Post Ten: Have Yourself a Fruity Little Christmas

Remember the 4 servings of fruit you need per day? Here's a festive way to accomplish that to balance out the amount of sweets you'll be eating during the holidays.



Ingredients

1 (3 oz.) mixed fruit gelatin
1 c. boiling water
1 (8 3/4 oz.) can pineapple tidbits
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/3 c. mayonnaise
2 c. whipped cream or sour cream
Or 2 cups fruit - drained fruit cocktail:
1 med. banana, diced
1/2 c. halved grapes
1/4 c. diced maraschino cherries
1/4 c. chopped nuts

Directions

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water; drain pineapple, measure syrup adding water to make 1/2 cup. Stir in lemon juice and mayonnaise. Chill until thick. Whip cream, fold fruits, nuts, whipped cream. Pour into 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. Freeze 3-4 hours. Serve in slices.

I found this cute idea at Cooks.com!

Post Nine: Holiday Cravings

During the holidays, it is natural for everyone (myself included) to go a little overboard with our eating habits. For me, chocolate is a huge weakness. The holidays are a great time to indulge in a little extra here and there. I like to tell myself that it's justified because it's the holidays. With that idea in mind, I'm including a not-so healthy recipe for "Santa's Chocolate Thumbprints" found at allrecipes.com! I made this last year for my Christmas Party at work and they were a huge hit.


Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (11 ounce) package white chocolate chips
1 (1.4 ounce) bar chocolate covered English toffee, chopped
1 (4 ounce) jar maraschino cherries, halved

Directions

Beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar in large bowl until well blended; stir in corn syrup, egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa and baking soda; gradually add this dry mixture to butter mixture. Blend well. Cover and refrigerate dough for 1 hour or until firm enough to handle.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Shape dough into 1 inch balls; roll each ball in sugar mixture and arrange on a cookie sheet. Using your thumb, make an indentation in center of each cookie.
Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 7 to 8 minutes or until just set.
Remove the cookies from the oven. If the indentation has grown indistinct, use the top of a spoon and press indentation in further. Immediately place 1 teaspoon white chips into each indentation. After several minutes, swirl the melted chips with a spoon. Top with toffee bits and maraschino cherry halves (if desired). Cool cookies on a wire rack.


If you don't like cherries, you can leave them out. Last year, I made 12 with cherries and 12 with chocolate chips in the middle. Both were enjoyed equally by everyone.

Post Eight: Exercise is Key

As stated in my last post, eating less seems like an effective way to eat "healthy" and avoid putting on weight. While this is true, it is more effective to ensure that you are getting enough exercise as well as maintaining a healthy diet.

For me, getting exercise is difficult to do on a regular basis. I am a full-time student with very little time to get to the gym. So, I make it a point to walk everywhere I go when the weather is permitting. I take the stairs in my residence as opposed to taking the elevator, and I make sure to drink plenty of water.

Although these seem like simple actions that won't deliver any results, over time, your body will appreciate that you took the effort to keep it in shape!

Post Seven: Food Fuels Your Body!

I've already told the story about my bulimic high school friend. However, I knew a lot of other girls who tried every possible "diet" just to shed a few extra pounds. These diets consisted of skipping meals, counting calories and eliminating entire food groups. All of these so-called diets are extremely unhealthy. Our bodies require a certain amount and type of food per day in order to sustain itself. By skipping certain foods or fasting, we are slowing down our metabolism. This is what makes our bodies grow and helps us burn fat quickly.

Our bodies need 4-5 servings of dairy products a day. This includes milk, cheese, and yogurt. We also need 6-11 servings of grain products, such as bread, pasta and rice. We require 4 servings of vegetables a day, and approximately 2-4 servings of fruit. 3-4 servings of meat or alternatives are required. This includes poultry, eggs, and beans.

Post Six: Healthy Recipe Tutorials

As I said in a previous post, I haven't always been concerned with healthy eating. I figured, however, that while everything else in my life is changing, I might as well make a point to change the way I eat, too.

I did some research, and each time I looked up "eating habits for young adults" I got pretty much the same results. Most of the links that popped up were related to eating disorders and how young girls tend to starve themselves. This interested me, and although it is not directly related to my blog topic, I thought it would be interesting to elaborate on the subject a bit.

I've never been subject to an eating disorder myself, but in high school, one of my friends had Bulimia. This involves binging on a large amount of food, usually unhealthy, and later forcing oneself to throw up or "purge". She lost weight rapidly and eventually was hospitalized. Her eating habits escalated into a disease which was beyond her control.

Young adults (females in particular) are subject to be "thin", and for people in university struggling to afford groceries, buying the most healthy products is usually out of the question. So, I did further research, and found some awesome, delicious and inexpensive healthy meal ideas that young adults can make. Not only are they good for you, but they will leave you feeling full and energized!

The first one is to make "Heart Healthy Veggie Burgers". Recently I have decided to try a meat-free lifestyle, so I thought this was a great recipe for vegetarians or anyone who wants to avoid the greasy, fattening properties of a beef patty.

This was taken from KCraTV.


The next video tutorial is one that I tried yesterday, and it's delicious. It's a low calorie apple cinnamon dessert recipe--perfect for the holidays! It's so easy to make and was really yummy.

Post Five: Dessert CAN be Healthy: Here's Proof!

Going along with the theme developed in last week's post, I decided I would start off with the low-fat tiramisu recipe that I found on www.baking.about.com. My roommates and I love desserts, and I've made tiramisu about 4 times aside from this. From my experience, this one turned out the best! I'm so glad I attempted something that wasn't loaded with calories but still ended up tasting AMAZING. What girl doesn't love an Italian dessert!?

