Food + Drink — Page 12

Healthy and Quick Lunch Options at Work and School with Healthy Choice

March 20, 2016

Healthy Choice Café Steamers Spaghetti & Meatballs Healthy Lunch or Dinner Options for Work or School — Healthy Choice Café Steamers Spaghetti & Meatballs

While juggling both work and school, it’s hard to find time in the day to make a healthy meal for lunch or dinner. Healthy Choice makes it easy with their Café Steamers, a line of frozen meals that feature a unique tray-in-tray system that allows the food to steam while cooking. Did you know Healthy Choice is the only major brand in the frozen meals section that can call 100% of its products “healthy” as approved by the FDA? I didn’t!

All Healthy Choice meals are made with real ingredients and no preservatives so you don’t have to worry about sacrificing taste or freshness. Since the ingredients aren’t frozen in the sauce they have a fresh, more vibrant taste. I think it’s awesome that they take into account that there has to be a mix of essential daily nutrients, vitamins, protein, etc. in each and every meal.

Healthy Choice Café Steamers are so easy to bring to the office or to school. They microwave in just a few minutes and they’re ready to go- all without breaking the bank. It’s a lot easier than going through a drive through or eating another unhealthy option.

If you haven’t tried the Healthy Choice Café Steamers yet, definitely go out and try them- my favorite is the Spaghetti & Meatballs! Find Healthy Choice Café Steamers in the freezer aisle at grocery stores nationwide for the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $3.29.

This post is sponsored by http://toplegalsteroidsforsale.com/.

**This is a sponsored post- for more information, please read my Disclosure Policy**

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

The Bun Shop In Koreatown

February 29, 2016

The Bun Shop is a food truck-turned brick and mortar in Koreatown that serves the *best* bao buns in L.A. I’ve been a loyal fan since 2011 when I stopped by their truck randomly when I went to the DTLA Art Walk. The shop opened in early 2014 and since then I’ve made my sisters, brother, and dad eat there with me as much as I can convince them. Now, I live much closer to the shop so I’ve been enjoying some buns maybe twice a month at least. Once my dad even came to my apartment to give me something & wound up making me get in his car to grab some buns…while I was in pajamas (no judgements there). The Bun Shop is the collaborative effort of Brian Yeun and chef James Seok. A fun fact I recently learned is that Brian’s brother is Steven Yeun, who plays Glenn on The Walking Dead (thanks to The New Potato for that!).

I’d recommend the Kalbi bun, which is beef, a tempura onion (the pièce de résistance in my opinion), mixed greens, and a spicy aioli. 1 bun costs $3.75, but you save the more you get- I usually get 2 or 3, because I have a problem (but really it’s no problem at all). They also have chicken, pork, and spam buns as well as 2 vegetarian options. I wouldn’t know about any of those because I’m a Kalbi bun loyalist. I also love their shop fries ($5) which are delish because they have rosemary on them- the best. The interior design is great and they even serve beer & wine and have happy hour specials.

The cherry on top is the fact that everything is so affordable- you can get a meal for anywhere from $10-15, and it’s both great quality + quantity. If you’re in the L.A. area and haven’t tried The Bun Shop yet, run, don’t walk, and tell them I sent you! 😉

The Bun Shop
151 N. Western Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90004

My Brunch Tea Party With Lipton | #LiptonTeaTime

February 22, 2016

I was so excited to get the opportunity to host my first *ever* party at my apartment this past weekend thanks to Lipton. I have always wanted to throw a party but was always pretty intimidated by the idea- but I knew that my friends would love a brunch + tea party, so that’s exactly what I decided to do!

Lipton’s new black and herbal varieties and improved green teas refresh the tea experience with bold and stimulating flavors, such as Enticing Chai, Pure Green, Orange Passionfruit Jasmine and Peach Mango. I have tried out quite a few of the flavors, and I have to say- I’m impressed! Personally I love the black teas. The Lipton Amazingly Grey, Daring English Breakfast, and Stirring Ceylon teas are definitely going to be finished quickly because I’m obsessed! If you’re a fan of fruity teas, try the Peach Mango or Purple Açai Blueberry flavors that would be great hot or iced. I made sure to have a wide selection of teas for my friends, because everyone likes something different, and thankfully Lipton has something for everyones tastes.

I created a fun DIY tea bar so my friends could come up and make their tea just the way they like it. An electric kettle is a must for a tea party to ensure you always have hot water. Don’t forget cream and various sweeteners to appeal to everyone’s tastebuds. For some added flair, I got a banner and put letter stickers on to say “Tea Time” and I thought it looked super cute! I decorated the table with flowers, a chalkboard frame, and some gold- a fringey table skirt and some confetti! The place cards are a nice touch so everyone knows what everything is- taking out the guesswork!

I really wanted to create a fun selfie photo booth wall to take pictures at. I used the same table skirt (you can also use a long version meant for a door!), a tassel garland, and some balloons all in the same color scheme. I put a soft box studio light in front to ensure that it was the perfect selfie lighting!

Sugar cubes are a tea time classic, so I made my own using a cute jewel candy mold I found at a craft store. You mix a small amount of sugar with water (1/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons water) and food coloring and press it in the mold to dry overnight. They didn’t turn out perfect, but they kind of looked like rose petals so I thought they were cute anyway! And how cute are they in the classic tea set sugar dish?!

