Two Basic Mac & Cheese Recipes

One of the more basic recipes that can be fun to master is basic mac & cheese. However, on the grounds that a little variety is good, we'll discuss two recipes: Soft mac & cheese and a mac & cheese casserole.

The casserole is easy, and all you need is two cups of elbow macaroni, two cups of grated cheese, a cup of milk and two eggs. You also need a pot, a colander, a spoon, and either a casserole dish or a large micorowaveable bowl.

Boil off the macaroni, strain the water, and put back in the pot. Mix in the milk, eggs, and cheese. If you're using the casserole dish, put a half-cup of cheese to the side. If you're using the casserole dish, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread out the mixture, cover with the remaining cheese, cover it all with aluminium foil or the dish's lid, and put in the oven when it's ready. Wait 45 minutes, and you have a great dinner.

Soft mac & cheese is a little more involved. You're going to need a half-cup each of flour and either butter or margarine, two cups each of milk and grated cheese, and a cup of elbow noodles. If you want, you can use Velveeta cheese or a similar product, in which case you will need two cups of cubed cheese. You will also need a spoon, a whip, and a deep pan. First thing you will do is create a roue: Melt the butter or margarine at a low heat and then mix in the milk with the whip. Keep the heat low and keep whipping the mix until the milk boils. Mix in the cheese, again with the whip, until it has all been melted down. Add in the noodles and cook until they are soft; normally you would cook the noodles are "al dente", but you want them to absorb as much of the cheese mix as possible. You will want to mix them occasionally in order to keep them from sticking together. When the liquid is gone take off the heat and you're good.

There are a number of variations that work really good if you want to change things up a bit. Grilled meat works rather well, preferably beef, pork, or even lamb; it requires a big taste that won't blend in easily such as from fish. Vegetable also work, such green beans or corn, or even stewed tomatoes. Chili mac should be avoided, but you can try it if you want. You can also mess around with the cheese; sharp cheddar should be the default, but any cheese with a sharp taste can work.

These are some of the most basic recipes. If you can master them, then you are on your way to really cooking. 

Tips for Eating Healthier Ramen

Ramen can make a great quick meal. Always have a few packages, cups, or bowls on hand.

A few chopped vegetables and a hard-boiled egg added to a bowl of ramen makes an excellent dinner. If you need to go vegetarian, fried tofu makes an excellent substitute.

Boil off some ramen, drain the liquid, and cool down. Add a good vinaigrette and some mixed vegetables like chickpeas, tomatoes, endame, raw green beans, and sweet pickle chips and you have a great pasta salad.

Ramen makes a horrible date meal. However, a big bowl of ramen, two pairs of chopsticks, low lights, and a chick flick make for a great inexpensive, and very intimate dinner when you just want to spend some time with that special someone.

For late night studying, a bowl of ramen makes an excellent study break. It also makes for an excellent meal you can eat while reading or participating in a study group. 

Great Bachelor Snacks: Pico de Gallo

Bachelors have a problem finding a healthy snack. The ideal snack is one that is quick to make, allows for some versatility, and lasts a few days. If it happens to be cheap, that is the icing on the proverbial cake. S such, I'd like to submit pico de gallo for your sampling pleasure.

This one of those recipes that is gret if you have a food processor great but don't sweat if you don't. You're going to need:
---Three Rma tomatoes
---Two medium onions
---One bunch of cilantro
---A teaspoon each of pepper, salt, and lime juice
---An option for a small Jalapeno pepper

Dice the tomatoes and onions and combine; although you want it as fine as possible, a grosser cut is acceptable as long as the pieces aren't too big. You're going to want an equal mass of tomatoes and onions. The next step is to destem the cilantro and then chop it down to small pieces. Some stems are fine and some big pieces of leaf are okay; you're using it as an aromatic here rather than as a seasoning like you would for meat, so you want it to be essentially crushed. Throw in the pepper, salt, and pepper. If you want the pepper, slice it open to pull out the seeds and then dice it as small as the onions and tomatoes.

That should give you enough salsa for a day or two, and tortilla chips are the natural complement to the salsa. You can increase the amount of vegetables to increase the amount of salsa available. Although you can adjust the pepper and salt to taste, the amount of lime juice needs to stay the same, although you can use lemon juice instead; the juice acts not only as a counter to the vegetables but also acts as a preservative. Pico de Gallo is also the base recipe for ceviche; throw in a crab, shrimp or even chunks of fish, and double the amount of lime juice, and you have a great snack that can double as a meal.