Ingredients:

* 8 ounces semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped (We don't have a food processer but it would have been REALLY useful in this situation)
* 1/4 cup fat free egg substitute
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
* 1 8-ounce package fat free cream cheese, cut into small pieces
* 1 8-ounce frozen light whipped topping, thawed
* 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
* 1/4 cup hot water
* 1 cup cold water
* 1 fat free pound cake, cut into 1/2 inch slices

Preparation:
In food processor with metal blade (We ended up blending it instead. Same effect) process egg substitute and sugar for 30 seconds. Add vanilla; process 1 minute or until pale yellow. Add cream cheese pieces, a few at a time, processing until smooth. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Cover; refrigerate 1 hour. Fold whipped topping into cream cheese mixture. Set aside. In large shallow dish, dissolve espresso powder in the hot water; add the cold water. Quickly dip cake slices into espresso, turning to coat all sides. Arrange slices in bottom of 13x9 inch baking dish or 12 cup shallow dish, smoothing with fingers to mold cake slices together. Sprinkle with half of the chopped chocolate. Top with chilled cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate. Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight before serving. Store in refrigerator.

If you can't tell by looking at the picture... it was DELICIOUS. I'll definitely be making it again. Needless to say...my roommates love me, too.

Post Four: Nutrition Comes First!

I don't know why, but I've realized that eating healthy has never really been a huge concern for me. Why? I think it's partly because I've been fairly active for most of my life in things such as dancing and competitive jump rope. I got the idea in my head that because I exercised, eating "healthy" wasn't necessary for me. Recently, though, I haven't had time to get into any physical activities. School is taking over my life and I hardly have time to breathe these days. I've noticed that the lack of physical activity mixed with not eating "well" is taking a toll on my body. This got me thinking, "Hey, I should steer my blog in a whole new direction: Healthy Eating". With this being said, from now on (hopefully), the majority of my posts will revolve around this ideology. Don't worry, I'll still post yummy desserts, but perhaps they will be a little lighter and a lot healthier. :)

Post Three - Dessert Time!

Today, to get into the spirit of fall, my roomies and I decided we would try out this recipe that I found on allrecipes.com (this is where I find most of the recipes I use). It's for pumpkin cheesecake! It was DELICIOUS!

The ingredients listed on the site are:
* 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
* 1/2 cup ground pecans (We didn't use the pecans because some of us don't like them)
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 1/4 cup butter
* 3/4 cup white sugar
* 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
* 3 egg yolks
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground mace
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese (We used Phili light cream cheese)
* 3/8 cup white sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 egg yolk
* 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, ground pecans, 2 tablespoons white sugar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and the melted butter or margarine and mix well. Firmly press mixture into one 9 inch springform pan.
3. Combine 3/4 cup of the white sugar, the pumpkin, 3 egg yolks, ground cinnamon, ground mace, ground ginger and salt in a medium bowl. Mix well, and set aside.
4. Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until light and fluffy; gradually add 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar and mix well. Add the whole egg, remaining egg yolk and the whipping cream, beating well. Add cornstarch and vanilla and lemon flavorings, beat batter until smooth. Add pumpkin mixture and mix well. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50 to 55 minutes. Do not overbake. Center may be soft but it will firm up when chilled. Let cheesecake cool on a wire rack, then refrigerate.


Anyone who likes cheesecake and pumpkin flavoured things will definitely love this. We're going to be making it again for our residence potluck which is coming up next week! :)

Post Two - My Hobby

I've decided that I'll be blogging about food. I love cooking. Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved the idea of helping out my mom in the kitchen. I felt like I had accomplished something by helping her out. As I grew older, I realized that cooking was becoming more than just a fun thing to do. Not only did I enjoy eating the product, but the process of experimenting with food and testing out new ideas for different dishes was a lot of fun for me. Desserts are my personal favorite, but of course, no one can survive on dessert alone. Coming to university and living on my own is forcing me to cook for myself (although, I don't mind!)This gives me a chance to expand on my knowledge. I'm getting the chance to test out tons of new potential recipes without my mother fearing that I'll burn the house down. In this blog, I'll be posting recipes that I've tried recently, (hopefully) video tutorials on how to make different things, and more, so stay tuned! :)

Post One - Who Am I?

I've never been great at introducing myself, but from my past experience with writing blogs in high school, I guess I should start with my name. My name is Kirsten Emelia Darel-no, it's not "Kristen", or "Keerstin" - just Kirsten. I'm 18 years old, making me a legal "adult", although I don't feel like one. I come from a small town in Southern Ontario called Leamington. Don't worry, I won't be offended if you've never heard of it. I went to a Catholic high school for four years, and although I've been told they were supposed to be the best years of my life, I'm definitely glad to be out of there.

Leaving home was a bit of a challenge for me. It's not that I can't handle responsibility, and it's definitely not that I'm afraid to be independent. I've had a boyfriend for almost four years and leaving him behind was probably the toughest thing I've ever had to do. After much thought and consideration, I realized that I needed to put myself first and focus on my future. My future is something that needs to be certain, while relationships can come and go.

I'm here at Laurier with a goal; a goal to learn and become successful some day. I'm in the Journalism program because I have always loved writing, and being involved in the news and sharing it with other people is exciting to me. I'm not sure which strand of journalism I want to get into yet, but as of right now, I'm leaning towards print or broadcast. So far, I'm enjoying most of my classes and they don't seem too difficult. Then again, it's only been one week. I guess the only problem I've had is somehow managing to miss a reporting and writing lab by accident. It's pretty frustrating because I don't normally forget things like times and places. It wasn't exactly how I pictured starting off my week, but with the luck I have, I guess I should have expected it.

I don't exactly know what topic to talk about for my blog. I'm thinking I will most likely end up blogging about creative writing or cooking: two things that I am fairly interested in and good at.