another late night toast

The toast-ca-pades are back and will keep coming, in different forms of sweetness, savory or plainness, the never ending toast posts will never stop.
And yes, this is the third day of me eating toasts and I know I shouldn't do that, but I'm an adult going on to be an grown-up adult so I can still kind of do what I want.
Especially after sitting at a desk for four and a half hours just sitting and sitting with little people interaction.
I had eaten dinner an hour before my shift and was perfectly fine and full but then two and a half hours later, I was starving.
Like starving, starving, not a craving, STARVING.
Okay, I might be exaggerating a bit, but I was hungry.
I tried sending a "Help Me" SnapChat to my co-workers but there was no response, only views, so there was that. I tried not thinking about food, but then I had to continue on this blog and that didn't help. I then went away from the blog and tried working on my homework that had nothing to do with food, but my stomach still kept on growling.
Ugh, I counted down the hours until I was back in my room ready to eat whatever I could find in my pantry.
The clock struck eleven and I was done with my shift. I power-walked to my room, opened my pantry and made this toast creation.

Sweet Late Night Toast
two slices of bread
almond butter (or peanut butter)
bananas- chopped
dried cranberries
apples-sliced


Take two pieces of bread, and toast to your liking. While toasting, slice the bananas and apples. One toast is done, spread almond (peanut) butter on each piece of toast. Layer banana slices and apple slices on each slice and sprinkled dried cranberries.
Pair with cup of licorice tea or any kind of tea beverage of your choosing.
Snuggle in bed with it and sleep peacefully with a full satisfied stomach.

damn chia seeds part three

Yes after a week and a half of buying chia seeds, I still hold a grudge on them. They sit in my pantry waiting to be used and when I see them I stare at them angrily.
I shouldn't be angry at them though. They have produced delicious breakfast and although the texture is weird, they are very delicious and healthy as well.
It's always the super-expensive-cause-of-going-over-your-budget-food that is healthy for you....


The Chia Seed and all its benefits
- chia seeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids which help reduce inflammation, enhance cognitive performance and reduce cholesterol.
-chia seeds have an excellent source of fiber which also helps with reducing inflammation, lowering cholesterol and regulating bowel movements...because you know, shit happens
-chia seeds are also rich in anti-oxidants which helps the body from free radicals, aging and cancer.
-chia seeds can also last for two years without refrigeration (So my $7.99 is actually getting stretched)
-Chia seeds have lots of minerals (such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and manganese) which prevents hypertension and maintain a healthy weight and chia seeds are important for energy metabolism and DNA synthesis
- chia seeds give the feeling of being full and satisfied and lower craving between meals
-chia seeds are gluten-free
-chia seeds can replace eggs because when mixed with a liquid, they form a gel and increase the nutrient in food and when baking
-chia seeds can be digested whole
-chia seeds play an important role in regulating insulin levels

So to sum it all up, I should get over my anger on the chia seeds and be glad I spent the $7.99 on them because they are packed with a ton of good stuff that I need. Also the fact that they last for two years without refrigeration is pretty impressive me and my wallet.
To my chia seeds in my pantry, I am no longer angry at you. When I open my pantry door, instead of an intense stare, there will be a smile because you do so much good and you will make my dollar stretch.

Thanks chia seeds, and keep being you.


http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/top-10-health-benefits-chia-seeds-6962.html

and then there was dessert

You can't have dinner without dessert, or at least that's how I see it.
It was Sunday (so yesterday) and I was working on this blog/applying for jobs/drinking Starbucks/procrastinating/listening to music, when I craved s'mores and a whole lot of it.
Yes I think about food when doing this blog, it happens and it's human nature.
The only problem was that I didn't have graham crackers nor almonds. I sat and contemplated on what I could use in substitute for graham crackers.
I didn't have any cookies which is unusual because usually I do.
I didn't want to use bread because I felt that it would take away from the crunch that you would get from a s'more and also soggy bread is kind of gross.
So when I ventured home and looked in my pantry, it clicked. Oatmeal. I still have a lot of it and hopefully will use it all by the end of the year.
Oatmeal it was. It isn't the same as a graham cracker crust but it's better than not having a s'more, or a s'more cake.

Chocolate S'mores Cake with Oatmeal Crust
2-3 tablespoons of oatmeal
3 1/2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup of flour
2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon of baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 cup of chocolate chips (or chocolate bar chopped into chunks)
Marshmallow fluff or actual marshmallows

In a small bowl, take 1/2 tablespoons of butter and 1/4 cup of chocolate chips and melt in microwave.  Set aside.
In another bowl, take 3 tablespoons of butter, melt a little and mix with oatmeal. Take oatmeal/butter mixture and place it on the bottom of the mug and press the mixture down.
In another bowl, mix egg, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add in flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa and stir until thick batter forms. Add in melted chocolate butter and stir. Fold in any chocolate chips you have left and give it one last mix. Place the batter on top of the oatmeal crust. Add the marshmallow fluff or marshmallows on top.
Microwave for 1 minute to 20 seconds or 2 minutes depending on your microwave. If batter is gooey, microwave in intervals of 15 until fully cooked.
Add more marshmallow if you like or add more chocolate chips.
Share via social media and brag to the world how delicious it is. Because it is.

yo toast, tu toast, nosotros toast

We all like toast, let's admit it and with not having a kitchen, toast is our friend.
I bring this up, because my toast- ca-pades are back and my Instagram and blog will be consisting of toasts, lots and lots of toasts.
There are so many things you could do with toasts, which is why it's talked about so much on this blog, and you've seen them.
But you haven't seen them all.
Being that I don't have a kitchen and also it's the premise of this blog, toasts will be the spotlight of this blog and will hold a place in my heart and also my stomach as it was the staple of my meals throughout my senior year of college.
The toast-ca-pades will continue and probably this blog, that is TBD.

Avocado Toast with BCTP
2 slices of bread- toasted to your likeness
1/2 avocado- sliced and mushed
1/4 tomato chopped (T)
Blue Cheese (BC)
Pistachios (P)

Toast the bread to your likeness. While bread is toasting, the 1/2 avocado out of peel and into a bowl and mush until there are little to no avocado chunks (or mush to your likeness, some people like the chunks)
Once bread is toasted, spread mushed avocado on both slices. Take chopped tomato and place it on avocado toast, then sprinkle blue cheese and pistachios on bread.
Eat and enjoy the toast.

nutty butter

Peanut Butter. The foundation of all the elementary school lunches and the perfect substance to go with any fruit, Oreo or out of the jar itself.
It sticks to the roof of your mouth and is a fear to some people called Arachibutyrophobia. It is also the cause of many debates, one including me and my sister of whether one prefers crunchy or creamy peanut butter. I prefer creamy while she prefers crunchy, it is still a debate in my home and still drives my mom crazy when she has to buy one jar of crunchy and one jar of creamy peanut butter because my sister and I won't compromise.
My reason for being on the creamy peanut butter side: when eating a PB&J with crunchy peanut butter, I feel like I'm eating rocks in my sandwich and I don't like to eat rocks in my sandwich.
Regardless of its consistency, peanut butter has its perks. So whether you are with me and like you PB creamy or whether you are against me and on my sister's side (which is like cool or whatever I guess), peanut butter is good for you.
So set aside your differences (we will talk later) and let's gown down to peanut butter-y goodness.

