Despite the healthy veneer I have coated my personality with, deep down, I enjoy McDonald’s. Too much. From the fries to Egg McMuffins, I think I could successfully take on the Supersize Me! challenge set by Morgan Spurlock. It takes a lot of self control and creativity for me to make my healthy diet as tasty and exciting as a hamburger and fries. Okay, it’s really not that hard. It just takes a little more time.

I recently made the choice to scale back the amount of meat I eat. I’m typically a “one animal protein meal per day” girl. I decided to scale back to only eating 2-3 meat dishes per week and making them really count. I read a report that stated “flexitarian” eaters were more healthy than people who ate a lot of lean animal protein and vegetarians. (I will say that this report included all vegetarians, which can include your 12-year-old next door neighbor who uses vegetarianism as an excuse to only eat potato chips! So, yes, a little skewed). I decided to make the transition.

I’ve never been much into eggs. They have to be cooked really specifically – I’m not someone who typically orders eggs in a restaurant. However, on a whim, my best friend and I decided to make homemade egg McMuffins on a morning where I had taken the GRE and she had accidentally left $20 in an ATM. Eggs are a great source of protein and are super easy to cook. Combined with chopped spinach (for a little extra veggie nutrition), turkey bacon and your favorite cheese, the results are truly magic.

Homemade Egg McMuffins

You’ll need…

• 1 can of biscuits
• a few slices of your favorite cheese – I like smoked Gouda or smoked cheddar for these!
• 3-4 eggs
• 2-3 slices of turkey bacon
• about 1/4 package of spinach, chopped
• 1 tomato, sliced

How to make them…

Bake biscuits according to package instructions.

Spray a skillet with a bit of nonstick cooking spray and place on stove top on medium heat. In a bowl, whisk your eggs. Add to the skillet. Chop spinach finely and add on top of the eggs. Stir to allow spinach to wilt. Then, let the eggs cook before flipping.

In a smaller skillet, cook turkey bacon until warm and slightly browned on each side. Cut each slice in half and set aside.

On a plate, prepare about 1/2 a slice of cheese for each biscuit. Use this time to slice the tomato.

When the eggs are cooked through, cut into fourths. When the biscuits are done, remove from the oven and split in half. Each biscuit gets 1 slice of bacon (cut in half), 1/4 of the egg, about 1/2 a slice of cheese, and 1 slice of tomato.

Note: This recipe makes four McMuffins, with extra biscuits left over. I save the biscuits and just reheat them for dinner or for more McMuffins later! 

I’m already mentally preparing my body for Thanksgiving. It’s an all day eat-athon and I do not want to be cramping up on the 26^th mile.

The more pressing issue I’m asking myself is how I’m going to wake up on Thanksgiving morning, nurse my Black Wednesday hangover and make tons of food to eat later that will hopefully soak up all the residual alcohol. Whose idea was it to take tequila shots again?

Since I’m partly in-charge of co-cooking the kitchen, I realized just how important it is to find a few recipes that don’t have more than a dozen steps so that I can spend more time laying in front of the TV than standing in front of the oven.

For those of us that will be spending most of our Thanksgiving morning hugging the toilet bowl, I have a treat for you. I racked the Internet for simple, course-by-course recipes that you can prepare in between running back and forth to the bathroom anytime someone says the word “gin.”

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There is almost nothing as comforting as potato soup! It tastes slightly like mashed potatoes combined with the deliciousness of a baked potato – sour cream, bacon, cheese. Mmm. Is there anything more homey than that?

Surprisingly, potato soup isn’t that hard to make – it’s just a matter of using the right ingredients and learning how to properly thicken things! Potatoes have gotten a reputation as being bad for us, but they are very healthy when eaten in moderation. Mostly, their skins are excellent sources of a multitude of vitamins. In this recipe, I like to keep the skins on for this reason!

Easy Potato Soup

You’ll need…

• 2-3 russet potatoes, diced into bite size pieces
• about 1/4 of an onion, diced
• about 3 tablespoons of butter
• about 2-3 tablespoons of flour
• about 2 cups of milk
• about 1 cup of chicken stock
• about 3-4 tablespoons of Philadelphia Cooking Creme OR cream cheese
• about 2 tablespoons of sour cream
• 2 slices of turkey bacon, diced
• about 1/4 cup of shredded cheese (your favorite – I like smoked mozzarella!)

