I’ve been on a short hiatus from blogging. Not intentionally. Every once in a while I get caught up with other things in my life—namely, my day job, and other life events.
For those who follow me on Instagram and Snapchat, you know I’ve been busy on travel to Turkey and counting down to my birthday! Another year older and hopefully a little bit wiser. (more…)
Summer is almost over. I spend all winter waiting for summer and it just flies by in the blink of an eye. This year, I didn’t even get a chance at proper beach time. The one weekend I dedicated to working on my tan and being lazy on a beach chair was ruined by summer rain. So bad, that we left early making it a less than enjoyable weekend, to say the least. I have other things to say about that particular weekend, but I’ll keep that to myself. (more…)
The great thing about having 7 aunts and uncles is that they and their children provide so much diversity to the family dynamic. Yes, we’re all essentially Arab/Middle Eastern, but we’ve grown up all over the world, some of us are American, others are Italian, Australian, Dutch, Jordanian, Egyptian, Algerian, English and Brazilian. And some of us have lived in places like London, Malaysia, Kuwait, Dubai, Oman, and Singapore. But we all bring something to the table – literally and figuratively. We may face some language barriers and be able to hold a conversation, but we all understand good food. And with so many cuisines to choose from, we’re lucky enough that our table is always full. (more…)
Ah, the holidays. Cookies, cakes, 5-course dinners, drinks, parties. It’s the perfect time to throw your diet out the window and eat everything in sight, right? Wrong. It seems to be the endless Holiday cycle – starting with Thanksgiving where we go with the all-you-can eat mentality up through New Year’s Day. Then, it’s back to everyone’s favorite resolution, “this year I’m going to lose weight,” when you start eating lettuce again and fighting for a treadmill and space in your Zumba and Kick-Boxing classes. (more…)
Winter Break 2010 I went on a four-country tour of Europe with my mother. We spent the last leg of our trip in London. It’s a great city, if you don’t mind rain, gloom and cars coming at you from the wrong side of the road. It wasn’t all rain and gray skies. We enjoyed spending hours in Harrods and afternoon tea at The Savoy. And we even tried the oh-so-famous English Fish and Chips. Did I mention that they serve fish and chips with something called mushy peas? Well that was a shocker. Standing in a crowded pub trying to figure out how exactly to get my order in, and then not even being able to comprehend the words “mushy peas” on the chalkboard behind the register. Looking like the clueless Americans we were, someone finally explained that mushy peas were in fact, mushy peas. Kind of like mashed potatoes, but we’re talking about green peas here. In a very un-American like manner, I stepped out of my comfort zone and ordered said peas. The meal was everything I had expected (mushy peas aside) – Greasy and delicious. The peas weren’t bad either. It must be the English way of adding vegetables to their diet. (more…)
I’ll be the first to raise my hand and tell everyone that I love junk food. Whether it’s chips, chocolate, fries … I love them all. Unfortunately, my scale doesn’t love me back when I eat said junk food. A few days ago, I shared with you all how you can make skinny onion rings to satisfy your onion ring cravings without packing on pounds or artery-clogging fat.
Who says you can’t do the same with fries! The best part of a burger is having those fries to dunk in ketchup (or in my case mustard). When I made these the first time, I was a bit nervous that they wouldn’t taste as good as the deep fried ones. But I was so wrong. these are even better. Other than the health factor, another benefit of these oven-baked fries is that it doesn’t stink up your house. Oh how I hate how the smell of fried foods take over our whole house! It’s awful. Well, here’s my solution and I’m loving it (unintentional McDonald’s reference).
Oven Fries Recipe
Ingredients
1 large Russet Potato, peeled or skin on (your preference) Cooking spray (I use olive oil spray)Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Cut the potato into long slices Place the slices in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Spray liberally with cooking spray or olive oil Bake for 30 minutes Then broil for 10 minutes to brown.Note: 1 potato is one serving.
Nutrition Information – Servings: 1. Calories per serving: 292. Carbs 67g. Fat 0g. Protein 8g. sodium 18g. Sugar 2g.
