Category: Food

Paula Deen, the Queen of Butter and Cream Cheese

Carrie1 Comment

With all the recent hubbub around Paula, I would like to be able to say how I feel about the situation.  Paula has never told anyone to eat her food every single day of the week.  Every one knows that moderation is key.  She creates recipes that are available as a resource but never told anyone that it is a great idea to make her recipes on a daily basis.  Any intelligent person would know that her recipes should be used for special occasions.

Yes, Paula Deen does have diabetes.  She also admitted on Dr. Oz that she has given in to the bad habit of smoking cigarettes over the years.  Does this make her a terrible woman…no.  It makes her a perfect example of a human being.  No one is perfect.  While she may be overweight and has quite a few vices, she is a strong woman who has overcome many obstacles in her life.  Maybe we should applaud her for those instead of spending time criticizing her.  She never hid the fact that she had diabetes…it’s just not something that comes up in conversation.  Our medical history is our personal information.  If she wants to eat what she eats and take medication that is her decision. I’m not saying it makes sense that she represent a drug company for diabetic medication since she might not be the greatest patient, but after all it was a business decision.  Would you really turn down money for doing something as easy as being a spokeswoman?

In the long run, Paula might have taken a small hit but she will only come out stronger.  Here’s one of my favorite recipes to honor her fantastic contribution to the culinary world.

Paula’s Butter Cake

Cake -1 box yellow cake mix, 1 egg, 1 stick butter (melted)

Filling – 8oz cream cheese, 2 eggs, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 stick butter (melted), 16 oz. powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 13 x 9 inch pan with cooking spray.

2. Cake…Mix all cake ingredients together. Scrape batter into pan and smooth out.

3. Filling…Beat room temperature cream cheese until smooth with electric mixer.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well. Add melted butter and beat.  Add powdered sugar slowly (1/2 cup at a time).  Beat well so it becomes fluffy.  Spread filling on top of cake mixture.  Bake for 40 to 50 minutes.  The center should be gooey.

V-Day Treat

Sadie3 Comments

Every once in a while I need a treat.  A Rice Krispie treat that is.  They’re so unique and light and sweet.  A perfect vacation from normal cookies.  For Valentine’s day I decided to make them in muffin tins so they were perfectly sized, and festive with Valentine’s day muffin cups.  I also threw in some pink sprinkles right before I portioned them out (not too early so the sprinkles didn’t bleed).

It’s the typical recipe:

Ingredients

  • 1/2 stick of butter
  • 1 bag of marshmallows
  • 6 cups of Rice Krispies
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

  1. Heat up a pot on the stove, and melt the butter.
  2. Add in the marshmallows and the vanilla and stir until all of the marshmallows are melted. (sometimes I’ll add a few spoonfuls of peanut butter)
  3. Turn heat to low and add the Rice Krispies a couple cups at a time.  And add sprinkles if desired.
  4. Stir until well mixed and portion into muffin cups or a brownie pan.  Allow to cool completely before removing from cups or pan.

In my world it’s finals week, so here’s what my valentines look like this year:

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Five Things

Sadie1 Comment

I’m doing to improve my diet.

1.  Drink more water.  This is a goal I always have in mind, but I’m not always good about it.  I want to keep a water bottle with me at all times so I always have the option.  It will keep me hydrated and make me less hungry throughout the day.

2.  Minimize sugar.  I used to be a salty rather than sweet girl, but for some reason when I went on a serious (and effective) diet a few years ago, my cravings switched from salty to sweet.  But I know that sugar is addictive, and it’s not doing much for me in terms of nutrition.  My goal is to eat things to fuel my body, and too much sugar slows me down.  I’m cutting back on baking in my house to minimize temptation, and keeping an eye on the grams of sugar in the packaged foods I eat like yogurt, snack bars, and cereal.

3. Focus on protein.  I work out every day, so I need protein to help build and maintain my muscles.  Plus protein is supposed to keep your stomach satisfied for longer than carbs.  As I build and tone muscle, my hope is that the fat will burn off.  I want to be a lean mean fitness machine again!

4. Fill up on vegetables.  I love vegetables and we all know they’re healthy, but sometimes they’re problematic for me because they aren’t always as quick and easy as a packaged snack, or they go bad in my fridge before I can enjoy them.  The great thing about veggies is that they’re so low in calories, so there’s minimal guilt.  I just need to remember to put in the extra effort to keep them available and ready to eat in my house, and grab them first before I move onto other less nutritional options.

5.  Stop rationalizing bad choices!  This is probably my biggest challenge when it comes to my diet. I need to be able to eat a correct portion rather than always cleaning my plate.  If I go out to eat with my brothers I can’t go course for course with them, we do not have the same metabolism or nutritional needs.  If I have a good day or a bad day, I don’t need a cookie!

I’m no expert but these are just some of my goals based on the large array of reading I’ve done about nutrition.  Last year was a bad year for me when it came to my weight.  I rapidly gained back the large amount of weight I was previously so proud of losing.  I am not happy to be back to the drawing board, but my recent mantra is: progress, not perfection.  I loved the confidence boost of losing weight and getting in shape when I did it the first time, so hopefully I will experience that again, and maintain it!