Hi, I am Allison, the other newbie on the block.  I absolutely love food and fitness, and I look forward to sharing my knowledge, passion and adventures with you each week.  And we’re off…

Every morning, I wake up, eat a small breakfast (cereal and fruit), workout and eat another breakfast (oatmeal, fruit, juice).  There are those who don’t eat or like breakfast, but I treat myself to 2 breakfasts every morning - definitely my most important meal of the day.

After indulging in my second breakfast, I head to work (here I am!) where I continue to think about food, write about food and eat food.  I have the best job!  Like many of you, I work at a desk and computer all day.  Often, I find my stomach taking over my mind as it demands food at an alarming rate.  I am not the type of person who eats when bored because I am never bored at work (seriously, I am not!).  But staring at food all day (Recipe4Living) makes me hungry.

So I have been working hard at trying to come up with new and healthy snacks that I can easily store or keep at work that won’t cause me to gain an unhealthy amount of weight.   What’s currently in my pantry (my desk shelves have become my pantry)?

My personal favorite - Nature Valley Oats ‘n Dark Chocolate crunchy granola bars.  These are a relatively new product, so if you haven’t noticed them yet, be sure to keep your eyes peeled.  If you’re a coffee or tea drinker, these bars are fabulous after a good ol’ dunk.

Dark Chocolate Coca Roast Almonds by Emerald is next on the shelf  (notice any themes?)  Despite the fact that the word chocolate is on the package, this delightful treat has only 1 gram of sugar!  It’s a dream come true for chocolate lovers!  Also, almonds are full of healthy fats and protein to keep you feeling full, longer.

Okay, enough of the sweets and on to the salty.  First up, 94% fat free microwave popcorn.  Almost every brand of popcorn sells a “light” or “fat free” version nowadays.  If your office doesn’t have a microwave, pop it and bag it before you leave.

Pumpkin Seeds (I am eating these as I type) are probably my favorite of the salty snacks. These addicting little gems should be eaten in moderation, like all nuts and seeds, since they are higher in fat.  But don’t worry, they contain healthy fats needed by our body. Also,  Pumpkin seeds are especially high in iron, zinc, magnesium and phosphorous - essential vitamins.

Last, but certainly not least, is another favorite that literally keeps me going through the day - and I don’t mean coffee - a hard-boiled egg.  Eggs are great sources of protein and omega-3s.  Another perk is that you can boil a week’s work of eggs at a time and store them in the fridge so they are ready to accompany you to work each morning!

If you find yourself hungry at work, try incorporating some of these healthy snack.

If you have favorites, please let me know!  I am always looking for new ideas.

If there’s one thing you can say about Chicagoans; we love St. Patrick’s Day. Parades, pubs and the Chicago River dyed green are just some of the ways we like to celebrate. And of course you can’t go anywhere without finding Corned Beef, Cabbage, Potatoes, Irish Soda bread and a beverage that’s native to Chicago…Green River Soda.

Originally produced by the Schoenhofen Brewery in 1919, it was an alternative to beer during the Prohibition. When Prohibition ended in 1933 the brewery went back to producing beer and Green River Soda became a staple at soda fountains everywhere. The brewery closed in 1950 but Green River lived on at the Clover Club Bottling Corp and is served at all Chicago area Hackney Restaurants, 50’s style soda fountains and in bottles in area stores during the few weeks we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

All this is to say that in our household, St. Patrick’s Day is incomplete without Green River Soda. And while budget cuts have stopped the Chicago River from turning green, it hasn’t stopped us from having our traditional Green River Soda floats. This year I waited until today to start my search for this green staple and our St. Patrick’s Day tradition almost followed the way of the Dodo. During my lengthy search, I went to 3 different grocery chains in my and finally found a few bottles at Dominicks. And even at that I had to ask where it was hiding since they were almost sold out. But all’s well that ends well. I found a bottle of Green River soda and vanilla ice cream and was able to make Green River Floats for dessert.

