food Archives

Five Healthy Vegan Snacks You Can Eat At Your Desk

I know, the title is a bit depressing but let’s be real. If you are working at the office now, even a few days a week, you have already come to the realization that bringing some vegan snacks is a must do for those workdays that keep you tied to your desk. And if you are like me and not likely to pack a lunch, here are some grab and go and easy to store vegan healthy options to have handy when a real lunch is just not an option.

Aloha Bars

I am not a protein bar person myself. But I do enjoy an Aloha bar as a mid morning desk snack or for a pre and post tennis intake. ALOHA’s plant-based protein bars are packed with 14g of plant-based protein in a variety of mouthwateringly delicious flavors. . A Certified B Corp, they are building a business that’s committed to the greater good.

Naked Nutrition

Make an afternoon shake from vegan protein powders by Naked Nutrition. Choose from Pea Protein, Rice Protein, Seed or Powdered Peanut Butter options. All our vegan proteins are free from artificial sweeteners, flavors and colors, stripping out unnecessary additives.

That’s It Bars

That’s it.® was founded in Los Angeles in 2012 by Dr. Lior Lewensztain. During medical school, Lewensztain determined that only one-third of Americans consume the fruit they need in their daily diet, and he became determined to improve this statistic. These convenient snacking bars are delicious and made with simple, minimal ingredients.

Real Cereal

Real Cereal- Is simply brown rice in a bowl. Add your alternative milk and you are all set for some added brain power before that long conference call.

Abes Muffins

Dubbed “School-Friendly”, Abe’s Muffins makes their delicious vegan baked goods in a facility that is peanut, tree nut (other than coconut), dairy, egg, sesame, soy, and pea protein-free. Bring these muffins to the next coworker birthday party at the office as a healthier yet tasty mini muffin alternative.

Vegan snacks nowadays can be delicious and convenient. By adding these choices to your office kitchen you will be ready for a snack while you work.

Burger Bash 101: How to Throw an Awesome Burger Night With Friends

Throwing a party can be a lot of fun, but it also requires you to think everything through. From figuring out what to serve to ensure there are enough drinks and snacks to choosing the best games to play, there’s a lot of planning and organizing involved in throwing a fantastic, memorable party night.

One way you can make a party better? Make it all about everyone’s favorite comfort food – burgers! Juicy and delicious, a burger is an ideal crowd-pleaser and a superb choice for a casual night with friends. Below, a few tips on how you can throw an awesome burger bash and make sure everyone remembers it.

Pick a theme to stick to

When looking to throw an awesome burger night with friends, you want to start by tackling the basics. Imagine how you want your party to look like. Are there any recurring elements, colors, and the like? This can be your party theme. Having a themed party is great for several reasons.

For starters, it makes it easier to decide on the decorations, entertainment, food, etc. It makes everything look cohesive and unified, and it helps your party stand out. What’s more, your guests will know what to expect once they know what the party theme will be. You can take things a step further and have your guests follow a dress code. It can make things a lot more fun and take your burger bash to the next level.

Get cooking!

Once you’ve tackled the party theme and decor, it’s time to move on to the real star of the show – food. Since your party night will be all about burgers, you need to decide how much you need, and then gather up all the ingredients.

If you’re not so great at the kitchen or are simply short on time, no worries! Sometimes, getting the food on the table can be as simple as finding that one place in town that offers the best burgers around and ordering your favorite ones. Depending on your preferences, you can have them delivered or pick them up yourself. Either way, having someone else tackle the cooking part will help you focus on other aspects of your burger bash, ensuring your guests have an amazing time.

Consider the side dishes

Burgers are great and all, but even they need a side dish or two to feel complete. Depending on the type of burgers you’ll be serving, you can offer everything from salads and veggies to pastas and fries. For deliciously perfect pairing, consider the taste profile of each burger. Then, select the side dish that will correspond to it and balance everything out.

Enrich your burger dishes with creamed spinach and baked beans, or serve up the health-conscious steamed asparagus and pickled veggies. Keep it crunchy with zucchini chips, cut calories with sweet potato fries, or make it juicy with roasted tomatoes. You can also freshen things up with a melon and cucumber salad, avocado salad, or pasta salad. Or, go all the way and serve up some sinfully delicious onion rings and some hearty mac and cheese. When it comes to burger side dishes, the world is your oyster!

Serve up drinks and sweets

Alcoholic or not, drinks are an essential part of social gatherings, especially after a hearty dish like burgers. Depending on the seating arrangement, available space, and party theme, you can serve your drinks in several ways.

For a more casual vibe, set up a DIY drink station equipped with patterned runners, colorful straws, and fun garnishes. You can also use your console table as a bar, or put everything in a beverage tub. Don’t forget to serve up some scrumptious treats as a little something to satisfy your guests’ sweet tooth. This can include anything from the perfectly summery s’mores cake to ultimate party desserts such as brownies, donuts, and cupcakes.

