Daring Bakers March 2013--Hidden Veggies

Hi everyone!!!
This month's challenge was really fun!!!
Ruth from Makey-Cakey was our March 2013 challenge host. She encouraged us all to get experimental in the kitchen and sneak some hidden veggies into our baking, with surprising and delicious results!

I  decided that I wanted to base my recipe off of a red velvet cake that I had seen with beets in it. However, when I looked at the recipe, I thought it would be a little on the chocolate-y side, so I figured that I'd just turn it into a fudge cake. I then topped the cake with a not-too-sweet italian meringue buttercream! We even sent a couple of slices over to some friends of ours, and no one guessed that there were beets in the cake!!

(lovely decoration by my sister!)

Anyway, this was a really fun challenge and a really yummy cake!!!

Chocolate Beet Cake

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup pureed beets (one large beet was enough for me....I roasted it in the oven for about 30 minutes, in a dish with about 1/3 cup of water, then I just chopped it and blended until smooth)
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 tsp vinegar (I used apple cider)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup flour (the original recipe called for 3/4c but I found the batter to be a bit thin)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and whisk all of the dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. 
2. Stir together all of the wet ingredients and add the dry ingredients about 1/3 at a time, stirring after each addition. 
3. Pour into a greased 9 in cake pan and bake for 20-24 minutes, or until the cake tests done in the center. Remove and let cool completely before icing. 

Italian Meringue Buttercream

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 egg whites
• 1 cup room temperature sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring. Once it boils, stop stirring and insert a candy thermometer. 
2. While syrup is cooking, whip egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer to soft peaks. When the syrup reaches 238-240 degrees, pour into the egg whites with the mixer on medium speed.
3. Increase speed to high and beat until room temperature.
4. Add the butter 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time until it is all incorporated. I used the whole cup, but I think that 3/4 of a cup would work just as well and maybe the icing would hold up a bit better. 
5. Add vanilla, increase speed and beat until completely smooth. 
6. Refrigerate the icing while the cake is cooling. 

Again, this was such a fun challenge and I have truly enjoyed being a part of the Daring Bakers!!

Microwave Brownie Cake

Heeeey! Long time no see, huh? I've been coming up with some recipes....and didn't want to post until I had at least a couple in the works.....

I'm sure everyone has seen those microwave mug cakes at some point before.....I know I sure have! I actually made a couple a few years back, and while we all liked them, I have been looking for something a little more brownie-like, since I'm actually not the biggest cake person. I tried out a couple basic recipes for mug cakes to see which worked best and tasted best and from those experiments, came up with a pretty decent fudge brownie cake. 

I've made it a couple of times so far and it has turned out well, one thing I will say is that a little bit of baking powder goes a long way...the amount in the recipe below makes a very dense treat, while just adding a little bit more makes it much more cake-like. So it really depends on personal preference. For example, I preferred this version, while some of my family thought that, while tasty, it was almost too dense. 

Fudge Brownie Mug Cake 

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• pinch salt
• 1 heaping teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1-2 tablespoons sugar (depending on preference)
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 egg yolk
• 1-3 teaspoons milk (or until batter reaches a good consistency)

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a mug or ramekin in the microwave.
2. Stir in the flour, salt, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, and egg yolk. Add milk until the batter reaches a consistency similar to that of a  thick brownie batter or cookie dough.
3. Place in microwave and cook for 45 seconds. If not done, cook in 5-10 second increments until it is. Top with some melted chocolate and enjoy!!

If anyone tries this out, let me know what you think!!!!

Daring Bakers October....Mille Feuille!

Hello!!

Hope everyone is having a nice Saturday so far! If you remember, a couple of months ago I said that I had joined the Daring Bakers club and made the cappuccino eclairs. Well, I haven't been able to do any challenges since then, so when I read what this month's challenge would be, I absolutely had to do it!! We're making mille feuille, also known as napoleons or custard slices, which are basically layers of puff pastry, custard, and an icing.

  Our October 2012 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Suz of Serenely Full.
Suz challenged us to not only tackle buttery and flaky puff pastry, but then take it step further and
create a sinfully delicious Mille Feuille dessert with it!