This got me to thinking about floats and soda in general and so I started looking around Recipe4Living to see how many different ways you can make an ice cream float and found these other great ideas.

Orange Floats
Kool-Aid Floats
Chocolate Peanut Butter Floats

You can also use any type of soda including Sprite and Mt. Dew to make floats. They really are great no matter how you prepare them. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Although we have a number of wonderful Kugel recipes at Recipe4Living, I went with one that was recommended to me by my former co-worker, Maxine. Mom’s Rich and Delicious Noodle Kugel is admittedly not a “heart healthy” dish as it’s full of cheese, eggs and butter; but I decided to make it anyway. At the very least I knew my boys would eat it as noodles and cheese are still their favorite foods.

One of the first things I found out was that all of the ingredients need to be at room temperature; especially the cheese. So although I had originally intended to make it for dessert Saturday night, I realized it would take at least 4 hours for the ingredients to come up to temperature. Plan “B” was to eat it cold for breakfast the next morning.

Once I had all my ingredients assembled, it was time to grease the pan and add everything together. Whisking the eggs together was easy, but because my cream cheese was still a little cold in the middle, I was forced to cut it with a knife and squeeze it between my fingers to get it to blend well with the rest of the cheeses. Fortunately, my noodles were still piping hot so that helped meld the cheese together.

Since I don’t like almonds, I topped it with brown sugar and butter. Then it was into the oven at 350 for 1 1/2 hours where it became bubbly and golden brown. Since it was already 1am and I had a time-change to contend with, I left it on the counter to cool and headed off to bed.

The next morning my Kugel was not only cool, but firm to the touch and an extremely delicious breakfast. My family loved it so much that they want me to make another one as soon as possible. This time I’m planning to put the ingredients out first thing in the morning and eat it warm for dessert. Check out more of our delicious Kugel recipes below.

Best Noodle Kugel
Apple-Matzo Kugel
North Shore Chicago Hadassah’s Lick-Your-Fingers Kugel

I’d like to thank my 12 year old son, Jon for patiently standing on a chair and taking pictures while I made this recipe. Of course, he got the first taste and pronouced it DELICIOUS!

Are you one of those people that puts some kind of sauce on every meal you eat? I know several people just like that, and the first that comes to my mind is my boyfriend. Even if the food is already perfectly seasoned or tasty as is, he’ll douse it with any sauce he can get his hands on. Barbecue sauce, sweet and sour, hot sauce, honey mustard, they’re all winners in his book. It can be really frustrating though because sometimes the sauce compromises the original flavor that was intended.

But for the rest of March, I’m going to step away from my inclination to avoid the sauce because March is National Sauce Month. I’ll admit that sauce can definitely enhance the flavor of food, so that’s going to be my mindset. Whether it’s gravy, salad dressing or tomato sauce, it’s time to celebrate sauces that give an extra kick to a meal.

National Sauce Month has been celebrated for years. To celebrate, I’m thinking I might have to throw a saucy dinner party and invite friends to bring over their favorite sauce. I’m going to provide the meat, bread, potatoes and pasta. Just in case they don’t know which sauce to bring, I’m planning on sending a list of my favorite sauce recipes for inspiration.

Here are just a few sauces that I think my guests should consider bringing:

Crab Sauce
Plum Sauce
Cream Sauce
Safari Sauce
Arby’s Sauce

What are your favorite sauces? Mine is definitely pesto; it really makes a pasta just burst with flavor. Send in your favorite sauce recipes here!

What’s not to love about pizza? Oven-baked bread covered with creamy tomato sauce and topped with fresh mozzarella cheese. Just thinking about it, makes my stomach grumble. This food is a hit with most Americans, and rightly so. You can pretty much put anything you want on a pizza and eat it however you choose. Meat, vegetables, seafood; it all belongs on a pizza. In America, there are many regional forms of pizza, and I’ll eat them all.

New-York-style pizza comes to mind first. The slices are usually pretty large and thin, and some people actually fold the slice in half and then eat it. You can most often find this style of pizza in the Northeastern states. And it’s my favorite. But living in Chicago, I don’t usually publicize my preference for our rival’s style.

Chicago-style deep-dish pizza contains a very thick, doughy crust that is formed up the sides of a deep-dish pan. What makes this style special is that the order of some ingredients is reversed. From the bottom up, it’s crust, cheese, filling and then sauce. Stuffed pizza usually has two layers of crust with the sauce on top. Now don’t get me wrong, any pizza is good pizza to me. But this style is definitely a little messy, and it wouldn’t be my choice for a first date.

Other lesser known American pizza styles are:

California-style pizza usually contains non-traditional ingredients, usually whatever produce item is freshest. The crust is very thin, flimsy almost.

Neapolitan pizza has a thin and crisp crust covered by basil and mozzarella and is often cooked in a brick oven.

Greek pizza uses oil instead of pizza sauce, and it’s commonly topped with traditional Greek ingredients, like feta, olives and spinach.

Here are a few yummy pizza recipes that I enjoy:

Pizza alla Napoletana
Pizza Rustica
Pizza Romano
White Pizza

What’s your favorite style of pizza? Let us know! Send your recipes here!

Every Tuesday morning, I’m stuck driving into downtown Chicago, attending three back-to-back classes at Loyola University Chicago, hanging around and doing homework for about an hour and then going to a meeting. It’s a long day, to the say the least. Although I usually pack a light lunch to get me through that second class, during my break between classes and my meeting, I always make sure to head down the block to the wonderful little restaurant, the Soupbox.

This place is heaven-sent for me, a self-proclaimed soup lover. Not only do they have 12 gourmet soups made fresh daily, including vegan and gluten-free options, you also get a gigantic piece of bread (either sour dough or wheat) every time you order a soup. For those of you, who’d rather have a salad, don’t worry! They also have 12 fresh custom salads, which I have yet to try. On those tough days, this soup is the only thing that keeps me going!

Another plus: The staff is incredibly friendly. They always ask you how your day is and shout a farewell when you’re leaving. You can also have as many samples of the soup as you want too, just to see which one you want. My fave flavors? New England Clam Chowder and Lobster Bisque. I eat my soups separately. But you’d be surprised just how many people mix their two very different flavors of soup together. Either way, if you’re visiting the Chicago area, check this place out. If you decide to come during the winter, there’ll be a big change though. The Soupbox becomes the Icebox, serving 20 flavors ot Italian Ice.

Here are some of my other favorite soup recipes:

Potato, Corn, and Leak Chowder

Tomato and Veggie Soup

Farina Dumpling Soup

Harvest Moon Soup

What are your favorite soup recipes? Send them in here!

For Lent this year, I’ll be giving up meat. It’s day three and I already feel like I’m being majorly challenged. I’m a picky eater as it is, so cutting out all my chicken and beef isn’t giving me as many options for dinner. The first year that I fasted from meat, I was eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches almost every day. Thankfully, over the years, I’ve learned a few tricks to survive the Lenten season without feeling too starved of protein.

Seafood is your best friend! It’s really true! Personally, I love shrimp so I try to include it in as many pasta dishes as I can. Try this tasty Rolled Shrimp Alfredo Lasagna. Shrimp with a little cocktail sauce also makes a great snack food. Salmon is another surefire way to get a healthy and tasty dose of protein during Lent. Try Salmon Noodle Bake.

Veggies are there to save the day too! Maybe you want a salad (try this Asian Pilaf Salad). Or maybe you want to create a dish based around your favorite veggie, mine is spinach, there are many ways to incorporate vegetables for a healthy dinner. Try Artichokes and Herbs or Spinach and Chickpeas.

