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Frittatas: The Fancy Omelette

While I was out in LA for a recent trip, I had the chance to eat at Café Crepe on the Santa Monica promenade and enjoyed a spinach feta cheese crepe sans the eggs.  It’s not that I don’t like eggs because they are in fact, one of my favorite breakfast foods and I’m not a huge breakfast person to begin with. The crepe was delicious and I recommend going there for a sweet or salty one if you happen to wander down the promenade out there.

Where was I going with this? Oh yes, my love for eggs. I don’t like to cook breakfast for breakfast but there are some nights where I’ll make breakfast for dinner (as exemplified in this diary submission but as you can see in this particular submission, I actually had breakfast for breakfast).  My latest foodie discovery and attempts at mastering is the perfect frittata.  Someone recently asked me on Twitter, what a frittata was and how you make one after a tweet about my dish. Let me answer that for anyone else whom may be curious. It’s quite simple really. From my understanding, you beat however many eggs you’d like (I have more egg whites than yolks) then add in any meats, veggies and spices that you desire. As you can, I have more of a cook’s mentality than a baker’s since I rarely talk about precise measurements.

A recent frittata dish that was submitted by one of our very own Yummr members belongs to madball911 and looks absolutely delicious. Check it out below then head on over to the gallery and let madball911 know what you think! I definitely wanted to point it out because two of my favorite foods were used to make this: zucchinis and potatoes!

Has anyone else made a perfect frittata? Let us know what you like to do with your eggs!

Oct 24, 2008 by SuDoughName | Add a comment

Filed under: eggs frittata

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Penne Pasta Party Giveaway Winner!

Quite a few of you Yummr supporters entered our Penne Pasta Party Giveaway with some really yummy and beautifully photogrpahed photos of your perfect penne pasta dishes. If you want a recap of the submissions, head on over to our Pasta Galore gallery and check out all the delicious recipes!

Though there were more than a few submissions, there can only be one winner. Our winner for our 5lb. Barilla Penne Pasta Giveaway is sarahcarrico for a wonderful dish and an amazing photo to accompany it! Here is the winning photo and what Sarah will be doing with her 5lbs. of Barilla penne:

What Would You Do?

Feed my boyfriend his favorite meal once a week for 5 weeks!

We hope you enjoy your penne pasta and come back to share your penne meals this fall! Don't worry Yummr members... there will be another giveaway very soon so stayed tuned and make sure to let your friends and family know where to jump in on all sorts of foodie conversations!

Oct 21, 2008 by SuDoughName | 1 Comment

Filed under: Barilla Penne Pasta giveaway

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Pre and Post Workout Foods

In my 22 years of being an athlete, I've seen one major mistake that many people make when designing their exercise regimen . People forget the IMPORTANCE OF FOOD!

While doing an intense work out on the stair-climber, it's obvious to say that food is probably the last thing on your mind. However, without proper caloric and mineral intake, your body will not be able to reach it's fitness potential and you will quickly run out of energy. Therefore, it's important to know what to eat and when to eat it before and after a workout. Here a few options and remember, the longer you work out, the more calories you need!

*BEFORE and AFTER A WORKOUT*
If you're eating something small like a bagel, you can wait up to an hour before you work out. If you're eating a full meal like breakfast or dinner, give yourself two hours to digest. Avoid dairy products and think carbs, protein, sugar and fiber!

Meals

Breakfast:
•    Two egg whites, two pieces of toast with jelly and a banana (protein, carbs, natural sugars, potassium)
•    A bagel, a mixed fruit smoothie with a scoop of whey protein (try Starbucks Vivanno Orange Mango Banana blended smoothie. 16 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber) (carbs, protein, fiber, natural sugars)

Small Breakfast, Morning Snack:
•    Special K Bar
•    Bagel with jelly
•    Banana with peanut butter, almonds,
•    1 egg white

Lunch:
•    Grilled chicken sandwich with a small side salad complete with vegetables. Fat free balsamic vinaigrette. Peanut butter covered banana for dessert. (protein, fiber, vitamin D, potassium)
•    Pasta with chicken, low-fast red sauce with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Piece of fruit for a side. (carbs, protein, fiber)

Small Lunch
•    Peanut butter and jelly (Great and fast!)

Dinner
•    Grilled chicken breast, steamed broccoli, a side of spaghetti (protein, fiber, carbs)
•    Grilled pork, a vegetable and pasta side

Keep in mind to ALWAYS be drinking water or Gatorade. Both water and Gatorade keep your hydrated and Gatorade replenishes all the sodium you lose during your workout.

Loading your meals with protein promotes muscle growth and build up, fiber keeps your digestive tract in order, carbs and natural sugars give you energy to burn and potassium (in bananas) helps prevent cramping. As long as you maintain a healthy and regular diet and exercise regularly, you will look and feel great!