Benefits of Peanut Butter
-PB contains unsaturated fats that lower the levels of harmful cholesterol in the bloodstream which helps reduce the risk of heart disease
-peanut butter has a good source of manganese which helps in removing toxic ammonia from the body and helps with tissue growth, bone development and wound healing after injuries
-peanut butter has a good source of niacin or Vitamin B-3 which is good for your metabolism, regulate cell growth and development in cell tissue
-peanut butter should be consumed in moderation because it has a high calorie content, so you should be having  2 tablespoons of PB. So don't eat the whole jar in one sitting, unless you are having a bad day/ you ran out of Nutella.

The article that got the information from didn't mention the creamy or crunchy peanut butter debate, but I'm certain that I am right. Mostly because this is my blog and because for once, as a younger sibling, I want to be right.

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-eating-peanut-butter-4189.html

throwback flashback Sunday

I couldn't think of a word to describe throwback and flashback that started with an "S".
If you know of a word please let me know, because I am struggling.


Before the creation of this blog, I was experimenting with cooking without a kitchen making salads and dessert in a mug, having fun with it and occasionally sharing it via social media.
But there was one creation that I failed to mention on this post and feel obligated to as it was a big challenge and I was just super proud of it.
For four years, I have been a proud owner of a waffle maker. Making waffles for me and for those around me, fulfilling people's lives with waffles and being the Leslie Knope of my friend group.
I was known for making waffles, it was a known fact. Just ask any of my past and current co-workers and they will tell you.
Or even just ask my friend Brandon, because waffles are the reason that we are friends.
I only used my waffle maker for waffles because it seemed obvious to do.
But then I started seeing articles on what you could make with a waffle maker. People kept tagging me on Facebook on these said articles. It was too good to be true. That could not last in the waffle maker. Why would someone want waffled-like scrambled eggs? I mean to each its own.
It wasn't until Christmas break that I utilized my waffle maker for something other than waffles.
I had bought cinnamon rolls because they were on sale for $5, but they stayed in my fridge for a couple of days.
I had thought that I would use them for when I went to a friend's house who did have a kitchen, but then I remember it was Winter Intercession and there was barely anybody at school. So I had to resort to something.
Seeing that one could make cinnamon rolls in a waffle maker, I decided to take the risk one Saturday morning over Winter Intercession.

Cinnamon Rolls in Waffle Maker
1 stick of cinnamon rolls

Heat up waffle maker. Open up the cinnamon roll can, and separate the cinnamon rolls. Place two cinnamon rolls on each square and close waffle maker.
Cook for 3-5 minutes.
Once done, take the icing from the cinnamon roll packet and drizzle icing over the waffled cinnamon rolls.
Pair with coffee and eat in happiness and the motivation to bake and cook everything in your waffle maker.

raining toasts & cats

It wasn't actually raining toasts and cats but it was pouring rain two days ago.
It was Friday night and I was in my bed watching Netflix, hashtag i'macoolkid. I couldn't sleep because I had slept 11 hours the night before after having a week of insomnia. I was there lying in my bed, awake watching Bob's Burgers just laughing and drooling over Bob's burgers. I then got hungry. Like really hungry. Like I needed something fulfilling and couldn't wait for breakfast hungry.
I really needed food in me.
I wasn't feeling granola, nor my typical desert in a mug that I would usually have at night. I wanted something salty, savory and bread-y.
Yes bread definitely bread.
It was perfect because I just had just saw a toast list on FoodGawker and was craving toast.
But I was too lazy to bring out my toaster, so instead I just ate it of an un-toasted piece of bread.

Salmon Toast with Goat Cheese, Pistachios
1 slice of bread
2 slices of salmon
goat cheese
pistachios

Take a slice of bread and spread goat cheese (or cream cheese) on it. Place salmon slices on it and drizzle pistachios or any nuts that you have like chopped almonds, cashews or peanuts.
Eat in bed and think of a punn-y name for it like Bob does with this burgers.

Punn-y names will be accepted for this toast in form of comments, texts or Facebook messages.
Thank you and good night.

the F word

There is nothing worse than hearing the F word. It's even more worse when the "F" word applies to you.
The "F"word being FAILURE.
I failed and it hurt and lowered my cooking self-esteem a little.
I thought this would never happen, especially while doing this blog, but it did.
I'm really sorry fellow readers. I'm sorry you have to see this side of me and realize that I am not a perfect cook. I hope you will still read this and be my friend, if not, I totally understand.

This is what happened.
I was scrolling through FoodGawker when I found a recipe for "Chocolate Avocado Pudding". When I first saw this I thought, "This is weird" but then I looked more into the recipe and saw that I have all the ingredients and then I changed my mind and decided to make it. I felt adventurous and part of this blog is to be adventurous with no kitchen.
Sometimes not being adventurous and being simple is okay. I learned that the hard way.

Disclaimer: This is the opinion of my experience with this pudding. Other experiences and other cooks may have different experiences.
End disclaimer.

Chocolate Avocado Pudding
1 ripe avocado
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons of chia seeds
3/4 cup of water
pinch of salt
Honey to sweeten

*Now the directions to this recipe required a food processor, in which I don't have and don't know many college students in dorms do so I mixed it all with a fork.*

Mix avocado, cocoa powder, vanilla, cinnamon, chia seeds, water and salt and mix all ingredients well. With a fork or spatula, mix well and make sure avocado is mixed in well and there are not too many chunky avocado.
Chill in fridge 30 minutes and eat out of bowl or mason jar.

Reason why it was a failure: I forgot to add the honey because when I bit into it, all I got was cocoa powder. It was not appetizing. The avocado chunks were large as you can see in the top left corner. 

The consistency was definitely not pudding. 

Not to make it a failure: Use a food processor or a beater to mix the ingredients and add honey at the end to make it sweet.

But like I said, this is my experience, you might like the taste of the cocoa powder and like seeing chunks of avocado in the pudding, because who doesn't like chunks of avocado? It's like a surprise in your meal.

I hope you enjoy this better than I did, and follow the recipe directions well.

Peace. Love. Chocolate. 

mush

I spoke about mush in a previous post, explaining my roller coaster relationship with oatmeal mush and how I have too much of it in my pantry, which I still do.
But this time, instead of making oatmeal and eating it, I am going to tell you about why oatmeal is good for you. Hopefully this will change your views on the tan, lumpy mixture and encourage you to eat more oatmeal.


Health Benefits of Oatmeal
-oatmeal contains soluble fiber which stays in your stomach longer which is why you get that full feeling in your stomach after eating it. Oatmeal makes you full to prevent people from overeating which can cause weight gain.
-soluble fiber also has shown to decrease LDL-"bad cholesterol" and decrease the risk of high blood pressure
- with oatmeal having a high fiber content, it also decrease the risk of colon cancer
-making oatmeal with milk, actually increased the protein and calcium
-adding fresh fruit to oatmeal increases the fiber, vitamins and minerals
-adding nuts to oatmeal will add healthy mono or poly unsaturated fatty acids and proteins which will make you feel fuller even longer


So there you go, hopefully these health benefits of oatmeal will help. So next time you are at the grocery store and at the breakfast aisle, grab the Mr. Quaker oatmeal or any other kind that you know and prefer and enjoy the tan, lumpy mixture.
Enjoy and be full.



http://www.healthyeating.org/Healthy-Eating/All-Star-Foods/Grains/Article-Viewer/Article/208/health-benefits-of-oatmeal.aspx

late night snack dinner

I complain about my Thursdays frequently on this blog. It seems like each Thursday gets longer and longer and more exhausting as this semester ends and my dinner time gets pushed back further and further.
This particular Thursday, was incredibly long.
Wake up and go to 9:20AM class
End at 10:30AM.
11AM Go to school cafe and do homework/ apply to jobs and cry inside.
12PM- Go to school pub and drink my feelings in a Hefeweizen
1-4:40PM- Senior Sem where
4:40-5PM- Eat fried pickles and pick up clothes to change.
5-8PM- Class
8PM-10PM- Gender Bender event in which I had to perform
10:30PM- Dinner

I know it's unhealthy to eat past a certain time and can take a toll on my weight but it was either starve or just face the extra pounds.
I decided to face the extra pounds.
Hopefully I didn't because the dinner I made wasn't a full on meal, it was more of a snack to fill me up for the night until breakfast the next morning.

