#i made doughnuts and then i put peanut butter on it and it was basically the best
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What are your plans for the day ahead?
I actually feel like binge-watching Good Mythical Morning tonight; overheard my siblings watching it earlier and now all I want to do is to catch up on the episodes I missed all year long. Apart from that...might have to work on this kinda urgent deck for work, even if we’re on company shutdown -_-
What was the last thing you cleaned?
I tidied up the living room since my sister and I wrapped gifts for an hour and the place got very messy very fast.
When do you go to your soonest appointment?
I don’t have any booked in the near future.
What did you last order online?
Just more Christmas presents - the last batch I got online were for cousins on my dad’s side. I still have to shop tomorrow, but since online orders made at this point obviously won’t make it here by the 24th/25th I’ll be going to the mall for those instead.
Can you see any bottles from where you're sitting?
Yeah I’m taking bottled coffee right now. It’s ‘Sweet Black’ flavored, which I’m loving because otherwise this brand’s regular Black variant is way too bitter for my taste. Which I don’t hate, but I can’t fully enjoy either.
What time do you usually try to wind down in the evening?
Around 8 or 9 PM. 9 is my upper limit - I don’t want to be doing any overtime work or chores by that point, and ideally I’m already lounging in bed or on the couch just going through my phone.
What's something you have been putting off?
The said deck/Powerpoint I have to work on. One because we’re on company break and it’s just difficult to be in the mindset to work; two because it’s a deck for an upcoming pitch (for a potential client) and I always dread that stuff. I really have to touch it tonight though because by tomorrow I’ll already be out all day to shop and to have my Christmas gathering with friends.
What restaurants do you frequently eat at?
I'm not a regular anywhere anymore, but in general if I do eat out I like going to Japanese or Korean restaurants.
Do you like banana pudding with a lot of bananas or more vanilla wafers?
Banana pudding sounds so nasty.
How many books would you guess you've read in the last 5 years?
1 or 2, I’m guessing.
What was the last message you sent?
“I didn’t cross-post it, it’ll be fine!” to my sister. Basically I posted an Instagram story of our gift-wrapping session earlier and the photo revealed some of the gifts I bought. My sister was just looking out and telling me not to post it on Facebook to keep relatives from seeing the presents, so I reassured her that I didn’t toggle the feature to crosspost it.
Have you ate anything green today? What's your favorite way to add greens to your diet?
The sandwich my dad made for me earlier had some lettuce in it. I don’t really have habits when it comes to vegetables...Filipino cuisine is inherently loaded with them, so it’s not like I have to go out of my way to access them.
When did you last light a candle or incense?
Months ago. Not really a part of my routine.
Is it currently warm where you are?
It’s finally getting colder in the evenings yaaaaaay. It’s currently 27C, which is a lovely and welcome change.
Have you ever fallen out of bed?
Once, and as a kid. I vividly remember crying the moment I crashed and my mom immediately springing up when she heard the noise.
What do you like on your hot dogs or burgers?
Continued from last night. I don’t have hotdogs frequently, but on my burgers I like to have jalapeño slices, onions, and always some sort of mayo dressing on them. I have novelty burgers from time to time and I’ve learned that the best gimmicks are doughnuts and peanut butter,
Are you currently listening to anything?
Yeah, I literally JUST prompted Indigo to play. I’m at the first few notes of Yun.
What did you last put in storage?
In our general bodega space, shoes. We don’t really have a designated storage room for things that need to be put away for a while.
What's your favorite thing to do outside?
Go to museums and art galleries, drive around (I don’t mind getting stuck in traffic these days, especially if it means I get to be by myself), go through bookstores, eat.
Are there any celebrities that you are a big fan of?
BTS would be a very obvious answer here. I have other favorites too, but I check in with them and what they’re up to only from time to time - Paramore, Beyoncé, bunch of other artists in the Korean music scene here and there.
Do you ever watch award shows?
Only when the boys have a major participation or performance. Otherwise I have largely stopped caring, especially when I heard more and more claims of racism and favoritism come about. Also, I never really recovered from 25 winning over Lemonade as Album of the Year - if Adele herself can’t accept the award, you’ve got a problem in your hands lmao.
Do you usually run out of shampoo or conditioner first?
Conditioner because I have to use a fuckton of it for my bleached hair. My head reacts terribly to shampoo.
Do you have any LED lights in your home?
I guess, but I wouldn’t be able to identify which.
What is your biggest challenge?
Saving money. When you grow up not-so-well-off, there are two routes you take – be very rigid about saving to avoid going through what you experienced ever again...or be an excessive spender to make up for the times you couldn’t afford the things you want. Unfortunately, I am the latter hahaha.
What was the last sweet thing you've eaten?
My mom had me try these chocolate coffee bites? nibblers? tiny thingies? that she got as a Christmas present. SO good, I might end up eating the whole box.
Do you prefer buying new clothes or thrift shopping for clothes?
Both. As long as I like the look, doesn’t matter where it’s from at that point.
What is something you need right now?
To finish my Christmas shopping list PLZ.
What's something you like that is blue?
My denim jeans.
Have you treated yourself today?
Kind of? I have a deck to work on but I am ‘treating’ myself but ignoring it. Hehe
Have you ever traveled alone?
Not yet! It’s something I really want to do, even just locally. Filipinos are very judgmental when it comes to this though, and the last thing I want to happen is to end up being the anonymous subject of some random ass content creator talking about how I must be some lonely person going through something. No, Mark, I just want to go to the fucking beach.
What color is your most worn jacket/hoodie?
It’s navy blue.
Who is someone you would like to get to know more?
Reena; we’ve been friends for over a year but we only hang out in the context of BTS gatherings. I’d love to have more solo dates with her and become as close with her as I am with Angela. Also my new associate, Erin; she’s definitely easier to get along with and talk to vs my previous teammate.
What toy do you miss the most from your childhood?
My cash register. Loved that little thing.
Have you ever lost something valuable to you?
Nothing comes to mind. I lose things a lot, but for the most part they’ve just been tiny trinkets here and there that I get over by the end of the day.
What or who has impacted your life the most?
My parents, for better or for worse.
Would you say you are toxic in any way?
In the past. It’s something I continue to actively work on.
What's one of your favorite memories from the past year?
Going to Zambales with my closest friends for my birthday.
How often do you use a straw?
Usually when I buy drinks from restaurants and I get served a paper straw.
What's your current favorite song?
Closer by RM, Mahalia, and Paul Blanco. Fascinating how it used to be my least favorite track (if I had to pick a least favorite) off Indigo and now I can’t even stop repeating it. That di-di-diddy-diddy-bop goes harder.
What are some books you'd recommend to someone?
I wouldn’t even know.
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Okay! @musette22 @paper-storm I believe you said you were in? Here, one of you can jump in from here...
#
Sebastian’s managing this whole isolation thing…okay. Enough. He thinks. He stares at a chicken breast and says aloud, “I’m doing okay.”
The chicken breast does not answer. It’s possibly judging him.
It’s also possible that Sebastian, given the talking-to-chicken-breasts, is not a hundred percent okay.
He’s always been pretty good at keeping himself entertained—he’s got books, he���s figured out how to work out in his apartment using stairs and some weights and maybe some awesome dance moves, and he’s definitely got his writing. He’s been getting a lot of writing done, and that feels good: creating, spinning stories, making something that didn’t exist before. Maybe someday he’ll feel sure enough of his words to share them, maybe not; that doesn’t matter. What matters is that he’s made something, and it’s made him smile, and that’s a little extra piece of good in the world.
He wants to say as much to the chicken, but it’s already skeptical about him, so he doesn’t.
He doesn’t know how to cook, or not really. He can more or less put chicken in a pan. And maybe eggs. He can make peanut-butter sandwiches. He’s not going to starve.
He’s aware of his own privilege. He can grumble about not knowing recipes or losing the muscles he’s worked hard on—a tiny bit of his head mutters old familiar words about self-esteem or the lack thereof; he ignores it, because he likes the way he looks, and he likes himself, these days, most days—but he’s also pretty fucking fortunate, all things considered. He’s young, healthy, in possession of a decent amount of money and toilet paper, and able to stay home and still have his acting jobs waiting for him on the other side. He knows all of that.
He might be a little lonely—a little in need of touch, a cuddle, petting, voice and hands telling him he’s been good, he deserves to feel good, he can get on his knees or be put over someone’s lap for a spanking just because they both love feeling that—but he’ll survive. He can handle this.
He eats a bite of chicken, with some vengeance about the judgmental feelings of earlier. His kitchen’s very clean. His whole apartment’s never been so clean. Well, minus a few stacks of books, but those’re necessary. Important. And decorative, thanks.
So he’s got some time and some space and a freezer full of chicken. He is, he decides on the spot, going to take this time to Work On Himself. To learn some life skills. Like cooking. Maybe he can post some videos, provide some entertainment. Something, anyway.
He looks at his phone. He wonders what recipes might be possible for someone who has, well, a random assortment of ingredients. Peanut butter. Bananas. Chicken. Bread. Coffee. Tea.
He tries searching for cooking videos on YouTube. Several of them are way too intimidating, but then he stumbles on one he kind of likes. The guy’s gorgeous, which doesn’t hurt—in fact he’s also an actor, someone Sebastian recognizes but hasn’t worked with ever—and is dressed in the world’s coziest sweater, with the world’s coziest beard, and laughs at himself while stirring a pot and saying, “Okay, my mom’s way better at this, but I’m stuck here with my brother, so we’re gonna do our best, at least this is looking like chili so far, okay?”
The gorgeous man also has a Boston accent. Sebastian’s always had a weakness for accents.
And muscles. And competence. And niceness.
Sebastian likes people who know what they like, who can give him directions, and who offer praise and encouragement and the ability to care for someone else. Gorgeous Man is hitting all those buttons, hard.
Gorgeous Man is named Chris Evans, and he’s posted a few videos so far—himself and his brother and his dog, who is also adorable and enthusiastic—and he’s made pizza and beer bread and homemade doughnuts. Sebastian might be in love.
Chris Evans says, on Sebastian’s phone, now propped up against some bananas, “Some of you maybe stocked up on basics like chicken, so tomorrow we’re gonna make chicken tacos—Scott, stop aiming the camera at my ass—”
“The people want to see your ass,” Scott says. “The people miss seeing America’s favorite ass.”
“So tomorrow I’ll also shove a tortilla into my brother’s face on camera,” Chris Evans says. “You won’t want to miss it.”
Sebastian would like to give Scott a lot of money to keep filming. But also would like to tell Chris to keep filming: Chris is real, cheerful, acknowledging the current state of the world and doing what he can, trying to help people. Chris seems like a good person, and Sebastian can’t help feeling like Chris is maybe talking to him, just to him, even though he knows that’s not true.
Chris somehow knew about his freezer full of chicken. That’s a sign, right?
It’s not. Of course it’s not. But he’s going to watch Chris tomorrow anyway.
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Umbrella Academy Rewatch 1x01
With the second season of Umbrella Academy approaching, I figured I should have a rewatch of the first season again.
Of course, we start at the beginning, with us being told that on October 1st, 1989, 43 completely unrelated women around the world miraculously gave birth at the same time. This event was particularly unusual since none of these women had been pregnant when they’d woken up that morning. We’re also told that Reginald Hargreeves, an eccentric billionaire and adventurer had attempted to adopt as many of these miracle babies as possible, even going so far as to approach the mothers directly and paying them to allow him to take their baby. away. In the end, he managed to obtain seven of these unusual babies and brought them to his estate. As it turned out, each of these seven babies had seemingly been born with a unique superhuman ability. Luther (AKA Number 1) possessed super strength. Diego (AKA Number 2) could control the trajectory of any object he throws, with his preference being knives. Allison (AKA Number 3) can manipulate people’s actions simply by saying the words ‘I heard a rumor.’ Whatever she says after those words will actually happen. Klaus (AKA Number 4) is basically the kid from The Sixth Sense. Number 5 (who never received an actual name for reasons that I’ll explain a little later, can teleport/time jump. Ben (AKA Number 6) can essentially summon Lovecraftian horrors from his body. And finally, there’s Vanya (AKA Number 7). She allegedly doesn’t have any special abilities, so she was always left out when Reginald meticulously trained the others to be some sort of elite superhero team in the vein of X-Men, with the building they all lived in being treated like a school called The Umbrella Academy.
Of course, the main story actually begins years later, when the Hargreeves Siblings have all grown up. And grown apart as well, as each of the siblings have, for the most part, put their old lives behind them and have therefore become estranged from one another. In an opening montage, we’re introduced to the now-adult Hargreeves Siblings. Luther, for reasons that are revealed later on in the show, has spent the past four years on the moon. Diego has become a vigilante. Allison is now a big movie star with a legion of fans. Klaus is a drug addict, and is pretty much in and out of rehab. And Vanya is a violinist who hopes to make it into a major orchestra. As you might have noticed, there are two of the Hargreeves Siblings that haven’t been accounted for. As the episode explains as it progresses, Number 5 mysteriously disappeared 17 years prior, and hasn’t been seen or heard from since. And Ben has died for reasons that are as of yet unknown.