Well, since I'd never made puff pastry or anything like this before, I didn't want to stray too far from the traditional dessert, but instead of a regular vanilla creme patisserie, I decided to incorporate a local fruit that is in season right now, the delicious passionfruit! I got three of the fresh fruit, boiled them with the milk and sugar for the creme, and then strained out the seeds to make a delicious, beautiful creme patisserie! Here's my full recipe:

Passion Fruit Mille Feuille

For the pastry:

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold water 

        beurrage:

•     14 tablespoons room temp butter
• 3 1/4 tablespoons flour

Pastry Directions:

1. Cut the 1/4 cup of butter in to the 1 3/4 cups of flour and salt until the mixture resembles dry crumbs. 
2. Add the water to this mixture, kneading on a lightly floured surface for about three minutes or until the dough is smooth.
3. Chill the dough for 30 minutes. 
4. While the dough is chilling, combine the room temp butter with the small amount of flour. Place between two sheets of plastic wrap and work into a 4in square. Chill for 10-15 minutes until the butter slightly firms up. 
5. Roll the chilled dough into a 6 inch square, place the beurrage in the middle, with each corner of the beurrage touching the center of one of the sides of the dough. Fold the corners of the dough over the beurrage and seal the edges. 
6. On a well-floured surface, roll the dough until it is a rectangle with about 1/4 in in thickness. Fold the right side towards the middle, and the left side over that, so you have a thin rectangle with three layers. Repeat the folding process, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for thirty minutes. 
7. Do two more folds and chill for 30 minutes.
8. Do the final two folds and chill until needed. (Note: If your kitchen is really warm, like mine, you might want to just do one fold at a time and refrigerate)

For the Pastry Cream:

• 2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 whole passionfruit
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 whole eggs
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pastry Cream Directions:

1. Combine 1/2 cup of the milk with the cornstarch, whisk until fully incorporated.
2. In a medium sized pot, combine the rest of the milk, the sugar and the pulp of the passionfruit (including the seeds!). Bring to a boil, remove from heat, pour mixture through a strainer to remove seeds and set aside. 
3. Add yolks and then the whole eggs to the milk/cornstarch mixture, whisk to combine. Pour in about 1/3 of the warm milk mixture, always whisking in order to prevent the eggs from cooking. 
4. Bring the remaining milk back to a boil, add egg mixture, whisking as you pour. Cook, whisking constantly, over medium heat until it thickens. 
5. Beat in the butter and vanilla until incorporated, whisk until cream is smooth.
6. Pour into a bowl, place plastic wrap on the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming, and refrigerate overnight so that the cream will thicken. 

For the chocolate sauce:

• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons flour

Directions:

1. Heat milk, butter and vanilla in a medium pot. 
2. Combine sugar, cocoa and flour, and when the butter melts, add the dry ingredients to the pot. 
3. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. 

Making the Mille Feuille:

• 1 batch pastry dough
• 1 batch pastry cream
• 1 batch fudge sauce
• 2 cups icing sugar 
• 2 egg whites
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions:

1. Roll the dough out into a 12x18 in rectangle and cut into 3 equal parts. 
2. Place one of the sections on a piece of parchment paper and refrigerate the other two, place paper on a baking sheet, top with another piece of parchment and a pyrex dish. 
3. Bake at 400 or about 15 minutes, remove the pyrex and top layer of parchment, bake 10 more minutes or until dough browns. Repeat for the other two sections. 
4. Once the pastry has cooled, place one sheet on a flat board or dish, spread with half of your chilled pastry cream, place another sheet on top of that, top with remaining cream. Place the last sheet of dough on the top of everything, place in the fridge. 
5. While the pastry is chilling, make the royal icing. Whisk the whites and the lemon juice until frothy, stir in the sugar. It should be thick enough to make trails across the surface. If not, whisk in a bit more sugar. 
6. Remove pastry from fridge, pour glaze on it. Immediately drizzle the chocolate sauce over the top and refrigerate for a couple of hours so that everything sets. 

August 2012 Daring Bakers--Filled Pate a Choux

Hey everyone!!!!! So, to begin my blog revamp I am super excited to say that I'm now a part of the Daring Bakers! whoo! There's a new challenge every month, and this month's happened to use pate a choux. If you remember, I have made eclairs before (check the recipe tab!) and enjoyed that, so I was really looking forward to trying something new with pate a choux. 

Kat of The Bobwhites hosted this month's challenge and encouraged everyone to get creative with the shapes and fillings of our choux. She made some cute swans, and here's the link. 