Let the games begin!

After a finger-licking good feast, it’s time to move on to activities. If your party is taking place outdoors, take advantage of the weather by playing games such as beer pong, outdoor twister, or giant Jenga.

For indoor parties, card games along with charades are always a good idea. To make your party games even more fun, add a little alcohol to the mix. With a couple of modifications, any game can become a drinking game and turn a party into a memorable feast.

Wrapping up

As a party host, you want to ensure everyone is having a good time. With a little planning and organizing, you can have the burger bash that will have everyone talking about it for days afterward.

About The Author

Taylor Parker is an American-based writer and blogger. She is very passionate about family, fashion, health, and lifestyle. Taylor writes mostly lifestyle articles, but also you’ll find her in home improvement and other niches. You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter

Does Your Diet Really Have an Impact on Your Health?

You might not be that far off when you say that “you are what you eat.” The nutritional value of the foods we consume has a significant influence on our general health. The World Health Organization states that “adequate health is necessary for nutritional well-being since excellent nutrition is critical for keeping good health.” A healthy diet can help us stave off noncommunicable diseases including cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, while a bad diet can have the opposite impact.

Although they are beneficial at any age, developing healthy eating habits is best started as a child. Although the convenience meals of today are quite alluring, they might not be the best choices for our health. We must consider the nutritional and non-nutritional value of the calories we eat while choosing meals. We all need food for energy, yet the energy (calories) that food provides frequently goes beyond what we need. Everyone has had days when they needed a boost in the afternoon. When we eat something sweet, we feel great until our body realizes there is an energy imbalance and we start to need more.

Avoiding consuming excessive amounts of one food, such as salt, sugar, or fat, is the key to a well-balanced diet, such as a vegetarian keto diet. We are always being bombarded with the latest culinary fad or trendy item, and we neglect the need for balance. Energy balance may have some immediate advantages for all of us, including circadian rhythms, GI health, and keeping a healthy weight, which will also have long-term advantages.

When we think about changing our eating habits, we usually concentrate on foods to leave out rather than ones to include. We may decrease our consumption of non-nutritional foods, sometimes known as “empty calories,” without feeling deprived by adding more healthy meals to our diet.

Any habit takes time to develop, and the easiest way to do it is to prepare meals and snacks in advance and have them nearby. In a diet that is well-balanced, keep saturated fat to 10% of calories, trans fat to 1%, salt to less than 5 grams, sugar to less than 10%, and total fat to less than 30%. Due to the time needed to calculate the balance between nutritional requirements and calories, this may seem difficult, but it may be made simpler.

The majority of prepared, processed meals and snacks instantly go beyond the recommended daily amounts of trans, saturated, and total fat, salt, and sugar. Foods high in sugar and salt include sports drinks, pasta, bread, flavored water, and condiments like sauces. Investing in fresh produce and lean meat cuts, as well as including fish and legumes in your diet, can help you develop healthy eating habits. Starting points include swapping out white bread for whole grain bread, skim milk, substituting olive oil for cooking oil, baking rather than frying, and limiting alcohol intake.

According to the Harvard Nutrition Source, you should fill 12 of your plate with vegetables and fruits for the majority of your meal. 14 percent of your plate should be made up of whole grains including oats, brown rice, barley, and wheat. Lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, almonds, and poultry are high in protein. on 14 of your plate When used in moderation, healthful plant oils including olive, canola, soy, sunflower, and peanut do not contain trans fats. There shouldn’t be more than two servings of dairy products each day. Keep alcohol consumption to a minimum and consume plenty of water.

What is the connection between nutrition and illness?

We face major health problems as a society.

In terms of life expectancy among industrialized nations, the United States comes in at number 10. We have a workforce that suffers from chronic health problems, such as depression, which lead to absenteeism and lower productivity. 78% of healthcare spending goes toward treating chronic illnesses.

Many studies now believe that diet is a contributing factor to these problems. Previously believed to be caused by a single gene mutation, scientists now think that conditions including type II diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers are really brought on by a network of cellular dysfunction. And because our diets lack the essential nutritional balance, the food we eat contributes to this dysfunction (Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 2004).

According to the Nutrition Society, the largest nutritional organization in Europe, we need to comprehend how various nutrients in a diet interact and affect how the human body functions if we want to prevent the onset of chronic illnesses. The assessment, prevention, and treatment of complex and chronic disorders utilizing nutrition is a dynamic approach known as functional medicine. This area of medicine also does research on how nutrition affects health.

