Make your dinner recipes idea work wonders

The proper wedding etiquette at rehearsal dinners suggests that the couple choose wisely and pick out the members of their guest list. It is really up to them who they will invite.The proper wedding etiquette at rehearsal dinners really has no restrictions as to how many the guests are. It can be simple as the couple only, can include their immediate families, and also those guests at their wedding party with their spouses or their significant others.

The proper wedding etiquette at rehearsal dinners also has no regulations on what a couple intends to lay-out a motif or theme for their rehearsal dinner. Either they make it a bash or they can invite all their out-of-town guests.To make your dinner recipes idea work wonders, you must ensure that your cupboard in the kitchen stocks everything. The ingredients used have to be fresh and stored carefully. If you are using dried herbs then keep them in an airtight bottle or jar. Apart from other factors, make sure that these are healthy dinner recipes. People nowadays are very health conscious and would not appreciate if you serve them meals full of calories. While preparing these recipes, care must be taken to ensure that the meals are healthy to eat and will not be on the wrong side of nutrition.

Your grocery list should contain items of low calorific value. But it is not possible to prepare some easy dinner recipes which you can substitute it with something else. For example, cashew nut has more calories than peanuts but can you replace cashew nuts with peanuts? The entire taste of dinner recipes would change if you add peanuts in place of cashews. Therefore, it is to be noted that one has to be intelligent enough during the shopping of ingredients.

Use fresh herbs as much as you can. Make sure that you cook them while keeping the vessel closed. This helps the herbs to get infused and absorb the flavors. An intelligent and careful planning in your grocery list can earn you praises of nutrition and calorie conscious people. Preserve items in an air tight container to retain the freshness of ingredients. Last but definitely not the least, cook the food with your heart and soul. Don�t cook because you have to feed so many mouths.

The meals are healthy to eat

If you are using dried herbs then keep them in an airtight bottle or jar. Apart from other factors, make sure that these are healthy dinner recipes. People nowadays are very health conscious and would not appreciate if you serve them meals full of calories. While preparing these recipes, care must be taken to ensure that the meals are healthy to eat and will not be on the wrong side of nutrition. More commonly the idea of having a turkey dinner only usually exists during the thanksgiving celebration that is celebrated and remembered all over the world.There are times when the bell rings and you open the door. Whoa!!! People have descended from somewhere.

You can't refuse them because they are friends and family. And then they drop a bomb. They announce that they would love to eat at your place. Are you panic-stricken? You would surely like to cook for them simple yet delicious and easy dinner recipes and earn praises. Here, are a few ideas for healthy dinner recipes which can save your day as well as can be your saving grace. To make your dinner recipes idea work wonders, you must ensure that your cupboard in the kitchen stocks everything. The ingredients used have to be fresh and stored carefully.  The concept of having a turkey dinner during thanksgiving is be thankful for what you are given. Many would ask why it is always a turkey dinner and not a chicken or meat dinner.

There have been many stories that circulate the idea of having a turkey dinner specifically in comparison to other possible dishes. Seeing that it is a special occasion, many feel that having a turkey dinner is one that would best represent the occasion as it is something that you would not expect to eat on a regular basis. The other occasion where a turkey dinner is favoured a lot is during the Christmas and Easter holidays. The symbolism of having a turkey dinner has always been to represent something unique and special that only comes around once every year. As you may have already seen in your own houses, there is a lot of importance given to having the perfect turkey dinner. There are many ways that you can go about in making the perfect turkey dinner.

There are thousands upon thousands of recipes that have been passed down from generations to make the perfect turkey dinner that the entire family would remember. There is no specific recipe that one can use to make a nice turkey dinner as they will vary from culture to culture. Some cultures are known to have their turkey dinner mild where as other prefer their turkey dinner to be more spicy and hot.

The proper wedding etiquette at rehearsal dinners

Usually the parents can not afford all of it and still suggest the couple invite everyone to go to a catered party.The proper wedding etiquette at rehearsal dinners are usually recommending that the family of the fiance shoulder all the expense for the rehearsal dinner. Most people are ignorant of this rule, however, they should be properly notified of this proper wedding etiquette at rehearsal dinners.The proper wedding etiquette at rehearsal dinners suggest that though the fiance's parents does not realize that they are the ones who should be hosting the rehearsal dinner, its up to the couple to bring the subject up.The couple can always opt to host the dinner themselves.

