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So I took this GenderAnalyzer test which analyzes your blog and tells you if a man or woman writes it. For some reason I’m 59% man!! I think because I try to stray away from girlie topics because I don’t want to alienate my male readers. I actually have a whole section of health and beauty bookmarks to blog about so excuse any males reading my blog today…it’s time for a girlie post!!! (but guys feel free to read if you care about your hair too! hehe)

Now that it’s winter….my hair has become increasingly dry. So I’ve started looking for a new shampoo to use. I ran across this article by TotalBeauty: Readers’ Picks For Best Hair Shampoo

Here are some of the top picks:

Aveda Damage Remedy Structuring Shampoo, $24 - good for damaged hair
Pantene True Confidence Anti-Dandruff 2-in1 Shampoo + Conditioner, $7.99 - I had no idea Pantene makes anti-dandruff shampoo!
Redken Real Control Shampoo, $10 - all hair types, makes hair shiny
Dove Advanced Color Care Shampoo for Lightened Hair, $5.65 - I really like Dove’s line of hair care products. I haven’t tried this one since I don’t have lightened hair but if it’s like their other stuff…it’ll be great.
Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Special Shampoo, $15.99 - good for dry and itchy scalp. doesn’t anything with tea tree in it sound like it’s going to do wonders to your hair??
Nature’s Gate Jojoba Revitalizing Shampoo for Damaged Hair, $4.21 - another dry and itchy scalp shampoo
Samy Moist Shampoo, $5.99 - for dry hair at a cheap price!
Biolage Bodifying Shampoo, $14 - a volumizing shampoo that actually sounds like it works
Nexxus Sleekstress Sumptuous Smoothing Shampoo, $8.99 - I’ve actually tried this shampoo and the conditioner and I LOVE IT.
Sunsilk ThermaShine Shampoo, $4.49 - another good, classic brand

Be sure to read the article if you color your hair or have curly hair since they have some great suggestions that I didn’t link to.

What’s your favorite shampoo? Any suggestions/recommendations out there? Whenever I travel for work they pay for my toiletries including shampoo and conditioner so I always try to buy something I wouldn’t normally buy (ie. something pricy!) so I’ll definitely be trying out some new stuff when I travel in a few weeks!

I finally finished reading the Twilight series. The last book was kind of a letdown for me. At the end I was just like…this is the end??? I have to admit the whole series was one of the worst books I’ve been addicted too. I couldn’t stop reading it but there was so much about it that annoyed me. I feel like I am going to have the same thoughts for the movie. I’m 99% sure that the movie will be very bad, but I REALLY want to see it. I can’t wait!!!

Anyways, I was thinking someone should throw a Twilight party and then we could all go watch it. I would if I wasn’t so busy (and lazy). ha ha. Here are some ideas:

Drink blood rimmed martinis

Eat werewolf cupcakes. How awesome are these!

Play pin the tail on the werewolf

And you can’t forget the vampire cookies!

All while having the Twilight soundtrack playing in the background. Stephanie Meyers has great taste in music by the way.

*This is part of an ongoing series in which I highlight the foods that are in season for the current month and some yummy recipes from around the web

Here are the fruits and veggies in season for November:

Vegetables

*pumpkins
*winter squash
*sweet potatoes
*broccoli
*mushrooms
*spinach

Fruit

*cranberries
*oranges
*tangerines
*pears
*pomegranates

Pumpkin cupcakes by Cupcakes Take The Cake

Roasted Winter Squash with Seared Cod by Mark Bittman

Slow Cooker Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew by Yum Sugar

Roasted Broccoli with Soy Sauce and Sesame Seeds by Kalyn’s Kitchen

Thin Crust Pizza with Onions, Mushrooms, and Ricotta by Simply Recipes




Orange Glazed Chicken Wings

Pear Wrapped Prosciutto With Balsamic Dressing by Fig & Cherry

Pomegranate Salmon Kebabs by Esurientes

This is a great article dispelling 20 popular food myths. Ones I didn’t know:

#2: Boiling drains away all nutrients from vegetables - It’s true that you lose some minerals but not all!

#13 You can’t deep fry in olive oil - I always avoided this because of the whole lower smoking point argument (which is true) but it turns out it is possible and is supposed to taste better! I love olive oil so I’ll have to try this next time.