Yesterday, my sister and I made these and everyone loved them!!! We don't really have anything that we could have piped the swans with, so we just used some cookie cutters and made hearts and stars!Also, we had been wanting to try making faux caviar for a while and found a recipe here that didn't require any special ingredients, so we incorporated some chocolate "caviar" into the mix as well. Here's the recipe:

Cappuccino Cream-Filled Eclairs with Chocolate Ganache and Chocolate "Caviar"

For the cappuccino creme patissiere:

• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 teaspoons very hot water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant cappuccino mix

1. In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup of milk and the cornstarch, stirring until smooth.
2. Heat the rest of the milk in a saucepan until boiling. Remove from heat.
3. Stir first the whole egg, and then the yolks, into the milk/cornstarch mixture. Add about 1/3 of the hot milk to that gradually, whisking the entire time. 
4. Put the saucepan back on the stove over low heat. Pour in the tempered egg mixture in a stream, whisking constantly. Continue whisking until cream thickens and boils, to avoid lumps. 
5. Stir in the butter and vanilla.
6. Combine the water and cappuccino mix, stir into the cream. 
7. Pour cream into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, making sure that the wrap touches the surface of the cream. Refrigerate. 

For the choux:

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup flour
• 4 eggs

1. In a medium sized saucepan, combine water, butter and salt. Bring to a rolling boil, remove from heat. Dump in all of the flour at once and stir until it forms a smooth paste. Cook a little bit longer until the flour pulls from the edges of the pot. 
2. Dump dough into a bowl, work for a few minutes until it is cool enough to touch. 
3. Add eggs one at a time, beating a little bit after each addition. Beat until a smooth, thick paste forms. 
4. Preheat oven to 375, grease or line baking sheets. Spoon or pipe out paste into desired shapes, making sure to smooth down any edges before baking.
5. Bake until golden and puffy. 
6. Remove from baking sheets, let cool completely before filling. 

For the ganache:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 12 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 14 tablespoons sugar
• 6 tablespoons oil

1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.
2. Heat until everything is combined. Pour into a container. 

For the chocolate "caviar":

• 2-3 cups oil (refrigerated overnight)
• 1/4 cup salt
• 3 oz hot chocolate (we made ours with milk and the ganache above) 
• 2 packs unflavored gelatin
• 3 tablespoons water

1. Combine the water and gelatin, stirring until there are no clumps of gelatin. Let sit while you prepare the hot chocolate.
2. Fill a large bowl with ice, add water till about 2/3 full. Stir in the salt. Pour the cold oil into another bowl, set inside the ice bath. 
3. Pour the hot chocolate into the gelatin mixture, stir until the gelatin melts. With a dropper, drop 2-3 drops of chocolate mixture into the cold oil to make a "caviar". Keep dropping the chocolate into the oil until the bowl is full. Let sit about 3-5 minutes, remove with a strainer and set finished caviar in another bowl. Repeat this process as many times as you can before your gelatin mixture gets too thick. 

For assembly:

1. Once pastries are cool, poke holes in each one that are large enough to pipe the cream into. Fill a pastry bag with some of the creme patisserie, and pipe it into each eclair until it is full but not stuffed. 
2. Once all eclairs are filled, drizzle some of the ganache on top, and then sprinkle with the "caviar".
3. Enjoy! :D

So there ya have it, our take on a "fun" filled choux! If anyone tries this, please let me know what you think!!!!

See ya later!

Chocolate is Good

Super creative post title, huh? Oh well.....I've  never really been good at that.....

Anyway, I've had a pretty nice week so far, not a whole lot going on, but nice nonetheless. Yesterday was Valentine's day, so I made a really yummy chocolate dessert for the family....my first attempt at a chocolate souffle! It made four servings, so there weren't any leftovers, which was nice as well. I used this recipe, with just a couple of changes, so I'll post what I did here!
Individual Chocolate Souffle Cakes

(definitely not my picture)

Ingredients:

• 9 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 5 teaspoons flour
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cocoa (ours is really rich, so I got away with using a little less than the recipe)
• 4 tablespoons milk (I didn't use skim.....we don't have it, and it really isn't my favorite to bake with)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 egg whites, room temperature 

Directions:

1. Grease four (6 ounce) ramekins and sprinkle each with 3/4 teaspoon of sugar, making sure to coat the sides of the ramekins well. 
2. In a small saucepan, combine the flour, 4 tablespoons of the sugar, cocoa and milk. Heat over medium for about 3 and a half minutes, or until smooth and thickened. Spoon into a medium sized bowl and let cool for about 6 minutes. Stir in vanilla and cinnamon. 
3. In a medium sized bowl, beat the egg whites at high speed until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar 1 teaspoon at a time (so about 12 teaspoons), beating until stiff peaks form. Fold in about 1/4 of the egg white mixture into the chocolate, gently fold in the rest of the whites until combined. Spoon chocolate/egg white mixture into the ramekins, tapping each to even out the souffle batter. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until puffy and set. Do NOT open the oven door too much during baking, as the changes in temperature will cause the souffles to sink when they are removed from the oven. If you want, sprinkle some powdered sugar on each souffle. 

So there ya have it....a relatively easy chocolate souffle! This was soooo tasty, and I loved how the dessert was rich and chocolate-y, without feeling heavy or "too much". Not that I typically feel that chocolate is ever too much, but I really enjoyed the lightness of the souffle. Hard to believe that with such simple ingredients, you get a really nice dessert! Have you ever made a souffle? Was it sweet or savory If not, have you ever had a souffle and what is your favorite? 

So yesterday I pretty much stayed at home all day, which was nice. At one point it was just me and the cats in the apartment, so I had some "quiet time". I got a lot done and had some time to think. I also worked out at home because I just didn't really feel like going to the gym. My hip was actually hurting a bit, so I just did a yoga dvd. I was really proud of myself for being able to take an easy day plus eat a dessert without feeling too bad about it. Not gonna say that I felt completely okay, but I didn't feel terrible or guilty either. I really believe that I'm getting better at listening to my body, and yesterday my body wanted rest and chocolate! :D

What did you do for Valentine's Day?

Well, that's about it for now...see ya'll later!

Butterfly Award

Heey everyone!!! Who else is glad that its Friday?? I have a few tests to take today, but after that, I'm officially DONE with this week of school!!! :D Tomorrow we're having another event for the women of the community, which will be fun, and I don't think that we have anything planned for Sunday yet! What are your weekend plans? 


So Kat, gave me this award:

How sweet is she?? Loove ya Kat!! :D So, anyway, I have to answer some questions now, so here we go!

Name your favorite color:


My all time favorite color is light purple! Not dark, thunderstorm-y purple, but lilac! I'm pretty sure that it has always been my favorite!

What whizzes you off:


People who don't do what they say they will! I have no patience with them!

Name your favorite dessert: 
 Crap. It depends on my mood! haha For a decadent dessert, I looove fudge brownies or brownie sundaes, but for an every day dessert, nothing beats a good oatmeal raisin cookie.....or a chocolate chip cookie...or a peanut butter cookie...hahaha!

Best Feature:


I like my eyes!!! :D

Favorite Pet:


Dusty, our old dog! My parents bought him when they first were married and he lived to be 18!

Your biggest fear:


Letting my stress get the best of me again!!! Definitely do not want to go down that road!

Guilty Pleasure:


Well, I can take down massive amounts of anything chocolate in record amounts of time....also I secretly read silly celeb gossip...which I already know is silly,but read anyway. hahaha

When you're upset you:

Find something to do to take my mind off of whatever it is so that I can clear my head.

What is perfection:


Being happy with myself despite any flaws, being in a good relationship with family and friends and walking with God every step of the way.

I don't know who all has been tagged with this award yet, so I'm just going to say that if you haven't, just want to do this, I officially tag you!!!!! You're all awesome! :D


Well, I should probably start studying....see ya'll later!!!

What I Learned Yesterday

Hey!!!! Hope ya'll are all having a good week!!!!!!

Guess what? Our coffee pot reservoir sprung a leak, so we can't exactly make coffee the traditional way. Well, coffee pots are expensive here, so this is what we're doing:

Step 1. Boil water



Step 2. Pour boiling water into filter w/coffee:



And there ya have it! What to do when your coffee machine is broken but you still want some coffee!! :D

Yesterday, I went to my first ever spin class and LOVED it!!!! Made me think of this blogger and this one, too! I will say this though, it was TOUGH! hahaha I'll definitely be taking more spin classes in the future.

