Does anyone else get lured in by targeted and Facebook and Instagram ads? I sure do. I can think of three times that they've worked on me - Soylent, Shein and now - Hungryroot. As a person who works in PR and communications, it's very interesting to me to see the strategy behind this, and how it works. 

The fact that I was targeted for these three products tells you a little about me. It tells you that I'm interested in fashion and health. I must've been targeted correctly, because the links enticed me to click. The more I clicked on the ads and went to the websites for the products, the more the ads showed up for me. Not sure if I ended up buying these products because I couldn't bear to see the ads anymore and was too curious, or if I actually wanted them, but I was happy I did.

I wanted a good way to kick off my new healthy habits in 2018. As you can see from my cleanse blog post, I am really trying hard this year. I'm also still getting used to cooking my own meals. I've always wanted to try a meal kit delivery service, and Hungryroot seemed to be the obvious choice with its healthy, plant-based options.

Hungryroot is a meal kit delivery service with two options - The Good Life and The Starter Set. The Good Life is five meals with snacks and a desert, The Starter Set is three meals. Each meal has two servings. This worked out great for me because I'm only one person, so each meal can be one lunch and one dinner. Some items come pre-packaged and are ready to eat. These are usually lunch items. Most of the meals can be made in 10-20 minutes. Nothing ever takes more than twenty minutes to make with this!

1. Black Garlic Superblend Sautee

This was one of the ones I was nervous about. This meal includes a warm greens mix, a chickpea salad and a dressing. I was surprisingly pleased! Everything is so flavorful with this service!

2. Purple Cabbage Squash Scramble

This meal includes one of the items that attracted me to the service - butternut squash fries. This was so hearty and warm!

3. Cucumber Corn Sweet Potato Chili

It may have been the extra Frank's Red Hot on top of this, but this was so flavorful! I was addicted. I'll definitely re-order this, or make my own dupe.

4. Ginger Tahini Yuba Noodles

I don't know how they do it, but these are carb-free. This with tofu nuggets and snap peas make a delicious stir fry!

5. Banana Nut Brownie Bites

They're not joking about this black bean brownie batter... I'm actually drooling thinking about it. Again - I really don't know how they do it.

6. Sweet Barbeque Chili Jackfruit

This wasn't my first time having jackfruit pulled pork. I've been wanting to make this at home, so I'm glad that this was in my box!

I would say that I would definitely order this again, but I already have! I can't advocate for Hugryroot enough.  Click here to get a discount on your first order!

EVERYONE! Stop ! in ! your ! tracks ! FORGET What you've heard about fancy-schmancy ~Manhattan~ restaurants! Serendipi-who? I don't know her? Who I DO know are the hidden gems of Brooklyn. The holes in the walls. The places where the executive chef is grandma. 

Don't get me wrong, I love me a nice sit-down meal. Who doesn't want more food for less money  -and better, more wholesome tasting food at that? Last weekend, I went on a trip with my friends to the big apple. We stayed in Bed-Stuy, a Brooklyn neighborhood with breweries, artists collectives and delis owned by locals - not people new to the area. The businesses we supported seemed to be owned by people who knew the area their whole life. Their art and food reflected that. Why face the harsh and long MTA ride, the expensive fare and long wait when you can get a home cooked meal and get to know the locals? Of course I'm not ruling out all nice restaurants, there's a time and place for everything. We were hungry college kids on a budget, with an affinity for Puerto Rican and soul food - this was the right time and place.

1. Boobie Trap / La Isla

If you asked me my ideal night, I would describe my Friday night. We got to the airbnb, and our host was a treat. We got the whole top floor of a gorgeous brownstone to ourselves. After hanging out and settling in, we got ready and pregamed. Pregaming included a fun game of kings, dancing and tons of pictures. We took a Lyft to our favorite bar in Bushwick (my friend and I went there last time we were in NYC) called Boobie Trap. That eclectic dive bar had great deals including $5 for a beer and a shot, unique decor and games and the coolest bartender in a cheerleading costume.

After there, we went to eat at a Puerto Rican spot right next to it, La Isla. Yes, we pregamed for dinner. This spot had limited tables and spots at the bar, which we sat at. You couldn't go wrong with anything on the menu - I knew that no matter what I got. Pork is my one weakness for meat, so I went with that and rice and beans. I thought that I would have half plate of rice and beans and the other half would be pork, but I was wrong. I got a whole plate of pork and a whole plate of rice and beans. If I wasn't going to the club after I would've taken the leftovers and ate them later. Just like the spot I will mention below, this was enough for two meals. We were all in awe at how good the food was. Please check out La Isla and Boobie Trap in Bushwick!