The proper wedding etiquette at rehearsal dinners can remind them that the rehearsal dinner does not have to be a big rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal dinner can be as big as a take home pizza party or simple grilling burgers at the backyard. Sometimes, the family of a fiance has no idea that they are supposedly hosting the rehearsal dinner.  The proper wedding etiquette at rehearsal dinners also tells us that it is not advisable not to invite the families. The couple must note that no matter who or what they are, they are still the fiance's parents and will soon near enough be the in-laws.No matter what they have done or they act.

A couple must remind themselves to start off on the correct foot by giving out invitation to the fiance's family. Trouble might brew if they will not be included in the rehearsal dinner. The proper wedding etiquette at rehearsal dinners reminds couples to look at the situation as a possible way to kick back just before the wedding. The couple must instead concentrate on the family, on each other and the wedding party.

The proper wedding etiquette at rehearsal dinners also can be said that rehearsal dinners are a good time to present the guests with the thank you gifts. Instead on dwelling on what the parents might do during the rehearsal dinner, the couple must instead be happy that at this very special moment of their life, their families are together.

Bisphenol make plastics and other materials

The FDA’s recommendations are consistent with the path that we at Whole Foods Market have taken over the past few years. Our position has been that there are enough questions about BPA that, when there are functional alternatives available, it makes sense to avoid the use of BPA. Back in February of 2006, we were the first major retailer in the U.S. to ban baby bottles and child cups made from BPA-containing polycarbonate plastic. More recently, we’ve been working very closely with our canned food suppliers to help them transition away from the use of BPA in food can linings.

The FDA’s recent recommendations validate the steps that we’ve already taken and will continue to advance. Complex issues of food safety are seldom simple, and there are almost always trade-offs. BPA epoxy resin is the best lining for cans, in terms of protecting food integrity, extending shelf life, and ensuring the safety the food inside, but as we’ve learned, it may not be as safe as the industry once believed. Our goal is to continue to push for food packaging materials that protect food and keep it safe, without the leaching of BPA or any other toxic or estrogenic materials. We hope the FDA’s new direction on this issue — both in recommending the minimal use of BPA and in committing to researching the questions — will give new energy and momentum to the food industry’s transition away from BPA.

Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a chemical used to make plastics and other materials used in many food packaging applications, from can linings to baby bottles (see my last post on BPA for some background). Many of us who have been working on the BPA issue for years were quite surprised, on Friday, to learn that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had changed its position on the chemical, admitting for the first time that they, too, have questions about its safety. For as long as they’ve had a position on BPA, the FDA’s position has been that it’s safe and suitable for food contact. With this announcement, the FDA admits that “on the basis of results from recent studies using novel approaches to test for subtle effects, both the National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health and FDA have some concern about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and young children.”

To translate: There still isn’t conclusive evidence that BPA is harmful, but there are a number of question marks that need to be resolved through research – and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) was just awarded about 30 million dollars to pursue that research.

Project Green Challenge is the chance

I am proud to say that Project Green Challenge (PGC) is an initiative of youth, by youth, for youth! Our team of more than fifteen interns, staff, partners and a number of newly-appointed PGC campus reps has spent the last four months working tirelessly to develop the program structure, corporate and non-profit partnerships, and our multimedia platform. Have you ever felt as if you wanted to “do something,” but didn’t know where to start?

Project Green Challenge is that chance, your entry point into action and sustainability. Our upcoming 30-day eco lifestyle challenge is mobilizing high school and college students nationwide through fun, simple and high impact daily steps. We challenge you to complete themed actions each day in October. Can you do it? Can you take your life from conventional to conscious? 

We have spoken with hundreds of high schools, colleges and universities about grounding this initiative, incorporating the Challenge into campus culture, extracurriculars, even curriculum. Involve your campus – because this is a nationwide competition for schools too. Win an on-campus Sustainability 101 event, eco resource fair, organic lunch for leadership council, ice cream party, green cleaning supplies, and consultation with Teens Turning Green to set your school on a greener path.

