food

  • Food & Nutrition, Nutrition, Uncategorized

    A.M. Recipe: Cabbage Kielbasa Soup

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    My undergrad bestie, Krystal, is an amazing cook and blogger at DC Brown Sugar Bakery.  She has agreed to curate a few quick, healthy and student-friendly recipes to “fit” (pun intended) the Academic Muscle audience.  Enjoy!

    It’s halfway through February 2019, which means that by now, resolutions  made a month ago unfortunately might be broken by now.  In 2018, 45% of Americans pledged to lose weight or get in shape, so there’s a good chance that half the nation’s population has made similar goals this year.

    Jogging, lifting weights, or finding zen in yoga are excellent ways to develop lean muscles. However, those results may never be visible if your diet is poor. Don’t despair! I have a tasty, nutritious and affordable meal even novice cooks can prepare. It’s cabbage kielbasa soup consisting of fresh vegetables, a little starch and protein to give you the energy needed to complete your workouts. It’s also the perfect soup for cold winter nights.

    Get your ingredients together, a calming playlist, and make this easy soup in 30-40 minutes. Then, enjoy this delicious meal, which is not only intended to fill you up but help you see the definition in your legs after all those squats.

    Cabbage Kielbasa Soup

    Ingredients

    1/2 package turkey kielbasa sliced

    soup 1

    soup 4

    2 tablespoons olive oil

    1/2 medium onion diced

    2 medium carrots chopped

    1 celery stalk chopped

    3 red potatoes chopped

    1/2 cabbage head sliced

    1 chicken bouillon cube

    salt, pepper, and dried oregano to taste

    Instructions

    First, brown the turkey kielbasa for about 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside. Add olive oil to a hot pot. Cook the onions, carrots, and celery for 5 minutes and then add the red potatoes. Sauté for about 7 more minutes. Add kielbasa and roughly 4-5 cups water and chicken bouillon cube. Bring the water to a boil and then add the cabbage and seasonings to taste. After the water returns to a boil, reduce it to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are thoroughly done. Enjoy!

    soupsoup 3

    Thanks so much Krystal for this amazing recipe!  Hopefully, this is the first of many. If you all try this out, let us know what you think.  Also, if there are any recipes you’d like to see from Academic Muscle (how to make them healthier, cheaper, etc.) let me know!

  • Food & Nutrition, The Academy

    I tried it: Açaí Bowls

    I’m leaving for fieldwork in approximately 5 months.  I’m EXTREMELY grateful (and still genuinely surprised, blessed, mystified, etc) to have received the very first dissertation grant that I applied for typos and all.  No matter how many people try to tell me that my nervousness is just excitement in disguise, I beg to differ.  I’m going to miss NYC, the people, the ease of transportation, the non-stop entertainment, and I’m not only talking about the kind that you have to buy a ticket for.  I finally feel like I’ve made a home for myself here, and now I have to leave.

    I’m sure this will make me sound extremely privileged, ethnocentric, [insert any pejorative term anthropology strives to work against] but I’m really concerned about what I’m going to eat.  My field-site is not a food paradise, paradise in many ways, but definitely not when it comes to food.  I know that people live there just fine, but I’d being lying if I said I wasn’t already planning how I could set up a system for my friends to drop off protein powder and almonds when they come to visit me.

    With that said, in an attempt to make the most of my time in the city, I’ve created a food bucket list to avail myself of all the abundant food options that the city has to offer.  Studying for comps is lonely, boring and a side of boring, so finding ways to turn the mundane into something exciting is my current strategy.

    Up first was an açaí bowl.  I know I’m late to the game, but it’s always been on my list of things to try.

    IMG-0835

    The good: It tasted really good.  I ordered the ‘Tropical Blunder’, which consisted of granola, mango, kiwi coconut and of course açaí .  It was thicker than I thought it’d be.

    The bad: This is essentially a smoothy in a bowl, served with a spoon instead of a straw. I knew this going in, but somehow I thought it’d be different. I felt some kind of way about paying nearly $10.  I know that açaí is supposed to be healthy for you but–this purchase hurt my heart a little.

    The verdict: I’m glad I tried it and that I can check it off the list, but I won’t be missing this.

    Have you all had açaí bowls before?  Did you have a better experience? Were my expectations too high? Let me know.