Corn, Avocado, Black Bean and Tomato Salsa
1 small can of corn
1 avocado- chopped
1/4 cup of black beans
1/2 tomato-chopped
Salt
Pepper
Lemon Juice (from bottle or from lemon)

Take small can of corn and drain it and pour it in a bowl.
Take avocado and slice into cubes and place it in bowl and mix with the corn.
Drain black beans and mix with avocado and corn.
Take tomato and chop it into pieces and mix with corn, avocado, and black beans.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Mix one last time making sure all the components are mixed well.
*Taste test to see if there needs to be more salt, pepper or lemon juice or all three.
Serve with blue corn tortilla chips, pita bread, or bread or eat with a fork.

a few of my favorite things

You've seen the many pictures of food, the facts about food and what's in it and you've seen my eating habits going up and done, but what I haven't shared with you is the process I go through in between the grocery shopping and cooking.
When it comes time to creating something I have to get in the zone.
I know it sounds weird but I have to. I don't just whip up something out of no where and then call it a day with no effort. I don't cook like that.
When I have to cook, I clean what I can on my table and put on music, that's what gets me in the zone.
I have a specific playlist that I play when cooking and writing. It helps me get in the zone of cooking and it helps me prevent writer's block from writing this blog because there writer's block is not allowed on this blog at this moment.
No. If there is any sense of writer's block, I immediately put on this playlist. I cannot afford writer's block at this point in this project right as I am about to present sometime next week or the week after.
I put on this playlist when I cook/bake and write and sometimes I put on this playlist when I'm walking back from school or the library to calm my nerves and get my brain juices flowing for when I'm about to write.
Feel free to talk this playlist and do what you want. Listen to it when you cook, bake, write, do homework, lay in bed, in the shower or just blast it in your car or just read it and not do anything.


Estibaliz's Cooking Playlist
Budapest-George Ezra
Believe- Mumford & Sons
Running for Cover- Ivan & Alyosha
Shut Up and Dance- Walk the Moon
The Wolf-Mumford & Sons
Homecoming Heroes- The Head and the Heart
My Favorite Things- The Sound of Music

Yes I listen to The Sound of Music, don't judge me. I know you have a secret crush and love for Julie Andrews. Any person who has seen The Sound of Music has a love for Julie Andrews.
I won't judge you if you won't judge me.

Boogie on to this tunes or not, whatever floats your boat. If you have any tunes to recommend send them my way.

Thank you and have a pleasant tomorrow.

it happened one night...

It happened one time. Just one time. It was shocking when I woke up to find it in my bed. I was even surprised that I would do such a thing.
That's so not like me.
I would have never expected to do such a thing in my single-sort-of-adult-life.
I slept with my granola.
It is all such a blur, I don't remember it.
But weirdly, I don't regret it.

To explain, here is the whole story:
I woke up sleeping past both of my alarms and debated whether or not I should go to my one class of the day.
My excuse: I had nothing to wear.
Having it be my last semester of my academic career, it seemed like a legit excuse.
I ended up going to class and sitting through the hour and 25 minutes. After class I headed to my internship where I had a life-vent session with my boss and then stared at my computer for 20 minutes until it was time to leave at one.
Then I met up with my friend Brandon to the school pub where I was there for four hours and did this blog over and over and over and over until my computer was running low and my fingers couldn't type anymore.
I ventured back home and then it happened.
All I remembered was going through my pantry looking for granola, dried fruits and chocolates. I then laid in my bed, put on Netflix and then I woke up and found the bowl of granola laying next to me staring at me.
I freaked out still groggy from the nap and a little delusional.
I slowly got up, crept away from my bed, put on some real pants and shoes and stepped out of my room to get some dinner.

I still can't believe I did that.
What are all the other foods in my pantry and fridge going to think of me.
God, I'm such a food slut.

"I slept with my granola" Granola
1 cup of granola
2 tablespoons of dried cranberries or any other fruit you have
2 tablespoons of pistachios or any other nut
2 tablespoons of chocolate chips

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix together.
Be careful when eating in bed or what happened to me might happen to you.

you sexayy thang

On today's food spotlight, I will be talking about the delicious, brown treat that has people going crazy. The one that is always there for you to sweeten your day and your tooth. The one that appears in every grocery stores during holidays and is consumed so much. The one that is so cheap and so delicious and crammed pack with sugar.
The one and only chocolate.
Ugh....
Chocolate, the candy of love. The candy that we go to when we are sad, happy or just because. The candy of romance.
The candy itself.
Chocolate has been the staple of romance, media and all thing happiness.
Any way it comes, melted, milk, dark, semi-sweet, frosting, in chunks, chips or balls, chocolate is always consumed making the world go round and making people happy.
For example, I give you my older sister Ivonne.
Growing up, my older sister loved chocolate. Chocolate ice cream, semi-sweet chocolate, chocolate milk, hot chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.
My mother used to joke around with my little cousins that if she had misbehaved she would not get any chocolate, which ended up being the basis of her awkward teenager email that for privacy and embarrassment reasons I will not publicly say out loud on this blog.
You're welcome Ivonne.
My sister was all about the chocolate and even through her dairy allergies she still would not give up her love of chocolate.
Dedication right there.
And no, my sister did not gain an immense amount of weight and she rarely got cavities that I'm still bitter about....but that's a sister thing.

Regardless of the health risks that chocolate may have, my sister is smart in continuing her chocolate consumption as there are health benefits to eating chocolate.

Why you should eat chocolate:
-chocolate may lower cholesterol levels (those chocolates that contain PS -plant sterols- and CF- cocoa flavanols-)
- chocolate may prevent memory decline (which makes so much sense as she remembers all the little annoying things I did when we were children...but then again that's just a sister thing. It's beside the point)
-chocolate may reduce the risk of developing heart disease
- chocolate helps will lowering the risk of gaining a stroke
-dark chocolate specifically is better for us as it as anti-oxidants, improve blood flow and lower blood pressure, and good for your skin and protect your skin against the sun.

That last sentence is not true for my sister as she burns in the sun after 5 minutes, I on the other hand just get really tan. She's still bitter about that but then again it's a sister thing.

So do what I was told to do and be like my sister and consume chocolate (dark chocolate specifically) drink hot chocolate, attack that chocolate fondue at the next wedding or party or be like Tina Fey and have a chocolate brownie shaped like a man.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_a0b17xFX8&spfreload=10

i might have cheated

Okay here is a secret that I have that I did not mention in the beginning of this blog.
I have a cookie maker, a cupcake maker and a brown maker, hidden in my pantry.
I'm such a cheater, I'm really sorry.

But you just don't understand, sometimes I need to bust out the cookie maker to get the feel of homemade cookies. Nothing beats homemade cookies, not even freshly baked cookies from the cafeteria.
Homemade cookies <<< anything
That's how I felt this past Saturday. After my first mental breakdown of senior year (I'm surprised I made it this far without having a mental breakdown this whole year) and sleeping for 10 hours, plus feeling crappy because of the Taco Bell I ate, I had to make some cookies. One because baking is also a form of therapy and two because well, it's cookies.