#18 Salads and sandwiches containing mayonnaise aren’t safe for picnics - I’ve always been afraid of having anything with mayo out for awhile and eating it. Yes, I’m paranoid about getting food poisoning hehe

Boyrobot and I are going to a halloween potluck this year and I’ve been trying to find recipes that are fitting for the holiday. I think I’ll be making these cheddar cobwebs because it sounds yummy and more importantly….easy! hehe.

and I’m contemplating having boyrobot bring this Pumpkin Cocktail

Or this spiderweb cheesecake (cheater recipe)

Halloween food is so fun! I can’t wait to see what everyone else brings.

I saw this amazing video on how to cook bread in your rice cooker and I just had to share:

Here are the instructions on wikihow. I read that the bread is more chewy than normal bread…sounds yummy to me! I can’t wait to try it.

Also, if you’re a fan of the no knead bread recipe…here’s a speedy version of it that can be done in 5.5 hours TOTAL (including resting time!)

I love fresh bread.

*This is part of an ongoing series in which I highlight the foods that are in season for the current month and some yummy recipes

Here are the fruits and veggies in season for October:

Vegetables

* sweet potatoes
* pumpkins
* winter squash
* broccoli
* spinach
* lettuce

Fruits

* cranberries
* apples
* pomegranates
* grapes

Baked Sweet Potato Fries by Dani Spies

Roasted Winter Squash and Apple Soup by Albion Cooks

Broccoli and Sausage Cavatelli from Allrecipes

Spinach, Onion, and Feta Quiche by Baking Bites




Beef and Lettuce Fried Rice by Cooking With The Single Guy

DIY Cranberry Jam from The Kitchn

omg! This sucks. White Rabbit milk candy supposedly has melamine in it.

I thought this deserved its own post because everybody loves White Rabbit milk candy!! Or at least my asian friends hehe.

I’m really paranoid about getting food poisoning as long time readers can attest ha ha. So I’ve been compiling these lists for awhile now. I’m going to print it out and hang this on my fridge (when i have a fridge!)

From the early show:

PASTA SAUCE: LASTS 5 DAYS ONCE OPENED
MAYONAISE: LASTS 2 MONTHS ONCE OPENED
CHEESE (depending on hard or soft): LASTS 1 - 4 WEEKS
LEFTOVERS: LAST 3 - 4 DAYS

From Food Democracy (also check this link for a bunch of diff types of meats):

Hot dogs & Luncheon Meats: 1 to 2 weeks
Cream cheese: 2 weeks
Sour cream: 7 to 21 days
Yogurt: 7 to 14 days

From my Everyday Food mag:

Ketchup: 6 months
BBQ sauce: 4 months
Salsa: 1 month (fresh salsa will only last 3 days tho)
Pickles: 2 months (store bought kind)
Jam and Jelly: 6 months
Mustard: 1 year

From Real Simple:

Olive oil: 2 years from manufacture date (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)
Peanut butter, processed (Jif): Unopened: 2 years, Opened: 6 months; refrigerate after 3 months
Rice, white: 2 years from date on box or date of purchase
Salad dressing, bottled: Unopened: 12 months after “best by” date, Opened: 9 months refrigerated
Soda: Unopened: In cans or glass bottles, 9 months from “best by” date, Opened: Doesn’t spoil, but taste is affected
Steak sauce: 33 months (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)
Tabasco: 5 years, stored in a cool, dry place
# Tuna, canned: Unopened: 1 year from purchase date, Opened: 3 to 4 days, not stored in can
Soy sauce, bottled: Unopened: 2 years, Opened: 3 months (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)
Vinegar: 42 months
Wine (red, white): Unopened: 3 years from vintage date; 20 to 100 years for fine wines, Opened: 1 week refrigerated and corked

I suggest getting one of those labels you can write on and stick on your food with the day your opened food will go bad!

*This is part of an ongoing series in which I highlight the foods that are in season for the current month and some yummy recipes

Here are the fruits and veggies in season for September:

Vegetables

* eggplants
* pumpkins
* tomatoes
* spinach
* lettuce

Fruits

* grapes
* pomegranates

Honey Garlic Grilled Eggplant by Beyond Salmon (psst. I read in the comments that someone tried it with a foreman grill and it still turned out great!)