2. The Soul Spot

Do I need to say anything more than soul food? When I say my soul was warm after eating this food, I'm not lying. Right before we left to drive the 4 hours back home, we stocked up on soul food at The Soul Spot in Brooklyn on their main street area. I got curry goat, candied yams, okra in stewed sauce and fried plantains. I had enough food for two meals and more. I actually ate that at 3PM then was full until I got home at 9 and ate the second round. What broke millennial wouldn't want two delicious meals for the price of one?

Do you have any hidden NYC gems to share?

Like this piece? Check out 10 Amazing Hidden Gems in NYC.

September 24, 2016 was a jam packed day for the Fenway area. On Landsdowne and Ipswich street was the Phantom Gourmet Food Festival, and inside the Fenway Park Concourse was "college fest". Both events yielded a LOT of free stuff. It's almost like you start off going to college fest to check out the free promotions from the vendors, and then once you're a pompous young professional in Boston, you pay the $30 entrance fee to stuff yourself with free samples and listen to throwback jams with your old college friends at the bars on Landsdowne St.

At the end of the day, I had a great time tasting DELICIOUS local food. I went there having eaten nothing for the day, and I came out super full just from samples. Here's a list of the places I visited, and some pictures!

Harrow's Chicken Pies

KINGS pulled pork slider

Foundry Lobster roll slider

Hush Puppies corn and chorizo food festival

Uno Pizza

Boston Burger Company Cinnamon Sugar Sweet Potato Fries

Comella's Pasta

All Star Sandwich Bar BBQ Chicken Salad

Cakes by Erin "drunken pumpkin" cupcake

I was expecting a bit of a burger but their glazed sweet potato fries were delicious. I'd give my first born child for regular sweet potato fries so who knows what I would do for regular ones.

Beer tastes better in aluminum cans

"Drunken Pumpkin" cupcake. I think there was a pumpkin liquor in the frosting. The makes of these cupcakes are going to be on the next episode of "Halloween Wars"!

I had mixed feelings about being totally dependent on cooking for myself due to having a full-service kitchen in my on-campus apartment. As much as I hate the dining hall food and love to cook, this type of self-sufficiency is new to me. However, I've loved my experience these past few weeks. My roommates and I are always trying new recipes that we know from our past or found on Pinterest. I thought I'd help out other students in my situation. Admittedly, these recipes are definitely the type of food I prefer. So, prepare for a lot of spinach and feta.  Here's a list of easy, delicious and healthy recipes to prepare if you're a student!

1. Low Calorie Crock Pot Chicken Chili

2. Low Carb Easy Mediterranean Chicken Bake

3. Chicken Pesto Greek Style Pizza

4. Crock Pot Chicken Caesar Wraps

5. Curried Chickpeas with Spinach 

6. Spinach Feta Grilled Cheese

7. Ramen Vegetable Stir Fry

8. Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos

9. Ali's Thai Chicken Curry 

One very important thing that they teach us in communications school is transparency and honesty. I'm going to be very honest with you guys: I did not come up with this recipe or cook this. For this whole series, Ali's Kitchen, I will not. That's why it's named after my roommate, Ali.

This is Ali. She's a bio major, but has a real passion for cooking. Upon move in day, once I saw all her cool cooking and baking equipment, I was instantly psyched. This girl brought more cooking equipment than clothes to school, and I love her for that. She brought matcha powder, a cake pop maker, a mini cake pan, saffron oil, curry paste, and way, way more. Want to know the way to heart? Let's bond over being foodies!

Ali's Kitchen Installment 1

Since moving in, she's already made strawberry rhubarb pie, and this delicious chicken curry. Who needs a boyfriend when you have a roommate that cooks for you?

Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

As you know, I ran a half marathon this summer. I ran on it on August 2nd, and I started training on June 1. It's definitely my biggest running achievement so far. It's kind of like doing an internship if the half is the internship and the full marathon is the job. If you do a half marathon and know that's your limits - just stick to 10 milers, 5Ks, 10Ks, and halves. If you think to yourself "I could do that twice", then get ready to train for a full marathon. I had that thought at the end, so looks like I have my work cut out for me. 

Of course, I picked up some tips while I was in training to share with my fellow runners. I'd love to share them with you guys through a few posts. First, I'd like to share with you guys how I ate!

