What's on your plate?

[lylysa]

Hello there, ladies and gents!

Keeping in line with all the fun and interactive threads asking about your most recent halls, items you have your eyes on, what you're currently wearing, what's your hair routine, and more, I've decide to branch out and ask:

"What's on your plate?"

The beauty world doesn't just stop at skin care and cosmetics, it also goes hand in hand with your overall health and well-being, so with that, I'm curious to see what we're all chowing down and snacking on be it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, or inbetween!

For those with apps that help count calories or to those who just want to keep a log, here's a place to share, possibly find and share some recipes, and even tips on maintaining a balanced diet.

Don't just share food items, but even drinks! I'm a huge fan of tea and at least have a cup of green tea a day (anti-oxidants) and drink plenty of water.

For lunch today, I had:

-Brown rice

-Steamed egg

-Steamed red snapper with green onion, sesame oil, and black pepper

-Gai lan (it's a type of Chinese vegetable/greens)

Now, tell me, Beauty Talk world, what do you have? 😄

[Anonymous]

We mostly do sweet cornbread here (it's the only way to get it in the South), but my mom will throw some shredded cheddar cheese and a small can of chopped jalapenos to the mix before baking it.  It gives it just a bit of heat and savory, while keeping the sweet aspect.  ^_^

Those waver-wings usually aren't worth it.  They're cranking up the heat by adding straight capsaicin oil, which gives it all the chemical burn with no real addition to flavor.  Bleah.

[neko333]

Well I'm also southern, and sweet was strange to me. That was not how anyone in my family makes it. 

Wings of that heat are less because you enjoy spicy and more because you want a challenge. I've eaten this kind of stuff since I was little though. I'd always want the hottest on the menu. Someone once told my dad when he was ordering them for me that it was (jokingly) considered child abuse. I got home with them and my Mom was at first mad because my Dad just wasted money on something she thought I wouldn't eat. To her horror I ate them all. 

[lylysa]

I'm in the South too, and though I've had a range of cornbread, sweet is the way I tend to lean. At Esdee, cheese sounds real good right now....mmmm...cheesey....

That's a funny story, Neko! I bet your mom's eyes were all O_O as you were chowing down! You ever try your hand at Thai food? Thai food can tend to get quite spicy yet still retain lots of flavor. There's also a Korean place I go to that has spicy clam and tofu soup that is to die for! Every time I eat it I'm slurping to try to cool my mouth down yet I keep eating because it's so good!

[kimchikween]

How did I miss the conversation about kimchi?!  Hahahaa - yes it smells.  I had to stop my mom from packing it in my lunch growing up.  Koreans always have a separate kimchi refrigerator so as to not stink up the rest of the food.  But it's soooo good.  There's a great Anthony Bourdain episode in Korea where they show how it's made.  Ah..now I'm missing my grandma who used to make it (though without the hole digging).

[lylysa]

My mom used to pack seaweed and dried squid in my lunch, but I didn't mind. The kids did stare and give me odd looks but my happy tummy overruled any sense of feeling judged haha!

Although when I take steamed fish to work (steamed with green onion, ginger, and fish soy sauce) employees do get all huffy and puffy because they can smell it from the kitchen!

[neko333]

I've never tried Korean. My dad was stationed in South Korea so he's probably had a lot of authentic Korean food. He told me about the Kimchi and how bad it smelled.

Thai just sounds strange to me. I don't even think there are any places like that around here to try if I wanted to. 

[lylysa]

I'm not a fan of Kimchi (I'm not a fan of anything pickled to be honest), but my bf eats that stuff up! So when we go to the Korean spot he eats my portion.

Spyski posted a photo of Bi Bim Bop not long ago and that's my go-to order. It's this giant bed of rice with shredded carrots, cucumber, mushroom, beef, bean sprouts, seaweed, and a fried egg on top and there's a chili sauce you can add. It's so delicious!

[kimchikween]

Now I'm wondering if there is a place open at 12:30am that serves ramen and kimchi....There's a Korean-Mexican food truck somewhere tonight...

[lylysa]

I would get in trouble if there was a late night ramen place!

[neko333]

Sweet cornbread? Do you mean corn muffin? I hate going into a place to get what I consider cornbread to end up with a corn muffin. I found that out a couple years ago when I bought something labeled corn bread, and took a big bite out of it to discover it was actually a muffin in the shape of bread. 

I thought you were talking about sweet/spicy in general, not cornbread. As far as I know cornbread is bland with lots of butter.

