinach with cukes, tomatoes, and egg white, and a sweet potato. A post-workout meal! The fish came from the school cafeteria. It's Wahoo fish--inspired by Wahoo's Fish Taco, with teriyaki-sauteed veggies. -sigh- There goes the last of my sweet potatoes!

Deep Chocolate VitaTop

A Deep Chocolate VitaTop with almond butter. HOLY SHITMONKIES! I can't believe I never tried these before! I always assumed they were over-processed crappy diet food, but they are actually whole grain and pretty natural. I'm eating my way through the sample pack Vitalicious generously sent me, so review soon!

Tropical Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese with papaya, Heritage Flakes, cinnamon, a dash of lemon extract, and a sprinkling of bee pollen. Wow, I'm really liking this frozen papaya. I'd thought it was tasteless when I first got it, but it just needed to thaw a bit.

Tteokbukki and Steamed Dumplings

Sophia mentioned this lovely meal we had at the Korean market. Rice flour rolls, sauce, onions, a hardboiled egg, cabbage--this stuff had everything! The dumplings had mostly pork and veggies.

I had never tried Korean food before, so I was curious. Also, the tteokbukki was kind of a challenge for me; white rice still freaks me out a bit, and these are essentially globs of rice flour. But YUM, I really like this--super chewy and saucy. Just another step in my climb to a fully healthy relationship with food.

I really like Korean spices so far. Still a spice baby though.

Cheddary Omelet with Manna Bread

An omelet stuffed with cheddar, broccoli, and cauliflower. Cinnamon Fig Manna bread and a side of cottage cheese. Yum.

Apple Pie a la Mode

Dreyer's Apple Pie ice cream in a cake cone...because cones make ice cream better. Unfortunately, the Apple Pie ice cream took one for the team when the Holey Donuts arrived, and now resides in the freezer of my next-door neighbor. He was surprised to see some chick bang on his door and hand him a carton of ice cream.

Revenge of the Pumpkin Tteok

Teehee, behold pumpkin tteok again in its unsweet, orangey glory...with some Greek yogurt (and a huge-ass mug of coffee).

Green, Purple, and Shades of Cheese

Zucchini and Japanese eggplant sauteed in POM and basil, with a flank steak and cheddar sandwich.

Oro Blanco Midnight Munchie

An oro blanco (sort of like a grapefruit) with balsamic vinegar, kefir, and a sprinkling of almonds.

Omelet of Appley Goodness

An omelet (mixed with some vanilla protein powder) stuffed with cooked apples, cinnamon, stevia, and almond butter. This was made of yum.

Holey Donuts Oreo Boston Cream Pie

Holy hell, this was awesome. Yeah, more on these suckers later...but the pic came out so well I had to post it.

When You Stare Into the Doughnut...

2009-10-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

Uzumaki?

The doughnut stares back at you.

Nietzsche might have been a bonkers Kraut with a sister complex, but he knew his stuff. Perhaps his most famous quote is this:

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."

If anyone tries to debate Nietzsche with you, roll your eyes and call them a wannabe intellectual. Nietzsche is one of the most difficult to understand philosophers because he used a lot of aphorisms and puns. Not to mention German is a much richer language for philosophy.

But we can interpret what he says, or at least pick up his tracks and find our own satisfactory conclusions.

As far as I know, the second half of this statement was Nietzsche's nihilistic way of saying "don't look at the glass half empty." Because when you think too much about problems or pains, and look into the darker side of your mind, these things take notice. Ever felt a clenching deep in your throat?

The abyss can hold anything. A failing relationship. A lifetime of inadequacy. Any problem. And it's not a one way street. Stare too long and it manifests beyond the darkness of your mind. By the time someone is an emaciated ghoul or a hulking walrus, they have been consumed.

A combination of Biggest Loser Tuesdays, Sophia's "The Real Natural Diet" post, and Ellie's "What is this 8th Sin You Speak Of?" post got me thinking.

Anyone who has seen Biggest Loser knows a famous scene: Jillian Michaels beating the fuck out of some groaning sod, screaming "WHY?!"

Some say she does it for drama. I think those moments are some of the most honest on the entire show. Michaels uses fitness to push people into an unguarded enough state that she can get them to confront the deeper problems. Because that's her point: there's always a reason. No one is on the Biggest Loser because they ate too many Cheetos.

The media rails against Carl's Jr. and MickyD's. Food clearly is not the problem, because we have two many people on opposite sides of the spectrum. For every guy binging in his car on two boxes of Duncan Donuts is a girl calling herself a filthy cow because she nibbled on a friend's Cinnebon.

I think that people never look far enough when they have legitimate problems. It's far too easy to look at the outer layers.

Layer 1: I'm fat because I eat too many McFlurries

As we have established, this is the easy, wrong answer.

Layer 2: I'm fat because I can't get the baby weight off; I'm too busy with work and kids

No. Hollywood actresses are very busy people--seriously, their hours are nuts--and yet they can get the baby weight off within a few red carpets. I hear it now: "Yeah, but they have money for personal trainers." No. They choose to spend their money on personal trainers. They still have to do the work, and top Hollywood trainers still want cash.

But I think many actresses have learned something. You have to take care of you. So many people put themselves last--it's a comment Jillian Michaels always makes. Selfishness is seen as bad--hiring a nanny and personal trainer, for instance, while working full time and still taking care of Suzie and hubby are morally commendable. So let's peel further.

Layer 3: I'm fat because I've never put myself first. I've never treated myself well, this has made me miserable, and there is no way I'm not going to physically show the effects.

I would say we are getting somewhere.

It's far too easy to stop at the first layers. To dwell on problems, on a personal abyss that holds so many demons. Maybe because it's so dark in that abyss, that people have a hard time seeing the deepest problems.

I myself am still on this journey, but I'm making progress. Yes, I fell into this trap too. Growing up I ate way too much. In college I changed. Now, I battle with the opposite problem. I "took on a healthy leaf." But for the dark mirror of that, just read Sophia and Ellie's insightful posts.

C'mon. A life entirely dedicated to kale and quinoa? An burst of utter loathing for anything that touched a greasy grill is not balance.

Something's lurking beneath that banana

Too often we stop at the outer layers. Perhaps these things are even their own kind masochistic comfort because, if they are causing so much distracting misery, you have no time to dwell on the deeper pains.

So I just wanted to say this, to any in his or her own battle--go deeper. Don't stop at the Big Macs. Don't stop at the crappy job hours. And don't stop at "I'm just being healthy." You are never going to find a happy, whole balance until you look past the goblins and go for the demons.

