College kids are world-renowned sleepers, partiers and–most importantly–eaters. Hey, we can’t help it. The Freshman 15 is easy to gain when you have so much great food around campus. College towns are famous for their food chains–from sandwiches to pizza to…well it’s mainly sandwiches and pizza. But it’s all delicious, and we’ve compiled a list of the Best of the Best on campuses across the nation. Read More »

[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. This month, Megan is gonna go 4 weeks without eating out. First, she learned her way around the kitchen, then she struggled through her normal routine. How did her month round out?

At last, the 4 weeks sans eating out have to come to an end!

Thankfully, this week was extra busy for me.  Between work and holiday shopping (I’m one of those last minute shoppers), I didn’t really have much time to even want fast food.  That being said, I can’t say I had much time to cook either. So I enjoyed lots of leftovers, made by my wonderful mama.  I did do a tiny bit of cooking though. This week I experimented with lots of quick, yummy, snacks. Has anyone ever tried the Velveeta and Rotel queso dip? It’s muy delicioso.

As proud of myself as I am for not caving in this week, I am quite excited for this entire experiment to come to an end. Hello, McDonalds! How I’ve missed you! (Have you guys learned I’m a little obsessed with McDonald’s yet? I think I’m the only person who ran out for some Chicken McNuggest after seeing Supersize Me.)  Regardless of if its McDonald’s or elsewhere though, I am more than ready to walk in somewhere, ORDER some food, and enjoy every last bit of it without having to cook it or clean it all up.

That brings me to what month has been as a whole:
AWESOME.
CHALLENING.
LONG. Read More »

[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. This month, Megan is gonna go 4 weeks without eating out. She was learning her way around the kitchen last week, let's see how she handled herself this week.....]

At 3 weeks in, the “challenges” within this “I’m not eating any meals out this month” challenge are finally starting to show. Don’t get me wrong, I love some of the effects of this challenge; I am proud that I can cook some delicious and edible meals, and the effects it’s had on my wallet have been extraordinary. But there have been total negatives.

Dating is one. And it’s a biggie.

As a single gal, I like to get my date on. However, what’s every single male’s novel first date idea? DINNER! (And he’s not cookin’ it at home for me.) Which leads me to demanding a more creative date, spending an hour proving that I’m not a “challenging” girl, or trying to convince him that I don’t have an eating disorder.  And while some of these dates have been creative and fun, I can’t wait to accept dinner date offers again. Especially, when it is on his dime.

Another downside – this holiday season has been busy.  I didn’t really think about my timing on this challenge, but working 2 jobs, I’ve literally been working 7 days a week.  With so many hours at work and more hours studying for finals, the last thing I want to do is come home and cook.  I’m usually so tired and famished, I have dreams of McDonald’s fries. And not only can I not indulge in said fries, but being more tired, my cooking is getting a lot less tasty than it should be.

And by “less tasty” I mean “Easy Mac is back.” Read More »

[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. This month, Megan is gonna go 4 weeks without eating out. Can she handle the heat of the kitchen??]

After raiding my cabinets this week, and realizing we had, like, no food, I decided I would have to go food shopping if I was going to survive this no restaurant month.  Being that I’m an impulse buyer, I also “attempted” to make a grocery list. And while I bought a majority of items off my list, I found myself coming home with lots of comfort foods: Easy Mac, ramen, spaghetti.

The comfort foods were a good start. They were super convenient, thus keeping me from eating out. Plus, they’re cheap and tasty. Yum.  However, after a couple nights of Easy Mac and ramen, I missed variety, not to mention things that aren’t noodles.  And that’s when I realized, it was time to start cooking something a little more challenging than turning on a microwave.

And I did it- I successfully made tacos!

Not only did I not have to extinguish any fires, but they were actually good!  While most people don’t look at tacos as a challenging meal to cook, it was a huge accomplishment for me.  It was also just the cooking confidence boost I needed.  And so, inspired, I hit the interwebs for even more culinary inspiration and got myself quite a stack of  delicious recipes.  And then I went shopping again (so much for saving money) and before I knew it, I was cooking up a storm. Read More »

[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 watched Melanie push herself to work out every day. This month, Megan is gonna go 4 weeks without eating out. Can she handle the heat of the kitchen??]

Sitting here writing this, I’m beginning to wonder if I’ve lost my mind.

