Serendipity Mommy

Trying NOT To Be On The Fat Chef

Candace — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:39:17 +0000

If you have cable or satellite, and you are a foodie, then you have probably seen the show Fat Chef. This show chronicles chefs that are overweight and in trouble with their health because of habits blamed largely on stress and working around food all day. I am still in college, just a culinary student and many many years away from being a chef. I am not even sure I am going to work on the line somewhere until my 3 year old is, well, older because I would NEVER be home and he is still so little. At any rate these chefs all had one thing in common, consuming way too many calories, and not working out. They are grazing on food all day at their job. Recipe for disaster, no pun intended

I don’t ever consume too many calories I am more guilty of not enough calories and the ones I eat don’t stimulate my metabolism. I would drink Cola and eat sweets. I am not massively overweight but I am not at a healthy weight. Before I become a “real” chef I want to make sure I start good habits. I don’t eat much meat anyway so cutting that down wouldn’t be hard. Its eating a lot more vegetables and fruit that I need to do. I have given up soda, its been 5 days, and I am doing ok! So much so that my bloating and double chin have gone away. I do feel better eating a bit cleaner. I am pretty close to a vegetarian diet but since I don’t care for cheese or nuts or TOFU my protein replacements needs some research. I have been taking an iron supplement daily for weeks and I think it helped the transition.

I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I am going to be the perfect eater. I am a chef, not certified and not working on the line just yet but the principle is the same and I will HAVE to taste my dishes. Tasting is fine. My beloved Italian class, though fattening, exposed me to some really delicious flavors. Eating the food we made in that class along with the food I make at my internship was the main cause of my slug. WAY too much gluten and starch! I won’t deprive myself especially when faced with a cheesecake. But I WILL be working our every single day even if it is just 30 minutes. My torture of choice is Yoga and I want to try Pilates for toning. In the meantime I will be adding low cal recipes here ad there to help anyone out who might be struggling.

I won’t ever give up making my delicious food and desserts and enjoying food. But I will be making a valiant effort to live in moderation and not land on the show Fat Chef!

Coca-Cola Family Fun Night With American Idol Giveaway

Candace — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:10:52 +0000

I am not afraid to admit I am a huge Idol fan. I have never missed a season. I think my addiction stems from the fact that I spent 4 years in school in choir and love singing! Sometimes I get lucky and my kids and family will watch it with me. And I secretly love it. Although since we are on the subject of American Idol, I have a couple thoughts. Last night they chose most of the top 24 in a two hour episode. And it was filled.with.COMMERCIALS. Not that I was on the edge of my seat but they only talked about 14 people and now tonight’s episode will have the rest. And my other thought is this.. remember the good ole days when the dejected and rejected “singers” who would get so angry they would cuss up a storm and throw water into judges’ faces? Where did they go? I loved that kind of drama! And the BAD singers, they used to show a ton of those and this year we only got a few.

I love my week with American Idol and sitting with my family watching the performances. I generally get emotionally involved and mad when I think the wrong person won. My kids think I am crazy at that point but what can you do when you have been a fan for 11 years?

At any rate I enjoy my family nights with American Idol and thanks to the Coca-Cola Family Night Initiative, I am happy to be able to offer a neat little giveaway for one lucky reader who also likes taking time out to have family night together! One reader will win:

• (1) Handheld Camcorder : Samsung W200 Waterproof Camera *

• (1) American Idol – The Hits Volume 1 CD

• (1) Coca-Cola and Pringles coupon

To enter, leave me a comment below and tell me how you plan to spend your next Family Night! (mandatory

Extra Entries: Do any of these for an extra entry: (leave a separate comment for each entry)

Like Coca-Cola on Facebook
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leave a RELEVANT comment on any non giveaway post
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Tweet this giveaway (4X a day)

Make Family Time Fun with a Coke Family Night Prize Pack! Enter here http://bit.ly/A3FI8B #CokeFamilyNight Ends 3/3 US and Can @candyclc

Subscribe to my blog for FIVE entries!

This contest ends on March 3rd at 11:59 PM. Entrants must be 18 or older and located in the US or Canada only. Winner to be chosen at random.

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The prize was provided by Coca-Cola, but Coca-Cola is not a sponsor, administrator, or involved in any other way with this giveaway. All opinions expressed in the post are my own and not those of Coca-Cola.
* The camera you may receive could differ from the model number depending on availability.

Teens and Acne…They Go Together Like A Horse And Carriage!

