School’s out for Summer, and that means more than just getting back to bumming around the beach; it means that you’re on your own for snacks! Mid-day chips may have seemed understandable for a tight schedule between classes, but take advantage of the warm weather by snacking on seasonal fruit and other foods that pick you up rather than slow you down! Summer is when you want energy the most! So put down the leftover pizza and dive into some homemade popsicles or veggie kabobs – I promise your bikini body won’t be disappointed.

Next year I will finally have a kitchen in my dorm. Since I got my room assignment, I’ve been collecting recipes so my roommate and I can cook our own dinners and not just go out for dinner every night (which I am so sick of!). I’m a big fan of chicken with lemon, but listen to this twist: tequila lime chicken. Sound good? Not only is it delicious, it’s also super easy!

Unfortunately, this recipe requires a grill (which most of us don’t have readily available in our dorms) so either you can make it this summer at home or you can follow my “alternate ending” version of the recipe to bake the chicken in the oven!

This recipe is easy because it uses a marinade, meaning you can prepare it the day before. Because this chicken needs to sit over night, this is not a quick, spur-of-the-moment kind of recipe. But it is so worth it! This recipe serves 6 so it’s perfect for a dinner party with your friends.

Tequila Lime Chicken

What you’ll need:

• 1/2 cup of gold tequila
• 1 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice (5-6 limes)
• 1/2 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice (2 oranges)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon minced, fresh jalapeno (1 pepper without seeds)
• 1 tablespoon minced, fresh garlic (3 cloves)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts

How to make it:

1. Combine the tequila, lime juice, orange juice, chili powder, jalapeno pepper, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken breasts. Refrigerate overnight.

2. Heat a grill with coals and brush the rack with oil to prevent the chicken from sticking. Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade, sprinkle well with salt and pepper, and grill them skin-side down for about 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes, until just cooked through. Remove from the grill to a plate. Cover tightly and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Alternative Step 2:

2. Brush a baking sheet with olive oil (to prevent sticking.) Place the chicken breasts on the baking sheet, skin side up. Bake the breasts for 35 to 40 minutes, until just cooked through.

Note: This can be served hot or at room temperature! I’ve had this chicken room temperature over a salad and it was absolutely delicious!

Ashley is a freshman at George Washington University majoring in International Affairs with a minor in English. She has a slight obsession with astrology and Bon Iver. Follow her on twitter @ashleybrooks25

With summer coming soon, I’m sure I’m not the only one looking to lose a few pounds. Unfortunately, accomplishing such a task is never easy. It requires choosing healthy food options, cutting calories and increasing exercise. With a 24-hour 7-11 around the corner from my dorm, my hope of being bikini-ready for summer seems only a far-fetched dream.

The difficulty of losing weight makes me, like others, want to cut corners and find a cure-all supplement so my late night munchies don’t hinder my efforts. Last week, Dr. Oz endorsed the answer to my prayers: Raspberry Ketone, the “miracle fat burner.” According to Dr. Oz, Raspberry Ketone aids weight loss by shrinking fat cells. I don’t quite understand the way the supplement works, but Dr. Oz swears by it.

As much as I would like to go to CVS and buy ten bottles of Raspberry Ketone, it’s hard to believe Dr. Oz when it seems like every month he endorses a new “miracle” supplement. While I’m sure there are some supplements out there that can increase metabolism a bit, the truth is nothing drops the pounds like cutting calories and increasing exercise. That’s it.

I do believe Dr. Oz knows how to help people lose weight, but I wish he would stop trying to sell us on supplements that won’t get us the perfectly toned bodies we’re looking for. He’s always suggesting new supplements to aid weight loss, but how are we supposed to keep track and reap the benefits of all of them?

Here are some of the other weight loss “miracle foods”:

initiating the gallery...

Ashley is a freshman at George Washington University and she’s majoring in “Overanalyzing Situations” and International Affairs. Follow her on twitter @ashleybrooks25

[Lead image via Kachergina/Shutterstock]

Broccoli. A childhood nightmare. Didn’t we all fear it? Some kids ate it covered in cheese whiz, which in my opinion made it neither healthy nor delicious. Really, if you’re going to clog your arteries, it might as well be with bacon. But that’s beside the point. Broccoli is a tough vegetable to love — it’s the veggie equivalent of Kim Kardashian really — but it has potential.

It’s what’s known as a cruciferous vegetable — it’s related to spinach, kale, and other dark leafy greens that are packed with fiber and antioxidants. They’re actually the healthiest foods you can eat, period. So if you’re trying to eat healthy, broccoli is a necessary evil. And honestly, it’s better raw and paired with foods that are equally as strong flavored.

Broccoli and Feta Salad

You’ll need…

• 1 head of broccoli
• about 1 cup of cherry tomatoes
• about three tablespoons of feta, crumbled
• 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1-2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
• red pepper flakes
• salt
• pepper

How to make it…

Cut off the large broccoli stem and separate the smaller pieces. In a large bowl, combine the broccoli, feta, and tomatoes. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, red pepper, and salt and pepper. Pour over the broccoli and toss.

