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. 

Food and Me

My current eating habits are generally healthy with a few slips here and there. I like to eat fruits/veggies with every meal to balance out the snacks that I know I'll be craving later. I like to have 3 main meals a day and possibly break open some carrots/watermelon between meals. But this can't always be the case, when I'm low on money and waiting for my next deposit, I tend to eat a lot of fast food (Taco Bell holds a special place in my stomach) or skip meals all together. When I feel that I am getting low on money, I sometimes will stock up on breakfast shakes or other hunger-pacifying foods/beverages to help me get through the slump.

Currently, I make a breakfast of scrambled eggs (with cheese, onions, canadian bacon and mushrooms) with a banana and a glass of milk. Lunch is usually a sandwich or hot dog with chips and some kind of fruit/vegetable. And dinner varies depending on my mood of the day. You can say that I'm a mood eater! The mood that I am in when meal time comes around has a strong influence on how much effort I put into cooking and how hard I'll try to keep the meal healthy. (Sometimes I'm just so tired, so taco bell wins the debate!)

My signature food is Italian stuffed pasta shells! They are easy to make and delicious. It is my go-to dish when I'm having a nice dinner party, special occasion or feel like doing something special! Plus they taste great with broccoli and a salad :)

A Brand That Gets Me

If I had to pick a brand that gets me....it'd have to be Betty Crocker. All of their products are delicious! Every event I go to , I bake a funfetti cake or some of their amazing brownies. And I love the variety offered by their Hamburger Helper products. It's always a new and exciting adventure cooking a new flavor for the first time.

I like to make dinner for my friends and have dinner parties with them, so the Betty Crocker products are the perfect size for a small group to get together! Their commercials are also very fun and lighthearted, much like our dinner parties are.

Their bisquick makes the BEST pancakes, specially when mixed with chocolate chips. And all their muffin mixes, cookie mixes, cereals and yogurt are delicious!

I also really like what they do with their Box Tops for Education. I feel that it is a very good cause and, because of my giving nature, I really support them!

My Typical Day

With graduate school being as hectic as it is, my typical day is a pretty busy one....even though I only have class 2 days a week (and some weeks they are online, so even less then that!), I am constantly studying/reading/writing for my classes (I'm currently enrolled in three). My weekdays and weekends don't vary too often because two of my classes are on Saturdays and the other one is Thursday nights.

I make time to workout daily also. My workouts may vary from 1-2.5 hours and intensity varies as well. I like to mix it up a bit and some days will go for a long bike ride or jog. I also enjoy playing tennis and used to be very big into soccer.

On weeks when I am off from class, I usually drive up to Gainesville to visit my boyfriend. While there, my days are still relatively the same (workout, study/read/write for class, etc.).

Also, I recently started a company with my mother printing customized baggage tags for airlines/individuals. So any free time from school is spent on designing/printing/mailing our orders.

At the end of every day, I like to relax in front of the television. My top three tv shows to watch are: CSI:Miami, The Office and anything on the Discovery Channel!

All About Me

Hello World!

My name is Chelsea. I'm a 22 year old graduate student with a BS in international affairs and am currently working towards a master's degree in non-profit management. I hope to take my studies further and obtain a PhD in leadership studies/organizational sociology.

I'm a pretty laid back person, born and raised in Florida will do that to you! :) I've always been interested in helping others in any way possible, mainly with volunteering and offering advice to those in need. I love the feeling I get when I'm am helping others, such a warm and inspirational feeling that builds and builds.

I have a younger sister (just turned 15 today!) who is my world! She's a crazy, wacky little lady and she's a killer on the tennis court. We have our fights but what are siblings without arguments? She's all around an amazing person!

I have a variety of hobbies including: tennis, working out, scuba diving, running and photography, among others. And I LOVE traveling! I have a strong desire to see the world and learn everything that I can about other cultures/people. I find all of that stuff very fascinating! And learning new languages is very exciting to me...so far I have studied spanish and italian and plan on learning even more as my life goes on.