With the weather warming more each day, picnic season is just around the corner. Grab lunch to-go and head outdoors with these portable treats that make packing your basket a breeze!

Handheld Apple Pies

1 9″ refrigerated pie crust (store-bought)

2 apples, peeled and diced

2 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp brown sugar

Pinch of cinnamon

Pinch of salt

1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water (for egg wash)

Preheat oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. To make the filling, combine the diced apples, flour, sugars, cinnamon and salt. Roll the pie crust out to about 1/4″ thick. Using a 4″ cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out circles. Drop 1 tablespoon of the filling on to each circle of dough. Fold the top of the dough over the bottom and seal the edges. Place the pies on the baking sheet and brush with the egg wash. Cut a small slit in the top of each pie. Bake 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 10 pies.

Image and recipe taken from sugarcrafter.net

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

42 Oreos; 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped

2- 8oz. packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 275° and line standard muffin pans with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each liner. Beat cream cheese at medium speed using an electric mixer. Gradually add sugar, beating until combined. Beat in vanilla. Slowly pour in eggs, followed by the sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies. Divide batter among pans and bake for about 22 minutes or until filling is set. Cool completely on wire racks then refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Remove from pans just before serving. Makes 30 mini cheesecakes.

Image and recipe from bakeorbreak.com

image from weightwatchers.com
As summer approaches, the gym becomes increasingly crowded in anticipation of bathing suit season. On April 1^st, I made an April Fools Day resolution to entirely revamp my eating habits—but it was no practical joke. While this was partially to achieve a better beach body, it was much more about establishing a healthier lifestyle. And, I must say, I feel great! Here, I share with you 3 easy recipes that have become staples of my diet.

Power Smoothie

1. 1 large, ripe banana, chopped

2. ½ cup of fresh strawberries, chopped

3. ½ cup of Greek yogurt

4. 4 ice cubes

It doesn’t get simpler than this! Throw all of the ingredients in the blender and blend till smooth. I like to have one of these in the morning because it’s super refreshing and the protein from the yogurt keeps me going through out the day.

Cinnamon-sugar knots

I snagged this sinless treat from WeightWatchers® (http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/index.aspx?recipeid=59171). 1 serving (2 knots) are only 2 PointsPlus™, a value determined by a food’s total fat, protein, fiber and carbohydrates. I love that I can guiltlessly enjoy 2 every night…and I promise that they’re as good as they smell!

1. 2 Tbsp sugar

2. ½ Tsp ground cinnamon

3. 11 Ounces refrigerated bread stick dough

4. 3 serving(s) butter-flavour cooking spray

-Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

-In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Mix well and set aside.

-Unroll breadsticks and cut each in half lengthwise (to make a total of 24 pieces). -Arrange pieces on prepared baking sheet and coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon-sugar mixture over each piece. Tie each piece into a knot (pulling dough gently if necessary). Sprinkle remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture over knots.

-Bake until puffed up and golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve warm. Yields 2 knots per serving.

Perfect Pita

1. 1 whole wheat pita

2. 6 cucumber slices, chopped

3. 1-2 Tbsp of hummus (try roasted red pepper flavor for an extra kick)

4. 2 Tbsp black olives, chopped

5. ½ cup grilled chicken strips

Although I currently and will continue to endorse The Pita Pit, I’ve found that making homemade pitas is easy and relatively inexpensive. Plus, they’re perfect for either lunch or dinner! While these are my favorite pita-stuffers, there’s really no limit to what you can put in yours!

-Toast the pita to your liking

-Open the pita and spread hummus on the inside

-Stuff in the cucumbers, olives and chicken

-Fold together and enjoy!

image from  http://reviewsbylola.files.wordpress.com

In the Fall 2010 issue of UDress I alerted readers to the release of Tucker Max’s second book, Assholes Finish First.  Over winter session, I took my own advice and purchased a brand new, hard copy of my own.  I figured that it would be a good way to pass the time on my flight to study abroad in Italy—I was right. This book was even more blunt, offensive and uproariously hilarious than the first of Max’s memoirs, I Hope they Serve Beer in Hell.

For those of you who are both fortunate and unfortunate enough not to have heard of Tucker Max, allow me to sum up his character. Tucker Max is a graduate of both the University of Chicago and Duke Law School. However, while his resumè might suggest that he is brilliant, and he is an extremely talented storyteller, he is in fact an idiot.  Max has made a career of sharing his personal tales of drunken debauchery and heinous hookups, many of which condescend to women based on their looks, personalities and lack of intelligence.  Despite these obvious flaws, I urge you not to condemn him.

