Apple Chips Sans Mandolin

So I attempted to bake apple chips, which were (almost) a success! The only thing added is cinnamon sugar, which is ~7 calories worth. Well worth it for this treat. It's better to use a mandolin to slice the apples to very thin pieces, but I don't have one so I just tried to tough it out by cutting the slices very carefully and slowly. I did, however, order a cheap $20 mandolin on Amazon and it will be here within the next few days, so I'm hoping they'll turn out even better next time! And I will post on how they improved. (Also, I apologize that most of my photos are poopy quality. The best camera I own is an iPod Touch).  

 

Bad lighting, but I promise they were tasty!

Apple Chips

Ingredients:

1-2 apples (The popular vote online is Golden Delicious or Granny Smith, but I liked Gala too!)

1 tsp sugar

1/6 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

- Heat oven to 225 F

- Mix together cinnamon and sugar in a separate bowl/cup

- Slice apples thinly -- having a mandolin to slice is more convenient -- and place slices on parchment paper that is laid on a baking pan (parchment paper is about $5 at the local store, but if you don't have it you can use foil, just watch it more carefully and probably take out a tad bit sooner).

- Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top of apple slices

- Bake apple slices in oven for 1 hour. After an hour, take the apple slices and flip them all over. They'll seem a bit soggy at this stage but it's okay everyone has their awkward teenage phases and these apple slices are no different. Bake them in the oven for another hour. After an hour, turn the oven off and let the chips cool off and get CRISPAY in the oven.

- Take out apple slices and STUFF YOUR FACE.

Greek Yogurt

I found a new way to flavor my plain greek yogurt! Many people like using honey, which I HATE because honey is gross and awful, but I found if you mix it in well with cinnamon and add your own fruit it's actually quite tasty!

Honey Apple-Cinnamon Yogurt

Ingredients:

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp cinnamon (I used closer to 2... but I like cinnamon a lot)

1/2 apple, sliced or cubed

Handful of almonds (optional)

Directions:

Mix yogurt, cinnamon, and honey together in a bowl. Mix in apples or leave on the side. Sprinkle almonds on if desired.

NUTZ

Listening to: Penny Lane - The Beatles

HEY Y'ALL I know you like nuts as much as I do (teehee) and are probably just as devastated as I am that while they're a good source of protein they be PACKIN' DEM CALORIES. I have a container of cashews from Costco in my pantry right now that my mom sent down to Ohio with me -- and if it's from Costco you know that's a lot of cashews. Anyway, 1 oz. equals one serving of cashews, which is ~17 pieces, and every serving contains 160 calories.

Let's take a moment to ask the good Lord why he invented nuts with all their nutty goodness and assigned 17 measly pieces of cashews to equal 160 calories, 8% of what our calorie intake should be per day.

. . .

And now we must accept the fact that we cannot change it. So anyway, I found that roasting/toasting nuts is a great way to enhance the nutty flavor and lets me savor it more so I don't eat as much as I usually do (plus the effort I must go to to roast them also puts me off from constantly roasting more). There are multiple ways you can do this. I used a toaster oven in the kitchen for convenience.

Roasted Cashews

Ingredients:

Raw cashews

Cinnamon (optional)

Directions:

Stove Top: If you want to toast your nuts in a pan, spread a layer of them evenly on the pan, set the stove top to low heat, and continuously stir them/shuffle them in the pan until they are browned. This can be done with or without oil, but if it is done without oil they will not be uniformly cooked (just FYI).

Microwave: I don't know much about this method, but I know you can microwave them and they will still brown. You just have to watch them carefully (online says 3-5 minutes but I'd keep an eye after like 1 and a half hahaha).

Oven: I just used my toaster oven and placed a serving of cashews on a piece of aluminum foil. Set the timer to 5-10 minutes and watch carefully; put on a low heat (the place I'm staying at doesn't have actual degrees, just "bake/roast" and "broil" settings, haha). When you hear the cashews start sizzling or look like they're starting to brown, open up and flip them around or shake them up. Let cook for 3-5 more minutes until satisfied. Add cinnamon to the top just before they're done or right after, if desired.

voila!

Notes:

- Make sure you pay attention to the servings of cashews you are actually roasting

- If you want to make a batch, you can easily use the stove oven (I don't because I am always cooking single serving for myself, and refrain from cooking more than I need right now because I'll eat them all). It's also easier to pan cook them if you're doing more than a couple servings. 

- You can pretty much do this with any nut. I'm going to try almonds next!

Up Next: Apple Chips!

Why Fro-Yo is a No-No (And What to Do About It)

Listening to: The City - Ed Sheeran

So there's this frozen yogurt place called Menchie's (similar to Pinkberry and the like) down the road from where I live and everything about it is so daggone cute, from its little frozen yogurt mascot to the layout of the inside. And they have so many different flavors, including banana, mango, pomegranate, and PEANUT BUTTER OMG, just to name a few. Although fro-yo is an innovative and tasty treat sold as an alternative to the less healthy ice cream, especially in the summer months, it is still packed with sugar. And the more toppings you load on (which range from fresh fruit to gummy worms to chocolate to MOCHI OMG MOCHI SO GOOD), the more  calories you add on too. Needless to say, this "better-for-you-than-ice-cream" treat is not that much better... even worse is that this is a serve-yourself ice cream shop where you pay by the weight of the ice cream. You all know what happens when we get to a buffet.

 

Anyway, my roommate Val likes to explore different eateries, and getting dinner somewhere usually ends with Menchie's. And before going in to get it I already regret the savory treat, so much so that I find I can't even enjoy it much when I'm eating it; so what to do? I decided making your own fro-yo at home will 1) force you to buy a frozen yogurt/ice cream maker in order to get an actual consistency of fro-yo, and 2) not taste the same and therefore lead to disappointment.

