the millennial who's good at nothing: whole foods

Easy and Delicious Weeknight Taco Recipe for When You'd Rather Drink Your Own Tears Than Cook Dinner

November 05, 2017

Hi friends! Let's be honest and real here. When we get home, we're ravenous. We would rather eat the closest available foot than break out a sauce pan and boil some water. I know for a fact that it's not just me. Isn't that why they invented Amy's pad thai?

However, why microwave mediocre rice noodles when you can have TACO BOATS! That's right... boats that are tacos. Meaty and cheesy goodness floating on a sea of salsa. Okay, maybe not like that. Thanks to Old El Paso's Old El Paso Soft Tortilla Taco Boat Dinner Kit it was easier than ever to whip up some taco boats after the gym this Wednesday night.

Actual picture of me thinking about making dinner last night after the gym. Why is it blurry? Because I CAN'T HANDLE LIFE OKAY!

I wanted something quick and delicious. I didn't want to be basic and microwave something, however. Then, I remembered that Old El Paso was nice enough to let me try their Old El Paso Soft Tortilla Taco Boat Dinner Kit! I remembered that I bought some chipotle-marinated chicken from Whole Foods last Friday.

The flavorful combination for my Wednesday night dinner: marinated chicken, Brandless black bean and corn salsa, peppers and onions, Frank's red hot, and a Old El Paso Soft Tortilla Taco Boat Dinner Kit.

Mexican food is one of my favorite pastimes, I would definitely say that I have it too much. What's easier than rice, beans, veggies and sauces, I thought? Nothing! That is the ONLY ANSWER!

I let these ingredients simmer in the taco sauce that came with the taco boats until the veggies were tender and the meat was cooked. The next step is insultingly easy - place the filling the taco boats and top with salsa and cheese. A fun trick that I was too hungry to try was toasting the flour taco boats for an extra bit of crispiness that a corn shell would give you. Let me know if you try it!

Yes, those are tears of joy. Dinner alas, at 8:30PM.

This is an actual picture of me post-tacos. Look at her, she's glowing. Her brows are filled, her hair is wavy, she's serving business casual looks, and she's smiling. She hasn't smiled in years. She hasn't smiled that wide since Hilary Duff dropped Metamorphosis.

You're probably (not) wondering the recipe for this genius and intricate recipe.

Ingredients

1. Old El Paso Soft Tortilla Taco Boat Dinner Kit

2. 1/2 chicken breast, marinated how you like

3. 1/3 an onion

4. 1/2 a green pepper

5. Old El Paso taco Sauce

6. Shredded cheese

7. Brandless black bean and corn salsa

8. Frank's red hot

Steps

1. Sautee pepper, onion chicken and taco sauce in a pan on medium heat until veggies are soft and chicken is cooked

2. Place the above mixture into the taco bowls

3. Top with Brandless salsa, a dash of frank's red hot and a sprinkle of cheese.

Materials for this blog post were provided free of charge by Old El Paso.

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OOTD/ PHOTO DIARY: WASHNGTON, DC

July 07, 2015

It was a very patriotic weekend. I've never been to D.C. before in my life, so I was very excited! Even though I travel a lot, there are still SO many places I haven't been. I felt the need to show my love for the freedom and opportunity that being an American citizen gives me, so going to our nation's capital seemed like the right thing to do! I also love history, and currently work in politics, so it just makes sense.

Day 1

Top: White House Black Market

Shorts: Francescas

Shoes: Amazon

Necklace: BP by Nordstrom

This is McPherson square, it's two blocks from our hotel and two blocks from the White House. That's McPherson on the horse. Did you know that there's a law in D.C. that no statues can be taller than 19 ft?

I was so excited to see a farmers market and street tacos right near the White House! These were two different types of vegetable tacos in corn tortillas - green bean, salsa, and goat cheese; and mushroom and feta. The berry hibiscus iced tea hit the spot!

Not that important of a house.

The WWII memorial is shown here. There are two arches (Pacific and Atlantic) for the two theatres it was fought on. In diagonal order of entrance, each wreathed pillar represents each state or territory of the U.S. that fought in this war.

Honest Abe

The reflecting pool and the Washington Monument.

We also stopped by the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Day 2

The theme of our day was George. We went on a tour of his George Washington's estate, Mont Vernon, and his church, Christ Church, in Alexandria, Virginia.

Shirt: Forever 21

Shorts: Zara

Shoes: Target

Bag: Forever 21

What's interesting about Mont Vernon is that it's not just one big house, but it also has many different, separate rooms in separate houses. The laundry, kitchen, slave quarters, carriage house, and meat cellars were all separate.

The current owners and preservers of the estate, The Mont Vernon Ladies Association, purchased all land in sight across the Potomac so that the view you see today is very similar to George and Martha's views.

Mont Vernon Wharf

Next up was a Segway tour of the city, so I figured a maxi skirt and chambray shirt would keep me warm from the wind.

We had reservations at G by Mike Isabella, former Top Chef contestant. I was so jazzed about eating there, because I consider myself a budding foodie, and I love trying new, delicious foods.

This is our antipasti board including, pork terrine, citrus mostarda, seasonal crostini, foie gras mousse

snapper croquette, caper remoulade, creamy burrata, grilled asparagus, speck.

This is my sweet pea tortellini with lemon thyme, pancetta, maitake mushroom.

Day 2

Happy 4th everyone!

Shirt: slip from an Old Navy dress

Shorts: Old Navy

Necklace: Icing

Shoes: TopShop (shown later)

The Constitution Ave parade was grand, and long.

My favorite part of the trip was the NEWSEUM! As a communications major, this is natural. I loved seeing our nations history through the eyes of journalists. From the 9/11 exhibit with an actual piece from the building, to the timeline of Presidents and their dogs, it was a mix of emotions.

