We all know we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but let’s face it, half of us do it anyway. Plus, judging by appearance and prior knowledge does sometimes work. (Example: M. Night Shyamalan movies…)

Like Reese’s? Yeah, me too. Honestly, I’m not sure I can ever trust someone who doesn’t. The problem is that a girl can’t subsist on peanut butter cups alone . . . but it’s fun to try. No, seriously, the problem is more that those things are crazy unhealthy.

Besides indulging in Lent-withdrawn pleasures, one of other great things about Easter is Peeps. Honestly, they don’t even taste that good, but those little, tennis-ball-colored marshmallow chickies are endlessly fascinating to me. Put one in the microwave, and it balloons to the size of a basketball. Stick one to the wall, and it will still taste fine three years later. Now that’s something not every food can boast.

I am a self-confessed hippie eater. No, I do not eat hippies. However, I do eat in the way that most hippies do—that is, staples of my diet include wheat germ, quinoa, and organics of all kinds, and, occasionally, I will even go out on a limb and try something like Kefir. Basically, I want my body to be as healthy as possible, so I’m going to put healthy things in it.

As a foodie and aspiring chef, I pay a lot of attention to food. And in my life I’ve found that there are three kinds of cooks in the world: 1. Those who turn anything edible into sheer brilliance just from their touch. 2. Those who can follow directions pretty well and make things that taste OK….

V-Day season is upon us again, and even though I’m in a relationship this year, I still feel like I want to punch people whenever I see little red hearts dotting store windows. I’m not a big proponent of the “show your love for someone by throwing money at him” school of thought. I am, however, all for gifts that are thoughtful, useful, and CHEAP. Hearing me out? Read on.

As someone with very dry skin in the winter and hands that are prone to breaking, cracking, bleeding, etc., I think I have probably tried every brand of hand cream in the nation. Bad for me (my wallet and my cracking skin), but great for you; I’ve made all the unfortunate purchasing decisions so you don’t have to.

It’s gift giving time and that means one thing: you’ve got a lot of wrapping to do. And if you’re anything like me, you’re way too cheap to spend money on holiday wrapping paper. Plus, is it really fair to our lovely planet to waste a tree on something that just gets thrown away? I don’t think so.

I like few things better than a big, fat cookie. Really, who doesn’t? So as you might imagine, I am a huge fan of the book Big Fat Cookies by Elinor Klivans. This book is mandatory, people. Find yourself a copy and get ready to dog-ear every single page in it, because it’s that good.

I know what you’re thinking: between class, work, boyfriends/girlfriends, and going out, there’s not really any time in your schedule for training to run a 5k or some other race. And hey, you may be right—you know yourself way better than I know you. But if you think you can find a spare 30 minutes on most days and you have a hankering to rid yourself of that muffin top or boost your health in general, read on.