This is the beginning of a dynamic, collective, student-led movement to shift the paradigm!We are using social and traditional media, a robust digital platform, and strong on-campus presence to bring the Challenge to you, into the hands of our generation. As a twenty-year-old, I fully understand the need for relevant themes and straight-forward actions to ensure the Challenge is accessible to young people and has maximum impact.

Take Party in Project Green Challenge

I am proud to say that Project Green Challenge (PGC) is an initiative of youth, by youth, for youth! Our team of more than fifteen interns, staff, partners and a number of newly-appointed PGC campus reps has spent the last four months working tirelessly to develop the program structure, corporate and non-profit partnerships, and our multimedia platform. Have you ever felt as if you wanted to “do something,” but didn’t know where to start?

Project Green Challenge is that chance, your entry point into action and sustainability. Our upcoming 30-day eco lifestyle challenge is mobilizing high school and college students nationwide through fun, simple and high impact daily steps. We challenge you to complete themed actions each day in October. Can you do it? Can you take your life from conventional to conscious? 

We have spoken with hundreds of high schools, colleges and universities about grounding this initiative, incorporating the Challenge into campus culture, extracurriculars, even curriculum.Involve your campus – because this is a nationwide competition for schools too. Win an on-campus Sustainability 101 event, eco resource fair, organic lunch for leadership council, ice cream party, green cleaning supplies, and consultation with Teens Turning Green to set your school on a greener path.

This is the beginning of a dynamic, collective, student-led movement to shift the paradigm!We are using social and traditional media, a robust digital platform, and strong on-campus presence to bring the Challenge to you, into the hands of our generation. As a twenty-year-old, I fully understand the need for relevant themes and straight-forward actions to ensure the Challenge is accessible to young people and has maximum impact.

Fresh-from-the-orchard apple cider

Fresh-from-the-orchard apple cider is the base for this easy jelly recipe.Because apple cider is unfiltered, this jelly looks a bit cloudy in the jar—much like a glass of apple cider. The intense, tangy apple flavor is complemented by a luxurious, molasses note from the brown sugar. I used cinnamon sticks, cloves, and lemon zest, but any toasty, fall-friendly spices would be delicious. Experiment with whole allspice berries, star anise, cardamom pods, or slices of fresh ginger.

Drawing inspiration from my favorite apple desserts, I threw a few warming spices into the pot and swapped some of the white sugar for dark brown. The results taste exactly like caramel apples. Making jelly can be a complicated, multi-step procedure.

Usually, you must first extract the juice from the fruit by boiling it down and filtering it through a special jelly bag. But by using fresh apple cider you can skip all of that. Instead, it's a simple process of simmering the cider with sugar, spices, and powdered pectin, which ensures a good set.
　　
This recipe can be prepared and preserved from start to finish in about an hour. The jelly would be a delicious accompaniment to buttery breads like challah or brioche, or try it with ginger or pumpkin bread

FDA’s public stand on sprouts is saddening

FDA’s public stand on sprouts is saddening. These officials know full well that this commodity is too risky to consume, they do not eat them, themselves. Yet, they avoid confronting the issues. After the terrible tragedy in Europe, it is now time for a shot across the bow to the entire sprout industry. We need FDA to say "get rid of the unsafe operations in your industry, make your product safely or we will put you out of business" and not, "it’s an individual decision ". When unsafe cars or tires kill people, we don't hear Washington folks saying "buying these unsafe cars and tires is an individual decision". Its not a matter of "tastes good", or "good for you", these products are too difficult to make safely, even under the best of conditions, and they pose a continuing public health threat. This is the same ploy we hear from the raw milk industry.

If Mr. Bagby was doing all he could to make a safe product, I might have some sympathy for him, but he operated an unsafe and unsanitary operation according to FDA. There is no excuse for the use of unsafe compost. 