Yesterday was also a day of lessons (some goofy, some not-so-goofy), so I thought that I'd share some of them with you(mostly goofy hahaha, you know me!! :D).

Lesson #1

Ignore the creepy old man at the gym who tells you to lift more weight. You're already lifting twice the amount that he is, and plus, he's like 70 years old.

Lesson #2

Don't be afraid to try out new recipes. Sometimes, you'll have flops, but others will turn out really well (homemade pasta and cashew butter!)!!!!

Lesson #3

Push yourself, but don't overdo it. Most likely you will have the opportunity to redo whatever it is, and you don't want to burn out completely.

Lesson #4

Eat chocolate. It helps with virtually anything. I promise. :D

So, there ya go! I hope I haven't scared anyone away.....hahahaha! I am who I am, I suppose, and apparently I like to make random lists!

I really can't believe that its already Thursday!!! After Friday, I'll only have one more week of school until I'm DONE! This entire year is just flying by!!!

I guess I had better get goin'......I do actually have school to do! :P

See ya later!

Party Fun Stuff

This post will be quick because I can barely think straight, and when I mix sleepiness and blogging, its not pretty.

Last night was super-duper fun! We had Jimmy John's (I got the Turkey Tom unwich), and then lots and lots of fondue! Played Apples to Apples and watched part of a movie. Bought popsicles and a pint of Blue Bell Vanilla w/ strawberries ice cream. We randomly made a trip to the workout room at 11 PM, just for the heck of it. Consumed lots and lots of caffeine. Scared the other people staying at the hotel. Lots of fun! =D

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!!!!!! I promise that tomorrow's post will be back to normal! =D

Got my SAT Scores!!

I just got my SAT scores this morning!!!!! Ya'll are the first to know. =D

Here they are

Critical Reading: 740            98th percentile

Math: 600                                  75th percentile

Writing: 620                              86th percentile

Multiple choice: 63 (score range 20-80)

Essay: 8 (score range 2-12)

It all adds up to be 2031!! Not bad for a 10th grader, I think...especially when you don't do so well on timed tests.=P Anyway, at least now I know what the SAT is like and could probably do better next time. Especially on the Math section.

Anyway, I'm gonna workout today, but will probably just use videos that I already have: The Bootcamp Body Makeover from Exercise TV and the Jump Rope Cardio from Sparkpeople. I must say that I really like the bootcamp, because it really worked my entire body, and the next day I felt sore. Which to me, is a positive thing! =P

So I've decided on fondue for the party!!! (Thanks Erica! soo sorry! =P) I still need a good recipe though. I've seen ones that use evaporated milk and marshmellows with chocolate, and I've seen heavy cream and chocolate.....what is the best way to make fondue?

How's that for a deep, thought-provoking question, huh? =P

Oh and I just wanted to thank everyone who commented yesterday and told me what their faaavorite Christmas movie is!!!! I now have a list of movies to watch! =D

Gotta run....have an awesome day!

Christmas is Near!

I just can't believe that Christmas is Saturday!!!! Still in shock, here. =D Saturday at 11:30 my church does a midnight service, and I think we'll be going to that. It is soo awesome!!! And then, on Christmas morning, I have a special surprise planned for my family! (Can't say what it is yet for fear that someone will read....but I'm soo excited!)

Last night we visited with some friends, and guess what? We ended up making those holiday pretzels again! Thanks for the recipe Julie! We love it! =P

Last night I also borrowed a book from my friend, "A Walk to Remember" by Nicolas Sparks. Have any of ya'll ever read it???? I've seen the movie, which I loved, and am super excited to read the book!

So next Tuesday is my birthday and next Sunday is my party. My best friend, her mom, my mom, and I will go to a nice hotel nearby and watch girly movies, eat plenty of chocolate...that sort of thing. One thing I can't decide on is what I want for my dessert: fondue or chocolate cobbler???? Both sound sooo yummy!!! I might have to do one for the party and one on my actual birthday. Hmmmm....which sounds better to ya'll?? Does anyone have a tried and true fondue recipe? =D

I am finally going to be done with school today......and I'm super glad about that!! =D  All that I have to do is write an essay about the 3 key things that I learned from taking my SAT prep course.