And perhaps this journey is too much for you to bear all by yourself. That's fine too. That's why there are therapists and friends. But you have to know where the roots lie.

College Cuisine

2009-10-04T22:14:00.000-07:00

Woo! Choicest eats. But first, two new additions to College Cuisine!

Operation Bulk Up:
(Consider this a subsection of College Cuisine. I'm trying to add muscle and slowly gain 5-10 pounds. This will cover more of the nutrition side of it.)

I have been making an effort to get more carbs in. I'm just not a very carby person. Buuut the fact I just got a fuckton of bread in from the lovely folks at Manna (reviews soon!) is encouraging more nighttime nibblies.

Kitchen Foolery:
(This is for new foodie discoveries that may or may not get covered more in depth later.)

- Turmeric is an amazing spice
- Oyster mushrooms are awesome
- Galeo can marry me, if he brings his dressings along
- CHEESE! Now, I've never been against cheese, but I've never invested much in it. But gentle readers, I now have 4 varieties in my larder: Gorgonzola, Cheddar, Laughing Cow, and 4-cheese blend. It's too much hanging out with Sophia, I tell you!

My freezer is packed. You could hide a body in there...chopped up, of course, as that's the only way it would fit.

East Meets West and Results in Cheese

Top round steak, grilled eggplant (spiced with curry powder, cumin, and fajita seasoning), bok choy, and topped with Gorgonzola. Regard my newest discovery: Galeo's Miso dressing. More on this puppy later; basically, it's a very healthy, natural sesame dressing that is super creamy and tastes like it should have 100 calories when it actually has about 20. But this is East meets West--the dressing is actually a fawn color. The reason it's brown is that it's mixed with some BBQ sauce. I'm from Texas--I need my fix.

Photographic Evidence

I consider this photographic evidence that I do, on occasion, eat a sandwich with two slices of bread. Sliced deli ham, spinach, Mexican 4-cheese blend, and honey mustard. The cup has the yummiest spread I came up with--kefir mixed with hummus and cumin.

Four Nut Oats

Oatmeal spread with Better Than Roasted's Just 4 Nuts Butter (review soon!). The nuts are pecan, walnut, almond, and cashew. And there are a few glugs of almond milk. Yum.

Bulking up Decadently

Cottage cheese with chocolate whey powder, unsweetened cocoa powder, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and strawberries. This was good. My protein whoredom was saited.

Midnight Snackies from Above

Manna Carrot Raisin bread with raw almond butter. Review soon, darlings.

Grilled Veggie Eggy Half-Panini

A slice of toasted Nature's bread with grilled oyster mushroom, zucchini, and eggplant, topped with an egg and a 4-cheese blend.

Indian Cabbage Scramble

Holy shit, I just discovered turmeric. What a lovely, versatile spice! Cabbage scrambled with some oyster mushroom and egg whites, sprinkled with a bit of cheese and sesame oil.

Attack of the Fresh Produce

Chicken, eggplant, zucchini, and oyster mushroom stir-fried with sesame oil. A side of steamed bok choy and a nice sunny=side up egg. Spiced with tumeric, cumin, garlic, and pepper. I got all these beautiful veggies from the Korean market! Mmm, fresh veggies!

Kabocha Mac & Cheese with Bacon and Zucchini

Check out Sophia's blog for the genius of this dish. It was cheesy and pumpkiny and absolutely an orgy in your mouth.

An Eggcelent, Nutty Start

A slice of Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin Bread topped with raw cashew butter and a dash of maple syrup. Half a banana (topped with cinnamon, and egg whites scrambled with a little bit of cabbage.

The Ultimate Midnight Snack

Egg whites microwaved with chocolate whey, stevia, and unsweetened cocoa powder, and topped with almond butter.

Four Score and Lots of Protein Ago

Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin Bread with a poached egg, half an Oro Blanco, egg whites, and a vanilla protein crumpet (with a drizzle of sugar-free maple syrup).

Pumpkin Tteok!

Pumpkin-stuffed tteok topped with almond butter and nestled in cottage cheese, spiced with cinnamon.

Indulging!

Arctic Zero, in chocolate and strawberry banana, topped with frozen papaya, almonds, and a small Newman's Orange Chocolate Chip cookie. I really like the chocolate flavor but I'm not a fan of strawberry banana as a flavor combo in general.

[Review] Coffee Bean Direct

2009-10-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

Would Kant have made more bloody sense if he had a morning cup of java?
The world will never know.

Who else's morning is officially screwed if she doesn't get her coffee? Considering all the health benefits of coffee, it's an irreplaceable morning staple.

Coffee snobs may hang me for it, but I love good flavored coffees. But I am picky about them. There is a perfect median, a categorical imperative that dictates the delicate balance between flavor and coffee. Some coffees carry only the faintest trace of their prescribed flavor, others load it down and make you feel like someone poured syrup in it.

Coffee Bean Direct, with their Cinnamon Blueberry Cobbler flavor, has struck that delicious balance.

A few days ago Coffee Bean Direct was kind enough to send me a coffee sample. Established in 2004, Coffee Bean Direct offers many lines of coffees and teas. Their coffees feature a flavored line, which includes darling titles such as Peanut Butter Cup, Vermont Crunch, and Creme Brulée.

The bag of Cinnamon Blueberry Cobbler I received instantly revved my excitement--it was super fresh, with a strong smell of coffee, cinnamon, and a dash of fruitiness. Those who've lingered too long in the flavored coffee aisle at Central Market know the difference between old flavored coffee, which smells like granny perfume, and the fresh stuff, which smells heavenly.

Even better, the flavor itself really delivers. Cinnamon can easily screw up a good cup of coffee (just try stirring some in sometime) but here it dives over the radar. The blueberry flavor is soft, but pleasant and emboldened by the cinnamon.

I have another reason for singing Coffee Bean Direct's praises: they don't ignore the friggin coffee. It drives my bonkers when coffee companies think that just because they threw a few nuts or coconut bits into the grounds that no one can taste cheapo coffee. The coffee makes its presence known--it's a light roast, but still distinct--but is happy to show off the blueberries and play up the cinnamon.

You know, the boyfolk should pay attention to this coffee. A very gentlemanly coffee.

The Cinnamon Blueberry Cobbler flavor was sweet even without sugar, but splashing some milk in brings it to a whole new level of yumminess. Then again, I always liked my pie with milk.

I would not forgo real blueberry cobbler to slurp this puppy down, but my morning cup of java rocked.

Don't Be a Pussy--Try It!

2009-09-29T21:31:00.000-07:00

I've noticed there are consistently a few foods that people just flat out refuse to eat. But if you close your mouth and think of England you might be missing out on some of the most awesome food ever plopped down on Earth!

There are tons of foods that brim with great taste or rock the nutrition front--or both.

So don't be a pussy. If you see one of these misaligned yummies, take a big Girl Scout bite. The worst that can happen is a stealthy spit into your napkin.

- Calf's Liver

Who saw the Doug episode on Nickelodeon and made a solemn vow never to eat liver and onions? But does anyone remember Doug eventually tried liver and onions and didn't die? Calf liver (the best kind of liver) is a delicious meat with a very unique, hearty taste. It's also packed with iron, B12, copper, vitamin A, selenium, folate, zinc, vitamin C, niacin, riboflavin, and oodles of protein. And don't throw a hissy fit over the cholesterol; unless you have cholesterol problems, cholesterol in food isn't going to hurt you (as long as you don't go on a calf genocide and eat a whole barn).

Liver and onions is a delicious dish, but don't fry the liver. It tastes delicious when broiled and topped with juicy, sauteed onions. Try 'em caramelized with some balsamic vinegar for a tasty twist. Just don't overcook!

- Kimchi / Sauerkraut

Not only is it cabbage, but it's fermented cabbage! It's like World War II and St. Paddy's Day rolled into one big dinner of supersuck!

Or not.

Kimchi is a great textural mix of soft and crunchy, with just enough heat to give it some kick. It pairs beautifully with fish, in a wrap, on chicken--it's incredibly versatile. Sauerkraut is tangy and delicious and makes any meat or bean dish 20 times more awesome. Put it on a hamburger for a mind blowing experience.

On a health note, those hwarang and visigoth warriors weren't axe-chucking badasses for nothing. Fermenting the kimchi and sauerkraut results in enhanced phytochemicals and immunity-boosting lactobacilli, not to mention all the fibery and cancer-fighting goodness inherant in cruciferous vegetables.

- Seaweed

"I don't eat weeds above ground and I'm not eating 'em below ground either!" -- My Dad

Seaweed is a delicious veggie that too often plays second fiddle to fish and rice. My favorite way to eat seaweed is to get the unsalted dried sheets of nori and tear them into chips. Instant goodness! Seaweed, with its unique but not hyper strong flavor, works GREAT as the lovechild of a tortilla and lettuce cup. I also like to crumble it onto salads and other veggies.

Seaweed is loaded with vitamins and minerals. For a veggie, it also has a high level of protein. There are so many types of seaweeed out there that I can't begin to describe them. You gotta catch 'em all!

- Alligator

Yes, I am indeed from Texas. But don't give me nasty fried alligator. Give me some roasted tail! Alligator is a fantastic meat that no one ever notices. Or if they do, it's always "Ewww, GATOR?!" Well-made alligator tastes like a cross between veal and chicken, with a similar texture.

Meanwhile, alligator meat is extremely healthy. It is low in fat and very high in protein. But what makes it a powerhouse is that itcombined the health beniefets of land meat and seafood. It's packed with iron AND omega-3's!

- Prunes

Forever banned to the pantries of your granny, prunes deserve to return to the light. Dates are sexy but prunes get their name changed to dried plums, I guess in an effort to save the species. Oh, silly people.

Prunes are little bombs of fiber, potassium, and beta carotine just waiting to kickstart your system. Because they also contain chemicals that can have a laxitive effect, they also kickstart other things if you had a fuckton of fiber but forgot to drink enough water. Ahem.

I actually use these in place of dates in a lot of recipes. They have less sugar, more vitamins, and taste delicious. And they are the only dried fruit that Jillian Michaels encourages.

College Cuisine

2009-09-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

I have no desire to post daily eats, but I had fun posting my last "best of weekly roundup."

Also, I would like to discuss something. This blog, by its very name, has always carried a weight loss slant. In case I haven't made it clear, I'm no longer trying to lose weight. In fact, I'm trying to gain muscle weight.

But Damn the Freshman 15 does not necessarily mean losing the Freshman 15, just not letting all those late night pizza jaunts add it.

This blog's focus is healthy, adventurous, balanced living. Which is why I want to make College Cuisine a weekly or so feature, to show that it IS possible to be a healthy foodie, even on a college campus. But indulgently healthy. As I said, I'm not trying to cut any weight.

Anyway, onto the eats!

Kimchi Tuna Salad Wrap

Tuna mixed with sesame oil, basil, garlic, pepper, and cheddar. And kimchi! Wrapped up in some nori. Tuna and kimchi make a great flavor combo.

Brusselly Veggie Bowl with Cheesy Zucchini

Beneath the cheese lies a hearty blend of basil and pepper. I love my veggie bowls! This one was spiced with garlic, basil, salt, and pepper.

Tteok Bites and Egg Pucks

Sophia and I found the cutest little tteok bites at the Korean market. I like them because they make great pre-workout instant energy...and they taste good. This tteok in particular has sesame paste and peanut powder. It's the return of the egg pucks! Egg whites cook so well in the microwave, and taste awesome when spiced with Chinese 5 Spice. Rounding out this fabulous breakky is cottage cheese topped with apples, almond butter, and bee pollen.

Crazy Mexy Platenanza

Sometimes stuff just tastes better when it's all tossed together. Beneath the egg is chicken. This finishes off my Trader Joe's peach salsa, which paired awesomely with the kabocha. Cumin and cinnamon are among my favorite spice combos.

Sweeter Than It Looks

A Fig Newman, Orange and Chocolate Chip Newman cookie, piece of frozen papaya, and a drizzle of almond butter. Atop...nope, not ice cream! This is actually part of my Arctic Zero sample, which you can expect a review of soon. Arctic Zero is made of win.

Btw, this is part of my "get comfortable with being a healthy teenager" plan. I had gotten WAY too uptight about sweet treats. So I'm eating a small dessert every night now. But I like making it count. And Fig Newmans and cookies are made without preservatives and artificial yuckies. Healthy? For my mind!

Chicken Wraps and Grilled Zucchini

This features my new favorite spread--hummus and gochujang! SO GOOD. And I'm so happy cabbage is coming back into season. It rocks. Half the chicken is in the nori, the other half is still a cutlet.

Kefirlicious Breakfast Bowl

Apples, kabocha, Kashi's Autumn Wheat Cereal, all crusted in flax seed. Topped with kefir! I love kefir. Sprinkled with cinnamon and ginger.

Verdant Veggie Scramble

Spinach, cabbage, and grape tomatoes, scrambled up with egg, and spiced with rosemary and pepper.

My challenge to you: stick some veggies in your breakkies! Seriously, I feel so much better when I have vegetables in my breakfast. I just prefer sweet breakfasts. Alas, conundrum!

