Question?! Answer: Ask Tuffy Luv. Email Aunt Tuffy at tuffyluvCC [at] gmail [dot] com

Dear Tuffy Luv,

I’m fat. I hate my body. Now what?

Fatty

Dear Girl,

That’s right. I refused to call you Fatty. Because–what the floop?! Girl, you have got to address these issues now before they eat you whole–literally. Look, sometimes people gain weight. But people also lose weight, right? Right. So here’s what you do:

Figure out what’s making you gain weight. Is it the types of foods you’re eating? The amount of food? Or are you not exercising enough?

If it’s a food issue, start reading up on what’s healthy and what’s not. If you know what is good for your body, you’ll want to give it food that makes it run better. Vegetables, whole grains, lean protein–these things can be prepared deliciously, and they’ll make you feel great.

For amount of food, think portion control. At the beginning, weigh your food. I’m not kidding. Read up on portion sizes (from nutritionists and health experts, not crazos) and weigh it until you know what the right amount looks like. Limit yourself to eating only that amount. You might feel hungry at first, but within a week or so, your body will adjust. Most of us are used to overeating–you’ll feel much better when you’re actually eating the right amount.

Exercise is good for everyone. You want cardio AND weights. Find something you like to do (dancing, running, whatever) and make a schedule that has you doing it four times a week. And then stick to it!!! And do NOT reward yourself with food–reward yourself with the knowledge that you’re taking good care of yourself and starting better habits for the future.

And in the meantime, girl, seriously lay off. I’m sure you’re absolutely beautiful just the way you are. It is not healthy to be significantly overweight, but that doesn’t mean you should feel unattractive for it!!! Lots of men like a little extra meat. Don’t slim down for that; slim down because you’ll feel better, and you’ll have fewer health problems as you age. Do it for yourself. And in the meantime, always, always love the body you’ve got. Because that’s you, baby!

Hearts & Skulls,

Tuffy Luv

[lead image via Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock]

Traveling alone and having to eat at restaurants is the worst if you’re a women. At least that’s what CNN and the founder of a new female-only app called “Invite for a Bite” are saying.

This App “solves the problem” of eating out alone when you’re traveling. On the site you can either search for a invite or create one, connecting you with other women in your destination. Now, I’m all for this idea. It’s a great way to meet other travelers or have a local to connect with and learn about a new culture in the process. That’s wonderful.

What isn’t wonderful is how this app depicts women. In the CNN article, founder of another App, called “I Love Your Accent,” Rachelle Peachey says, “When I walk into a restaurant or bar alone, I feel others see me as either a woman out to pick up men or a sad, lonely spinster.” I question if our gender has really advanced when otherwise successful women can’t deal with being out alone. While the App is a good idea — and hey, I might even try it next time I’m traveling along — it does create a crutch.

Eating alone may seem uncomfortable at first, but it doesn’t take long to get used to it. I’m a solo diner if I’m in my home city or if I’m traveling. I like food and I like my independence. Throw the two together and I’m happily sitting alone people watching over dinner by myself. If you’ve ever skipped a meal or felt sad as your crammed McDonald’s into your mouth instead of real food, just because you didn’t want to dine-in alone, I encourage you to try it.

Savour your food, enjoy your own company, and don’t be afraid to order dessert!

Do you like to dine alone? Why or why not?

Leah is just waiting on a piece of paper to say she has her Bachelor of Journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto. She just wrapped up working on the Ryerson Review of Journalism. Now she is spending her obscene amount of free time baking tasty cupcakes and hunting for a job (hopefully that pays). Follow her @Elleandbee.

It’s 4/20, and we all know what that means. If you’re indulging today, may your “holiday” be filled with movie marathons and delicious munchies. If you’re not partaking, why not take advantage of the movie marathons and munchies anyway? It’ a win/win situation.

To help you out, we collected recipes for some amazing munchies. You’re welcome!

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[Lead image via Ariwasabi/Shutterstock]

I love to cook. I find it so relaxing and fun – it’s one of the best stress relievers for me. But when I’m really busy, I tend to stick to the same few recipes. And that gets boring. I make a lot of chicken, and usually I do a simple lemon chicken recipe that I learned from my grandma. That’s great, but I’m tired of that flavor. This week, I decided to try something new: garlic chicken with white wine sauce.

The best part about this recipe is the fact that it’s one of those dishes that sounds super gourmet, but isn’t tough to make at all. It requires a few more steps and ingredients than my typical lemon chicken, but it’s totally worth it. This recipe is perfect for a weekend evening when you have plenty of time to set aside for cooking, and it makes 4-6 servings, so it’s especially good if you have friends to share it with.