Tiny Greens constituted a public health hazard for at least 4 months when it caused the last outbreak and so my feeling is the operator cannot be relied on in the future. Does he expect his auditor to stop him the next time he takes a short cut with food safety? The next time it could be devastating, knowing what we know now about the ability of the most severe strains of E. coli to contaminate these products. I am sure FDA is hoping that the sprout industry will "kill itself off", which I believe will eventually happen, but how many consumers will have to die before our public health folks will tell the American public the plain truth, "raw sprouts are too dangerous to eat".

No responsible grower of any produce item I have ever met would do such a thing. Mr. Bagby continues to mislead the public, he gives no evidence that his products are safer today than they were yesterday; having an "audit" once a year is not a food safety program. The changes he should have made were likely obvious and likely were put off, that is until he sickened consumers. No respectable, conscientious retailer should ever offer sprouts for sale. A firm like Jimmy Johns seems to me, totally reckless. Even after several illnesses from their sandwiches, they continue to offer sprouts. So I must conclude it’s a popular item and thus the firm is willing to take the risk.

Specific foods

Dr. Small found that while drinking the shake, heavier subjects showed different responses in their brain's reward centers than the other volunteers, suggesting that weight gain had actually changed their brain responses, making them more impulsive when it comes to overeating."One of the hallmarks of addiction is brain change," says Dr. Small. Dr. Small notes that individual genetics plays a big role, as does the specific foods people are eating. Unsurprisingly, people are unlikely to become addicted to things like carrots or apples.

The most troublesome treats are highly processed and refined, much like narcotics. For years, the prevailing wisdom has been that overeating is caused by a lack of discipline. But now some in the scientific community say there's evidence that willpower isn't the only issue. Dr. Dana Small from the John B. Pierce Laboratory and Yale School of Medicine studies how certain foods affect our brain's reward centers. She fed obese, overweight, and slender volunteers small amounts of a milkshake through a tube while they rested inside and fMRI scanner."Just like with addictive drugs, where you refine a plant, a poppy, to produce opium, so too do you do that with food," says Dr. Small.

"Those foods can pack more of a reward punch. And those foods can become to the brain, perhaps on par with addictive drugs. "So how does one treat an addiction to something we all need to survive? One group thinks they have the answer. Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous is a 12-step program addressing physical and emotional ties to food. The group, which has more than 4,000 members, says they manage their addiction by avoiding certain foods, and eating only three measure meals each day. Those who work the program swear it works for them."Chuck" used to weigh 420 pounds. After eight years in the program he's down to 180.

He says recovery is not just about weight loss, but about learning to think about food the right way."I didn't like how my life was so I used food as a drug to kind of make me check out of my reality. Now I look to food as just fuel, fuel to get me through the day."Though Iris Williams has not joined a formal program, she says she has finally regained control of her eating after a painful wake-up call. Five years ago her father died suddenly of weight-related health problems. That encouraged Williams to have gastric bypass surgery. Now 130 pounds lighter, she says he focus isn't on food, but living."I feel alive. I feel alive. When I was at my heaviest I did feel dead."

Desirable fats

Omit Parmesan cheese and have Magically Moist Chicken on table in less then 30 minutes.

Calories 370, Calories From Fat 210, Saturated Fat 4g, Trans Fat 0g, Total Fat 23g, Cholesterol 100g, Sodium 390g, Total Carbohydrates 2g, Sugars 1g, Dietary Fiber 0g, Protein35g, Vitamin A 2%, Vitamin C 2%, Calcium 8%, Iron 6%

Polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) are "desirable fats" that include both Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. When substituted for products high in SAFAs and not increasing caloric intake, foods with Omega 6 and Omega 3 can help maintain heart health and help the body digest important nutrients. You can find polyunsaturated fats in vegetable oils like canola, corn, sunflower and soybean.

Monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) are "desirable fats" and better choices because they can actually help maintain heart health when substituting them for food with saturated fats. They are found in olive, canola, and peanut oils, as well as foods like peanut butter and mayonnaise.

Saturated Fats are "less desirable" fats. Solid or nearly solid at room temperature, they are used in many processed foods. All animal fats (meat, poultry and dairy) contain some saturated fat. They encourage the body to produce more cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart disease.