Above is a part of the Pulitzer Prize winning photos exhibit.

The digital media part, my favorite, went over social activism, YouTube, Twitter, WikiLeaks, Wikipedia, TMZ, and much more.

Hundreds of thousands lined up from the West Lawn of the Capital building, all across the mall, to the Lincoln Memorial and Jefferson Memorial to see the concert and fireworks.

The weekend ended with a bang.

How was your 4th of July?

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agave nectar

Four Easy Ways to Kickstart Your Morning!

April 24, 2015

Not everyone is a morning person. I know most people feel like waking up at the last possible minute, throwing some clothes on, and running out the door, however that leads to irritability and unproductiveness. Waking up a tad bit earlier to dedicate some time to yourself and your physical and mental well-being would be a step in the right direction of starting your day off right. Not to sound like your mother, your mother's mother, and your mother's mother's mother, but breakfast is the most important meal of the day! If you skip breakfast, you'll only be focusing on how hungry you are during class, not the content. Here is what I do every morning to prepare myself for the day. If you don't do all of these, try implementing at least one!

1. Make yourself a nice breakfast

In the mornings, I like to treat myself to a wholesome breakfast of flaxseed waffles, greek yogurt with honey and fruit, or cereal. Treat yourself to whatever breakfast you like! If you're one of those people that can't eat too early and only grab a coffee, at least have a granola bar or a banana.. your potassium levels will thank you later!

2. Make yourself look great!

My roommate and I religiously follow the rule "dress well test well". I live and breathe by my mantra: if you're confident in your outfit, you're going to perform better in your classes, meetings, work, etc. "Look good, feel good" Either way you spin it, it's harder to fall asleep in dress pants and a button-down than in a sweatsuit.

3. Look up mood-boosting Spotify playlist!

This is a new ritual as of this semester. I've recently become acquainted with Spotify because I love "collecting" music. The bigger my music library the better. Some people make origami and cookies.. I make playlists. I digress. Spotify has playlists for every genre and mood every time of the day. Every morning they feature playlists such as "Mood Booster", "Feel Good", "Happy Hipster", and "Acoustic Morning". Listening to them not only inform me of top hits and new songs, but also boosts my mood in the morning.

4. Be a little productive

If I have time in the morning, I either do a little blogging, schedule out tweets, talk on blogger network pages, or maybe even do some homework. My favorite mornings are when I get a good run in, get a coffee, and do a few errands. I feel like a "real adult."

It can be hard to leave your comfy bed sometimes. How do you pump yourself up in the mornings?

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chain

Lifestyle: My First Trip to Supermarket Heaven

December 01, 2014

When it comes to shopping organically, some people get defrayed because of the cost and location of stores. There's supermarkets around every corner, but not Whole Foods to Trader Joes. Some people have certain items that they always buy organically - produce, milk, cheese, whatever - and some items they just pick up at the supermarket. It's great to make an effort to buy some foods organically, however that means making two trips: one to an organic food store, and one to a basic supermarket.

What are some other reasons you (or maybe just me) love Whole Foods? The hot bar, say what? Yes! A pre-made buffet of delicious, wholesome food awaits in the pre-made food section, along with prepackaged sandwiches and salads not far from the bakery. What if all of the wonders (including toiletries) of a regular supermarket, the organic variety of a Whole Foods, the hot buffet bar, the baristas of a Starbucks, and the sandwich makers of a Subway? Well, just go to Wegmans!

Wegmans is a family-owned super-duper-market chain located in Chestnut Hill, Burlington, and Northborough, Massachusetts. I haven't been paid or compensated to do this post, after I took my first visit to the one in Burlington I felt inclined to write about its wonder.

I spent about two hours total there. Yes, most of it was me in awe just standing with my mouth gaping, but the rest of the time was spent checking off my to-do list: my Nutrition & Physical Performance "grocery store" analysis assignment for class, shopping for food for my dorm, and picking out dinner for that night. Being in Wegmans helped with my assignment because the new environment made it more fun, and having the assignment made me realize how much a variety the store had.

The assignment was to make graphs comparing how much fat, calories, sodium, types of fat, ingredients, etc of different types of milk (2%, skim, whole), cereals (high fiber, low fiber), peanut butter (natural, reduced fat), etc. Wegmans is a bit like Forever 21 in the sense that there's not one place for everything. In Forever 21, you can't just find a white cardigan, you can find a clean-cut one in the preppy section, a lace and fringy one in the boho section, and one with a varsity letter one in the sporty section. At Wegmans, you can't just find pepperoni pizza. You can find multigrain crust and vegan cheese pizza in the organic section, square or circle shapes of pepperoni pizza of the brands you love in the supermarket section, or you can find a fresh-baked artisan crust with pepperoni or whatever topping you want in the made-to-order buffet section.

What does this all have to do with healthy eating? One of the principles of heathy eating is variety. If you eat PB&J three meals a day, you'll get sick. I know none of my readers love PB&J THAT much, however variety keeps eating healthy interesting and rewarding. Just meandering the halls of a new grocery store will inspire you. I saw kale and turkey sausage soup that inspired me to make a kale and chicken sausage frittata.

Some people are afraid of trying to buckle down and eat right because they're afraid that it'll be bland. If they took one trip to Wegmans, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, or any place of the sort they'd be proven wrong. Yes, eating your fruits and veggies is important, however there's a new slough of superfoods out there just waiting to be experimented with. Kale, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, chia, flax hemp, spinach, cranberries, almond, acai, are just some. For example, look at these delectable kale and quinoa cakes I gobbled right up when I got home: