What feels bette than a simple chocolate chip cookie and a cold glass of milk during this stressful midterm season ?
This recipe is the first thing I ever made for myself when I was about 12 years old.
Ingredients
1/2 cup of shortening (can be replaced with 1/3 cup of butter)
1 egg
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of white sugar
1 tsp of vanilla
1 cup of flour
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of chocolate chips
Directions
Beat shortening , egg, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy
Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and salt) in a seperat bowl
Mix wet and dry ingredients - blend well
Stir in chocolate
Place on greased baking sheet
Bake at 375degrees F for 8-10 minutes
Give them a try and let me know how they turn out!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Sarah's Succulent Hamburgers
What a nice roommate I have. She made us these delicious hamburgers on Saturday night and even shared her secret recipe with us! This recipe makes about 4 small patties.
Ingredients
1 lb of ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
1 small onion, grated
2 tsps of Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of thyme
1/4 tsp pepper
Directions
1. Mix ingredients into large bowl
2. form into patties of desired size
3. let sit for half an hour in the fridge (otherwise they will be a bit crumbly)
4. grill for 10 minutes (or until no longer pink inside)
We ate ours on whole wheat buns with a side salad of mixed greens, almonds and tomatoes with a Thai dressing
Monday, October 26, 2009
Tip 3- B.Y.O.D
Bring your own drink!
It sounds simple enough , but people get lazy. Sure the bottles of Evian on campus are convenient , but they're also SO overpriced!
I bought 2-4 case of water from the superstore for 1.99$ , which is like half the price of 1L of water on campus. I keep them in the trunk of my car so that I can grab one on my way to class. If you don't drive, keep them close to your door, or somewhere that you will see them on your way out, so that you do not forget!
Remember, Evian spells Naive backwards.
It sounds simple enough , but people get lazy. Sure the bottles of Evian on campus are convenient , but they're also SO overpriced!
I bought 2-4 case of water from the superstore for 1.99$ , which is like half the price of 1L of water on campus. I keep them in the trunk of my car so that I can grab one on my way to class. If you don't drive, keep them close to your door, or somewhere that you will see them on your way out, so that you do not forget!
Remember, Evian spells Naive backwards.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tip 2- Be a part of the breakfast club!
Tip 2- Eat Breakfast before you go to school
One of my biggest mistakes is not eating breakfast before school. Neglecting to eat breakfast can leave you starving hungry by midmorning, and then probably forced to buy a bagel at Tim Horton's to tide you over before you get home.
The fastest thing I make for breakfast is a simple bowl of cereal. For those of you scared of carbs...DONT BE! Carbs are what give you the energy to get through your hectic day.
One of my biggest mistakes is not eating breakfast before school. Neglecting to eat breakfast can leave you starving hungry by midmorning, and then probably forced to buy a bagel at Tim Horton's to tide you over before you get home.The fastest thing I make for breakfast is a simple bowl of cereal. For those of you scared of carbs...DONT BE! Carbs are what give you the energy to get through your hectic day.
Real Simple magazine did a feature on interesting cereal ideas so if you do not already have a favourite, check it out to get inspired!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Tip 1 : President's Choice Will Save You
I just finished my first full day on campus with my goal in mind. Not to buy any food on uwo territory for one week.
I must admit I failed today, I bought a chocolate milk.
BUT , I also made progress by bringing one of my favourite low cost meals to school.
Behold ....The President's Choice Microwaveable dinner...
I know there is a stigma attached to microwaved dinners , but these are not the nasty Hungry Man meals that you have in mind. My Mom actually recommended them to me (and she can be somewhat of a food snob at times). They come in a variety of meals from Chicken Szechwan , Ginger Glazed Chicken and Linguine with Shrimp Marinara.
I usually grab one from the grocery store near my bus stop before class, and they only cost an average of $2.50!
Today I had
Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
Made with roasted eggplant, zucchini, red and yellow peppers, ricota and partly skim mozzarella cheese in a tomato sauce
--> low fat, low cal
--> source of fibre and iron and calcium
240 cals, 6gs of fat
Microwave for 10 minutes
Most buildings on campus have microwaves, so just keep your eye out for them next time you're walking around.