While binge watching TV, I took out my baking bowls, dusted off the cookie maker and started creating the below cookie recipe.
(If you have cookie maker, then make these, if not hold on until you have an oven)

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cinnamon Cookies
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
1 1/4 cups of light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips

With oven: Preheat to 350 degrees
With cookie maker: plug in cookie maker and let sit until it gets warm

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and oats. In another bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and sugar together until fluffy.
Beat in eggs one at a time, beating after each addition and add in vanilla.
Beat in flour mixture 1/4 cup at a time.
Fold in chocolate chips.

With oven: Place 2 tablespoon sized balls of dough onto a sprayed cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.
With cookie maker: place on cookie plate, close the cookie maker and cook for 5 minutes.

Let the cookies cool on a plate for 5 minutes.
Eat the whole batch or be like me and eat 5 and put the rest in little bags and give it to all your co-workers as a motivation. Save the leftovers for another late night snack and pair with a mason jar filled with milk.

it's complicated: chia seeds part dos

I've used the chia seeds again.
I know I said in previous posts about my anger towards chia seeds and how I still hold a grudge on them for costing a lot and being over my budget. But I use them, one because they are good for me and also there were $7.99 for a bag and I can't waste that on my budget.
I made them again and had them for breakfast and it was delicious and I ate it with a whole banana to avoid the weird consistency.

Chia Seed Pudding with Bananas and Dried Cranberries
1/4 or 1/2 cup of milk (depending on how big your bowl is)
4 tablespoons of chia seeds (or more)
1 banana-sliced
handful of dried cranberries

The night before pour milk a bowl and pour chia seeds in it. Make sure the top is covered in chia seeds so that it is easier for the seeds to soak up the milk.
Place bowl in the fridge and let it sit overnight.

--The Next Day--
Take out bowl and make sure milk/chia seed mixture is the right consistency. Slice bananas and place on top of bowl and sprinkle dried cranberries or any extra fruit that you have.
Pair with cup of coffee.

And if you are wondering, I did not start off my morning angry, I got over the anger over the chia seeds, mostly because I was still groggy from waking up that I forgot. 

taco fiesta in my salad

When it comes to weekends, my healthy eating habits are very unhealthy. I eat sandwiches with greasy bacon and eggs, more sandwiches, sometimes some Taco Bell a lot of bread....too much bread actually and maybe a beer as well.
It's really unhealthy and I regret it every time I do it, but I still do it and I'll probably never learn.
Or I at least modify it to make it healthy so I can tell myself that I ate at least one healthy thing over the weekend.
On Sunday, I had a healthy breakfast (posted later) with some coffee, then ventured to Starbucks to get more coffee (hashtag don't judge), then bought a sandwich on campus then went to Starbucks again to get my third coffee (hash tag please don't judge me) then I went to the Mexican taqueria across the street to buy tacos.
Also I had bought Taco Bell for my friend Brandon and walked in the taqueria with the Taco Bell in my hand and tried to hide it in front of the cashier.
The cashier totally saw and it was super awkward.
I bought tacos brought it back to my homework and then later on made a salad with the taco components.

Taco Salad
Contents of a taco from a taqueria or a burrito bowl from Chipotle.
Spinach or any leafy green
Lime (if provided)

In a large bowl dump the taco contents in the bowl and mix it with the leafy green. Squeeze the lime over it and do one more mix around.

Eat and feel healthy because you deserve it and because you need to.

healthy almond "doughnut"

I put "doughnut" in quotes as to not tease you into thinking I made a doughnut. I'm not even sure how to make a doughnut with no kitchen or even with a kitchen. That'll be my next project. 

I created a snack that tasted like a doughnut and was healthy and fantastic late at night.
If you can't tell, I eat a lot of snacks at night. I don't know why, but snack time is the best time at night.
Especially this one because like I said, it takes like a doughnut. A glazed doughnut to be exact with the messy sticky fingers and the sweet taste but minus the carbs.

Candied-doughnut-like-almonds
Handful of almonds
2 teaspoons of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
Honey

In a small bowl, place almonds and drizzle honey on top. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar and with your hands mix the almond, honey, cinnamon and sugar mixture to make sure all almonds are coated.
When almonds are fully coated, eat with sticky sugary fingers and pretend that you are eating a doughnut at night.

I totally did no realize that this was a gif. If this appears as a gif on this blog, I will cry of happiness.

the one i love

It has been mentioned multiple times and has appeared in many of these posts.
Dried cranberries and pistachios are my loves and their are the perfect pair for me. I have eaten them since the beginning of this blog and have not stopped since.
The sweet and tart I get from the dried cranberries mixed with the super salty pistachios just gets me excited every time I open my pantry.
I'm not sure how the combination got started or how my obsession came to be, it just happened.
I would put them on everything, toast, granola, mason jars, with avocados, with salads, with everything.
Cran-stachios are my love.
Other than being delicious, dried cranberries and pistachios are very good for you. I have talked about the little green nut and now it's time to talk about the little dark red berry.

Benefits about Dried Cranberries
-cranberries help regulate blood sugar levels
-cranberries reduce inflammation and cut the risk of chronic health problems like heart disease and cancer
-Cranberries have a high amount of Vitamin E which help with any cell damage that may cause cancer


So there you go, the little red berry that is always in my pantry and always in my hand, salad and granola and everything else edible. Never a day goes by where I'm not eating dried cranberries.

i used the damn chia seeds

I told you, in the below post that I would used them. I used them in my recipe and ate them and even though I was mad at them for costing my a lot and being over my budget, they were actually really good.
I felt sorry for taking out my angry towards these chia seeds. I'm sure they didn't ask to be expensive or they didn't want to hurt my budget, they're just seeds wanting to be consumed and providing nutrients and heath benefits to people.
I'm sorry for being angry at you chia seeds.

To make truce with these chia seeds, I used them to make a healthy snack before I stuffed my face with a gross amount of Taco Bell. (Please don't judge that sentence).


Chia Seeds with Bananas
1/4 cup of milk
4 tablespoons of chia seeds ( or more)
1/2 of banana-sliced


Take a bowl or mason jar and fill it with milk. Place chia seeds in milk, make sure that it covers the top of the bowl. There needs to be A LOT of chia seeds so that it can soak up the milk, the less chia seeds the less likely it will soak up the milk.
Once the top of the bowl or jar is filled with chia seeds, place in fridge for 2-3 hours until chia seed/milk is a pudding mixture. Top with bananas or any fruit that you have and eat.
Another note: make sure to have some sort of solid fruit with this chia seed pudding. I ate it without fruit and felt the seeds run down my throat. The consistency feels weird, so eat fruit with it and avoid the weirdness.

those damn chia seeds

It was pay day this past Wednesday and to any human being, this is the best day ever. Especially when you are a broke college student like me and haven't gone grocery shopping for two weeks and been living off of cafeteria food for those two weeks.
The thought of non-cafeteria food seemed like a dream those two weeks.
But pay day made the dream a reality when Friday afternoon, the first Friday with no meetings or community service projects or internship I was free, when I biked to Oliver's and went grocery shopping.
I felt so free, it was good to be back.
I bought milk like a grown up, and bananas and avocados and reunited with cran-stachios (cranberries and pistachios), body wash that smelled of cocoa butter and vanilla, vanilla extract to sweeten my sweets even more, chocolate chips- the Guittard good kind because they were on sale, tomatoes, and chia seeds.
Those damn chia seeds.
I had heard about chia seeds through my co-workers and various food blogs. I thought it was like the flax seed in that only hipster food people eat them because they could afford them, until I bought flax seed and ended up being okay.
A bag of flax seed was 79¢ so I thought chia seeds would be similar or a little more.
I was completely wrong. I now lack confidence in my knowledge of seeds.
The cheapest chia seeds that I could find were $7.99 the rest were $10 and above.
I struggled. Should I buy the chia seeds? Should I not buy the chia seeds? Are they really that good for me? I mean will I DIE if I don't eat these said chia seeds?
I bought the chia seeds and I was over my budget by $2.94.
I blame it on the chia seeds, those damn chia seeds ruined my budget.
Ugh, I'm still upset.