I’ve decided to challenge myself to not eat out for the entire month of December. And only 4 days in, I’ve already got a hunger for some delicious food that doesn’t require me cooking. Let’s not forget that the only dishes I can cook successfully are Kraft Mac and Cheese and Cup O’Noodles.

So what led me to this crazy decision? No, not a sugar induced high, but Mint.com.  Looking over my Mint account, I started to notice a trend.  My “Restaurants” numbers were always ridiculously high and one of the top things I spend money on, month after month. To be honest, until I was trying to figure out where I could cut spending (thank you, student loans), I had never realized how often I eat out and just how much of my money I spend on food.  What’s even more disgusting is that I know I’ve spent cash (lots of it!) on food as well, I just don’t have the documented proof staring at me from my computer screen.

The other reason I wanted to try this challenge was to force myself to have to cook. I know that one day I am going to be a real human being and I’m going to have to know my way around a kitchen. Unfortunately, that time is coming more quickly than I’d like and I can’t live on microwavable noodles forever.

Being the busy (and lazy) girl that I am, I’ve grown accustomed to coming home after a long day of class and work and just running out to grab fast food or picking up my phone and ordering delivery.  Now that I don’t have that as an option, I’ll finally get around to finding and trying out some recipes.  I always read the awesome recipes posted here on CollegeCandy and now I’ll have no choice but to try some out!

Let’s hope I don’t burn my kitchen down.
Or starve when I mess up every single thing I attempt to cook.

Now, all that being said, I did set one exception to my “no dining out” goal and that involves gettin’ my drank on. Although I’m not eating out, I’m still going to drink out. Going out to bars is a huge part of my social life and if I can’t have food, I’m gonna need some yummy drinks. BUT! I promise no drunken food, at least not until I get home. (Pizza bagels, here I come!)

I can’t wait to keep you updated on this challenge and hope that some of you will join me along the way. It won’t be easy, but I’m hoping it will pay off….literally.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go raid my kitchen and pack a lunch for tomorrow.

[Check out the other One Month Challenges we've taken on. And if you've got a challenge you want to tackle (and be held accountable for), email us and we could feature you next month. Come on - it's good for you!]

It’s not easy being a woman. We only earn $.78 for every dollar dudes earn, we have to put up with things like periods and high heels, and—maybe worst of all—we’re constantly being bombarded with advice from lady mags, lady sites, and lady-oriented talk shows that purport to know what we should be doing to get thinner, sexier, and happier. Too often their tips are questionable at best and downright moronic at worst.

So every week I’m taking a look at the advice that falls into the “moronic” end of that spectrum. If I can convince even one girl to reconsider whatever’s being professed in her glossy of choice, I’ll sleep a little better at night.

In the relatively small pool of article templates that women’s magazines turn to month after month (find the best jeans for your body type! Learn how to make a smoky eye! Consider swinging—wait, whaaa?) there are two perennial models that will never go out of style: tips on how to lose weight and tips on how to snag a man. Knowing this, the editors at Women’s Health have come up with a genius idea for an article that combines both topics. It’s called “Prevent Love Chub,” and it’s about how your S.O. is making you fat.

Yes, even though ladymags believe any female who isn’t constantly attached to or trying to become attached to a man is kind of sad at best and totally pathetic at worst, now Women’s Health is also saying that boyfriends are any body-conscious chica’s worst enemy.

See, men sabotage our toned limbs and flat bellies in five distinct ways—they love eating out (… at restaurants! Get your mind out of the gutter!), they prevent us from being physically active, they encourage us to eat more in order to keep up with them, they buy unhealthy food, and, worst of all, they make us happy. And as author Jill Waldbieser says, “Research shows that what’s good for your heart may be bad for your hips.” More specifically: “A study published last year in the journal BioPsychoSocial Medicine found that happy people were less likely to succeed at losing weight than those with a ‘slightly negative and cautious outlook.’” Read More »

With the holiday season in full force, it’s time to start thinking beyond the presents you want to receive from your family and friends and the parties you will be attending and what you are going to wear. It’s time to think about others.

Despite the end of the year being one of the busiest times, it is important to think about giving to others and taking time to make a help those in need. Here is a list of easy and simple ways to get involved in making a difference this season:

Adopt an Angel, Be a Santa
Consider adopting a needy person for the holiday season. Giving Trees are everywhere right now (from your local Wal-Mart to your mall’s JCPenney, and many colleges have them up in their common areas) allowing you to choose the name of a person in need and help them out. You don’t even need a lot of money to do it! Every name comes with a list of wants; you can purchase just one thing off of that list (usually something simple like shampoo or groceries), or gather a bunch of friends to go all out. Your $10 purchase will really make someone’s Christmas.