How to Make It…

For the potatoes, you can wrap them in foil (after scrubbing them!) and bake them for about 1 hour at 400 degrees. Or, you can dice them into pieces and roast them in the oven for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Choose what you have time for! (Baking the potatoes and then dicing allows the potatoes to break down in the soup slightly.)

In a small skillet, cook turkey bacon until warm and slightly brown on both sides. Remove from heat and when cooled, dice into small pieces.

Once the potatoes are cooked slightly, chop onion and add to a soup pot with a bit of nonstick cooking spray. Cook the onions until they are just translucent. Add bacon and potatoes. Add butter and allow to melt. When the butter is melted, add the flour and stir. You’ll want to cook the flour for a few minutes to remove the mealy taste of it.

After about 4-5 minutes of stirring, add your milk and chicken stock. Stir and allow to thicken slightly. You’ll want to bring the liquid to a very low simmer! Add Philly cooking creme or cream cheese, as well as the sour cream. Stir to combine. Add the shredded cheese and allow to melt and combine. Allow to simmer for another few minutes and then serve!

(If your soup doesn’t thicken up much with just the flour and butter, you can combine about 2 tablespoons of corn starch in a small bowl with about 2 tablespoons of water. Stir to combine and add to the simmering soup. Stir rapidly and this should thicken it up a bit more!)

Note: This recipe serves about 3-4 people. It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for about 2-3 days!

[I love spas, but being on a college budget doesn't allow for visits to them. I like to create my own spa days at home, and this is something you all can do too! So I will be bringing you some of my favorite at home treatments with ingredients you already have.]

Last time in Spa At Home, I talked you all through some DIY Scrubs. This week, with the weather finally changing, I thought we should visit some DIY hair and face treatments that you can find in your fridge right behind the OJ. It’s amazing how many treatments you can do with what you’ll find in the fridge. Whenever I’m at home, my parents are always really confused when eggs or fruit go missing and end up on my bathroom counter. The way I see it, why buy a pre-made treatment with lots of chemicals when I can make it at home?

In this video I’m going over some of my favorite hair and face treatments made with super simple ingredients that you probably already have. Watch on!

On my face: MAC Studiofix powder, Laura Gellar bronzer, Painted Earth liquid blush in Flutter, Mary Kay eye pencil, Painted Earth mascara

[I love spas, but being on a college budget doesn't allow for visits to them. I like to create my own spa days at home, and this is something you all can do too! So I will be bringing you some of my favorite at home treatments with ingredients you already have.]

Scrubs are one of my favorite things to make at home because there are so many different kinds. You can make a scrub out of almost anything from your kitchen. At home scrubs are super cheap and can actually be better for your skin because you’re not using a bunch of chemicals that can be found in store-bought ones. Do be aware though not to get too crazy and start throwing random ingredients together especially if you have really sensitive skin.

I’m going over two face scrubs and a body scrub in this video that I use on a regular basis. They’re extremely easy to make and won’t put a dent in your wallet.

On my face: Painted Earth Pore Perfecting Primer, Painted Earth concealer, MAC Studio Fix Powder, Painted Earth liquid blush in Flutter, Painted Earth eyeshadow in Unforgettable, Painted Earth mascara

On my nails: OPI Siberian Nights

Got something you want me to cover? Post it in the comments below. And don’t forget to follow us on YouTube and check out my other videos right here! And for more beauty related tips, check out my website and follow me on Twitter!

You’re welcome.

What’s a girl to do?
Grab your scissors, girls. We’re gonna learn to trim!

A lot of you have asked about how to trim your bangs and I’m going to show you. In this video, I go through how to trim and style swoop bangs. For those looking for a blunt/straight across trim, that might happen in the near future if I get bored with my hair, but for now you can follow the same kind of process I’m doing here.

A little advice: Breathe. It really is easy once you get over the nerves! But seriously, if you were bad with safety scissors as a kid, just go to the salon. Oftentimes if you know your stylist well, they’ll fit you in and give you a little bang trim for free between regular haircuts.

Got something you want me to cover? Post it in the comments below. And don’t forget to check out my other videos right here!

