apples

THE JUICING DIARIES: Volume 1

January 18, 2016

I may seem hypocritical because I just made a post about how not to resolve to be healthier. However, it's not that. My post says to resolve to be healthier for the right reasons. Most of the reason I eat healthy is because I love trying new foods and seeing how I can make heathy substitutions. That's why I asked for a juicer for Christmas. I got the Bella 13690 High Power Juicer.


image credit: Amazon
I was looking into the Ninja Juicer, but I already have a blender so the combination juicer/blender wouldn't be necessary. I stumbled upon this brand. I loved the price and the brand's dedication to the light and healthy lifestyle. So far, this juicer has worked great: it's extracted lots of juice with minimal pulp. The disassembling, cleaning and reassembling process is simple.

Here are two juices I've experimented with so far. These are great beginner juices because they're tasty and easy to make.



annies homegrown

TURN ONE MEAL INTO TWO WITH ANNIES MAC N CHEESE

January 13, 2016




As a busy college student, Annie's Mac n Cheese is a godsend. There's something about toiling over research papers and planning programming for a student-run radio station and a public relations student group that makes me crave pasta. However, I want to stay as healthy as possible, of course. That's where Annie's comes in. It's organic, nutritious and delicious. 

However, part of healthy eating is variety. You can eat fruit your whole life, however you need some form of protein. You can eat PB&J your whole life, but you need vitamins and minerals. That's why I leverage the easy-to-make Annies and mix it with beans, tomatoes, fresh veggies, and protein to stretch one box into at least two meals.


Today I'll show you how I spice up the organic shells & real aged cheddar.


Chicken, spinach, and pasta are some of my favorite things to eat. The other day, I actually had spanakopita for breakfast, a broth bowl with spinach in it for lunch, and spinach and beans topped with scallops for dinner. I may actually turn into spinach.

I combined this pasta with spinach and ground chicken. In a pan, I sauteed the ground chicken with some Mrs. Dash until it browned. I simultaneously had water boiling. When the water came to a boil, I added the pasta. Once the chicken was browned, I added a handful of spinach in the pan and let it wilt. By that time, the pasta was cooked so I combined the cheese mix, milk, and butter as according to the package. After it sit and absorbed, I added the chicken and spinach. Voila!

This will make enough for two meals: one for now, one for later.


Here, I added tomatoes and pinto beans into the Organic Shells & White Cheddar mix.






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back bay

REVIEW: AN EVENING IN BOSTON - LUCCA BACK BAY

January 11, 2016

Right before Christmas, my mother and I went to see the Boston Pops. The Symphony Halls is located in the back bay area of Boston. Here's a little historical note: the back bay wasn't originally a part of Boston land-wise, it was build using sediment. It's located right near the State House, Boston Common, and the theatre district. Boston is a small city with a lot of history, culture, and goings-on.

The back bay is home to many restaurants ranging from Italian, taquerias, cafes, and sea food. We ate at Lucca Back Bay. Some reasons we chose to eat here were because this restaurant was one of many in the area that offered valet for free if you were seeing a show at the hall, and who doesn't want Italian?

Lucca was an upscale restaurant that offered a mix of modern and classic Italian food. From the bread, to the appetizer, to the salad, to the entree, to the desert, it was delicious. If you ever go to Lucca, bring your appetite.

These were our salads:


This was my mother's ceasar: winter romaine, traditional Caesar dressing, Parmigiano Reggiano, white anchovy, crostini.

 

My delicious green salad had organic winter greens, black grapes, ricotta salata, spiced grape vinaigrette, candied pecans. 


My chicken was exactly what I needed that cold night. Warm, crispy yet moist statler chicken baby carrots, green apple, pearl onions, parsnip, carrot-tops.  All of the flavors lingered together and married so well. The veggies were great alone or with the chicken, however the onions and the chicken made the perfect bite.


Whipped sweet potatoes, pancetta & maple sciroppo, sage were a perfect accompaniment. The sweetness of the maple made these sweet potatoes indulgently sweet. I wanted to order a gallon if it to to go.