As the opening montage wraps up, Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus and Vanya all learn that Reginald Hargreeves has suddenly passed away. So they all return to his old estate to attend his funeral. Though, upon arriving, it’s made very clear that Diego is not the least bit pleased to see Vanya. It turns out that, at some point, Vanya wrote an autobiography about her life growing up as the odd one out among the others. And she apparently revealed some of the Hargreeves family’s deepest, darkest secrets within her autobiography. So this has pretty much further ostracized Vanya from hier siblings, particularly Diego. Though Allison seems to be willing to look past that in light of the current situation.
Anyway, the next few minutes of the episode allows us to get to know our main characters, and how they interact with one another. Diego, as we’ve established, isn’t very pleased to see Vanya, which does’t help with how she already felt like an outsider amongst her siblings. And Luther also seems mistrustful of Klaus, though this wasn’t entirely undeserved, as he stopped Klaus from trying to pocket some of Reginad’s old trinkets. Off hand, only Allison seems somewhat normal, as she responds with reasonable softness to each of her long-lost siblings. However, it seems even she has some sort of baggage, as she admits her husband filed for divorce 8 months ago, and her now-ex-husband has full custody of their daughter, something that clearly upsets her a great deal. During this whole sequence of events, we also meet Grace. who was, for all intents and purposes, the Hargreeves Siblings’ mother, and Pogo, the family butler who is, to put it bluntly, an anthropomorphic chimpanzee. (Just roll with it.)
As the episode progresses, Luther makes it clear that, despite the autopsy report stating Reginald died of a heart attack, he suspects foul play was involved somehow. He points out that Reginald’s signature monocle was missing, and he and suspects that somebody took it. And if somebody took the monocle, it meant that Reginald hadn’t been alone when he died. Of course, Luther’s attempts at sharing this theory with his brothers and sisters goes poorly when he clumsily makes it sound as if he suspects one of them might have murdered Reginald.
In spite of the tangible rift between them, we do get a small indication that there’s still a deep-rooted bond between the siblings when Luther plays a vinyl recording of Tommy James and the Shondells’ I Think We’re Alone Now. Even though the five siblings are all in different rooms, they all are shown dancing to the same song. It’s a particularly enjoyable scene, particularly when the camera pans out to what I call ‘the dollhouse shot.’
However, the dance party is interrupted by a sudden disturbance out in the courtyard. When the five siblings run outside to investigate, Luther surmises it’s some sort of temporal anomaly. (Lucky guess!) As they watch in confusion and bemusement, a figure emerges from the time portal. To everyone’s amazement, the figure is revealed to be Number 5, who hasn’t seemed to age a day since the morning he vanished 17 years ago.
The Hargreeves Siblings convene down to the kitchen, where Number 5 fixes himself a snack. As he proceeds to make himself a sandwich (peanut butter and marshmallow), Number 5 explains his prolonged absence happened because he went against Reginald’s instructions and attempted to travel through time, resulting in him getting stuck in the future. And, while it’s been 17 years since his disappearance for the other Hargrees Siblings, it’s been 45 years for him. But he managed to finally find a way to return to the present day through some technobabble explanation. But for whatever reason, while his consciousness remains that of a 58 year old man, his body has regressed to that of his 13-year-old self. Although, he doesn’t really explain anymore than that and simply walks off, leaving his brothers and sisters to take it all in.
Of course, it then cuts to the funeral service, with everyone gathered out in the courtyard to pay their last respects to Reginald. But of course, drama erupts when Diego begins an emotional rant about how Reginald was a horrible man and father. Which wasn’t entirely off the mark, as we see through flashbacks that he might have also conducted experiments on the Hargraves Siblings. Here, it’s also revealed that Reginald never gave any of them their names and had simply referred to them by their individual numbers. It was their mother, Grace, who had given them their actually names. (Which does explain why Number 5 doesn’t have a real name like the others. He must have vanished to the future before Grace began issuing names) This ultimately leads to a fist fight breaking out between Diego and Luther. In the ensuing fight, the statue that had been erected in the late Ben’s memory is broken, and Diego ends up throwing one of his knives at Luther, leaving a bleeding gash in his arm.
So, things are clearly still strained between the Hargraves Siblings, who all soon part. Vanya is the first to leave, with only Pogo seeing her off. Diego heads off soon afterwards (with Klaus tagging along). Number 5, however, retreats to a local doughnut shop called Griddy's Donuts, hoping to get a decent cup of coffee. But before he can begin his drink, he notices a group of men armed with guns entering the shop. Number 5 doesn’t seem to be the least bit surprised by this, simply remarking he thought it would take them longer to find him. The leader of the armed men instructs Number 5 to come with them. But Number 5 chooses to not cooperate. And he proceeds to utilize his teleportation skills to meticulously kill every single one of the gunmen, as Istanbul (not Constantinople) by They Might Be Giants plays over the scene. Once all the men are dead, he calmly cuts into his arm with a discarded knife, putting out what appears to be a tracking chip. With the tracking chip removed, he calmly walks out of Griddy’s Donuts, as the poor waitress (whose name will be revealed to be Agnes in later episodes) peers over the counter at the remaining mess and dead bodies, completely shell shocked.
As the first episode wraps up, we see Diego has Reginald's missing monocle, though it’s not clear at this point how or why he has it. We also get our first glimpse of Ben, the deceased member of the Hargraves Siblings. Even though he is dead, he is present in the show as a ghost. Though only Klaus can see and hear him on account of his ‘superpower.’ As for Vanya, she returns to her apartment, where she is shocked to find Number 5 has broken in. Vanya is quick to spot he’s bleeding (on account of his self-inlicted cut), but Number 5 virtually waves away her concern. He tells her that he’s decided to share some vital information with her, since he feels she’s the only one he can trust. Throughout the episode, it was implied that Vanya and Number 5 had been rather close as kids. For instance, after Number 5 had vanished, Vanya had made a habit of leaving out peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches for him every night, because she didn’t want him to go hungry if he ever returned. As such, Number 5 tells Vanya that, when he jumped ahead in time, he learned that something catastrophic will happen in the future that will effectively wipe out the entire human race. While he wasn’t sure what exactly caused the apocalypse to happen, he was able to determine the date it occurred- exactly eight days from the present date. Vanya takes this bombshell surprisingly well.
Well, that’s quite an opening episode. We got a group of siblings with a strained relationship, a suitable mystery on our hands and a fast-approaching end of the world. Not to mention the whole weirdness the show just expects us to accept with no actual explanation. All in all, this episode does effectively rope you in, leaving you with a bunch of questions that you want to see answered.
Additional things of note:
Grace is revealed to be a robot. Which explains how she sometimes seems to be out of it at certain points in the episode
Vanya is taking what appears to be a prescription medication
The exploits of the Hargraves Siblings as a superhero team led to them having a certain level of fame. There were even comic books made about them in the show’s reality.
Even though Luther made him drop Reginald’s trinkets, Klaus still managed to make off with an ornate box with currently unknown contents
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Rec List: The Umbrella Academy
Part 1 Part 2
I’ve been hit hard by cupid’s arrow and fell in love with The Umbrella Academy. It’s all I’ve been reading this past week. So, I’ve decided to start compiling my rec list now.
Everything listed in this rec list are gen fanfics. I most likely will only ever read gen fanfiction for this fandom (unless I see a particular Klaus x Dave or Agnes x Hazel fic that catches my interest). In addition, this list only includes completed works. I’m also going to include an all encompassing drug-content warning because Klaus Hargreeves.
Total Fics Recommended Thus Far: 26
This is my second Rec List, so feel free to let me know what you think of the formatting and whether or not I need to make adjustments (like splitting it up into two parts bc this is more than I expected).
As always, my inbox is open to rec list requests.
Is the sadness everlasting? (love, I think it is) by ArmedWithMyComputer
Words: 3161 Chapters: 2 Post-S1
Summary: A look into what Klaus' newly discovered ability could mean for the siblings.
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Things Aren’t Quite the Same by oscarwildechilde
Words: 6632 Chapters: 1 Pre-S1
Summary: Ben reads to Klaus when the dead get too loud for him to beat. He’s always there for him, and always will be.Ben and Klaus’ friendship and the start of Klaus’ problems.
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Simpler Times by bucketbarneslove
Words: 5181 Chapters: 1 Pre-S1
Summary: On one of the last nights that the Hargreeves siblings get to be anything close to normal, Klaus suggests they have some fun. His idea? Heading over to the 24/7 doughnut shop and getting absolutely trashed on sugar.
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Ghosts of You(th) by SilvertonguedClotpole
Words: 10,110 Chapters: 1 Post-S1, e10 au
Summary: It was a mausoleum, and right now it was probably the best chance they had at hiding from those chasing them. But of course, a mausoleum isn't just a mausoleum to Klaus. It was a hell. And his siblings were about to see a true glimpse of what it was like being Klaus Hargreeves.
When they're forced to hide in the cemetery, the siblings get more than they bargained for when they have to fight to remain hidden, and fight to keep their brother from toppling over the edge.
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For the Record by aye_of_newt
Words: 3645 Chapters: 1 Post-S1, e10 au
Part 1 of Vague AU
Summary: Diego finds Klaus' police record.
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I know That Everyone Gets Scared by MidnightRavenFromTheClock
Words: 2945 Chapters: 1
Summary: What if the Hargreeves siblings did a little better?
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Some have names but most do not (If you find one, please let me know what piece I've lost) by Brain_Brainson
Words: 3235 Chapters: 1 Post-S1
Part 1 of Real Names, Fake Names, Chosen Names
Summary: Five has only been around for a week but already Klaus won’t leave him alone.“You need a name,” he says, hanging upside down from the couch.
“I have a name,” Five says.
Comments: Did anyone say Non-binary!Five?
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I've been searching for my Father (I can not explain why he grows old) by Brain_Brainson
Words: 5481 Chapters: 1 Post-S1
Part 3 of Real Names, Fake Names, Chosen Names
Summary: Despite being the perfect fairytale villain, Five doesn't actually hate their Dad.
Comments: Somehow I missed p2 and need to rectify that immediately In all likelihood it’ll also be recommended.
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Secrets I have held in my heart (are harder to hide than I thought) by Brain_Brainson
Words: 7732 Chapters: 1 Post-S1
Part 4 of Real Names, Fake Names, Chosen Names
Summary: Your Family is caught up in some emotional bullshit and everyone is ignoring each other and it’s making you feel things you don’t wanna feel?Well, what the fuck do you do then?
Comments: I really love their portrayal of Luther.
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Something of a Success by magikfanfic
Words: 3130 Chapters: 1 Pre-S1
Summary: Klaus is the first to know.
Comments: CW for Major Character Death. In particular, our boy Ben.
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A Little Family Bonding by dirkygoodness
Words: 1954 Chapters: 1
Summary: Each and every one of them flaked on world-saving as soon as it was out of his mouth.So instead of getting up and being productive Five jumped down to the local liquor store and stole two bottles of whiskey for himself. If everyone else wasn’t going to give a shit, then maybe he’d give it a try too.
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Whatever It Takes by Galliumite
Words: 1033 Chapters: 1 e10 spoilers
Summary: A One-shot in which the probability map in episode 5 of the show gives a name that Five doesn't want to see. And that leads Five to responding to Luther's threats towards Dolores slightly differently.
Comments: An interesting AU idea.
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Ordinary by Fourfivesix
Words: 987 Chapters: 1 Pre-S1
Summary: Klaus wishes he was ordinary like Vanya.
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The Boy At The End Of The World by Devilbaby
Words: 2093 Chapters: 1
Summary: There's no crying in the apocalypse; water is too valuable a commodity to be wasted on tears and sorrow. The world didn't care about his suffering, so neither did he.
A character study about Five, why he is who he is and why he does what he does.
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Your Father Isn’t Here by GiuGiu
Words: 2388 Chapters: 1 Pre-S1
Part 2 of TUA Kid Fics
Summary: “We wanted to be bird feeders.” Number Four grinned, leaning over to pick a chia seed off of Number Six’s ear.
“Like the one we made during crafts.” Number Six elaborated, pushing his brother’s hand away from his face. Grace had used last week’s recreation time to make peanut butter bird feeders with her children. She had carefully written the report asking for permission, justifying her choice with data about gross motor skills and basics of biology instruction.
This had not been in her contingency report. She would need to be more thorough next time.Or, raising seven four-year-olds while having limited free will isn't easy.
Comments: Grace-centric and beautifully written.
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Just In Case by starsandsupernovae
Words: 1171 Chapters: 1
Summary: Vanya and Five are kids and it's cute and happy and then it's not
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Blood Like Lemonade by Ford_Ye_Fiji
Words: 2860 Chapters: 1
Summary: Hunting high and low to seek revenge,
Brand new moral code, got made reluctant renegade.
Leaving empty souls when he avenged,
Evil spirits flowed he drank the blood like lemonade.
-Five's sordid past comes to light in, quite possibly, the most unpleasant way
Comments: Really cool idea to explore, personally.
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breathe in, exhale (the blood flood) by doc_boredom
Words: 852 Chapters: 1
Summary: Diego Hargreeves held his breath and counted to five.
Not second by second like a normal person would, but minute by minute, until his lungs threatened to explode.
-Also known as Diego Hargreeves carved my heart from my chest and I let him do so willingly.
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show me how to struggle gracefully by Karturtle (karturtle)
Words: 3197 Chapters: 1 Post-S1
Part 1 of you ask me where i've been(like i ask you where you are)
Summary: Ben watches his family as it heals, and starts to do a little healing himself.
