What do games have to do with it?

As I was browsing the web, I came across something very interesting: the girl video gamer. I like to play the occasional video game so I decided to click on a post titled: How to get your girlfriend to play video games. Somehow I thought it was really funny that there is a "guide" on how to have your female partner play games with you. Either she wants to or she doesn't. Anyway, here is what the article outline:

1. Find out if she has ever played video games - okay, I can see this one working. Asking me if I have ever played will evoke my interests in possibly then playing together.
2. Present it as quality time - although I can see playing video games together as quality time, it is not a way to always play what you want and simultaneously get some quality time points.
3. Disguise it as exercise - this is weird. Does anyone actually believe this? I mean, sure, some games involve more work than others, but is disguising it as me getting my daily workout really going to work? I doubt it.
4. Buy her video game items - Sure! I can definitely see this working. Every girls wants that pink controller or the Mario inspired mushroom earrings.
5. Make a trade - the post says to get her to play video games, in the initial stages, you may need to take her out for dinner in return for playing games and so on. I think that will work for a while, but eventually that will really put a dent in your wallet.

I just thought I'd share these with you. I know Sean loves video games and has actually gotten me to play more than I used to. He even let's me pick games that we then play together.
The only advice I can give in regards to getting your lady friend to play games with you is to let her do it on her own terms; don't make her feel pressured as it will only get annoying she will never play with you, although the occasional Little Big Planet iPhone cover may make up for it.

Any other girl gamers out there:? What are your favorite games? Do you play with your significant other?

Surprisingly Simple Tomato Soup

I was inspired to make this soup , as I am looking to eat a little more health consciously. Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 large carrots - peeled and sliced
1 large onion - chopped
1 clove or garlic - chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

On medium heat, combine onion, garlic, and carrots in a pot. Let this cook about 10 minutes, or until the onions are soft. Add the chicken broth and can of crushed tomatoes. Let this cook about 2 or 3 minutes, or until heated through. Transfer the soup to a bowl and puree with an immersion blender or in a blender until you have the desired consistency. Transfer back into the pot and add the heavy cream, salt, and pepper. Serve with croutons or bread.

1 serving = 1 cup = roughly, 130 calories

Travel Obsession: Paris, France

Who doesn't love to travel?! Very few people, I'd assume!
I decided to introduce a new weekly blog post titled: Travel Obsession. Every week, I will highlight a new destination. Things to see and do. To start this new post, I have decided to highlight one of my favorite places in the world: Paris, France!

Paris is the capital of France and is, therefore, the most sought out city within the country to travel to. It is a city flooded with historical architecture and monuments. It is a place to fall in love with its people, its culture, and its food.

The "city of lights" has something to offer for anyone coming to visit her. It has museums for the history buffs, it has parks and gardens for the nature lover, countless coffee shops and restaurants for the foodie, clubs and bars for the party animal, and a theme-park on its outskirts for the kids.

Without further ado, let's dive right into things to see. As with many places, there are more things to see than I can list, so I will narrow it down to a select few.

1. La Tour Eiffel: Also known as the Eiffel Tower. Anytime you think of Paris, you think about the Eiffel Tower. This is why it is at the top of the list. The tower was built in 1889 and has since hosted over 200 million visitors. It features three levels and two restaurants with amazing views of the city: Le 58 Tour Eiffel and Le Jules Verne. If you have a chance to visit, I recommend going in the morning to see the tower in its grandest stature and at night, as it will sparkle with thousands of lights.

2. Cathedrale de Notre Dame de Paris: this is the most traveled sight in Paris. Notre dame cathedral took over 100 years to complete and has over 10 million visitors each year along with being a true epitome of French Gothic architecture with the oh-so-famous 10 meter wide rose window. Did you ever watch The Hunchback of Notre Dame when you were a kid? Well, this is it! Make sure to climb the north tower of the cathedral to experience the same views Quasimodo had in the movie.

3. Arc de Triomphe: this is the largest roundabout in the world. It was built by Napoleon in the early 1800's to commemorate his victories in battle and still stands tall today. The only way to get to it is by using an underground passage way, unless you wish to be hit my those crazy European drivers (I'm allowed to say this, I am half German and know how driving in Europe goes). 