A Vegetarian Diet Doesn’t Have To Be Expensive If You Follow These Tips

You may be thinking that eating a vegetarian diet includes specialized foods that will rack up your grocery bills. While it can sometimes be true that healthy foods, organically grown and raised may have a higher price tag, there are ways you can mitigate the cost, eat a clean vegetarian diet and stay fit and healthy.

What is a Vegetarian Diet?

People often confuse vegetarian with vegan, which can lead to the assumption that it is more expensive. Vegetarian diets are different from vegan diets, as animal products can still be consumed to a certain extent. Vegan diets don’t allow for any animal products to be consumed, including eggs, and gelatin. So a vegetarian will not consume animal meat, but they may consume things such as eggs and certain food produced with animal by-products. Some vegetarian diets will also still allow for cows’ milk to be consumed.

The first step to take when deciding your diet, which will affect the pricing, is to decide what class of vegetarian diet you will follow. If you will still be eating eggs, then you have a cheap source of great protein still available, while going ahead and cutting ou animal flesh. What type of products are consumed will depend on your specific views, be ethical, religious, or otherwise. Once you know what you will allow yourself and not allow yourself to consume, you can get a better idea of the cost of your diet.

Great food Options for Vegetarians

Oats

Oats are often a staple of vegetarian diets, they are very filling, give you lots of nutrients and fiber, and can be prepared in many different ways. Oats are often well priced, and you can buy bulk oats to reduce the cost even further and make sure you will always have a good supply. From baked goods to a hearty bowl of oatmeal in the morning, oats are one of the staple ingredients in many vegetarian dishes due to their diversity and ease of use.

Vegetables

As the name would dictate, vegetarians will consume several vegetables. From root vegetables to sprouts to fresh fruit, there are a plethora of options available for vegetarians. A great way to reduce the price of vegetables and ensure you are receiving quality products is to purchase directly from the source. Finding a farm that will provide fresh vegetable cuts out the middle man of the store, reducing the overhead prices they need to charge to make business. This results in a greatly discounted price for your purchase. Finding a local farmer or farmers’ market to provide all your produce direct from the farm is often a lot easier than you may think. This is a great way to reduce your food costs, but also to know exactly where your food is coming from and that it was produced to meet your specific beliefs.

Chop your Produce

Often the cleaning and cutting process on vegetables increases their price, as it increases the labor required to produce and provide it. One way to lower your food expenses is to purchase whole fruits and vegetables in bulk. If you take the time to clean, chop and process your foods, you will find some incredible deals that will dramatically reduce your spending on food. While you may think bulk purchases need to be consumed right away, that isn’t the case, You can do home canning and preserving of your food so that your bulk purchase can feed you and your family for a few months to come. When looking for your fresh produce provider, ask them about the different prices for processed and non-processed vegetables, and you may be pleasantly surprised at how much money you can save following this method.

Growing Your Food

Growing your food at home can not only reduce your food budget but give you a great hobby that will allow you to access fresh herbs and vegetables on demand from your backyard. Growing your food is also a great way to ensure that your food is organic, without the use of pesticides, and any other considerations you may have regarding your produce. Having an at-home garden is also a wonderful activity to have with your family and to teach your children about responsibility and sustainability. If you have been considering the option of having a garden at home, now is the time to take action on that plan, you can’t go wrong with fresh, almost free food from home; and the taste of fresh vegetables cannot be beaten.

Buy Frozen, not Fresh at the Grocery Store

While you may have heard that frozen vegetables are not as healthy as fresh, that’s not always the case. And frozen vegetables will often have a much lower price tag. Granted some foods just taste better fresh, and it’s up to you to decide how and when you want to buy your items. But don’t be afraid to check out the freezer aisle. That large bag of peas or carrots may be one of the cheapest products you can buy, which will allow you to make multiple tasty meals.

Once you have decided what type of products you are comfortable eating, you can start to make your food budget. If you review all of your options for pricing, check with local farmers, and aren’t afraid to check out the freezer aisle, you are sure to find everything you need to make tasty and wholesome vegetarian dishes with low price tags. When starting a vegetarian diet, the most important thing to remember is to go slow and make changes as you are ready for them, rather than jumping in blind. So do your research, find a great provider, and purchase the foods you are comfortable consuming.

There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to eating a vegetarian diet, so make your diet your own and make it work for you. As with any diet, the most important concern is to make sure you are eating the nutrients you need, and taking on the diet because you choose it’s right, not due to external pressures. Once you decide to eat vegetarian, you will find what works for you, and with these easy tips, you can save some money along the way!

5 Bougie Recipes to Try With Your Friends

After a long week of adulting, you could use a fun night with your friends. However, simple pasta dishes and take-out get boring after a while.

Instead, a well-deserved gourmet meal will leave a lasting impression on those you love. Allow these five bougie recipes to help you decide what to cook up for a fancy dinner date at home with your best gal pals.