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love you without any strings attached by Karturtle (karturtle)
Words: 4739 Chapters: 1 Post-S1
Part 2 of you ask me where i've been(like i ask you where you are)
Summary: Ben and Klaus have been a pair ever since Klaus was old enough to drag his brother into mischief.
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I’ll never dance again by The Séance (TheHavok)
Words: 322 Chapters: 1
Summary: ONE SHOT, Klaus Hargreeves badly dealing with losing his lover.
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bright by classyfanperson
Words: 1133 Chapters: 1 Pre-S1
Summary: There's no reason Klaus can't have pretty things, even if he has to steal them.
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Every Mountain You Climb Takes Me Further Away by siriuslyrose
Words: 3061 Chapters: 1 Pre-S1
Summary: In 1989, Sir Reginald Hargreeves adopts seven babies from around the world. By 2007 only one remained.
They all left for slightly different reasons. But for all six of them it was The Monocle that forced them out the door. Ironically, he was also the reason his Number One never follow them.
This is the story of how the Umbrella Academy went from Six (Seven) members to One.
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Elide by Willowcatkin
Words: 484 Chapters: 1
Summary: And even when her home crumbles to nothing around her, no one will hear it. Debris born from grudge that stems deep into its foundation falls. Rocks and ash drift like stardust, muffling and soft like sound through water. The walls that used to block out the notes, amplifying them and distorting their intricately crafted meanings, collapse and fold like the delicate flutter of a butterfly’s wings.
Comments: One of my personal favorites. I always love characters studies written with such nicely flowing prose.
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And Then There Were None by friedlieb_ferdinand_runge
Words: 1005 Chapters: 1
Summary: They were all broken in the end.
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if you must mourn (don’t do it alone) by AndreaLyn
Words: 2120 Chapters: 1
Summary: They're putting the grief in Hargreeves.
or “How the Hargreeves family moved on (except for the one who refused)"
#the umbrella academy#umbrella academy#fanfiction#rec list#fanfic rec list#gen fic#hargreeves#vanya hargreeves#diego hargreeves#number 5#five hargreeves#klaus hargreeves#ben hargreeves#allison hargreeves#luther hargreeves#ao3
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Diary of a Whole Food Plant Based Life Journey- Day 4
Today is day 4, and not sure why I didn’t start this in day 1. Maybe I wanted to be sure I was really going to do this, or maybe, I wasn’t sure what to even write. But, in reality, writing something is better than nothing.
I decided that I wanted to chronicle this journey, despite the fact that I am not a diary keeper. Better to not leave evidence, is my thought. Besides, who wants to know the musings of a random person about minutia in their daily lives? And yes, that is a rhetorical question.
Because I’ve always believed that we are not the sum of our numbers, I hesitate to give weight and height, etc.. However, when you need to quantify something, numbers do help. So, yea, I am 191.4 and 5′6″ tall. Here is where I want to qualify those numbers, by telling you that I carry my weight well and that you would never know I weight “that much”, etc.
But, really, I won’t. It is easier that way, to not really delve too much into those numbers and just take them at face value. They are simply a tool to measure one type of progress, that of weight (more importantly fat) loss.
And not like I’m gonna get shorter, soooo.. yea.. height is just a reference.
I won’t bore you with my metaphysical, come to Jesus moments I’ve had over the past year, but let’s just say that about 5 days ago, I woke up from having had dinner out with my husband, in which I indulged in wine, cheese, and steak.
I woke up the next morning and felt AWFUL. I had NO energy, and my body felt like I had been abducted by aliens, only to be dropped on the way down.
I hurt. I had no energy and my mind was dull. I felt like a radio out of tune, with static in my head, emotionless, exhausted, and all I wanted to do was lay in bed.
And I did lay in bed, all day. I also ate very little food and stuck to mostly veggies and fruits and water.
The realization that I had been coming to and finally and quietly wrapped around my brain was that I had to take charge of my body. I have been fighting an autoimmune disease that no one really knows what it is, but “might” be Lupus. I have rosacea, and my hand sometimes swell up so that I don’t have knuckles. I had lost 30 pounds following Weight Watchers, counting every point and moving every day. Then, after quitting my job and being home with my kiddos for a year, I had gained 20 lbs back. Basically, my depression hit me with a full roundhouse kick to my psyche, and I fell down hard.
I also sat down hard.. and alot. I stopped doing my daily activities, and as winter and darker days settled in, my mind turned inwards.
I’ll skip the paranormal and otherworldly experiences, to say that I had some enlightening moments in the past year.
And, five days ago, it culminated in a quietly made, simple statement.
“I am going to go whole foods, plant-based for the next year to see what happens”.
It’s not like I was new to this whole nutrition thing. Most of us who are overweight probably have enough knowledge of nutrition to get a degree in it.
I’ve watched Forks Over Knives and I have various Plant Based cookbooks at home. I’ve delved into them, here and there, just a few recipes every so often. I’ve put my toe in the water, so to speak.
Five days ago I just took a very silent plunge. I didn’t announce it, I didn’t throw out food, I didn’t proclaim it to the world on Facebook.
No, I just quietly began making my meals only with whole foods and plants.
Thank goodness I like veggies, or this might suck.
But you know what? It doesn’t suck.. not at all. In just two days, I’ve woken up with more energy and have had a clearer mind than I have in a very long time.
Here is a short list of the good things I’ve noticed:
1. I wake up less sore
2. I have more energy and just need one cup of coffee instead of 3
3. my cravings for sugar and salt have become manageable and are almost non-existent
4. when I have craved sugar, fruit takes care of the craving
5. my mind is clearer and getting clearer
6. I have more sustained energy through my day
7. my plates are so colorful, I like looking at them.. seriously, they are very pretty!
There are probably more, but I can’t think of them right now :)
negatives:
1. uhm... a little more gas maybe.. ?
As you can see, the lists are rather telling. Long list of pluses, and not many negatives.
Now, I know there are so many claims from people who have gone WFPB, everything from it cures cancer to it cured their Lupus, etc. I take everything with a grain of salt, and have a “wait and see” approach to it as far as it relates to me.
My goals are pretty simple.
1. Lose this extra fat, aka weight (Yes, I am tracking what I eat on my FitBit app, and make sure I eat between 1200-1600 cals per day)
2. Get more energy (which is very related to #1)
3. kick my doughnut addiction once and for all
Let me also qualify #2 above.
Food has calories (energy). ALL FOOD HAS CALORIES. If you eat more energy than you expend, your body will store that energy. Now, is a calorie from Doritos used the same way than a calorie from an apple? I don’t think so. I believe that our bodies were not meant to break down processed crap, dairy and refined sugars. It doesn’t know what to do with all that stuff we put in our bodies. But, it does know what to do when I eat chickpeas and spinach.
In other words, a calorie is not just a calorie. In my mind, if I am going to consume 1600 calories of food in a day, I better be eating the most NUTRIENT PACKED FOODS available to me. When we feed our bodies, we need nutrients, not just calories.
So, all this just means that even though I am eating WFPB, I am still tracking my calories and eating less than I expend, according to my FitBit. I did not want to fall into the trap of “I am eating plant-based so I can eat all I want”, as I have actually read those statements in blogs and articles, and I believe they can be detrimental to those just starting out.
“Don’t eat all the food, V. Remember the law of thermodynamics.” That is in my head from morning to night. But, the wonderful thing is, I don’t want to eat all the things. When you eat WFPB, your body gets what it needs, your brain gets what it needs, and all is good with the world.
Now, will there be times I slip up? Yes. Of course. That’s really a BS question. You see, I am not aiming for perfection, I am aiming for progress. I am working on being a better version of myself, and I am giving this WFPB experiment a real go. But, if I eat a vegan peanut butter cookie from Whole Foods, is it the end of the world? Should I just say “oh f&ckg it!” and throw in the towel? Of course not.. that’s silly. Vegan cookies happen. They will just happen less than usual.
So, there we go. Day 4. Dinner time is soon, and I am still plenty satisfied from lunch and my snack. I might just have oatmeal for dinner.
Here’s to Day 5 :)
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Food Survey (#1)
Breakfast
It’s the most important meal of the day! Do you even eat breakfast?
Not usually. Well, unless you want to get technical, in which case I do since breakfast is the first meal you eat after you break fast. I’m guessing that’s not what you mean, however, so my original answer stands.
What time do you typically eat breakfast?
If I do eat breakfast, it’s more like a late lunch or dinner cause I don’t even get up until like 3-330PM, sometimes 4.
Would you say that breakfast is typically your largest meal of the day or your smallest meal of the day?
My breakfast generally just consists of some scrambled or a couple sunny side up eggs.
Do you like going out for a sit-down breakfast?
Yeah, once in awhile. Haven’t been able to do that in awhile, though.
Do you visit a coffee shop (ie: Tim Hortons, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts) and place an order every morning? If so, what do you typically get?
I kinda wish I could get my coffee from somewhere everyday, ideally handed to me when I get up everyday haha, but no I generally just have my coffee at home from my Keurig that I drag myself outta bed to make myself. Sigh. haha. When I do get coffee from somewhere I usually get a regular coffee with cream and sugar or sometimes a flavored mocha or latte, depending on where I go.
How many different ways will you eat your eggs?
Scrambled, sunny side up, over-easy, hard boiled, deviled, or an egg sandwich.
How do you prefer your bacon to be cooked?
I don’t like bacon.
Have you ever had Canadian bacon before? Which do you like better?
Blechhhh, yes. I don’t like the taste, but it’s the texture that really makes me gag.
Do you prefer sausage links or sausage patties?
I don’t like sausage either. I’m weird.
What do you prefer your sausage to be made out of? (chicken, pork, etc) Or do you not like sausage at all?
Like I said, not a fan.
Would you rather have a breakfast bowl, a breakfast sandwich, or a breakfast burrito, and why?
I loveee breakfast burritos.
Do you prefer French toast, pancakes, or waffles, and why?
I’d eat either one, but french toast and waffles are the best. I haven’t had any of those in a long time, though.
Do you ever eat bagels for breakfast? If so, what type do you typically like, and what do you put on it?
I haven’t had a bagel in years, but I do like them. I prefer regular or strawberry cream cheese.
Do you ever make banana bread? With or without walnuts? How about pumpkin bread? With or without chocolate chips?
I’ve never made either one, but I do loveeee banana bread with no nuts. I’ve never had it with chocolate chips. I don’t like pumpkin flavored anything.
Do you prefer cereal bars or granola bars? Which flavors?
I like both, I used to have them all the time. My favorite cereal bars were Fruity Pebbles, Trix, Lucky Charms, and Honey Nut Cheerios. My favorite granola bars were the Quaker Oats ones like chocolate chip, peanut butter, and s’mores or this other brand, Sunbelt, that made delicious oat and honey granola bars. I don’t know how people like Nature’s Valley granola bars, they’re hard as rocks. Ooh, I like those Nutri-grain bars, too.
Do you ever eat cereal for breakfast? Or do you ever munch on it as a snack instead? What’s your favorite kind?
I’ve had it for breakfast and as a snack. Cereal always hit different late at night. I liked snacking on certain ones by itself without milk, too. My favorite cereals are basically all the sugary ones like Fruity Pebbles, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, French Toast Crunch, Waffle Crisp, Lucky Charms, Trix, Life, Cap’n Crunch Berries, Frosted Flakes, Honey Nut Cheerios, Frosted Cheerios... you get the idea.
Do you put milk in your cereal, or do you eat it dry?
I like it both ways.
Have you ever had biscuits and gravy? How about chicken and waffles?
Biscuits and gravy are delicious. I’ve never tried chicken and waffles.
Do you ever have steak or chicken fried steak with your eggs?
I don’t like either one.
Do you ever eat cinnamon buns for breakfast?
I tend to eat those for dessert, but yeah I have had them as a breakfast side to enjoy with my coffee.
Do you enjoy eating coffee cake for breakfast?
I’ve been obsessed with Hostess’ coffee cakes for the past few months, they’re so good. I have one everyday with my coffee. I’ve had coffee cake from Starbucks and Panera Bread, and honestly I much prefer the Hostess’ ones.
Do you like doughnuts? What is your favorite kind to eat?
Yesss. I like a good ol’ fashioned glazed donut, maple, and a frosted one now and then. I really like Hostess’ glazed, powdered, and chocolate donuts, too, as well as Entenmmen’s.
Have you ever had a crepe before?
I’ve had the dessert kind, which are delicious. I had one with bananas and chocolate--yum.
Would you rather have a croissant or a scone, and why?
Croissants are delicious.
Do you have a preferred flavor of muffin to eat?
Banana without the nut, lemon poppyseed, and blueberry are my favorites.
When’s the last time that you had a toaster strudel? Which kind would you prefer?
Wow, it’s been a really long time. Like, possibly not since my late teens or early 20s. Anyway, I’ve had strawberry, cream cheese and strawberry, and raspberry. My only complaint about those are that the little icing packets they provide are not enough icing.
When’s the last time you had a Pop-Tart? Do you have any particular favorite flavors?
It’s been a few years, but I used to have ‘em all the time. My favorites are the frosted strawberry and frosted brown sugar cinnamon.
Has anyone ever made Eggs Benedict for you before? Did you enjoy it?
Blech, it has Canadian Bacon.
Have you ever been served breakfast in bed? What was the special occasion?
