Time to get Healthy!

Last post of the day! ...I'm pretty sure.. :P

Alright, this baking experience is a little bit different for the others.   Like many others, I am wanting to thin down a bit, so I have been eating less and working out more.  It has been working, but it doesn't seem to be very healthy.  I eat things that tell me how many calories are in it, to be easy and fast for my busy life.  Although I lose weight alright, I don't feel healthy, and the things I eat are not that healthy, even though they try to tell you it is.  My plan is to start making my own snacks, although they may have more than 90 calories a serving, they are healthier and I have to work for it!  If I want something, I have to take the time to make it, and if not, then all the better, because it means I wasn't that hungry to begin with!

Banana Muffins with Mini Chocolate Chips on Top!

Of course I have plenty of cookbooks, and luckily many of them are for recipes that have been changed with healthier ingredients, so I am going to start using them more!  Since I cook only for myself, these meals will last me a very long time!  Today I made homemade sloppy joes, and have plenty for the rest of the week, if not more!  

I know you're wondering,  wait this is a baking blog, this isn't baking, this is diet, health food blah, blah, blah... Well,   I also need to have some snacks through out the week!  Can't always be eating sandwiches!  So I baked me up some Banana chocolate chip muffins!  They are easy, yummy, healthy, and low in calories and fat! :D  

Grab and Go Muffins!

Since I am on the run all of the time, I need a way to grab food quickly to go to school, or work (when I get another job)  To help me with that and not leave me hungry, I wrapped them individually for a quick grab!  I'm really excited to see how this works!  I'm tired of counting calories and ready to be healthier, and hopefully the weight with come off because of it!

Practice Makes Perfect!

A very important date is coming up pretty fast!  Yes, you guest it! My little niece will soon be blessing this planet with her presence!! And to prepare for that we must have a baby shower!  I have plenty of presents for the little baby, but I really need to get working on what I am going to bake for everyone to snack on!  I know what I want to do, but I need to find the perfect recipe so it tastes as good as it looks!  

Yummy Brownies Test Recipe 1

So last weekend, I started on a brownie recipe, because I know my sister loves brownies!  No I am not just making brownies, but I do need a recipe! :)    So I picked a recipe and tried it and they turned out pretty well!! :)  I might try a couple more, just to have some choices!  Everyone at work seemed to enjoy these though, they sure disappeared fast!

Gosh being a baker takes lots of time, money and space!  Guess what!  I will be getting more time soon, as my last day of work is Wednesday, because the company is dying :(  Now I can bake and do homework!  And since my work is closing, I got an amazing deal on a little wooden table that will be a perfect island in my kitchen to give me more space!! :) I'm pretty excited about that! ... I couldn't fit it in my car though, so thankfully my friend is lending me her truck Sunday to pick it up! Then I might just have to test it out :P  I will send a picture of it, if people are interested!  Sadly because of this ability of free time and awesome deals, means I will no longer be getting funds... guess I better get on those applications!

Strawberry Update....

So I know I am very behind on my blog right now.   I will start by explaining what happened with my cupcake sending experiment.  Well it failed before it even began :(.   I had them all ready, frozen about to get in my car to head to the post office, when I thought, maybe I should check some prices online first... Great idea by the way, because it would cost me about $100 just to send this small, light package to my sister overnight.... Let's just say my funding for my baking project isn't even close to being able to cover that kind of shipping cost.

They seemed to do alright...

I did not give up all the way though!   On Labor Day I decided to do some discount shopping at the outlet mall about 20 minutes from my house, so I through my cupcakes in my trunk that morning, left them there while I drove around.  I even left them there overnight to get the time limit covered a bit.    It worked alright, I think my trunk treated them better than a delivery vehicle would have, but you have to use what you can!

Then I finally found a cupcake company that would send me some cupcakes via mail for under $20!  (only because they gave me free shipping for pre-ordering,  they are a starting bakery.)  I should get them next week, so I can see how they send things!! Wish me luck with my project!

