Posts Tagged ‘blogging’
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Hello everyone!
This is my first post using Dreamhost. If you have a subscription on google reader through www.chasingambulances.wordpress.com, make sure it’s updated to www.chasingambulances.net. I will be messing around in the background with the site’s appearance so bear with me. I don’t know what I’m doing at all.
However, I do know how to peel an orange. One piece, baby:
But I don’t know how to properly size my photos. Boo.
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Confession
I have a secret.
It involves my google reader.
shhhh… I read food blogs.
There it is folks. OK, maybe this one was obvious because one day I featured all my food on this blog, a la food blogger.
I’m not sure why it is. About 5 years ago, it was celebrity gossip blogs. Now, it’s mostly food blogs. It’s still voyeuristic, it’s still mindless, it’s still something I do that feels good at the time but I’m not really sure why I do it. Like cracking my knuckles or something.
But, I’ve been reflecting that reading food blogs has opened my mind to trying things I otherwise would NEVER have tried (and liked) or dreamed up myself. I thought I would share those with you today.
1. First up, kale chips.
Kale chips have been around for a while but it took a food blog for me to learn about it and be convinced that it was worth trying. I’m not sure I had ever even had kale before I ate them in “chip” form. They are great when they are extra dry and crispy. Katheats.com has the best, simplest tutorial that you can read here. I would highly recommend trying this – kale is really, really good for you and the recipe is so simple that anyone can give it a shot. The real test is that my husband Mark liked them right away and loves it when I make them.
2. Banana “ice cream”
After hearing several food blogs ooh and ahh over this, I surrendered and gave it a shot. The only thing is that your food processor needs to be in pretty good shape for this. A few months before my wedding I tried it – and it blew apart the food processor, sending plastic clear across the room. Scary. Luckily I didn’t waste a moment and put a new one on my registry so that I would not be food processor-less.
Anyway, back to the “ice cream.” That is in quotes for a reason. All you do is take a frozen banana and stick it in your food processor for a few minutes until it develops into a creamy substance. Yes, you heard me right. There is nothing other than a frozen banana. Here is the proof that I’m not the only one who has tried it (and check out the comments – over 400 people cannot be wrong)!
I tried it in my new food processor – this time I cut up the banana into one inch segments. I added about two tablespoons of water to speed up the process, but if I had been more patient I don’t think I would have needed to. (And yes, Mark likes this one, too.)
3. “Green monsters.” This one really takes an open mind – drinking bright green stuff is intimidating. The website about them is pretty wacky too. My green monster recipe usually goes like this:
a couple of handfuls of spinach
a scoop of protein powder
lots of ice
frozen banana
fresh mint
water (until it blends)
The frozen banana and ice really thicken up your smoothie so that it’s almost undrinkable through a straw. But that is how I like it. Lately I’ve been omitting the banana and using Mark’s banana flavored protein powder and adding milk. It’s just as good. This is a really good way to get vegetables in your morning — I swear you cannot taste the spinach. I usually find vegetables kinda gross before 11 a.m. I’ve forced Mark to take a sip of these things but I don’t think he has gotten past the color thing…
4. Parsnip fries. I’m not sure where I read about it first, but I think it was here. Again, I had never even had parsnips, but decided I should give them a shot if food bloggers were. When I bought them, they looked pretty weird. But as I cut them up, they smelled like carrots. And, it has proven my theory that there is really one way to cook vegetables: roasting. They turn out kind of like sweet potato fries – and also got the husband’s seal of approval.
5. Brussels sprouts. I actually could not tell you what blog convinced me to try these. But I know it was a blog, because I have no idea what would possess me to eat the vegetable you are not supposed to like. But quarter or halve them, toss with olive oil, garlic, salt and pancetta or bacon or nothing at all, and roast for 30 minutes or until they start to turn golden brown and you are in heaven. Small cabbage heaven. I get abnormally angry when they are boiled or steamed. It’s sacrilege. Oh, and definitely husband approved.
6. Oatmeal variations. Oatmeal is a pretty big deal in the food blog world. Especially at katheats.com, who takes her oatmeal as seriously as I take brussels sprouts. There is a new set of laws when it comes to making oatmeal that I have developed over the years: 1) instant flavored oatmeal is crap. It’s full of sugar and artificial flavors. And, the real, old-fashioned stuff means you get to eat more volume. The instant, flavored packets result in a very sad, deflated-looking bowl in my opinion.
2) always add a banana. Why? Volume, texture, flavor (and natural sugars from the fruit).
3) From there, I personally like adding a combo of brown sugar and cinnamon. Sometimes I mix in coconut, butterscotch or peanut butter chips, raisins or other dried fruit… Toppings make eating oatmeal fun. Adding peanut butter was something I thought sounded gross in the morning, but if you are really hungry and/or you need breakfast to hold you for a while, adding peanut butter is the solution for you. Most food bloggers do not skip the nut butters in their oatmeal.
7. Adding canned, pureed pumpkin to … a lot of things. One of them would be adding it to plain yogurt for “pumpkin yogurt”. This is great in the winter – but it needs cinnamon and maple syrup/honey/granola. I’ve also tried adding it to oatmeal but the color is pretty gross. I also just heat it up in a bowl straight out of the can. (No… this one is not husband approved.)
So there you have it: I’ve tried lots of stuff, and made my husband try lots of stuff, weird and some not so weird, from food blogs. There are a lot more I’m sure I’m forgetting at the moment but I think those are the big ones.
Now, I have some food blog reading to do . . .
About Me
My name is Michelle and I like to write about running, food, and fitness in general. Check out my About Michelle section for more!
