Random fact about me: I’m a sucker for cute and pun-y food pictures.
Happy Friday! Any fun plans for the weekend? We have a wedding Saturday in Boulder so we were thinking about going up early to eat somewhere cool. Any suggestions?!?!
Time for Anything & Everything Friday. A weekly post where I share five random things with you. Sometimes they are about me and my life, sometimes they are interesting articles about food or sometimes fitness related. I try (keyword there) to keep them health related, but sometime I want to talk about other things! Let’s get to it, shall we?
Time Saving Cooking Techniques:
I came across this article on Delish.com while I was doing some prep for my radio show. There are some great ideas in here! Lindsay Funston compiled this list for us of 11 Ingenious Ways to Save Time When You Cook. There is a great way to wilt spinach when cooking with pasta if you don’t want to overcook it (which I tend to do….). Another tip involves softening butter in five seconds…yes five! Grating vegetables for pureed soup and also grating garlic, rather than having to mince it yourself. Genius. What tricks do you use to save time in the kitchen?!?!
Popcorn:
I am a sucker for popcorn! There is something about it that I just love. Those dang kernels getting stuck in my teeth, yuck….but I love it so much I can deal with that. I can (and will) sit down and eat an entire bag of pre-popped popcorn if I’m not careful. I generally need to pour it into a bowl or something to keep myself from eating all of it. Well, luckily popcorn can be a very healthy snack! It is a whole grain and full of fiber. The problem usually comes when it is loaded with butter, sugar, topped with fake cheese, etc. I am here to help! Here are 13 different popcorn options that you don’t have to feel guilty about. Abigail Thorpe at Greatist.com put this list together of the Best Tasting (and Healthiest) Popcorn You Can Buy. They chose these based on several different things including having zero artificial flavors or colors, sugar cannot be the first ingredient, reasonable serving size, etc. I’ve tried some of these popcorns and they really are delicious! Check out the full list at the link above.
Workout Gear:
Where do you buy your workout clothes? I like JCPenney and Target for budget-friendly options. I am a VIP member of Fabletics and lately I’ve actually picked outfits instead of skipping each month. I actually really dig their workout clothes. Their leggings are thicker than most and I like that. I just bought a pair of capris similar to these CRAZY pants (different pattern, but same crazy colors) the other day and need to wear them soon. Well if you want some tricks for finding good workout gear then read this article from My Fitness Pal 8 Tips to Finding the Best Workout Gear for You. The article starts with listing a problem you may or may not be having. Then it gives you information about what type of clothing will help with that problem (type of material, etc) and finally gives you one product that will help with that. Here is the kicker, My Fitness Pal is now owned by Under Armour, so all the options are Under Armour products. I still found it helpful to read because I could read about what types of clothes I should be looking for. Then I can buy Under Armour or look for those qualities in other brands! Here is an example, if you get really hot when you work out then look for clothes made from a rayon blend that can wick moisture away and also keep air circulating. Again, I am not endorsing Under Armour at all, but My Fitness Pal does have a lot of useful information, including this article.
Kitchen Tools for Healthy Cooking:
Matthew Kadey wrote this article for Bodybuilding.com called The 4 Best Kitchen Tools For Fast, Healthy Meals. Who doesn’t want a healthy meal that is super fast?!?! I know I am in! There are a lot of kitchen tools that can help make healthy eating easier. Here are the ones he suggested: bamboo steamer, cast-iron skillet, zester, and a food processor. In college I had a microwave steam bowl that would steam veggies, etc in no time. I do not have anything like that anymore! We will occasionally throw together a random set of Tupperware, strainers, bowls, etc to make our own “steamer”, but a bamboo steamer makes a lot more sense! You can put veggies, fish, or even chicken in the bamboo steamer. The zester is great to add low-calorie flavor it items that sometimes get boring (I’m talking to you chicken and fish). Try adding freshly grated lemon zest to your chicken and say hello to flavor. Check out the article from the link above and read about the other two items.
Booze for Brunch:
What is brunch without a cocktail or two?! Want to have a drink but not sure what to choose if you are watching your weight or trying to trim your waistline? Well check out this article on Thrillist.com’s Health page titled Boozy Brunch Drinks, ranked by Healthiness. I am happy to see (Carol you will be too) that the Bloody Mary was at the top of the list for healthiest brunch cocktail! I do love bloody Mary’s. Missy Wilkinson wrote this article and writes that “bloody Mary’s are the boozehounds answer to a green smoothie”. Well, that’s enough for me! Next time you are at brunch and are debating between cocktail or no-cocktail, see if one of these cocktails is on their drink menu. It is not listed here, but the other less-classy beverage that I enjoy at brunch is a red beer. Budlight and tomato juice is a great combination if you can do tomatoes. I really like using the spicy V8. Nothing like adding vegetables to your brew.
Well that’s it for today’s Anything & Everything Friday. Have a great weekend!