I made a fun tablescape with a white tablecloth, striped placemats, paper doilies, and the same gold confetti. I had a great flower arrangement in the center of the table and made sure to have lots of brunch snacks for my guests to enjoy! The name place cards to go with the teacups was a fun added touch that everyone enjoyed. You can easily do a party on a budget- everything I got was either borrowed, or from stores like Target, Paper Source, and Hobby Lobby. Overall I think the party was a hit & now I’m coming up with more ways to have parties in the future.

Don’t forget to try out the new & improved Lipton Teas- check out the full line-up of Lipton Green, Black and Herbal tea flavors here.

**This is a sponsored post- for more information, please read my Disclosure Policy**

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies: Lipstick & Sassy Conversation Hearts Recipe & Decorations Tutorial | Video

February 12, 2016

I love making decorated sugar cookies for all of the holidays. So, with Valentine’s Day coming up I thought I would share how I make my cookies & a few tips for decorating so you can make them too! Decorating these cookies is very calming to me, because I only focus on making them look great & not whatever else is going on in my life. But, the funny thing is- I don’t even like how they taste because I don’t like sugar cookies much!

I didn’t invent these recipes at all, so I can’t take credit for them. I’ve followed BakeAt350 for years, and have only used her Vanilla Almond Sugar Cookie recipe to make my cookies, although I change it a bit. Then, the royal icing is from Sweetopia. Definitely check these blogs out if you like baking because they’re a lot better than me! Also, a little secret…if you’re lazy and don’t want to make the cookies yourself, just buy pre-made dough or a mix, and cut out into shapes, freeze for 5 minutes, and bake according to the package instructions. This way, you still get to decorate them but the entire process doesn’t take as long.

Vanilla-Almond Sugar Cookie Recipe

3 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
Hearty Pinch Of Salt
1 Cup Granulated White Sugar
2 Sticks of Butter (I use unsalted)
1 Egg
3/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 Teaspoon Almond Extract

Preheat over to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and extracts and mix. Add baking powder and salt. Gradually incorporate flour and beat until combined. Hand knead the dough because it’s crumbly. Roll out thick- about 1/4 inch to 3/8 inches thick and cut into whatever shapes you like. Place on parchment lined cookie sheets, freeze for 5 minutes before baking to prevent spreading, and then bake for 10-12 minutes.

Royal Icing Recipe

6 oz (3/4 cup) of warm water
5 tablespoons meringue powder
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 kilogram (2 1/4 lbs) powdered icing sugar
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of clear extract

Sift powdered sugar to prevent any clumps. In a mixer bowl with the paddle attachment pour in the warm water and meringue powder. Mix it with a whisk by hand until frothy and thickness (~30 seconds). Add cream of tartar and mix again. Add any extract (optional) and pour in all of the powdered sugar at once and mix on low for a full 10 minutes.

After you make this royal icing, you can thin it to your desired consistencies and separate it into colors to tint with the AmeriColor Food Gels.

A few things you’ll also need:

wet paper towels to cover the royal icing so it doesn’t harden, and to clean off piping tips
piping tips (I use Wilton #1 and #2 mostly)
squeeze bottles
toothpicks
food coloring markers (for conversation heart cookies)
lustre dust (edible- found at Michael’s)
vodka (to mix with lustre dust and food coloring for stamping)
new stamps in letters or any designs you want

I hope the process I described was pretty straight forward- it was hard to trim down hours of footage into 23 minutes, but it’s still a long video to watch. Just pretend you’re watching the food network I guess! Let me know how you like this video and I will try to do more recipe videos (that aren’t as long!) soon. And don’t forget, if you make these cookies, don’t forget to share them on instagram or twitter and tag me @oliviafrescura!

Trendy Açai Bowls at Backyard Bowls in West Hollywood

February 11, 2016

Over the past year or so I’ve seen so many smoothie and açai bowls on instagram and have been wanting to try one, but just never really gotten around to it. A few months back I Postmate’d (use my code nysbd for $10 off delivery!) from an açai bowl place and was sorely disappointed in both the flavor and quality. But, I decided to give them a second chance. Santa Barbara’s Backyard Bowls recently made their way to Los Angeles with a storefront on Melrose Ave. in West Hollywood. I was shopping a few weeks back and wanted a quick breakfast and decided to give them a try- and I’m glad I did.

Backyard Bowls specializes in smoothie, porridge, and grain bowls but also make regular smoothies. They pride themselves in using fresh ingredients- and it shows. It kind of works in a line similar to Chipotle or Subway, where one person selects ingredients, blenders blend in the soundproof blending room, and lastly, the toppings are added. The bowls are a bit expensive, ranging from $8.95 to $14.95 and available in small and large sizes. The LA location has minimal seating- some outdoor, but mainly indoor communal picnic tables. So, bring your friends or take it to go to avoid the crowds!

I kept it simple with the Berry Bowl- a base of açai, banana, strawberry, and apple juice topped with granola, banana, strawberry, blueberry, goji berry, and honey. I LOVED it! I think the added base ingredients really made the difference- the bowl

I had gotten from another shop was mainly. The BYB bowls are blended silky smooth.

Of course this is still a lot of sugar to have, even though it’s fruit, so I don’t know if I would consider the bowls entirely healthy. But, they sure are tasty, and healthier than a short stack! Next time I may leave off the goji berries as they were a little weird for me, but everything else was dead on for me.

If you’ve shied away from trying açai bowls and live in LA- definitely give Backyard Bowls a chance, as they are the experts. Next I’d definitely want to try to make my own at home- and I’ll be sure to post a recipe once I do!