Half marathons are way different than 5Ks, not just in distance, but also in fueling. Instead of making sure you carb up the night before and have your energy before the race, you have to be on a hydration and nutrition plan. 

During training: Training for a half marathon can be 2-3 months long. Staying on a totally strict diet can drive anyone crazy for that long. Let yourself have your "cheat meals" and a few alcoholic beverages, if you drink, every once and a while. You WILL run it off. I alway say I'm  in a constant state of hunger, and that's because I'm a runner. You may feel a little ravenous, but that's because you're burning way more than calories than usual. One thing I learned in exercise nutrition class is that if you don't give yourself back the amino acids you lost in training, your performance will not be as good the next day. The golden rule with exercise is carbohydrates before the workout, protein after. 

Food on a training day (options):

Pre-run: Banana | Luna bar | Belvita | Peanut butter on whole wheat bread

Post-run ( big breakfast): Egg white scramble w veggies and 2 pieces of whole grain toast | greek yogurt with peanut butter on whole grain toast | Veggies, chicken, and quinoa or whole grain pasta | meat, veggies, and mozzarella on whole grain bread

Lunch/ snack: Veggie chips | grapes | apple | cottage cheese | 

dinner: Chicken, rice, quinoa or whole grain pasta, goat cheese, veggies | whole grain pizza crust with veggies and chicken | salmon and veggies

post-dinner snack: "nice cream" | frozen yogurt | veggie chips | boom chicka pop

The night before: CARB UP! This is your pasta party. Have a pasta dish with veggies and chicken or fish. Veggies are carbs, too! Bread is also good to have too!

The morning of: I personally had a bagel with cream cheese. Some people say dairy before a race is a no-go, but I'm always fine with it. If you want to spread peanut butter on your bagel, go for it! I had this about 3 hours before my race. I drank two bottles of water before my race, too. Hydration before is more important than during. A half hour before my race, I had some energy beans.

During: In my flipbelt , I kept a pack of energy jelly beans, and a pack of energy chews. They also had gatorade, water, and BOOM! energy gels at every water stop, which was every 2 miles. I had my first boost at 7 miles. I had an energy chew. Then, at 9 miles, I had some energy gel. Around mile 11, I had some more chews. These really helped me during the last four miles.

What are your favorite foods to fuel up with?

One of the the four values of healthy eating, according to the American Heart Association, is variety. Eating nutrient-dense, clean foods is great. However, if you're only eating bananas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you'll be overloading on potassium, and missing out on other nutrients that bananas do not contain. Sometimes, I find myself in a rut where I just want pizza... or enchiladas... or bacon. Deep down, I know I truly love the taste of foods that will fuel my body better than those, however I get bored. I was reaching one of these moods around the time of lent. So with the push of my friend, who also promised to do this, I attempted to go fully vegan for the 40 days and 40 nights of Lent.

It made sense for me to make such an intense Lenten promise. With being busy at school, and not being in a religious club like I had been in the past, I found myself not making my religion a priority in my life. I figured, what better way then to remind myself every time I wanted to eat something? Here I will write my "vegan" story, what I ate, my favorite dishes, and if you choose to be vegan, how to go about that. 

Definition

What I do like about veganism is that it's not only about health and wellness of the person who partakes in it, but it's also about the greater good of animal treatment. I am totally for this cause, I love animals. If you need a reminder, just count how many pictures of my dog I have on my snapchat story (n_vergak) daily. However, I love my animal products too much. I also like trying different dishes and restaurants (I like to call myself a lowkey foodie), and I don't want any restrictions when trying new food! However, I really respect what these vegans are doing here.

Vegans have a much longer list of things that they CAN'T eat than a list of what thy CAN eat. No animal by-products means no dairy-based anything: cheese, yogurt, sauces, sour cream, cream cheese, ice cream, etc. No meat whatsoever, or anything prepared in meat oil. Two unfortunately banned items that are more inconvenient than you thought are eggs and honey. Also, they have to be really careful with how their bread, pastas, and grains were prepared, processed, and packaged. They CAN eat veggies, rice, quinoa, barley, fruits, legumes, fungi,  nuts, oils, hummus, etc. 

There's different versions of veganism. My version was a broke college student version. Basically, anything that didn't outright have meat, cheese, or dairy in it, I allowed myself to eat. I knew that the bread and the pasta in the dining hall were probably prepared with animal by-products, but I ate them anyways. Yes, I did have many times where I did cheat, I'll admit it. I always had a hint that they put cheese in their veggie burgers, however, I needed to eat SOMETHING. Also, sometimes I allows myself to have greek yogurt here and there if I knew I wasn't going to get enough protein that day. Here's a menu of what a vegan may eat for a few days. This was not my menu, as my options in the dining hall were limited. I would've LOVED to recreate this menu, however. Maybe next year in my apartment!