I used the chia seeds, don't get me wrong. Believe me, after paying $7.99 and being almost $3 over my budget, I have used the chia seeds. When I have, I've made them angry, as they remind me of how  expensive they were and how they almost ruined the point of this project.


Damn chia seeds.

guac-o-clock

As posted previously, the avocado is our friend and despite its debate on what food gender it is (fruit or vegetable), as Californians we still love it, which is why I made it on a sunny Friday afternoon in the comfort of my own home.

Homemade Guacamole without the 25¢ charge
1 avocado
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
salt
pepper

Take 1 avocado and cut it out of his shell with a knife. Place avocado in a bowl and mush it with a fork. Pour lemon juice in avocado mush and mix well. Sprinkle salt and pepper and mix guacamole mix well. Test taste to see if it needs more pepper, salt or lemon juice and add an as much as you like, if needed.
Do one last mix with your fork and pair it with some tortilla chips, bread or just eat it out of the bowl, whatever you prefer.

It's always five o'clock guacamole time somewhere. 

treat yo'self

Watch the video below, and then watch it again and then get back to this blog.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsABTmT1_M0&spfreload=10

It was a treat yo'self day in the kitchen. Well, to be honest, everyday is a treat yo'self in my kitchen but this was a particular "Treat yo'self".
It was Thursday, my long day of classes, and I was done. I was done with my classes, done with work and just done with the day.
That Thursday night, I was craving something chocolatey , something sweet to lift up my spirits of a long day. Something sweet to start my weekend.
I then remember the chocolate cake that had me leaning back in my chair moaning over its deliciousness. I longed for that deliciousness, I needed it.
So I made it.



Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake in a Mug with Marshmallow Fluff
1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
2 tablespoons of white sugar
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon of peanut butter (or almond butter)
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of chocolate chips

In a large microwaveable mug, mix flour, cocoa powder and baking powder until fully mixed. Add milk, butter and vanilla extract and mix well, making sure all the ingredients are incorporated and there is no flour leftover on the bottom. Fold in chocolate chips and peanut butter and mix one last time.
Microwave for 1-2 minutes until cake is done, and then dollop marshmallow fluff on top or another dollop of peanut butter, whatever you want to treat yo'self.

Treat o'self 2015.

i was that girl

I was that girl who came into the library with a loud backpack, flip flops, sweatshirt and baggy pants and a bun of her head. I was that girl who had a whole table to herself and took up the whole table with all her stuff. I was that girl with a pencil bag filled with colored pens. And I was that girl with a mason jar filled with a raspberry cheesecake and I was that girl who took a picture of it in the library, with the sound on her iPhone on loud volume.
I was that girl.
I had made a cheesecake the day before and left it in my fridge and forgot about it until I opened my fridge and saw it.
I was having a rough day and a ton of homework and it was the sweet thing that I needed.
And like my day, the cheesecake was different than normal cheesecakes and at the end of the night, it was all big white blur.


Raspberry Cheesecake in a Jar with Almond Crust
1/2 cup of almonds, chopped and crushed
1/2 stick of butter, melted
8 oz. of cream cheese
1/2 cup of sugar
Honey
Raspberry Jam or any fruit that you have
1 teaspoon of brown sugar (optional)


Take chopped almonds and mix it with the butter, you can add brown sugar if the consistency isn't right or the almond is holding on to the butter, which might happen.
In a bowl, mix cream cheese and sugar and stir until fluffy, drizzle as much honey as you want and mix it with the cream cheese and sugar mixture.
In another bowl, take raspberry jam and mix it until it thins out or if you are using fruit, wash the fruit so it is clean.
In the mason jar, place, in order, the almond crust mixture, then the cream cheese and then the fruit.
If there is left over of the crust or the cream cheese you can add them after the fruit to create a cheesecake trifle of sort.
It's up to you.

Eat all at once, or each layer at a time or mix it all together to make one big blob, it is up to you.

spring has sprung and sprang

My 7th grade teacher would chase me with a sharpened pencil if she saw that I titled this blog with the word "sprang" in it. I'm sorry Mrs. Traynor.
Spring has sprung here in California and the image of the basic bitch is gone and spring dresses, sandals, fedoras and iced tea are in. Also Instagram pictures of people's crotch and legs beside the pool.
So many crotch shots, so little time.
To celebrate the arrival of spring teasing us into summertime, my salads and hopefully the rest of my meals to come will remind you of spring and all the wonderful colors and happiness it will bring.

Spring Salad
Handful of spinach
1/4 cucumber, sliced
1/4 orange slices, skinless
2 teaspoons of shredded carrots
handful of almonds
olive oil


Place spinach in a bowl or tupperware. Take 1/4 of cucumber and thinly slice it and then cut them into quarters.
Take the orange, peel the skin off and take the slices and cut them into quarters as well.
Sprinkle cucumber, oranges on top of the spinach. Then sprinkle carrots and almonds and mix salad together. Drizzle olive oil on top, close the tupperware or take the bowl and give it a shake.
Eat and taste the saltiness of the almonds, the sweet refreshing cucumber, and the tartiness of the orange.
It's springtime, color your food world.

green little nut

Put aside all the inappropriate thoughts that might come up by this post title and let's focus on the pistachio.
The majority of my blog posts have had pistachios in them, pistachios with dried cranberries, pistachios with avocado, pistachios with bananas, pistachios with toast, pistachios, pistachios, pistachios.
I have always loved pistachios. The cracking and finding the little green treasure in the nut and getting my nails dirty and my fingers dry from cracking them. I loved the challenge of getting a pistachios with the shell shut tightly and using my teeth to get it open. I did anything to get that little green nut.
And I still do. Sacrificing my nails and finger skin, I still de-shell the pistachios until I have entirely un-shelled pistachio nuts. My thumb gets dry, my fingernails get scratched and my thumb hurts.
I could literally sit and eat an entire box of pistachios in one sitting, but I don't because I know if I do I will fall into a state of sadness that all the pistachios are gone and there aren't any left for me the next couple of days.  It takes a lot of self control to eat pistachios.
And there's a reason, for it. They are damn good for you.

Facts about Pistachios
- Pistachios are a rich source of energy and have good amounts of fatty acids like oleic acid and antioxidants.
-Eating pistachios regularly, may lower bad LDL (Low Density lipoprotein- they cause risk for cardiovascular disease)
-Pistachios also have an excellent source of Vitamin E (protects body tissue from damaging).
-They store minerals such as iron, copper, manganese, potassium (K?) , calcium, magnesium zinc and selenium (help protect cells from damage).

So basically what the science terms are saying is that pistachios are good for you and you should eat them. They are delicious. If that doesn't convince you, then this cat video might.