Say ah for pizza! It may not always be the healthiest idea for dinner, but pizza is my favorite food, and I make sure to have some at least once every two weeks during Lent. Remember there’s always a way to make something healthy, so try this Whole Wheat Pizza.

Pasta! There are so many different kinds of pastas; I promise, you won’t get bored of it during Lent. I really like Stuffed Manicotti. But for a healthier approach, try Low Fat Fettuccine Alfredo.

If all else fails, you can still eat Peanut Butter and Jelly Roll-Ups. These are just a few tips for Lent. You can try these 12 Meatless Recipes for Lent or these Six Delicious Dinners for Lent for other great food ideas.

Now that the Super Bowl is over, crunchy and salty are out for me. This Valentine’s Day, I’m craving something really sweet. I want creamy and crumbly and sugary! This year, I won’t be spending tons of money at a fancy restaurant. I’m staying in with my boyfriend and cooking up a romantic meal that I know we’ll both enjoy.

Instead of enduring the pain of making reservations, getting all dressed up and hoping that the food is good, we’re going to relax, watch a movie and enjoy a home-cooked meal that’s filled with love. Plus, I can use some of the recipes I’ve been waiting to try out! But, I’ve been kind of uncertain which to choose! Here are my ideas so far:

Appetizer:
Red Hot Valentine’s Day Salad
Valentine’s Day Salmon Pate
Mixed Greens with Hearts of Palm

Main Course:
Valentine’s Day Tomato Basil Pasta
Raspberry-Balsamic Glazed Chicken
Beef Tenderloins with Cherry Port Sauce

Dessert:
Giant Cherry Heart Dessert
My Romantically Delicious Fudge Brownies
Strawberry Sweetheart Cake

Can you help me choose?

If you have any recipes ideas for my Valentine’s Day meal,  submit them to Recipe4Living.com! I’ll choose my favorite and update this post next week with the winner.

Nutella has spread (pun intended) all over the world, and has become so popular that there is actually a day devoted to it. In 2007, two American food bloggers in Italy created World Nutella Day. This year the holiday lands on Feb. 5.  So here we are, three years later, continuing to celebrate the worldwide domination of Nutella. And why shouldn’t we? It’s creamy, chocolate-y and completely addictive.

It’s a kid’s dream: A chocolate-hazelnut spread that their parents allow them, and maybe even encourage them, to eat. This miraculous food aka Nutella is a product of the Ferrero Company. The earliest form of Nutella was created in the 1940s by Mr. Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker and founder of the Ferrero Company. Cocoa was in short supply due to World War II rationing, so Mr. Ferrero used hazelnuts instead. The rest is history.

To celebrate this sweet day, use Nutella in the kitchen any way you can this weekend. You can even create your own recipe using Nutella, and send it in to Recipe4Living so others can get the chance to try your delicious concoction. Or, try out one of the tasty recipes using Nutella at Recipe4Living and let the kid in you go wild. As the Italians would say: Ti amo Nutella!!

Chocolate Nutella Ravioli
Fried Dessert Pizza
Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
Crepes
Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Cake

Hummus, the chickpea spread that many of us know and love, is now at the center of the latest Middle Eastern conflict. Forget land settlements and religious wars. Let’s focus on something a little more important like say,  who can make the largest serving of hummus? After some back and forth controversy, Israel now has the lead with a world record of more than four metric tons of hummus. The prior record had just been set in October by Lebanese hummus makers. But regardless of who is leading this war on hummus, we’re really just craving some hummus!

Bring on the hummus recipes!  (Find them after the jump.)

Set your own world record or just make a small personal batch with these tasty hummus recipes! (Note: any world record attempts will require recipe conversion!)

Hummus Recipes:
Hummus
Mmm Hummus
Cream Cheese Hummus

Recipes That Use  Hummus:
Hummus Chicken and Brown Rice
Shredded Beef and Hummus Wraps
5- Layer Mediterranean Dip