Trans Fats are "less desirable" fats. While some trans fats are found naturally in meat and dairy products, most are created through a manufacturing process that turns fat from liquid into solid fat. The solids — used to keep manufactured foods fresh — have been linked to elevated LDL or "bad" blood cholesterol levels and increased risk of heart disease.

Try to choose wholegrain or wholemeal varieties

Most people in the UK eat too much fat, sugar and salt, and not enough fruit, vegetables and fibre.
Fruit and vegetables are a vital source of vitamins and minerals. It's advised that we eat five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day.There's evidence that people who eat at least five portions a day are at lower risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers.

What's more, eating five portions is not as hard as it might sound. Just one apple, banana, pear or similar-sized fruit is one portion. A slice of pineapple or melon is one portion. Three heaped tablespoons of vegetables is another portion.Having a sliced banana with your morning cereal is a quick way to get one portion. Swap your mid-morning biscuit for a tangerine, and add a side salad to your lunch. Add a portion of vegetables to dinner, and snack on dried fruit in the evening to reach your five a day.

Starchy foods such as bread, cereals, potatoes, pasta, maize and cornbread are an important part of a healthy diet. They are a good source of energy and the main source of a range of nutrients in our diet. Starchy foods are fuel for your body.

Starchy foods should make up around one third of everything we eat. This means we should base our meals on these foods.

Try and choose wholegrain or wholemeal varieties, such as brown rice, wholewheat pasta and brown wholemeal bread. They contain more fibre (often referred to as 'roughage'), and usually more vitamins and minerals than white varieties.Fibre is also found in beans, lentils and peas.These foods are all good sources of protein, which is essential for growth and repair of the body. They are also good sources of a range of vitamins and minerals.

Around 15% of the calories that we eat each day should come from protein.Meat is a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals such as iron, zinc and B vitamins. It is also one of the main sources of vitamin B12. Try to eat lean cuts of meat and skinless poultry whenever possible to cut down on fat. Always cook meat thoroughly. Learn more in Meat.

Fish is another important source of protein, and contains many vitamins and minerals. Oily fish is particularly rich in omega-3 fatty acids.Aim for at least two portions of fish a week, including one portion of oily fish. You can choose from fresh, frozen or canned, but canned and smoked fish can be high in salt.Eggs and pulses (including beans, nuts and seeds) are also great sources of protein. Nuts are high in fibre and a good alternative to snacks high in saturated fat, but they do still contain high levels of fat, so eat them in moderation.

Good Breadmakers make Good Bread

There are always breadmakers at thrift shops. And I brought home a newer model with more buttons and settings.Once again, I very carefully followed the instructions. The manual pointed out how important it was to accurately measure the flour. Measure? Yes, measure.

Except there were no weights given for any of the ingredients.The first loaf wasn't a complete disaster as with the other machine, so I tried tweaking the recipe, but it never quite met my standards. With every loaf there was a giant gaping hole from the paddle—it was a pain to remove from the bread, requiring quite a bit of digging and gouging.

For something that was supposed to be so easy, it was very frustrating. So that's my breadmaker experience.I thought it might have something to do with being at a high altitude, but the second breadmaker had instructions specifically written for high-altitude baking. No matter what I tweaked, the bread was pretty darned sad.That's why I was really skeptical about trying this one, but I was equally curious. Would a new, and more expensive, machine make better bread that I'd be proud of?One of the first things I noticed: it had a raisin dispenser.

Yes, I strongly dislike raisins. I used to say that I hated raisins, but I've recently downgraded to strongly dislike. But that's OK, the dispenser works for any non-sticky, non-raisin add-ins like nuts or seeds.I washed the washable parts and had a loaf in the works within 20 minutes of the box landing on the doorstep. I opted for the standard loaf.

What Are We Eating Everyday?

Americans eating daily calorie average is 2700 calories! Mostly dairy and cheese and tons of other things that aren’t so healthy that could be replaced with a better amount of flavor and FUN vegan food choices!