4. La Seine: this can be viewed as the cities lifeline, at least in its early years. This is the Seine river. It flows through Paris and is a must-see sight. The river used to be used as transportation of goods and is now a sightseeing route to all of its finest attractions, including its cathedrals and famous markets. This is the ultimate romantic leisurely stroll.

5. Jardin du Luxembourg: if you love people watching and sitting outside to take in the smell of blooming flowers, this place is for you. Basically, it is garden of massive size; 23 hectares to be exact. Enjoy a walk through the lush greenery and taking pictures of statues, as well as the most beautiful flowers you have ever seen. While here, you can also experience the Palais du Luxembourg, a picturesque estate that features, on its northern side, chairs for sunbathing. The perfect place to mingle with fellow tourists from all over the world and Parisians alike.

Now that we have gone through some of the must-see's, let's move on to some of the must-do's!

1. Musee du Louvre: Only one of the most famous museums in the world, holding treasures such as the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Code of Hammurabi. This museum used to be a residence and, in the 18th century, was turned into one of the first national museums. To see all this magnificent place has to offer, make sure to set aside an entire day.

2. Paris City Hop-On Hop-Off bus tour: want to see numerous sights in one day? Take the bus tour where you can get on and off at whichever location you like and at your own speed. Perfect for those travelers who are only there for a short period of time and want to see as many sights as they can within that time frame. It's a lot better than walking!

3. Paris Food tours: The French are known for their delectable and exquisite foods, including desserts. While you're there, why not take one of many culinary tours that are offered. Anything from chocolate and pastries to bread and wine can be explored. Usually, tours last between 60 and 180 minutes and include sampling of products, walking through renowned neighborhoods and even creating your own dish in a culinary class.

4. Avenue de Champs-Elysees: this is one of the most famous streets in Paris. When you are there, you do not want to miss this. It features restaurants, cafe's, bars, cinemas, and anything from small boutiques to high-end designer stores.

5. Musee d'Orsay: another museum that is a must-do. This museum features art from Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Van Gogh, Degas, and many more. A lot of people even say that they prefer this one over the Louvre, as it is less crowded and smaller.

There are many more things to do, however i wanted to stay focused on attractions directly in Paris. You can also take 2 and 3 days tours to view the Palace of Versailles or a tour to Normandy and even Disneyland Paris.

Lastly I wanted to discuss cost. Paris and France in general is on the pricier end of the spectrum. Heck, any country using the Euro these days is pretty expensive, but it is money well spent. Here's a list of possible things to consider when traveling from the US:

Flights: depending on when you go, these can run anywhere from $700 to $1500 per person. From personal experience, I know Charles De Gaulle airport is one of the most expensive to fly into.
Food: On average, if you are eating out every day of your trip, including breakfast, snack, lunch, and dinner, it will probably run you about $60 per person per day, and that is if you just grab an on the go breakfast, snack, or lunch, or even all three.
Accomodations: this is where you will need to dig deep. Hotels are extremely expensive in Paris, especially if you want to be within walking distance of sights like the Eiffel Tower. I would say they will run you about $200-$300 per night. My advice. Stay a little bit outside of the city center, as Paris has a great transportation system.
Transportation: no need to have a car. They have a train and bus system for a relatively low cost; about $15 for a week-long ticket.
Sights: these can cost you anywhere from, roughly, $5 to $20 per person. It adds up if you want to do everything. I suggest making a list of the things you want to see and then sorting them in order of importance. As the trip winds down, you can budget as to what is still important to see and what you can view next time you visit.

Happy traveling my friends!

*Factual information found here.*

**Disclaimer: I have not been to all places highlighted in my Travel Obsession posts; the posts are merely there to highlight a beautiful place in the world, one at a time.**

Fluffy Chocolate Cupcakes

Happy Monday everyone,
if you read my previous post, you are aware that Sean and I went to a bakery that serves all vegan cupcakes. I was so inspired by this, I wanted to make my own.
I did make a vegan chocolate cake on Saturday, but wasn't happy with how this turned out. Today, after work, I decided to "re-vamp" the initial recipe I used. I am soooo glad I did. The cupcakes came out, light, fluffy, fudgy, chocolatey, and sweet. I'm not a vegan but love the idea of not using dairy products in this cupcake recipe. It's just something different. Have fun!



Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/4 cups of sugar
1/3 cup of cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees
• in one bowl, combine all dry ingredients
• on second bowl, combine all wet ingredients
• mix them together until smooth
• using spoon or ice cream scoop, fill batter, 3/4 of the way into lined muffin tin
• bake for 13 - 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean

Take the cupcakes out of the muffin tin and let them cool. Eat as is or cover with your favorite frosting!

Sorry about the pictures, they came out a little dark!

Babycakes NYC

Last night, Sean and I went on a drive and found ourselves in the massive crowd of downtown Disney. I told him that I heard there is a new bakery out there that sell, mainly, cupcakes and we should go try some.
These are not your ordinary bakery products. Although they sell the main staples, such as cupcakes, cookies, donuts, and breads, there is something that makes them different.
Are you ready?
All of their products are: refined sugar-free, gluten free, wheat free, soy free, casein free, egg free, vegan, and kosher.
At first, I was a little hesitant about the taste, but let me tell you, i looooooooved it, and so did Sean. It was very busy and Sean and I ended up buying 2 cupcake tops, one brownie, one blondie flavored, as it was their special of the night. They were so moist, sweet, but not too sweet, and the perfect portion to satisfy my sweet tooth.

If you are in the area, check them out, if you are not, check out their website. They do have an online store to buy some cake mixes as well! Happy eating, friends!

Tonight I present: Taste aversion!

Sorry it's been a while since my last post, so let's dive right in.

First we need to discuss what a taste aversion is. To put in simple terms, having a taste aversion means you don't like a certain taste or flavor. Pretty simple, huh? Here is something else that's simple... how we obtain them. So here we go.

We can tie taste aversions right into psychology. We can tie it to a mental state we have that makes us dislike certain taste's from others. Basically, a taste aversion comes from classical conditioning.

What is Classical Conditioning?

Classical conditioning involves 5 main items: unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, neutral stimulus,  conditioned stimulus, and the conditioned response.

The Unconditioned Stimulus: a stimulus that, naturally, elicits a response.
The Unconditioned Response: an unlearned response, that occurs naturally.
Neutral Stimulus: a stimulus that produces no specific response.
The Conditioned Stimulus: a stimulus that used to be neutral, but was paired directly with an unconditioned stimulus and now elicits a conditioned response.
The Conditioned Response: a learned response to a prior neutral stimulus.

Classical conditioning can happen consciously and unconsciously. In terms of taste aversion, it tends to happen without even trying. Here is a (far-fetched) example:

You just bought fresh lemons from the farmer's market. You plan on using these in lemonade and a special new dinner you want to make for that special someone. While you prepare, you turn on the radio and decide to take a bite out of the lemon and, naturally, pucker up. Just as you were taking a bite, a new Britney Spears song started playing on the radio. You decide you don't really enjoy the taste of the lemon on its own but continue. You finish the lemonade and the dinner and serve it to your other half. You both enjoy the meal and call it a night. The next day you drive in your car on the way to work and the Britney song comes on again. You immediately think about the horrendously sour taste of the lemon and how much you dislike them. From now on, anytime you hear the song, you think about the lemon and get that tingly feeling you had in the back of your mouth, avoiding lemons and that now stupid Britney song all together.

Have you figured out what the US, UR, NS, CS, and CR are? I will give them to you.
US: lemon
UR: almost gagging from the sour taste and making that not-so-cute face
NS: Britney's song
CS: Britney's song
CR: dislike for lemons and the Britney song

Generally, with food, you only need one run to realize you don't like something. People will tend to try it once more to make a final decision but, if you are anything like me, if you have tried it once and hated it, chances are you will not try it again. With other things, such as behavioral training, it is a process that needs to be repeated before you get the end result you want.

