Archive for August, 2007

Recipe: Berry-Banana Boost Breakfast Smoothie

Aug
17
2007

Ever since I got my Magic Bullet, I’ve been using it to make delicious, fruit-filled smoothies. Since this is one of the few weekdays I have off from work (and I’m up before 9am), I decided to try a healthy breakfast smoothie to start off my day.Berry Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup yogurt (vanilla or plain)
1/2 large banana
5-8 frozen strawberries
1 scoop of whey protein powder
1 tablespoon honey (optional)

Directions:

  1. Place all the ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth.
  2. Pour into a tall glass and enjoy!

It’s so important that you don’t skip breakfast in the AM, especially if you want to keep fit and healthy. I’ve been guilty of rushing off to work sans breakfast, but now that I’ve started a routine, I’m being careful to make sure that I get some energy in the morning by either making a quick smoothie or having a couple slices of peanut-buttered toast. :)

I’m a Finalist!

Aug
16
2007

2007 Black Weblog Awards FinalistI’d like to thank everyone who nominated my blog for the 2007 Black Weblog Awards. Guess what? I’m a finalist (as if you couldn’t tell from the title of this post)!

A Lot About Nothing is a finalist in the Best International Blog and Best Food Blog. The latter came to a great surprise to me, because I didn’t think of ALAN as a food blog, but then I went through my archive and noticed that I sure have a lot of posts about food! :D I’ve actually been meaning to put more recipes up that I’ve used in the past couple of weeks, but my digital camera takes crappy close-up shots. :P

Back to the matter at hand, I’m begging–err… asking for you to head over to the 2007 Black Weblog Awards website and vote for my blog (http://alotaboutnothing.com) in the Best International Blog (yay, Canada!), and the Best Food Blog categories. Make sure you check out some of the blogs in the other categories as well, since you have to make one selection for each category in order to send in the ballot. Hurry… voting ends August 31st!

Thanks again! :)

Recipe: French Toast (No Syrup Needed)

Aug
15
2007

One of my favourite breakfast foods to make is French Toast. This is the way I always used to make it: with sugar in the egg mixture so I don’t have to worry about pouring syrup over the toast after it’s none (after all, if I wanted to do that, I’d just make pancakes!). I like to use Villaggio Italian Style White Bread or Dempster’s Thick Slice White Bread. Taste great served with a side of beans (fiber!) and bacon.

Prep Time: 5 minutesFrench Toast

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 6 slices

Ingredients:

6 slices of bread
4 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine

Directions:

  1. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Add the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and gradually add the sugar until blended.
  2. Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter or margarine in a frying pan.
  3. Soak the sliced bread in the egg mixture until both sides are coated.
  4. Place the saturated slices of bread onto the frying pan, cooking for 4-5 minutes on each side, until golden-brown.
  5. Serve immediately and enjoy!

50 Cent Throws Temper Tantrum

Aug
13
2007

According to a report by MTV News, the New York-born rapper went ballistic after learning that the audio and video for “Follow My Lead” featuring Robin Thicke (and starring actor Dustin Hoffman) surfaced online last Thursday — weeks before it’s scheduled release.

50 Cent, who’s given name is Curtis Jackson III, reportedly ripped a giant plasma TV off the wall when he heard the news from his G-Unit office. He also threw his cell phone through the window, said he’s going on vacation and is not speaking with any reps at Interscope, who he believes is behind the leak.

I think someone needs to learn how to control their temper. Sure, having your video leaked to the net before you wanted it to may be upsetting, but look on the bright side Fiddy: You now have about a third of your album out there for fans to enjoy before it officially comes out on September 11th!

His first two singles for the upcoming album, “Straight To The Bank” and Amusement Park”, obviously didn’t blow up as well as 50 thought they would, which is the main reason for the multiple delays of the of Curtis album release. Back from the studio, his current single, “I Get Money” is doing well, and so is “Ayo Technology” featuring Justin Timberlake. So, four singles into his new album, plus the leaked collaboration with Robin Thicke… I guess I could probably see why Fiddy flipped out.

On the flip side, contender Kanye West’s “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” and “Stronger” have been positively received and he’s about to drop “Good Life” featuring T-Pain. West’s Graduation is set for release on September 11th as well, and Fiddy is betting his rap career that he’d outsell Kanye on the blocks.

In an interview posted on SOHH.com last Friday, 50 stated:

Put it like this… Let’s raise the stakes. If Kanye West sells more records than 50 Cent on September 11, I’ll no longer write music. I’ll write music and work with my other artists, but I won’t put out any more solo albums.

Do I sense publicity stunt? Let’s hope he’s true to his word. Let the battle begin!

Rain, Rain Go Away

Aug
12
2007

Booo… thanks to Mother Nature, there’ll be no Hot & Spicy Food Festival or Taste of the Danforth part II for me today. :(

Had a lot of fun at the family barbeque yesterday though!  Jerk chicken, BBQ chicken, curry goat, BBQ pork, rice & peas, salad, sweet potato pudding, rum cake, fresh fruits… mmm… my mouth is watering just reminiscing!  It’s a good thing I did a double workout yesterday.

As for the rest of today: I think I’ll go and see a movie. :)