Kefir and Kabocha

The sweetness of the kabocha and the tanginess of the kefir make a great flavor combo. It's a nice, warm dish--the kabocha has been thoroughly nuked. The white thing is a almond-butter drizzled protein crumpet.

What is a protein crumpet? Merely protein powder mixed with some egg white and/or milk. When mixed with more egg white, you get a big puffy muffinish thing. When mixed with a bit of milk, you get a crumpet. They can be flavored any way you like, and mixed with all sorts of things like nuts and berries.

French Toast Ham and Brie Melt

I'll let Sophia reveal the deets on this gorgeous creation. 'Twas our Thursday lunch! Talk about a party in your mouth!

[Review] Clif Mojo Bars

2009-09-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

Some of the most interesting things in life walk the line. Androgynous singers, labradoodles, Heathers, and the taste of salty-sweet.

Jareth, the male(?) version of salty-sweet.

With all the comfort of sweet and the nip of salt, foods that strike the perfect note can send your taste buds into knee-buckling bliss.

Clif Mojo Bars want to meet this desire, and hopefully not cause too many awkward looks if one moans in chewing pleasure during O-chem. But do they make me weep salty-sweet tears? Not quite, but they make a fair effort.

I tried two flavors, Mountain Mix and Peanut Butter Pretzel.

What I noticed about both bars was the better-than-decent nutritional stats.

Mountain Mix

Peanut Butter Pretzel
They have a surprising amount of protein, and fewer carbs and sugar than I would have thought. Yeah, there's salt, but it's a sweet and salty bar. And check out those four grams of monounsaturated fat! That the protein comes partially from soy is a bit irritating, but soy's cheap. What I do like is that it's pretty balanced--I'd never eat a bar for a meal, but it makes a good complete snack.

I don't consider anything with added sugar to be a total nutritional rockstar, but these bars have more to offer than, say, a Planter's trail mix bar, or even a regular Clif bar.

But screw nutrition, how does it taste?

The Mountain Mix has chocolate chips, but not too many, so it was not overwhelming. The almods are the best part--big chunks that crunch. It's nice noshing on the pretzel bits too. The raisins were discreet. Overall though, this bar did not knock my socks off. It wasn't bad, just nothing I'd write home about. I can't say much bad about it, but nothing would make me buy another one.

The Peanut Butter Pretzel, however, takes the other road. The peanut butter chips, while a bit of a copout, give the bar a pretty big peanut flavor. And peanut butter and pretzels are a match fit for a 80's fantasy movie. I wasn't rocking in peanuty bliss, but it did make class more enjoyable. I would consider buying this flavor again, though I'm curious how it compares with the roasted honey nut flavor.

No paroxysms of salty-sweet pleasure rocked through me while my history of media professor elucidated on Nellie Bly. That's probably a good thing. Clif Mojo Bars are pretty tasty, but dethrone none of my favorites.

Kitchen Foolery; College Cuisine

2009-09-21T23:00:00.000-07:00

Last year you were treated to the crazy concoctions of a microwave and mini fridge. This year, I have a simple kitchen. What's a college girl with a stove eat?

This is me trying to eat healthfully, happily, and in balance. No musings on the nature of fate, just some eats!

Indian Omelet

An omelet stuffed with spinach, broccoli, chickpeas, and cheddar cheese. Why Indian? It's spiced with curry powder, turmeric, cumin, and garlic. Yum!

The Greek-Korean Connection

An eclectic snack hastily pulled together (I'd already eaten most of it before snapping the pic). Hummus, kimchi, spinach, nori, and gochujang. A lovely blend of flavors! Hummus and gochujang go very well together. I basically made little spinach-hummus-kimchi wraps using the nori.

Breakfast Bowl

A true breakfast of champions. Greek yogurt atop Kashi Autumn Wheat cereal with raspberries, walnuts, and bee pollen. That brown holey thing is a protein crumpet.

Ode to Peanut Butter

Oat bran, low fat ricotta, and a spoonful of peanut butter between them. Ricotta is wonderful because it absorbs flavor so well. Topped with a few of my roomie's Reese's Puffs Cereal and sprinkled with pumpkin pie spices and stevia.

Mango-Topped Chicken Sammie and Broccoli

Open faced sandwiches ftw! A piece of yummy bread toasted and topped with cucumbers, onions, cheese, and a big chunk of chicken, and slicked with ginger-mango chutney. And who doesn't love broccoli?

POM Power Chicken with a Tale of Two Sweet Potatoes

POM-marinated chicken with spinach, Brussels sprouts, and a Japanese sweet potato topped with almond butter and kimchi

The chicken is a drool-worthy concotion of Sophia's--chicken cooked with POM juice! I was in heaven! Guys, start cooking with POM--it's tart enough not to make the meat seem sugary, but still makes it juicy and sweet. The Japanese sweet potato features my favorite sweet potato condiment, almond butter, and Sophia's recommended topper, kimchi. Both were delicious!

The Shrimp Gold

Pizza topped with cheddar, Cajun shrimp, ground beef, peppers, olives, and corn, and driven into droolworthiness by a sweet potato mousse-filled crust. I wish I had cooked this. It's actually from Mr. Pizza, a nifty little pizza place in Korean town. Check out Sophia's review!

Pumpkin Tteok and Cinnamon-Roll Eggs

The orange thing is a Korean rice cake stuffed with pumpkin and topped with soy powder. ME eating rice, pumpkin, and soy flour in one meal? Holy hell! Cinnamon-Roll Eggs are egg whites mixed with cinnamon, stevia, and butter extract (ha, we were out of real butter). The white sauce is kefir! I was experimenting.

Kabocha Ships and Chicken

Kabocha with pumpkin pie spice, chicken with red wine vinegar, and a side of steamed veggies. My first time trying kabocha! Yummo! The slices look like little boats!

Now class, what did we learn?

Cooking = best procrastination ever

Dr. Strangelove

2009-09-18T02:47:00.001-07:00

Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Pad See Ew.

Belly of the Best? Bite me.

I'm really trying to establish balance this year. As many successes I had last year, balance was not one of them. For example, if someone even suggested I eat a cheeseburger, I most likely would have bitten his head off.

Yeah, a healthy diet is good, but I've come to this conclusion: Moder-frickin-ation

Some people can dedicate copious amounts of their time and energy to sprouting their grains, cultivating their private herb garden, and cornering the market on raw dairy.

Not me.

I want to live a healthy lifestyle--but in a world of healthy balance. I eat lots of veggies and whole food. I weight lift 3-4 times a week. I walk constantly throughout the day. Naughty, I know, but I'm currently not doing much in way of cardio.

