Summertime

It feels like we have been hibernating like bears. Now, everyone is blooming like a flower in spring because of the warm weather! We all move around more during the summer which is great for our health. Most of us grew up playing in the ocean till the sun went down without even thinking of having something to eat. When we do eat during the summer we mostly have grilled food. Grilling is a wonderful thing because you are not cooking your food mostly in fat.

We all feel like exercising a lot more and eating a lot healthier during this time and I know I feel exactly that way! I am joining planet fitness and I will be eating a lot healthier! It is alright to pig out once in a while but you have to remember your health and go back to eating healthy. I do admit that I pig out more than I am supposed to but I have changed my ways! You can also treat yourself to a little dessert after doing so much physical activity during a summer's day.

Remember whenever you want a dessert you can always find a great healthy dessert recipe! When you grill it doesn't always have to be hot dogs and hamburgers or chicken. There are loads of different recipes for grilling that would mix up your meals! Just go out there and look!

The best website I have found for grilling would probably be www.cookingchanneltv.com

I found some healthy summer dessert recipes, please click here.

The Beginning of The Nutrition Journey

I wrote in my first post that I would be sharing my journey on becoming a Dietitian and Nutritionist. So, I am now going to tell you what I have done already and what I am about to do. 

I have decided I am going to do a 1 year or 2 year transfer at Catawba Valley Community College then transferring to Western Carolina University. I have taken my placement test for CVCC and now I am going to see an adviser to talk about my classes at CVCC sometime this week or next week. During the summer I will sign up for my classes.

  

When I sign up for my classes I am just going to be doing the regular classes to get them out of the way and when I go to WCU I will take all of my classes based on Dietitian and Nutrition. I will take the harder classes inside a real classroom and I will take the easier classes on the computer so I won't have to be going back and forth. 

Well, wish me luck and I will write more posts about this journey that I am a little nervous about...     

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Pancakes

 I watched the cooking channel all memorial weekend and Monday night I watched an episode of Unique Eats. On that episode of Unique Eats there was this food truck called the Buttermilk Truck in L.A. and they were talking about their red velvet pancakes which I thought was very unique. My mind was blown when I watched that. I never thought of red velvet pancakes! I found someone who blogged about them and they found a copy cat recipe of the red velvet chocolate chip pancakes. The link for the recipe is below the picture of the pancakes. 

What I found neat about their red velvet pancakes is that they put just 2 chocolate chips in every pancake, which shows the uniqueness of the relationship between them. They use cream cheese and powdered sugar to top the pancakes and you can drizzle on some syrup if you like. 

The Buttermilk Truck

Romantic Dinner

Everyone has been bitten by the love bug at least once in their life! You have always wanted to cook something special and romantic for that one person you love right? Well here is a perfect dinner for a very romantic night!

First you start off with roasted asparagus with hollandaise sauce for the appetizer. Yum! For the main course you can make Speghettini with mushrooms, garlic and oil. Finally for dessert, you can make a Chocolate Lava Cake! Make sure you make the setting very romantic! You could also watch a romantic movie as well.

Guys, I believe that your girlfriend, lady friend, fiancé, or your wife will love this dinner! Ladies, sometimes you might be with a guy that doesn't really have a romantic side but step up and do this dinner you can teach him  how to be romantic! Ladies that have a romantic guy, you should be excited because he will love it!

I have the recipes linked below the pictures. If you have any questions please leave a comment in the comment box below this post.

Roasted Asparagus with Hollandaise

Chocolate Lava Cake

Speghettini w/mushrooms, garlic, & oil

Substitutes for French Fries

People eat french fries at least 4 times a week! Eating french fries for that many times a week is very unhealthy. I am confessing that I do the same like everyone else! There are 3 substitutions for french fries that would be the best: sweet potato fries, roasted asparagus, and sauteed zucchini. I'm not really a sweet potato person but I know it is better than regular potatoes but I am an asparagus and zucchini person!

Sweet Potato Fries

You can find frozen sweet potato fries at your local grocery store or you can make them your self. Roasting asparagus is easy to do! All you have to do to the asparagus is put them on a pan, drizzle a little oil on them and season them, then put them in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 15 minutes. Sauteing zucchini is simple as well! Just saute them in some oil with Greek seasoning.

Roasted Asparagus 

Sauteed Zucchini

Stove Top Grilling

Are you not sad when it is raining on the day you want to grill? Well, I am sad about that a lot! I have wanted to get a stove top grilling pan for a while now but my mother says that we cannot have one because we have a glass stove top. I have always thought there could be a procedure to pan grill on a glass stove and I have found the instructions on how to from eHow.

Link: How to Use a Grill Pan on a Flat Top Stove

The best kind of grill pan to use is a cast iron one. Why are they the best you ask?... Because grill pans do not require oil or cooking fat, making it healthier for you and your family! Using cast iron on a gas stove is not a problem but when you use them on a electric glass stove top you have a big problem! The problem with cast iron on a glass stove top is that it will scratch! Hopefully this post will help everyone with these kind of questions!  Happy indoor grilling!

Other links: 

• How to Care for an Aluminum Stove Top Grill Pan 
• How to Clean a Stove Top Grill Pan
• How to Cook on a Stove Top Grill

Kitchen Designs

The vintage aprons inspired me to search for retro kitchen appliances. Searching for the kitchen appliances inspired me to design a kitchen for my future home. I found the company that makes the retro appliances and their name is Big Chill. The appliances come in 8 different colors and I think that is amazing! One problem is the cost. The Big Chill kitchen appliances are pretty expensive but I am already saving money for them because I love them that much.

Below is a link to the Big Chill web site and also some pictures of the appliances and kitchens.

Big Chill Web Site

Big Chill Microwave

Big Chill Dishwasher 

Big Chill Stove in Jade 

Big Chill Studio Refrigerator in Jade