My Diet

I discovered a love for many delicious foods during my vegan journey. I'll go through my typical vegan day here:

Breakfast: Flaxseed vegan microwave waffles topped with strawberries and light agave nectar.

Lunch: Sandwich on a multigrain baguette with pumpkin hummus, apples, and greens.

Dinner: A blackbean veggie burger atop a bed of rice

Snacks (could include but not limited to): pita chips, popcorn, fruits and veggies, pretzels and hummus, nuts.

Here are some of my favorite dishes I ate while I was vegan.

"Vegan Sandwich": The sandwich listed as "lunch" above is actually what I ate at A&J King artisan bakery in downtown Salem. I was very pleased that they had a vegan section of their menu, this was DELICOUS! I would get it again even not as a vegan. 

lots and lots of burritos: Together, rice and beans make a complete protein, seeing as both rice and beans separately do not contain all amino acids, however, when combined, all amino acids are present. That being said, I HAD A LOT OF BURRITOS. I ate a vegan, gluten-free microwave burrito almost daily for lunch. Chipotle and The Howling Wolf were my saviors. 

Indian food: Not only did I discover Indian food is delicious, but it's also vegan-friendly mostly. Their unique ways of combining chickpeas, grains, peas, and more are delicious. Samosas and aloo matar wraps contain peas, chickpeas, and potatoes, and are delicious.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos: One day, the vegan gods were in my favor. The dining hall served mini burritos filed with just maple-glazed sweet potatoes and black beans. I swear I ate five... I plan on remaking these this summer and next year.

Reflection

On the surface, I can say that I accomplished the health and religious goals with this. Of course, there was a few days (including Easter day) when I went a little animal by-product crazy. I think there was a point where I ate pizza for five meals in a row. The newfound freedom was invigorating. However, I was very much looking to discovering this freedom. If you really think about it, I never would have been able to enjoy that freedom if I didn't commit to 40 days of veganism.

The only complaint I had about veganism was the stretch of days I was sick of eating the same thing. I loved my indian wraps and cereal with almond milk, however I craved chicken salad sandwich, or anything different. However, this wasn't because of the roles of veganism. This was due to my situation: broke college student in a dorm living off of microwavable and dining hall food. If I had my own kitchen, I would have had more variety.

I loved discovering new ways to eat. Obviously, there are multiple ways to get your protein for the day. I was pleased to play around with polenta, tempeh, tofu, soy-based cheese and milk, soy-based yogurt, etc. I think some people think on a too-small scale when it comes to food. Broaden your horizons! Variety is a key to healthy eating.

sources:

https://www.vegansociety.com/try-vegan/definition-veganism

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/living-vegan-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

"I don't feel like going to a chain restaurant tonight," said my mother. I couldn't have agreed more with her. I usually don't feel like eating at chain restaurants unless I'm having a craving... like the Roasted Artichoke, Spinach and Feta pizza on Uno's nine-grain crust. 

During my trip to Greece, I learned that European's biggest form of entertainment is going out and sharing a meal; that's why they take so long to get to your table to take your order, and for your food to come. Not only is it a relaxed lifestyle, but it's entertainment. It's rude for them to bring you your check without flagging the staff down.  I've always loved findng new places to eat that aren't chains, whether it be cafes, thai places, indian places, organic eateries, pizza places, froyo shops - you name it. I always say if my career as a PR pro doesn't work out, I could become a foodie.

My latest foodie conquest was Fishbones in Chelmsford, MA. My mother suggested it after we decided to go shopping in that same area.

Fishbones is located in the quaint downtown area of the mid-sized town Chelmsford, in MA. Downtown Chelmsford has an old New England village vibe, so Fishbones puts a modern spin on it with a modern style inside. The dining is split in half by the open-style bar, and the light blue color tones keep a chill mood.

The tap water is served just like they do in Europe. A refillable bottle is split by the table. (Fun fact - in Europe, it's rude not to pour your neighbor's glass of water.)

We started off with an app and salads. Our appetizer was an arrangement of local honeys and cheeses, served with cranberry bread. This dish is SO  New England.

My mother's salad consisted of two roasted Romaine lettuce head halves topped with blue and gouda cheese, bacon bits, tomatoes, and their house vinaigrette.