Sneeze of Happiness

Hello!
Sadly, yesterday I was going to try to send my cupcakes to Katie, but I do not have the funds to be able to do so.  So now she will not be able to tell me how they turn out or if they taste any good... BUT no worries, this morning I got a text/pic from a co-worker I just have to share, it made my day.

"Dear emily, thanks for the cakes of cup. It made my heart sneeze with happiness. Sincerely, chelsea mega-beast white"


Guess my cupcakes aren't too terrible to get a text like this! hehe

Hope all have a great day, I am off to the first football game of the season! GO ILLINI!!

Will they Survive?

So the trying begins...

Cupcakes ready to be shipped!

I have spent my free evening baking beautiful strawberry cupcakes to send to my beautiful sister is Texas.  I just hope they survive!! I am sending a test box, so see how the current packaging fails to get cupcakes from one place to another!  (lets also hope it doesn't cost me an arm and a leg... Not looking forward to that!

Strawberry Cupcakes
Strawberry icing
Strawberry on top

Anyway back to the more important Strawberry cupcakes! I've never baked with berries before, and wasn't sure how it would turn out!  Well they sure look pretty to me,but I do not like strawberries.  I have no way of seeing if they taste good or not!  Thankfully my roommate does like them and tested them for me.  I ended up giving in and seeing what I could taste.  Well... they aren't that flavorful, not as I had expected.  Of course strawberries are not in season and I didn't eat the strawberries in the cake, so I really am not sure if they are tasteful or not! My roommate also said they weren't that sweet, but she also licked the frosting off first, then ate the cake, so... not really how they are supposed to be eaten.  Guess the best way to find out is to, you guessed it.. take them to work!! hehe    If they survive the trip to Texas, Katie is a strawberry lover (the reason I made this kind) so maybe she can let me in!  As of now, this is a one time thing, not a huge winner as before!  


To tell you a little bit more about the cupcake.  I was a bit lazy tonight, seeing I have papers to write, and used boxed white cake.  Instead of the water and oil, I inserted the juice from frozen strawberries in the mix.  I then added the sliced strawberries to the mix.   For the frosting, I added some of the strawberry juice to a regular sugar frosting.  To finish it off I added a "fresh"(as you can get from Walmart in the off season) strawberry on top!  

To Design for Cupcakes

Hello All!
As you may know I have recently started back into school and that means the projects begin.  Don't worry though!  My first project is not going to be so bad!  Yes, I am doing a project about cupcakes!  More importantly about how I can find a solution to ship cupcakes through the mail without them getting destroyed (by melting, shaken up, etc.) and at a lower cost.  I found someone who tried to send their cupcakes through the mail, it worked, but cost them $150! Just for shipping, not for the supplies to actually ship them!   That is not right, I will fix this... I have decided, shipping food will change after I am done with this project... i hope :P

We don't want this anymore!!

Now it comes to my lovely readers, do any of you have any ideas on how to make this possible?  Do you know anyone who tries to send them, and have found something that works for them?  It doesn't have to be about shipping cupcakes either, how do you send food so that it does not get ruined in the process?

Well I must be off to do some more research elsewhere, yes part of this research will have me baking cupcakes and sending them (as long as funds can afford it)!

Away from my Loves

Me and Justin on his graduation day! 

I have been asked to post once again...  This one will be different, because it is not about baking.  I am forced to be away from that love at the moment, because of some housing arrangements, not going the way I have planned...   Sadly I have no idea when I will be baking again, and I even got some new awesome cookbooks to use Thanks to my Aunt Denise!! :D

Guess I will catch you up on the past few weeks.  I ventured out to San Diego California to see Justin graduate from Marine Bootcamp!! It was wonderful and I am so proud of all that he is doing right now!  His ten days of leave have come and gone.  That was the best ten days of my Summer vacation though!  Now I'm back in class, learning some things and getting for life after college!

So as you can see I am away from my loves and hope to be rejoined with them soon!  Hope all is well with everyone else as well! :D   At least I know I will be baking in about a month for my Katie's baby shower!! :D