[mistakes, i've made a few.]
5 years ago
Thursday, July 22, 2010
the rhythm is gonna get you
if you wanna read more about exactly what Zumba is,go here:
Zumba
videos of Gabby(my instructor) and actual songs we do in my class. my fave dances to do are the ones on july 4th, july 15th, and the lalalala song. (i'm pretty sure you can view these without being an actual fb member)
Zumba videos
where you can find me 2-3 times a week!
Emerald City Zumba
Thursday, July 15, 2010
tis the season...
for strawberries!! my most favorite fruit of all time is in season and i can't get enough. this year i've found so many good deals on strawberries i've been buying them by the truckload! usually i enjoy eating them plain, straight out of the fridge, but i decided this year i was going to actually cook with the strawberries. here are two of my favorite strawberry recipes that have gotten rave reviews, and are guarenteed to make you the most popular girl(or boy!)on your block.
easy as pie strawberry cheesecake
(ok,so you aren't actually cooking anything, and there aren't any strawberries IN the cheesecake, but there are strawberries involved, so it counts :)
you need:
1 box of jello no bake cheesecake
about 10 strawberries, sliced lengthwise
*make the cheesecake and graham cracker crust according to box instructions. add sliced strawberries on top in a decorative manner, and voila! instant popularity.
here's what mine looks like:
(for this cake i used a premade oreo cookie crust, but, being a traditional kind of girl, i actually preferred the graham cracker crust that comes with the cheesecake mix)
there are of course TONS of things you can add to dress up the cheesecake from adding more fruit to the inside, to using more/different kinds of toppings. i mainly chose to post this recipe because i posted the above picture on facebook a few weeks ago and got a few requests for a recipe...so...there it is! it looks all fancy shmancy, but it's literally "easy as pie"! you're welcome.
next up...my newest and current favorite cooking discovery...strawberry muffins!
i found the recipe on the site allrecipes.com. a tip: when searching for recipes online, make SURE and read the reviews that people have posted about that specific recipe. they will tell you whether it tastes good/bad as well as suggest things to add/take away from the original recipe posted that will actually make it taste better! which is what i came across when reading the reviews for these strawberry muffins. apparently the original recipe is too dry, so i made the "reviewer suggested" strawberry muffins and they turned out A-MA-zing! without further adieu...
spectacular spectacular strawberry muffins
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup chopped strawberries
1/2 tsp cinnamon
*Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oil an 8 cup muffin tin, or use paper liners.
*In a small bowl, combine oil, vanilla, milk, and egg. Beat lightly. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt,cinnamon, baking powder and brown and white sugar. Toss in chopped strawberries and stir to coat with flour. Pour in milk mixture and stir together.
*Fill muffin cups. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 25 minutes, or until the tops bounce back from the touch. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans.
the instructions say to bake for 25 minutes, but i didn't have mine in for any longer than 23 and they came out perfect, so just make sure you check them after about 20 or so.
also, this is the most basic form of the recipe. i think these would taste delicious with some kind of citrus-y glaze on top, or even a light layer of cream cheese frosting. if you have any other ideas on how to spice up my cheesecake and muffins, or recipes you'd like to share please feel free to email me, i'd love to try them out! bonamie21@gmail.com
easy as pie strawberry cheesecake
(ok,so you aren't actually cooking anything, and there aren't any strawberries IN the cheesecake, but there are strawberries involved, so it counts :)
you need:
1 box of jello no bake cheesecake
about 10 strawberries, sliced lengthwise
*make the cheesecake and graham cracker crust according to box instructions. add sliced strawberries on top in a decorative manner, and voila! instant popularity.
here's what mine looks like:
(for this cake i used a premade oreo cookie crust, but, being a traditional kind of girl, i actually preferred the graham cracker crust that comes with the cheesecake mix)
there are of course TONS of things you can add to dress up the cheesecake from adding more fruit to the inside, to using more/different kinds of toppings. i mainly chose to post this recipe because i posted the above picture on facebook a few weeks ago and got a few requests for a recipe...so...there it is! it looks all fancy shmancy, but it's literally "easy as pie"! you're welcome.
next up...my newest and current favorite cooking discovery...strawberry muffins!
i found the recipe on the site allrecipes.com. a tip: when searching for recipes online, make SURE and read the reviews that people have posted about that specific recipe. they will tell you whether it tastes good/bad as well as suggest things to add/take away from the original recipe posted that will actually make it taste better! which is what i came across when reading the reviews for these strawberry muffins. apparently the original recipe is too dry, so i made the "reviewer suggested" strawberry muffins and they turned out A-MA-zing! without further adieu...
spectacular spectacular strawberry muffins
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup chopped strawberries
1/2 tsp cinnamon
*Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oil an 8 cup muffin tin, or use paper liners.