And if you have a sensitive stomach like me, take 1 Tums before you start your workout. The antacid formula in Tums keeps your pre-workout meal from upsetting your stomach during exercise.

Cheers!

Oct 1, 2008 by MerMango | 1 Comment

Filed under: exercise foods healthy

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Whole Foods Budget Recipe Challenge

Whole Foods recently held a "Budget Recipe Challenge" calling for recipes that would cost no more than $4 per serving, is easy to make and most importantly does not sarcifice good taste. There are now 6 finalists on the site where we can vote for our favorite to win! You can win something too!

If you register on the Whole Foods website before October 8, you can post a comment on your favorite entry and you'll automatically be entered into a giveaway for a $500 Whole Foods gift card and 10 runner ups will win a $25 gift card. Winning any of these would definitely help. I like Whole Foods but the last time I went in there, I put about 4 items in the basket and it was about $25. Ok, that might be a bit exaggerated but you understand. I like gift cards. That's all. I also really like the 6 entries chosen as the finalists... Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas?! That's going on my list of things to try to make.

I really like these types of challenges. It makes you think a lot more before you buy. You might have to cut some ingredients out or find better replacements or try a mix of different ingredients you haven't tried before. This is one of those challenges where you have to pick up that flyer before you stroll the aisles and think about your meal. I find this fun.

Let us know if you know of a budget-minded, tasty and easy recipe for a nice every-day meal!

Sep 25, 2008 by SuDoughName | Add a comment

Filed under: Whole Foods Budget Recipe Challenge

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We Will NOT Be Seeing Dylan At The Peach Pit

After last week's mention of Dylan's name on 90210, I couldn't help but wonder if Luke Perry would make a guest appearance to bump up the number of the returning cast. The official answer from E! News is a solid "no". Bummer. Oh well, I don't really think he could have spiced it up anyway. I've seen two episodes of this because I was a fan of the older series but this new one is just really tame, at least in comparison to Gossip Girl. 90210 is like child's play compared to that one.

It's a good thing I'll be distracted with other shows returning and premiering this week and will most likely be dropping 90210 in favor of something else. A premier that I'd like to catch is Kath & Kim just because I like Molly Shannon and Selma Blair so this should be a fun pair to watch. I hope. A returning favorite is The Office. I always look forward to Steve Carell's oddball antics. I also really need to catch the new episode of Dexter somehow. I don't have Showtime but I must watch this show!

What are you looking forward to in this fall's line-up? Let us know what you'll be watching and eating in the TV Dinner Premieres activity - best TV dinner entry earns a bonus 5,000 food stamps!

Sep 22, 2008 by SuDoughName | Add a comment

Filed under: fall line-up TV dinners

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Pasta Giveaway Fit For Michael Phelps!

Maybe you've heard of the Michael Phelps diet, maybe you haven't. If you haven't, the gist of the story is that he gets to eat a ton of calories per day (around 12,000 for an estimated figure) and still have that body. Alright, of course I know he didn't get his Olympian status because of that diet but still, it's safe to say that I wish I could consume lots of calories and still have a great body. Notice that I haven't mentioned his work-out regime because well, his foodie habits are just plain nuts! Want to read more about his diet? Check out some of his meals from BBC News.

We here at Yummr definitely don't endorse such diets for the average non-Olypmian citizen but wedo believe in a good hearty meal. This is why we are giving away 5lbs. of Barilla Penne Pasta to 5 members of Yummr who share their favorite penne dishes! Check out our latest giveaway and submit your dishes HERE. Let us know what you would do with 5lbs. of Barilla Penne Pasta and you might end up with 5lbs. of pasta at your door! We hope this is enough to supply you with several hearty meals to come but are aware that this might only supply Michael Phelps for 3 days the most... unless you are on the same diet as he. We sincerely hope this is not the case :)

If you're not a Yummr member yet, why not? It's FREE and easy to sign-up!

Sep 9, 2008 by SuDoughName | 2 Comments

Filed under: Barilla Penne Pasta giveaway Michael Phelps

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Mr. Potato For President!

I came across a funny article about how the frozen potato foods company, McCain Foods, is taking advantage of its name and the presidential election by introducing a mock candidate - a potato. There is even a whole site dedicated to the campaign with games, polls, recipes and "issues" that this new candidate supports. I'd show you a video but it seems as though they have taken it down from YouTube.

I've established in a previous post that I am a lover of all potato foods so this looks like a great mock foodie candidate to me. Another mock candidate I'd currently support is a squash. It would be a healthy decision, no? More support from me goes out to a gelato candidate. Feel free to add on to my list or endorse my candidates.

Sep 3, 2008 by SuDoughName | 2 Comments

Filed under: McMain Foods potatoes

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Jen Lin-Liu Serves the Olympic Audience!