My "Meyers Lemon Salad" was mixed seasonal greens topped with beets, blood oranges, fennel, goat cheese, mixed with a Meyers lemon vinaigrette and a balsamic glaze.

We both agreed upon the special of the day - herb roasted haddock, roasted brussels sprouts, bacon and fennel served with smoked maple accented mashed sweet potatoes.

I would give Fishbones a 9/10. Service was great, the design was modern and nice, the food was absolutely delicious and creative. I would have liked to seen a bigger selection, and a less noisy dining room. If you're ever in the Merrimack Valley, check it out!

On Sunday, my mom came up for a much-needed visit. For it being Super Bowl Sunday, I knew that it meant a lot for her to come. For her to drive all this way and be back for kick-off, it was a big risk for a big-time Patriots fan. If you couldn't already tell, yes, I was rooting for the Pats.

And thank God! Sorry to any Seahawks fans reading, but we kicked some serious ass. I think the end of that game was more of a show than the halftime show. I'm all for dancing sharks, Lenny Kravitz, surreal acid trips, and my girl Missy Elliot, but I love to see a fight break out even more. I'm so glad the Pats won, especially after the hardship of #DeflateGate over the past few weeks. I'm also relived for the NFL. The fact that the Super Bowl was so theatrical and entertaining might have helped shown a good light on the NFL after it's year of bad PR, such as the whole Ray Rice thing.

While my mother visited yesterday we were debating on where to go for lunch. I felt like getting out of Salem, so I looked at restaurants in Marblehead. When I came across the listing for 5 Corners Kitchen on Yelp, I saw that it was serving brunch then and I was instantly drawn to it. There's nothing better than Sunday Brunch!

5 Corners Kitchen is located in the quaint, seaside town of Marblehead in the historic North Shore of Massachusetts. Marblehead is easily accessible from the bike path right near my dorm. On Marblehead neck is "Castle Rock", a beautiful rock feature sculpted by the ocean.

In the downtown area of this seaside town is an intersection that has five corners. On one of those five corner is a modern Parisian bistro that serves some of the best brunch I've ever had.

The open concept dining room is minimalistic and modern. The Parisian touches include chandeliers and modern cutlery. When we opened the door, there was a thick velvet curtain there to block the cold air from coming in. How considerate! The waitstaff was courteous and knowledgeable. The only downside to my experience was I wish I knew I could've dressed up more. The crowd was business casual millennials and families. I was dying of jealousy of the pleather blazer of the girl next to me. I never miss an opportunity to dress up.

Let's go over the important part, the food. Everything on the brunch menu look so enticing, my mother and I couldn't decide on what to do. We decided on getting two appetizers and each an entree for each of us. 

For drinks, my mom got coffee and I got fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice.We decided on getting beignets and yogurt, granola and berries for appetizers. The beignets were light fluffy, and sweet and were accompanies by a sweet icing that seemed like it was cream-cheese based. The Vermont greek yogurt was thick and sweet, and the ripe strawberries and blueberries along with the granola was a wonderful combination. The only thing I wouldn't have again was the shredded mint on top - there was just too much.

This was my delicious brunch. It was a house-smoked salmon and spinach Benedict with roasted potatoes. The bacon on the right was some the house-smoked bacon my mother got as a side. The poached egg and hollandaise sauce flowed over the crisp, buttery english muffin. The smoked salmon and spinach were great toppers. If anything says "salmon" or "spinach" on it, I pretty much always order it. It also came with roasted potatoes that were a bit spicy, but if I were someone that enjoyed spice, I know I would've liked it. My mother ordered an omelette that came with the same potatoes.

Overall, I'd give 5 Corners Kitchen an 8.5/10. Their service was polite and knowledgeable, their ambiance was modern and relaxed, and their food was high quality, creative, and delicious. I definitely am curious about their dinner menu!

image credit

image credit

So, I figured why not play pretend that I'm a professional chef or foodie. If I had a spot on the "Best Thing I Ever Ate" panel, this is what I would say about my favorite pasta dish: the Tuscan Kitchen Cappellacci Salad.

My mother and I split the cappellacci salad for an appetizer.

I got a roasted rosemary half chicken with butternut squash, and spinach with walnuts and pancetta.

My mother got cod over a risotto and a walnut misto.

My dad went hard, not home. He a pizza with beef meatballs, roasted chicken, ricotta cheese, and onions.

What's the best dish you've ever eaten?