Candace — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 07:28:48 +0000

You’re humming the song to yourself aren’t you? It’s true though, even with the best of facial care every teen gets breakouts. Heck I am over 30 and I still get them. My teenager, however, has been trying just about every product under the sun for his mild to moderate acne. And now he is trying a new product called X Out, courtesy of Mom Central. Its a 2X a day wash treatment, no extra masks or creams, and he will be using it for a month and we will be telling about his results in a few weeks. In the meantime, here is a little video of my son talking about the product and his problem areas.

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I wrote this review while participating in a test drive campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of X Out and received a X Out product sample to facilitate my review, one to giveaway, and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

Happy Valentine’s Day Candy!

Greg — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:09:15 +0000

That was one hot kiss, hon. Love ya!

-Greg

Valentine Fashions from The Children’s Place

Candace — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 04:24:31 +0000

Looking for last minute ideas to dress your cutie for Valentine’s? Check out The Children’s Place. I’ve been working with them for a couple years now getting the pleasure of sneak peaks of the new stuff and trying a few pieces. For my daughter who is nearly 9, I had to have the skirt from this adorable cherries line, and she has already begged me for the complete outfit. The skirt is just as adorable in person!

And for my little dude I wasn’t going to look for valentine’s for him since he is not in daycare and won’t be going anywhere. For him instead I looked at this great preppy outfit, I love that varsity jacket! We were sent the shirt from the set and I couldn’t even get the tag off before my guy wanted to try it. Needless to say its been worn and washed several times. And yes I do plan on getting the entire outfit!

For you own little valentines, check out some of these adorable fashions on sale right now!

Seriously how cute are they?

Don’t forget to check out the adorable Easter fashions while you shop!

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Disclosure: I received a couple clothing samples in exchange for my thoughts on the new TCP line. And my thoughts are that the skirt they sent is ADORABLE.

You Can Do Better

Candace — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 04:37:52 +0000

I imagine myself 5 years down the road trying out for Hell’s Kitchen and having Gordon Ramsay yelling these words at me. But the reality is I recently had to take a step out of my ego and realize its true. Now of course I know most of my readers come here and absolutely love my food photos and the things my crazy mind decides to bake at home. And I am not going to sit here and blame my lack of trying on being sick, which I have been very ill lately, but the truth is this. I am studying under a chef who himself has traveled the world and studied under master chefs. He knows his stuff. And he can spot things easily meaning I can get nothing by him.

I am usually super happy about the great photos I share and proud of my work even when I show him. My strawberry cupcakes recently got rave reviews online. What everyone said made me feel great, and strengthened the idea that I could do food photography on the side. I showed the same photo to my chef and didn’t say I did them or took the photo. Without batting an eye he said I bet they tasted good but it looks like it was designed by a food photographer. I was like what??? I said to him “Are you saying I can do better? He said most definitely, that my picture and cakes were great for food photography and Betty Crocker. Imagine my face if you will, he knew that one hurt a little!! But see the difference here folks is that even if it sounded mean, he was absolutely right. He knows I have been trained to make Brunoise cuts, he asked why I didn’t do that on the cupcakes. He KNOWS I can do better because he has seen me do better.

What I make at home and take great pictures of is designed for a great photo, and I say this because I do a LOT of dessert and I don’t sit and eat it all so lately its been about perfecting the cupcakes as a creative outlet. It works, its my realm and I get to practice both decorating and photography. But I am not a pastry chef, I have never studied under one, and I shouldn’t be expecting sensational comments on a very beginner level of pastry. You may think I am being hard on myself but its not completely true. In the culinary world there is competition everywhere you look, in addition to actual real sanctioned competitions. I am still not ready to compete no matter how good I think I am I can’t go up against people yet.

Let this be a lesson that when you think you have done your best there will always be someone that thinks you can do a little better and will push you to try. I feel grateful that not only does my chef not lie to me but the fact is he only pushes the students that he knows have something special. If he didn’t care he wouldn’t say anything but he does. And I need to stop playing it safe and start thinking outside the box, 4 star dining style. Cupcakes are still fun but I can do better.

Wordless Wednesday – Ice Carving

Candace — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:08:35 +0000

We did ice carving in my Garde Manger class last weekend and my team, the girls team, made this butterfly and a swan, but the chef accidentally decapitated the swan with the chainsaw.