Last year, I kept my diet to an ultra-strict health regiment. I exercised vigorously almost every day. Eating out was always accompanied by "Uhh...steam that, leave that off, switch that..."

For the record, I'm totally cool with customizing orders. I mean, it's only practical. Dressing on the side, always! But expecting the overworked cashiers at a busy foodcourt to care overly much about your pickiness? There are limits.

There was a dark side to my "healthy" lifestyle. I missed some fun opportunities to run out to greasy spoons with friends. I never went to Waffle Club. I would go to the gym because, fuck it, I had nothing better to do.

This is not a picture of health.

Meanwhile, take a look at some of the stuff I've eaten over the past few weeks that would have made me cower a year ago:

Umami Hamburger
(utter foodgasm)

Chicken Piccata
(saaaaauce!)

Pad See Ew
(wow. just wow.)

And guess what? I did not magically turn into this:

After many hours of suspicious deliberation, I figured out why.

I don't eat this stuff every damn day at every damn meal. Yeah, I may lunch on Pad See Ew, but the vast majority of my meals are closer to this:

There Will Be Broccoli

I also discovered a long-guarded secret: how to eat high-calorie stir-fried noodle dishes and not be saying "MOO!" the next day. How can this be?

Don't eat the whole damn takeout box. They give you a lot of fucking food. You don't need all of it. So leave some of it. When I was overweight, I would have wolfed down the whole plate and have something just as caloric for dinner. No wonder.

I have a lingering fear of gaining back all the weight that I lost. Actually, I am trying to gain a few pounds of muscle, but that takes time and dedication. I also eat foods that freak me out. But I look at the scale and see no difference. My tongue has not rotted out of my mouth for touching a white burger bun. I'm slowly growing more comfortable with freaky foods...like hamburgers.

And I must give a shout out: Sophia, the little darling from Burp & Slurp, has been such a dear friend. Also a magician! Somehow she's got me ordering focaccia bread, cheeseburgers, and NOODLE DISHES. This is the girl who feels a twinge of fear when passing a ramen bar.

In conclusion, one may do many healthy things, but still have a less-than-ideally healthy lifestyle. Last year, I did many healthy things. But my lifestyle was not healthy. Worse, it was not happy--there is a reason I'm on Wellbutrin here, folks!

It's balance. As long as most of my food is green and good, I honestly don't think some indulgences are going to kill me. Scratch that. If they do, I'd still prefer it to being a 95-year old half-senile dying granny who drives her nurses crazy because she refuses to touch nonorganic applesauce.

White Girl's Take on Korea

2009-09-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Burp and Slurp's Sophia and I go to the same school. As partners in foodieism, Sophia has taken it upon herself to give me a taste of Korea. On Saturday (after one of the tastiest burgers in my life) we popped by a Korean market and got me all stocked up on Korean goodies. Kimchi rocks! I'll post more on what I got later, but here are a few new things I've tried.

This is a white chick's take on Korean food. Any Koreans out there, look in horror as I bastardize your cuisine!

Korea Invades Veggie Land with Cocktail Sauce

Ingredients:
- Base of greens (I used flat mustard greens and brussels sprouts)
- Shrimp (3-4 oz.)
- Kimchi
- Korean Pickles
- Roasted Seaweed
- Sesame Oil (I used a tsp)
- Ginger, Garlic Powder, and Pepper to taste

Korean Cocktail Sauce:
- Dollop of Gochujang
- Slightly larger dollop of ketchup

Heat the greens up in the microwave. Top with kimchi, pickles, and seaweed.

Shrimp can be hot or cold. Toss those suckers in too.

Mix the ketchup and gochujang to form the sauce. Spread onto the shrimp (and onto the greens if you like)

This was tasty! The kimchi adds a yummy layer of spicy-sweet crunch to everything. The pickles are interesting; they are not as sour as American pickles. The seaweed is a great topper. And I'm pretty proud of my cocktail sauce--it takes ketchup to the next level.

And...could it be...I'm starting to develop a taste for spicy food?!

Korean BBQ Sauce

- A simple mix of BBQ sauce and gochujang. It tastes delicious on chicken.

Korean Wormwood Rice Cake

If you think I made this, please evaluate your context clues. Haha, Sophia pointed these out and I had to grab one. So delicious! It isn't sweet...but in a good way. It actually felt substantial. The almonds, beans, and pumpkin were super tasty. I'm still not entirely sure what plain wormwood tastes like, but it tasted pretty damn good in the rice cake. The texture is weird and gooy...but intriguing! And the cake was made from brown rice, so I'm considering it pretty healthy.

I had it with Sweetheart Eggs (eggs scrambled with cinnamon, ginger, stevia, and a pinch of salt) and a teeny drizzle of yogurt.

And I'm not lying about the substantial part. I was FULL after this breakky.

Salad Savvy (Part 2)

2009-09-11T22:50:00.000-07:00

In my before-last post, I chatted about my salad love. But that was a hazy, general love. I also talked about restaurant salads, but that was pretty basic.

Now, let's get down to business.

What are, in my opinion, two of the best salads in chain restaurantdom?

California Pizza Kitchen's Moroccan Chicken Salad

"Moroccan-spiced chicken breast with crisp Romaine lettuce, roasted butternut squash, Medjool dates, fresh avocado, toasted almonds, fresh beets, chopped egg, carrots, dried cranberries and red bell peppers. Tossed with our champagne vinaigrette."

Oh my goodness. This salad wins at everything. It has tons of protein, healthy fat, good carbs, scintillating texture, interesting ingredients, and feels like a very well rounded meal. Now, if I'm watching what I eat, I tend to nix the almonds because the avocado and egg give plenty of good fat and CPK piles on enough almonds to give a squirrel allergies. Sometimes I'll nix the dates, because the cranberries have antioxidants and tang while the beets, squash, and carrots give ample sweetness.

And unless you want two meals, just order the half salad. The full size has been known to rupture stomachs. Of horses.

Panera Bread's Fuji Apple Chicken

"All-natural citrus-herb chicken, mixed field greens, romaine lettuce, vine-ripened tomatoes, red onions, pecans, Gorgonzola, apple chips & white balsamic apple vinaigrette."

If you want to make this salad substantially healthier, ask for the dressing on the side and dip. Touch the cheese or pecans and you DIE, because they are one of the best nut and cheese flavor combos ever. The apple chips are the crowning glory. I think adding some fresh apple would make this salad rock even harder--luckily, if you order the You Pick Two, you can ask for an apple! Chop the sucker up and it's crunch time.