*In a small bowl, combine oil, vanilla, milk, and egg. Beat lightly. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt,cinnamon, baking powder and brown and white sugar. Toss in chopped strawberries and stir to coat with flour. Pour in milk mixture and stir together.
*Fill muffin cups. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 25 minutes, or until the tops bounce back from the touch. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans.
the instructions say to bake for 25 minutes, but i didn't have mine in for any longer than 23 and they came out perfect, so just make sure you check them after about 20 or so.
also, this is the most basic form of the recipe. i think these would taste delicious with some kind of citrus-y glaze on top, or even a light layer of cream cheese frosting. if you have any other ideas on how to spice up my cheesecake and muffins, or recipes you'd like to share please feel free to email me, i'd love to try them out! bonamie21@gmail.com
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
a first time and a loser update
9 weeks in...a little less than 4 months to go.
in about 9 weeks i've lost a total of 21.5 lbs. i've been 1st place in the biggest loser competition every week except for one. it has become less of a competition of me vs. my coworkers because so many have dropped out, or just aren't doing well, or don't have the time to devote to this. the 2nd place person is about 6% behind me. since i can (currently) no longer count on the competition with other people aspect to drive me to work hard, it has now totally come to just me vs. myself. one week i gained a pound and a half and it KILLED me to admit it or tell people when they asked. i refuse to let that happen again. i really do hope some of my competitors can commit more soon,though, because i like hearing about everyone else's successes and the whole competition felt more like a team effort than individual-everyone cheering on and supporting each other. i love that kind of stuff.
i've worked HARD for every single pound i've lost. the tennis shoes i wear i've owned for at least 5 years and they've seen more miles in these past couple of months than they have in the whole time i've owned them. i don't know if i've previously mentioned, but i HATED jogging and running, i would much rather walk 20 miles than jog 1. now,there are parts of my workout route that i can't imagine NOT jogging because it's so easy to me now. i just discovered there is a zumba class right down the street from where i work. i have been dying to try this and am going to start next week...i CAN'T wait! also, there's a warrior dash in oregon in september. this baby would kick my ass for SURE, but it looks fun and i would be so excited to be able to say i competed in it. it would be my first relay type of race ever..i dunno,we'll see. i have until august to decide...i'll let you know as soon as i know for sure!
i realize that 21.5 lbs is a lot to have lost, and i am proud of myself for those, but i am disappointed in myself because at this point, i know it could have been more. i had a couple of bad weeks where i either made poor food choices, or didn't work out as much as i should have-but the only thing i can really do is concentrate on the present, and think about what can i do NOW to make sure i keep up my loss.
anyway...that's about it on that for now!
guess what i did for the first time EVER on the 4th of july???
i GRILLED!! the boys/men were preoccupied with other things and us ladies were hungry so i decided to take matters into my own hands and put on some hamburger patties, hot dogs and all the buns and cooked them all myself. i pretty much got them all perfect on the first try which basically means i have natural talent and should definitely grill more in the future.
PROOF! (yes, i know having a red eye is totally 1998. no, i have no idea why my photo editing program wouldn't completely remove the red eye. i swear i'm not possessed by satan.)
in about 9 weeks i've lost a total of 21.5 lbs. i've been 1st place in the biggest loser competition every week except for one. it has become less of a competition of me vs. my coworkers because so many have dropped out, or just aren't doing well, or don't have the time to devote to this. the 2nd place person is about 6% behind me. since i can (currently) no longer count on the competition with other people aspect to drive me to work hard, it has now totally come to just me vs. myself. one week i gained a pound and a half and it KILLED me to admit it or tell people when they asked. i refuse to let that happen again. i really do hope some of my competitors can commit more soon,though, because i like hearing about everyone else's successes and the whole competition felt more like a team effort than individual-everyone cheering on and supporting each other. i love that kind of stuff.
i've worked HARD for every single pound i've lost. the tennis shoes i wear i've owned for at least 5 years and they've seen more miles in these past couple of months than they have in the whole time i've owned them. i don't know if i've previously mentioned, but i HATED jogging and running, i would much rather walk 20 miles than jog 1. now,there are parts of my workout route that i can't imagine NOT jogging because it's so easy to me now. i just discovered there is a zumba class right down the street from where i work. i have been dying to try this and am going to start next week...i CAN'T wait! also, there's a warrior dash in oregon in september. this baby would kick my ass for SURE, but it looks fun and i would be so excited to be able to say i competed in it. it would be my first relay type of race ever..i dunno,we'll see. i have until august to decide...i'll let you know as soon as i know for sure!