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Strawberry Milkshake Whoppers Cupcakes

Candace — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:56:32 +0000

One of my favorite candy to eat is whoppers and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the strawberry ones. Artificial flavoring, sure but I love them. I decided to try and make some cupcakes that taste like them. I knew it would be hard I just needed to add malted milk powder to get that malt taste. I would have added even more powder than i did but I think it would have buried the strawberry flavor because I used fresh strawberry, not extract. I think the cake is delicious and moist and not too sweet which is good because the frosting is!

The frosting has the flecks of strawberry through it, I love the way it turned out..

Someday I will cover how to make pretty strawberry garnishes in a how-to series here on my blog… I love strawberries!

Yum.

I decided to use this recipe and photos to enter a photo contest to win a scholarship to Eat Write Retreat which is sponsored by Feastie

Strawberry Milkshake Whoppers Cupcakes

5.0 from 7 reviews

Recipe type: Dessert

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 12

Ingredients

1 pint. Fresh Strawberries
1 C. Malted Milk Powder
1 1/2 C. Flour, sifted
1/4 Tsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 stick butter, room temp.
1 C. Sugar
1/4 C. milk, room temperature
2 TBS. heavy Cream (omit this if using whole milk)
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
2 Large egg whites
1 egg

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees/f and line your pan with papers. I used Wilton cups they rock.
Hull the strawberries and puree them in a blender. Set Aside.
In stand mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar and mix well again until light and fluffy.
Mix together the flour, salt and baking powder, and malt powder set aside.
Mix your milk and 3/4 C. of the puree, heavy cream and the vanilla. Set aside.
Slowly add half the flour mixture and mix until just combined
Add the milk mixture.
Add the other half of the flour mixture.
Add the egg whites and egg slowly and mix until combined well.
Portion into your cups and bake for 22-25 minutes. Cakes will NOT be pink, add red food color if you want them pink.

Google Recipe View Microformatting by Easy Recipe

Strawberry Frosting

3 1/2 C. Sifted Powdered Sugar

1 C. Butter, unsalted (2 sticks)

1 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 C. Strawberry Puree

Cream the butter, then slowly add the sugar with mixer on low. Add the vanilla and finally the strawberry and increase the speed to mix it well. If you don’t want flecks and things in your frosting then run the puree through a chinois (strainer) a couple times. Use leftover puree to make yourself a delicious strawberry milkshake!

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

Candace — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:16:35 +0000

I’d been wanting to make these for a long time and I finally came across a recipe I like at Tidy Mom. She mentioned in the recipe to cut the amount of Root Beer concentrate because it was too strong but I think my flour made the taste change because there wasn’t nearly enough flavor for my liking. I am going to try next time with all purpose flour and see if that changes. The frosting recipe is spot on though!

They were definitely kid approved though!

Root Beer Float Cupcakes – Adapted from Tidy Mom – This is the recipe on her site that she adapted from Bittersweet

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

(from Bittersweet)

yields 12 cupcakes

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

Prep time: 19 mins

Cook time: 18 mins

Total time: 37 mins

Serves: 12

Ingredients

1 Cup Rootbeer Soda (non-diet)
1 Teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup Canola Oil (Didn’t have canola I used corn oil)
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 Teaspoons Root Beer Extract *(if you use root beer concentrate then only use 1/2 teaspoon)(Candy’s Note: I did not follow this for me it wasn’t enough I used nearly 3 TSP)
1 1/3 Cups Flour
3/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350
Combine root beer soda and vinegar and let stand for a few minutes.
Add in the sugar and oil, whisking until slightly frothy.
Mix in your extracts, and slowly add the flour, along with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Careful not to over mix.
Fill cupcake liners approximately 3/4 full.
(At first I thought I had a lot more batter than 12 cupcakes, but then I noticed the batter would settle, so I went back and added a little batter to each liner, which made 12 cupcakes)
Bake for about 18 – 22 minutes.

Google Recipe View Microformatting by Easy Recipe

Vanilla Frosting

The vanilla frosting gave the flavor of the “ice cream”, though like I mentioned, these might even be good unfrosted and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream instead.

1 (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1.5 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Beat cream cheese and butter until well blended.
Add powdered sugar and mix until nice a creamy

SKLZ Pro Mini Hoop

Greg — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:29:37 +0000

We got this SKLZ Pro Mini Hoop at Meijer because our three year old loves basketball so much. He is always playing Carnival Games on the PS3 and some Hoops games on our iPhones and tablets, so thought we’d see how he did with the real thing. He loves it.

Aiden with the SKLZ Pro Mini Hoop

SKLZ also has a lot of products to help with training for sports.

We were not compensated for this in any way, we just really like the product and price.