Most Santa Barbara visitors cruise into town along the iconic Highway 101, enjoying the waterfront views, the pier and local businesses – then they’re off again. If you have any interest in living like a local and experiencing the heart of the area, venture away from the popular beach strip. There’s much more fun to be had just a few blocks inland for the intrepid traveler.
If you are recently out on your own, or have recently decided to start cooking real food, you might be perplexed by the huge array of spices available for purchase at your local grocery store. People say "cooking from scratch is so much cheaper," but they don't realize that's not the case if you have to buy each spice the recipe calls for, because you don't have any. Spices are expensive!
Curry may be one of the few truly worldwide cuisines. Although most people think of curry as being Indian food, every time a trading route has become popular throughout history, curry took the opportunity to travel it. Whether it was traveling with Muslims in the 1000s on their pilgrimages or sailing the high seas in the 1800s with British and Portuguese trading ships, curry has spread and evolved almost like a living organism.
With just weeks to go now until the 85th Annual Academy Awards, I'm finally beginning to get a clear picture of the film I believe will win the coveted Best Picture Oscar. Trust me when I say I've agonized over my personal choices, because honestly, 2012 was a great year for film in general. Each of the Best Picture nominees is an outstanding cinematic achievement. But I'm putting my personal feelings aside now, and trying to look at the cold hard facts on this one.
I am a big snacker. I like pizza, pretzels, cheese and occasionally all three at the same time. Then there are times I am snacking and I look down and think, man, I had no idea my belly was getting that big! And it's at times like that that I go out hunting and gathering for new snacks that don't carry the burden and pack the punch of pizza, pretzels and cheese.
Food is the one thing we all share- everyone has to eat. But it's also something a lot of us don't spend much time thinking about or considering. These three books made me think about the nature of food, what I do with it, and what it has to do with my behavior. I recommend them all.
Spaghetti sauce is one of those things where suddenly, everyone's an expert. God help you if you confess that you usually just open a jar and call it done. People who typically eat Cheetos for dinner will suddenly be crawling out of the woodwork to tell you alllll about how you're doing it wrong.
Well let me tell you, it's just food. And while there are plenty of ways you can make it better, if you just want a good, hearty, basic spaghetti sauce with ground beef (a.k.a. Bolognese sauce) it's as easy as can be.
As you feel your way around the Weight Watchers system, you start to encounter these odd terms that all seem like they mean about the same thing, but with radically different results. There is a lot of overlap between the lists of Power Foods, zero point foods and the Simply Filling technique. But what do they all mean?
Points Plus
The word "points" gets thrown around a lot in the Weight Watchers system. It's understandably confusing to the beginner. The term "Points Plus" refers to what you probably think of as "regular Weight Watchers."
Eating gluten-free and dairy-free can be a real challenge. One of my new go-to meals is salmon croquettes. Don’t they sound fancy? Don’t be put off: they are easy to create, and you may well have the ingredients already on hand. The standard recipe for croquettes calls for bread crumbs, but this uses mashed potato as a binder.
Ingredients
On Super Bowl Sunday, the three things you absolutely need in my book are a TV, beer, and... snacks. Game-worthy snacks. Snacks that push the envelope because, hey, let's be honest-- this only happens once a year and it's on part with Thanksgiving and Christmas as a holiday you can eat whatever and as much as you want. Don't waste that opportunity.