I must admit I failed today, I bought a chocolate milk.
BUT , I also made progress by bringing one of my favourite low cost meals to school.
Behold ....The President's Choice Microwaveable dinner...
I know there is a stigma attached to microwaved dinners , but these are not the nasty Hungry Man meals that you have in mind. My Mom actually recommended them to me (and she can be somewhat of a food snob at times). They come in a variety of meals from Chicken Szechwan , Ginger Glazed Chicken and Linguine with Shrimp Marinara.
I usually grab one from the grocery store near my bus stop before class, and they only cost an average of $2.50!
Today I had
Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
Made with roasted eggplant, zucchini, red and yellow peppers, ricota and partly skim mozzarella cheese in a tomato sauce
--> low fat, low cal
--> source of fibre and iron and calcium
240 cals, 6gs of fat
Microwave for 10 minutes
Most buildings on campus have microwaves, so just keep your eye out for them next time you're walking around.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
RIPOFF!
September-14-09
5:26 PM
October 16th 2009
The number one error of student eating
I have found that the most common error of student eating is getting sucked into the money pit that is on-campus dining. I admit that I often fall into the trap of grabbing a quick snack when I do not have time to pack one in advance, especially on those rough mornings, where every moment of sleep counts.
The other day I went to purchase a drink in the center spot in the UCC of uwo. To my disgust, my vitamin water cost me almost FIVE DOLLARS!
Okay so I'm exaggerating slightly, it was about 3.60, but still, it cost me almost as much as my entire lunch from the spoke (another on-campus eatery). For the rest of the day, I regretted not taking the extra two seconds to grab a bottle of water from my fridge that morning.
I guess I cannot complain about all on campus eating locations. The spoke food has decent pricing, but it is difficult to find something of the healthier variety, same with Tim Hortons, but for the most part, food and drinks on campus are sold at highly inflated prices.
The best way to avoid this is a good amount of planning in advance. Next week I'm going to try not to buy a single piece of food* on campus and I'll blog about the different meal options and snack ideas that I come up with !
*this excludes tea, because I cannot survive a day without tea
5:26 PM
October 16th 2009
The number one error of student eating
I have found that the most common error of student eating is getting sucked into the money pit that is on-campus dining. I admit that I often fall into the trap of grabbing a quick snack when I do not have time to pack one in advance, especially on those rough mornings, where every moment of sleep counts.
The other day I went to purchase a drink in the center spot in the UCC of uwo. To my disgust, my vitamin water cost me almost FIVE DOLLARS!
Okay so I'm exaggerating slightly, it was about 3.60, but still, it cost me almost as much as my entire lunch from the spoke (another on-campus eatery). For the rest of the day, I regretted not taking the extra two seconds to grab a bottle of water from my fridge that morning.
I guess I cannot complain about all on campus eating locations. The spoke food has decent pricing, but it is difficult to find something of the healthier variety, same with Tim Hortons, but for the most part, food and drinks on campus are sold at highly inflated prices.
The best way to avoid this is a good amount of planning in advance. Next week I'm going to try not to buy a single piece of food* on campus and I'll blog about the different meal options and snack ideas that I come up with !
*this excludes tea, because I cannot survive a day without tea
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
outfoxed
This is a review that I am writing as a part of my MIT Blogging course, although it has nothing to do with student eating, I think that it is an important topic that should be addressed, especially considering the current controversy involving the White House and The Fox News Network.
The conservative nature of Fox news is no secret. It is a dilemma that we have explored in other mit courses, like Political Economy of the Media. I guess a bias is ever present, no matter how objective we try to be, but in hard news reporting, it is essential that the facts are presented without a strong opinion enforcing one view.
That seems to be the major issue explored in the Outfoxed documentary. Perhaps when watching Fox news, you do detect a strong conservative viewpoint, but it is definitely amplified in the way that the documentary was edited. The documentary does an excellent job of getting you on their side, the side that says Fox is a corrupted news network.
