For the past three days I've been receiving emails from the Dean of Students warning all students not to "walk or bike around or through the Kenmore Square Area" tomorrow. Supposedly during Super Bowl XLII, Patriot fans were so upset that they started turning over cars and setting other cars and garbage cans on fire. Since the Dean and the police are taking care of the safety aspect, I'm putting all my energy into preparing Super Bowl-worthy food.
Wings, pizza, and chips are all classic football foods, but the one I'm most excited for is the chili. Nothing beats watching football with a big bowl of chili and some cornbread to dip in it. To prepare ourselves for tomorrow, a bunch of us are going to Harvard Square's annual "Some Like It Hot Chili Cook-Off". Not only do you get to try innovative chili recipies from some of Boston and Cambridge's best chefs, it's also completely FREE. If you're in Boston definitly hop on the T and head over!
Some delicious chili recipes from a couple of my favorite bloggers:
I can vouch for the Herbivoracious's cornbread -- it is by far the best from-scratch cornbread recipe I've had. Another bonus is it doesn't use real corn -- I'm not a fan of corn pieces in my cornbread.
A trend I've been noticing lately is more and more people and restaurants are going meatless at least once a week. For some, they want the health benefits of plant-based protein, others it's a cheaper option than buying meat from the butcher. I LOVE this new trend! No matter what your reasons are for doing it, I highly encourage everyone to have one day a week where they fill up on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and plant proteins like beans and legumes. You'll be amazed at how easy and fun it is to change it up! Another great part about eating vegetarian is cooking vegetarian. It takes more creativity to come up with a flavorful, filling vegetarian dish than to make chicken with rice. A recipe I made for my parents while I was home was Heidi Swanson's Maple Grilled Tempeh. This was my dad's first time trying tempeh and my mom's second or third. All of us loved it! The great part about tempeh especially for omnivores, is that, unlike tofu (which I love just as much), it has more of a texture to it. Definitely try out this recipe you wont be disappointed! I served mine with salad and baked sweet potatoes.
Random picture found thanks to StumbleUpon. Doesn't it just make everything instantly better?
Tuesdays are my hell days. Class from 9:30am until 8pm. Lots of coffee, instant breakfast banana smoothies, and tupperware. While running around gets exaustings, I love that it gives me time to really listen to music. It also means that I'm constantly looking for perfect walking music. This past weekend I stumbled upon Matthew and the Atlas. I'd seen them mentioned on a music blog, but had never taken the time to just sit and listen to their stuff, which I'm finding out is fantastic!
"I Followed Fires"
Recently being called the next Mumford and Sons, London-based Matthew and the Atlas are starting to make waves over here in the US. Keep and eye out for this band, I won't be surprised if the radio starts playing their stuff within the next year.
Last Monday of January! I just recently discovered Noah and the Whale and am falling pretty hard for them. Their song L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N always puts me in such a good mood! Download this song and get your week off to a great start!
Jamie Oliver's TED talk Prize Wish: Teach Every Child About Food
Whether or not you have kids, definitely watch this video. Although the emphasis is on child nutrition, everyone can benefit from learning more about nutrition. Plus his accent isn't half bad to listen to either....
While Jamie's TED talk is two years old now, the worries and concerns he brings up are still present, in fact they've just continued to grow. Good news is things are starting to change. One step in the right direction is the USDA announcing this week that school nutrition guidelines have been updated to comply with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines. Theses guidelines are all based on scientific evidence. Once the studies are collected, they are reviewed and reviewed again before they go on to be discussed and put into recommendations that are published every five years. The Washington Post published an article on the USDA's new guidelines (USDA Updates School Nutrition Guidelines). While the article is brief, what I found interesting is they included a chart made by the USDA that compares a school lunch following the old guidelines to what a school lunch will be like now under the new guidelines. This is great information not only to be better informed on what is happening in the school, but also to give parents ideas on how to pack healthy lunches when they're kids bring lunch to school.
On a related note: A really interesting article my professor Joan Salge Blake showed us in Community Nutrition Class: Lunch Line Redesign. The article lets you click on images and gives you the behavioral science behind what influences people' food choices in the cafeteria.