Note: this recipe serves 2 and keeps in the fridge for about 3-4 days if stored in an airtight container.

[Lead image via Hamiza Bakirci/Shutterstock]

Wow, time flies!  Can’t believe my challenge is over – or at least my blogging commitment! I have to say that while I am a bit sad, I am also relieved. It isn’t always easy to be mindful of what you are eating, especially when so many factors are conspiring against you. For example, if you work within a team of only males, they aren’t likely to be super enthusiastic about catering to your diet needs. At first, despite my protestations, my co-workers had a hard time understanding that I wasn’t doing this challenge because I felt a need to lose weight or was on the verge of an eating disorder, but because I wanted to make a concerted effort to be healthier. However, not all was lost on them, as I did manage to inspire one to do the challenge with me. Sometimes I even had to explain to him that the point of the challenge was NOT self-deprivation but rather self-consciousness (in a positive sense)!

Perhaps most importantly, doing this challenge has made me more aware of how others treat food and how much they know about healthy eating. I was astonished as I sat on the subway one morning and listened (ok, eavesdropped!) on a conversation a young woman in high school was having with her friend about her eating habits.

The highlights included:

• Eating healthy was too much work/not fun/too restrictive – why couldn’t she just have a fried egg and bacon sandwich in the morning?
• A muffin was considered a healthy alternative - um, perhaps to a fried egg and bacon sandwich covered in grease… (but at least that has protein!)
• If she wanted to lose weight she could basically not eat for the rest of the day since she’d still be full from her big breakfast – Yes, breakfast is a SUPER important meal of the day but it does not provide a full day of fuel (and if you’re breakfast does, that may be another problem!)

Maybe the worst part about this conversation was realizing that these young women were not alone in their lack of health education (and I am not talking about safe sex – although also important!). On the one hand we’re all bombarded with articles predicting the demise of an obese America, but on the other hand, are the right people getting this information? Could we just be preaching to the choir rather than going out and making an impact? Are we going about it the right way?

I don’t believe any of this is black or white (I enjoy my own fair of “unhealthy foods” once in awhile) but it’s definitely food for thought… (Ha ha)

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]

Sometimes, we all get a pizza craving. For me, it usually strikes at the worst time; I’ve spent all day eating healthy, being good, working out. And then, suddenly, the intense impulse to eat an entire pizza by myself hits. It just seems too easy. It’s just pizza! I can get it delivered to my door! Oh, and breadsticks, because I love breadsticks.

But at the end of the day, eating a day’s worth of calories and carbs isn’t a good choice. But how do I get rid of that pizza craving? You know, the desire for pepperoni, cheese and sauce? How on earth do I shake that? Through trial and error, I found the solution. And it includes three of my favorite salad greens ever: spinach, arugula and romaine. You’ll get tons of nutrients, including iron, along with some major flavor. Combined with tomatoes (full of lycopene, one of the best minerals out there), mozzarella cheese, fresh basil and tons of other yummy ingredients, your pizza craving will fade to only a memory and you won’t be left feeling guilty for eating two days’ worth of food while watching Law and Order: SVU.

Pizza Salad

You’ll need…

• about 1 cup of spinach
• about 1 cup of romaine
• about 1/2 cup of arugula
• 1 tomato, sliced (or cut into wedges, or diced — however you like your tomatoes!)
• about 4 slices of dry Italian salami
• 1 handful of basil
• about 1/2 cup of mini-mozzarella balls
• about 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

How to make it:

In a bowl, whisk together the minced garlic and olive oil, plus a little bit of salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large salad bowl, combine the spinach, arugula and romaine lettuce. Add the tomatoes and mozzarella. On a cutting board, dice your slices of salami into bite-sized pieces. Also, roll up the basil leaves into a little bunch and dice. Combine with the salad and toss. Add the olive oil and garlic and toss until well combined. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a slice of Italian bread!

Note: This recipe makes one large salad. If you’re really hungry, you can eat the whole thing. If you’re not, you can probably share it.

[Image via Photoanatomy/Shutterstock]

Before I began, I had a lot a questions like “What is clean eating?” and “What foods are clean?” Well to be honest, even after doing loads of reading since my first post on the subject, I am still not entirely sure, so I have decided that I am going to slowly, but smartly, build my way up to much healthier eating. My first stop has been to cut out fried foods, microwaveable meals and simple carbohydrates (whole-wheat spaghetti = yum!).

So how has this been working out for me? I believe that a writer, like any artist, needs to be fully dedicated to her art – even if that requires perseverance in the face of pain, terror and piping hot broccoli soup. Yes, you read that right.  Broccoli soup.

Always a planner, yours truly scheduled herself to have two of her wisdom teeth taken out earlier in the week – which most of you know is no picnic. Yet, a week of yogurt, soup and healthy frozen yogurt didn’t sound so hard.  In fact it sounded quite refreshing – and easy.

