The Grilled Cheese Academy.

Nothing in my life comes higher on my personal priority list than melty cheese. I consider grilled cheese a reason to live. My ecstasy at the discovery of the Grilled Cheese Academy (Sponsored by Wisconsin Cheese) was insurmountable. The Grilled Cheese Academy features the best Grilled Cheese recipes in all the land. The recipes are dictated to you by Jenna Fisher... from The Office. I couldn't make this shit up...

You Are Who You Eat.

My dear friend Sanja Avramovic updates on the fruit & veggie's that are in season, which is fantastic because i never know what's in season & there's something about eating bananas in December that says "something here might have come from Nicaragua".  I'm not much of a carnivore myself, but I don't think I'm educated enough on the actual healthy healing properties of vegetables, so through extensive research (i googled "food")  I've come up with a comprehensive list on the individual purposes of specific vegetables:

This is pancakes... I'm not going to talk about pancakes in this entry at all... 

i just love this picture, plus now I've fooled you into thinking there might 

be pancakes here, thus forcing you to be educated on the chemical effects 

of your healthy food. See, i had an agenda all along. What a bitch.

Digestion: Bananas, asparagus, artichokes & onions!  All of which contain Prebiotics (the fibre that stimulates the good bugs) 


Vision:  Kale (gross. Only for the grossest of dutch people), spinach, peas, broccoli,eggs & Swiss chard. The Chard is especially rich in two carotenoids called lutein and zeaxanthin, which are also present in the eyes. It looks likely that diets rich in these beneficial compounds may protect eye health by helping to reduce the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts. 


Sun Protection: Tomatoes, red peppers, green tea, mackerel (wtf is mackerel?) & watermelon. Have all been proved to help aid in the protection of the skin against damage from UV light. 

Anti-Aging: Berries, broccoli, peppers, carrots & Coriander. Coriander especially, it contains good levels of betacarotene and vitamin C, two of the antioxidants thought to protect against age-related disease, and measures up pretty well against other antioxidant-rich fruit and veg. 

Healthy Liver (listen closely university students): Artichokes, rocket (...), blueberries, beetroot, broccoli & COFFEE. If I told you there was a drink that might reduce the risk of diabetes, Parkinson’s, cirrhosis, gallstones and liver cancer, you might be surprised to find it in Starbucks. But coffee is such a significant source of antioxidants that it could feasibly claim to be a health beverage. (see mom)

Cancer Prevention: Apples, oranges, parsley, tea, red wine & onions (which are particularly plentiful in quercetin, a compound that may possess cancer–protective properties.)

Immune Boosters: Garlic, watercress, tomatoes, pumpkin seeds & curry. 

Weight Loss: some "fill you up foods" are usually low-energy- density which is favorable when trying to fend off weight gain. So lean your fat ass towards some corrugates, rye bread, apples, brown rice & celery.

Heart Helpers: Red wine, nuts, fish oil (omega3) & darker grapes (the darker the grapes, the higher the polyphenol levels are likely to be, these polyphenols are widely touted for their cardioprotective properties.)

Mood Lifters: Turkey, salmon, dark chocolate, bananas, oat cakes & black pepper. All have chemical effects similar to that of an antidepressant. 

Metabolism: Brazil nuts, tuna, beef, cod, eggs & mussels ( my personal favorite, rich in selenium - involved in thyroid function, immunity & reproductive health... so eat and be fruitful).

Brain Food:  Sardines, salmon, mackerel (seriously), hempseed oil, pumpkin seeds & walnuts. All of which are rich in omega-3 fats, thought to improve learning & memory. 

Vitality: Liver, chicken, beef, lamb, beans, dried fruit & venison. None of this sounds appetizing at all but each is a significant source of protein, B vitamins, iron and zinc

If Your Eggo is Prego: Dark green leafy veg, dried figs, avocados, whole wheat & beetroot all provide natural folic acid, which fetuses like... 

Cleansing Foods: Beans, brown rice, lentils, oats & rye bread , the benefits of each include improved digestive health & the reduced risk of colon cancer & heart disease.

Energy Foods: Meat, oats, lentils, nuts, and butter beans. Packed full of a healthy combo of protein, complex carbohydrates and fibre, these guys boast an impressively low glycaemic index (GI). This means they provide a gradual release of nutrients into the bloodstream to stabilize energy levels

Bone Builders: Milk, chickpeas, spinach, broccoli, kale (damn you gross healthy dutch) & halloumi (a cheese made from sheep or goats milk, lower in fat & salt than most hard cheese). All good sources of calcium, essential for strong bones. 

Skin Friendly: Oranges, strawberries, raspberries, peppers & sweet potato.

Hunger Heroes: Apples, porridge, beans, whole grains & cashew. (Cashews have a lower fat content than most nuts and most of it is ‘good’ fat.)