As I was getting ready this morning while watching the TODAY show do their coverage of the Olympics in Beijing, I was able to catch Jen Lin-Liu's segment on China's exotic fruits. She showed us the many different juicy and sometimes extremely smelly fruits native to China. Not only did Meredith find the smell of the durian repugnant but she also got pricked by it. This is why you should never play with your foods.

As you may already know, Jen Lin-Liu is the author of Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China, a foodie book that we were giving away just last month. If you were one of the lucky ones who was able to win a copy of this fabulous book then you know this is a wonderful memoir of her journey to becoming a cook while exploring the culinary world of China. You can check out an excerpt of the book HERE.

Check out the TODAY show segment featuring Jen Lin-Liu below:

Has anyone else picked up a copy of the book? If you won a copy from Yummr, please share what you think of it in our Summer Foodie book club activity for your chance to win yet another great book!

Aug 20, 2008 by SuDoughName | Add a comment

Filed under: durian exotic Chinese fruit Jen Lin-Liu Serve the People TODAY show

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Wacky Dining Atmospheres

I recently began thinking about strange but entertaining dining experiences when Mars2112 was mentioned. What's Mars2112 say you? It's a wacky space themed family dining experience in the heart of Times Square here in NYC. It's one of those places that doesn't really have any great foodie dishes but that's not why you would go there anyway. It's a fun place for the family and kids when you want to talk to some martians who just so happens to be your servers. I'm really not recommending this place as a wonderful dining experience to stir up your taste buds since from what I can remember, they serve your generic burger and fries entrees but I can say that the decor and atmosphere are really out of this world.

What's another stand-out family friendly place in the big apple? I don't know if most of you would call it family friendly considering I got really scared looking for the bathroom to this place when I was way younger than I am now, but the Jekyll and Hyde Restaurant & Bar is another fun look-around. It's really just your average Party City finds inside but still spookfully delightful. Actually, they have a suspended Frankenstein on a lab table that is supposedly lowered at later hours in the day which I have never witnessed - I'm pretty sure you can't find one of these at Party City.

Another place that I recently made a pit-stop at was a fun looking diner somewhere near Saratoga Springs, NY. It has memorabilia from the grand 'ole days of Hollywood and mannequins set-up on stools. I really wish I could remember the name of the diner but I know it was something along the lines of Happy Days Cafe or Happy Times Diner. If anyone knows this place, let me know! Here are some photos I snapped of this place:

As you can see, I really love running into wacky places that might not have the best of food but are still worth talking about. I mostly gawk around and point out all the little oddities. I'd love to know if any of you have wacky or strange dining places in or around your hometowns - please share if you do!

Aug 14, 2008 by SuDoughName | 4 Comments

Filed under: wacky dining places

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From Your Good 'Ole Bodega

Anyone else have a bodega store near them? I know what the word bodega illicits. It usually goes hand in hand with imagery of dusty everyday goods like toilet paper, soap and sponges that seem like they've been there for 3 decades. You can tell by the outdated packaging and faded branding. Actually, you might not even recognize some of the brands until you do a double take and realize that yes, it is Tide, it's just Tide from the 70's.

Why did I want to bring up the subject of bodegas? Well, I actually really like the bodega around my corner. Actually, I like both bodegas around my corner. I buy some of my produce from there like bananas, lemons, and peppers. I think I also like to just say the word bodega. Anyway, as I was setting up my Twitter account for Yummr and starting to find some of you fine Yummr contributors on there, I came across ErinCooks' neat tweets and saw that she had recently purchased a Bodega Party in a Box. Now, when you really look into it, this $25 kit is just a cookbook with a compilation of recipes, advice and shopping tips from "corner store cooking experts". I really loved the gimmicky title that the Neighbors Project chose to give this call for donations. I also like what they are about:

"Neighbors Project is a growing movement of a generation of people living in cities who want to connect with their diverse neighbors to improve the neighborhood for everyone."

I will try not to stray too far off track here and just say that I've always liked shopping at bodegas. Let me be more specific, I like to pick up fresh produce from my bodega on the way back from work. It's nice getting to know your local neighborhood shop owners. I think this book implies that it might be a bit of a challenge for some people to go into a bodega and realize that it has more to offer than chips, booze and soda but I know the one around me offers more than that. This reminds me of an activity that I had put up a few months back challenging members of Yummr to go to their 99 cents stores to see if they would be able to produce a full yummy meal. Both bodegas and 99 cents stores tend to have some sort of negative connotation to them when it comes to foodie terms which is why I suspect not too many people were up to take that challenge.

Anyone else have a favorite local bodega that they go to regularly or any other local stores in their nieghborhood that they like to support? You know, not C-Town or Super Stop 'N' Shop.

Jul 30, 2008 by SuDoughName | 2 Comments

Filed under: bodega party in a box bodegas Neighbors Project

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