I come from a family of people who love food. On Saturdays throughout my childhood, I would wake to the smell of bacon and freshly brewed coffee and scramble to the kitchen for a cheesy omelette made by my dad. On Sundays, the lure was perfectly light and flaky biscuits baked from scratch by my mother or sometimes a homemade rhubarb crumble. I grew up on big pots of bubbling chili and moist cornbread, on pierogis (polish dumplings), brisket, tabbouleh, and tacos. Chicago is a playground for my family's cravings and for my aunt's career as a chef and food writer. Now that I've gone away to school, cooking is very therapeutic for me and I cook a lot in my house's kitchen. This is my time to experiment with flavors and textures and to discover which foods work best for me. I was a vegetarian for a year and a half, but recently started indulging in meat again. I found that I was not receiving enough protein or iron, and locally sourced meats help me to incorporate lean sources of energy. In celebration of finishing a year of university, I had surf-and-turf for the first time and can now say that I understand its appeal...
Just because I've started eating meat again, doesn't mean I don't acknowledge the harmful effects of eating large quantities of animal products. I try to munch on fruits and veggies and non-processed goodies, and, for the most part, don't eat dairy except for greek yogurt and the occasional piece of cheese. I love whipping up smoothies in the mornings, starting with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 0% plain greek yogurt, and a ripe banana and blending in mix-ins such as:
- Goji berries
- Chia seeds
- Hemp protein powder
- Cacao powder
- PB2 powdered peanut butter
- Dark chocolate chunks
- Frozen blueberries
- Pureed pumpkin
Recently, because the weather has been heating up, I've started adding mix-ins to my ice water as well and my favorite combination is peach slices, lime and chopped mint leaves.
I'll post some recipes soon!
xoxo - jenny g.