new job/hobby

i am going to become the self-appointed "no smoking" rule enforcer!! jealous?! we got an email from work today that outlines the SMOKE FREE CAMPUS rules and at the end there was a little note included that, i think, calls my name! let me know what you think! the note read as follows:

Security will be monitoring smoking on our property. If you see anyone smoking on our property, there are cards available at both welcome desks that you can hand to someone smoking to remind them of our policy.

DOESNT THIS SCREAM ME?!?! hahah imagine! i walk up to some random person smoking...eh-hem...excuse me...then i show them my fake badge that i will buy at the party store and then hand them the card wordlessly and walk away. for some reason, ill probably be wearing sunglasses and a hat and also be holding a night stick of some sort. i will be both loved and feared. gosh, i think i found my calling......

haha weirdest idea administration has had yet......

i mean...

i was just in the cafeteria at work and some guy accidentally dropped his burger and fries all over the ground and everyone laughed...like not just one person, everyone! i mean...you cant just point and laugh at someone when they screw up! haha so rude!! and the poor guy just stood there looking sheepish. then he shrugged his shoulders and goes, "uh...sorry about that" to the whole cafeteria while he looked down at his sad little lunch strewn all over the nasty floor. meanwhile, everyone just kept laughing away! it was like a movie or something...when someone does something embarrassing and everyone laughs and points and you think, that never would happen in real life...well, you'd be wrong my friend!

times are tough...

i was driving home yesterday at around 12:30pm when i saw a man walking along the edge of the freeway under a bridge. i thought...what in the heck is that man doing walking along the freeway under a bridge!??! he was wearing a backpack and what looked to me like nice suit pants, nice shoes, and a shirt. then i thought maybe he was walking to get lunch on his break from work and weirdly took a wrong turn and ended up on the freeway!? not sure. anyway, i was sitting at the light and creepily watching this man when all of a sudden he stops at a corner, opens his backpack, and whips out a sign asking for food or money. im like WHAT THE?! literally he looked like a businessman on a lunch break....wait...was he?? are times getting so tough that he wanted to make a little extra money on his lunch break or have the rest of someones sandwich instead of stopping off at subway?!?!

darn this economy!!

vegetarian chili!

hey hey...so i woke up to a text from my friend requesting my chili recipe :) i have never really liked chili...but weirdly got into it this past year when my friend taught me how to make it. it was pretty much the first recipe i learned to make in my new life of cooking. its really good and super easy (two things i look for in a recipe!)...i like to make a big pot and then freeze it in portions so i can have fast, easy lunches or dinners when i need them! i recently started making my chili with TVP (textured vegetable protein)--this is a soy based meat substitute that works really well in chili bc it looks like and has the same texture as ground meat. it has 12g of protein, 80 cals, and no fat in each 1/4 cup serving! TVP needs to be rehydrated with water--but i just put it straight into the chili because it will rehydrate in there as it cooks. if you are not into trying TVP, you can also use tempeh (another meat substitute ), which can also be used as a ground meat substitute. it has 19g of protein, 9g of fat, and 230 cals in each 4 oz serving (1/2 block). i use lightlife organic 3 grain tempeh but have not tried it in chili yet! anyway, enough about that...here we go:

Vegetarian Chili with TVP
~5 or 6 servings (depending on size obvi)

-Ingredients-
1 1/4-1 1/2 c. TVP (textured vegetable protein) or 1+ blocks of tempeh
1 can tomato paste
1 large can (or two normal cans) whole peeled tomatoes
2 cans beans (1 kidney, 1 other--i use pinto)
1 onion
1 pepper
couple stalks celery (if you like that in chili) or any other veggies you want to add!
2-3 cloves of garlic
olive oil
spices-chili powder, crushed red pepper (for some spice!), salt, pepper, oregano, cumin

-Materials-
large pot
cutting board
knife
can opener
spatula
containers to freeze it :)

