what did one pancake say to the other?

I made this for breakfast recently and never blogged it, so here is a nice twist on the average pancakes. Have you ever thought to dip apple slices in pancake batter?.. Me either. I found the idea (probably on Pintrest but I don't remember) last year, and then forgot about until recently. So the other day when I was in the mood to make myself pancakes, I used the recipe for my from-scratch single-serving pancakes, but I know not all of you will do that.. So really you could use any pancake batter with this and just use this concept however you like. It's a super easy and delicious breakfast, and I spread some homemade almond butter on top and I was set for the day!

This breakfast is perfect because it has a good variation of food groups necessary. The pancakes have carbohydrates, the apples as well, plus a serving of fruit along with its vitamins and essential nutrients. With the almond butter (or you could spread some peanut butter too), you get protein as well. Protein is a vital part of breakfast, and paired with complex carbohydrates (such as whole grain or that found in fruits - like apples), your body will be able to digest the breakfast gradually, keeping you energized and hunger-free until lunch.

Just a warning, if you follow the recipe I have for single-serving pancakes, along with the apples and almond butter I found that I couldn't eat all of the pancakes. My mom and I split the pancakes and were both full and energized until lunch.

Here's what you'll need:
1 apple
1/2 cup flour (I use about 1 tbsp whole wheat and the rest all-purpose)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup soy or almond milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl, then pour in vanilla and milk. Mix until combined.

2. Core and slice an apple into less than 1/4 inch thickness.

3. Dip Apple slices in batter, and place on a buttered or sprayed skillet. Flip when bubbles emerge on the sides.

Have you been wondering what the pancake said to the other pancake?.. He said, "See you on the flip side!!"

4. Enjoy!!

Resource: http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-lots-protein-morning-3574.html

my special-tea

Today I just want to put tea in the spotlight for a little bit. There's not much to preparing it, but the benefits of drinking tea are endless. Anyone can find a tea they'll like, since there are so many flavors out there to choose from and there's a lot of liberty to add flavors to change it up. Personally, I love tea and it's one of those comfort feelings to sip hot green tea at any time of the day. I don't do much to my tea to enhance it, but sometimes I'll add in honey or ginger. Either way, it's always my cup of tea! (See what I did there?)

Anyway, depending on what tea you choose to drink depends on what benefits it may have for your health, but no matter what tea is a positive addition to your everyday.

1. Tea hydrates. Remember how important water is to drink everyday? Well if you are still struggling to get in all that water, drinking a cup or two of tea can suffice. The main component of tea is water so it totally counts as far as that goes.
2. Tea can reduce risk of heart disease. Green tea especially can cut your risk of heart disease because of one of the antioxidants that works to reduce your LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. This antioxidant also will help boost your HDL (good) cholesterol levels, as well as keep your arteries working well. 
3. Tea lowers the risk of cancer. Certain compounds called catechins work to stop damage caused by "free radicals", which may lead to some types of cancer. 
4. Tea's antioxidants kill bacteria. The antioxidants in teas help prevent the formation of plaque on your teeth and can help kill bacteria that causes food poisoning. (It's a good idea to drink tea after a meal!!)

So now that I hopefully have got you to think about adding a cup of tea to your day, I'll share with you some tips that I've heard as far as picking and making your tea goes.

1. To get the maximum benefits, choose either a green, black, or oolong tea rather than an herbal tea. The difference between these is that these "real" teas are steamed, rolled and dried, whereas chamomile teas are oxidized for a few hours before the process. 
2. Steep your tea for about 3 minutes, and then take the tea bag out of the mug. That way, enough of the compounds will be released, but not too much. Over-steeping your tea may actually irritate your digestive tract.
3. If you don't like hot tea, make yourself iced tea! The same benefits can come out of an iced tea, as long as it's real (not from a powder). 
4. If you don't like the flavor of teas, it's totally ok to add a little extra flavoring or sweetness to your cup. I'd suggest some lemon juice, honey, or ginger. These can also help in certain situations; honey in tea is good if your throat is bothering you, ginger is good for your digestive system if your stomach is bothering you.