Garlic Chicken with White Wine Sauce

What you’ll need:

• About 3 pounds of chicken (I recommend boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
• Salt and black pepper
• 2 whole cloves of garlic, with cloves separated but not peeled
• Olive oil
• 1 1/4 cup white wine
• 3 large sprigs of fresh tarragon
• 3 large sprigs of fresh thyme

How to make it:

1. Lightly smash the garlic cloves with the side of a knife, just enough to break the cloves. Leave the peel on (to keep the garlic from cooking too quickly).

2. Pat the pieces of chicken dry and sprinkle them generously with salt and pepper. Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a large thick-bottom pan (with a tight fitting cover) on medium high. Brown the chicken pieces on all sides, working in batches if all the chicken won’t fit in the pan at once. Lay the chicken pieces on the hot oil, do not move until browned, then turn over to other side using tongs. Remove from pan when browned.

3. Add a little more olive oil to the pan if necessary. Add the garlic and sauté until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add the wine and the herbs. Bring to a boil. Add the chicken pieces. Reduce the heat to medium low. Cover the pan and simmer until the chicken is cooked through. Move the chicken pieces from top to bottom every 5 minutes for about 20 minutes.

Garnet is a student at Columbia University in New York City. She is “that person” who starts dancing at a party when everyone else is standing around, and if there were a Facebook stalking Olympics, she would be a gold medalist. She also loves cheesy 90s music, and almost died of happiness when Vanilla Ice retweeted her. Once. Follow her on Twitter @garnethenderson.

Beef…it’s what’s for dinner. Or so we thought. ABC News has been investigating the use of a meat filler called Boneless Lean Beef Trimmings, BLBT or pink slime, in seventy percent of ground beef. Oh yeah, and this pink slime is disinfected with ammonia and was previously only sold to cooking oil and dog food suppliers. Um, gross.

J. Patrick Boyle, president of the American Meat Institute, is defending this nasty stuff saying it “is a sustainable product because it recovers lean meat that would otherwise be wasted.” You won’t find a label on packages of ground beef that says it contains pink slime though, so how will you know? You won’t. Janet Riley, senior VP of public affairs for AMI stated, “What are you asking me to put on the label, its beef, it’s on the label, it’s a beef product, it’s says beef so we are declaring … it’s beef.” I personally would like to know if there’s an ammonia lined filler in my beef!

Former employees of Beef Products Inc. are saying that pink slime doesn’t even resemble beef at all, claiming “It kind of looks like Play-Doh.” How is this stuff made, you ask? Well, since it comes from the part of the cow that’s most susceptible to contamination, they simmer it in low heat until the fat and tissue separates and then it’s sprayed with ammonia. Yummy, right?!

What stores don’t use pink slime in their beef? Costco, Publix, H-E-B, Whole Foods, Kroger, and Tops Markets. Safeway and Ahold on the other hand, trust what the government says is safe. Now, there are tons of other grocery stores, and ABC only asked the top ten in the country. So maybe you should ask your grocery store if they use pink slime in their beef or not, I know I definitely will.

What do you think about pink slime? Do you feel like it’s safe? Are you extremely grossed out like I am?

Caitlin is a senior at the University of Alabama who has an obsession with cupcakes, coffee, and Harry Potter. She always has random fun facts on reserve and aspires to be a professional blogger,social media bug, and/or James Franco’s assistant. Follow her fabulous life @caitlincorsetti. You’re welcome!

Eating food that come straight out of the back of a truck is heavenly. Seriously. Korean barbeque quesadillas, classic Los Angeles street tacos, lobster cut rolls and more delicious delicacies are prepared fresh in a mini-kitchen that’s smaller than my dorm room. More affordable than a gourmet restaurant and not as unhealthy as fast food dollar menu items, those concoctions are a local indulgence for this California girl, and I’m more than happy to support a little culinary creativity while getting some serious bang for my buck.

Some things food truck menus are not: responsible for childhood obesity or more dangerous than marijuana. Yes, both have been suggested recently and, if a new piece of legislature is passed, may soon be acknowledged as true.

California Assemblyman William Monning argues that though some food trucks are trendy and social media savvy and profiled on Food Network television shows, most of the ones on the road “are contributing to an epidemic of childhood obesity on California school campuses by supplying youngsters with greasy burgers, sodas and high-calorie ice cream,” according to the LA Times. Therefore, the only logical solution to the great issue of childhood obesity is to ban all food trucks and pushcarts from within 1,500 feet of schools during daytime hours on weekdays. (At this time, marijuana dispensaries must only be 600 feet from schools in California, which insinuates that a hot dog is more deadly to a child than a play date with Mary Jane.)

