Tabasco

When I think of Tabasco I think "owwww my mouth!" I am NOT very good with spicy food, which is unfair with how much I like it. To someone who is unfamiliar with Tabasco I would explain it as a spicy peppery sauce that makes tacos really pop! I only really use it on Mexican food (tacos, enchiladas, etc.) because I am very sensitive to spicy food. It isn't exactly something that I wouldn't be able to live without, but I definitely like the way that it makes my tacos/enchiladas taste!

Tobasco, as a person, would be a very edgy looking executive type. A person that people like to deal with but only in small doses to make a business meeting/deal go through with great skill because they are so good at what they do. They would probably listen to hard rock type music that shakes the speakers and makes the bass go 'boom!'. 

Spices and Flavors

I wish I had more input on this question...I have only recently begun to experiment in spicing/flavoring my food. I usually just use salt and pepper and leave the rest to be its natural flavor- with the exception of teriyaki marinade on my meats.  I'd like to become more knowledgeable on spices and flavors in the future!

Eating Out

I live for Taco Bell. But I still like most other fast food restaurants also- McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, KFC, etc. When I decide to eat out- I usually like to go somewhere quick and easy because I'm usually eating out because I don't have time to cook. I also like to go to Moe's sometimes for their deliciously large burittos! And pizza is never a bad choice for a Friday night!  At taco bell I usually order a tostada, pintos and cheese and a chicken quesadilla. At Moe's I get the junior triple indy with queso and mushrooms on top of ground beef, pinto beans, rice, cheese and sour cream. I've also recently discovered Einstein's egg-white bagel sandwiches...those are amazing! 

Food Preparation

When I prepare food, I like to multi-task. I don't cut up all ingredients first and have them sitting neatly on the side as I slowly add them in the pan. For example, one meal that I like making is chicken teriyaki with onions and mushrooms, mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. Usually I will set the chicken into marinade for 20 minutes before I begin cooking and cut up some onions and put them in the pan with olive oil on low heat. As the onions start to cook, I take out mushrooms and cut them up to throw on the pan with the onions. At that point I'll flip the chicken in the marinade also. Sometimes I'll add some marinade to the pan for the onions and mushrooms to soak up. Once I put the chicken on the pan, I turn up the heat and put the mashed potatoes in the microwave. The rest of the process is simply checking the chicken, mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese (mashed potatoes and macaroni are both microwaved so they require switching/stirring often).

When I'm cooking with my boyfriend we work as a team! It's almost ridiculous how well we work together switching duties and watching each other's portion of the meal so that nothing burns. It's fun to know that we can cook so well together, it's definitely important!  

3 Ingredients I Couldn't Live Without

If I was stranded on a deserted island, I would need mushrooms, eggs and watermelon. I like to mix mushrooms with everything! Eggs, salads, chicken, hamburgers, shrimp, etc. (I could go on all day!) I like to have eggs every day for breakfast, I feel incomplete if I haven't had any (even if their just basic scrambled eggs), and I could eat watermelon all day every day....it delicious!

About Food

I feel that food is FUN! It's exciting to try new recipes/ingredients. I especially love going to the South Florida Swap Shop market and other farmer's markets (specifically when I'm in Gainesville/Tallahassee visiting my boyfriend/friends. I like trying to make some of my own concoctions off of other recipes that I find. It's always fun to have a potluck dinner with my friends where each of us brings a new idea to the party or maybe a new dish! 

Food Evolution

Over my life, my eating habits have changed drastically! When I lived at home (up until freshman year of college), I was very big into soccer and was usually running from practice to practice with no time to stop and prepare meals. My mom was also running my younger sister around so she had no time to cook either. Most of my meals were fast food/drive thru due to my lack of time for anything else. I got food when I had the time, and it was usually only enough time to drive thru somewhere for food.

Since starting college, my eating habits have become more healthy--or at least lean in a more healthy direction. This change started happening when I was diagnosed with mono and was taking a nutrition class within the same semester of my freshman year in college. With my mono, I was never hungry, just always tired. But I learned in my nutrition class the necessities of the human body and what I needed to do to eat healthy. So I began making an eating plan for myself to follow to maintain my health during the mono.

Since freshman year, I have become less strict on my eat plan/diet but still maintain a healthy outlook on most of my meals. I do what I can to make my meals healthier and only splurge for unhealthy snacks/fast food if I plan on balancing it with a workout.