irry's Profile

Oooh breakfast is my favorite!! I would eat it every meal if I could but my husband says nay. :(

Some of my favorites..

Fry up tomatoes and eggs and breakfast meats in the same pan, British style.

Serve breakfast top of a bed of wilted baby greens / spinach / arugula (microwave for half a min to wilt). If you add cherry tomatoes as well, this will cook them almost to bursting, and they will soften and taste sweeter, and the juice makes a lovely breakfast salad dressing on its own or together with runny yolk. Can't beat the egg + tomato combination!

Make frittattas or egg muffins in bulk from whatever veggies on hand and freeze, then microwave for 20 secs to heat up in the morning.

Have some black beans and salsa, scramble some eggs, saute some diced up breakfast meat, and call it Mexican. Naked breakfast burrito!

Miso soup with any kind of leafy greens and a poached egg <3

Delicious in stir fries, soups, or with fried noodles/rice.

When I am feeling lazy I like to slice thinly and boil with noodles, tofu, and shrimp, crack an egg in, stir in miso at the end, to make a quick, delicious, and healthy meal. You can also stir in leftover rice instead of the noodles. It's a great substitute for instant ramen - much healthier cause you are cooking from scratch and almost as easy to cook.

The study specifically compares the nutritional differences of organic vs inorganic - which is perfectly valid since the research on this point has been inconclusive so far, and more research data can only improve our understanding. Blame NYT if you must for publishing an article with a misleading headline.

I hate fad diets too!! I've been in a similar place as you, gained 20 lbs when I moved in with my husband. Dropped it all permanently though. What worked for me was really focusing on living a healthy lifestyle, and committing to doing this for life, not just for the 20 lb weight loss, and focusing on cultivating good habits and dropping bad ones.

- Drink only water and unsweetened tea/coffee, no soda, not even diet. One glass of juice/milk a day is okay. (I personally also allow myself max of one glass of beer/wine a day. Shhh.)
- Cut out all pastries, cookies, unhealthy junk food. Replace with healthy snacks like granola bars (check the sugar content!), nuts, fruits, and YES, CHOCOLATE (at least 80% cacao)
- Cut out refined carbs, eat only whole grain
- Portion control - portion out meals and put takeaways/leftovers in a box BEFORE you start eating. Helps you to avoid eating too much.
- Make sure veggies/fruits make up at least 40% of the meal
- Decrease amount of grain you eat (bread, pasta, rice)
- Proteins - red meat only once or twice a week, primarily eat lean proteins. Start eating more plant based protein, like eggs, beans, tofu, etc. I now go vegetarian one or two days a week.
- Start exercising everyday - at least 3 days of cardio a week and toning rest of the time. Developing some muscle really helps as they burn more energy than fat.

I picked up these habits one by one, only switching to next after the first one was established and took no effort, so as not to get overwhelmed. Takes longer, but I haven't fallen off the wagon in 5 years and it wasn't difficult. =D

Things that everyone should do, not just people who want to lose weight. ;)

I'd go with ingredients that require no cooking for the appetizer and dessert. You can devote your full attention and kitchen space to the main course, and have a helper assemble them for you. ;)

Appetizer: Grapes, crackers, good crusty bread, cheese, olives, salami, and the like, is always delicious and well-received, preferably paired with bottles of cheap but decent wine.

Main: Another vote for easy but impressive one pot meals like pot roast, brisket, or pork shoulder, cooked together with vegetables like potatoes onions and carrots, and buy some fresh dinner rolls and spreadable butter, done.

Dessert: Strawberries are in season!!! Slices of pound cake topped with sliced strawberries and whipped cream! A bottle of strawberry syrup and a bottle of Hershey's chocolate syrup available on the side. Easy, cheap, pretty to look at, and delicious!

What's cool now will be overdone next month, and what's overdone next month will be retro/hip in ten years, ad infinitum.. Who cares?

Trends only matter in one way.. if something that I like becomes popular, it's going to get mass produced so I can buy it at a lower price.. WIN!!!

If you're going to do the from scratch version where all you're using is the ramen noodles, why stick with the overpriced and overprocessed ramen noodles you find in most instant noodle packets? Go with dried soba noodles (primarily wheat/buckwheat), will give almost the same flavor and texture, is cheaper, and also healthier for you. One serving of instant ramen noodles (without the seasoning) is about 190 calories with 7g of fat. One serving of soba noodles is 113 calories with 1g of fat. Easy choice!

The only thing you'd do different is cook the soba in a separate pot and rinse in cold water before pouring hot broth over it. When I'm lazy I just cook it in the same pot and have slightly thicker soup. =D

May I point out the obvious and say, eat/drink it? ;) I just squeeze the zested lemons and limes into a pitcher of iced tea or club soda. All other kinds of citrus, grapefruits, tangerines, oranges, etc, I cut up for eating. Either way, it gets served with dinner. Pairs nicely with dishes that use the zest. I've never thought of it as wasteful because before I started using zest in cooking, I was already eating / drinking the actual fruit..

@auma that gave me a brilliant idea! If AT is going to dilute their brand with something.. What about pictures of cute baby animals instead??? They live in houses and apartments right? It might even appropriate. And everyone loves cute baby animals. Everyone, quick, send them pictures!

It looks gorgeous and right at home in the pages of glossy magazine, but I prefer cooking in a smaller kitchen with everything at most a step out of reach. Also, my preference would be to add some plants/flowers to make it feel warmer, and lose the huge chess pieces and giant.. mushroom. (Am being nice here, was thinking something else). I adore the wine cellar though. I'd take that. And the wines.