When women think of Valentine’s Day, boxed candy, roses and cheesy Hallmark cards from loved ones often come to mind. But let’s be real. The key to any girl’s heart is chocolate. Lots and lots of it. In honor of the anniversary of Hershey’s Chocolate — which was founded on February 9th, 1894 — and to get you to think outside the heart-shaped box this Valentine’s Day, we present to you some positively decadent chocolate-based recipes.

Impress your friends and loved ones with these cheap, easy and incredible treats. Even the most challenged baker can master what we’ve culled here for you! Read More »

I love cooking, but sometimes I find myself lacking culinary inspiration. This happens most when I’m craving something in particular, but either I don’t have the ingredients I need, or I don’t feel like making the same dishes over and over again. Luckily, I’ve found dinner-inspiration help from Gojee.

Gojee is a recipe search engine that features handpicked recipes from some of the web’s most popular food bloggers. Simply type in an ingredient or dish that you’re craving, and Gojee will return a photo slideshow of recipes to satisfy your cravings. You can also type in what ingredients you already have on hand to filter the results to show only recipes you can make right now. You can further filter the recipes by eliminating all those that contain ingredients you don’t like.

If that didn’t already sound awesome, the more you use Gojee, it learns what you like and don’t like, so you’re more likely to find recipes you love, without having to sift through things you’d never eat.

I’ve already found a ton of great recipes that I can’t wait to try! The only problem with Gojee is that the images are so delicious-looking, just browsing makes you hungry. Read More »

BREAKING NEWS HERE. I don’t know what the heck you wanted from Santa for Christmas this year, but this is a gift that’s way better late than never. Drop your diet plans, dust off your checkbooks and dial up the Girl Scout in your life, because the troops have announced a brand new cookie flavor.

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I can’t promise you a spinach dip that will magically make you lose weight, but I can promise you a spinach dip that is delicious without adding a week’s worth of calories to your day. Spinach dip is easy to make, slightly healthy (it’s spinach, guys), and great for when you need a little nibble when you’re, say, finishing up your last finals (how are those papers coming!?) or getting ready to work in retail your way through Christmas. It’s the perfect blood sugar boost.

Spinach is packed with iron; combined with all these dip ingredients, you also get a bit of calcium, which isn’t too shabby. This isn’t a salad, obviously, and you probably shouldn’t eat the whole thing in one go – even though you’ll probably want to and I totally won’t judge you for doing so if you do. Read More »

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Why? Because it’s a holiday that is essentially dedicated to food. And I love food. Yes, I know, we’re supposed to be giving thanks and thinking about Pilgrims, but I’m really just looking forward to the meal. And the best news of all is that the great eats don’t stop after Thanksgiving – in my family, at least, Christmas and New Year’s Day also bring big feasts.

There are just a few problems with all this. The holiday season tempts us to go way overboard when it comes to eating, which can be rough on our bodies in a lot of ways. Not to mention that one too many pieces of pumpkin pie can leave you feeling a little queasy. So read on for a few tips to stay happy and healthy during the holiday season.

1. Work small amounts of exercise into your daily routine.

Several studies have found that regular exercise can help counteract the consequences of overindulging in unhealthy foods. The more rigorous the exercise, the better. Study participants have seen benefits from exercises as simple as walking. Because running or walking outside may be unpleasant or impossible in colder temperatures, the gym is your best bet. But almost no one’s in the mood to run out to the gym on a holiday. So work exercise in wherever you can. Hanging out with family? Your little cousins, maybe? Run around inside with them a little bit – you get a free pass to do that if you’re hanging out with little kids. Or volunteer to help set the table and take dishes to and from the kitchen. Not only will you score extra points with your grandparents, but you’ll also be keeping your body moving.

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Say whaaaat? Look, my “healthy” snacks barely make it under a hundred calories. How in the world can my dinner top that?

Introducing one of my absolute favorite foods – spaghetti squash. Now, this gourd was introduced to me about a year ago, but I never actually bought into it. I thought it was just another one of those healthy food items that tasted really bland and would just be a phase. Boy, was I wrong!

It’s called spaghetti squash because it is the perfect substitute for pasta. It has a medium-heavy texture that looks like spaghetti and tastes a little sweet. Want to know the best part? Here are the nutrition facts for one cup of this delicious squash:

42 calories, 0g fat, 10g carbs, 2g fiber, and 1g protein

Ummm, amazing! It tastes great paired with marinara sauce and turkey meatballs. Due to my crazy work out schedule, I have to eat more than one cup (which is a huge splurge, I know) but it’s so fulfilling. If you ever have a food cheat day, this will easily put you back on track.

I’m not a homemaker, so anything that involves lots of preparing and waiting is not my thing. Fortunately, it’s super easy to make this. Here’s the quick and easy!

1. Purchase spaghetti squash. It’s only $2.99 at Trader Joe’s and I think it turns out to be a similar price at other supermarkets.

2. Cut the squash in half or poke 10 holes in it. If you can get it to cut open, it will look like a pumpkin inside. Simply pull out all of the seeds.