But the best salads are the ones you make at home! If you are bored or the veggie muse just ain't knocking, here is a recent salad I concocted. It is a great mix of protein, fat, and carbs, a careful balance of savory and sweet, and there's even a bit of kick!

Miskito Coast Salad

Ingredients:
- Bigass base of mixed greens
- ~1/2 c cucumber, chopped
- ~1/2 c nopales, chopped
- 2-3 smallish guavas, chopped
- 1/2 c black or kidney beans (I only had garbanzos)
- 4.5 oz. cooked shrimp
- 1 tbsp sesame or avocado oil
- 2 tbsp salsa (a smoky fruit one works best)
- Cumin, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- Cayenne, pinch (or to taste)
- Cilantro, to taste
- Ginger, to taste
- Salt, to taste

Combine all veggies and fruit except the greens base with the beans and shrimp. Add spices and sesame oil.

Stick in the freezer until chilled (just not frozen)

Remove and toss with salad. Top with salsa.

Cold and delicious! If you like, swap the oil for avocado.

Culinary Adventures!

2009-09-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

We are sorry to interrupt this broadcast of Salad Savvy, which will return after this very special message.

Culinary adventurers Mimi and Sophia have kicked Calbi BBQ's teeny-portioned ass by creating epics of Mexican-Korean Fusion.

Nori Taquitos
(recipe)

Guacamole and Gochujang Tostadas
(recipe)

Sophia has given a fantastic account of the complexities of our dishes, but let me just say this:

Guacamole and gochujang have at last been reunited in the bonds of love. And their reunion was sweet. I suspect they first parted ways when our ancestors emigrated from Africa...cuz, you know, all the best chilies and avocados used to grow in Africa.

The paramours would comment, but they were too busy making love in my mouth.

And to all of y'all who obsessively read Burp and Slurp: nee neener neener, I got to cook with Sophia! We had so much fun!

This meal was great for me for a second reason. As some of you know, I do not have the best relationship with food right now, despite my love of it and of a healthy lifestyle. But when making this little fusion delight, I didn't think of calories! It may seem silly, but it's big to me, as I'm really trying to kick calorie counting.

And oh my gosh, hold the presses, but when I didn't think of calories or balancing nutrition, the meal turned out healthy, yummy, and perfectly balanced all by its damn self! Tons of veggies, protein from the meat and cheese, good fats from the avocado and cheese, and nice crunchy carbs from the corn tortillas. It was perfectly filling too-- sating, but not stuffing

Sophia, in her infinite awesomeness, saddled me up with some great parting gifts: Voskos Greek yogurt, a packet of nori, a shot of gochujang, and some of Dave's Killer Bread.

A more formal review later, but Dave's Killer Bread is amazing.

Of course, I had to play with my new goodies when dinner rolled around! I thought it was time to break out an old favorite of mine, the Hotshot Creamy Cuke Sammie. I hadn't made it in a long time, so I just used one slice of bread in case I fucked it up, but here's the recipe.

Hotshot Creamy Cuke Sammie

I love cool cucumber sandwiches. I also love hot sandwiches. How to attain both in one bite of sandwichy goodness? Gather round!

Ingredients:

- Cucumber, sliced
- ~2 tbsp Greek yogurt
- ~1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- Dash of ginger
- 1 or 2 slices of bread

This recipe requires a dash of finesse. For the filling to be cold and the bread to be hot, you have to be quick.

In a small bowl, combine the cucumber, yogurt, vinegar, and ginger. Stick it in the freezer.

Break out the panini maker, Foreman Grill, or frying pan. If you have all 3, opt for the panini maker or Foreman Grill. Prep your instrument accordingly. Now, go walk your dog or watch Project Runway for 8-10 minutes.

Return to your kitchen and be sure your grill or pan is hot. If using a pan, make sure it's on high heat. Place the bread in the microwave for about 8 seconds, just to jump start heating. Remove the yogurt mix from the freezer. It's ok if it's started to freeze a little.

Spread the mixture onto the bread. With your fingers, pinch the edges of the bread, so that the mixture has a bit of a "pocket" effect.

Pop into the grill or pan. If using the grill, do not press--just let it close naturally. If using a pan, flip once halfway through. You're going to have to eyeball done-ness, as appliances differ, but only grill long enough to give the bread a hot toasting and seal up the filling.

Remove and eat!

I had this with eggs and broccoli. Because I was in playful mood, I wrapped some of the broc-and-eggs in a sheet of nori...but I haven't mastered wrapping yet, and the broccoli wanted to say hi. Very tasty though!

Salad Savvy (Part 1)

2009-09-06T15:57:00.000-07:00

Delish!

I put in a kickass workout this morning. I needed food, and I needed it NOW! At times like this, I reach for a salad.

Years ago, I turned my nose up at a salad. "That's not a meaaal," I would drawl. "That's an appetizer." Shush silly girl, you're embarrassing me.

But my teeny-bopper, Tostitos-addicted self had a point. A lot of salads suck. Iceberg lettuce? Croutons? Blech!

Here's what I love about salad:
- Endless customization. Lettuce, cukes, and tomatoes can work in a pinch, but they are so dull. A salad can carry any theme. Want a nosh of Italy? Reach for the oregano and marinara. China more your hunger? Bring on the sesame seeds and bamboo shoots.

- Perfect hot-day food. Chilled salads are divine on a hot day. No further explanation needed.

- Don't need bread or crackers. I'm by no means carbophobic, but I definitely feel better when I get more of my carbohydrates from veggies, nuts, and beans. And since I usually break my fast with a big bowl of oatmeal and might snack on some crackers with cheese/peanut butter, a salad breaks up the monotony.

- Great way to get in veggies. Veggies fight cancer, constipation, aging, weight gain, and a fuckton of other horrible things. You can't eat too many of them Green, fibrous ones that is. Don't pin me to calling a potatoes a free-for-all food!

- Perfect opportunity for a marriage of flavors and textures. Foodie to the bone? Savor sweat and salty? Is the crunch of almonds followed by the crack of carrots a symphony to your ears? Salads = foodie artwork

- Convenient. Throw a bunch of crap in a bowl and you've got a salad. Simple, beautiful.

Yet many salads seek only to trick you, to load you down with a gross concoction of processed fats or poorly balanced nutrition.