But why not just try to freeze the yogurt to the point where it's a bit like sherbet, or the consistency of Luigi's Italian Ice? (Italian ice is the best btw... sort of a like a more frozen sherbet). Last night I froze some vanilla yogurt in an extra condiment cup I had and took it out of the freezer about an hour and a half later, so it was frozen but not all the way through, and was very soft. I should have waited a little longer, but I am impatient, and the center of the yogurt still had the yogurt-consistency... But I still liked it, it was like a frozen gusher.

This is definitely going to lead to
concocting yogurt popsicles soon.

I froze a cup of yogurt overnight to see what would happen if I just tried to thaw it out once I took it out. And my overnight frozen yogurt actually turned out pretty good -- just needed to thaw for a little bit. Essentially, you've just made a dessert that many stores sell to you in boxes of 12 from the freezer... and you're still just eating a cup of yogurt. I used Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla so the entire cup was 100 cal. Yes, it is not as good as other yogurts health-wise. Yes, they specifically have to advertise "NOW WITHOUT ASPARTAME" on the container, which says a lot in itself. Yes, eating regular yogurt is a much better decision to make. But hey, it's good, and it is has less calories, and the vanilla flavor is sooooo tasty. I'm not a health expert just a twenty year old college student who barely remembers to brush her hair most days.

The chicks approve! As you can see this is a
very extravagant, five-star recipe.

"Italian Ice" Yogurt

Ingredients: 

1 cup Vanilla Yogurt, or other flavors as desired

                 (if you're using plain yogurt, flavor/add fruits as needed).

Directions:

Place as much yogurt as desired into a cup. Set cup in freezer. Cover with tin foil or cap (optional). Freeze overnight. Remove yogurt and let thaw for approx. 20 to 30 minutes. Feel free to lick it while you wait. Once it thaws to the point where you can "shave" off or dig out pieces with a spoon, enjoy your new Italian ice! If you want to eat at a softer consistency . . . just wait longer.

Dinner and Dessert

Listening to: Breathe Me - Sia

I'm all alone in the house tonight, which means PARTYYyyYYyyYyYYYY . . . AKA cooking dinner for myself and lazing around on a Saturday night. I checked out a book called "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual" by Michael Pollan today from the library. I like it because it's small, simple, and gives snippets of paragraphs with simple tips on how to eat nutritiously. Basically, the gist of it is this: keep your food simple. I'll probably write more on the tips given later, because some of them are very good points that have been brought up that are easy to remember. But for now, let's just keep it simple.

Dinner tonight was homemade and tasted oh-so-good. I microwaved mini rotini in a bowl of water for about 7 minutes to cook the pasta (since I have only myself to cook for) then drained it and stir-fried garlic, broccoli, mushrooms and tomatoes. Slightly before the veggies were done, I added the pasta into the pan to heat it up along with the rest of the dish. For seasoning, I used Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy seasoning and black pepper. I also mixed in some RedHot Buffalo wing sauce as the "pasta sauce;" not the most healthy thing in the world, but I didn't have actual pasta sauce and I like my food spicy ok SUE ME. Everyone's also on this whole "DON'T EAT GRAINS/STARCHES/PASTA/BREADS WHATEVER" kick, and I know it's not great for you, but it's all right in moderation, don't get your pantaloons in a twist now.

So this is how this bad boy turned out.
This actually looks a lot more professionally made
than it was. Wow. It looks like not-shit.

I also decided to be adventurous and use the leftover apple from what I had chopped up to put in my yogurt in a new way. I attempted to make apple crisps in my toaster with apples, cinnamon, and dab peanut butter on a few of them. They were not exactly what I would call a success, but they were not exactly a failure either! Well... they were more a failure than success though. But it's a good starting point! I basically just cut the apple into slices, set the slices on tin foil, and sprinkled cinnamon on them. Peanut butter was a last-minute addition. Well, the peanut butter cooked way too quickly (as you can see) but still tasted really good. The apples, however, were an awkward mix between mushy and crisp. This is, however, a perfect snack because (let's say you made these without peanut butter) you are essentially eating: an apple. With cinnamon on top. I'm going to revisit this recipe soon and improve on it so you have healthy, tasty things to munch on that will also make your mouth water. This is the key to eating right: truly satisfying yourself so that you don't need the junk food, not constantly fighting a war against your cravings.

I still ate them... mwahahaha.

Hello!

Why hello there! I'm writing to you all from a humble, semi-comfortable home in Lakewood, Ohio. More specifically I am writing from a high table in the kitchen and a metal chair that's about to fall apart. This summer is flying by; I've just completed my fifth week of my internship and before I know it I'll be moving back to Michigan to start RA training (oh... yeah... yay........................). So my resolve was to use this summer to my advantage and accomplish a few things while I'm out of school:

1. Learn Chinese

2. Lose weight

This blog will focus on the second goal I've set for this summer. Not exactly to track my progress (I have a separate blog page for that) but to track my findings on food's role in our lives and ways I have found to eat healthy in a world where it's easier to buy everything pre-packaged. I'm trying to shy away from those tempting, single-serving chocolate bars and crackers that give the illusion of nutrition simply because they're in cute, tiny portions. However, I feel the pain right in my college tuition bills caused by the expense of buying organic foods (which, by the way, are NOT always healthy just because they're organic) or anything from a health foods store. So I'm trying to find a happy medium between bottom-of-the-barrel prices for processed foods and the high-end, hippie hooray organic foods sold alongside some sort of facial cleanser made from tree leaves (or something like that....) at places like Nature's Bin--which, by the way, is a great local organic store that supports the community and hires workers with special needs.