If you haven't figured it out all of my family are mountain people. There's generally not much spice in the food. It's basically just salt and pepper. I don't think you need all that stuff in most things if you are using good ingredients though. I rarely go to bigger cities (I hate them) but when I do, and I eat something, I always think the veggies taste bad. The taste of home grown food is really superior to shelf food. The same with meat, I prefer local meat. It's kind of like if the steak is actually good you don't need steak sauce. Steak sauce is meant to cover up the taste of bad meat, and sometimes even the whole bottle won't help you.

All my friends love heat em' ups and that's all they have in the fridge. I've yet to figure out how they survive. I don't mind going into the kitchen and fixing things but I will starve before I eat a heat em' up. 

My reaction when I get salmon. 

[lylysa]

Haha, that's like my face too when I get salmon or when I get something super yummy!

I never made corn anything in a muffin pan, it's always in a rectangular or square baking pan so it ends up getting cut into squares. To me, the muffin shape was just a shape, not necessarily a determining factor if the corn bit was sweet or spicy/savory. 

Good ingredients are definitely key! I agree that if something is good from the start it doesn't need a lot of spices or seasonings. I try to never over do it when I'm cooking, if I do use multiple spices/seasonings I like to use individual spices rather than premade mixes because most of the times prepackaged stuff is like 80% salt. I never use steak sauce, that drowns out the actual flavor of the meat to me, why ruin a good cut of meat with some sauce? Makes no sense to me, at that point if it becomes all about the sauce, you might as well just not spend the money and get a ho-hum cut of meat rather than something top notch. 

[LCResz]

I was feeling the need for bacon, so I made a turkey bacon, low fat muenster cheese and toasted flax seed bread breakfast sandwich with my usual mammoth cup of coffee and fat free milk. Gotta love the weekends when you have time to enjoy more than a rushed bowl of cereal!

[lylysa]

Mmmm, bacon.....

Toast sounds super nice *must buy bread*

[arielaaaaaaaa]

Lol i was looking at Pinterest and saw this!! 🙂

[lylysa]

The weekend means cooking up breakfast and bacon tends to be a regular for me. I do have scallops in the fridge so maybe BACON WRAPPED SCALLOPS?!?!?!??!??!

[arielaaaaaaaa]

Lol i don't really know how to made bacon! I'm a horrible cook, so i've never experimented much with bacon! And it splatters in a skillet!! Any tips!??

[lylysa]

I'll be honest, I'm not the best when it comes to bacon the stove because I like to rush things and the wait to flip and flip them makes me want to hurry up the process so if bacon's made on the stove top my bf does it. The key (according to him) is medium heat, don't crank the stove to high or even medium high. Using medium heat ensures your bacon cooks up and excess fat pulls away from it as opposed to just frying it to a crisp on too high temperatures and having it not cook up and crisp evenly.

I like to use the oven for bacon, it's a touch easier and you don't have to flip it if you don't want to. Preheat your oven to 375 and layer bacon on a baking sheet covered with foil. Since they shrink up, there's no need to cut them unless you just want smaller pieces. Lay the slices onto the sheet and place in the oven. Depending on how you like your bacon (super crispy or just cooked and tender) is how long you leave them for. At the bare minimum I let them cook for 20 minutes, but again, gauge by your tastes/preferences. I like to start this right at the beginning of my breakfast making or if I'm make the cheeseburger bacon casserole I cook for dinner sometimes. That way when I'm making pancakes, eggs, or whatever else, the bacon can cook. Plus it makes the entire kitchen smell all bacony!!!!!!!

[arielaaaaaaaa]

Hmm i will have to try making bacon sometime! Whenever i buy eggs lol! 

If it doesn't work out on the stove top i'll try the oven! 🙂

Thanks @lylysa!!!! 

[lylysa]

No prob! Keep us posted on your bacon endeavors! The bacon cheeseburger casserole I mentioned is super easy to make, I've posted the recipe to Spyski one here before because she mentioned her bf was a picky eater. Let me know if you want me to send it to you too!

[arielaaaaaaaa]

Hmm while it sounds good to me, when i do cook, it's for me and my sister, so i highly doubt it's something she would like. She never likes any type of casserole! But i'll let you know if i want the recipe! 🙂

[lylysa]

It's essentially a mixed noodle/meat dish cooked over the stove rather than in the oven. It's like Hamburger Helper but homemade so not as loaded with salt or preservatives.