Welcome!

Welcome to my newest procrastination tool - this blog!  I thought I would jump on the blog bandwagon with my own take on a few of my favorite things.  Basically, this includes eating out, cooking, baking and my new puppy, Teddy. 

A little bit about why food and cooking is a new fascination of mine:  Growing up, my mother was (still is) a dietician , which meant that we ate healthy.  I think I was the only kid who didn't have pop-tarts for breakfast and a twinkie in their lunch.  At the time I hated this, and would beg my mom to buy junk food.  Sometimes she would give in, and we'd be allowed to pick out a sugar cereal or cookie, but for the most part - we ate our fruits and veggies.  My mom likes to tell the story of when I was in nursery school and she sent me with a packed lunch which included a sliced red pepper.  She said I was VERY upset when I got home and slammed my lunch box in front of her yelling that "I WAS THE ONLY ONE WITH A VEGETABLE IN MY LUNCH!". 

I was always a picky eater and for the most part my mom would find a food I liked, and we'd stick with it.  This meant a lot of Morning Star Farm Chik Patties for me.  A chik patty with a sweet potato and a steamed / roasted veggie was a pretty standard dinner for me for the past 10 years or so.  My family also didn't eat much meat.  When I was young my dad was vegetarian, and then when we got older my sister stopped eating meat.  Combined with the fact that my mom didn't really know how to cook meat (aside from the occasional baked chicken that she would attempt), the only time I ate meat was when we went out to eat.  What kid eats healthy meat when they go out to eat?  Not me.  Going out to eat meant a hamburger, or anything with bacon!

Fast forward to college when I was at NYU getting a BFA in theatrical management and design.  While most people make fun of us BFA-ers for having a "fake major", I would like to remind you that while we may not have had to study in the library every day until 9pm, we were in theaters, computer labs, and studios all day and night.  This led to very poor eating habits.  My eating life became centered around macaroni and cheese, bagels, coffee and whatever else Delion had at 2am. 

After finishing those college years and entering into the "real" world, you'd think my eating would get better, right?  Wrong.  My eating still centered around bagels and coffee, although the macaroni and cheese was pretty much gone by this point (honestly, how many years can you eat that for?).  Now included into my diet though was Happy Hour!  It was so fun saying to your friends, "Oh, let's meet up after work for a drink", or "let's grab a drink when we get out of the show".  Well, those drinks always turned into many, which turned into us NEEDING to order greasy fried foods, because, after all, you can't sit at the bar for hours and not order food, it would be rude! 

Now, although I still have my daily coffee, occasional bagel, and definitely enjoy happy hour, I have finally started to realize that what I'm putting into my body matters. 

A few months ago I moved to the suburbs.  I'm sick of the tiny city apartments with non-functional kitchens.  My mom was always a great cook and baker, and while I tried to follow some of her recipes in the past, the NYC apartment kitchens were always a hurtle.  That's why, on this apartment hunt, kitchen was very high on the list (behind washer/dryer and proximity to the train - you see my priorities).  So, now I live in a nice suburban town home with a washer/dryer,  a great kitchen and a PANTRY - a place to keep all those unnecessary kitchen gadgets that I love!  In this apartment I live with 3 people who love food as much as me: my boyfriend, Josh, my roommate, Greg, and my new puppy, Teddy. 

I have decided that I want to eat healthy and I want those people that I love to enjoy healthy, home-cooked meals. Therefore, I now obsess over recipe sites trying to find the most delicious recipes to make for dinner.  Sometimes this comes out great, and sometimes it's a huge failure (Josh usually decides), but it's always fun!  So, welcome to my blog where we will discover new, healthy, exciting foods and recipes together!