Tea is just an overall good-feel good-health kind of thing, and I totally recommend drinking a cup a day. It's cleansing and makes me feel refreshed and there are also all those health benefits to it too! 

my green tea with ginger

Resources: http://www.eatingwell.com/healthy_cooking/quick_healthy_cooking/quick_sides_desserts_more/tea_time

http://www.livestrong.com/article/71063-the-health-benefits-teas/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/386031-what-are-the-benefits-of-drinking-green-tea/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/543062-benefits-of-eating-rice-drinking-tea/

let me taco 'bout it

After many days of struggling whispers and cracking voices, my voice is pretty much back to normal. I'm very happy that I can resume my shower concerts and endless talking, which of course started with my friends last night. We decided to have another potluck dinner last night; it's a really great way to all have great food without having to put all the pressure and work on one person. Plus somehow it seems me and my friends always revolve everything around food.

Anyway, I learned from last time that with so much good food, it's very easy to fill up fast. Last time, we never made it to dessert because for the rest of the night we were so full from dinner. So this time, I made dessert, but I made fruit tacos - a lighter, but still delicious way to end the night.

The cool thing about this is that you can make them however you want and fill them with all kinds of fruit and other toppings of you wish as well. I found the recipe in Pinterest, and besides the actual chocolate tacos, what you put inside the taco is all up to you. I went with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, mango, and kiwi. With a little whipped cream on top, it was a pretty perfect dessert if you ask me. Between the 7 of us, we downed all the fruit pretty quickly.

Here's what you'll need:
For the tacos: 
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup coconut oil
4 tbsp agave
1 1/2 cup warm water

For the fruit fillers: (this was enough for 7 people)
2 mangoes
6 kiwis
1 carton strawberries
1 carton blueberries
1 carton blackberries
whipped cream

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder.

2. Then add coconut oil, agave, and warm water and mix until a ball of dough has formed.

3. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for a few minutes.

4. Cut the dough in half, then cut it again until you have 16 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and let it sit for 10 minutes.

5. Heat a cast iron skillet. Do not add oil to the skillet.

6. On a floured surface, roll the dough into 16 circles about 1/4 inch thick. Add one round of dough to the skillet at a time, and cook for 30 seconds per side.

7. If you're not eating the tacos immediately after making them, reheat them in the over for 5-10 minutes wrapped in tin foil before serving.

8. Enjoy with all your favorite fruits!! (and friends)

acorn-y blog post about my day

As some of you may know from my previous post, I had a cold over the weekend. My throat was my main concern and it was just very sore. But I felt completely healthy and ready for school the past two days, with only traces of a cold. Last night I could hear my voice sounding a little off and scratchy, but I didn't think too much of it... Until this morning when I woke up and couldn't make any sounds. Has that ever happened to any of you? When I opened my mouth to tell my mom "good morning!" nothing came out. As the morning progressed, my voice transmuted to a very quiet and raspy whisper sound so I figured it would be best to keep quiet as much as possible.

That was quite a difficult task for me. I had to have friends ask questions for me in classes, contain myself in classes when the awkward silences occurred (in which I usually answer the teacher's question to break the silence), and forced myself to not share all the thoughts that usually come spilling out of me when the bell rings and I walk in the hall with friends. It all just goes to show how much I actually talk in a day!

Lunch was one of the hardest times to keep quiet though for sure. Among all the loud noise in the cafeteria, my measly "voice" was hard to hear and I was having a hard time finding it in me to "talk" any louder. So I couldn't exactly communicate very well. 

The biggest bright side to lunch was the leftovers from last night I prepared for myself today. Last night my mom and I made acorn squash with pepper and onion quinoa, and it was delicious. I'm sure most of you have not heard of acorn squash, but it's part of the squash family, closely related to the pumpkin. It's a winter squash, so it's in season right now. It's low in fats and carbohydrates but high in fiber and somewhat high in protein. Also, acorn squash has over 30% of your daily recommended amount of Vitamin C. 

The quinoa my mom made to put inside the squash was just sauteed roasted red peppers (from a jar) and onions with quinoa, and I added balsamic to dress the squash and quinoa. We left the seeds to roast as well, and they ultimately tasted like pumpkin seeds to me. 

So here I am, blogging, finally giving my voice a complete rest. I told myself once I got home I wouldn't say a thing, but of course I had to fill my parents in on my day, and then I ended up tutoring a friend (which was quite the interesting situation). 

Also, I apologize that I don't have a picture of the final outcome of the squash and quinoa. I guess last night I was so excited to dig in that I didn't even remember to snap a picture of it. But I promise the next time I make this dish I will upload a picture for you all!

Anyway, the lessons learned today: don't tutor without a voice (although I'm pretty proud of how successful we were), don't take what you have for granted, don't forget to photograph my end results, and do bring leftovers for lunch. It's a nice change from my daily menu and especially if it's acorn squash it'll be the envy of everyone around. (At least I think it was at my table...)