Monday (surgery day) and Tuesday went by largely without a hitch – there isn’t much in the way of fried foods that can be slurped down and we had stocked up on yummy “drinkable,” healthy foods over the weekend.  However, on Wednesday, things took a turn for the worst  — I decided to have broccoli soup.

What do I have against broccoli soup? Well, I never got to taste it…not before I accidentally dropped it all over my lap!  The soup was so hot that I had to go to the ER to get checked out! Upon diagnosing my second-degree burns and observing my swollen right cheek, the ER doctor elegantly pronounced, “You’ve had a rough week.” Yes, doctor, yes I have.

Hopefully next week will be a little less exciting and I will be able to spend more time coming up with yummy meals and recipes to do while on this challenge.  (Right now I am sticking to Gazpacho…)

I love spicy food. Okay, that’s kind of a lie; I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to spicy foods. I’m that person who gets teary-eyed and needs milk present at all times. Needless to say, my “spicy” or Mexican-inspired dishes are rarely all that spicy, but they are easy to customize, so you can always add more of your favorite spice (or hot sauce, or whatever you love).

Why am I talking about spicy food? I’m currently lying in bed with the flu and there’s nothing like spicy food to clear up the sinuses. I have a voice like a miniature frog; aches and pains like I’m about to give birth; and it feels like there is a small balloon locked up in my head that won’t deflate. I made spicy enchiladas to help — and of course to get some veggies in me.

Veggie Enchiladas

You’ll need…

• 3-6 small tortillas (not the burrito size – fajita size or smaller if you can find them) (the amount of rice you use in each enchilada will change how many you’ll need!)
• 1 cup of rice
• 3/4 cup of water, plus 1 cup of chicken stock
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 can of black beans, drained
• 1 can of corn, drained
• 1 can of fire-roasted tomatoes, partially drained (just open the top of the can halfway and pour out a bit of the liquid)
• about 1 handful of spinach
• 1 small can of green chiles
• about 2 tablespoons of adobo sauce or hot sauce, depending on what you like
• about 1 tablespoon of taco seasoning
• about 1 cup of cheese, shredded (I like cheddar but use your favorite!)
• about 1 cup of red sauce (you can buy canned enchilada sauce that is pretty good!)

How to make it…

In a small sauce pot, bring the chicken stock and water to a boil. (Cover it with a lid to hurry this along!) Add your 1 cup of rice and stir once. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover with a lid. Keep an eye on this, but don’t stir. It can take anywhere from 8 to 18 minutes for rice to be done.

In the mean time, saute your minced garlic in a little bit of cooking spray in a large pan (if your pan doesn’t have high sides, use a large pot to be safe). When the garlic is just starting to brown (you’ll smell garlic throughout your whole kitchen), add the drained beans, corn, chiles and tomatoes. Add the spinach and allow to wilt. Stir to combine. Add the hot sauce or adobo sauce and taco seasoning. Stir.

Check on the rice. When it’s done, add to the veggie mix. (This is why using a large pot comes in handy!) Stir to combine thoroughly. Spoon some of the rice onto a tortilla and roll. Place in a baking dish spray with nonstick cooking spray. Repeat until you’ve used all the rice.

Once the baking dish is full and you’ve used all your rice, top with enchilada sauce and cheese. Put in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.

Enjoy! I like to serve these with a bit of sliced avocado (my favorite food ever) and some chips.

Eating Clean: The act of eliminating foods that are processed and/or nutritionally devoid.  (This includes choosing complex carb products over simple – i.e. brown rice over white rice.)

Advocates of “eating clean” tout a laundry list of benefits – more energy, better skin, weight-loss, and better muscle definition, etc…  They say that one should see a different within a couple of weeks – so I thought, how about a month? Then I thought, why keep all these benefits to myself? As your kindergarten teacher would say, sharing is caring!

So how is this really a challenge? As a recent college grad trying to make my way in the big city (NYC) with a roughly 50-60 hour work week on average, my schedule is pretty tight – especially if I want to fit in regular workouts, maintain my friendships and read CollegeCandy! [Editor's Note: Awwww!]

Originally, I had sort of thought it would be an easy challenge since I usually make a point of eating as healthily as possible. Well, as I went to the grocery store to do some preliminary research, I noticed that one had to be focused on finding foods that fit the criteria for “eating clean.” Shockingly (or maybe not), some of the worst offenders were the “healthy” or “diet” choice options. Now I realize that successfully completing this month’s challenge is going to take commitment, and so the next week will be about making a plan to deal with any potential pitfalls – i.e. working late at the office (a major point of concern in my line of work).

I just want to emphasize that this challenge is not about promoting a new diet fad nor a quick fix for rapid weight-loss.  In fact, in some ways it’s about just the opposite – it’s about forcing myself to take a hard look at what I am putting into my body on a day-to-day basis.  It’s high time that I deal with the inescapable fact that I cannot recognize half the ingredients present in my dinner – without a degree in Biology or Chemistry…

Feel free to join in and share your own experiences and of course yummy recipes are always appreciated!