Here's where good salads go bad:

- Ultra-processed junky dressings. Olive oil is calorically dense, but it's good for you. High fructose corn syrup-ridden Kraft concoctions are not, and only exist as a way for mothers to get little Bobby to eat his carrot sticks. The best salads, in my opinion, have so many great mix-ins that they don't need dressing. But here are a few lubricants I'm fond of:

Vinegar (balsalmic, apple cider, rice, etc.)
Healthy oils (olive, sesame, walnut, flax, etc.)
Salsa
Lemon/lime juice
All-natural dressings, such as Annie's and Newman's Own

- No protein. Y'all know I love my protein. I find a lot of salads very imbalanced. Veggies rock, but you do need something for your body to build with. And a sprinkling of almonds and dash of Parmesan are not adequate protein if the salad is the entire meal. My favorite salad proteins:

Chicken
Shrimp / scallops
Lean beef
Fish (tuna, sardines, salmon...)
Eggs
Yogurt / cottage cheese (depending on the salad, of course)
Beans

- Too much or too little fat. Many salads are monsters, dripping ranch dressing, spewing candied nuts, and squelching with cheese. Alternatively, some salads, usually the creations of "healthy eaters," max out at the gram or two of fat from the steamed shrimp. A meal needs some fat, just not a fuckton. And the fats should be healthy. Best salad fats:

Raw nuts and seeds
Healthy oils
Fatty fish
Avocado
Cheese

Yes, I said CHEESE. Run, protect your children! I am sick of people dissing cheese. It's full of protein and calcium. Yes, it has fat, but you need saturated fat--what do you think keeps your cellular walls rigid? The American problem is eating too damn much of it, and wrapping it up in packages also loaded with trans fats and processed junk. But a moderate amount of pure cheese is also pure heaven.

Navigating Restaurants

Here is the doozy. Restaurants love to fuck up salads because too many people love eating fucked up food. Often, a salad you get at a restaurant is overloaded in nuts, cheeses, dressings, meats, sugar, salt, and sometimes even a taco shell. Sometimes, a salad is so delcious that its glory should not be bismirched, such as Burma Superstar's Tea Leaf Salad. But lesser affairs are open season.

I'm all for a healthy balance, and no longer trying to lose weight, but many people are battling the bulge, or have goals that require a strict attention to diet, such as fitness models. So take these nuggets of salad wisdom.

Ask for the dressing on the side. If it's a creamy dressing, consider swapping for a lighter one.

Take nuts or cheese but not both, or request both to be applied lightly. If you are a control freak, ask for cheese or nuts on the side so you can apply them yourself...but you might get looks.

Consider how the toppings are prepared. Meats can come drenched in grease. Nuts can come baptized in sugar. Follow your conscience and perhaps make a few customization requests.

Do not butcher a salad within an inch of its life. Seriously, if your salad is completely different than the one on the menu, just request (with many pleases) a custom salad.

Treat a salad as you would any other meal. A lot of people equate a salad with a light lunch. Often this is the case. A Mexican taco salad is not. Other salads are culinary works of art, and just as filling as non-salads. So don't think that the lunchtime salad will always balance a cheesecake dessert.

Next Up: Restaurant Salads and a Mimi Salad Recipe!

Carrying Myself Along

2009-09-03T19:18:00.000-07:00

This week has passed in a blur! Classes, newspaper stuff, life. This thing:

Not quite sure what it is?

I would say "spectacular view," but that would be insensitive.

Lunch today was the first time I had all week to truly just sit, enjoy my food, and talk. And lunch was interesting.

The Korean-Mexican fusion taco truck, Calbi, was in the area. I had a bowl version of their shrimp burrito.

Not bad, but the sauce could have been way more flavorful, and it was not big enough for $6.

No, what made lunch awesome was that it was with Sophia, the awesome writer of Burp and Slurp!

It's so great going to the same school as Sophia; we have many culinary adventures ahead!

Perhaps it's the new environment, or just the healthy pressure of school, but I definitely feel better. I'm not "fixed," but I think I feel myself starting to knit.

Last year was crazy. I transformed myself physically, advanced my writing career, aced my classes, forced my way into my dream school, and slept 4 hours a night. By the end of the year, I was a sculpture held together by Elmer's glue. Having a goal in sight kept me going. Once there was no more goal, I broke apart at the cracks. Being thrown out of my house and given an apartment didn't help matters.

So now I'm mending. I'd say something about broken wings, but that's getting too much into emo territory. I prefer my pants not to strangle my ovaries, thank you.

Recently I went to the Getty museum. A few pictures really spoke to me.

He's so beautiful and proud, but look at his eyes. I have no idea what he's looking at.

E cosi desio me mena. "And so desire carries me along."

I think that is where things turned for me. I wasn't carried along, I was driven on. Driven by myself, of course.

In horseracing, the jockeys of champions always say "He was like a cannon," or "I asked and he went." Ultimate racehorses are not driven across finish lines by whip-cracking jockeys. The desire to win is already inside--the jockey merely channels all their power and strength and chooses the best opportunity to let it run.

I do not want a no-stress year, because that would imply I'm doing nothing. But my goal is to curb the whip and just let it flow. Again, I have to trust myself. I was lazy in earlier parts in my life. But I have to trust I've grown, and just need a few taps to get going.

Seabiscuit ruptured a ligament. Smarty Jones fractured his skull. Both returned to the track and left others coughing dust.

This dinner I whipped up the other night has nothing to do with horse racing, passion, or Wellbutrin. But I would like to dedicate it to Sophia, who has been such an amazing friend to me.

Haha, it's not quite as burpilicious, but it's got a few inspirations. Some cheese and squash would have made it a truly fitting tribute, but what can you do? I'm a car-less college student.

Eye of the Broccoli Storm
~ inspired by Burp and Slurp

Ingredients:

Broccoli
Shrimp
Sunnyside Up Egg
Trader Joe's Mango-Ginger Chutney
Spices
- Ginger
- Ground Coriander
- Garlic
- Pepper

If you don't see how I made this, go back to to 1st grade. Hint: Microwave + frying pan = 10 minute yumminess

Snacks Alive!

2009-08-29T22:51:00.000-07:00

Sadly, not my snack attack.

My schedule is strange. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I'm in class from 10-3:30, with a one hour break from 10:50-12 and a 10 minute break from 1:50-2.

I need a nice snack for around 12-ish, to tide me over until 3:30, when I can go have a nice late lunch.

Methinks it's time for a SNACK ROUNDUP!

I need snacks that are --

- Nonrefrigerated
- Portable
- Mix of protein, carbs, and fat (can be multiple items)
- Low on smelliness/noise

Here are some favorites of mine that fit the bill:

- Larabars/Purebars
- Fruit/sliced veggies
- Nuts
- Protein brownies/pancakes
- Mini PBJ's with Trader Joe's Mini Pita Pockets

Anyone got any good noshing suggestions?