Cornelia Guest designing vegan handbags. As you can see at the Valentino luncheon the other day she’s no stranger to fine couture! She said she’d trade me one for some apple cobbler as soon as they are in.

Deal.Everyone’s doing it! Even Chef Jamie Oliver as he cooked a vegan extravaganza for the Sea Shepherd Crew. Nice.Alicia Silverstone-Cause she’s cool and wants you to be too. Check her website to keep you motivated.



Or You can have your cake and Sunday brunch too! When in Portland, check out Sweet Pea Bakery, fab whoopee pies that I remember plus tasty savory treats as well. See what Quarry Girl, the most famous vegan blogger in the world, has to say about it.

In The Korea Restaurant

Little Korea at Solaris Mon’t Kiara has become the turning point for me and it was a blessing in disguise really. How so? Because we actually planned to have chicken rice at Segambut for lunch. But the plan took a drastic turn from having chicken rice to Korean BBQ because the restaurant was closed.
I might have finally found a Korean restaurant that is able to convince me that Korean BBQ is nice. My previous dining experiences at various Korean BBQ restaurants just to name a few like Daorae and Go-Gung had been mediocre and borderline forgettable.

However, Little Korea is not a surprise stumble as a friend actually mentioned about this place before. He commented that the BBQ pork tastes like char siew and that comment of his stuck in my mind ever since. Korean BBQ that tastes like char siew? That’s new and worth trying alright. Somehow, we knew we won’t go wrong at Little Korea as it was full of Korean customers, which you won’t see of course because this photo was taken just before we left.

If you are wondering, rice, noodles, soups and dosirak (Korean’s bento equivalent) are available here but the BBQ is no doubt the most enticing one. Looking at the menu Ju Mool Luck (Rib Eye in House Marinated Sauce) @ RM68 looks pretty darn awesome so this was my pick. Although the portion looks small, the amount of meat is actually quite a lot after you spread them out on the grilling pan.
　　
There is nothing to fault on the Korean Scallion Pancake‘s taste (RM25) but it could have been much more delicious if it was crispier. Well, that’s just me though.The marbling on the rib eye is excellent as you can see, well worth the price paid. Besides the normal side dishes with unlimited refills, we are also given a steamed egg and kimchi soup. I don’t have too much love for kimchi but the steamed egg was really good.

　　
Anyway, you won’t have to cook the meats yourself as the waiters will do that for you. I am guessing they don’t want the customers to over or undercook them. Also, you have a choice to have the meats grilled in front of you, or they can also do it in the kitchen for you. We of course chose to have it done in front of us lah.

Healthy Food Of Beets and Cabbage

These grungy-looking roots are naturally sweeter than any other vegetable, which means they pack tons of flavor under-neath their rugged exterior. Of course, there are many superfoods that never see the inside of a shopping cart. Some you've never heard of, and others you've simply forgotten about. That's why we've rounded up the best of the bunch. Make a place for them on your table and you'll instantly upgrade your healthy food-- without a prescription.

Beets

Why they're healthy: Think of beets as red spinach. Just like Popeye's powerfood, this crimson vegetable is one of the best sources of both folate and betaine. These two nutrients work together to lower your blood levels of homocysteine, an inflammatory compound that can damage your arteries and increase your risk of heart disease. Plus, the natural pigments -- called betacyanins -- that give beets their color have been proved to be potent cancer fighters in laboratory mice.

How to eat them: Fresh and raw, not from a jar. Heating beets actually decreases their antioxidant power. For a simple single-serving salad, wash and peel one beet, and then grate it on the widest blade of a box grater. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the juice of half a lemon.

You can eat the leaves and stems, which are also packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Simply cut off the stems just below the point where the leaves start, and wash thoroughly. They're now ready to be used in a salad. Or, for a side dish, sauté the leaves, along with a minced clove of garlic and a tablespoon of olive oil, in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Cook until the leaves are wilted and the stems are tender. Season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice, and sprinkle with fresh Parmesan cheese.

Cabbage

Absent from most American kitchens, this cruciferous vegetable is a major player in European and Asian diets.