Yeah. There were times it was because I was sick or bed ridden (like after having surgery) in which case all my meals were brought to me in bed, or because my mom made/bought me food just because.
When’s the last time you had an English muffin? Would you rather have this or a bagel instead?
Uhhh. Not sure exactly, but it’s been a long time. I like both, just depends what I was in the mood for.
Do you ever have fruit salads for breakfast? What do you prefer to put in them?
I don’t have fruit salads ever.
Would you rather have hash browns or home fries, and why?
Mmm, hash browns.
What would you put into your omelette?
Cheese, spinach, and green onion. Back in the day I would have added spicy stuff, but I can’t have that anymore :(
Have you ever had a quiche for breakfast before?
Not for breakfast, but I’ve had quiche before.
How do you like your toast, and what do you put on it?
I don’t want it burnt, but I want it to be browned with lots of butter. Toast and sunny side up eggs together are really good, too.
Do you like to eat oatmeal? Do you prefer it to be warm or cold? What flavors do you enjoy?
Yeah. Most definitely hot. I just have it with condensed milk, brown sugar, and cinnamon sprinkled on top.
Have you ever had a popover before? Do you like them?
I have not.
Do you know anyone who puts peanut butter on their toast? How about avocado?
I put peanut butter sometimes, it’s good. When I was a kid I used to put peanut butter and sprinkled some sugar on top--don’t knock it ‘til ya try it. I’ve actually never had the infamous avocado toast, but I’m sure I’d like it.
Do you have a favorite-flavored danish that you like to eat?
Cheese danish.
Do you ever eat yogurt for breakfast? Do you prefer it plain, or flavored? Yes or no to the fruit chunks? How about granola or chocolate flakes/candies in there?
Not a yogurt fan. Although, when I was a kid I used to eat Gogurts and Trix yogurt lol.
Do you ever eat anything for breakfast that isn’t typically classified as a “breakfast food”?
Hmm. I think when I have breakfast it’s typical breakfast foods.
What do you typically drink with your breakfast in the morning? (coffee, tea, juice, milk)
I drink coffee everyday regardless.
[a-zebra-is-a-striped-horse]
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20th April 2017
I woke up before my alarm which was weird. I didn't feel tired considering it was 0600 in the morning. I got up and ready for my trial to be down for breakfast at 0730. Steve was up and getting ready for his interview too. We went down and had food. I had to be quick and leave by 0750/0800. I left Steve eating his peanut butter on toast and made my way to the tram stop right outside the hostel. I needed the number 19 tram which was just pulling up as I stepped outside - fantastic. I was really hoping today would be the silver lining of tomorrow, especially as they phoned as everything was falling apart. I was so hoping, please please please.
I arrived and saw that the cafe was in a Cancer hospital. It didn't look like a hospital at all though, it was massive and silent. It looked really posh and clean. There were doctors here and there but there were no hospital smells. I had to go up to level 7 into 'The Loft' which was the cafe. There were loads of really unwell people around me which wasn't ideal as I cry very easily.
At 0820, I walked into the cafe and explained that I was here for an interview and trial. I was asked to take a seat and I was left waiting for 20 minutes. I saw that there were other people here for trials too which was annoying. Basically, a competition. Eventually the manager came over to me and we went through interview questions. I got really quite annoyed because he obviously hadn't read my CV thoroughly. He first asked me how my barista skills were, which are non-existent. I told him that I couldn't make coffee. Here in Australia, you have to pay for an official course to make coffee which I haven't done.
He then asked me how my kitchen hand/food prep skills were like. I said to him that applied for a waitress role and that's what I can do. He said that he wanted to hire people that were 'all rounders' and said that he needed floor staff too. That's what I had applied for so I wasn't sure why I was being made to feel like an idiot.
He didn't put me on the floor waitressing at all. He put me behind the sandwich deli and till. I had to serve customers using a till I hadn't ever used before. I also had to pick up the sandwiches that they had requested which sounds easy. It really wasn't. The signs of the bread/fillings were at the front, so I had to know what they were from behind. Australia has weird bread and filling choices. I had to constantly ask which one was what. I then had to check whether they were eating in or taking away. I had to toast the sandwiches and wrap them up in such a way that looked presentable.
I hated every single moment of my time there. I went to serve another customer and a different member of staff went 'no, I'll do it!'. I wouldn't normally mind but how do you expect someone to be able to do it as a second nature in half an hour? I could easily do the job just give me a chance and some training.
The manager came over and asked why our section was really far behind because it wasn't acceptable. Nobody said anything so I stepped forward and said "I'm sorry, it's probably me getting in the way of everyone and asking questions". He replied with "well why are you? You shouldn't be getting in the way. I run a tight ship here". I was mortified. None of the members of staff smiled, had fun or laughed. It was work, work, work. I stuck out like a sore thumb as I wasn't Asian. An hour and half into my trial and I wanted to walk out. I wasn't being paid to feel like this. I stuck it out until my trial finished and the manager said that he would be in contact by Saturday for a start on Wednesday. I very much doubt he would be in contact any time soon. Not sure I wanted him too.
I got out of the building and rang Steve. His interview went really well and he got the job! He starts tomorrow which is brilliant. We both made our way back to the hostel at the same time. I tried not to have a mental breakdown in public because I didn't want to be sectioned.
We got back to the hostel and I made something to eat. Megan was off at a trial shift for a doughnut and ice cream place and Dan was at work. Steve was working with Dan tomorrow which would be nice. The job is only 15 minutes away and it's a 9 hour day 1200-2100. The more hours, the more money. He also got a text about Saturday work which is $30 an hour so he is more than happy to work for that money on the weekend. Sunday goes up to $40.
We sat around chatting for a few hours but I tried to nap around 1500. I told Mel I would go to ABC (Asian Beer Cafe) with her tonight. Free Prosseco for girls and hopefully we would actually get in this time.
I got ready and we left at 1730. Mel, Megan, Sophie, Lauren and Kat made our way there. The boys stayed in doing nothing. We got there and had a good 5 glasses of Prosecco. Cherry met up with us after a couple of hours.
You could only order one for yourself - you couldn't go and get a glass for your friends if they were sitting down. Make sense but really quite annoying. After 1900, free prosecco became $1 but again, you could only order one at a time.
We drank quite a few; one smashed glass, one glass spilt and one boomerang of a mandatory 'cheers'. You can tell we're all English because we were the first ones up dancing.
There was a guy from Columbia who couldn't speak much English that wanted to buy us all a drink. I told him not to worry and to save his money. I feel bad for anyone that buys a drink especially here because the prices are unreal.
Columbia guy then returned with a jug of beer and three pint glasses. He obviously didn't understand a word I had said. Never mind then. We drank the beer and carried on dancing away. We left at 2200 as Cherry and Mel had to be up for work the next day. We actually had a really good night so I'm pleased we went. Megan and I wanted to stay in bed and be sad for the whole night.
When we got back, we knocked on Megan's door to find Dan and Steve chilling. We went in and stayed there for a while before going to bed. We didn't realise but we were actually quite tipsy. Dan and Meg went to get a McDondald's but I said no. Steve would've eaten it just for the sake of it. We went to bed and I was out like a light.
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Coconut Oil Is Key to These 18 Dessert Recipes
[Photographs: Vicky Wasik]
At a recent stop on my book tour, someone asked if I had any "pet" ingredients that the average baker may not have on hand. In the heat of the moment, all I could think of was malted milk powder, what I call the "umami bomb" of dessert. As handy as malted milk powder can be when it comes to layering a toasty/malty flavor into desserts, the secret workhorse of my kitchen is undoubtedly coconut oil.
Like any oil, it's a pure fat, but what sets coconut oil apart is that it's solid but creamy at room temperature (well, when "room temperature" falls between 70°F and 74°F). That means it behaves more like butter or shortening in baked goods, creaming up light and fluffy when beaten with sugar.
Coconut oil melts quickly on the tongue due to a melting point well below body temperature, so it doesn't feel greasy like shortening or cold butter. Refined coconut oils like LouAna or Nutiva are absolutely neutral, with no taste or aroma whatsoever, while virgin coconut oil can have flavor that ranges from mild to intense depending on the brand (Coco Vita is my favorite when it comes to coconuttiness).
These properties allow coconut oil to wear a number of hats in the kitchen, functioning like shortening in snickerdoodles, like fry oil with doughnuts, like butter in scones, like liquid oil in banana bread. While this is by no means a complete list of desserts where coconut oil comes in handy, these recipes go a long way in demonstrating the scope of its utility.
[Video: Serious Eats Team]
Oil's a common ingredient in quick breads, but switching from liquid oils such as canola to solid coconut oil gives my banana bread a lingering richness that's hard to beat. To use coconut oil as a replacement for liquid oil in other quick breads, all you have to do is melt it down. As the coconut oil cools, you may notice the batter is thicker than usual, but this won't cause any ill effects (in fact, it will encourage the quick bread to crown in the oven, a rather beautiful touch).
Banana Bread Recipe »
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Because refined coconut oil is odorless, flavorless, and solid at room temperature, with a shelf-life of more than a year, it's the perfect foundation for homemade brownie mix. Keep a jar on the shelf, and when you're ready to bake simply add eggs, water, and vanilla. The results are as chewy as any store bought brownie, and just as glossy, but with the deep, complex flavor of top notch Dutch cocoa and dark chocolate.
Homemade Brownie Mix Recipe »
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Thanks to its neutral flavor, refined coconut oil makes a fantastic replacement for butter in recipes, as in this recipe for lemon blueberry scones. By taming down the toasty, brown butter flavor scones usually develop as they bake, coconut oil puts the spotlight on the the bright flavor of fresh fruit while producing a scone that's even more rich and tender.
Coconut oil has a slightly lower melting point than butter, so when using it as a replacement in your favorite recipes, it may help to refrigerate the dough after shaping it into a wheel. Once it firms up, slice and bake as directed.
Lemon Blueberry Scones Recipe »
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[Video: Natalie Holt]
As in fresh fruit scones, coconut oil limits browning in rolled sugar cookies. Not only does this keep the cookies pale—snowflakes stay snowy white—but coconut oil enriches the cookies and extends their shelf life beyond those made from butter alone.
Of course, sugar cookies should taste like butter, so I use a roughly 50/50 blend for the best of both worlds. Trading a bit of butter for coconut oil is a great way to help your favorite cookies last a little longer, which is especially useful for shipping holiday care packages.
Rolled Sugar Cookies Recipe »
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Refined coconut oil is an essential ingredient in these homemade Wheat Thins, where its neutral flavor lets the taste of whole grains and barley malt really shine—these distinctive little crackers brown too deeply when made with butter, giving them a dark and nutty sort of character.
Homemade Wheat Thins Recipe »
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[Video: Serious Eats Team]
If you never make doughnuts because you're turned off by that notorious fried food smell, frying with refined coconut oil's gonna rock your world. Compared to most liquid fry oils, refined coconut oil contains fewer volatile organic compounds, giving it a cleaner aroma and flavor. When I fried up these DIY Donettes in our tiny office last year, no one even realized I was in the kitchen.
Aside from giving you the ability to stealth-fry at home, refined coconut oil returns to its solid state at room temperature, which gives fried foods a lighter, crisper texture once they cool, so fried foods taste less greasy, whether you're making fish and chips or cannoli. While the same could be said of any solid fat, alternatives like lard and palm oil can be difficult to source in bulk for many folks, whereas refined coconut oil can be purchased by the gallon from warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam's, or online (by the gallon, Nutiva coconut oil is just 14 cents per ounce).
Homemade Donettes Recipe »
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Due to its size and density, pound cake takes ages to bake, so adding a bit of refined coconut oil can help keep it from drying out after a long stint in the oven; better yet, the added fat from coconut oil improves the shelf life of the finished product as well. Coconut oil's a key player in my own sour cream pound cake, but it's a trick you can make use of in your own favorite recipes. Next time you make a pound cake, try replacing 25% of the butter with coconut oil for an extra dose of richness.
Sour Cream Pound Cake »
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Copycat recipes are a great place to make use of refined coconut oil, where its richness and neutral flavor help baked goods better mimic their store bought counterparts. Beyond that, refined coconut oil is a great tool for developing vegan variations of your favorite commercial snacks, such as chocolate digestive biscuits. Even my Homemade Oreos can be veganized on the fly with an equal weight of coconut oil in place of butter.
Digestive Biscuits Recipe »
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I love refined coconut oil for its neutrality for the most part, but the flavor and aroma of virgin coconut oil can be used to strategic effect. My coconut layer cake and creamy coconut frosting are based on my vanilla butter cake and Swiss buttercream, with virgin coconut oil standing in for a portion of the butter (among other tweaks). Aside from lending its signature flavor, coconut oil improves the shelf life of the frosted cake with its added richness.
Coconut Layer Cake Recipe »
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As in my lemon blueberry scones, coconut oil's neutral flavor keeps the lemon flavor of my ginger lemon creme filling bright and fresh. Since coconut oil is solid at room temperature and free from water, it also keeps the powdered sugar filling thick and sturdy so it doesn't go squishing out with every bite. If you'd like to take advantage of that fact with your own favorite sandwich cookies, try using refined coconut oil instead of butter in the filling (or virgin coconut oil if you'd like to add a hint of flavor).