i realize that 21.5 lbs is a lot to have lost, and i am proud of myself for those, but i am disappointed in myself because at this point, i know it could have been more. i had a couple of bad weeks where i either made poor food choices, or didn't work out as much as i should have-but the only thing i can really do is concentrate on the present, and think about what can i do NOW to make sure i keep up my loss.
anyway...that's about it on that for now!
guess what i did for the first time EVER on the 4th of july???
i GRILLED!! the boys/men were preoccupied with other things and us ladies were hungry so i decided to take matters into my own hands and put on some hamburger patties, hot dogs and all the buns and cooked them all myself. i pretty much got them all perfect on the first try which basically means i have natural talent and should definitely grill more in the future.
PROOF! (yes, i know having a red eye is totally 1998. no, i have no idea why my photo editing program wouldn't completely remove the red eye. i swear i'm not possessed by satan.)
Thursday, July 1, 2010
(wo)men vs. food
(disclaimer: i'm not gonna lie, this is a long post and includes lots of pictures. if you hate pictures and things that are long stop reading RIGHT NOW)
you probably could guess this about me, but if you gave me one thing to watch on television every day for the rest of my life it would definitely be anything food related. i could watch cakes being baked,a cook off where chefs need to make a main course using papaya, squid tentacles, and a gallon of chocolate syrup, learn how to make a meal in 30 minutes or less, grill the perfect steak, and find out who the next start of the channel will be, among tons of other food-related things,all day,every day if you let me.
one of my favorite shows is called man vs. food. in case you are not familiar with the show, this is how the show's website describes it:
Food fanatic Adam Richman has held every job in the restaurant business, and now he's on a journey to explore the biggest and best eats our nation has to offer, including some of the craziest eating challenges around. In Man v. Food, Adam travels coast-to-coast from Richmond, VA, to San Diego, CA, and more.
Adam will attempt to conquer a massive grilled cheese sandwich in Cleveland, OH, a 7-lb. seafood feast in Long Island, NY, and race to finish 50 wings in 30 minutes in Boulder, CO.
Whether it's a gigantic omelet packed with toppings, a diabolical plate of hot wings, or a monstrous mountain of nachos, Adam will square off against the best of the best.
speaking of gigantic omelet, when adam stopped by seattle, he ate at beth's cafe, home of the TWELVE EGG OMELET challenge.
my coworker, government name-patricia gilson, and i were both discussing our mutual love for this show one day. pattie, being absolutely insane, decided she wanted to attempt the omelet challenge. i, being a good, supportive friend, told her i would attend, but not participate. we picked a date, invited some other friends, and thus started our egg-y outing! i'm not sure who thought it was a good idea to let me have the camera (ok,it was me), but i captured every yolk-tastic moment in all its glory.
introducing, our carpool:
pattie, as "i put on mascara while driving ALL THE TIME" girl:
estelle, as pattie's accomplice/ partner in crime:
and me and katie as the "because i got high" girls (for the record, we do not ACTUALLY get high, we just made up awesome lyrics and sang a fantastic duet to that song):
the four of us met after work, piled into patties beetle, turned on eminem's latest(cause that's how gangstas roll) and drove to beth's...
when we walked in, we were greeted by a hostess and this white board. i breathed a HUGE sigh of relief upon reading that there ARE actually CLAMS in their clam chowdah (phew!):
we were seated. we ordered food. the food came. let the challenge begin.
the beth's crew-obviously before the food came because everyone is smiling:
juuuuuuuuuuuust kidding, here we are!
josh(who was attempting a 12 egg omelet on his own), willie, and pattie:
estelle, moi,katie and sev:
just to give you an idea on how big this omelet actually is, let's compare,shall we??
my normal human sized breakfast,served on a normal human sized plate:
the twelve egg omelet, hashbrowns and toast breakfast, served on a pizza pan and weighing more than a human head:
good luck guys!!
the three omelet eaters started off strong and made a good sized dent in their omelettes within a few minutes:
yea! we are sooooo happy to be eating lots and lots of eggs!
about 20 minutes have gone by...let's see how everyone is doing!
pattie? estelle? still smiliing??(you can't really tell, but the answer is definitely a big, fat NO)
josh?? how about you??
two thumbs up and an eyebrow raise??...he's doing good!
at this point i think i should introduce the (other) entertainment of the evening. i present to you...jude!
jude is, quite possibly, the cutest 2 year old ever invented in the universe. (i can safely say this because connor will not be 2 until the end of september)
he did tons of cool things while the competition was going on including,
help himself to some coffee:
dipping french fries into water,and then eating them(most likely practicing for a future food eating competition of his own):
eating ice in a very cute manner:
and showing off his muscles for the ladies:
now...let's check back in with everyone and see how they're doing!