I do not think that the problem is the conservative views of Fox news, but how they call themselves a hard news channel. I do not think if they referred to their material as editorial, there would be as much of a controversy. The network has the right to produce content, but where they fail, is to enforce that these are opinions and not statements of fact.
People have different expectations from something like a personal blog, than they do with their news outlet. When I watch the news I expect to be presented with the facts, and allowed to form my own opinions on the matter. Maybe this is why I have never been one hundred percent reliant on a specific news source. I tend to look at a variety of sources, depending on what sort of news I am interested in hearing about. Ultimately, we have a responsibility to ourselves, to figure out our own opinions, rather than relying on one network to decide our views for us.
The conservative nature of Fox news is no secret. It is a dilemma that we have explored in other mit courses, like Political Economy of the Media. I guess a bias is ever present, no matter how objective we try to be, but in hard news reporting, it is essential that the facts are presented without a strong opinion enforcing one view.
That seems to be the major issue explored in the Outfoxed documentary. Perhaps when watching Fox news, you do detect a strong conservative viewpoint, but it is definitely amplified in the way that the documentary was edited. The documentary does an excellent job of getting you on their side, the side that says Fox is a corrupted news network.
I do not think that the problem is the conservative views of Fox news, but how they call themselves a hard news channel. I do not think if they referred to their material as editorial, there would be as much of a controversy. The network has the right to produce content, but where they fail, is to enforce that these are opinions and not statements of fact.
People have different expectations from something like a personal blog, than they do with their news outlet. When I watch the news I expect to be presented with the facts, and allowed to form my own opinions on the matter. Maybe this is why I have never been one hundred percent reliant on a specific news source. I tend to look at a variety of sources, depending on what sort of news I am interested in hearing about. Ultimately, we have a responsibility to ourselves, to figure out our own opinions, rather than relying on one network to decide our views for us.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
MJP's Grilled Cheese
What is more delicious than a grilled cheese that you make for yourself just before midnight?
Only a grilled cheese made by a friend FOR you!
The following is one of my friends specialty grilled cheese recipes
Ingredients
- real marble cheese (create a more authentic taste than kraft singles)
- Fresh Foccacia bread
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Course sea salt
Directions
- Warm the pannini grill and grease with olive oil
- brush the tops of bread with olive oil and lay thin slices of cheese in between
- leave on the heat for approx. 4 minutes or until cheese is melted
- cut on the diagonal and serve with ketchup
Especially great when enjoyed with a new episode of the hills , when what you really should be doing is writing a paper.
Only a grilled cheese made by a friend FOR you!
The following is one of my friends specialty grilled cheese recipes
Ingredients
- real marble cheese (create a more authentic taste than kraft singles)
- Fresh Foccacia bread
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Course sea salt
Directions
- Warm the pannini grill and grease with olive oil
- brush the tops of bread with olive oil and lay thin slices of cheese in between
- leave on the heat for approx. 4 minutes or until cheese is melted
- cut on the diagonal and serve with ketchup
Especially great when enjoyed with a new episode of the hills , when what you really should be doing is writing a paper.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Tea Time
A proper afternoon tea is a great luxury. All too often we find only enough time to grab a venti and run out the door without so much as a thought. Here are my personal key ways to the best pot of tea (passed down from my Nana).
1. The water you fill your kettle with should be cold , otherwise your tea will taste funny. 1. For the tea to brew properly, the water must be boiling hot for black tea. For green and white teas, remove water from heat just before it starts to bubble.
2. Warm the tea pot by running it under hot water for a couple seconds, this will help insulate the pot and keep your tea warm for longer.
3. Add the milk just before you pour the water. It mixes in better this way.
4. If you like sugar , add it right away and stir until it is all melted , otherwise the bottom of your tea will syrupy or gritty.
Enjoy with a piece of shortbread and a friend !