Besides Mexican food, the pico de gallo makes a great way to add flavor to fish and other meats. You can also combine it with guacomole. If you make cauliflower pizza crusts, this makes a great substitute for the tomato sauce. It also makes an ideal addition to omelettes. Although it may take a little work, it tastes great, is cheap to produce, and can be added to almost anything, making it the perfect bachelor snack food!

Tips on Moods and Foods

Keep in mind that what you eat effects your moods. A well-balanced diet will usually keep you in a reasonable mood.

If you need to be aggressive, beef and pork are your best bets, or even jerky. Another option is fried tofu; for some reason something with protein that you can tear into makes for a great first step when you need a little aggression.

If you want to break out of a depression, start chowing down on salads. Crunchy, leafy vegetables seem to work wonders in getting people out of the dumps.

Have the occasional mopey day. Everyone needs a day when they hide under the covers and hide from the world; you need days when you do nothing but recharge your batteries, catch up on your shows, and just enjoy being alone. Indulge in your favorite comfort foods and enjoy feeling bad.

Snack foods should be just snack foods and not meals. If you eat too many snacks for meals you will end up depressed or ticked all the time. Chips and nacho cheese make for a great snack, but if you want to eat them as a meal at least add some salsa. This isn't to say that you need to eat healthy all the time, but at least try.

Tips on Getting Enough Vegetables

If you notice you need to eat more vegetables then figure out some vegetables you like and make them part of the meal. Don't worry about the limited selection; if you have at least three or four choices you should do okay.

A great idea is to prepare a large salad ahead of time and enjoy it for several days in a row. Keep in mind lemon juice will help preserve it an extra day or three. Remember to not put in any kind of dressing and croutons, as one will cause the salad to wilt faster and the croutons will become soggy quickly.

Carrot and celery sticks may sound cliche, but they are easy to prepare and taste good even without dips. They can also be combined with peanut butter for a rather nice pick-me-up.

If you eat a lot of ramen, add in some chopped vegetables. Not only does it stretch out the meal but makes it healthier as well.

Supplemental vitamin pills can give you all of the vitamins you need, but you may want to keep in mind that there are good psychological reasons for chewing up your foods that even chewable pills don't provide. As such only take supplements when absolutely necessary. 

Tips on Snacks

When it comes to snacks, debate what you are looking for in a snack. It's not always about hunger, and if you address it right you can deal with the hunger more effectively.

If you're pregnant just go with the craving. Your body knows it what it wants so pay attention to it. Only see a doctor if it involves something extreme such as dirt.

Diabetics should look for snacks that are high protein and/or high dietary fiber. The goal is to find something that either has little sugar (the high protein part) or has a lot of fiber (the more fiber involved the less likely it is is to become sugars later on). Also avoid sugar alcohols as they may actually increase blood sugars.

Athletes should debate high protein and a drink with electrolytes. The latter is to restore chemical levels, and the former is to help in muscle and bone growth. Combined they can curb after-exercise rage some athletes experience.

Students from junior high up usually also need a pick-me-up. A glass of juice and a snack bar should provide the necessary energy and are a lot healthier than a coke and a candy bar.

If you're planning on drinking, eat accordingly. Carbs are your friend here as they help soak up the alcohol, and fats help one your stomach,preventing alcohol absorption. Proteins are also a good thing. Buffalo wings are great, especially with some thick buttered toast, or something like a half of a pastrami sandwich. 

Staying Awake Tips

Don't depend on sugar and caffeine to get you through the night. Too much sugar and you run the risk of diabetes, and too much caffeine you may become resistant (requiring more and more caffeine) or even immune to it. Instead, shift to a more physical activity, even if it's just push-ups, for at least five minutes every hour. The break keeps you sharp and focused, as well as reducing any developing frustration.

For those with ADHD we're going to reverse that, sort of. A does of caffeine with sugar may be just the thing to keep you focused. The caffeine acts best as a short-term stimulant that tires you out, while the sugar helps get you over that fatigue. Combined, they tire you out just enough to keep focused fror long periods of time. A non-diet soda or  cup of coffee with at least two spoons of sugar should be enough, but energy drink may be too much.