almost done guys,just a few last bites!! can you do it???
after an hour of sweat,tears,laughing,and eating let's check the final results:
girls:
josh:
in the challenge of (wo)men vs. food the winner is FOOD!! no one finished their plate, though i give all of them mad props for trying, they definitely ate more than i ever could have.
thanks to everyone who came!i had a GREAT time. see you in a few weeks for the women vs.food:spaghetti edition. stay tuned...
see you next time!!
you probably could guess this about me, but if you gave me one thing to watch on television every day for the rest of my life it would definitely be anything food related. i could watch cakes being baked,a cook off where chefs need to make a main course using papaya, squid tentacles, and a gallon of chocolate syrup, learn how to make a meal in 30 minutes or less, grill the perfect steak, and find out who the next start of the channel will be, among tons of other food-related things,all day,every day if you let me.
one of my favorite shows is called man vs. food. in case you are not familiar with the show, this is how the show's website describes it:
Food fanatic Adam Richman has held every job in the restaurant business, and now he's on a journey to explore the biggest and best eats our nation has to offer, including some of the craziest eating challenges around. In Man v. Food, Adam travels coast-to-coast from Richmond, VA, to San Diego, CA, and more.
Adam will attempt to conquer a massive grilled cheese sandwich in Cleveland, OH, a 7-lb. seafood feast in Long Island, NY, and race to finish 50 wings in 30 minutes in Boulder, CO.
Whether it's a gigantic omelet packed with toppings, a diabolical plate of hot wings, or a monstrous mountain of nachos, Adam will square off against the best of the best.
speaking of gigantic omelet, when adam stopped by seattle, he ate at beth's cafe, home of the TWELVE EGG OMELET challenge.
my coworker, government name-patricia gilson, and i were both discussing our mutual love for this show one day. pattie, being absolutely insane, decided she wanted to attempt the omelet challenge. i, being a good, supportive friend, told her i would attend, but not participate. we picked a date, invited some other friends, and thus started our egg-y outing! i'm not sure who thought it was a good idea to let me have the camera (ok,it was me), but i captured every yolk-tastic moment in all its glory.
introducing, our carpool:
pattie, as "i put on mascara while driving ALL THE TIME" girl:
estelle, as pattie's accomplice/ partner in crime:
and me and katie as the "because i got high" girls (for the record, we do not ACTUALLY get high, we just made up awesome lyrics and sang a fantastic duet to that song):
the four of us met after work, piled into patties beetle, turned on eminem's latest(cause that's how gangstas roll) and drove to beth's...
when we walked in, we were greeted by a hostess and this white board. i breathed a HUGE sigh of relief upon reading that there ARE actually CLAMS in their clam chowdah (phew!):
we were seated. we ordered food. the food came. let the challenge begin.
the beth's crew-obviously before the food came because everyone is smiling:
juuuuuuuuuuuust kidding, here we are!
josh(who was attempting a 12 egg omelet on his own), willie, and pattie:
estelle, moi,katie and sev:
just to give you an idea on how big this omelet actually is, let's compare,shall we??
my normal human sized breakfast,served on a normal human sized plate:
the twelve egg omelet, hashbrowns and toast breakfast, served on a pizza pan and weighing more than a human head:
good luck guys!!
the three omelet eaters started off strong and made a good sized dent in their omelettes within a few minutes:
yea! we are sooooo happy to be eating lots and lots of eggs!
about 20 minutes have gone by...let's see how everyone is doing!
pattie? estelle? still smiliing??(you can't really tell, but the answer is definitely a big, fat NO)
josh?? how about you??
two thumbs up and an eyebrow raise??...he's doing good!
at this point i think i should introduce the (other) entertainment of the evening. i present to you...jude!
jude is, quite possibly, the cutest 2 year old ever invented in the universe. (i can safely say this because connor will not be 2 until the end of september)
he did tons of cool things while the competition was going on including,
help himself to some coffee:
dipping french fries into water,and then eating them(most likely practicing for a future food eating competition of his own):
eating ice in a very cute manner:
and showing off his muscles for the ladies:
now...let's check back in with everyone and see how they're doing!
almost done guys,just a few last bites!! can you do it???
after an hour of sweat,tears,laughing,and eating let's check the final results:
girls:
josh:
in the challenge of (wo)men vs. food the winner is FOOD!! no one finished their plate, though i give all of them mad props for trying, they definitely ate more than i ever could have.
thanks to everyone who came!i had a GREAT time. see you in a few weeks for the women vs.food:spaghetti edition. stay tuned...
see you next time!!
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