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Pad Thai Attempt
Okay here is the deal, pad Thai is one of my all-time-favourite foods; however, I have never tried to make it myself. After my first attempt, I feel that I will probably never try again.
To be fair, it was not entirely from scratch. I was inspired to make it after finding a VH Thai Market Pad Thai sauce at the grocery store, since the sauce was only about 4$ , I picked it up, as well as a chicken breast and egg noodles and decided to give it a try.
In my defense, I think the chicken that I cooked in egg as well as the bean sprouts and onions turned out pretty well. The first problem was that the VH sauce tasted totally inauthentic , and the second was the noodles I cooked did not turn out that great either. They were sticky and maybe a bit overcooked (this was my first time making rice noodles as well).
I would be tempted to try another Pad Thai sauce , as I think that was the main reason the dish did not turn out how I imagined it. For now , I think I'll just get take out.
To be fair, it was not entirely from scratch. I was inspired to make it after finding a VH Thai Market Pad Thai sauce at the grocery store, since the sauce was only about 4$ , I picked it up, as well as a chicken breast and egg noodles and decided to give it a try.
In my defense, I think the chicken that I cooked in egg as well as the bean sprouts and onions turned out pretty well. The first problem was that the VH sauce tasted totally inauthentic , and the second was the noodles I cooked did not turn out that great either. They were sticky and maybe a bit overcooked (this was my first time making rice noodles as well).
I would be tempted to try another Pad Thai sauce , as I think that was the main reason the dish did not turn out how I imagined it. For now , I think I'll just get take out.
Monday, October 5, 2009
All wrapped up
I hate to admit it as much as the next person, but fall is officially in our presence. Not only does this signal a switch in wardrobe, but also a change in my eating patterns. As the cold weather sets in , I find myself gravitating to the cheesey-carby- comfort foods.
Here's one great recipe that I found in the November issue of Glamour that is a healthy alternative to the standard grilled cheese sandwich
Veggie and Melted Cheese Wrap
- 1 tbsp. of olive oil
- 1/4 cup of chopped zucchini
- 1/4 cup of cherry tomatoes
- 2 slices of monterey jack cheese (I substituted mozzarella)
-1 One large flour tortilla (I substituted a whole-wheat pita)
- 1/2 cup of baby spinach
Directions
1. In a saute pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat
2. add zucchini and tomatoes , saute for about 3-4 minutes until soft and golden brown around edges
3. remove from heat, place veggies inside wrap with cheese
4. wrap up tortilla (or pita, in my case) and place in pan, 2 minutes per side, until golden brown and cheese has melted
This dinner was SO satisfying and only took about five ingredients, definitely a success and something I'll repeat. I'm thinking next time I'll add some grilled chicken as well.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Whole Wheat Pasta with Scallops and Green Peas
Okay here is the deal, my fridge is seriously stark. Last night in a desperate attempt to throw anything together I made a pasta dish that turned out surprisingly well (with lots of help from my roommate).
Basically we used whatever we could scrounge from the pantry and freezer. The result?
Whole Wheat Pasta with Scallops and Green Peas
Ingredients
- frozen green peas
- frozen scallops
- whole wheat spaghetti
- soy sauce
- lemon juice
- green onions
The whole meal took about ten minutes to make, we just fried the scallops in a bit of olive oil, cooked the noodles and defrosted the peas in the microwave. Then put the noodles and peas in the pan with some soy sauce and squeezed a little bit of fresh lemon juice.
The result was a light supper ready in no time flat !
Basically we used whatever we could scrounge from the pantry and freezer. The result?
Whole Wheat Pasta with Scallops and Green Peas
Ingredients
- frozen green peas
- frozen scallops
- whole wheat spaghetti
- soy sauce
- lemon juice
- green onions
The whole meal took about ten minutes to make, we just fried the scallops in a bit of olive oil, cooked the noodles and defrosted the peas in the microwave. Then put the noodles and peas in the pan with some soy sauce and squeezed a little bit of fresh lemon juice.
The result was a light supper ready in no time flat !
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