Inject Some Oomph Into Your Chicken

Although the ways to service chicken are endless, some of us can fall into a chicken rut. What I mean by this is sometimes we can forget about the poultry possibilities and serve plainly cooked chicken with an equally as plain side dish.

One day I decided to get out of my chicken rut and search for exciting recipes online. As I am also a huge mexican food fan, I was elated to find a recipe for Jalapeno Guacamole Chicken. I was eager to spruce up my dose of protein and tried the recipe right away! It was super easy to make and delicious too!

To keep on track with my efforts to eat healthier, I altered some of the cooking directions. Rather than pan frying the chicken, you can bake it in the oven or grill it. You can also substitute regular cheddar cheese with low-fat cheddar cheese. For someone who is not a fan of heat, this recipe works just as well without the jalapenos. Although avocado's have a high fat content, it is an essential fat that serves as a great antioxidant and has vast benefits for heart and overall body health. So, other than the fact that avocados are super yummy it would be a healthy choice to leave them in the recipe.

I hope I've inspired you to give your chicken a boost, if not with this recipe than with some other! Bon appetite!

Image taken from: http://www.jalapenomadness.com/recipe_jalapeno_guacamole_chicken.html

The Snooki Pouf Hits The Runway

For those of you who are familiar with Jersey Shore you know that the everything about the show was an instant success. The guilty pleasure that is Jersey Shore began invading pop culture as soon as it hit the air waves in late 2009. Teens and 20-somethings (okay maybe even 30-somethings) not only began adopting the contagious lingo, GTL being one of the most popular, but also adopted some of the unfortunate fashion from the show. I'll be the first to admit that I have a serious addiction to Jersey Shore, but I wouldn't be caught in most of the featured get-ups unless it was Halloween!

One style trend that received tons of attention was the hair pouf sported by resident mini-guidette Snooki. With hair that reaches two inches higher than her head, Snooki tells Jay Leno she would change the world by eliminating the Bump-It (a hair piece used to create these poufs) because she does her hair the real way by teasing it. Since the show first aired I've been seeing these Snooki poufs everywhere, but one place I did not expect for it to surface is the couture runway!

Vera Wang, a designer best known for her elegant ball gowns and wedding dressess, had her models sport the Snooki pouf on the runway during the showing of her Fall 2010 collection. The models did wear a classier version of the hair style but still, what influenced Vera Wang to amalgamate a hair style that has come to connote trashiness with the elegance she is known for?

Perhaps Vera Wang wanted to tap into a new market. Perhaps she was oblivious to the connection between the hairstyle and Snooki. Perhaps the 61 year old designer wanted to let us know she was "down with the times". Perhaps she didn't have Snooki in mind at all and was really trying to emulate the 60's. Perhaps she just wanted to make us wonder...

Image taken from: http://celebrifi.com/gossip/Snookis-Signature-Pouf-Takes-Over-The-Vera-Wang-Runway-1589817.html

You Gotta Love Dr. Oz

Since one of the main topics of this blog is food it should come as no surprise that I LOVE food. While I think it's good to indulge once in a while, I also think it's important to moderate what you eat. Over the past few years I've accumulated a few tips about healthy eating from various sources. One person who usually has some helpful health tips is Dr. Oz. A few weeks ago I was flipping channels and come across his show. That days topic was about healthy eating and weight loss. During the episode he introduced the audience to his "Ten Commandments of Weight Loss". Even if you are not looking to loss weight, these are some pretty good tips to follow to moderate your eating habits. Here they are:

1. Thou Shalt Not Wear Pants that Stretch

Your clothing is an early-warning system for weight gain. When it’s getting hard to snap your jeans, you know it’s time to be vigilant. Wearing stretchy clothes allows you to live in ignorance of how your body is growing, making it easier to pack on pounds without knowing it.

2. Thou Shalt Not Keep Bad Clothes in Your Closet

When you keep the clothes you wore at an unhealthy weight, it gives you a back-up plan if the pounds don’t come off. Instead, force yourself to stay on track by 86ing your “fat pants.”

3. Thou Shalt Not Eat Meat That Walks on Four Legs More Than Once a Week

Meat that comes from an animal with 4 legs is higher in saturated fat (the unhealthy kind) than that which comes from 2-legged animals such as chickens, or animals with no legs, like fish. Plus: women who eat large amounts of red meat more than once a week have a 50% higher chance of dying from heart disease and have higher cancer rates.

4. Thou Shalt Not Graze

Plan your meal before you open the refrigerator, get what you need, and close the door. Opening it throughout the day leads to impulsive choices and overeating.

5. Thou Shalt Not Eat After 7:30pm

When you eat late at night you are more likely to be eating in front of the TV (when you won’t pay attention to how much you’re putting in your mouth) and you’re more likely to pick high-calorie snacks.

6. Thou Shalt Not Pile Food More than 1 Inch High or Within 2 Inches of the Plate Edge

Larger portions equal more calories. ‘Nuff said.

7. Thou Shalt Not Chew Food Less than 20 Times Per Bite

Chewing allows your body to realize that you are eating food, prompting it to create a sensation of fullness at the appropriate time. When you don’t chew enough, you get ahead of that process, eating well past when you are actually satisfied.

8. Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s Plate

Spend your day nibbling bites on someone else’s sandwich or afternoon snack, and you will add on 1,000 calories easy.