Ring The Bell
You know those red kettles outside of grocery stores and on nearly every street corner in big cities, often accompanied by a Santa ringing a hand-bell? They are sponsored by the Salvation Army and have been around since 1891, providing homeless and needy with nice sit-down meals for Thanksgiving and Christmas. When walking out of the mall this holiday season, drop some of your spare change into those kettles, because any amount of change will be put to towards hot holiday meals for those in need. Read More »

I’m pretty adventurous when it comes to sex, I’m not going to lie. I love to experiment with men that I’m serious about and whom I trust, and I’m not opposed to an adventurous fling either. However, I have a confession: I might be open to hair-pulling, spanking, and playing dress-up, and there’s probably nothing that could come out of a guy’s mouth that would be dirty enough to make me blush… but I do not let men go down on me.

Take a minute. Catch your breath. Reread if you don’t believe it.

I’m sorry, but I’ve never enjoyed oral sex. I have no problem doling it out, but there are only a couple of men whom I’ve allowed to walk the red carpet, and they’ve only had the privilege on rare occasions.

My aversion to cunnilingus, I feel, stems from low self esteem and a rather horrific first time. I was shy and inexperienced, and losing my virginity was no Cinderella story. After that, it was a long time before I had vaginal sex again, but I did dole out my fair share of blow jobs. Go figure.

Looking back, I think it was a control issue. I had little control over my first time, and to me, going down on a guy was controlling. I was calling the shots. I could get him off. He was the one lying on the bed, losing his mind to ecstatic climax (sorry, I am damn good at fellatio). With regular sex, I felt like the power was equal. My partner and I were both simultaneously trying to please the other, while experiencing our own euphoric physical feelings. It was okay to give away my body, because it was a fair trade

Read More »

[I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the epitome of prim and proper- heck, who really is nowadays? But looking around at the misguided youths of today *ahem drinking buddies*, I’m starting to think that Miss Manners might have been onto something.

While you may never need to know how to greet a duke or how to tell which fork is REALLY the oyster fork, knowing how to deal with people whom owe you money, how much to tip, and how to address the ever annoying licorice-in-teeth conundrum without being rude might actually come in handy in the real world. I'm not trying to be your mother - oh goodness, no - I'm just here to help you out of those little etiquette dilemmas. So here goes: a quick lesson in etiquette. The sh*t you might actually need to know.]

I know that times are tough. The economy is in the dumper and our wallets are just getting emptier and emptier. These days it seems like I can’t turn a corner or walk into a bar without having to pay somebody something. Though I know it’s hard to choose between blowing your last dollars on another pitcher of beer or tipping the bartender, as a one-time waitress, I would never ever suggest skimping on tips. These service providers work hard (usually on a tiny salaries) and their paychecks rely heavily on your tips.

The other day, I was appalled when after ordering a heap-load of Chinese food, a “friend” of mine flicked the delivery guy a quarter and closed the door. A quarter. As in twenty-five cents. I literally had to chase down the guy and shove a few dollars at him. When I confronted her, she said she wasn’t sure how much to tip. I called bullsh*t, but it got me wondering if this is a real problem for a lot of people. So in case you were wondering, here is a tipping cheat sheet on who to tip and how much to tip them.

Read More »

[Life isn’t black and white. As much as we wish we simply loved or hated things, there is often that whole annoying gray area in the middle. Like, we hate how Walmart treats its employees…but we love the low prices! Or, we love how that boy makes us laugh….but we hate that he has no motivation in life. Damn you, gray area; you make decision-making that much more complicated!

There are so many difficult choices in life (do we love or hate high heels??), so we thought we’d sort through ‘em right here. Every week we will discuss another issue we are torn up about. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!]

I LOVE FOOD and enjoy it as often as I can: for meals, between meals, on the couch, on the way to class, on the way to the gym… And I am an equal opportunity eater.  I love Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Korean, Brazilian, Greek, and of course, American.

There’s nothing better than walking into a restaurant or – yippee! – a bakery and taking in that hot-off-the-stove smell; the yummy aromas of fresh-baked goods fluttering into my nose and making my stomach growl with hunger. And then that moment when that delectable dish is sitting in front of me and I finally get the chance to dig in…

OMG I’m drooling.

There is one “type” of food that I’m not completely head-over-heels for, though, and that is the leftover. Read More »