Why it's healthy: One cup of chopped cabbage has just 22 calories, and it's loaded with valuable nutrients. At the top of the list is sulforaphane, a chemical that increases your body's production of enzymes that disarm cell-damaging free radicals and reduce your risk of cancer. In fact, Stanford University scientists determined that sulforaphane boosts your levels of these cancer-fighting enzymes higher than any other plant chemical.

How to eat it: Put cabbage on your burgers to add a satisfying crunch. Or, for an even better sandwich topping or side salad, try an Asian-style slaw. Here's what you'll need.

4 Tbsp peanut or canola oil

Juice of two limes

1 Tbsp sriracha, an Asian chili sauce you can find in the international section of your grocery store

1 head napa cabbage, finely chopped or shredded

1/4 cup toasted peanuts

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Whisk together the oil, lime juice, and sriracha. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl and toss with the dressing to coat. Refrigerate for 20 minutes before serving. The slaw will keep in your fridge for 2 days. 

Shared with you My Eating Habits

I gained this weight without being a big partier (I have this thing against crowded rooms that smell like barf) and still going to the gym in a fairly regular way. So what the heck happened? A little something called: stress-induced emotional eating.

Days full of classes, pages and piles of homework, an up and down social life, planning for the future, maintaining a part time job and a bajillion headache-inducing hours in the library is pretty much what my college life consisted of. It’s not like it was all bad, but it certainly wasn’t easy. The only time things were remotely calm was in the dining hall, a place devoted to relaxing, talking and occasionally checking out that hot guy who wore sandals all year round (he was a rebel. It was great).

Also: there was unlimited ice cream, cereal, and hard to define yet amazing blondie brownie things almost every day.

If I could go back to college, I would recognize what I was eating – and why.
Most days, I believed I deserved that extra brownie or baggie of sugary cereal because the previous twelve hours had just been so hard. I had just spent 2 hours taking an American History essay test, or spent all day studying with a group, or watched an ex-boyfriend holding hands with someone else… it didn’t really matter what the genre was, if it had been difficult, I deserved a cup of ice cream.

When I was in college, I was a lot of things, but in tune with my body was not one of them. I wasn’t eating sweets because my body actually wanted them — I was eating sweets because my body craved rest, love, or security, and a brownie was a weak substitute. Instead of asking my heart what I really needed, I figured the hole residing in my gut could be filled with sugar. Because initially, sugar felt great. It was like a giant hug, and I could have as much as I wanted.

But we all know where that type of behavior leads, don’t we? Pants that don’t fit exactly like they used to and a self-esteem that can barely throw a punch.

Rewarding ourselves with empty calories and processed chemicals isn’t really rewarding ourselves at all. But learning to listen to that uneasy feeling, learning to decode the language of our restlessness, now that is a habit which will never do us wrong.

Of course, it’s all much easier said than done, but starting a mindful eating practice while you’re in college will put you light years ahead of most of the population. It’s not about restricting or should or shouldn’ts, it’s about tuning in to your body, asking it what it really wants and how it will feel if you indulge your initial impulse of a double scoop of rocky road. Questions like:

• Am I really still hungry?
• How will I feel after eating that second brownie?
• Is there an activity that would make me feel better? A conversation?
• Am I treating myself with love and compassion with this choice of food?

A different dinner At Over-time

We’ll spare you the details on how little we like brunch or entertaining in the prime of the day. But if we’re going to do it, this is the way we like it: Nothing fussy, everything tasty.

　　

There’s no real art to this, as far as I can tell, but here’s how I did it: Preheat oven to 350°F. Halve six tomatoes, slice one yellow onion, de-stem a dozen cremini mushrooms, and toss it all into a roasting pan. Drizzle very lightly with olive oil, salt, and freshly ground pepper. Place a cooling rack — the kind you use for cookies — on top of the roasting pan, and place one large coil of sweet sausage (or breakfast sausage if you have it), so that the drippings fall into the pan below as it cooks. Bake for 20 minutes, until sausage is mostly cooked through. Remove pan from the oven, put the sausage down below with the vegetables, place the strips of bacon on top of the cooling rack, and return to the oven. Bake for another 20-25 minutes, allowing the bacon drippings (like I said: best not to think about this too hard) to fall into the pan as it cooks. Remove from oven. In separate pans, warm the baked beans and fry a bunch of eggs, sunny side up. Put everything — except for the beans — on a platter, and top with the eggs. Serve with toast. Buttered toast.

