If you’ve been a CollegeCandy reader for some time, you know we run our Intro to Cooking series every week, where even the most kitchen-shy co-ed can find easy, yummy recipes to please her suitemates (and sweet tooth!). Well, we’ve changed up the syllabus for Intro to Cooking: you’ll still get the fabulous recipes you love, but we’ll be including background nutritional info on specific ingredients that are must-haves in every college girl’s pantry.

This week’s ingredient: Kale!

If you’re sick of spinach and balk at Brussels sprouts, kale may just be the leafy-green vegetable for you! It’s a sweeter vegetable that is jam-packed with nutrients for very few calories. Among it’s all-star roster of vitamins are A, K, and C (just 2oz will give you more than your recommended daily value) as well as manganese, calcium, fiber, and iron. And at 70 calories per serving, you can’t miss.

Easy Meals

1. Liven up your omelet by adding chopped kale (available in the frozen foods aisle for convenience) and some goat cheese to two eggs, and serve with salsa.
2. Coat some kale leaves with extra virgin olive oil, set on a baking tray and bake at 375 for 10 minutes for crispy, crunchy kale chips.
3. Wrap some deli meat (turkey is my fave!) around your kale chips for extra protein. Read More »

They say a leopard can’t change its spots, but you, my friend, can change your makeup shade. Now that summer is coming and we will all be getting a little sun kissed, it’s imperative that we make a few makeup tweaks to reflect our new skin tone! I cringe when I see a girl walking around with a face that doesn’t match the color of her body, and whether her makeup is too light or too dark, that obvious makeup line on her jaw is not cute.

If you don’t have the money or time to buy a new shade of powder every time you tan, what should you do? Blend, blend, blend! In this video I’ll share some secrets to keep you looking fresh this season instead of like you belong on the Jersey Shore. Read More »

It's just me and them this month.

Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. Last month we followed Kelly as she challenged herself to a one-month shopping fast. This month it’s Samantha and her quest to be man-free for 31 days.

A wise woman (my great-grandmother) once said, “boys are like buses, another one will come around the corner in 5 minutes.” My great-grandmother also said, “if you can’t be good, be careful.” Thanks, Grammy.

In my history of interaction with the opposite sex, I have found the first to be true. Since I started dating the guy that would be come my long-term boyfriend of three years right before my Junior year of high school, there has been a steady stream of guys coming and going in my life. (Insert dirty pun here?) Whether we were just “talking,” dating, or hooking up, I’ve seldom gone a few months without any kind of male interest.

There was my boyfriend of three years, whom I dated up until the end of my freshman year of college. Then there was a friend who wanted to be more, followed by a few drunken one-night stands. Then there was Douchebag letter C, whom I let string me along for far too long. Then there was Douchebag letter T, who I let do the same. Then there was M, who I may or may not still be in love with. We met in June between my sophomore and junior years, and dated from August-January. Then there was my run with match.com. Yes, match.com. It’s a whole other story, but after dating frat-boy-doucher, a stint with an NFL player, and some planned but never executed dates with a few others, I had successfully been talking to lots of guys but getting nowhere.

[Pause] Wow, that’s a lot. I just quantified four years of my life by whom I was “dating” (the term dating is used extremely generously here). WTF? I JUST QUANTIFIED FOUR YEARS OF MY LIFE BY WHOM I WAS DATING! This, ladies, is what brings me to Man-Free May. Read More »

Facebook is the hallmark of our generation. It’s usually a good way to see what your friends (or acquaintances, or enemies…) are up to and a good way to kill some time. But the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that this social networking tool is actually ruining our lives and dramatically changing the way we stalk communicate…for the worse. Here’s 5 very crucial parts of our lives that Facebook is slowly destroying…

1. Dating
After you make out with a guy, do you friend request him? If so, how long do you wait? What about that cute boy in your lecture? Will he think it’s weird that you know his last name? Do you write on his wall? If he doesn’t write back, is he not interested? OMG, he “likes” your status, what does that mean!?  With all this virtual interpretation, there’s hardly time for a real date (or more realistically, a real romp-in-the-hay).

2. Your GPA
I know I’m not the only one that spends more time Facebook creeping in the library than actually studying, and term papers take much longer when you’re logging in to check your News Feed after every paragraph. Especially when that News Feed says “(insert ex’s name here) is in a relationship.” Cue mental breakdown and tears. In the library. Do you see where I’m going with this? Read More »

A few weeks ago I was on the treadmill at the gym watching the preliminary festivities for the Kentucky Derby, when I realized what my life is missing.

Giant. Ornate. Hats.

For realzies; Derby-style hats are the sh*t, for multiple reasons. For one, like all hats, they immediately cover a bad hair day. But, Derby hats are so huge and ostentatious, they can also distract from a host of other problems, such as a bad face day (don’t lie to yourself, you know you’ve had one).

That said, in addition to helping to conceal appearance issues, Derby hats are also good for drawing attention in a crowd, because, let’s face it, how often are people wearing hats with two foot brims covered in netting and ribbons and feathers and roses? They’re perfect for meeting friends in a crowded area or helping a blind date pick you out at a bar.

Also, Derby hats = insta-glamour. Whether paired with a frothy tulle ball gown or jeans and a tank top, Derby hats make a lady instantly look fabulously feminine and alluring. Don’t believe me? Watch an Audrey Hepburn movie and then try to tell me megahats aren’t the sh*t. Read More »

If you read my Saturday posts, you know that I love me some non-fiction, specifically from the science section. Yes, it sounds super nerdy, but let me tell you, the science section houses some of the most interesting and relevant books in all the bookstore. Another one to add to that list is “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot.

If you’ve never heard of Henrietta Lacks, you’re not alone. However, some of you may have heard of HeLa cells. HeLa cells are used in scientific research and have been part of almost every medical breakthrough since the ’50s. And they’re immortal. I’m getting ahead of myself, though.

So what is the connection between Henrietta – a poor, black woman from Baltimore – and the trillions of HeLa cells in the world? You won’t believe it, but every single one of those trillions of cells are HERS. Even the name HeLa comes from her name: HEnrietta LAcks. And even more miraculous is the fact that you’re probably more familiar with Henrietta than you think. Odds are, one of the vaccines you’ve received in your life was created from her cells or maybe even contained her cells. Mind-blowing.

In 1951, Henrietta visited John Hopkins complaining of a “knot” in her stomach. She was eventually diagnosed with cervical cancer and treated in the fashion of the day: tubes of radium were sewn onto and in her. However, before beginning the treatment, a doctor took a sample of her tumor and shipped it off to George Gey. Gey had been trying to create immortal cells for years. Up until this point, cells died within a few days in a culture and scientific progress was at somewhat of a standstill. But when Gey cultured Henrietta’s cells, he noticed that the cells weren’t dying – in fact, they were multiplying. The culture grew so quickly that he had to move it to another jar! Gey was fascinated by this immortal cell line. He sent samples to any scientist who asked and eventually HeLa cells were turned into a BILLION-dollar industry. Read More »

The following post is courtesy of our uber fashionable friends at CollegeFashion.net!

If you’ve read some of my previous posts, you probably already know about my not-so-secret denim addiction. I l o v e the fabric, and always wear it year-round!

Of course, come spring and summer, I tend to ditch my skinny jeans in favor of cooler, girlier styles like the ones featured below. The following four pieces are my spring and summer denim staples. An added bonus? Most of the pieces can be worn year-round with the right combination of layers, and they’re perfect for the awkward pre-season transition phases. Fellow denim lovers, this is for you! Read More »