-Directions-
1. finely chop all vegetables (including garlic, but very small, big chunks of garlic=ew)
2. put the garlic and some olive oil (1-2 tbls..might need to add more when you add the veggies if it looks dry) in the pot on medium heat for a couple of minutes. then add the veggies (onions, peppers, celery, etc) and let cook over medium heat until soft (but not brown).
3. once the veggies are pretty soft, add the can of whole, peeled tomatoes (you can either cut them up on a cutting board or just kind of crush them up in your hands while adding them one by one) including the juice in the can. stir.
4. add the can of tomato paste. then add one can of water (tiny tomato paste can). you may need to add more water, depending on how thick you like it or if it looks dry. you can do this at any time...you dont want it to get too watery, so go slow! however when i use TVP (because it needs to rehydrate, meaning it takes in a lot of water) i definitely add more. stir.
5. add both cans of beans (drained) and the TVP (if you are using tempeh...i would chop it up when you chop the veggies and add it around the time you add the veggies--before the tomatoes)
6. add spices (heavy on the chili powder...just a bit of all the others, i dont measure just sprinkle it in and try it after it cooks a while..def add more if you cant taste it enough!!) and let simmer (turn down heat) for at least 1/2 hour but up to 2 hours.

there you go! let me know if you try it and how you like it!! special credit to my mom for always answering my millions of cooking questions and to kate, who taught me how to make my first chili :) ENJOY!

xoxox

fish tacos

ok ok, this might sound YUCK...but its totally trendy, totally delish, and totally EASY!!! so dont judge...just try it!! and if you dont want to make it...go to the cheesecake factory and try theirs! they are really yum!!

while i have decided to cut the meat, i am still eating fish! i think sometimes its a little boring, so i was looking for a way to jazz it up...so last night i decided to try to make fish tacos for the first time!

Fish Tacos
serves 1

-Ingredients-
4 ounces of fish (i used tilapia...but you can use your fav fish! add another 3-4 ounces for each additional serving!)
2-3 small corn tortillas
1-2 cups cabbage (i used green)
salsa (i made my own, but you can use jarred too)
tofutti better than sour cream (ok ok you can also use normal sour cream)
lime
olive oil
spices-chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, cumin
optional: cheese (i didnt use it, but you def can!)
optional: onions (i didnt use them bc they were in my salsa)
optional: jalapenos (again, didnt use them bc they were in my salsa)

-Directions-
1. do all your prep work first so that the fish is still hot when you are ready to put your tacos together! start off by making salsa (ill put up the recipe sometime!) or just open the jar! then chop the cabbage (shredded cabbage--chop super thin) and cut a lime slice or two. then put a little tofutti sour cream in a bowl (maybe 1-2 tbls) and mix in a little salsa, some chili powder, and a little cumin to give it some flavor. then put three little corn tortillas on your plate (if they arent too soft, you may want to mic them a little).
2. fry the fish! season the fish with some salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cumin. then put a little olive oil in the frying pan and set it to medium (+) heat. put the fish in (seasoned side down) and season the other side the same way. cook the fish a few mins on each side until the fish is fully cooked (this takes very little time--take it out when you can easily break it apart with your spatula)
3. put it all together! first slice the fish (it can really just be broken apart easily with the spatula). split the fish up between the three tortillas. add a few spoons of salsa, cabbage, then the sour cream mixture to each one. finally, squeeze a little lime over the top and serve!!

i served the tacos with the salsa i made and some chips! you can also eat it with black beans or rice or both!! ENJOY!!!

tofu

one of the biggest changes to my diet is that i am pretty much making the transition into a meat-free-me! its not really a huge issue because never really loved meat and i absolutely haaaate to cook it! ew. because of this (and my quest to stay nutritious and still eat protein) one of my newest ingredients that i am in LOVE with is: TOFU!!! i used to say that i didnt like tofu...but really i didnt like the idea of tofu and never really gave it a fair chance. when i got into sushi in college, i started eating miso soup and then i ate some tofu in thai food...but just recently i started making it on my own and i am in love! some of you have asked what i do to my tofu that makes it so delightful, so i will share my recipe:

Asian Marinated Tofu (baked):

makes about 3 servings

-Ingredients-
1 block of firm tofu
soy sauce
white wine
olive oil
garlic powder
ginger powder
toasted sesame seeds
crushed red peppers (optional)

-Materials-
paper towels
cookie sheet or frying pan or both!
big bowl
spatula
knife

-directions-
1. preheat oven to ~350 degrees
2. cut the block of tofu in ~1/2 inch slabs and extract as much water as you can (to do this, pat with a paper towel or cover with paper towels and put something heavy on top like a pot with a can in it or a cutting board with a book on top--this helps squeeze out the extra moisture--do this anywhere from a couple of minutes to about 15 mins)
3. while you are waiting for the tofu to be ready, get your marinade together in a big bowl (big enough to fit the tofu slices). i mix all of the ingredients together with no real measurements. if i had to guess i would say about 4 or 5 tbls of soy sauce and 2 of white wine, a splash of olive oil, a couple tsp of sesame seeds, and a few shakes of the dry ingredients. play around with it and see what you like!