1. Never, ever take a prep course again.

2. I learned not to reccommend the SAT prep to anyone.

3. I hate taking long tests.

Sorry about the negative list....my teacher apparently couldn't come up with a final, so he basically lumped together all of the work I've done this semester into 7 parts and called it a test. Section 2 had me online taking 25 practice tests which basically took up my whole day from 11 AM to 4 PM. Exactly what I wanted to do during my Christmas break. Oh well, at least it will be done and over with....

A couple more random questions for ya'll:

What is your favorite Christmas movie?

I really have no idea....we just watched The Family Man and that was cute, but I don't know if I have an all-time favorite. =P

What are some of your family's Christmastime traditions?

  Well, we usually spend Christmas day at home. My sister and I get an ornament every year. Whenever we're in the States we go to the 11:30 Christmas eve service.

Well, I have to go write an essay...

Happy Monday! =P

On the Road to Texarkana and a more Serious Topic

Hey ya'll!!!!!

I'm headed to meet up with my aunt, uncle, and cousin in Texarkana (the Texas side)! Haven't seen them in forever, so I'm really looking forward to it!!!!

Oh, my mom's friend went home yesterday!!! She is still healing, but is doing better! =D

So anyway, I've got 5 hours in the car to look forward to. Mom says I should take tests to study for, so I'm now trying to come up with something else that is productive but doesn't involve tests!!!! =D Hmmm...any ideas????

I have absolutely no inspiration for this post......guess I needed more sleep! =P So I hope you all don't mind ramblings on nothingness.....because you may just get that! =D

You know what? I'm gonna write about something serious. Because that's what you do when your tired, obviously. Sleepiness is the state in which your best thinking is done! =D

Anyway, I want to address today's society's relationship with food. There are really two sides to it. On one hand, you have people who turn to food for everything, and on the other, you have those who avoid it like the plague. Then, there are those who insist that you must live according to a certain diet plan, and if you don't, well then, you are wrong and completely unhealthy. Something that I have learned so far in my journey to well-being is that everyone is different and functions better on different diets. Personally, I feel my best when I eat most of my carbs in the morning, and my percentages look about like 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fats. But there are some who feel better on a low-carb, high-protein diet, or a high-fat diet, among others. Some can adopt a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, while others may feel sluggish without a source of animal protein. It is all very relative, and in my opinion, it is wrong to try to force a certain "diet" on others.

As for the disordered relationships with food, I believe that both overeating and anorexia are a growing part of the struggles that we deal with in society. People either turn to food for comfort, or take comfort in the fact that they can resist it. Extreme behavior in either direction is extremely unhealthy and hurts not only the one person, but also their friends and family. I speak from experience. I think that all of what I have talked about has made me develop a true passion for living what really is a healthy lifestyle, and to teach others how to do so. I believe that everyone has different nutritional needs, and also that if you want that brownie or ice cream cone, go for it! Life is too short to cut out stuff you love!!!!!

For more on nutritional relativism, check out this post:

http://theflourishingfoodie.wordpress.com/2010/12/05/nutritional-relativism-chocolate-chip-cookies-and-guest-posts/

Sorry about the uber-long post, I guess being tired really does result in deeper thinking. =D

What are your opinions on this topic? Agree or disagree??? Please comment below!

On a lighter note, this weekend commences the Healthy Chocoholic Christmas baking extravaganza!!!! Whoooo!

Stay happy!!

 

Heey! First Post!

Well, first of all, welcome to the blog.

I'm first and foremost, a Christian. That doesn't mean that I'm perfect, far from it, actually. It also doesn't mean that I always "walk my talk" and live out the gospel. I try to, but there are definitely times when it gets pretty hard.

As you can probably tell, I have a bit of a chocolate problem. Actually, I don't. I have a problem without chocolate. I  also absolutely loooove to cook, so you can bet on seeing some recipes on here!!! I also enjoy living a healthy lifestyle. Sometimes I can take it to extremes, which is very, very bad. Really. I've even gone days without eating chocolate, or really much of anything. I'm working on that though, and while I still have some "not so good" (read:really, really bad) days, my family is always with me, praying with me, and just helping me in general.

I'm thinking about either becoming a dietitian or a journalist (which are actually nothing alike), but I don't have any major college plans yet.

Sorry about the random topics in this post, I'm just trying to put all the basic information out there!

Anyway, I'm super excited about starting this blog and I hope that I'll actually get followers! =D