Charcuterie Boards

There comes a day when your shopping interests shift toward kitchen splurges, such as a cast-iron dutch oven, cheese knife set and cordial glassware. You might even peruse the houseware aisles for a beautiful, budget-friendly charcuterie board — because why not? You could always use one.

Charcuterie boards are versatile cheese and meat boards perfect for holidays, game nights or fun gatherings with friends. They’re easy to throw together at a moment’s notice and may include soft and hard cheeses, cured or smoked meats, savory nuts, olives, veggies, fresh and dried fruits, crackers, dips, etc.

Of course, there’s a trick to creating a stunning board, beginning with placing the dip bowls and cheeses down first, then rolling the meats and fanning them out.

Fill in the gaps with sweet and savory accompaniments — nuts, chocolates, fruits, veggies — and finally, add a variety of crackers.

Creative Crostinis

Save the mozzarella sticks and hot wings for a no-frills evening alone in your fuzzy slippers — because crostinis are the bougie finger foods you and your friends have been missing out on.

Most crostinis start with the same base — a crusty, toasty slice of French baguette that practically melts in your mouth. However, the real show stopper is the ingredients you put on top.

Pear, brie and honey are a popular combination in which you may decide to grill the pear slices for an enhanced charred flavor. Bake the crostini and brie in the oven at 400° Fahrenheit for five to seven minutes; then, add grilled pear slices, honey and a sprig of rosemary for garnish.

Another crostini option might include sliced strawberries tossed in a blend of balsamic vinegar, pepper and sugar and assembled with ricotta cheese, lemon juice and mint on a toasted baguette.

Depending on how gourmet you want dinner to be, the most bougie crostinis are caviar canapés. To make canapés, start with a toasted baguette and rich crème Fraiche — then add cured or smoked protein or vegetables to help round out the delicate caviar garnishing.

Fancy Flatbreads

Upgrade your pizza game with gourmet flatbread recipes. Like crostinis, there are several ways to create flatbreads with mouth-watering flavor.

Assemble a delicious Caprese flatbread on store-bought naan or thin pizza crust for a quick appetizer or dinner. Bake the flatbread with red sauce, cherry tomatoes, gooey mozzarella and Italian seasonings for five to seven minutes at 450° F. Then garnish with a drizzle of balsamic glaze and fresh basil.

A caramelized mushroom flatbread is another fancy flatbread you can make, requiring baby portobello mushrooms, a shallot, Havarti and parmesan cheeses, pesto and chopped spinach. You’ll need to sauté mushrooms and shallots with oil for this recipe before assembling and baking your flatbread.

If your palette leans toward sweet, you might consider a nectarine, basil and reduced balsamic flatbread recipe instead. Heat balsamic vinegar in a saucepan on medium-high until it simmers and thickens — but watch that it doesn’t burn.

Assemble your flatbread with cheese, like goat cheese, ricotta or mozzarella. Then, add nectarine or peach slices and a sprinkle with parmesan before baking it in the oven.

Drizzle your flatbread with balsamic glaze and a sprinkle of basil and arugula when it’s finished.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Take a bougie restaurant favorite, like chicken cordon bleu and turn it into an easy at-home recipe you can make for your friends.

There are two parts to chicken cordon bleu — the chicken rolls and the sauce. Pound boneless chicken breasts thinly, season with salt and pepper and top each slice with ham and Gruyere or Swiss cheese. Then roll the chicken and secure it with a toothpick.

Dip each chicken roll into a garlic butter mix and coat them with breadcrumbs and thyme. Bake at 350° F for 35 to 40 minutes; then check to ensure the chicken’s internal temperature reaches 165° F.

To make the sauce, melt butter in a saucepan, add flour and cook for one minute. Then add milk, white wine, Dijon mustard, chicken bouillon and Worcestershire sauce until it boils. Reduce the heat while whisking for one minute before removing the pan and adding parmesan. Serve the bechamel over the chicken and sprinkle with parsley or more thyme.

No-Torch Crème Brulee

A get-together with your gal pals demands a sweet treat to end the evening right. Keep dessert bougie, simple and safe with a no-torch crème brulee.

Add skim milk, sugar and vanilla extract to a saucepan on low heat until the sugar dissolves. Then, beat egg yolks in a small bowl, stirring in the cream, straining the liquid and pouring it evenly into broil-safe ceramic ramekins.

Place the ramekins on a 13-inch by 9-inch pan and into the oven at 325° F. Add boiling water to the pan until it reaches two-thirds of the ramekin’s height and bake for 25 to 40 minutes.

When the custard is just right, transfer the ramekins to a cooling rack and refrigerate for two hours. Before serving, sprinkle brown sugar on top and broil until it browns, watching that it doesn’t burn. Top with fresh berries or whipped cream before serving.

