Friday, June 24, 2011

Spicing Up your H2O


I love drinking water. I know some people find it bland or boring but I've never had that problem really though sometimes I do need a little flavor. Unfortunately, a lot of those "flavored" waters like Vitamin Water, (couldn't get enough of these in college!), have more sugar than they should and aren't really stocked with nutrients and vitamins like they claim. Now, I'm not even gonna lie, I occasionally drink Vitamin Water every once in awhile. I also like Arizona Tea Water that claims to be 100% organic tea, but I have always hated those fake tasting flavored waters that taste like water with just some sugar dumped in.

In college, I also got hip to spicing up my water in a natural and healthier way. I'd use a concoction of limes and cucumbers and put them in a pitcher of water (something I once read in an article that Beyonce did). It adds flavor but it also doesn't give that weird aftertaste that some flavored waters give. Sometimes I'd add a slice of lemon instead. It actually reminded me of these really good flavored waters Aldi's used to carry in orange, lemon, and lime that had the perfect balance of water and a hint of flavor.

Anyways, sometimes I really don't feel like chopping up lime and lemon or cucumbers, and unfortunately, sometimes if you leave them in the water for too long it becomes too acidic and not worth drinking anymore. So, as the picture indicates my new best friends for my water are just sprinkling some drops of lemon or lime juice in my water. It's less messy than slicing the limes or lemon and they are very low in calorie; the lime juice has just 1.25 calories per serving.




Cooking Chronicles: Quiche part 2



So, the first time I made a quiche in December it didn't go that smoothly. I think the culprit was that I didn't use real eggs and used egg substitutes (was lazy and didn't feel like getting a regular carton). So once I sliced, diced and threw everything together it took forever for everything to cook and for awhile it was really runny and I had to throw it in the oven to cook more. Despite falling apart a bit when cutting slices, it still came out really good.

Fast forward to June - my last quiche came out perfect. I used 6 real eggs, shredded cheddar cheese, turkey bacon (cooked beforehand), raw mushrooms, and spinach from a can and buttered the pan with a butter substitute and not an oil. It was the perfect texture and consistency, and I was pleasantly surprised after last time's fail. I cooked it for about 35 minutes.

My two cents on making a quiche: don't use fake eggs (unless you have to because you don't eat real eggs) ! Also, using butter to grease the pan makes the crust hold everything together more.

Twitter Updates

    follow me on Twitter