Fruits and snacks are ideal study snacks. They provide just enough physical activity to provide a needed mental break, and just enough sugar and protein, respectively, to keep you going

Spicy foods will keep you awake, as well as anything prepared with lemon, such as lemon bars and most salsas. Salsa and chips are, in fact ideal, as they also provide that needed physical break (noting a pattern?).

However, engaging in any kind of food prep when you are trying to focus on other things is a distraction. As such, if it involve anything more than taking it out a fridge, putting it in a bowl, and microwaving it, you need to do it in advance to eliminate any possible distraction. However, it will be appreciated by others.

Shepherds Pie: A good basic yet classic recipe

So let's say you want something quick and easy but can be a little impressive. May I recommend a shepherd pie? Although it's basically mashed potatoes over beef, there are a number of different varieties. This is a meal that can be as healthy as you want it to be. So let's start simple and build from there.

Let's start with
---a pound of hamburger
---three large potatoes
---a cup of milk
---a cup of butter.
---a 9"x12" casserole dish with no cover.

Peel the potatoes. Start boiling enough water to cover the potatoes. While you are waiting, dice up the potatoes (one-inch cubes are fine). Leave that alone for about ten minutes.

Grill off the hamburger and drain the fat. You can add a few basic spices to the meat as it grills, with two tablespoons of garlic salt being the default. Once it has been drained cover the bottom of the casserole dish with the meat. Start pre-heating the oven to 350 degrees.

Back to the potatoes. Take one out and cut it with a fork. It should be easy to cut through; if not, boil a little bit longer. Drain off the water and thrown in half of the butter. Grab either an actual potato masher or thick glass; if you use the latter, then make sure your hand fills the glass giving you a better grip. start mashing the potatoes, adding in the milk after a few stomps. This should give you some great smooth mashed potatoes.

[If you want, you can substitute instant potatoes for the potatoes. Keep in mind that you want about three cups of potatoes.]

Once done cover the meat with the potatoes and then cover the potatoes with the butter in pats rather than spreading the butter. Once the oven is ready, put in uncovered for 45 minutes. It's should be ready to eat.

Now let's confuse things. You can substitute biscuit mix for the potatoes (again, you are shooting three cups), and use a cup of cheese to cover the pie. You can grill a cup of chopped onions with the meat, and add a cup of dark brown gravy. Or you can forego the gravy and add up to four cups of vegetables (the most common added vegetable is whole-kernel corn, but mixed vegetables or green beans of any variety also work). Ground sausage or turkey will work as well, but other proteins such as fish or tofu won't work.

This makes a great dinner, but also a great potluck entree. Try it and play with it, and you may just learn to love this recipe.

Convention Health & Safety Tips

Carry some healthy snacks in with you. It helps keep you going while avoiding temptation.

Map out the convention before hitting town. If possible, you want a cheap place to grab food a store where you can get something healthy, and a pharmacy within easy walking distance.

Don't worry about any lost exercise. If you're doing it right you'll get lots of exercise, possibly more than you are used to.

Remember to stay in a group, and to check in on a regular basis. Remember that paranoia can be your friend.

Train yourself to recognize the security personnel and to do it subconsciously.Then don't be afraid to use them. Remember that they are there for you and that part of your entry fees pay for them.

Office Exercise Tips

If you want a little extra exercise, at the top of every hour, stop, drop, and do 20 push-ups or sit-ups. The exact time doesn't matter as long as it's the same time each time, and you can increase the number of reps as needed.

If you smoke, do so in the furthest spot you can get to during your breaks.

If you can stand up, do so ocasionally. It helps circulation as well as keeping you alert.

Energy drinks are your enemy. If you find yourself needing them to just stay awake, look at your sleeping habits.

Map out the area around your office. You're looking for a place where you can get something reasonably healthy from at a reasonable price. If you can, a brisk walk there at least once a day is great for some bonus cardio.

Managing Your Diabetes in Summer

Dealing with diabetes can be a problem, especially in the summer time. Too many dips have a lot more sugar than you expect, and barbecue sauces pose their own problems. Finding ways to manage your diabetes in the summer therefore becomes imperative.

The Big Tip is to tell friends that you're in control, and to let you manage your diet. Too many well-intentioned people are going to try and "help you" and invariably they are going to get something major wrong. As such, let them know you have diabetes, but to just be aware of it and you'll do all of the heavy lifting. Otherwise you'll have too many situations where you really want a piece of cake, if just a small one, but they aren't even offering for fear of causing a diabetic coma. Encourage them to ask, but let them know you may say "no". You would not believe how many people like that better than refusing you anything, especially your cooler friends.