Eat the green little nut, it's good for you.

paleo for dessert

No, I'm not on the paleo diet. The recipe I'm about to give you though, is.
Still on the path of life with no kitchen, finding recipes have been tougher and more complex, which is also the summary of my last semester here in college.
But I'm willing to overcome the obstacles, that is of my kitchen, don't ask me about overcoming my last semester of my senior year, I don't walk to talk about it.

Let's talk about these paleo brownies and eating your feelings and not feeling like you are eating a "faux" brownie, as some people may see it.

Paleo Brownie in a Mug
1 cup almond butter (peanut butter)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 eggs
2tbs ghee*
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

*ghee is a type of butter that is used in Middle Eastern cuisines and is a type of butter. Not having ghee in my basic kitchen and not knowing many college students who have ghee in their basic kitchen, I looked for an alternative. Luckily olive oil is a good substitute so that's what I used.


Take almond (peanut) butter and place it in a mug. Pour maple syrup and egg and mix well until consistency is softer than the almond (peanut) butter. Pour olive oil, vanilla and mix. Lately mix in the cocoa powder and mix well especially on the bottom so no powder is left.
Microwave for 1-2 minutes.

Eat and enjoy and convince people that it "faux" brownie good, because it is. 

chewable flax seeds

Remember that one time, in past posts, I went to Oliver's and bought flax seed and felt so fancy that I bought flax seed on a college student budget?
After a month of having flax seed sitting in my pantry, I have finally used it. It wasn't like the rice incident where it sat in my pantry haunting me. The flax seed was calling for me. It needed me. I needed the flax seed and the flax seed needed me.
So I took out of my dark pantry into the sunlight of my room and made these energy bites.
The bites didn't give me energy in itself but I definitely had energy making them at 11PM.

Energy bites
1/4 cup of almond butter (or peanut butter)
5 tablespoons of coconut flakes
1/3 up of flax seeds
1/3 cup of honey
1/2 cup of oats
1/3 cup of cocoa powder

In a bowl (small or large) place almond (peanut) butter, coconut flakes, flax seeds, honey, oats, cocoa powder and mix. Mixture will be tough to mix consistency wise, but make sure all ingredients are incorporated well and there are no leftover oats and coconut flakes on the bottom of the bowl. Once incorporated, take 1 tablespoon of the mixture and roll them into balls and place on a plate or like me a big tupperware and place the balls in the fridge for 24 hours.
Note: when you eat it, they will be flax seed-y, very flax-seedy

If you can, dump some chocolate chips into it to balance out the crunch of the flax seed.

proud mama

I'm relating this post to the TLC show Toddler's and Tiaras because the emotion I went through to make the below recipe was the emotions that mothers go through putting their daughter in a pageant. 

Never have I been so proud of a food as I was this morning. It literally made my Sunday. Like I almost cried at the site of what I have done because I was so proud. Ugh, I couldn't stop dancing in my pajamas over this food.
I thought it couldn't be done, but it was done. I thought I was going to get sick, but I haven't yet. I thought it wouldn't work and be a blob of white mess all over my microwave.
I still can't believe I did it. This surpasses the duck that Julie Powell had to take over. This surpasses the first time I made scrambled eggs.
This is proof that anyone can make ANYTHING in the microwave. That just because you have a kitchen doesn't mean you can't do anything.
Ugh, I'm holding back tears as I'm writing this, I'm this proud like a mom proud of her daughter for winning Miss Ultimate Grand Supreme.
The food that I had was my Miss Ultimate Grand Supreme.

Poached Eggs on Bread with Braided Bacon (<-- That's right, you read that correctly)
3 slices of bread
4 pieces of bacon
3 eggs
1/2 cup of water
olive oil
maple syrup
cream cheese
any flavored cream cheese (or any spreadable item you have in your fridge)
salt
pepper

Prepare three slices of toast with the following (this can change but this is what was in my fridge/pantry that I put one(
Toast #1- olive oil and maple syrup over egg and bacon
Toast #2- Spread cream cheese on sliced bread
Toast #3- Spread salmon flavored cream cheese on sliced bread

To make the bacon:
Take one bacon strip and cut them into pieces. Do this with the rest of the pieces.
Lay the three thin pieces together and braid. The trick to do this is the braid the bottom a little bit and then go to the top and braid the whole thing. It takes time to do this. It took me five tries to get the perfect braid .
Braid the rest of the bacon pieces.
Place braided bacon on a bacon sheet or microwavable plate and cover with paper towel or napkin. Microwave to your liking, ( I did mine at 4 minutes because I like my bacon crispy.)
Let bacon cool for five minutes and then cut pieces in half.

To poach the eggs:
Take a bowl and pour 1/2 cup of water in it. Crack an egg and drop it in the water and make sure egg is submerged in the water. Sprinkle salt and pepper over and place with microwave with a plate on top to prevent it from spilling in the microwave. Microwave on high for 1 minute. If egg white is not solid after 1 minute, microwave after for 15 second intervals until firm.
Using a spatula or spoon, scoop out egg and make sure there is no water coming out or it will get on your bread and make a soggy bread. Place on sliced bread and place braided bacon on the sides of the egg.
Do this twice to the other eggs.
The eggs will poach, believe me, they will poach. When they poached for me, that's when I cried and danced of joy like a pageant mom. 
My little poached egg babies did it.

Braided Bacon- Precooked

Braided Bacon- Cooked

How to make a poached egg in the microwave. Please don't look at the spots in the microwave. I promise to clean it up.

The final product. Ugh, aren't they precious?

I'm just so proud.

snack foodlight

In the continuing saga of foodlights, I have highlighted fruits and vegetables, but today I am highlighting a snack that has been popping up in my granola and some of my salads.
The almond.
Sometimes pronounced "al-manned" or "al-mund" the almond is the notable nut with multiple health benefits in its tear drop shaped.
I never used to like almonds (shocker) as I wasn't a fan of them when I was little. Now when it came to chocolate covered almonds, that was different. Well kind of.
I would take the chocolate covered almond and eat all the chocolate off of the almond and then put it back in the bowl and do it until all the chocolate was off all the almonds.
I would literally do this all the time as a child. I really didn't like almonds, until later on in life. Like now.

The Almond
- They are used as a solution for constipation, respiratory disorders, coughs, heart disorders, diabetes and also helps maintaining hair, teeth and skin. (Which is probably why I haven't needed to straighten my hair these past weeks because the almonds make my hair look flawless! 
It could also be that I'm just a lazy second semester senior in college.)
- Almonds are used to make almond oil which can be used for cooking, and used to make almond milk as a substitute for those who can't drink milk, a.k.a, my sister.
- You can eat almonds when you have an empty stomach to increase speed and absorb nutrients.
- Almonds are good for brain health. In other words, the more you eat almonds, the higher your intellectual levels.
Why didn't anyone tell me this while I was in school? I would have eaten almonds every day and it could have helped my science and math grades and the other classes I struggled through in high school and college.
Of course, I would find this out my last semester of my academic career.
Typical.

The almond has other multiple nutritional value to them but writing them all down would make it extremely long and sound like a science text book and as said earlier and a couple of sentences ago, science is not my thing. Also this blog is about food and food recipes not science, so there you go.

For more information about almonds click on the link below: (that sounded like a commercial didn't it?)
https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/seed-and-nut/health-benefits-of-almonds.html

dat salad doe

The same day I had the below cream cheese and jam on bread combo, I also had tacos from the Mexican place from across the street, a bunny shaped candy bar that was Cookies n Cream flavored and a Cadbury egg.
I'm really doing well on this whole healthy eating thing. Also I left my gym clothes at my home-home so there goes my nights at the gym my last semester of college.
"Oops"
So to feel healthy and get some veggies in my system especially because I was working and needed some energy, I made myself a salad.