9. Thou Shalt Not Carry Small Bills

Nothing loves a small bill better than a vending machine. When you have them at the ready, you are one step closer to an impulsive, calorie-loaded afternoon slip up.

10. Thou Shalt Not Eat While Standing Up

Eating sitting down enables you to be aware of what you’re eating and eat it slowly so that your body can tell you your full before it’s too late.

I hope these are helpful and remember - EVERYTHING IN MODERATION, EVEN MODERATION.

Image taken from: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/dr-oz-s-10-weight-loss-commandments

It's Funny What You Can Stumble Across...

In a previous blog post I wrote about one of my most favourite bloggers - Scott Schuman. Also known as The Sartorialist, he takes his camera to the streets to capture people who wear garments with confidence and style. Like I mentioned in my post, he most often visits cities famous for style, such as Manhattan, Paris, Milan, etc. As a born and raised Torontonian (ok fine, I'm actually from Mississauga, but that's close enough), my many ventures to the city's core and its surrounding areas have made me realize Toronto has some pretty fashionable citizens too. So I hit the streets to do my take on "The Sartorialist in Toronto". At first I felt somewhat awkward approaching random people to explain what I was doing and asking permission to take their photograph, but it became easier with every shot I took. It even ended up turning into somewhat of a networking experience, with some of my subjects handing me cards or writing down addresses for their own websites.

While I was walking through the Eaton's Centre I walked by the two people in this photograph. I thought their outfits were very stylishly "Siberian" inspired and asked if I could take a picture. They gladly let me and in between shots told me they were actually in a band. The girl in the photo pulled out a crumpled receipt from her bag and wrote down the name of their band - "The Vicious Guns".

I've always been a supporter of local talent so when I finally got a chance to "google" them, I made sure I had ample time to see what they were all about ... and I am impressed! I don't think it would be fair to compare their sound to that of other artists, since my knowledge in music isn't extensive enough to do this accurately. I also think that there is tons of hidden talent out there, so if you get a chance to expose some of these gems you should definitely go for it. Having said that, I suggest a visit to The Vicious Guns MySpace page to hear a few of their songs. Hope you enjoy this homegrown talent as much as I did!

DIY Salad Dressing

I've always been a fan of salad. The ways to serve salad cannot even be counted. You can pretty much throw whatever you like into it. And the best part of a salad that completes it - the dressing. Sure KRAFT and Paul Newman make some very delicious salad dressings, but even better than those are ones that are homemade.

Two of my most favourite homemade salad dressings are stolen from my parents. My mom can make a mean garlicy caeser dressing and my dad makes one of the best balsamic dressings I've ever tasted. The best part of both these dressings is that they use raw garlic. Raw garlic does not only taste great but does wonders for your health (click here to read about all the health benefits of eating garlic). Also, most of the ingredients in these dressing recipes are things most of us have in our cupboards. They are quick, easy and delicious, so give them a try! Please note that the amounts of the ingredients depend on taste preference as well as how much you are serving, so I will only list the ingredients and it is up to you to be playful and add as much as you think.

Garlic Caeser Dressing

Mix together: white vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, grated garlic, worchestershire sauce, tobbasco sauce, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, egg whites (I only add this to large portions), salt and pepper. If you feel adventurous you can also grind up some anchovies and add it into the mix.

Oil & Balsamic Dressing

Mix together: balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, grated garlic, dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

ENJOY!

Image taken from: http://www.pollsb.com/polls/p3985-perfect_gift_kitchen

2010 Fashion Forecast

Hello dear followers,

Check out my videocast about some of the upcoming fashion trends for the ladies in 2010. Fashion is always evolving and is most definitely in the eye of the beholder, so these are only a few among the several fashion trends that will surface in 2010. Enjoy!

One Of My Fave Bloggers...

I have a secret...I'm in an online relationship. Me and my online love were brought together by none other than Google. How it happened is quite simple. One day I "Googled" the words "popular fashion blogs" and I became introduced to my online love - The Sartorialist.

I am going to say this is a blog produced by Scott Schuman and not written by him (although he does write the text that appears on the blog) because the essence of the blog is not so much what he writes but the pictures he produces and then posts. By simply looking at the name of the blog you can guess what it is about. Schuman uses this space to convey his interest in the tailoring of clothing. He does not concentrate on what is trendy at the moment but instead highlights individuals who can wear something (not particularly trendy) and give off a certain aura. Therefore, his blog is not so much about fashion as it is about style.

Schuman reverts most often to traditional fashion hubs to photograph his muses. These include places such as Manhattan, Milan, Paris, London and so forth. While he has shot the likes of famous people such as Kanye West, Mila Jovovich, and Olivia Palermo, Schuman is more likely to photograph random people who have caught his eye. Sometimes he meets people that are so inspirational to him that he will photograph them over and over.

In 2009, "The Sartorialist" was released as a book. Like his blog, the book contains few words and it is left up to the viewer to derive whatever they do from the images. I've been told that Schuman purposefully avoids text descriptions of most of his images because he does not want to taint the viewers opinions with his thoughts.

Named one of Time Magazine's Top 100 Design Influencers, Schuman's blog, The Sartorialist, is an excellent place to visit for style inspiration. Regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation...The Sartorialist caters to all. Definately worth checking this one out!

Image taken from: http://materialisticboy.wordpress.com/2009/08/03/the-sartorialist/