Ginger Lemon Cremes Recipe »
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Since refined coconut oil melts at a relatively low temperature, about 75°F, it's the perfect foundation for making creamy, spreadable speculoos cookie butter at home. Blended with a thick paste made from dissolved cookie crumbs, it makes a fun alternative to peanut butter in no-bake applications.
Cookie Butter Recipe »
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[Video: Serious Eats Team]
Refined coconut oil is the key to our shelf-stable pancake mix, which can sit on the shelf for months on end. Because the oil is added up front, the mix itself couldn't be easier; when you're ready for breakfast, the batter is ready to go as soon as you stir in a splash of milk and an egg.
Homemade Pancake Mix »
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In this recipe, coconut oil stands in for 50% of the butter in what amounts to a basic sugar cookie dough. That cuts back on the toasty brown butter notes that cookies develop as they bake, giving the finished product a clean vanilla flavor that contrasts beautifully with the bold, bitter flavor of crumbled Oreos (whether store bought or homemade) for a cookies and cream-themed cookie.
Cookies 'n' Cream Cookies Recipe »
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Like butter, coconut oil can be creamed with sugar until fluffy and light, so it's my go-to choice for vegan-izing chocolate chip cookies. To make up for refined coconut oil's lack of flavor, I spike the dough with dry malt extract to evoke the same nutty, toasted notes that butter develops as it browns in a traditional dough. So while these chocolate chip cookies may be vegan, they sure don't taste like it.
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe »
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On its own, pure chocolate seems waxy when frozen because eating ice cream or gelato will chill our tongues down, making it difficult for the chocolate to warm and melt. As a result, long after the ice cream has melted away, the chocolate itself will linger in our mouths as a cold, unmelting lump. These problems disappear with a spoonful of refined coconut oil, a flavorless, odorless addition that lowers the chocolate's melting point, for stracciatella gelato with crisp and snappy chips that melt-in-your-mouth.
Stracciatella Gelato Recipe »
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[Video: The Serious Eats Team]
As with the chocolate shards in stracciatella, refined coconut oil gives the outer shell of homemade Klondike Bars a satisfying snap. To keep that coating whisper thin and delicate, the ratio of coconut oil is bumped all the way to 50% of the chocolate by weight. That proportion creates a chocolate coating that's runny and thin while warm, making the ice cream bars easy to dip, and beautifully glossy once set.
Homemade Klondike Bars Recipe »
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[Video: Serious Eats Team]
To help the freeze-dried strawberry and crispy rice coating stick, these berries 'n cream ice cream bars are dipped in white chocolate cut with refined coconut oil. As with our homemade Klondike bars, coconut oil serves to keep the white chocolate shell snappy and thin, so as not to detract from the crispy, colorful, and fruity outer layer of an old-fashioned strawberry shortcake bar.
Homemade Strawberry Shortcake Bars Recipe »
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A little coconut oil helps enrich our banana granola while keeping it crisp and dry. Use refined coconut oil for a neutral flavor, or let the flavor and aroma of virgin coconut oil elevate banana's tropical vibe.
Banana Granola Recipe »
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This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Serious Eats. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.
Source: https://www.seriouseats.com/roundups/baking-with-coconut-oil
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WHAT I EAT IN A DAY! HEALTHY WHAT I ATE TODAY! DINNER, SNACK AND MORE!
New Post has been published on http://healingawerness.com/healty-recipes/healthy-recipes-for-dinner/what-i-eat-in-a-day-healthy-what-i-ate-today-dinner-snack-and-more/
WHAT I EAT IN A DAY! HEALTHY WHAT I ATE TODAY! DINNER, SNACK AND MORE!
everyone a happy it's Friday today I think I need to get a tripod from the film on my iPhone so I'm sorry this is shaky I'm off to Pilates it is so cold if my hands are gonna freeze off because it's like not even 7:00 am
yet it's still dark so I'm sorry but I'm not sure you guys want to eat today so I have a short americano with the national milk that's because caffeine actually helps you burn fat while you work out so it's a great pre-workout and then I had half of a made both are X bar one whole one is too much remove the core Pilates oh wait I was getting good sorry guys everyone and so I'm done Pilates and I just got banana um butter but I ask for less banana so I always do 1/4 banana and kale spin it a little bit hey guys so sorry fat was a bit rushed and vlog this morning but I am now shooting with my friend and we're tying there's like taste test for Kelly's if you guys live in the GTA you need to check out Kelly's bait shop hit it amazing I'm so proud of doing like a little story and like the benefits of everything in between that so mind you it'll be gone because it's on my story by the time this goes up channel but it's fun so you should go check out Kelly's it's gluten free vegan soy free free of all that kind of like crappy stuff and just feel good sound for you so okay we're gonna shoot everyone so I'm back at home now I did stop at a poky shop to get some lunch and they had this miso soup so I decided to try it out and the cup says you make me so happy I thought that was adorable if you didn't know miso soup is actually really good for you it helps balance your gut bacteria so it helps with leaky gut so if you've got issues it can be really good it's packed with probiotics so it's really good like option to like have a soup to drink and this was really yummy so if you haven't tried miso soup I would try that out but I also got a pokeball which I will show you so this is the pokeball I got a base of zucchini noodles and then there's raw tuna cucumber edamame a little bit some purple cabbage the I'm no know what they're called but they're like the fish eggs the seaweed I'm some watermelon radish and then I just got a couple of the gluten-free sauce they had a couple of the different ones and then they also had this winter special for these Szechuan edamame so I decided to try them out soo burgers I had to eat sorry if I see him a little bit like frazzled in this vlog I'm just a little bit stressed right now I do start 11 exams starting Monday and today's Friday so a little bit stressed out my skin is breaking out it's it's a tough time but you know what I wanted to vlog because then you guys see that it's not all like sunshine and rainbows I get stressed I get overwhelmed and I'm trying to like pre film videos and get stuff ready to go for when I have my exams it's not going so well to get stuff pre done but you know we're gonna try our best and hopefully it's good so I'm gonna eat lunch and then I'm probably gonna have one of those Kelly's treat so I'll show you which one that I pick out which they probably won't last very long they're probably gone in a couple days but I'd rather have something like that that's like better for you and made with good things and then you won't feel like crap afterwards it should be good so I don't know if I mentioned it before but all their stuff is vegan plant-based gluten free egg free peanut free and all that so I'm gonna try what I think is pumpkin spice doughnut um yeah you guys should let me know if you enjoy these types of like more casual vlogs drinking my remnant of a latte that I got in between getting the pokey place waiting for the pokey place to open and shooting that stuff for Kelly's she saw I just ate the donut it was super yummy this is just an almond milk latte it's in a jar because I wanted to transport it from the coffee type place and didn't want to hold it because it's so cold outside that holding a cup like my hands would freeze so I put it in a mason jar and then like can put the mason jar in my purse I need to get a bigger purse because the purse I have but barely holds everything but on my Christmas list so you know hopefully Santa comes – what else do I have to tell you i'ma show you guys some of like my things that I'm loving right now cuz I feel like I miss favorite videos this will kind of be like what I eat in a day and health things I've been loving I'm thinking that's a good idea hopefully you guys like it you guys can't tell me because it's gonna be up already so hopefully that is the plan I have to go to school later hey guys so I set up a little iPhone tripod to show you a couple of my favorites right now so the first one is this bulletproof coconut charcoal you guys saw me talk about this in a Whole Foods haul I've been really liking it or if you're going out to eat or just relieve gas and bloating in general when you're really stressed you're more likely to get bloated and because I'm super stressed that's the thing my next one you can really kind of see it in the frame is this holiday nog from Khalifa farms if you're from Toronto or the GTA the only place that has this is called Summer Hill Market in Summer Hill otherwise if you live in the state I'm jolly that you can get this readily but this one is really good it's the best vegan nog that I've tried and when I was little I used to love nog and this is great even to make pancakes with to make waffles I believe I need egg nog pancakes in a video last year so I'm gonna leave that down below but this one is the best one that I've tried in the last favorite is actually ear acupuncture so I don't think you guys can see but I've used this if you follow me on Instagram you've seen it before I'm going to try to do a close-up but I can't see if it's in the frame but it's little tack that's inside my ear and it's in the point called Shen minh and this point basically it decreases anxiety it helps with insomnia it helps with stress and it is night and day for me when I have this in so I'm actually gonna switch this one out and put a new one in this one's been out for about in for about a week and it's a small tack it's literally like a few millimeters inside your ear and you can press it when you want some added like effect and it works through acupuncture um to basically regulate all that kind of stuff so if you're a person that gets stressed anxious I would really look into acupuncture and getting a tack put in I love acupuncture in general just getting it done but when you have a tack in like this it allows the benefit to be had all week long which is great so I would just look look hook up an acupuncturist in your area or Google Shen men if you want to know more about it like shen man acupuncture or acupressure boy those are few my favorites I was thinking about doing a more natural skin care routine soon just because I've been switching more to a natural skin care routine and I found a lot of good things apart from the fact that I'm breaking out because I'm stressed right now it's been going well so I think I want to kind of do that to let me know that something you want to see in 2018 what else just let me know kind of vlogs you guys would want to see or what topics you want me to touch on because I don't want to peat myself but I don't know what you want to hear about I was thinking about doing lately I've kind of like I don't know lost weight but kind of like toned up so I was gonna do a video on like how I got leaner or how I like I don't think I actually physically lost weight because I gained a lot of muscle so weights probably say the same has not gone up but um like more leaner cuz I had to like go down and Jean sighs so if you guys want a video on that I will do that because it's like I don't know the last like little bit of like you know when you want to like tone up it's like I worked really hard so if you guys want to hear my tips for that I will do that um I think I have to get to school yep I was just leaving like 10 minutes well technically this would be there all morning but I had to shoot something so yeah I'm pretty much gonna study tonight and I was gonna make cauliflower rice cauliflower chicken fried rice so you guys are sticking around to see me make that me super casual but yeah I'm hoping that this iPhone like iPhone X vlogging is turning out because I bought the iPhone X that it could be really easy kind of vlog on the go now wouldn't need to carry two cameras but if it doesn't I might have to bite the bullet and get the g7x mark to but this bone was already like I bought it off contract so is there any kind of expensive I'm hoping I'm hoping it looks good hey guys so it's a bit later now and as you can see I'm in my pajamas because as soon as I get home from school I change into my pajamas but I'm making uh some tea and I want to show you guys my favorite holiday team it's this sugar cookie sleigh ride you can find it at most grocery stores and it's so good I like to double up on the tea bag to make it strong and then I'm gonna add in a scoop of my vital proteins collagen peptides it dissolves completely it has no taste but it's good for your gut your joints your hair your skin and your nails this so I have a pan heating to about medium heat and I'm gonna be putting on some avocado oil it's great because it has a higher smoke point and if you use something like olive oil its scorch and then you get free radicals which will ultimately can cause cancer so I've also added in a little bit of garlic into the mixture I'm going to stir that up until it gets nice and golden and then I'm going to be adding in some frozen then I'm gonna add in my cauliflower right and then I could use these garlic sauce easy you can throw in whatever veggies you have so this is it all finished up I put it in my little snowman bowl and I added in some green onions on the top as well as some chili flakes and a little bit of leftover chicken you can do tofu I released just my way of like throwing a bunch of leftovers like veggies and then whatever kind of protein weird some cauliflower rice and you kind of have like an Asian stir-fry it's super yummy so I froze everything else and I'm going to eat the gingerbread lemon that cupcake yeah that's probably it for today I'm drinking some flow water it's alkalizing it's really good for you I still have some leftover tea and I'm just been studying so this is probably going to be it
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15 Trans Fats Foods To Avoid For Weight Loss And Better Health
Trans fats are your worst enemies. According to the American Heart Association and scientific research, trans fats increase the risk of heart disease, obesity, inflammation, and cancer (1), (2). To counteract this, the FDA has put restrictions on the use of trans fats (3). Unfortunately, many foods we routinely overconsume are still loaded with partial trans fats.
So, if you think you have gained weight, are finding it hard to lose weight, and don’t feel as fit as you used to be, you should start avoiding trans fats. This article lists 15 trans fat foods that are fatal and belong to the bin instead of your gut. Take a look.
But first, you’ve got to know why trans fats are so bad for your health. Let me take you back to basics and help you understand what trans fats really are and how they affect the body.
What Are Trans Fats?
Trans fats are unsaturated fatty acids. They are found in meager amounts in milk, butter, lamb, and beef. But these natural sources of trans fats are not dangerous when consumed in moderation. Let me tell you why and which sources of trans fats are unhealthy.
The chemical structure of the unsaturated fatty acids has more than one double bond and a “cis” (on the same side of the double bond) configuration. However, many food companies routinely use trans fats by partially hydrogenating the cis-trans fats. The trans configuration helps enhance the taste, increase the shelf life, and is inexpensive. But this “trans” (diagonally opposite side of the double bond) is dangerous for your health.
These trans fats lower the good cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) and increase bad cholesterol (LDL cholesterol), thereby increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. They also cause weight gain, which ultimately leads to diabetes and obesity-related health complications.
So, it is best that you avoid foods that are high in trans fats. Scroll down to take a look at the 15 high trans fats foods.
15 Foods High In Trans Fats
1. Cakes And Pies
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Cakes and pie mixes contain a lot of trans fats. Though they may list 0 trans fats, according to the rules and guidelines, the companies are allowed to write 0 g trans fats if they contain 0.5 g trans fats per serving. And as you know, not many of us stick just one serving. Several servings can make you pile on trans fats and lead to arterial blocks in the long run.