Give Me Energy Salad
handful of spinach
cooked chicken ( that was given from my mother)
tomato-chopped
blue cheese
*onions-sliced
salt
pepper
olive oil
balsamic vinaigrette

In a large bowl, place spinach. Take cooked chicken (or any meat if you have any) and chop it into pieces and place in salad.Take tomato and chop into pieces and place in salad. Take blue cheese and sprinkle on top. Take onions and slice it and sprinkle with salad. Sprinkle salt and pepper and drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette. Mix all components together.

*I used a purple onion but NOTE that it is a STRONG smell. Like STRONG that it will stank your breath hardcore. Also mixing it with blue cheese doesn't help either, so either use another onion or if you are single, like me, eat it and not have to worry about killing your significant other (male or female) from your stank breath.

The Nokia phone picture on the top is not my phone. I am not that old-fashioned. That is my on-call duty phone that gives me a heart attack overtime it rings and will forever give me a heart attack after I graduate. 

my favorite combo

Did you know that talking to parents and future incoming students for two hours long is exhausting and hurts your throat?
That was my Saturday. I spoke with parents of all kind answering questions about my university, the dorm life, the student life, what activities we have, what the university offers etc.
It was exhausting and after that, I don't think I spoke until a couple of hours later.
Instead I made this cream cheese and jam combo on bread while snuggled in my bed watching TV.

Bread with Cream Cheese and Jam
2 slices of bread
cream cheese
jam

Take two slices of bread and spread cream cheese on each slice, then spread jam on top.
Eat and be sweet.

The history of this cream cheese and jam combo came to me in Sweden. I don't know why or how it started it just did. It happened one day at work when I just combined the two and ate it. 

It was delicious and not many people know about this combination except for a few. 

It's so sweet yet savory at the same time and I try to eat it as much as I can. It's just that wonderfully good. 

flavored mush

Have you seen the movie Wild? The inspiring moving with Reese Witherspoon that almost had me in tears and whispering "Oh my god yes" during certain moments.
No? Then go and watch it and get inspired, it's beautiful.
Yes?
Then you will know what I am talking about.
During her adventure to the Pacific Coast Trail, Cheryl comes prepared with food of oats, dried fruit and other substances to fill her up but lacks the proper heating equipment to heat up the oats. So for 10 minutes throughout the movie (about a week for Cheryl), Cheryl is eating cold mush with fruit or just cold mush in general.
I related to her struggle. Cold mush isn't that appetizing nor is warm mush.
 Mush in general just isn't that appealing to the eye.
It's just a tannish lumpy texture that is healthy and filling and comes in all flavors. But let's be real, no matter how delicious one tries to make it, mush will not look appetizing.

Being a child, my mom would make me mush (oatmeal) during school mornings to get a healthy breakfast. I was very particular about my flavor of oatmeal mush and would only eat specific ones; brown sugar, cinnamon and banana. If those three flavors were not in my bowl, I would eat three bites and be done.
I was very very particular about my oatmeal mush.
To top it off, my relationship with mush was like a roller coaster. Some days I could eat it for days and never get tired of it and other days I would gag after one bite. The thought of the tan, lumpy mixture just set my throat into a close.
I have tried to get on the oatmeal grind since my college days and some days it has worked and some days it hasn't. During Christmas break, I had my "oats on the go" where I was a hipster with a mason jar filled with oatmeal, but after that I stopped eating oatmeal.
I wasn't kidding when I said that my relationship with the oatmeal mush was a like a roller coaster.
I did get back on the oatmeal grind this past Friday though.
The week before Easter, I was looking at my recipes that currently hang on my wall and saw that a energy bite recipe I could make (recipe to come). I had all the ingredients minus the oatmeal.
Unfortunately, I had used up all the oatmeal for my chokladbullar (chocolate balls) and didn't have any oatmeal in my room.
I looked at my bank account, saw that I actually had enough money (go me!) and biked over to Oliver's to buy oatmeal.
I'm not sure what it is with Oliver's lately but there are moments when I have had experiences with food there.
First it was being overwhelmed by granola in the bulk section of Oliver's and just staring at the multiple kinds of flavors of granola and being in awe of it for 10 minutes and this time it was with oatmeal.
My roller coaster relationship with oatmeal had gone way up and it was an experience.
There was the Quaker oatmeal, the one that I had grown up with my whole life, my nostalgia in a can, the guy with the pilgrim like hat and the great smile. The little man who said "hi" on my granola bars through elementary school. The Quaker man.
Then there was the Irish kind of oatmeal. I had never had Irish oatmeal and wanted to be adventurous and see what Irish oatmeal was all about. Did it have Guinness hidden in it? Was I going to feel like a character from Game of Thrones while eating this said Irish oatmeal?
And then there was Scottish oatmeal. Dear Jesus Christ Superstar. The hell is Scottish oatmeal? If I ate this oatmeal would I acquire a thick Scottish accent like my music teacher from elementary school? Would I fancy kilts instead of spring dresses?

I ended up buying the Scottish oatmeal because it was cheaper and smaller. The Irish oatmeal was expensive and the Quaker oatmeal (although cheaper) was too big for my pantry and it would take a full year to just finish half of the can.
But then of course, the moment I buy oatmeal, my mother has bought it as well and asks me if I want it because she will not use it.
So I know have a can of Scottish oatmeal and a bag of American rolled oats in my pantry. I'm so overwhelmed with this many oats in my pantry, I feel that the rest of this blog is going to consist of just oatmeal recipes (starting with this post) because of the amount of oats I have.
I'm totally exaggerating, but I do have a lot of oatmeal in my pantry.
And this past Friday I had it for breakfast.

"Snickerdoodle" Oatmeal
1 cup of oatmeal
1 1/3 cup of milk (or water)
1 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon


Add all ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Microwave for 3 minutes or until the oatmeal is cooked thoroughly (depending on your microwave). Top with cinnamon and/or sugar.
Pair it with some coffee or tea and snuggle with the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

Don't mind my foot, just stare at Titus Andromeda and how fabulous he looks. 

K

"Wonderfully sweet with firm creamy flesh"
It's a banana. That sentence is about a banana. The Internet can be really interesting sometimes, but I think we all know that.
The banana, as we know, as been the center of inappropriate jokes, gestures and associated with our related primate, the monkey.
I knew a girl in high school who said that she was self conscious about eating banana in front of boys because of the way she would look eating one, so she would either not eat one or eat it on way to class so no one could see her.

Other than the fact that the banana is the nut of all jokes, it actually has its perks as a fruit. With its sweet firm creamy flesh, the banana well-known for having a good source of potassium which is good for blood pressure and your heart. Bananas also have a good source of fiber or soluble fiber which is good for lowering blood pressure and helps the flow of digestion.
The way to a right banana is this: firm but not too hard, bright in its appearance and no bruises or injuries.
To open a banana, you open like the monkeys do, from the bottom up.
Pinch the top and then let it roll down.

The banana, the center all dirty jokes and the fruit with all the healthy junk.