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appleton farms

Boston Public Market Trip

January 06, 2016

The Boston Public Market, a market full of local stands of cheese, wine, produce, juice, coffee, sweets, IPAs, and more, in Boston opened in July 30th, 2015. It's the only all-local, indoor, year-round public market like it in the United States according to the market's blog. I visited the St. Lawrence market in Toronto, which bore many similarities to it. 

The market is located attached to the Haymarket station so getting there is almost too easy. It is located conveniently close to Fanuel Hall, Boston's North End, the Government Center Garage, and the TD Garden/ North Station.


Sweater: Forever 21
Necklace: Forever 21
Shorts: H&M
Tights: Drugstore
Socks: Aeropostale
Boots: Primark
Jacket: Forever 21


The BPM "Kitchen" offers many cooking, yoga, and more classes to start the year off right.



 The Taza Chocolate bar sold Mexican stone-ground organic chocolate products from cacao. Products include chocolate drinks, wheels, and bars. Flavors range from coffee, to cinnamon, dark, and spicy.




Farm stands sold homemade jellies, spreads, pickled veggies, honey, eggs, and produce. Silver Brook Farm is located in Dartmouth, MA.


I got a delicious juice from Mother Juice that has watermelon, cucumber, celery, and ginger. They also sell salads, rice bowls, and energy balls.


Q's nuts sold salty and sweet nuts.

We picked up these "Spiker's shrubs" that are multi-purpose. They can be used as a salad dressing marinade, or in a mixed drink. Flavors like pineapple, ginger, mango, and proved interesting enough for us to give it a try. 



The cookbook exchange - take a cookbook, leave a cookbook.


We also took home some organ wheat-based frozen raviolis from Nella pasta! I took home to corn & carmelized onion ravioli to eat at school. My mother and I bought the goat cheese, basil & roasted red pepper raviolis to eat some time this week. Being self-sufficient for my meals at school have given me a new love for frozen pasta. I trust that this frozen meal won't be full of sodium.


Appleton Farms from Ipswich, MA had a map of the local cheese farms in MA! Oh look, there's even one on Martha's Vineyard!


I have a special place in my heart for Asiago.



The BPM even has a place for plant-lovers!


We ate a vietnamese-inspired lunch from Bon Me. It consisted of BBQ pork, carrots, greens, and rice noodles.



Hopper's Alley is an aisle of local IPAs.

Do you have anything like this near you?


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canva

S.M.A.R.T GOAL SETTING

January 04, 2016

If you don't already know, I'm working towards my B.S. in Public Relations. Communications is very strategic, practical, and planned out. These characteristics lend themselves towards a lot of goal-setting. Goal setting is not just vital in the corporate world, however.


Goal setting and preparation is vital in our personal lives and goals as well. In PR class, we are taught a special special acronym that helps us set goals: SMART.  These guidelines can be very useful when it comes to setting new year's resolutions as well. 


Specific
Clearly define your objective when stating your goals. Do not be vague. For example, instead of "be more healthy", say "I will replace one meat or carb with a vegetable for two meals a day". These are what we all tactics in the PR world.

Measurable
This is how you keep yourself accountable. If you say you're going to go for a run four days a week, if you've only gone on two in seven days, you're not meeting your goal. Measure your progress. Id you're behind, it's motivation to catch up. If you're ahead, it's motivation to set a higher goal. 
Actionable
Actionable means that your goal is clear, doable, and can be done in a set amount of time. Set mini goals to achieve the big goal by the end of the year.

Realistic
This is the same idea as actionable. Dream big, but set small goals to work up to the big dream. Be realistic. 

Time-based
Be not only specific on your goals but also with your time limits. Make your goals time-centered and stick to them. Obviously don't give up if you don't make the time limit. Do, however, try to stick to the time as much as you can. If you can't re-evalaute and make the time limit more reasonable. 

Happy goal setting!


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