2. Biscuits, Cookies, And Crackers
Biscuits, crackers, and cookies all have a flaky texture. And most food companies use trans fats to build the crunchy texture that we love so much. Trans fats increase the shelf life, which allows them to sell the product for a longer time and helps the buyer to store them for months. Make biscuits, cookies, and crackers using healthy oils and less sugar or a substitute of refined sugar, which are healthier than the packaged ones.
3. Margarine, Butter, Tallow, And Lard
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Animal fats like tallow and lard and dairy fats like margarine and butter are storehouses of unhealthy trans fats. A pat of butter contains 0.2 grams of trans fats, but we consume a lot more butter than just a pat of it per day. One tablespoon of margarine contains 2.1 grams of trans fats, and tallow and lard are animal fats used to make fries and other fried foods. At high temperatures, tallow and lard become toxic and unhealthy for your heart.
4. Microwave Popcorn
The flavored and crispy popcorn in the movies is a match made in heaven. But make sure you don’t get your ticket to heaven so quick! Popcorn, in general, is a great source of fiber and vitamins, but not the microwaved or movie popcorns. So, it is best to avoid consuming packaged popcorn.
5. Breakfast Sandwiches
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If you are in the habit of grabbing a packaged sandwich in the morning, you are probably consuming a whole lot of trans fats in the first meal of your day. The packaged sandwiches contain about 1 gram of trans fats and have other ingredients that contain partially hydrogenated oils. So, avoid consuming packaged breakfast sandwiches. Have a bowl of oatmeal instead.
6. Doughnuts
Many of us loovee doughnuts. But they are loaded with carbs, and the deep frying in oil also makes them overloaded with trans fats. And if you have icing on them, you are probably consuming the worst and dangerous type of doughnuts. Ban doughnuts from your diet completely to improve your heart health and blood lipid profile.
7. Cream-Filled Candies
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Cream filled candies are yummy and gooey. And each candy contains about 0.5 grams of trans fats. But the catch is, we don’t stop at just one candy, do we? Consuming too many cream-filled candies can build up a ton of trans fats in your body. Plus, they are loaded with sugar, which will make you gain weight and prevent you from losing it.
8. Fried Foods
Crispy fried foods taste great, and the crunch adds to the whole experience of the food. The labels may say 0 g trans fats, but as mentioned before, the FDA allows the companies to declare 0 g trans fats in one serving if they contain 0.5 g trans fats per serving. We tend to overconsume fried foods because they taste great, and we literally cannot stop ourselves. So, it is best to avoid consuming fried foods at all occasions.
9. Frozen Foods
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Frozen foods like frozen pizza and frozen ready-to-eat foods are high in trans fats along with carbs, salt, and sugar. These contain about 1 g trans fats per serving, and just like any other fried foods, we all can go overboard and consume a lot of them without even realizing it. Avoid buying these foods so that you can cut down on your trans fats intake.
10. Peanut Butter
Peanuts are healthy, but they are also high in calories. Peanuts contain healthy fats – but they can only help if you consume them in limited amounts. Partially hydrogenated palm oil is used in packaged peanut butter to prevent the natural oils found in peanut from rising. And this is where things go downhill for peanut butter lovers. The next time you think of finishing half the jar of peanut butter, think of the number of trans fats you are consuming and what it can do to your heart.
11. Blended Vegetable Oils
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Blended vegetable oils are a blend of vegetable oils that are refined, deodorized, and bleached. These vegetable oils are used in cooking, frying, baking, icing, filling, and savory glazes. The more you heat the oil, the more the chances that you will consume trans fats. Avoid deep frying or stir-frying foods in these oils. Also, choose a healthy substitute for these oils to keep the trans fats levels to the minimum.
12. Baked Foods
Baked foods like puffs, patisseries, croissants, and tarts are delicious but loaded with trans fats. The packaged ones, especially. The trans fats make these foods crispy and flaky, which adds to the taste. Try making them at home using healthy sources of fat. They may not turn out “restaurant type” but will definitely be the “healthy type.”
13. Pancakes And Waffles
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Great for breakfast, yes, but not so great for your health. Especially if you prepare the pancakes and waffles with a readymade pancake and waffle mix. Prepare the batter at home and use a healthy oil or none at all to make the pancakes.
14. Ice Cream
Ice cream lovers, here’s the bad news. The ice creams that you get from the market are high in sugar and trans fats and can increase the risk of heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Make some homemade popsicles or add fruits to frozen yogurt or just make a batch of ice cream at home.
15. Non-Dairy Creamers
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Non-dairy creamers do not contain the traditional cream. And to make up for the taste and texture, they contain trans fats, especially the flavored ones, like French vanilla, hazelnut, etc. Use traditional creamers or consume black coffee or green tea to avoid consuming trans fats from these creamers.
There you go – 15 foods high in trans fats that you must avoid. I know, you must be thinking how boring your life would be without these yummy foods. But the dangers they pose are not fictional. Lower your trans fats intake gradually, and you will see a positive difference in your attitude toward food and your body. So, say NO today, say NO now! Take care!
The post 15 Trans Fats Foods To Avoid For Weight Loss And Better Health appeared first on STYLECRAZE.
The article source is here:Style Craze
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Five Restaurants to Try This Weekend Around Boston: Bao Edition
Stuffed with everything from pork belly to fried oysters
Welcome back to Five Restaurants to Try This Weekend, a weekly column in which the Eater Boston team recommends, well, five restaurants to try this weekend. Every Friday, we offer up a blend of old and new spots, typically including a mix of suggestions in Boston proper, Cambridge/Somerville, and farther afield. Sometimes there’s a topical theme; sometimes we just share our favorite standbys or the new places that are exciting us. Bookmark this page for updates; we add new recommendations to the top each week. Can’t hit ‘em all in one weekend? That’s what next weekend is for.
Want more recommendations from Eater staff and fellow readers? Join the Eater Boston Facebook group. Want to make sure your favorite hidden gem is on our radar? Send tips to us via email.
March 23, 2018: The Bao Edition
Today’s theme is bao, simply because we’ve been eating them a lot lately and want to share a few recent favorites with you. Bao is a bit of an ambiguous word; it pops up on menus all over town to refer both to fully enclosed baozi (steamed or baked buns stuffed with various meats or other fillings) and to the wide world of variations on gua bao, or pork belly buns, which sort of resemble a fluffy taco or a sandwich where the bread’s connected on one side. Boston’s got both, but we’re just going to focus on the latter today — steamed bread folded around the traditional filling of pork belly or a range of other meats, sauces, and toppings.
For a meal that fuses Japanese food with Spanish and beyond: Now a little over a year old, Pagu is part of the increasingly awesome edge of Central Square by MIT, a short stretch of Massachusetts Avenue that includes Saloniki, A4cade, Naco Taco, Abide, and lots more. The pork belly bao, served with pickles, peanuts, and cilantro, is exceptional, and there’s another option as well — jet-black squid ink oyster bao, stuffed with panko oyster, “norioli” (nori aioli, naturally), and purple cabbage. Decidedly less traditional; equally worth trying. Also eat: jamón ibérico, Guchi’s midnight ramen, and cedar campfire black cod. 310 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge
For a fun, boozy meal to a loud hip-hop soundtrack: You know it; you love it. Shojo is still going strong in Chinatown — and it’s now a big sibling to two nearby spots, BLR by Shojo and Ruckus. Order a cocktail and get the bulgogi beef bao (with marinated carrots and shinko pear gochujang), the Shojo pig bao (smoked barbecue sauce, kimchi, jalapeno), or the curry cauliflower bao (black bean mayo, onion rings, pea greens). Also eat: pork belly dumplings and shadowless fries. 9A Tyler St., Chinatown, Boston
For a Tiki hangover that is totally worth it: New downtown spot Tiki Rockis a blast. It’s colorful, it’s noisy, and it’s serving up a variety of Tiki drinks that’ll make you happy and pretty tipsy. The food menu focuses on sushi, but there are also some non-sushi entrees, skewers, and appetizers, including the pork belly bun. The pork has a chili maple soy glaze, and it’s served with uni mayo, lettuce, and nori seasoning. Also eat: coconut shrimp and winter squash dumplings, and how about a bowl of ramen at Oisa Ramen next door? 2 Broad St., Downtown Boston
For even more sushi and even more cocktails: Here’s another loud, energy-packed, sushi-packed, boozy option — Fat Baby in South Boston. There’s steak bao (skirt steak, hoisin, pickled Fresnos, bean sprouts) and chicken bao (Thai herbs, carrot, daikon, green chiles, hoisin, and “boom boom” aioli). The Loco Taqueria & Oyster Bar sibling also has some solid cocktails. Also eat: the crispy rice cake snack with tuna, any of the crudo options, and the spicy tuna roll. 118 Dorchester St., South Boston
For bao that are not quite bao but eat them anyway: This is theleast bao-like option of the bunch, but Eventide Fenway’s acclaimed brown butter lobster roll and fried oyster bun are served on light, squishy bao-style buns. It’s an easy win for anyone who loves bao and seafood. Also eat: Maine lobster stew, the green salad, and brown butter soft serve. 1321 Boylston St., Fenway, Boston
March 16, 2018: The Beard Edition
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater
Harissa barbecue duck at Sarma
The James Beard awards — aka the “Oscars of the food world” — are coming up fast, and the nominee list was just announced earlier this week, including a handful of local folks. For the inaugural edition of Five Restaurants to Try This Weekend, we’re featuring restaurants from Boston’s nominees.