Here is also a picture of a very famous experiment that was done to clarify things for ya:

See what I mean? This can apply to anything you eat, drink, or even do.
Why do you not like mushrooms? Because they have a weird texture and give you an uneasy feeling when eating them. So what do you do? Not eat them anymore.

I have an extensive list of foods I dislike, or have a taste aversion for. I get made fun of sometimes because I am so picky but that's ok.
Here are some of mine: any type of nuts, mushrooms, grapes, blueberries, eggplant, (some) red meats, ham (as in the lunch meat), water (lol), collard greens, pecan pie, key lime pie, tequila, and it goes on and on...

What are some of the foods you just can't eat or drink?

Kitchen Psychology

Whether you prefer cooking over baking or the other way around can tell a lot about you as a person. As an aspiring psychologist, I decided we should take a closer look at this.

The Cook:

If you prefer cooking, you love experimenting. You use a recipe as a guideline, but do not follow it to a tee and don't get too nervous when you substitute and omit ingredients. You place more worth on taste, rather than looks. You enjoy developing flavors as you move through the stages of your dish as well.
What this says about you as a person is that you are extremely playful, outgoing, experimental, open-minded, ambitious, brave, dynamic, entertaining, and even instinctive.

The Baker:

As a baker, you love having rules to follow. You love aesthetics. You love the science behind food. You are extremely curious and not afraid to try and try again until it is perfect.
What this says about you, is that you are detail-oriented, cautious, a perfectionist, punctual, efficient, knowledgeable, level, and responsible.

In an extremely broad sense, bakers tend to resemble a Type A personality, whereas cooks are more of a Type B personality.

What about gender... do you think men are more likely to prefer cooking over baking? What about women? Generally, we see more men leaning toward cooking and women towards baking. Women tend be more nurturing, more patient and are very good at following directions. This makes women very good contenders to be bakers. From what we hear and read and are taught, men are a little more hard-headed than we are. What i mean by this is that, generally, men like figuring things out as they go. When was the last time you saw a guy reach for the instruction manual the first time he unpacked the new TV? Men love a the journey more than the destination, whereas women tend to be much more excited about the end result. This would be an example as to why men may prefer to cook over baking. Obviously these are just generalization, as we have many extremely talented women who prefer cooking and many talented men who prefer to bake. Just an observation.

Duff Goldman - Master Baker

Cat Cora - Master Chef

Which description do you fit? Look around you and identify people who fit more of a Type A or B personality and see if it matches up with whether they prefer cooking or baking.
Do you think people are more prone to like cooking, rather than baking?

The Classic

Happy Saturday! I hope all of you are getting your weekend off to a great start. I know i am!

 

By the way, my parfait is just Voskos Greek Vanilla yogurt (which I found on sale at Publix this week) mixed with some fresh berries and Special K granola on top! Great side and snack throughout the day. Entire glass only 140 calories!

Quick Publix Stock-up on great deals

I went grocery shopping a day early this week. Honestly, it wasn't really grocery shopping, but rather just stocking up on some great sales I saw before doing the real grocery shopping trip tomorrow.

Here is what I bought at Publix

(6) Voskos Greek Yogurts with Granola - $1.50 each, on sale for $1.00 each
- used (2) $1/3 Voskos Greek Yogurt coupons found in Yellow Advantage Flyer
(2) Mrs. Paul's Fish Filets - $5.99 each
- BOGO
- used (2) $1/1 Mrs. Paul's Fish manufacturer coupons
(2) Stouffer's Family Size Entrees - $7.79 each, on sale for $3.99
- used (2) $2/1 Stouffer's manufacturer coupons found on their Facebook page
(2) BirdsEye Voila skillet meals - $5.49
- BOGO
- used (2) $1.85/1 BirdEye manufacturer coupon found on CouponNetwork
(2) Truvia Natural Sweetener - $3.99
- BOGO
- used (2) $0.75/1 manufacturer coupons
(1) Spice Island Pure Vanilla extract - $3.99; on sale for 2/$3.99
(2) Crystal Light Iced Tea drink mix - $2.99
- BOGO
- used (1) $1/2 Crystal Light drink mix coupons found here

Total retail value: $62.49
Total out of pocket: $20.24

What other deals did you find?