Cold Remedy: Lemon Ginger Tea

A couple of days ago, I felt the clammy grasp of a cold threatening to take over. At the first symptoms, I immediately whipped up a steaming batch of my trusty cold remedy: lemon ginger tea. I have a love-hate relationship with this tea. The thing is, I absolutely hate ginger. When I was a child, my mom would force me drink a bowl of ginger soup whenever I had the slightest hint of a cough or runny nose. I would pinch my nose and whimper as I drank it, all the while throwing pitiful looks at her. Despite my theatrics, I finished every last drop because it really does work!

Over the years, I altered my mom's original ginger soup recipe into something a little more palatable. I added lemon for a vitamin C boost and some honey for a sweeter taste.

Ingredients:
- 1 large wedge of lemon
- 1/2 cup ginger, grated
- honey, to taste

Directions:
Grate fresh ginger into a pot of boiling water. Let simmer for 3-5 minutes, or until the liquid becomes pale yellow and smells spicy. Remove from heat and squeeze in the lemon juice. Pour the tea into a strainer/cheesecloth to remove the ginger pieces or leave them if you're a fan of ginger. Stir in honey right before you drink the tea.

Fresh ginger is a lot more effective than the packaged ginger teas. The taste is a lot stronger too! If you find yourself heating up after th
is drink, it's working. Drink it several times a day and you'll feel a lot better. If you catch your cold early enough, you can completely ward if off with this tea. Try it and see how it works.

        Stay Warm,

DIY Microwavable Meals

As college students, we're often too busy to cook healthy meals.  I save time and money by making my own frozen meals. Commercial microwavable meals have way too much sodium and preservatives, not to mention they're not exactly easy on the wallet! ;( By making your own meals, you can have it all-- convenience, healthiness, and cost-efficiency.

On the weekends, I cook a large batch of food. After it cools, I split it into separate portions in microwave and freezer-safe containers. The food can store up to a month in the freezer (possibly longer, but I always finish everything before then). Whenever I'm pressed for time or feeling lazy, I just pop a container into the microwave and enjoy my meal. :)

I usually freeze fried rice, steamed vegetables, or thick soups such as butternut squash soup. The possibilities are endless! Basically anything that isn't too watery or crunchy (eg. chicken noodle soup, lettuce, tortilla chips) will make a good microwavable meal.

Freezer-friendly foods:

• Pasta
• Lasagna
• Chicken fillet 
• Fish fillet 
• Spaghetti sauce
• Meatballs
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Mushrooms
• Peas
• Corn
• Steak
• Potatoes

You can pair your frozen meal with other dishes for more variety. It's also a good way to stock up on home-cooked foods when visiting family. You can enjoy a little piece of home throughout the school year. (:

   
        Stay healthy,

Healthy, Homemade Popcorn

A healthy, chemical-free, and cheap way to make popcorn at home! Instead of using butter or canola oil, coconut oil can be used as a substitute, given its many health benefits and ability to with-stand high temperatures. Plus, popcorn is so much cheaper to make at home! Hope you enjoy :)


Ingredients:
kernels
coconut oil
salt
seasoning (optional)

Recipe:
1. Find a medium - large sized pot with a lid, preferably a clear lid so you can see the kernels pop!
2. Spoon some coconut oil into the pot. Put enough in so that the bottom of the pot is covered in coconut oil.
3. Turn the heat on high and pop in 3 kernels.
4. Once all 3 kernels pop, the oil is hot enough to add in the other kernels. Don't add too much or the pot will overfill!
5. Allow kernels to pop until the popping slows to maybe a pop a second.
6. Salt and/or season.
7. Eat! :)

*Warning: Try to find a pot large enough to cover the size of the stove top. It can be hazardous if the popcorn overfills the pot and lands on the stove, especially when it's covered in oil.

organic, non-GMO kernels yum! :)

Melting the coconut oil

Waiting for the oil to heat up

Popping the kernels!

Yum! :)

Lemon Thyme Potatoes

Hi everyone!
I've recently had extra time on my hands now that it's summer...and decided to experiment with some fresh herbs from the garden in the backyard. I haven't had the opportunity to cook with the lemon thyme so I thought I'd make a vinaigrette out of it and toss some potatoes in it. Here's the recipe, hope you guys like it! Enjoy :)

Potatoes and Lemon Thyme Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
24 oz small red potatoes
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup olive oil
1 lemon
2 tbsp chopped, fresh lemon thyme
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F
2.Slice the red potatoes into bite-sized halves and coat them with the salt and pepper and 2 tsp olive oil.
3. Bake the potatoes for 20 min.
4. While the potatoes are baking, juice the lemon and mix it with the 1/2 cup olive oil and chopped lemon thyme. Feel free to add lemon zest in as well.
5. Take the potatoes out of the oven and toss them vigorously in the vinaigrette. If you find that you don't have enough seasoning, feel free to add more salt and pepper.
6. Enjoy :)

Here are some pics I took while making this recipe!

Red potatoes pre-baking

Fresh lemon thyme! (and my hand..and toes...)

Mixing the lemon thyme vinaigrette!

(Yup mixing with my handy dandy chopsticks... like any other typical asian...)

Potatoes post-baking!

 Finished product. Yum!