4. add the tofu and move the bowl around so it covers tofu (i dont stir it because the tofu might break...which is not bad, but not ideal). you can let it sit for a few minutes or up to an hour, if you like. i do only about 15 minutes or so because i dont like it to get too soggy or it won't crisp up enough. you can flip the pieces around half-way through.
5. spray the cookie sheet (or put some olive oil on a paper towel and rub it onto the pan) and arrange the tofu in an even layer without letting the pieces touch. cooking time will depend on how crispy you like your tofu and how well-done. this is something i have played around with (both in timing and in oven temperature), but have had the best results setting it at 350 and cooking the tofu for about 15 minutes flipping half-way through. again, use your judgement--if you see they are getting dark or crispy and you want to take them out...take them out! obvi :)
**option: you can also fry the tofu in a pan. once you take it out of the marinade, cut each slab in half and then in half diagnally (so it looks like when you order it in thai food, like a right triangle...like the pic). then put a little oil in a pan set to medium heat. toss in the pieces and cook for a few mins on each side.

well, there you have it! i have made this a few times and LOVE it!! its super easy and so delish. because its not meat, you can also save the marinade and use it again! for my side dish, i like to saute some broccoli in the same marinade. i just toss in a couple tbls of marinade into a pan, throw in about a cup of broccoli and saute on medium heat until it looks delish. you can also put this whole meal over white or brown (ew, not me) rice! ENJOY!!

times they are a changin'

as some of you may remember from my skinny bitch post, i have sort of taken a new approach to the way i eat. well, i have decided to include some of my new way of life into my blog so i can share it with those who are interested :) there have been a few things that have influenced me and have helped me a lot in my little food journey. first and foremost was going to spain last year. living in spain forced me to eat a million things that i would have never eaten in my life (meats, fish, seafood, tons of salad, different kinds of fruits and veggies, a variety of soups, etc). pretty much my whole life ive been suuuper picky and pretty limited in what i ate. but living with a spanish mama that did not understand the words "i dont like it" made me change pretty quickly!! while i was there, i also developed an interest in cooking...totally new to me! when i lived on my own for the first time in college i could count the number of times on one hand that i had warm food in a week...i only ate things like cereal, yogurt, turkey, crackers...cold things that didnt need cooking or even preparing. my dad is a chef and my mom is also an AMAZING cook, so i really did not have any real need to cook because both my parents were so great at it...and when they didnt cook, my sister gladly (most of the time) stepped in to make me something! so i guess what we can take from this is i was definitely a spoiled brat when it came to food!! that aside, spain changed me and i got the cooking bug! i often watched/helped my spanish mama cook and and took notes on her recipes and ingredients. we went shopping together a lot and to different outdoor markets and it was so fun! i also took note of the way she cooked and planned...she made big batches of many things at a time and then froze them in portions--which is genius and something i do allll the time now. my mom gets offended by this though because apparently this is how she cooks too (and did do my entire life)...but i guess i never noticed so i gave credit to my spanish mama....uh oh mama drama!! haha! anyway, when i came back to the states i started my new life of cooking and i really liked it!! i discovered that i actually like to follow a recipe and try new things (my new roommates thought i was like susie homemaker!! haha little did they know i was a total poser!). the next thing that shifted my interest in food and nutrition was my friend over at cooking with kate (check out her blog, she is amazing and i love her!!) who started a food blog and thus introduced me to the crazy world of food blogging! i have learned about soooo many cool new ingredients and interesting recipes from the food blogs, which has helped to keep things exciting and fresh as i started this healthy/different eating kick! lastly, i have been reading books like skinny bitch (ignore the name and read it, it will change your life!!) and fast food nation, researching online, watching the food network, randomly trying new ingredients, tapping into my inner chef, which my dad tells me is innate....oh yeah and calling my mom millions of times. all of those things combined have influenced a lot of my food-related decisions and have really changed the way i eat!

anyway, that was just a little intro into me, so now from time to time ill tell you whats going on in my food world with any new ingredients or new recipes that i try so you can try (and enjoy!) them too!! until next time......