The problem isn’t just that AB 1678 would triple the current limit of 500 feet in Los Angeles. What concerns me is that in many other cities, this would create a new blackout zone for food trucks — as much as 80% of streets in some places — and may snowball lawmakers nationwide to address these rolling restaurants altogether. College girls would have to unfollow the Twitter accounts of their favorite mobile cupcakeries and forgo the craving for greasy street food after a long night of dancing/burning off a ton of calories. Food trucks aren’t just a California thing or an NYC trademark; they’ve been setting up shop at remote construction sites and office buildings for years and are making their way into smaller towns across the nation. And their healthy ingredients and trendy menus are improving across the board and becoming part of our culture.

Not the part that’s making American kids fat, though. After genetics, lack of exercise and whatever parents are putting on the table for mealtimes, childhood obesity is more likely to be encouraged by the sodas that used to be sold in school vending machines and the unhealthy foods offered in the cafeterias — two changes brought on by the California Food Policy Advocates, the same group who thought up this anti-food truck madness. Since these previous measures have already been taken, it’s more than likely that Monning’s measure will pass in order to “protect the kids,” and shaved ice on wheels on a weekday afternoon will be a thing of the past.

I hate to disappoint you, Monning, but telling all food trucks to park their loads elsewhere isn’t going to slim down the kids of America. In fact, I don’t think it’ll even make a dent in all that eventual cellulite. Because creating a virtual no-go zone for both gourmet and greasy food trucks — as in Carmel, where you hail from — won’t stop a hungry child from spending their money on fattening foods elsewhere. Like in places that don’t have the option of relocating on a whim, as Matt Geller, chief executive of the Southern California Mobile Food Vendors Association, explained:

“This bill won’t do anything to cut children’s access to unhealthy food,” Geller said. “They won’t eat at the food trucks, but they are going to eat at the McDonald’s nearby. They are going to eat at the convenience store, the gas station.”

Besides, why do children even have the option to leave their campuses and buy sugary snacks from food trucks or push carts? Rather than passing a law that prevents everyone who is old enough to understand how to read a nutrition facts label from grabbing a faster and healthier bite during lunch hour, it’d probably be much easier — and more profitable for the economically struggling state — to simply double-check that schools are watching their kids’ activity during recess and after school, and making sure that they aren’t leaving school grounds in general. You know, to buy pot from the store that’s only 600 feet away.

AB 1678 will be up for debate later this month, and Monning says that he’s open to tweaking his proposal to a certain extent. So this is a legitimate excuse to stock up on vegan wraps, fusion burritos and all your favorite treats from those ice cream trucks — just in case.

Should Monning’s legislature be passed in order to protect children’s health? Or is Monning just completely out of his mind?

Ashley is a UC San Diego grad who is holding on way too tightly to a potential career in magazines and goes to Vegas all too often. She’s fascinated with celebrities and strawberry beer and doubles as a pathological texter/emailer/blogger. Feed the addiction with tweets @cashleelee. Thanks in advance.

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Are you shy about food?

My dad used to tell me that any boy who asked me on a second date after taking me to dinner was a keeper because I eat a lot of food in a very unlady-like way. That said, there are certain foods that make me look like more of a dainty lady than others.

Good date food choices: Chicken, steak and other foods that can be cut into small bites and won’t end up all over your face.

Bad foods to eat: All of the following…

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[Lead image via Jacqueline Abromeit/Shutterstock]

When I get stressed, I eat. And it’s not salads I crave. Usually I go for carbs, cheese, greasy foods, salty foods or chocolate. And I’m almost always multitasking while I eat. I’m staring at Facebook or Twitter, watching a TV show on Hulu or checking my email. Is this a good thing? Probably not. But I know I’m not alone.

Lots of people, especially college students, share my not-so-great eating habits. We eat on the go, scarfing down food between classes. We eat at weird hours because our schedules are always changing. And as you can probably guess, this isn’t great from a nutrition standpoint. Eating quickly and allowing emotions to motivate your eating habits leads to overeating and overindulging cravings.

Now, more and more nutritionists are suggesting a practice called mindful eating as a way break these habits. So, what is mindful eating? Although it has only become popular recently, mindful eating is by no means new. The concept is rooted in Buddhist philosophy. It’s almost like a kind of meditation involving food.

To eat mindfully, you have to savor every bite. Instead of shoveling food into your mouth, you have to experience it. You’re supposed to pay attention to the smell and texture of the food, the way it looks and the subtleties of its flavor. Experts say you should try and chew 25 to 30 times for each bite. Oh, and one more thing – no talking allowed. No staring at a TV or computer screen, either. Just eating and focusing on the sensations and experience.

