The best guacamole in Dallas

03/31/12 16:02 PM

It may be a bold statement, but I have yet to find guacamole in Dallas that rivals my family's recipe. Today at lunch I found a worthy contender from, possibly, the least likely restaurant – Chip's Old Fashioned Burgers.

One would normally expect a Mexican restaurant to churn out the best guac, but Chip's knows what they're doing. Rather tasting plainly of avocado, Chip's guacamole achieves a multi-dimensional flavor from the addition of ingredients like tomato, onion and, if I'm not mistaken, a hint of cilantro.

This just goes to show that you can't judge a restaurant by their name.  

The next best Easter candy?

03/29/12 08:06 AM

Chocolate Easter bunnies are the quintessential Easter basket filler. Even if your family never participated in the candy-filled basket scene, you've probably had one of those chocolate bunnies. I never liked them. Plain, solid chocolate just doesn't do much for me. What I always wanted were chocolate Easter bunnies filled with marshmallow. Sometimes they come in the shapes of an egg or, if your mom forgot to use some of your Christmas stocking candy, Santa. Regardless of the shape, the final product it a delicious treat akin to a s'more, without the messiness or the graham cracker. So naturally I was ecstatic when I was browsing through the grocery store yesterday and discovered Peeps was trying their hand at chocolate-covered marshmallow decadence. The word marshmallow on...

Recipe: Spinach and quinoa salad

03/27/12 11:21 AM

I thought the weeks immediately before  and after spring break were supposed to be the busiest? That's not turning out to be the case, not for me anyway.  Trying to schedule my time this week is turning into a nightmare so I found some recipes that can be made ahead in bulk, allowing for a few meals per recipe. One of which is this spinach and quinoa salad I adapted from sharemykitchen.com. Quinoa is great for the low-calorie protein it provides, and the dressing is just a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and lemon juice. Not too shabby.  Here's the recipe: Ingredients: 2 c. spinach 1 c. quinoa (dry) 1 c. cherry tomatoes (halved) 1/2 c. chopped walnuts  2 tbsp. olive oil 2 tbsp. lemon juice pinch of salt   Prepare...

Healthy snack ideas

03/20/12 11:15 AM

Spring break was a great excuse to let yourself eat and drink whatever you wanted, but now it's back to the real world. As you're trying to reform your eating habits, it can be difficult to come up with snack choices that are healthy and, more importantly, that you actually want to eat.

I came across this slideshow on WebMD that suggests tons of snacks are all under 100 calories and look delicious. Yesterday I tried the baked potato – tasty and satisfying. Today I'm definitely going for the quesadilla for a mid-afternoon snack. 

Breakfast at Torchy's

03/09/12 17:10 PM

Still haven't left for spring break? If you need an easy and inexpensive breakfast for tomorrow, head North on Hillcrest to Torchy's Tacos.

This fairly recent addition to the Dallas dining scene originated in Austin. Though they have a wide selection of tacos, the breakfast tacos are what they're known for. It's hard to go wrong at Torchy's, but  the Monk Special is one of their most popular items on the menu. For $2.25 you get a generous portion of eggs, bacon, green chilies, and cheese atop your choice of tortilla. 

Torchy's is located at the Northwest corner of Preston and Forest, and is open until 11 PM tonight, and  from 8 AM to 11 PM on Saturday. 

Recipe: Flourless Chocolate Cookies

03/07/12 09:47 AM

I'm always on the lookout for gluten-free recipes now – especially gluten-free desserts. The only problem with gluten-free baking when you're not allergic to gluten is that it can get expensive fast. This cookie recipe is flourless though, so no need to drop extra money on special flours or baking mixes. Also, while gluten-free recipes are not always healthier than recipes with gluten, these cookies don't have too many “bad-for-you” ingredients. And on top of that, they're pretty easy to make. The end result is very similar to a meringue – light and airy, but much chewier. Here's my take on the recipe from kumquatblog.com: Flourless Chocolate Cookies Ingredients: 2 ½ cups powdered sugar 1 cup unprocessed...

Free crepes!

03/06/12 09:48 AM

Is there anything better than free food? Cafe Brazil is flaunting their generosity with a “Crepe Celebration” today. Visit their blog, print off the Crepe Celebration blog post, head in to any Cafe Brazil, order a drink, and they'll bring you a free order of crepes.

You can print the blog post here: http://cafebrazil.com/2012/03/join-us-for-a-crepe-celebration-on-tuesday-march-6/

See you there!

All about nut butters

03/02/12 17:10 PM

Not so long ago, peanut butter was the pretty much the only nut butter you could find at the grocery store. Now you can find a whole range on the shelves, including butters made from sunflower seeds, macadamia nuts, or soynuts. So is one of these better than another? In short, no. But it's good to know the pros and cons of the different nut butters so you can pick one that's best for you. Soy nut butter generally has the most protein – about 10g per serving. Almond butter typically has the most fiber and the least amount of saturated fat. Also worth consideration are cashew butter and sunflower seed butter. Both of these butters are high in B vitamins, which can be help with weight loss. At fitsugar.com, you can look at their spreadsheet-style comparison of the...