3. MICROWAVE it! I know, right? It’s like making cup of noodles. Microwave the whole squash on high for about 15-17 minutes (depending on how big the squash is). You can also steam or bake it, but it takes much longer.

4. Take it out of the microwave. Use a fork to scrape the inside of the squash. It will come out in strands, just like spaghetti! So fun. It’ll be extremely hot, so just be careful.

5. Serve with marinara sauce, meatballs or sauce up your own creation.

So easy, right? I’m not skipping any steps – I promise! Try your miracle 100-calorie dinner and let me know what you think. I’m so addicted to it and I hope you love it too. Remember, a healthy body is comprised of 80% nutrition and 20% fitness. Fill your body with only the best.

mmmmm

The good news is that bikini season is over. The bad? I still probably shouldn’t eat these anyway. But taking a quick gander at beautiful sweets can’t hurt. Go ahead, get a pseudo sugar lift and peruse these picks.  They’re just so pretty…

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Everyone has those days.

You know, those days? When all you want to do is curl up in a ball in your sweats, sleep, watch some terrible Netflix movies and ask yourself why life can’t be like a Julia Roberts movie. (In fact, I’m having one of those days right now.) But those days are never quite complete without that pint of Ben and Jerrys, that pizza with pineapple, or tortilla chips and salsa.

Comfort food. It’s a necessity for late night binging, breakup wallowing, and rainy days with Real Housewives marathons. Everyone has a favorite, but these? These top ten classics are some comfort foods every gal indulges in at some point or another.

10. Pizza. With extra cheese. And all the toppings. Or none of the toppings.  My personal favorite is a single, original, round slice. But hey, to each her own.

9. Mashed Potatoes. Just as delicious when you have a toothache and can’t eat solid foods as they are paired with a juicy steak or with nothing at all.

8. Cheeseburger. An American classic. (Even if it wasn’t actually first created in America.) Burgers are great because they can be as quick and simple as a Big Mac or as fancy and fab as something with jack cheese and onion rings, but either way they’re delicious.

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Happy 4th of July ladies!

I hope you enjoy this holiday and appreciate the day off. Whether you’re spending it at the beach, watching fireworks, or firing up that grill, July 4th is a day to celebrate. It’s a day to reflect on how we got here and remember the people that made this country so great. It’s a day to appreciate our country and everything it has to offer us, whether it be the big things or the little things.

Today though, today I’m going to focus on the little things…

10.  Driving. On the right side of the road that is. I don’t have much experience abroad, and I have absolutely no experience driving abroad but I can tell you this much: I don’t think it would work out to well for me. So yes, I’m thankful to have my Jeep, and my license, and my ability to drive on the right side.

9. Red, White, and Blue. Primary colors often get a bad rep. But there’s something  great about red, white and blue- when the three are thrown together, whether that be on the American flag, or an Uncle Sam outfit.

8. BBQs. Nothing says America quite like a good old hot dog or hamburger right off the grill. (The fact that neither hot dogs nor hamburgers were invented here is completely irrelevant.)

7. Football. I know other countries have football as well, but their football is actually our soccer. Which makes sense because in soccer you actually use your feet. I don’t know why we call it football, but I love the sport all the same. And I appreciate the irony.

6. Thanksgiving. A holiday dedicated to, amongst other less materialistic things, eating so much food that we bust the buttons on our jeans? Dedicated to turkey and stuffing and sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie? Yes, please.

5. Our Youth. Not so much American teenagers on their own, but rather our collective youth. As a country. 235 years old may not seem too young but in comparison to most well-established countries, we’re spring chickens. Yes. I  did just say “spring chickens.”

4. Apple Pie. Why apple pie is such an American tradition I’m not so sure. I just know that it is. And I appreciate that. In fact, I appreciate it even more when it’s pipping hot and topped with vanilla ice cream.

3. Jeans. When I went to London in my junior year I was shocked and appalled by the lack of denim. I know America invented blue jeans and because of that we embrace it wholeheartedly, but it wasn’t until then that I realized other countries had not. I’d never survive.

2. American Authors. I know that when most people think of the classics they think of British Literature, but  America has some pretty amazing author as well. Fitzgerald. Twain. O’Connors. McCullers. Hemingway. Dickinson. Whitman. Just to name a few…

1. The Melting Pot. Yes, there’s an overlying “American” culture but part of what defines that culture is the diversity of our country. There is no one way to be an American, and that’s all sorts of freeing.

Time to turn this into a  love fest. What are the reasons you love the U.S. of A? 

Before I going to a restaurant or bar that I’ve never been to before, I always like to check out their Yelp or Citysearch page and read a few reviews to get a feel for the place. And while these sites might give me a good idea of the place’s service, ambiance, or special deals, the reviews don’t always focus enough on what I’m most concerned with — the food.

Unlike other restaurant review sites that review the restaurant as a whole, Foodspotting keeps all the focus on the food. Simply put, Foodspotting is a visual database of delicious dishes at restaurants (and food stands, coffeehouses, bars, ice cream parlors, etc.) near you, uploaded by other Foodspotting users.

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