Hormones: Miso, pumpkin seeds, leafy green veg, green tea & hemp seeds. (TIP For PMS Sufferers: put the butcher knife down & sprinkle hemp seeds on your cereal or buy cold pressed hemp seed oil as a dressing or a drizzler.)

Addiction Affliction

The reasons i don't gamble & have made the decision to stop drinking (i can have wine with food, that is all) is because, like many people i have an incredibly addictive personality... for instance, I stayed up all night just so that i could try and beat my high score on Marble Shooter, I spend an unfortunate ammount of money on buttons, I have 3 times the clothing that i can physically facilitate, I've seen every Shirley Temple movie, I've seen every episode of The Office, Criminal Minds & Weeds over 3 times, if i go a day without coffee i get blinding migraines, every time i shower i have to essentially bathe myself in lotion afterward & i watch the news religiously, just so that i can pick out the inverted tenses. I wondered if there were other strange addictions out there & i found some shockingly popular addictions:

Shopping! Old movies! Starbucks!

Tanorexia: Addiction to Tanning

"The name comes because of its similarities to both substance addictions & body image disorders, such as anorexia. There is some evidence that UV tanning dependence may have biological underpinnings like other addictions, such as the production of endorphins."

Side Note: EVERYONE from the cast of the Jersey Shore has this problem.

CrackBerry: Addiction to BlackBerry

"Hearing a "phantom ring" (or experiencing a phantom vibration) and constantly checking e-mail are signs of BlackBerry addiction. Experts say e-mail and text messages may feed the ego because they make people feel important.

Side Note: I have a blackberry! I'm not really THAT enthralled with my phone though, but i do often feel phantom vibrating when it's in my purse.

Addiction to Cosmetic Surgery
"Patients who do not have an addiction to plastic surgery are satisfied when they leave; addicts think just one more procedure—and then another, and another, and another—will make them look perfect. This addiction can be the result of Body Dysmorphic Disorder, which is an unhealthy preoccupation with physical appearance or a specific body part. A famous addict is millionaire Jocelyn Wildenstein, who spent over $4,000,000 on cosmetic surgery over the years."

Side Note: She paid that much money to look like the deformed housebound brother from the Goonies?! "BABY RUTH!"

Pagophagia: Addiction to Ice

"Refers to the obsessive need to chew on ice. Scientific research shows Pagophagia can be a sign of low iron in the blood. The addition of B vitamins can help increase red blood cell production, and vitamin C can aid in the absorption of iron."

Side Note: I read an article that said people with Pagophagia often chew up to 10 lbs of ice per day

Addiction To Funerals

"This is so unique, it doesn't even have a name. Brazilan man Luis Squarisi suffers what he calls an addiction to funerals. The 42-year-old man from Batatais, has attended every single funeral in his town for the past 20 years and has quit his job to be able to feed his addiction. "What set me off was my father's death in 1983. The first thing I do every morning is to turn on the radio to find out if anyone has died, if I don't hear it on the radio I call the hospitals and the local funeral home", said the man. A spokesperson for local funeral home, São Vicente, said: "We dont want him to go to therapy, everyone expects to see him at the funerals."

Side Note: That's endearing.

Geophagy: Addiction To Dirt
'The extraordinary practice of earth eating is well documented by medical and anthropology journals and classified as "pica" or "geophagy". While not being considered a social norm in Western society, the custom is quite common among primitive or economically depressed peoples, and also animals, to augment a scanty or mineral-deficient diet. However, the practice is most often confined to people suffering from chronic mental illness and commonly labeled as "nutters".
Side Note: When my brother was little we'd convince him to eat dirt all of the time... he's not developmentally challenged.

Teeth Whitening Addiction
"Since bleaching is easy and effective, people can really get hooked. Two possible side effects of this addiction are tooth sensitivity and gum irritation. According to a report, in the US alone, people spent almost $1.4 billion on tooth whitening products and procedures in 2006."

Side Note: ... I think my boyfriend has something like this, he spends 30 -35 minutes brushing his teeth at one time.

CRAVING Cupcakes

I love you Crave Cupcakes.

Nothing Says Love Like Food

I am a particularly big fan of messages through food. I think food just manages to say all of the right things, in all of the right ways. In the same way that double fudge ice cream says "you don't need [insert ex-significant other here]", cake say's "happy birthday", home cooked dinner says "welcome home" and chocolate covered bacon says "i might be pregnant". For me, nothing say's "i love you, please stop acting like a bitch"

louder than coffee but if you wanted to take it one unnecessary step further and literally put it in the cup.

www.coffeestencil.com

Offers a lot of different stencils (an uncomfortable amount of cat stencils as well as customized text stencils!)

I liked the "I Love You" stencil because you could unconventionally express love, as well as remind yourself you love you, whatever you want to do, it's just something pleasant to wake up to. What would i write if i were to customize a stencil you ask? Oh wait, you didn't ask? You don't care?

I'd write "You're probably late, rock this coffee in an environmentally friendly to-go cup, you bitch."