Not such an easy task, especially when you’re running around between classes and have papers to write. But nutritionists think that mindful eating could be a key way to prevent overeating. When you savor each bite and pay attention to your body’s response, you’re more in-tune with your real needs. You learn to recognize when you’ve had enough, and when you’re only eating because you feel sad or stressed.

And the best part is that mindful eating doesn’t involve giving up any foods. You can still indulge in cravings, you just have to go slowly and be conscious of what exactly you’re doing. Ideally, you’ll stop overeating and enjoy food more.

Mindful eating can be tough for beginners – especially the silence part. Experts suggest that at the very least you try eating in a peaceful environment. That means no phone, no computer, no TV, no reading. Nothing but you and your food. And you can try short periods of silence to start out with.

No time to mindfully eat at every meal? I don’t blame you – I don’t have hours to devote to my meals, either. But try taking a few mindful sips of tea or coffee, or really savoring the first few bites of your meal. If you like it, then you can progress to monthly or weekly mindful meals.

I think I’m going to give mindful eating a try. I’d probably be better off in more ways than one if I made it through more meals without texting or checking Facebook.

What about you? Would you give mindful eating a try?

Garnet is a student at Columbia University in New York City. She is “that person” who starts dancing at a party when everyone else is standing around, and if there were a Facebook stalking Olympics, she would be a gold medalist. She also loves cheesy 90s music, and almost died of happiness when Vanilla Ice retweeted her. Once. Follow her on Twitter @garnethenderson.

[Lead image via befly/Shutterstock]

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!

Easy Chocolate Bark

This delicious recipe is perfect if you’re craving a chocolatey snack, and it only requires two types of ingredients.

Ingredients:

6 ounces of dark chocolate

4 ounces of semisweet chocolate

½ cup almonds, chopped

Directions:

1. Combine the chocolates and melt in a microwavable bowl.
2. Line a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper
3. Pour the melted chocolate over the parchment paper. Use a spatula to evenly spread the chocolate.
4. Sprinkle chopped almonds over chocolate layer.
5. Put the bark in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes
6. Cut the bark into three-inch pieces and serve.

Chocolate Mousse

A quick and easy, yet completely delectable, no-bake dessert made in the time it’ll take you to watch the latest episode of Modern Family.

Ingredients:

8 ounces of semisweet chocolate

2 cups skim milk

2 packages sugar-free chocolate Jell-O

2 cups of fat-free cool whipped topping

1/3 cup of fresh brewed coffee

Directions:

1. Melt the chocolate, 1 cup of milk and the coffee on high in the microwave for 2 minutes.
2. Add the remaining milk and pudding packages to the chocolate mixture. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
3. Take the pudding out of the refrigerator, fold in cool whip and serve.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Dark chocolate + Sweet strawberries = A (somewhat) healthy, satisfying and fail-proof sexy dessert.

Ingredients:

6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

3 ounces white chocolate, chopped

1 pound strawberries with stems, washed and dried very well

Directions:

1. Put the dark and white chocolates into two separate heatproof medium bowls.
2. Fill two medium saucepans with a couple inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
3. Turn off the heat and set the bowls of chocolate over the water to melt. Stir until smooth. (If you want to limit the clean-up process or don’t have a stove, melt the chocolates in a microwave at half power for 1 minute, stir and then heat for another minute until melted.)
4. Once the chocolates are melted and smooth, remove from the heat.
5. Line a sheet pan with parchment or waxed paper.
6. Holding the strawberry by the stem, dip the fruit into the dark chocolate, lift and twist slightly, letting any excess chocolate fall back into the bowl.
7. Set the strawberry on the parchment paper and repeat with the rest.
8. Dip a fork in the white chocolate and drizzle over the dipped strawberries.
9. Set the strawberries aside for 30 minutes, or until the chocolate sets.

Oreo Truffle Balls

This is seriously the easiest and most satisfying recipe for Valentine’s Day, and it’ll be hard to resist more than one. Trust me.

Ingredients:

1 (16-ounce) package OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

2 (8-ounce) packages semi-sweet baking chocolate

Directions:

1. Crush package of cookies to fine crumbs in a food processor. (If that’s not available, you can also put the cookies in a Ziploc bag and use a rolling pin and place in a medium bowl).
2. Add cream cheese, mix until well blended.
3. Line two baking sheets with parchment or wax paper.
4. Roll cookie mixture into balls, about 1-inch diameter.
5. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes or until hardened.
6. In a medium saucepan, melt chocolate until smooth.
7. Take cookies out of the refrigerator, dip the balls in chocolate and place back on baking sheet.
8. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store leftover truffles, covered in refrigerator.

[Lead Image via avs/Shutterstock]