Pumpkin and Chorizo Soup W/ Cilantro by Closet Cooking

Easy Spinach Nests by A Veggie Venture

Chicken Lettuce Wraps (The easy and expert way) by Yum Sugar

Gourmet Chicken Salad (with grapes!) from Allrecipes

Pomegranate Beef Crockpot Recipe from a Year of Crockpotting

I hate when I make a salad and find out I’m out of dressing or my dressing has expired! Here are some quick ones you can make using ordinary ingredients that you probably have in your fridge/cupboard.

honey mustard balsamic vinaigrette
2 parts olive oil
1 part balsamic vinegar
a bit of honey
a bit of Dijon mustard
salt and pepper

raspberry vinaigrette
2 parts olive oil
1 part raspberry vinegar
a bit of sugar
juice of a lemon
salt and pepper

out of salad dressing dressing
1 1/2 lemons, juiced
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons garlic salt
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 cup milk
Mix together lemon juice, parmesan cheese, garlic salt, and mayonnaise until smooth. Stir in milk, adjusting the amount or adding a little water, to make the dressing as thin or thick as you like. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight.

And some dipping sauces too:

a dipping sauce
1 part soy sauce
1 part rice wine vinegar
a bit of sugar
a bit of toasted sesame oil

another dipping sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons ketchup
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1 dash ground black pepper

russian dipping sauce
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
salt to taste

An easy way to save money when you cook a lot is to know what’s in season. These items will most likely be on sale. With this thought, I’m going to try to start a new monthly post where I tell you what items are in season for this month and I suggest some recipes. BTW, I like to choose recipes that are simple, easy, and fast!

So for the month of August here are the fruits and veggies in season:

Vegetables

* cucumbers
* corn
* eggplant
* tomatoes
* summer squash
* green beans
* lettuce

Fruits

* watermelon
* strawberries
* cantaloupe
* blueberries
* peaches
* apricots
* kiwi
* raspberries
* plums

And here are the recipes I found:

Garlic Roasted Green Beans w/ Shallots and Almonds

Eggplant Fries

Corn chowder

Shrimp With Cherry Tomatoes & Feta

Cantaloupe Strawberry Salad With Lime Syrup and Mint

Perfect Berry Shortcakes

Mmmm, I’m so hungry now!

I haven’t blogged any recipes in awhile! I’m always looking for recipes that are fast and easy. Came across these two via Slashfood.

Super quick and easy thin crust pizza dough - mmmm, homemade pizza is so great because you can control the toppings!

Blitz Bread - Nothing tastes better than warm, fresh bread! This recipe takes less than 2 hours!! Pretty amazing for any bread. I can’t wait to try this.

After a failed attempt to go to Curves tonight (who knew they closed at 7:30!! so early!!), I decided it’s time to take my health and fitness in my own hands. I’ve had this Lifetime Fitness Ladder bookmarked for months but just now got around to reading about it. I like the idea. It’s a ladder of daily exercises that you slowly increase at your leisure. It’s not time consuming and you can do it all at home with no extra equipment!

One of the tips of the Lifetime Fitness Ladder is to schedule a regular routine. I’ve always had a hard time motivating myself to go exercise since the only time I can go to the gym or run was after work. After a long day of work, exercising is the last thing I want to do! With this routine, I can do it when I wake up, right before I shower since it doesn’t take up much time.

Since I’m incredibly out of shape, I’ll be starting with the Introductory Ladder. An example of the ladder is like this:

Rung - 1
Bend - 2
Sit up - 3
Leg lift - 4
Push up - 2
Steps - 105
Count - 1, 30

There are 15 rungs in the Introductory Ladder that increase in quantity with each rung. The website explains in detail each of the very simple exercises: bend, sit up, leg lift, push up, steps. Since this is the Introductory Ladder, the exercises are more easier than the traditional versions. After you are comfortable, you can move onto the real ladder.

The guy who created this ladder said he was able to get to rung 28 in 90 days while losing 20 lbs. I’m not interested in losing that much weight, but I hope that this will get me more fit and increase my stamina. I want to one day tackle half dome and other strenuous hikes. I hope I will be able to stick with this!!!

To read all of the details go here: Lifetime Fitness Ladder

I love crockpots! I’m the laziest cook and crockpots are the epitome of lazy cooking. I just discovered this cool blog where a women decides she is going to crockpot every day for a whole year! She documents her recipes with pictures and a verdict. I’m so inspired.

Her latest is korean ribs…yummmm
and I totally have to try this Trader Joe’s leg of lamb. gourmet!
and who knew you could make CREME BRULEE with a crockpot???

Check out the rest of her recipes here.