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After all, moving to the big city (NYC!!) from Georgia was definitely a change. I went from sweet southern porches to a 5th floor walk up above a dingy pizza shop…and I absolutely love it.

But despite my utter obsession with this city, my new mostly black wardrobe, and my sudden fondness for cosmopolitans and the closest Duane Reade, I can’t forget my Georgia roots. Home is where the heart is after all. So in an ode to my hometown (and my thinning wallet), I crafted an easy and inexpensive art piece to spruce up my current home and remind me of my former home.

It’s fun, it’s personal and it’s cute. And if you don’t need wall art of your own, this makes the perfect gift for homecomings, housewarmings, and holidays (it is almost Christmas… YIPPEEE!).

What You’ll Need:

A Frame: Any type or size. New, old, dirty, dingy, fancy, or vintage. Doesn’t matter!
A paper map of your hometown: Yes, they still make actual paper maps. Who knew? You can pick up a map of your new town, your old town, or your dream town pretty much anywhere: gas stations, book stores, drug stores, the back seat of your car. I picked mine up from Barnes and Noble. For an even cheaper route, print out a color copy off the internet.
Craft paper: Find paper at any craft store or drug store. Pick a solid color, no patterns (it will clash with the map)
Scissors: Snip, snip.
Markers: Doodle, doodle.

What You’ll Do:
1. Cut your map and craft paper to the size of the frame.

2. Outline a heart on the craft paper (as big or small as you want, depending how much map you want to be seen) and cut it out leaving an open heart shape in the middle.

Other ideas: If a heart isn’t your thing, cut out something else like, “Home Sweet Home,” your town’s name, or any other word you want showcased.

3. Using markers, write a message on the craft paper underneath (or above) the heart.

Try these cute sayings: Home is Where the Heart Is, Home Sweet Home, Welcome Home!, There’s No Place Like Home

4. Now frame your work! Place the craft paper over the map and frame the two sheets! Now the map of your hometown is inside the heart. Right where it should be.

5. Hang your art, decorate a bookshelf, or wrap your DIY creation for the perfect holiday gift!

6. Relish in your own craftiness and frugal decorating skills like the creative genius that you are.

Wanna see some more DIY projects? Click here and channel your inner artist!

For this week’s DIY project, I was inspired by my downtown fashion conscious and too-cool-to-be-a-hipster hipster friend, Landon. This guy is like half artist, half designer and totally rad. He just may be the perfect man, especially with his newest creation: paint splattered boyfriend trousers.

Designers like Tory Burch and the late, great Alexander McQueen also rocked paint splattered pieces in their collections. For mucho dinero. For those of us on a college or recent-grad budget, these trousers will give you the same designer look without paying $180 (or more!) for a pair of designer digs. (Plus, you get the glory of designing them yourself…and that’s free!)

What You’ll Need

1. An old pair of trousers. If you want to go for a boyfriend slouchy pair (which are inherently more chic), try to steal an old pair from a brother, boyfriend, or random man on the street. OK, maybe not a random man on the street, but I bet you can find a great pair at the Salvation Army….

Tip: The paint splatter look would also look great on jeans!

2. Craft paint: Pick any color you prefer. Try neon colors for a modern city look, pastels for a vintage look, black and white for something a bit more understated, or whatever colors inspire you. You can get these at any craft store like Joann’s or Michael’s.

3. Paintbrush or toothbrush: Use old ones or pick up some new ones up at your local craft store or CVS.

What You’ll Do:

1. Get your inner artist on and go crazy on your trousers. You can splatter paint (for the effect seen above), or use the paintbrushes, toothbrushes, or use your finger-painting skills to decorate the jeans.
Tip: Using old or frayed paint brushes will help spread the paint out evenly so it isn’t too thick.

2. If you wanna distress your pants more (after the paint is dry, of course) grab some sandpaper and rough ‘em up a bit. And if you really want to explore your inner rock star, try adding studs around the pockets for even more designer details!

3. Cuff the hems and slip ‘em on. Pair these with a loose white tee or tank, a blazer, and a sick pair of heels. Then tell everyone how awesome you are… and look. Just try not to be afraid when people try to rip the pants off of you (unless its a hot man, like, say, Chase Crawford… then just go with it).

Wanna see some more DIY projects? Click here and channel your inner artist!