Cinching up the Power Lunch

2009-08-15T16:55:00.000-07:00

Leptin just got pwned.

What's that French chick, Mireille Guiliano, always say? Take time to eat and savor your food. Good advice. But Guiliano is a CEO. One finger-snap and a leisurely lunch is hers. What about the gophers of the professional world--girlies who want to stay healthy even as the boss begrudgingly allows a 20 minute lunch break?

This summer is the first I've spent in an office environment. I've observed endless disturbing, strange behavior, from the Master Cleanse to "Nah, I don't need breakfast. Coffee fills me right up."

I'm lucky enough that my boss doesn't care if I eat at my desk. So taking as long as I want to eat my food isn't a problem, which is good, because those "I'm full" hormones take about 20 minutes to kick in.

But what about those who have 15 minutes to shove something down their throats? It's so easy to overeat when you're wolfing down food. Worst of all, you won't even realize it until 20 minutes later when an alien takes residence in your belly and says "MOOOOOO!!!"

Obviously you can't skip lunch--that's tantamount to a mid-afternoon crash and recovery at the non-skinny side of Starbucks. But here's a trick for preventing an overfull bellyache when you only have ten minutes for lunch.

Cinch it up!

Your hormones may take their sweet time kicking in, but your gut's right on schedule. It will expand well before you're feeling full.

So wear a belt! Wear it at your natural waist, snug but not cinching. When you feel that belt getting tight, take a moment to consider if you should be full.

With a normal wrap or sammich with some fruit and veggies on the side, or a (hopefully healthier) fast food concoction, I find this works well. Obviously if your lunch is a Powerbar (boo!) or a voluminous salad (yay!) this might be inaccurate. Moreover, even if you aren't full, the sensation of that belt getting tighter should make you pause and consider.

Food should be savored. But not everyone frolics in the land of Cafe Gratitude. Or lives in Europe. But no excuses, and more importantly, no bellyaches!

Unbridling Trust

2009-08-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

If you don't trust the horse, don't even try. (I've done this! So much fun!)

Alas, no recipes, tips, or product reviews. I will actually be using this blog for...blogging. Scary stuff. It may be rambly. It may be boring.

Remember those Horse Whisperer-esque films with the wild/abused/abandoned horse and the old man/preteen girl/depressed widower who eventually earns its trust? Right now, I'm at the part where the horse says "Oh hell no" and prances just out of petting-range.

I have a hard time trusting myself. Despite all logic, I worry about regaining the weight I lost. But I'm ready to stop being so planful. During my freshman year, I was totally that cranky lady who checked your fake ID at the door and almost got you written up. No room for manuvering. Utmost care in knowing what I was putting in my mouth.

I know things now that I did not know before. In the beginning, I NEEDED to learn proper nutrition, hidden calorie traps, and why I was at an unhealthy weight. But I know those things now. So I think it's time to stop being so ramrod straight about it.

I want to trust my body. Instead of basing my fullness off of a prethought plan, I want to simply feel it. And to trust that it's all I need.

Like many things in life, I pick the crappiest time to start. I'm currently taking Wellbutrin, an antidepressant. I haven't been on it long enough yet for its stuff to fully kick in, I definitely think it's helping. However, a side effect is appetite supression and this odd little tweak on my taste buds--certain things taste a bit strange. I'd rather have that than those crazy meds that cripple your metabolism and make you super hungry (coughPaxilcough). But it means I'm going to have to be extra sensitive to my body.

This is my long, rambling way of saying I want to master intuitive eating but dear Lord I'm feeling antsy.

I'm not throwing everything to the wind. My new college will have a ton of franchises right on campus. I think it's good to know what's in those. But for "normal food," I'm trying to loosen up.

Has anyone made this transition? What are your thoughts?

It comes down to trust. Trust that I've ingrained good habits. That I can be normal and have a healthy balance. And that, after too many years of neglect, my body would rather let bygones be bygones and not headbutt me into a water trough.

[Recipe] Pumpkin French Toast

2009-08-02T01:24:00.000-07:00

Growing up, I was a pancake girl. Only as I got older did I begin to appreciate the crispy, golden beauty that is well-made French toast...aka the stuffed special at iHop.

But plain jane French toast can get boring. Anyone who's have a mid-summer craving for pumpkin and just found a leftover can of Libby's, check this out. I give you...

Creamy Pumpkin French Toast!

Ingredients:
For the toast
- 2 slices bread (I prefer Ezekiel or Genesis)
- 1/2 c egg whites
- 1 tbsp milk
- 2 tbsp canned pumpkin
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or your favorite blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- Sweetener to taste

For the spread
- 1/4 c yogurt (I used Fage 0 plain; Greek works REALLY well here)
- 1/4 c canned pumpkin
- Spices and sweetener to taste
- Dash of vanilla extract

Get a pan hot on the stove.

In a big bowl, stir together the egg whites, milk, spices, vanilla, and sweetener.

Dredge bread in eggy mix. Really soak it all up!

Start cooking in pan. Once the bread has "dried" a tad, spread one side with a tablespoon of the pumpkin. When it comes time to flip the bread, spread the other side with the remaining tablespoon.

In a separate bowl, combine the ingredients for the spread. Whip it up nice and fluffy.

Serve French toast on a cute plate. Slather with the spread or dip. Top toast with cinnamon is desired. A tasty side is scrambled egg whites with cinnamon and sweetener.

Nutrition:
300 calories
45 g carbs
2 g fat
28 g protein
* calculated with 2 slices of Ezekiel bread, 1/4 c Fage 0, and stevia

Weird Summer

2009-07-28T02:12:00.000-07:00

Heya tootsies.

So, this summer has been weird. While on the web I normally assume a persona of vim, verve, and badassery, there is an alternative side to me that I'm not so proud of. But we have to make peace with both. Let the less fortunate side mewl in a corner and pretty soon it will claw its way out.

My summer has been strange and accounts for my absence. Let us count the ways--

-- On account of the family shenanigans, I got my first taste of living alone. Liberating, bitter, disturbing, relieving...living alone is a complicated taste.

-- I got into USC, the zenith of all my educational dreams. The hazy zenith, that place that seems so far away you barely have feelings for it.

-- I was diagnosed with depression. Genetics, a year of batshit hard work, being booted from home, and letting that not-so-sexy side of me grow fangs in the corner...well, after nine months of holding everything at bay, everything finally said "fuck you" and drove me to into the land of Lexapro. I'm not recovered. But I am dealing.

I'll never claim I was very active in this niche, these cute, funny, awesome people whose lives have so much zest and high spirits. But for any who glance at my blog, I'm back now.

And I guess I have new perspective.