Be Bougie With Great Friends and Good Food

Cooking may not always be in the cards, especially after working all day and taking care of essential responsibilities — but everyone enjoys eating a gourmet meal. These bougie recipes will surely satisfy diverse palettes, from appetizers to meals to dessert.

About The Author

Ava Roman (she/her) is the Managing Editor of Revivalist, a women’s lifestyle magazine that empowers women to live their most authentic life. When Ava is not writing you’ll find her in a yoga class, advocating for body positivity, whipping up something delicious in the kitchen, or smashing the patriarchy.

15 Spring Cocktails for 2022

Spring is officially here which means that there are spring cocktails ready to be made. Whether you’re having a party or just looking to spice up your day, these 15 cocktails are sure to have you in the spring spirit.

1. Cherry Blossom

1.25 oz 1800 Silver Tequila
1 oz lime juice
1 oz grapefruit juice
.25 oz grenadine

2. The Honey Rose Margarita

1 oz Cointreau
2 oz Blanco tequila
1 oz fresh lemon juice
.5 oz honey water
2 dashes of rose water

3. Mezcal Pineapple Sour

1.5 oz Doña Vega Espadín
.5 oz fresh pineapple juice
.75 oz lemon juice
.75 oz agave
1 egg white

4. Mint Julep

2 mint sprigs
2 oz Black Maple Hill Bourbon
.5 oz simple syrup

5. Bourbini

1 oz Heaven Hill 6-Year Bourbon
2 dashes of peach bitters
.5 oz Mathilde Peche peach liqueur
Sparkling wine

6. The Garden Rose

1 oz Volcan de mi Tierra Blanco
.75 oz St. Germain
.75 oz simple syrup
.75 oz lemon juice
4 shakes of rose water
1 muddled strawberry

7. Tequila Honeysuckle

2 oz Milagro Blanco Tequila
.75 oz honey syrup
.75 oz lime juice

8. The Bluebonnet

1.5 oz Tequila Blanco
1.5 oz fresh lime juice
.75 oz Cointreau
1.5 oz simple syrup
Dash of Blue Curacoa and grenadine

9. Deep Cleanse

1.5 oz Hendrick’s gin
2 oz aloe vera juice
.5 oz simple syrup
3 cucumber slices

10. Strawberry Blond

2 oz Tanteo Jalapeno
1 oz lime juice
.75 oz simple syrup
1 strawberry

11. Lizzy Lake

1.5 oz Hendrick’s gin
3 drops of rose water
1 egg white
2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
1 cucumber slices

12. Basil Tom Collins

1.5 oz Reyka vodka
.75 oz lemon juice
.5 oz simple syrup
Club soda
Basil leaves

13. The Parasol

.5 oz Lillet Blanc
.5 oz St. Germain
.5 oz honey syrup
.75 oz lemon juice
3 oz champagne

14. Vibrant Sunrise

1/3 of a muddled blood orange
2 oz Royal Gate gin
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1 oz fresh lime juice
Dash of agave
Cayenne and salt for rim

15. Corpse Reviver

1.5 oz Tanqueray 10 gin
.5 oz Cointreau
.5 oz Lillet Blanc
.75 oz fresh lemon juice
Dash of absinthe

These drinks are for adults 21 years and older. As always, drink responsibly and have fun!

Header Image Source

About The Author

Emmie Pombo is a latte and tattoo-loving Tennessean who specializes in mental health and beauty writing. She holds a degree in Journalism and a certification in Makeup Artistry and Airbrushing. Follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

5 Mistakes That Can Ruin Any Dish According To Experienced Chefs.

Cooking is an art that only a handful of people can master. For others who cook, it is just a life skill that needs to be known for survival. In either case, when you are cooking, sticking to the basic recipe is the secret to a tasty dish. Depending only upon recipe book instructions or gut feeling can sometimes prove disastrous for your dish. If you are not a professional chef who has the required experience and knowledge, never experiment with the recipe or the ingredients. This is because your lack of experience can result in a combination of undesirable flavors that can ruin the dish. Sometimes one is not able to diagnose these mistakes at the right time resulting in a faulty dish. Here is a list of mistakes that can easily ruin a dish in no time.

Not Using The Right Tools And Utensils

From preparing ingredients for a dish to cooking it you will need a lot of tools and utensils. These tools ought to be right to ensure nothing goes wrong with your cooking process. The Damascus steel chef knives , utensils, and other cooking equipment are important factors that help in curating the perfect dish. If you are not using the right tools in the process of cooking your dish, it will not result in the best of its version. The wrong kind of knife will make your dish ingredients look disproportionate and so will the wrong utensil not cook it properly and either leave it overcooked or undercooked.