While I Hope they Serve Beer in Hell focused on how Max “got” women before he achieved celebrity status, many stories in his second book recount his post-fame rendezvous. It was interesting to read about the women who, despite their knowledge of Max’s scandalous and selfish behavior, willingly emailed him to “hookup.”  In all of his stories, Max is brutally honest and spares no details.

On my flight to Italy, I pushed through 200 pages of Assholes Finish First in what felt like minutes. I laughed out loud so often that I probably woke my fellow passengers.  Although I would recommend this book to anyone, like Max, my policy is honesty. So, if you are easily offended and cannot handle sheer vulgarity, you might want to skip this one.

I never used to like Mac & Cheese until I had Panera’s creamy white cheddar signature dish. Rather than stopping by Panera every time I was in the mood for this sinfully delicious comfort food, I decided to try my hand at cooking up an imitation version. I searched for recipes online but none appeared to be close enough imitations. So, with some help from my sister, we modified a recipe and whipped up a dish that could surely be mistaken for the real thing!

image from LindsayHolloway.com

Ingredients:

·      11 oz medium pasta shells

·      5 TB butter

·      4 TB flour

·      1 cup milk

·      1 cup heavy cream

·      4oz grated sharp Vermont white cheddar cheese (use more cheddar and less American if it’s mild cheddar)

·      4oz white American cheese, crumbled

·      pinch of salt

·      pinch of white pepper

Instructions:

·      Cook and drain the pasta according to package directions

·      Melt the butter and flour in a medium saucepan on a low flame in order to make a roux. Whisk continuously so the flour does not clump or stick to the pan. Continue until the butter is completely mixed into the flour.

·      In a bowl, mix the cold milk and heavy cream together, stir.

·      Pour the milk and cream mixture into the roux, whisking continuously until the new mixture starts to bubble and becomes thick and creamy.

·      Start adding handfuls of grated cheese to the hot mixture, whisking continuously to melt all of the cheese.

·      Season the cheesy mixture with a pinch of white pepper and salt.

·      Mix the pasta and cheesy sauce together in a serving dish and enjoy!

Reheating Instructions:

·      Do not microwave leftovers because the pasta will dry out!

·      Reheat leftovers on a low flame in a saucepan and add ¼ cup of water to make the cheese creamy again after it has been chilled in the fridge.

I looked online for the proper way to store magazines, http://www.ehow.com/how_6659392_store-old-magazines.html, and found this process a bit too tedious. Instead, I invested in a large airtight, watertight storage tote that I could simply stack my magazines inside of before hauling it off to the basement.

One of the best parts of welcoming in the New Year is cleaning out all of the clutter from the previous year. This past January during winter break I embarked on a much-needed room clean out. By throwing out old school work and boxing up old mementos for basement storage, I cleaned out my living space and in turn brightened my mood as I look forward to collecting new items and memories in the coming year.

After seeing Emily Schuman’s office makeover on her blog, Cupcakes and Cashmere, http://cupcakesandcashmere.com/office-etiquette/, I was inspired to create a color-coded filing system of my own. Instead of keeping documents in pocket folders standing on my desk like books, I switched to a hanging- file system and created more space on the surface of my desk. Every time I get new paperwork, I cannot wait to open up my drawer and see my rainbow bright folders for easy filing.

image from www.eworldpost.com

If any of you are still suffering from the post-Valentines blues, or what I like to call a chocolate hangover, here are some ways to stay healthy while waiting for spring to show itself:

By adding a cup of strawberries, raspberries, vanilla yogurt, a bit of mango juice and a splash of milk to a blender, you can be one step closer to healthy living while still enjoying a delicious drink.

And if you are like me, the gym is the last place I want to spend my Friday night. Instead of dragging yourself to the gym, try working out from home in between homework and laundry. Places like the stairs in your apartment complex, your chair, and even the floor can become prime workout spots. While waiting for your laundry to finish you can do 30 squats on each leg by placing one leg on your chair and trying to make a 90 degree angle with the leg on the floor. Then you can put both of your feet on your chair and do 10 or 20 sit-ups in that position.

If you want an arm workout but don’t have any weights, textbooks can be used as a replacement. Two math or science textbooks stacked on top of each other might be a good place to start. You can hold both books at hips height and then bring your hands away from yourself while keeping them straight. If you do this motion 20 times you will begin to feel the burn. If cardio is what you want, you can run up and down your stairs a few times and then at the bottom of each flight you can do some more squats.

There are so many creative ways to stay healthy that you won’t even need to go to the gym anymore and, even better, you won’t have to skip out on that delicious chocolate bar.