If you were to call this a form of denial, you wouldn’t be wrong. Two weeks after coming home, we’re still denying, still holding on. This weekend, in homage to the few days we have our dinner spent in England on the way home from Paris, we had a fry up — cardiologists and vegetarians, avert your eyes — and kicked off our Sunday with an absurd plate of runny eggs, sausage, bacon, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, baked beans, and toast. Of all the unhealthy things we ate in England — to name a few: rock cake, apple tart, banoffee pie, Cadbury bars, clotted cream, rose and chocolate eclairs, scones, currant scones, cheese scones, lamb shoulder, beef roasts, fish and chips, Victoria sponge cake, summer pudding, maple pecan ice cream, etc etc etc — none was more bald in its unhealthiness, or more satisfying, than the fry-up. It’s one unapologetic, greasy, bursting plate of deliciousness.

Go Picnic This Weekend

　　

What does a camera bag have to do with gearing up for baby, you may be wondering? Well, I am going to be getting the Ginger bag (thank you, Epiphanie!), which will be serving as my camera-slash-diaper bag. And I am seriously giddy for the day that it arrives in the mail. Because I have kids and because I am a food blogger, I LOVE having my SLR camera with me, but I hate dragging around my camera bag in addition to my purse. (Plus, my camera bag has no alibi…because it’s U-G-L-Y.) So…I usually end up throwing my beloved camera in my purse or diaper bag, which honestly is not the smartest thing in the world. I shouldn’t be allowed to have a nice camera treating it the way I do.
　　

Ginger is going to be my solution. I only ever carry at most 1 extra lens around (if that), so I’ll have plenty of room for my wallet and diapers and other baby “schtuff,” and the adjustable velcro panels inside will be perfect for compartmentalizing. Plus the Ginger has lots of pockets. I’m a big fan of pockets in purses.

A Thim Dinner Class

Until about 8 months ago, I was the parent of a picky eater. Before you groan at the thought of yet another story about how a formerly chicken nuggets-eating child is now a gourmet, fear not. My five year-old remains such a bizarre—dare I say, contentious—eater that I’ve dumbfounded even the most experienced parents with my tales of his refusals of plain pasta and toast. He has never once allowed a bite of hamburger or macaroni and cheese to pass his lips, and his current favorite food is pea shoots.

And no, I’m not going to boast about his charming, eclectic tastes. Have you ever sat through a meal with a child who eats three pea shoots and then listened to him whine until bedtime because he’s hungry?
So clearly, this is not a story of a boy transformed. Most nights he can be found sitting at the dinner table, thinking up Dada-esque excuses for why he can’t sample anything on his plate. “My arm is very itchy, so I can’t eat anything.” Or: “Your shirt is too blue, Mama, and it’s making me not hungry.” Whatever might happen later to make him change his ways is nothing I can possibly imagine (and believe me, I’ve tried).
What did happen recently is that I had another baby, who, when he began eating solid food about 8 months ago, turned me from the mother of a picky eater into the mother of one picky eater and one child who eats anything. A child who, I should

probably be embarrassed to say but am not because I still can’t believe I actually gave birth to someone who loves food this much, literally snatched a cheese cracker twist out of someone’s hand at a party recently. Slung on my hip, he just whipped his fat little fingers out as we passed her in a doorway and whoosh—it was in his mouth in under a second. He was eating curry at 6 months (only because it didn’t occur to us to offer it to him sooner) and is so excited at the sight of the refrigerator door being opened that he can’t sit still in his high chair.
And here’s the thing: we didn’t do anything different with him than we did with our first son. It seems so clear to me now that all of those hours I spent wondering and fretting about what hand I might have had in turning my older son into such a nightmare at the table were wasted. I could have used them to do so many things, like write another book, or go for lovely evening walks in the park near our apartment, or eat ice cream after dinner. I could have been so happy!