Timing

The timing and sequence of every action during the process of preparing a dish can play a huge part in how it tastes and looks. Even a minute miss can completely destroy your dish. If you are going to bake and have not added the ingredients after what is prescribed the cake will not be tasty and might not bake at all. To avoid such mishaps always follow the timings that have been prescribed by your cookbook.

Missing An Ingredient

Missing even a single ingredient in a dish is criminal. A dish as you know combines a lot of flavors which over time smell and taste different after varying the degrees of cooking. Sometimes an ingredient has a direct impact on the texture of the next ingredient that is to be added to the dish. Basically even a minute miss can completely overturn your dish.

Losing Patience

As mentioned before, cooking is an art. Witnessing the unfolding of the flavors of various ingredients during the process of preparation is an act of patience. Sometimes a dish might take longer than normal in order to completely get prepared. For this reason, being patient is imperative. The best cooks are said to have the most patience and it shows in their final dish’s taste and presentation.

Measurements

Ingredient measurement is of utmost importance for any dish. In some ingredients the difference of even very few milligrams is critical. Keep your measuring tools handy to avoid any such eventuality.

Remember that a well-textured, tasty and well-cooked dish is a result of lots of experience, a perfect recipe, and the right ingredients with lots of patience. Never underestimate any such factor. If you enjoy cooking you must have realised the importance of all these factors and understood keeping all these factors in mind will definitely help you in concentrating on the enjoyable part of cooking rather than having to be anxious about the results all the time.

11 Ways To Turn The Sandwich Girl Into A Salad Girl

Spring is here and summer is coming around the corner. Whether you are working remotely or are back in the office again, eating healthier has never been more important. Though I was once a sandwich girl, I have learned to appreciate a salad or salad bowl instead. Here are eleven ways to convert yourself to a salad eater.

1.) Get good chopping knives

Food prep is truly the key. So find knives that are easy to clean and store. Pair your chopping knives with a antibacterial chopping board that will help keep your knives sharp.

2.) Get yourself to your local farmers’ market

Springtime means the farmer’s markets are open for business. There you will find seasonal vegetables and salads and other vegetables and fresh herbs.

3.) Pick Your Protein

Are you vegan? Tofu is easy to fry, season and cube, making it the perfect protein for your salad. Other lean proteins such as salmon, tuna, shrimp, turkey, and chicken are also salad friendly and easy to season to taste.

4.) Make it Colorful

Salads can be beautiful and incorporate every color in the rainbow. Purple cabbage, red onions, bright orange carrots, red and gold tomatoes, and hydrating celery and cucumber will help make your salad pop with color and flavor.

5.) Add some Crunch

Nutrient-dense dried fruit such as cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts can add some crunch to your salads in lieu of croutons which are basically bread. If you are looking for additional good fats, macadamia nuts can add some extra punch to your salad. Air fried chickpeas can also be a great crunchy addition that also adds to your protein quota.

6.) Micro Greens

One major addition to your salad is the microgreen. Dandelion root, sprouts, and arugula are all vitamin-packed and can add some tang to your salad topping.

7.) Hydrate Your Salad

Lemon, lime, and olive oil can hydrate your salad and will also add to the flavor of the dressing you choose.

8.) Add Herbs

Adding mint, rosemary, basil, oregano, or tarragon will give your wilted lettuce new life. Pair your herb-infused salad with a vinaigrette. On its own, a vinaigrette may not have enough bite, but it is healthier for you than a thick dressing.

9.) Say Yes To Some Grains

Your salad can become a salad bowl by adding brown rice, couscous, or quinoa.

10.) Mix and Match Your Lettuce

Lettuce can be mixed and matched. Don’t be afraid to make your salad extra busy with frisée, rocket, kale, romaine spinach, and more.

11.) Use Social Media To Share And Find Recipes

Now that you have created a beautiful salad, stay motivated to eat them daily. Take a colorful selfie of your salad. And seek out recipes on Instagram.

Valentine’s Night Hot Sex Menu: Foods for Maximum Pleasure

Hmmm… how to celebrate Valentine’s Day? I know, you could do it how ancient Romans did! Just follow these steps: 1.) Sacrifice a couple goats, a dog, and then use the blood to do face painting on two naked, laughing priests. 2.) Feast on said sacrifices. 3.) Participate in a lottery to decide who you’ll be hooking up with. Hopefully it’s not that creepy weirdo who lives down the street. 4.) In a fertility ritual, get whipped by said naked priests to ensure that you and the creepy weirdo from down the street have lots of babies.

Not your cup of tea for 2022? Kind of picky aren’t you? Well how about a stuffed red bear then? Chocolates? Flowers? OK, maybe a simpler pleasure. Ah…yes…how about hot, delightful sex? And you can add a hot, delightful meal to bring it together. Now we’re thinking. Even though it’s always been the most popular gift since the birth of this special day, it never gets old. Probably what Saint Valentine got from his bae.

