Stay Healthy in Winter

My favorite time of the year is winter. Cold weather, fuzzy sweaters, hot drinks, and lots of eating. We all know how hard it is to stay in shape, drink water, and eat somehow healthy. Here are some tips that will help you stay healthy in these cold months:

9 Ways to Save Calories on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving....the time of the year where family members come together and eat a wonderful meal filled with love, thanks, and calories! So how can we control our calories when the day is filled with so many good food for our taste buds? Click 'Read More' to find out.

Smoothie Delight (Berry Good)

Stay Focus With Very Berry Smoothie

Berries are essential for your diet.  Berries help to a clearer mind!

To make a healthy smoothie you will need the following:

- 11/2 cups Trader Joe's Low-fat Kefir Strawberry Cultured Milk or Pomegranate Cultured Milk

- 1 banana, coarsely chopped

- 1/2 (16 ounce) bag froze Trader Joe's Very Cherry Berry Blend

This smoothie will take two simple steps and contains two servings.

Preparation time shouldn't take more than 5 minutes.  

Step 1:  In a blender, place the cultured milk, banana, and berries.

Step2:  Puree until the smoothie is thoroughly blended, 30 seconds to 1 minute.

And your done!  

Enjoy your healthy smoothie!

Good luck on your exams! :)

~ College Menu

Store bought, HEALTHY, snacks! (Part 1: Chip & Dip Edition)

      Lets admit it, when we go to the grocery store, we all purchase snacks! But, we all want the snacks that taste good and that are unhealthy like Doritos, Oreos, ice cream, etc. We need to step back and look at our options. There are alternative prepackaged snacks that we can purchase at the grocery store that still taste good and wont make us fat (and low on calories)! I am going to share some there snacks that you can buy at the grocery store to keep in your backpack when your hungry during classes, in-between classes, and even during your commute.

1.
Sun Chips Original
Calories: 140 per serving
Tip: Always buy the chips that say kettle cooked not baked or other salty chips

2.
Veggie Pirate's Booty
Calories: 130 per serving


3.
Garden of Eatin' Blue Tortilla Chips (No Salt Added)
Calorie: 140 per serving




4.
Snyder's of Hanover Multi Grain Pretzel Sticks
Calories: 120 per serving





5.
Terra Sweet Potato Chips
Calories: 160 per serving



6.
Stacy's Simply Naked Pita Chips
Calories: 130 per serving







Use these to dips to add flavor!

Cedar's Simply Delicious Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Calories: 50 per two tablespoons


Newman's Own Black Bean & Corn Salsa
Calories: 20 per two tablespoons


Wholly Guacamole Classic Dip
Calories: 50 per two tablespoons

If you liked this post, stay tuned because there will be a Part 2 of more healthy snacks that can be bought at the grocery store!

How to stay full longer

Everyone likes to eat. it's simple. As a human, it is a bad thing to continuously eat more times a day then you should be. It is even worse to eat more than necessary of foods that are bad for you. Especially as a college student, we are always on the go, studying/doing homework, and attending class. Being busy can cause you to feel hungry, even though your body is not hungry. I am going to give you a few tips of ways to keep your body feeling full. Also, feeling hungry all the time will cause you to spend more money on food. So incorporate these tips into your diet and you will save money and stay full longer!

1. Eat more food that contains waters/broth. For an example eat more soups like chicken noodle and vegetable soups. Soups are also low on calorie.
2. Eat more greens. For example we eat more greens like lettuce, baby spinach, and other mixed green salads. Also, make sure you use low fat/low calorie salad dressing.
4. Eat more fruits. Some fruits that keep you full longer are apples, blueberries, cantaloupe, grapefruit, oranges, peaches, strawberries and watermelons.
5. Eat more vegetables that do not have as much starches. Some of these vegetables are asparagus, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes and squash.
6. A tip is, to start off a meal with soup or mixed green salad. Also, when every you have random "munchies", try snacking on the non-starchy vegetables like broccoli, carrots celery, etc. (listed above)
7. Add vinegar and cinnamon food whenever possible. They help regular your blood sugar level and make you feel full longer.
8. Any green or orange vegetables into your diet. They contain 90% water, and of course water keeps you full.
9. Eat lots of fish because they contain omega 3 fats, which keeps you full. Fish is also high in protein and contain few calories.
10. Eat a lot of oats, especially for breakfast because they contain beta-glucan which helps the body release CCK, a hunger-suppressing hormone.
11. Eggs keep you full for a very long time, studies show for up to 36 hours.
12. Eat foods with a lot of fibers, they help with digestion as well.




And of course, DRINK LOTS OF WATER, during, before, and in between meals!

HOMEMADE MASHED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

So Cheap & Easy, Even I Can Do It!

Ingredients:

1 half of a medium butternut squash (lengthwise)

1 tbsp. of unsalted butter

1 tbsp. of brown sugar

   Microwavable Plastic wrap

Quick, Easy & Cheap Homemade Pizza

 

Pizza Bread. It's what I would call a college student's budget for pizza. It's quick and easy to make, and you have most of the ingredients in your house. Not only is it budget friendly for college students, it is a healthy alternative to regular pizza because you control what you put on the pizza and how it's made. Click 'Read More' to learn how to make Pizza Bread.

Mamma Cristina's pizza crust

Who doesn't like pizza? It's the perfect food for an evening with friends and family. You may order it at the restaurant, have it delivered or make it at home. But let's be honest, a homemade pizza is simply the best! Here is my mom's recipe - the ultimate pizza crust directly from Italy. It's cheap, it's fun to make...and it's deliiiiiscious!

Healthy Eating 101 - No Red Meat

 

4 years ago, I decided to change my diet for health benefits and personal reasons. I decided to stop eating red meat FOREVER! That means no eating beef and no eating pork. This is a lifestyle change I decided to include into my healthy lifestyle. Click 'Read More' to learn about the benefits of a red meat free diet.

Homemade Apple Cider

Continuing with our fall weather theme, this season is for delicious hot drinks, like hot cocoa and apple cider. Check out this cozy homemade apple cider recipe!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Fall is the best time of the year (at least to me!). Changing colours, chilly weather...and season flavours. Here is a delicious butternut squash soup recipe you'll fall in love with!

Beef Udon Soup (Try something better than ramen in a cup) #soupoftheday

Soup is always pack with so many flavors, usually because of the long cooking time, but this beef udon soup will provide those flavors with less time and still have the same taste!

The ingredients provided will have enough for two servings and will take 10 minute preparation time to make.  The cooking time will take about 15 minutes.  

You will need:

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 (10 ounce) bag sliced cremini mushrooms

3 cups of beef broth

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or more if desire

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

1 (10 ounce) container of Trader Ming's Ginger Peanut Noodle Salad, gently chopped

1/2 pound Trader Joe's Shaved Beef Steak

Once you have all the ingredients prepare you will have two step process to make this flavorful and warm beef udon soup.

1.  In a medium pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat, until shimmering.  Add the mushrooms and saute stirring occasionally, until they begin to release their liquid, 5 to 8 minutes.  Stir in the beef broth and increase the heat to high.  Bring the broth to a boil, then add the salt and pepper.  

2.   Stir in the noodles.  Carefully drop in the raw beef slices.  Cook until the beef turns brown, about 1 minute.  Remove the soup from the heat, taste, and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.

1

Once you are satisfy with the flavor of the soup, you are read to enjoy your delicious warm soup.

~ CollegeMenu