Free pancake day

02/28/12 10:51 AM

It's that time of year again. Today IHOP is serving free stacks of pancakes - all day, no strings attached. Their only request is that you make a donation to Childrens Medical Center. 

Fortunately for us, there are two IHOPs pretty close to SMU. There's one at Mockingbird and Abrams (East of SMU) and one off of 75 between Chick-fil-a and Chipotle. Why not reward yourself with all that studying you've been doing? Celebrate free pancake day!

Tortas for lunch

02/25/12 12:52 PM

By Kate Petty, kpetty@smu.edu Need an idea for lunch? Feel free to copy me. I just went to Urban Taco at Mockingbird Station and had a chicken tinga torta. A torta is like the Mexican version of a panini but, per my waiter's suggestion, I tried ordering the torta on rice instead of on bread. The dish ended up being kind of like a burrito bowl, but way better. There was a delicious combination of chicken, fresh tomatoes, avocadoes, lettuce, red onion, and cheese sprinkled on top. It also came with jicama slaw and yucca fries on the side. So good!  ...

National Banana Bread Day

02/23/12 11:08 AM

In the spirit of National Banana Bread Day, I am going to introduce you to the best banana bread recipe you will ever have the good fortune of encountering. My roommate now calls it “disappearing banana bread” because it disappears so quickly after I pull it out of the oven. I found the recipe at tasteofhome.com one afternoon when I was looking for a way to get rid of some overly-ripe bananas. My roommate is allergic to gluten so I searched for a gluten-free recipe, but I imagine the recipe would work fine with all-purpose flour as well. I made a few changes to the recipe to add some extra dimension and thus, Disappearing Banana Bread was born. Ingredients 2 cups Pamela's gluten-free baking mix 1 teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt 4 eggs...

Recipe: Energy Bites

02/22/12 09:09 AM

By Kate Petty, kpetty@smu.edu If you're on Pinterest or like to browse through food blogs, you may have seen various versions of “no-bake” cookie dough-esque recipes. Allegedly healthy and chock-full of energizing ingredients, the snack is a good idea in theory. From my health perspective though, I couldn't find a recipe I loved, so I created my own. A lot of the recipes I found had fairly high sugar content, and fell short in protein. Personally, I'd prefer to get my energy from protein rather than sugar. So here's my take on No Bake Energy Bites. Ingredients 1 c. oatmeal ½ c. dark chocolate pieces 1/3 c. soynut butter (any nut butter is fine) ¼ c. agave nectar ¼ c. protein powder (I used a soy protein...

RECIPE: Flaxseed Granola

02/18/12 23:00 PM

You've probably heard of the health benefits of flaxseed. Incase you need a refresher, it's got three main factors going for it: omega-3's, lignans, and fiber. It's one of those foods that I had more or less forgotten about, but after reading an article on a fitness blog the other day, I decided I should find a way to work it into my diet again. This recipe for granola from fitsugar.com uses a healthy amount of flaxseeds, but I'm planning on doubling the amount.   Ingredients Dry: 1 c rolled oats 1/2 c raw buckwheat groats 1/4 c almonds, roughly chopped 2 tbsp whole flax seeds 1/2 tsp cinnamon Wet: 2 tbsp raw almond butter 2-3 tbsp agave syrup (sub maple syrup or honey if you prefer, and use more or less depending on how sweet you like...

National Almond Day

02/16/12 11:14 AM

Happy National Almond Day! In recent years, Almonds have received a lot of recogniton for being one of the healthier nut options available. Regularly eating almonds can reduce your risk of heart disease, help you lose weight, and make you feel energized. If you're looking to buy some from the store, raw or dry roasted almonds are your healthiest options. Eating a handful plain makes for a quick snack, but almonds are great added to other foods as well. You can try chopped almonds sprinkled on yogurt, sliced almonds on top of salad, or even look to almond-based products, like almond butter and almond milk. Here's a recipe for cinnamon roasted almonds, courtesy of Allrecipes.com, that shows you a delcious way to spice things up. INGREDIENTS: 1 egg white 1 teaspoon cold...

The best dessert places

02/14/12 16:23 PM

Valentine's Day has come and gone yet you're still faced with endless amounts of chocolates and cookies in your apartment. Yes, you enjoyed them Tuesday, but  you still deserve to eat something decadent. Hey  — it's Valentine's week, isn't it? This is one of the few weeks of the year where indulging in sweets is encouraged and expected – so take advantage while you can! Here's a list of some of my favorite places in Dallas to get a treat: What: Kathleen's Sky Diner Where: 4424 Lovers Lane Why: Kathleen's specializes in rich cakes and pies that they serve up in generous slices. If you're not a huge fan of chocolate, this is the place to go. What: Dude, Sweet Chocolate Where: 408 West Eighth Street Why: If...

Recipe: Quinoa burgers

02/11/12 10:25 AM

By Macey Meriggi, mmeriggi@smu.edu  The other night I went out on a limb and tried a random vegetarian quinoa burger recipe I stumbled upon while procrastinating on Pinterest. Quinoa (Quechua word pronounced keen-wah), for those of you who are unfamiliar, is a grain-like seed that is high in protein and was a staple of the ancient Aztec’s diet. This seed has numerous health benefits because the protein it provides is a complete protein, meaning it includes all nine essential amino acids.  I am not a vegetarian but I do enjoy trying different sources of protein because I am not a huge meat eater and fish can get quite costly. I followed the recipe (http://eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/love-my-quinoa-burger/) pretty closely but I made a couple minor...

Lunch at Company Cafe

02/09/12 13:03 PM

Yesterday afternoon, my brother and I were driving down lower Greenville in search of a restaurant to suit our impromptu lunch date. Though we like the same types of foods, finding a place to eat is often difficult for us. Our debates normally run along the lines of: “What do you want to eat?” “I don't care. What do you want to eat?” “Let's go to ____.” “I'm not in the mood for that. Let's go to Burger House.” “We always go to Burger House.” “Ok, fine. You choose.” “I already suggested somewhere!” Anyone else have those conversations? In a moment of frustration I threw up my hands and suggested Company Cafe, which was next to the red light we were stopped...

Dallas Coffee Week 2012

02/04/12 10:11 AM

Coffee enthusiasts, unite! Texas Coffee School (yes, there is such a thing) has teamed up with review website, Yelp, to bring you Dallas Coffee Week 2012. For three days, the pair will seek to raise awareness for specialty coffee while giving Dallas the chance to experience coffee in fabulous new ways. Beginning on Monday, February 21, there will be a daily class aimed towards giving you a well-rounded coffee education. After the last class on Wednesday, Coffee Week will conclude with a Yelp after party at the specialty coffee bar inside the Original Pancake House in Addison. To see the schedule and a description of the classes, go to the Texas Coffee School's website: http://www.texascoffeeschool.com/yelp.html ...