For hot sex, we want our desire to be high. We want our bodies overflowing with lust to be quenched by that special person in our lives. And we also want to have great blood flow to where we need it most. Everybody knows that males need good blood flow for sex, but most people don’t realize that it’s also critical for female sexual pleasure and arousal. In research, better blood flow was associated with greater sexual satisfaction in women.

The meal you prepare for Valentine’s day can actually help your body to experience great sex. Food affects sex hormones both in the short term and in the long run. In addition, research shows that certain foods improve the elasticity of blood vessels within a couple hours of eating them! Other foods stiffened these blood vessels in as little as 30 minutes. This means more or less blood flow depending on what we eat for dinner.

Foods to include:

Naturally nitrate-rich foods: After eating nitrate-rich foods, like beets or spinach, nitric oxide levels rise in your body, peaking about two hours after eating. Nitric oxide promotes vascular health and dilates blood vessels, allowing for more blood to flow to our penis or vagina and clitoris. It also enhances stamina by improving the delivery of oxygen to muscles, thereby reducing fatigue. If you’re balking at the idea that spinach could make that much of a difference, consider this: In one study, participants consumed one serving of spinach. Two hours later, salivary nitrate levels rose by 800%, and arteries were measurably more elastic! Be selective about those nitrates though. We’re not talking about salami and deli meat. Leaves, celery, beets, radish, red cabbage and fennel are the best choices for great sex.

Hold the salt and eat potassium-rich foods instead: According to research, about 90% of Americans consume more salt than is considered tolerable for human consumption! This wreaks havoc on our blood vessels and inhibits their ability to deliver blood to our genitals. Research shows that one high-salt meal stiffens arteries within 30 minutes and reduces nitric oxide release. Potassium, on the other hand, has the opposite effect. It softens the delicate vascular lining and increases nitric oxide release shortly after eating it. Potassium can also offset some of the effects of salt on blood vessels. Unfortunately most of us don’t get enough of it. Research has shown that shortly after eating a high-potassium meal, arteries are measurably more pliable. So, in your Valentine’s sex menu, be sure to include potato, yam, squash, mango, banana, oranges or leafy greens.

Polyphenols: Polyphenols are a class of antioxidant found in foods like cherries, onions, kale, broccoli, celery, citrus, apples and berries. They measurably improve vascular function after eating them, which is why they should be included in a sex menu.

Choose Omega 3 fats: According to research, testosterone will fall sharply after a very fatty meal. This has the potential to break the mood, since adequate testosterone is necessary for strong libido in males and females. A high-fat meal will also increase arterial stiffness within 2 hours. Arterial stiffness reduces blood flow and is not what we want for great sex. On the other hand, omega 3 fatty acids, like those found in fish, though high in fat, improved the elasticity of blood vessels in the two-hour period after eating it. Good menu choices are wild salmon, or walnuts for those following a plant-based or vegan diet.

Culinary aphrodisiacs: Some aphrodisiacs have actually been studied clinically for their effect on sexual performance and libido. Saffron, for example, has a decent amount of research to support its efficacy, and makes for an exotic addition to dinner. In fact, Cleopatra often soaked in a saffron-infused bath to prepare for her lovers. Cloves are also a great choice for a hot-sex menu because they get to work very quickly. In fact, one study found that they improved desire and performance within an hour of eating them.

Put it all together to create a meal fit for St. Valentine

Put all this information together to make a hot sex-meal. For inspiration, here’s a sample Valentine’s Day menu:

Warm up:

Sex Juice: Get out your juicer (or use a blender and strain) and add:

-A bunch of fresh beets

-A small piece of ginger

-A hot pepper of your choice (if you don’t like spicy, you can use an apple)

Main Course:

Spinach Salad with red onions, broccoli and vinaigrette

Baked acorn squash spiced with aphrodisiac cloves, nutmeg and saffron

Wild salmon with fresh herbs. For vegans, top squash with walnuts for omega 3’s instead of eating fish.

Dessert:

Raspberry and clementine parfait

So, for the perfect Valentine’s Day, no need to think like the Romans. Instead, think hot sex, which is always a gift worth giving. Luxuriate your body and your blood vessels to awaken all that is possible from your innate sexual physiology.

About The Author

CHRISTINE DELOZIER, L.Ac.