One of the things that causes a spike for me is anything with sour cream. This means that I really need to watch how much dip I eat. (Yeahyeah, the carbs from the chips don't help either...) Worse, some of the things people substitute for sour cream-based dips are pure carbs, such as hummus, meaning that what appears to be healthy for everyone is just as bad for you as a couple of sugar cubes. I hate saying it, but either practice extreme moderation with dips in general, or stick to celery and broccoli.

You should always plan for a spike at parties. This doesn not mean exercise twice as much in the morning and eat all sorts of non-carb snacks, but just plan on seeing your blood sugar go up dramatically. You may need a little more insulin later on, but so be it. Remember: You're not trying to control your blood sugar, but managing it, and that means sometimes it will get a little out of hand. So be it.

Unless you have something else going on, avoid anything "fat-free". Some diabetics and others think that anything that has less fat has fewer sugars, and is therefore okay for diabetics. Please note that "Fat free" milk has more sugar in it than regular milk and walk away. You end up trading more sugar for less flavor, and that's a bad bargain in my book. However, "gluten-free" foods may be worth looking into as they have fewer carbs and therefore fewer sugars in them.

As long as you properly manage your blood sugars you can enjoy the summer. Just remember to be vigilant about the well-intentioned and life will be a lot easier. 

Drinking Tips

Establish a beer, a wine or hard liquor, and a mixed drink as soon as you can after hitting 21. Note only does it help you establish a style but it also allows you to order faster; the faster you can order the faster you can get on to other things.

If you have ADHD you may want to avoid wines. Hyperkinetics get drunk faster with wines .

Make sure that you eat something before you start drinking. It helps slow down the initial drunkenness.

It's okay to celebrate with a few rounds. when you first arrive at a place, but seriously slow up after the first few rounds. An average man should average a drink every hour, maybe two for larger men, in order to stay reasonably sober.

Avoid any decision-making while drinking. Either know what you're going to say prior and stick to it or avoid any binding agreements altogether. 

Blood Sugar Tips

Avoid refined foods. They tend to have a lot more sugar than normal.

Do not trust labels. Use the formula of (grams in carbs) - (grams in fiber) to determine how much sugar something has.

Sugarless foods should never be trusted as such. Some sweeteners have an adverse affect on blood sugar. Again, stick to the formula.

Nuts, fruits, and cheese can have surprising effects on blood sugar, usually a bad surprise.

Vegetables can be your best friend, as they help fill you up and they usually have high amounts of dietary fiber to cancel out some of their carbs. 

Diabetes Self-Defense Tips

If you have diabetes, learn to manage your sugar, not control it. It just works out better.

Keep track of what you eat and learn to correlate it with your blood sugar. The weirdest things can make your blood sugar rise, and monitoring it can help you figure those things out.

Allow yourself some slack. Occasionally let yourself go as long as it's not too bad and not too often. Otherwise you will figure out ways to cheat and your doctor will look at you weird.

If possible, lose weight. Not everyone can, but if you can it will help you conquer the disease.

Don't be afraid to offend others. This is an area you need to defend yourself, and your health can depend on it.

Why Organics Are Bad

One of the basic questions is whether or not to go organic. I'm going to say no.

I can see being a localvore; it makes sense. A localvore is a person who buys local food only, with "local" defined as within a hundred miles or so. It's better for the environment, keeps the local economy working, and you know the food is fresh. It also tends to be a little cheaper because there are fewer transportation costs. If you can find a supermarket that buys its food locally, definitely go for it.

However, with organic food there are a number of problems they forget to tell you about. The first is that there is no real definition for "organic". As such I don't feel comfortable buying food certified "organic" for an extra cost. The other issue is that the food quality just isn't there; because of the lack of pesticides and fertilizers the food is generally of lower quality than from farms that use pesticides and fertilizers. This also means that the food is not going to last as long as regular food.

It needs to be noted here that this a food blog for bachelors, not foodies. The idea is that the foods used make life easier for someone who doesn't like to cook, and that there are also cost issues to worry about. As such, food needs to be easy to prepare, decent quality, and last as long as possible to avoid science projects in the fridge. It also needs to be as cheap as possible. With that criteria in place it is hard to recommend organic food, as it usually runs contrary to all of that. It just makes little sense for someone who doesn't want to shop to pay extra for lower-quality food that isn't going to last as long. The sole advantage to most organic food is that you're not paying The Man for his processed food, and I'm personally more interested in shopping every two or three days for an extra fee just to act like a teenager.