For a truly lovely meal you probably won’t be able to eat this weekend because the restaurant’s basically booked up forever: Look, it’s probably too late to get reservations to Sarma for this weekend; sorry. Plan ahead for next weekend…or, like, a month from now. (Or walk in and put your name on the bar waitlist. Try showing up right at 5 p.m. on Sunday.) From Best Chef: Northeast nominee Cassie Piuma, Sarma — sibling to Oleana and Sofra (home to Outstanding Baker nominee Maura Kilpatrick) — serves up “an exhilarating survey of the herbaceous, sun-baked flavors of the Middle East,” according to Eater’s national critic Bill Addison, who named it to his 2016 list of the best restaurants in America. Highlights on the current menu include the Black Sea cornbread, venison wrapped dates, and harissa barbecue duck (pictured above). When ordering, save room for the specials that circulate the room like dim sum, especially the fried chicken. 249 Pearl St., Winter Hill, Somerville
For a dim sum brunch: Sarma’s got its dim sum-like trays of specials; Myers + Chang has dim sum brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. — you’ve got plenty of time to sleep in. The self-proclaimed “indie diner,” a longtime South End staple, serves a “very personal interpretation of Chinese, Taiwanese, Thai, and Vietnamese specialties,” which includes brunch necessities like Mama Chang’s pork and chive dumplings; grilled corn with Sriracha butter; tea smoked ribs; wild boar dan dan noodles (“hotterest” on the restaurant’s spicy scale); and lots more. Executive chef and partner Karen Akunowicz is a nominee for Best Chef: Northeast. 1145 Washington St., South End, Boston
For a mai tai-soaked brunch: Let’s say you make it to Myers + Chang for Saturday brunch. Why not hit up Tiger Mamafor Sunday brunch (11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.), from Best Chef: Northeast nominee Tiffani Faison? There’s everything from Fruity Pebbles doughnuts to a bacon and cheddar-stuffed waffle that comes with Thai chili butter and maple-glazed bacon, not to mention a rotating selection of enticing cocktails. Past Sundays have featured mai tais; a bloody mary that included tamari, sambal, and wasabi; and more. 1363 Boylston St., Fenway, Boston
For a baller sushi feast: Go nuts at Uni, and don’t even worry about thinking — there are a number of omakase options that leave it all in the hands of the chef, spanning from a 10-piece nigiri omakase ($58) up to $185 for an epic tasting of the restaurant’s immaculate sushi. There are plenty of other ways to drop some major cash here as well, from a whole tray of Maine uni for DIY hand rolls ($65) to beluga hybrid caviar ($375). While sushi’s the focus, there are some don’t-miss hot dishes as well. Our pick: the Korean rice cakes with kalbi oxtail, kimchi butter, and gremolata. Chefs and partners Ken Oringer and Tony Messina are both up for Beards — Oringer for Outstanding Restaurateur and Messina for Best Chef: Northeast. 370 Commonwealth Ave., the Eliot Hotel, Back Bay, Boston
For the weirdest “I can’t believe this menu actually works” menu: Oringer is also behind, among other spots, Little Donkey in Cambridge’s Central Square, which he co-owns with Jamie Bissonnette. (The two of them recently debuted a ready-made food crawl that brings diners to Toro, Coppa, and Little Donkey in a row, with transportation included in the price.) When the duo opened Little Donkey in 2016 — one of the top newcomers of the year — they spoke about how they’re tied to certain themes at their other restaurants, but Little Donkey is a place to break the rules and cook whatever they want. That means that matzo ball ramen co-exists with an extensive raw bar selection, duck nachos, seriously spicy Jamaican jerk chicken wings, and lots more. It shouldn’t work. It does. Don’t miss the manti (Istanbul meat ravioli), poke, or Parker House rolls. 505 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge
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A Week In New York City On A $40,000 Salary
Welcome to Money Diaries , where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking millennials how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we're tracking every last dollar. Have a money diary you'd like to share? Right now, in addition to our ongoing diaries, we're looking for potential diarists along the following theme: Your Spending In Your State: Starting in January, we want to run one Money Diary from a different state each day. Want to rep your state? Submit here ! This week: We're looking at Money Diaries during the (often expensive) holiday season to see how people save up — and spend. Today, for the last entry of our holiday MDs: a film distributor who makes $40,000 per year. She spends some of her money on mini-chocolate champagne bottles. Occupation: Film Distributor Industry: Film Age: 26 Location: New York, NY Salary: $40,000 Paycheck (Once Per Week): $598.07 Monthly Expenses Housing: $550. I live in a family-owned apartment. My roommate and I each pay my parents $550 per month to cover the taxes, fees, and utilities my parents pay on the apartment. Loan Payments: $0 All Other Monthly Expenses Gym: $10.45 MoviePass: $9.95 Spotify: $9.99 Health Insurance: $179 Hulu Netflix: $0. I use my parents' accounts. Cable Internet, Water Electricity: $0. Included in $550 rent payment. Day One 10:30 a.m. — I get out of bed after my Emergency Don't-Sleep-Later-Than-This alarm goes off, and am uncharacteristically energetic. I slip on jeans and a t-shirt, eat a hard-boiled egg, make a pot of coffee for my thermos, brush my teeth, and head out the door. Trader Joe's is packed, even though it's before noon on a Sunday. Last night, I babysat with my best friend and she told me about a “cleanse” she recently started. The dietary restrictions and required discipline seemed too farfetched for me, but my biggest takeaway was to try cutting my sugar intake. She says that doing so has worked wonders for her skin and energy levels. I normally spend $30-35 per week on groceries, but spend a bit more today. I buy Stevia packets, avocados, green peppers, bananas, Greek yogurt, spinach, three pre-packed salads, frozen chicken breasts, chicken sausage, brie, two boxes of pasta, and frozen berries. $53.37 1 p.m. — I take the subway (my company pays for my monthly MetroCard) to the Upper East Side to meet a college friend for bagels at H H. I spring for lox and we catch up for a while before walking a few blocks north to see Coco ! I have a MoviePass subscription so my ticket (normally $15) is “free”! We laugh, we cry, we leave, and it's dark out because winter is coming. $11.92 4:45 p.m. — Hop on the downtown subway and instead of going home, walk into DSW. I have $140 of babysitting cash burning a hole in my wallet, and I need a new pair of boots. I spend nearly an hour perusing, but nothing speaks to me, so I leave empty-handed and walk home. I get home and am craving something sweet, so I have a few too many pretzel M Ms. Cutting down on sugar is going really well. 8:30 p.m. — After a few hours of catching up with my roommate, watching last night's episode of Saturday Night Live on Hulu, and journaling, I finally find myself a little hungry. I make organic tomato and roasted red pepper soup! (A.k.a., I heat up Trader Joe's soup on the stove.) Daily Total: $65.29 Day Two 7:25 a.m. — I reluctantly roll out of bed after hitting snooze once and get in the shower. After, I pick my outfit for the day and put my Trader Joe's salad in my bag for lunch. I also remove a frozen chicken breast from the freezer to defrost. I'm not very hungry yet, so I consider waiting to eat breakfast until I get to work. After making a cup of green tea, chatting with the roommate after she returns from yoga (and sharing which T. Swift song is stuck in our heads — “Delicate” in mine, “Gorgeous” in hers), I get dressed and leave my apartment to take the subway into Brooklyn for work. 9:35 a.m. — I arrive, slap on a smile, make a cup of coffee from the Keurig, and raid the snack cabinet for a rice cake. I add peanut butter and honey on top. For the next few hours, I answer various emails, read a lot of tweets, and watch the number of “Articles You Have Left This Month” on The New York Times ' website go down. 1:30 p.m. — Lunch time! I work above a food court, so I take my salad and a book downstairs to the big dining area, and use my full hour to eat, read, and scroll through Instagram. 6:01 p.m. — I am OUTTA there! I'm a firm believer in leaving work when you have no more work to do, so I'm saved by the 6 o'clock bell! I take the subway home, rocking out to a Christmas playlist I made in high school, and taking a detour at the Trader Joe's wine shop. Sometimes there is a line out the door to just get in, but fortunately it's pretty quiet. I grab two bottles of pinot noir because it's Monday — and hey, maybe I'll bring one to a holiday party! (Or not.) I walk home, feeling grateful the day's over. $12.50 8:30 p.m. — Finally feeling hungry, I make chicken, green peppers, and penne after briefly catching up with my roommate before she goes to a concert. I, on the other hand, have been parked on the couch in front of E! News since I got home. 9:30 p.m. — I'm two glasses of wine in, mindlessly swiping through Bumble (I'm newly single), and watching the hilarious Search Party . I'm also scrolling through Twitter (being a millennial is all about multitasking, isn't it?) and reading about the president's endorsement of a child molester for Alabama senator. Furious, I make a donation to Doug Jones' campaign before going to bed. $10 Daily Total: $22.50 Day Three 7:30 a.m. — Getting out of bed is so hard today. It didn't help that I was in the middle of a stress dream when my alarm went off, so I start my day in a weird mood. I hop into the shower, get out, chat with my roommate (she is the absolute best and we love each other very much!), and she leaves early so she can walk to work. I'm not very hungry, so I make a bowl of Greek yogurt with granola and a little honey before I leave. 9:40 a.m. — I get to work a few minutes late and immediately make a coffee from the Keurig. Perhaps the yogurt wasn't as filling as I thought, because the coffee goes right through me and I am jittery AF. The most exciting email I receive is an invite to go into my boss' office to pick a name for Secret Santa. I'm excited that I pick out the name of a girl I know fairly well! I brainstorm what to buy for her, feeling grateful for the $20 limit. 1:30 p.m. — A new employee joins me for lunch, and we go downstairs with our lunches from home. I have a different Trader Joe's salad today that is purely vegetables and I am nervous, but it ends up being pretty tasty and very filling! Maybe what they say about vegetables is true — that you should, like, eat them. 5:55 p.m. — My to-do list has shrunk, and I'm really excited about my evening plans. I leave the office and take the subway to the Greenwich Village. I have a major pizza craving, so I stop into Joe's Pizza but it's cash only. Double ugh: I left my wad of babysitting cash on my bedside table. I withdraw $20 (with a $2.75 fee) from the ATM outside of Joe's, and eat the most delicious slice of cheese pizza ($3) I've had in a long time. $5.75 6:50 p.m. — I walk two blocks through the rain to meet my friend at a cool Belgian beer bar. We haven't seen each other in a few weeks, so after I order a beer (she's been there for a few minutes and already has one) we quickly catch up, commiserate about work, and brainstorm festive Christmas-y things to do together. At 7:30, we realize we're running late to our big event, so we ask for the check and split the bill. I insist on paying for half of “her” fries because I definitely ate half of them. $13 8:15 p.m. — We wait outside in the pouring rain for 30 minutes before finally being let into the movie theatre to see World of Tomorrow 2 , a short film by one of our favorite filmmakers! We are surrounded by fellow film nerds and it is glorious, and the Q A with the filmmaker is an added bonus. Well worth the $15 I spent on the ticket I ordered two weeks ago. After the movie, we split ways and I take the subway home, chat with my roommate, and get ready for bed. Daily Total: $18.75 Day Four 7 a.m. — I'm up earlier than usual today because I have a pre-work coffee meeting at 8. I roll out of bed, change into appropriate attire, and eat a banana. Somehow this takes me 55 minutes, and I realize I'm going to be a few minutes late. So, I power walk up the street to the café where I'm meeting someone for the first time in two years; he messaged me on LinkedIn last week asking to catch up. Networking is so awkward, but it's vital in my industry. 8:15 a.m. — He is running a few minutes late, so I buy myself a coffee to end the awkward stare down I'm getting from the barista. $2.75 9:15 a.m. — The meeting goes really well! He basically tried to offer me a job interview, which was flattering. I would have liked to stay longer but I'm running quite late to work, so I head out and take the subway into Brooklyn. Once I get to the office, I resist taking a free doughnut from one of the FOUR boxes on the kitchen table, and opt to make a rice cake with peanut butter and honey. 1:30 p.m. — I'm borderline hangry after a company-wide “Investing 101” meeting. I eat lunch by myself today, and it's my last Trader Joe's salad of the week. I take my full hour, then come back upstairs with just a few emails to answer. I make a cup of tea in the office kitchen, and get back to work, which consists of emailing a few people and FedExing a couple Blu-rays. 6 p.m. — The workday is done! I take the subway into Manhattan and walk through Washington Square Park to watch the Christmas tree lighting. About 200 people are crowded around the giant tree, singing carols along with a brass band. I stay for about 10 minutes, reveling in holiday cheer, before walking to a bookstore on a mission to buy a Secret Santa gift. I spend 45 minutes wandering the aisles, and end up getting a 2018 planner for myself and a mug for my Secret Santa. $33.86 7:45 p.m. — I walk home and heat up leftover chicken from two nights ago. My roommate comes home from yoga a little after 8, and we catch up and watch Elf together while I paint my nails. Daily Total: $36.61 Day Five 6:30 a.m. — I try to go to the gym before work at least once a week, and today's the day. Out the door at 6:45, I walk to the gym and spend about 45 minutes there. I walk home, say hey to my roommate who has the day off, and hop in the shower. 8:30 a.m. — I am running ahead of schedule for the first time since my first week at my job six months ago. I use that extra time to make a smoothie with soy milk, nonfat Greek yogurt, half an avocado, spinach, and a frozen berry medley. After one sip, I confirm that I am a smoothie genius. I take it to-go, and head to the subway. On my commute, I listen to a “Before a Difficult Conversation” meditation tape. 10:15 a.m. — I've been at work for 35 minutes, and it's time to do something I've been planning for months. I quit my job. Well, I put in my two weeks notice. But yes, I quit my first ever full-time job with (minimal) benefits and a steady salary. It is terrifying and I may have cried a little, but I am so relieved when it's over. I've freelanced in the film industry for the past four years, and while the salary ranges from $10,000-$20,000 per year, my happiness pursuing my various passions fulfills me beyond belief. I text approximately a million friends and receive a wave of congratulatory messages. I absolutely do not need coffee, because between working out this morning and quitting my job, I am feeling energetic AF. Eventually, though, the smell from the coffeemaker in the kitchen draws me in, and I give in. 1:30 p.m. — Thursdays and Fridays are generally the days I treat myself to lunch from a nearby food hall. I stroll inside with a coworker, and we decide on sandwiches. Normally, their wraps are an obscene $14, but on Thursdays, they have an $10 special on everything. Of course, I pick out the wrap that is $1 extra. After tax, my bill comes to $11.98. My coworker and I eat together and dish on my resignation. I am relaxed at lunch for the first time in months. After eating, we take a look inside the chocolate shop in the food hall. They have the cutest chocolate mini-champagne bottles that I've always needed an excuse to buy, and I decide that there's no better day than today to buy them. I pick up two ($6 each) - one for me, one for my sister, who I'm visiting this weekend. $25.05 5:30 p.m. — Everyone in the office ducks out early for a holiday party hosted by the building for all the tenants. There's loud music, dancing, and most importantly: free food and drinks. I have a white wine, a mulled wine ... another mulled wine, and two pieces of pizza. I'm skeptical this will fill me up for dinner, but it's certainly delicious. An hour into the party, I call it a night and take the subway into Manhattan. 7:40 p.m. — My roommate and I meet at our favorite Mexican place for a celebratory drink. Me quitting my job is almost as exciting for her as it is for me, because she's had to spend the last six months consoling me. I order two tacos and a Paloma, and she gets a taco salad and tequila on the rocks. We split the bill and walk home. $29.22 Daily Total: $54.27 Day Six 8 a.m. — I'm taking a mental health/work-from-home day. I love how getting up at 8 feels luxuriously late. I chat with my roommate as she gets ready for work, and I make a cup of tea, eat a banana, and take a shower. 10:45 a.m. — After reading a few emails, I walk around the corner to CVS. I pick up makeup, deodorant, toothpaste, and movie theater candy for my Secret Santa. Normally, I have a bunch of coupons, but today I'm coupon-less and paying full price. Damn. $33.12 12:10 p.m. — I'm starving and a little headachey. I realize I haven't had any coffee yet, so I make a cup from our Nespresso machine and my headache dissipates. Last night, my mom texted to say that she and my dad have a box of cookies for me at their apartment. I walk over to pick them up since they live a few blocks away from me. On my way home, I stop in Pret A Manger to buy a sandwich, as I don't have any lunch food at home. $8.15 2 p.m. — After a 30-minute work conference call, I take the bags I packed this morning and walk to the subway to get to Penn Station. I get there with about 20 minutes to spare before my train, and it's a nice change from frantically running through the station. I buy a one-way NJ Transit ticket to Philadelphia. Off to see my big sister! $26 5:30 p.m. — I get to Philadelphia, and per my sister's instructions, take a trolley to meet her at a restaurant. The trolley ticket is $2.50. The trolley system is so confusing compared to the New York subway; there is no way to know where you are because they don't announce each stop! I somehow manage to get off the trolley at the right stop, and walk across the street to meet my sister and her coworkers for dinner. Two glasses of wine and a few slices of pizza later (the four of us split the bill — $29.56 each, including tip), she and I walk back to her place. $32.06 Daily Total: $99.33 Day Seven 9 a.m. — We sleep in a bit and wake up to a winter wonderland! We each have a bowl of cereal in my sister's kitchen, get dressed, and decide to walk through the snow to get coffee. When we get to her favorite coffee place, there are no seats available; looks like everyone in the neighborhood also wanted a picturesque morning! We walk a few more blocks to a vegan doughnut shop and each get a coffee. I also order a cinnamon sugar doughnut, and she orders a lemon raspberry. I pay for both of us. $9.18 10 a.m. — We make a few stops on the walk back to my sister's place, including to a little bookstore, a pet store (sooo tempted to adopt one of the kittens in the window), and her food co-op. She buys groceries so we can make lunch, and insists on paying. 2 p.m. — After we make lunch (rice, beans, and veggie stir fry) and eat a few too many of the cookies my parents gave us, we walk around the corner to watch a free choral performance in the outdoor pavilion of a gardening store. Super cool! 6 p.m. — We spend a few hours warming up in her apartment, then take the trolley ($2.50) into downtown Philly to check out a huge ice rink and winter lodge set up by the river. It is so beautiful and festive, and “All I Want For Christmas Is You” plays about three times in a row. I am in heaven. We warm up next to a fire, then walk into the most Christmas-y looking pub we can find for dinner. Feeling a cold coming on, I order a hot toddy (sister does, too) and am shocked at the low price of $7.50. “Welcome to Philly!” my loving sister taunts. I get a hamburger, she gets fish and chips, and we each get a drink called “Festive Fashioned” after our hot toddies. This spin on the Old Fashioned is a price I'm more used to, $11. Totally worth it. We split the bill. $40.70 8 p.m. — I need to buy another ride on the trolley to get home, and my sister suggests I buy two trolley tokens for $4 instead of one trolley card for $2.50 in case we ride the trolley tomorrow. I'll say it again: the Philly subway/trolley system is confusing. $4 9 p.m. — We get home after an extraordinarily snowy and festive day, and call it a night — happy to be cozy and warm together. Daily Total: $53.88 Money Diaries are meant to reflect individual women's experiences and do not necessarily reflect Refinery29's point of view. Refinery29 in no way encourages illegal activity or harmful behavior. The first step to getting your financial life in order is tracking what you spend — to try on your own, check out our guide to managing your money every day . For more money diaries, click here . Have questions about how to submit or our publishing process? Read our Money Diaries FAQ doc here: r29.co/mdfaqs Life is expensive and oftentimes our salaries don’t totally cover our bills. We want to hear about your side hustle, how much money it brings in, and is it really your passion? Let us know here , and your answer might be featured on Refinery29! Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here? A Week In Baltimore, MD, On A $62,000 Salary True Life: I Found Out About Santa Claus The Hard Way A Week In Houston, TX, On A $47,000 Salary
December 25, 2017 at 02:47PM
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This Guy Hilariously Mocks Annoying Fitness Bloggers’ Instagram Accounts, Including His Own Girlfriend
If you’re on Instagram, you have probably come across a million Fitness Bloggers by now.