By Christine DeLozier, author of Diet for Great Sex: Food for Male and Female Sexual Health

CHRISTINE DELOZIER, L.Ac.As an acupuncturist and herbalist in private practice, Christine DeLozier, L.Ac. specializes in sexual health, treating males, females, and all orientations and identities and helping them to develop dietary habits that support their sexual goals. As a young single mom, Christine worked as a waitress and attended the University of Rochester, studying Biology and Psychology full-time. She holds Master’s degrees in Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Counseling and is a certified Holistic Nutritional Counselor. Always rather obsessed with diet, nutrition, and natural health, Christine’s philosophy is rooted in an evidence-based understanding of the physiological effect of food on the body, while honoring the wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine. Learn more at ChristineDelozier.com.

32 Cocktails You Will Fall in Love With for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Whether you have plans or are flying solo, these 32 cocktails (for individuals ages 21+) will bring out the love in anyone. Take a look at the ingredients, stock up on them, and settle in for a fun love day – however you’re celebrating.

1. Love Potion #9

Strawberries
Vanilla ice cream
Vodka (strawberry, vanilla, or unflavored)
White crème de cacao liqueur

2. Sweetheart Cocktail

Ketel One vodka
Rose petal liqueur
Cranberry juice
Lime juice

3. Bésame Cocktail (Kiss Me Cocktail)

Lime wedges
Raspberries
Agavero liqueur
Passion fruit juice
Raspberry liqueur

4. Scarlett Kiss

Cranberry juice
Drambuie

5. Cupid’s Arrow

Vodka
Blood orange liqueur
Orange juice
Lemon juice
Chopped berries
Sugar
Lemon-lime soda
Chocolate shavings (for garnish)

6. Chocolate Truffle Martini

Smirnoff vanilla vodka
Godiva white chocolate cream liqueur
Cream

7. Passion Cocktail

Tequila
Cranberry juice
Lime juice
Brandy-based orange liqueur
Lime slices

8. Chocolate Old Fashioned

Ballotin original chocolate whiskey
Bourbon
Orange bitters
Chocolate mole bitters

9. Chocolate Covered Strawberry Shooters

Chocolate chips
Strawberry milk
White chocolate liqueur
Vodka
Strawberries

10. Lovebug Cocktail

White cranberry juice
Lemon-lime soda
Vodka
Grenadine

11. Pink Gin and Tonic

Pink gin
Tonic water
Lime juice

12. Cupid’s Panties

Tequila rose
Godiva white chocolate liqueur
Whipped cream

13. Soulmate Martini

Bacardi vanilla rum
Bacardi jazz rum
Black cherry juice
Cola

14. Strawberry Champagne Floats

Vanilla ice cream
Champagne
Strawberries
Sugar

15. Valentine’s Day Lady Rose

Rose syrup
Vodka
Pink rose petals
Rose water
Tonic
Pink food coloring

16. Cherry-Chocolate Bourbon Soda

Cherry soda
Taza Mexican chocolate extract
Bourbon

17. Sidecar Cocktail

Sugar
Bourbon or cognac
Orange liqueur
Lemon juice

18. Hot Toddy

Hot water
Whiskey or bourbon
Honey
Lemon juice

19. Pink Mudslide

Kahlua or coffee liqueur
Vanilla or plain vodka
Bailey’s/irish cream liqueur or half and half
Strawberries
Vanilla ice cream

20. Flame of Love

Monkey 47
Dry sherry
Flamed grapefruit twists

21. Morse Code

Bacardi Superior
Plantation pineapple rum
Lime juice
Sugar
Strawberry

22. Pink Lady

Monkey 47
Apple brandy
Lemon juice
Grenadine
Egg white

23. Ginger and Jasmine Cocktail

Simple syrup
Fresh ginger
Jasmine tea
Vodka
Lemon juice
Santa Margherita sparkling rosé

24. Cupid’s Hope

Reyka vodka
Lemon juice
Rosemary syrup
Pear juice

25. Kiss From a Rose

Greenhook gin
Simple syrup
St. Germain
Angostura bitters
Champagne rosé

26. Tie Me Up Tie Me Down

Hangar One Buddha’s Hand vodka
Rosemary simple syrup
Lemon juice

27. Pink French

Lemon juice
Pomegranate juice
Rose water
Simple honey syrup
Gin
Cava

28. La Vie en Rose

619 rose petal vodka
Simple syrup
Lemon juice
St. Germaine
Ginger beer

29. Potion D’Amour

TYKU black sake
Blackberry purée
Lillet Blanc

30. Spicy Love Affair

Reyka vodka
Lemon juice
Ginger syrup
Pink grapefruit juice

31. It’s a Match

Ketel One Citreon vodka
Muddled strawberries
Basil leaves
Jalapeño disk
Lemon juice
Simple syrup

32. The Smoke Show

Casamigos Mezcal
Casamigos Blanco tequila
Ancho Reyes
Lime juice
Agave nectar

However you’re spending Valentine’s Day, whether it’s with your significant other, your gal pals, or just yourself, these 32 cocktails will help spice up your holiday. Have fun and drink responsibly!

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