Liz and I

Simplicity with a struggle was the theme of my Wednesday.
The struggle was my rough Wednesday being represented through my salad presented in the next post. The struggle was also the process of making a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

I was watching 30 Rock in my living room finishing up my homework when I craved a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
I pulled out my bread, my almond butter and my lingonberry jam that my mother gave me for Easter.
Just as I was attempting to open the new jar of Lingonberry, Liz Lemon in 30 Rock, happened to pick up a full water cooler to replace the old one.
"Liz Lemon and her Water Cooler"

Liz Lemon struggled with changing the water cooler and I struggled with opening a jar of lingonberry jam. It was like we were struggling together.
Liz and I, I and Liz, both struggling and both trying to defeat the gendered stereotypes that men can do the hard work like switching a water cooler and opening a jar of jam.
Liz defeated the water cooler with water puddles on the ground. I was defeated by the lingonberry jam jar with a puddle of sweat on the ground.
I axed the lingonberry jam for my sandwich and went for my Raspberry jam in the fridge and had a PB&J with Raspberry jam.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
2 pieces of bread (toasted or not toasted)
peanut butter (or almond butter as I had)
Jelly (of any flavor your desire or can open)

Place two pieces of bread on a paper towel or plate. Spread peanut (almond) butter on each slice of bread and then spread jelly on each side. Put the two slices together and eat.

I went the un-hipster way and ate my food before taking a picture of it.

Oops.

whatever was in my fridge that day

Usually when I have made a salad, I have a set recipe of what goes in the salad, how much goes in, spinach to veggie ratio in pursuit of creating the perfect salad.
This past Wednesday, there was no set recipe, no ratio of spinach to veggie. I literally threw in what was in my fridge and put it in a tupperware for my night class.
It turned out well and delicious as always but it was random, in a rush and un-organized, like my day that Wednesday.

Whatever is in my fridge salad
Handful of spinach
1/4 cup of sliced onion
1/4 cup of chopped tomato
handful of carrots
blue cheese
salt
pepper
balsamic vinaigrette
olive oil

Place spinach in a tupperware. Chop onion into slices and mix with spinach. Chop tomato into pieces and mix with spinach and onions. Sprinkle carrots and blue cheese on top. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette.
NOTE: beware of interacting with people when it comets the mixture of the onion and blue cheese.
ALSO NOTE: Make sure your tupperware is sealed tight or wrap in a bag. Do NOT throw into a backpack or bag because balsamic vinaigrette WILL spill all over your backpack putting the icing on the cake on a rough Wednesday.

Happy Hump Day and hope your Wednesday was a little better than mine.

snack attack time

Have you ever had to sit at a desk for five hours straight? Just sitting and sitting staring at a computer wishing that you could go home or go get a beer because it was National Beer Day? Staring at the screen of a PC because for some reason the outlet next to you doesn't work so you have to charge your MAC on the other side of the room and can't watch Netflix nor do this blog? (hashtag first world problems)
Have you?
If you have, then you will understand my struggle.
If you have not, then you are lucky.

Starting at 6:45 p.m. and ending at 11p.m., I was prepared. I had my laptop, laptop charger, iPhone charger, homework that I was planning on doing (but let's be real, I was just telling myself that, I actually didn't do my homework), I had my coffee thermos filled with coffee and a mason jar filled with granola.
As a tribute to National Beer Day and not being able to drink at work, I put my coffee in my Prague tumbler, from my abroad times as Prague was the city where I consumed the most beer (also I don't have a Germany one because I forgot to get one, so there's that). The granola, was to have a healthy snack while at the desk, but then I forgot a fork, so I only got to eat a little bit of it.
There goes my preparedness for the night.
But ignoring my disorganization and lack of fork for my granola, here is the recipe. I hope you don't forget a fork.

Granola in a Mason Jar
1 small mason jar
1/4 cup of granola (flavor of your choice)
handful of almonds
handful of dried blueberries (or any kind of fruit)
dash of cinnamon
dash of brown sugar
honey

Pour granola into mason jar. Mix almonds and dried blueberries and mix. Sprinkle cinnamon, brown sugar and honey into mason jar and mix well making sure all or most of the ingredients are covered in the cinnamon, brown sugar, honey mixture.

Bring a fork and enjoy the granola. 

molten goodness

I know I made a post about the greatest thing ever. The S'mores brownies that I had made in my friend Olivia's house and having a moment in her kitchen. But those required a kitchen and the point of this blog is to not have a kitchen, so it defeated the purpose and might have teased people.
Until now.
For those who lack a kitchen and long for a good sweet dessert to make you stop and have a moment. To make you moan and lean back in your chair and awaken your taste buds, that kind of dessert.
I had that dessert and it was an unforgettable experience.

It was the Friday before Easter weekend and I was about to go home in 10 hours and wanted something sweet before I stuff my face with more chocolate. (Also I had realized that I didn't post something that day and really needed to for the sake of my grade). Besides the point, I craved something chocolatey, something gooey, something to fulfill me like those s'mores brownies did. I then realized that I had bookmarked a page on a chocolate peanut butter cake in a mug recipe that I never got to and that night was the perfect night to do it.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake for One (AND ONLY ONE)
1/4 cup of flour
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 cup of milk
2 tablespoons of butter, melted
1 tablespoon of peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of mini chocolate chips

In a large mug, whisk flour, cocoa powder, sugar and baking powder until combined. Whisk in milk, melted butter and vanilla extract until mixture is completely smoothed. Fold in the chocolate chips. Microwave for 1-2 minutes depending on your microwave.

If it is still gooey, let it be gooey, it makes the cake that mouth-gasmic. Yes I realize that "mouth-gasmic" is not a word, but just think that this dessert is so delectable. So mouth warming (literally) so throw your head back and moan of how delicious it is that I HAD to make up a word to describe it.
This cake is so mouth-gasmic everyone should have this cake. EVERYONE.
You will thank me later and you will not regret it.
This cake...this cake...ugh.

veggie/fruit spotlight: i say toe-may-toe

On this fruit/veggie segment, I present to you the red food that has many people confused on its label and debates on its pronunciation.
The tomato or toe-mah-toe.
I personally have never liked tomatoes. I'm not sure why. Part of me thinks its because the middle part of the tomato freaks me out. Like it's gooey and sometimes the peel of the tomato gets stuck and I end up with a string of tomato peel hanging out of my mouth and I gag.
I almost gagged just having that image in my head.
I have tried to like tomatoes. I really have. Every year I tell myself that it's the year that I am going to like tomatoes and every year I don't.
I hope to someday be the type of person who can eat a tomato like an apple and not gag, but I don't think that will happen.
I can say that I can have it with sandwich and chop them into pieces in my salad, but I have to eat them with something, not on their own to avoid the gagging.
It's quite a relationship, the tomato and I. It's probably the only relationship that I have been on and off multiple times.
But when the time finally comes and I fall in love with tomatoes and all its juiciness just as it is and don't need a piece of spinach or bread to help me out.
So while I deal with the complicated relationship with tomatoes, here are some facts about tomatoes.

Fun Facts about Tomatoes
-They have an excellent amount of Vitamin C and betacarotene (I have no idea what that is, I'm sorry).
-They have a good amount of Vitamin E and manganese.
-Tomatoes reduce the risk of heart disease and supports bone health.
-Tomatoes reduce the risk of neurological diseases and reduce the risk of obesity.


So there you go. The tomato all bright, red and healthy for you just hanging from a tree waiting to be eaten and making people stronger. Here am I, liking it and not liking it, ,gagging at the thought of eating it.
I really mean it when I say I'm trying to like the tomato. I really am. The day I grow (pun intended) to love a tomato and eat it with no assistance from food, I will announce it to the world via Facebook status, Instagram or whatever new social media that is "in" that year.