Here's what you'll need:

2 acorn squash (1 half = 1 serving)

olive oil

pepper (and optional salt) to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Wash the acorn squash, and cut it down the middle. Scoop out all seeds. (Set aside the seeds for later roasting if you want).

2. Drizzle the squash with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. 

3. Bake them face down until you can pierce a fork all through the insides. (My squash took about 35 minutes in the oven.)

4. Fill with quinoa recipe of your choice. Enjoy!

Resources: http://www.livestrong.com/article/261334-what-is-the-nutritional-value-of-an-acorn-squash/

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-nutrition-of-acorn-squash.html#b

can this cold disap-pear?

This morning when I woke up, I was feeling a little sick. My throat was sore and I was stuffy, plus I just wasn't in the mood to really do anything at all (which is very unusual). Ok so more than a little sick. As the day went on I felt better, but still I can tell I have a cold. So that means on this fine and snowy Saturday night I'm relaxing. I took a nice bath, drank some tea, even watched a little bit of A Walk to Remember on TV - it gets me every time - and of course I spent some time in the kitchen.

Earlier on in the day, I had no appetite at all (which is also very unusual) but by dinnertime I was hungry and excited to eat... And come dessert time I was even more ravenous (SAT word of the day). So I decided to grill pears for me and mom. If you remember from one of my earlier posts, she's allergic to lots of fruit, and this (remember when I made apple crisps in a mug?) is another way that we both can enjoy eating the fruit.

Pears are full of vitamins and other essential nutrients. They have fiber, protein, carbohydrates, vitamin C (which is good for colds), and about 85% water, which is good for hydration of the body (don't forget about the importance of water!!) Although pears are really sweet on their own, this dessert would have been perfect with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

Here's what you'll need:
a pear
brown sugar
cinnamon

1. Cut a pear into thin slices.

2. Heat a grill pan and sprinkle brown sugar on it.

3. Put pears on the pan and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

4. Flip pear slices when you can visibly see the grill's lines on the bottom side. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

5. After a few minutes, the pears are ready to be taken off. Enjoy!!

Resource: http://www.livestrong.com/article/497948-the-benefits-of-eating-pears/

quite the process

I apologize that I haven't blogged in over a week, I think that's the longest span of time I've gone without blogging yet! But midterms are going on and I've been pretty focused on studying, rather than trying new recipes.

Yesterday I wanted to make myself almond butter though, I saw a recipe on Pinterest  for it and I thought it'd be a cool recipe to try. Pintrest then led me to a great website (it's actually called greatist.com)  where I found a lot of information about almonds and so many more foods. Almonds are the most nutritionally dense nut (they offer the highest concentration of overall nutrients per serving). They're a good source of potassium, calcium, vitamin E, magnesium, phosphorous, and iron. Just a fair warning though, as good as almonds are they should be eaten in small portions.

Anyway, if you remember from my last post about the hummus I made, I don't have a good-quality food processor. I was really impatient to start this recipe though, so I began it using the mini processor and splitting up the ingredients into thirds in order to fit into the processor. As I continued, the processor over-heated and I had to stop, which was a little frustrating.

So my mom and I went to Kohl's once and for all to buy a new food processor that can handle more ingredients at a time and for a longer duration of time. We found a food processor that wasn't too expensive, orange (a nice pop of color), and could hold 3 cups worth of ingredients, and I could not wait to get home and continue my processing.

But the predicament continued. I put all the almond mixture (soon-to-be-butter) in the new food processor, and it wouldn't turn on. Neither my mom nor dad could get the food processor to start, so I had to revert back to the mini Cuisinart and slowly process the mixture, dividing it up into three sections. Eventually I successfully made this almond butter, and if I do say so myself it tastes delicious. Nonetheless, I've learned my lesson to not take a food processor for granted. If you are lucky enough to have a working food processor, be grateful and enjoy some homemade almond butter. Hopefully this process (yes, pun intended) is far easier for you with this knowledge of my own experience.

Here's what you'll need:
1 cup roasted almonds 
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tbsp olive oil (to start - you may need to add more)

1. Put the almonds in a food processor and process until finely ground.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend for a few minutes. Scrape the sides of the food processor if the mixture sticks.

take two: failed attempt

slowly but surely reaching success

3. Add extra olive oil if not reaching a smooth, buttery consistency.

4. Store in a jar or Tupperware.  Enjoy!

I had it with celery and Triscuits, and it tasted really amazing.