That said, if you can find a service that takes food from local farms, however randomly, and will deliver it to for a reasonable price, do so. It may have some weird stuff in it, but that can make life interesting. heck, I take advantage of such a service myself. So support local, but not if I have to buy inferior food to do so.

Non-Exercise Exercise Tips

If you can, vary your exercise, even if it's just from day to day. This helps stave off getting bored with the exercise and keeps you at it longer.

The ideal mix is cardio exercise one day, endurance exercises the next.

If you can exercise with someone else, do so. At the same time, do not use your phone while exercising. Carry it in case of an emergency or music, but otherwise leave it alone.

Don't eat and exercise. It not only avoids choking, but it avoids a number of bad habits.

Don't be afraid to use the gym shower. If you need to wear sandals and shorts, but it feels great to get clean as soon as you exercise. Also, it keeps your car smelling nice.

Breakfast Tips

Breakfast can be one of the easiest meals to cook. Learn a few basic breakfasts and have fun with it.

The best breakfasts feature protein and carbs. You need that burst of energy from the carbs, and proteins make it taste better.

Keep in mind that there are a wide variety of proteins out there, and they are not just meat. Use whatever proteins you like, even if it's tofu or peanut butter.

Dieting Tip: Eat breakfast. If you skip breakfast you will pay for it later, and it will be harder to avoid temptation. Even a protein shake is sufficient to break the fast.

If you exercise, do so before you eat. This way you can replenish any lost vitamins and electrolytes, and you won't be tempted later on.

When You Just Don't Feel Like Cooking

There are some times when you just don't want to cook, and it helps to have something easy to cook in the fridge or freezer. This is when you need take advantage of the microwave.

An important point to remember is that you should not subsist off of frozen foods. You may hate cooking, but there advantages to eating mostly freshly cooked meals using fresh ingredients. It may be a bother, but it's definitely worth it from a health perspective and it give you a needed break from work and home. An even bigger mistake is to depend on just one food; it may sound weird but if you depend on a high-protein/high-carb meal, such as breaded chicken you're going end up being depressed a lot.

Think about this: The CIA determined that the best diet to brainwash a person high-carb/high-protein. This was borne out by the bologne sandwiches given to new recruits in the 1980s. So if you eat nothing but breaded chicken or chicken nuggets, you;re effectively brainwashing yourself. Think about that. Sort of explains why it's such a sad diet, right?

As such, you should have a three-pronged attack. In your pantry you need some basic soups. Soups are comfort foods; you should have days where you just mope around the house. The perfect lunch and dinner for those days are soups. Have a couple of different soups in the pantry that you like, maybe throw in a quick sandwich, and you have a decent meal. If you want throw in some canned pasta as well for those mopey days.

You should also have some hot dogs, or equivalent, in the refrigerator. They make a cheap source of protein, and can make any meal preparation easier. The same applies to any kind of deli meats, sliced cheeses, and even some pickled foods. You need to have some easy-to-fix meals; not every meal needs to be a full-preparation affair. And if you decide on processed cheese slices don't feel bad; that it's basically plastic is just urban legend. It was designed as a soft cheese in order to melt properly, making it great for burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches.

In your freezer, you should have some ready-to-eat meals and possibly items like corn dogs, pizza rolls, or even breaded chicken. The last three options should not be eaten all the time, but every couple of days are fine. Throw in a quick salad and you have a great quick meal. I buy cheap frozen dinners that are just a protein source and a carb, such as meat loaf and mashed potatoes for lunch; of course, I also add a decent-sized salad for a complete meal. But they are also great for those times when I just don't want to cook or want something light.

By properly stocking your kitchen you don't have to cook all the time, and you should not feel guilty about it. Have some fun with it and you'll love the variety.

Advanced Barbecuing Tips

Don't restrict your grilling to just meat. Vegetables work, as well as tofu and fruits.

You can use most pots and pans on a grill. It is a heat source after all.

If you just want a grill you can cook smaller items on, a piece of aluminum can work wonders. Just cover the area you want to use before heating the pit.

Skewers can be your best friend. Experiment with fruits, vegetables and meats to see what you can create.

Skewers can also be marinated. Start with teriyaki sauce and go from there.