They’re everywhere. Everywhere.
This is Amy Hopkinson.
Yes, you guessed it right! She is a fitness blogger!
She is also a gym instructor and Lululemon ambassador, as you can tell by her body.
She has over 25000 followers, and her account is filled with motivational quotes.
Diets.
And of course, pictures showing off her amazing body!
Aaaand this is her boyfriend, Edward Lane.
His Instagram is equally as glorious as Amy’s.
OM A MISSION // Since joining the upper echelons of Instagram’s wellness influencer community I’d been finding it progressively harder to practice what I preach. A full diary of protein launches, avocado brunches, selfies, workout classes, selfies, gym openings, yoga retreats and selfies had a dramatic effect on my anxiety levels. And despite my online persona, I was struggling for headspace. Which is why I’ve started meditating. It’s a brand new trend. Everyone’s talking about it. Sure, some nerds will tell you it’s been around for 3500 years, but what do they know? Right now it’s one of the hottest wellness trends and I really doubt the yogis of ancient India had iPhone apps (duh) so they clearly weren’t doing it right, anyway! Since checking in with myself for 5 minutes a day my cortisol levels have plummeted and I’m feeling more zen than ever. My advice? Focus on you. Make time for self-love (Gross. Not like that. Perv) because at the end of the day wellness and the route to happiness is about putting yourself ahead of all others. Worried this will come across as selfish? Put a good filter on your pic and people will call it inspiring 😘
A post shared by Wellness Ted (@wellness_ted) on Jun 29, 2017 at 5:31am PDT
Mocking fitness bloggers, including his girlfriend, in the best way possible.
Wellness Ted is pretty much my spirit animal.
He finds the whole “fitness blogger” concept hysterical. Here is what he told Mashable:
All of a sudden I was having to stand on the sofa behind her to get a good angle of some porridge unsanitarily close to her feet, or awkwardly skulk behind her to avoid being caught on her morning story. I thought the whole thing was insane. Literally hundreds of people were double-tapping a picture of my girlfriend eating salad – it made absolutely no sense to me. But most of all it cracked me up.
So, just to make people see how ridiculous bloggers look behind their “perfect” selfies, he made an account named @wellness_ted, which is basically an imitation of his girlfriend’s account @wellness_ed. He explains on Instagram that he is “an Unqualified PT, Knowledge-free Nutritionist.”
He shows off his diet, too.
And he posts his own kind of “motivational” quotes.
And progress pictures.
Here is more of his wonderful work:
PROGRESS // On the left – unhealthy. On the right – healthy. At the start of the year I thought the only way to get abs was being restrictive with my diet. Pizza was on the menu – but only in bite size pieces. And, as you can see from the look on my face, I wasn’t happy about it! And then all of a sudden I discovered the WHOLE FOODS DIET. Before that I never knew what whole foods really meant – and then I realised it just meant ALL OF IT. And I’ve not looked back since. For months I’d been enviously scrolling Instagram seeing lean influencers photographing and talking about all the amazing treats they squeeze into their nutrition plans – doughnuts, popcorn, chocolate, peanut butter, chocolate AND peanut butter – while still looking fantastic. Initially I thought they were all a bunch of phoney liars. Taking a picture of doughy goodness before turning to a plate of leaves. But now I know that, contrary to some people’s concerns, everything you see on social media is genuine and real *breathes sigh of relief* And it turns out there’s some science behind it too. Research conducted by the esteemed Dr Oetker – an expert in the field – found that refusing to slice up your pizza and eating it whole means your body has to work harder to break it down. This slowing of digestion prevents the insulin spikes associated with weight gain and helps you to feel fuller for longer, preventing snacking. Now that’s what I call an upper crust health tip! Lunch, anyone?
A post shared by Wellness Ted (@wellness_ted) on Jun 22, 2017 at 5:16am PDT
And the best part is, Amy enjoys it too!
Great job, guys! Keep doing what you love!
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Newlyweds launch Sandy Pony Donuts food truck near Bethany
Coastal Point photos • Shaun M. Lambert: Sandy Pony owners Brea Reeves and Ben Wang, top, show off a dozen of their made-to-order donuts.They may have been still dodging rice, but for the young newlywed couple, it was time to make the doughnuts.
After saying their “I do’s” on June 3, Ben Wang and Brea Reeves were off to the Bethany Beach area just one week later, for the grand opening of their new food truck, Sandy Pony Donuts, on Saturday, June 10, trading in a honeymoon suite for a sweet honeymoon.
“You could say this is our honeymoon,” said Reeves, with a laugh. “We literally are together every second of every day now.”
“Hey, it was her decision to want to work with me,” added Wang, joking back. “I’m probably the harder one to work with, because I always manage to get in the way somehow. But it’s just always worked out.”
While it may just recently be official, marriage-document-wise, the longtime couple and unofficial doctors of dough are by no means strangers to working side by side, battering together for better or worse for going on the last half-decade.
In fact, the Bethany-area shop, next to Atlantic Shoals Surf Shop on Route 1, is actually the third stop on the Sandy Pony Express — the original location opening up in Chincoteague, Va., (also next to the original Atlantic Shoals) now three years ago and second location in Annapolis, Md., being added soon after.
Put simply, when it comes to Sandy Pony, this ain’t their first rodeo.
“We have definitely learned a lot over the last couple of years,” said Reeves of the partnership. “We couldn’t do it alone. We have to have each other.”
“That first summer was kind of when I knew, ‘Hey, I could marry this girl,’” added Wang. “This truck is actually double the size of the one in Chincoteague, though, so that helps, too.”
After making it work long-distance for the first two years of the relationship, the then 24-year olds and recent college grads decided to take the next step and go into business together, with the idea to make doughnuts on-demand in the summer of 2014.
Wang had always been his own boss, starting his own building company in Annapolis out of college — skills he put back to use to build all three Sandy Pony trucks by hand before Reeves went on to design each one’s layout. Reeves had been working as a photographer for NASA in Wallops Island, Va., after college, but when the first truck caught on sooner than expected, she started making doughnuts full time.
“Ben gets a good idea, he makes it happen,” said Reeves. “We just kind of tested [the doughnuts] out. As the summer went on, we kept saying to each other, ‘Hey, this would be really good with this’ and coming up with new ideas.”
From the ‘Sweet 16’ to the ‘27 Club’ (also, açai bowls)
Since starting out with the original sweet 16, Sandy Pony is now saddled with 26 different doughnut options, all available hot and fresh for fans of “hole foods,” as well as an additional fan favorite on the “secret menu” exclusively for loyal customers and stayed-golden pony-boys (and girls) in the know… (Ask about the “King Neptune.”)
Cake-for-breakfast can be as simple as pie with the basic “Raw,” or “Ms. Sandy” with cinnamon-sugar, but customers are free to get glazed without confusion along a menu board featuring so-far favorites such as the “Porky Pony,” with honey-glaze, cinnamon-sugar and bacon; “Dirty Banana,” with banana glaze and Oreo crumble; “Strawberry Stallion,” with strawberry glaze and powdered sugar; “Salted Caramel,” with caramel glaze and pretzels; Wang’s own-personal favorite, “Charlie Brown,” with peanut butter glaze and mini chocolate chips; and Reeves’ go-to “Yabba Dabba Doo-Nut,” with honey glaze and Fruity Pebbles, just to name a few.
Customers are also free to customize from the selection of made-from-scratch original glazes and an array of toppings, all available by the dozen, half-dozen or any other quantity, odd-numbered or no.
For health nuts looking for something aside from doughnuts, Sandy Pony is also putting its signature spin on the açai bowl — a brand new menu item unique to the Bethany location only.
“Ours our a little bit different,” said Reeves. “We shave our bowls, rather than blend them. It actually stays colder longer, so on those hot 100-degree days, it’s not just melting away.”
“The açai bowls have been big for us so far,” added Wang of the custom bowls available with fresh fruit toppings and crunchy granola. “At each location, we try to do a second extra thing. Chincoteague, we do snow cones. In Annapolis, we do bubble tea. And then, here, we’re doing açai bowls.”
They’re also serving up fresh-brewed coffee from City Dock Coffee out of Annapolis, as well as chai tea and plenty of cooler drinks, including juices and chocolate milk for the kids.
Less about making dough, more about the local nuts
Often, while he’s on a mid-day stroll around the harbors of Annapolis, someone will stop Ben Wang and say, “Hey — you’re the doughnut guy!”
Similarly, Reeves is known simply as “the doughnut lady.”
However, despite both graduating from nearby Salisbury University, neither knew much about the Bethany Beach area or its local residents before getting to town.
As soon as they opened up the window on their first day in business, however, that all began to change.
“I was just outside and I just met these people, and now I already have two workout partners,” said Wang with a laugh, of his new friends who offered to let him use their home gym nearby. “The small-town feel is great. Our customers are becoming our friends. Everyone is congratulating us about getting married. It’s a cool feeling.”
“Everyone has been super-super-nice,” added Reeves. “This is the first place that we’ve ever gone where we didn’t really know anybody or anything, but so far everyone here has been really welcoming.”
Now able to spend all their time in Bethany, with a loyal veteran crew minding the stores in Annapolis and Chincoteague, for the recently-hitched honeymooners, getting to know the community through something as simple as a doughnut is what it’s all about.
“The best part is meeting people. I just like to talk to people and hear their story,” said Wang.
“We want to become the town’s local doughnut shop. When I see the line out the door and smiles and kids running around, and families happy, and older couples taking a bite out of one of our doughnuts and telling us, ‘This is how it used to be when I was a kid’ — that’s what it’s all about. It’s just the best feeling. It’s just like, ‘Wow, how does it get any better than this?’”
Sandy Pony Donuts is located at 33230 Coastal Highway, just south of the Sea Colony Market place and right next to Atlantic Shoals Surf Shop on Route 1, south of Bethany Beach. The truck is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, or a full menu, visit www.sandyponydonut.com or check out Sandy Pony on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sandyponydonuts and Instagram at their handle “@sandyponydoughnuts.”
from Coastal Point - Dollars & Sense http://www.coastalpoint.com/content/newlyweds-launch-sandy-pony-donuts-food-truck-near-bethany_06_15_2017-0
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