Archives for October 2014

5 Easy, Healthy Recipes for Busy College Students

October 16, 2014 by Mackenzie

As usual, life is busy, my days are packed and I’m spending less and less time at home. I’ve been all about the PBJs and Trader Joe’s frozen dinners this week. But I have been spending time looking at all my older blog posts and have been quite impressed with how much I was cooking two years ago without a full kitchen to work with!

I thought I would pull together a roundup of some of my favorite easy and healthy recipes! I’m going to do two segments – this one is my top 5 EASY, healthy recipes for busy college students. Next week I’ll share my top 5 easy college treats! These meals are easy for students to throw together when all you want is a yummy home cooked meal. Some of these require an oven or a stovetop – but hopefully you at least have a kitchen in your dorm somewhere! The ingredient lists are short and you don’t need any special kitchen equipment – a pot, pan and knife can get you far! Whether you are on campus or you’ve just moved into your own apartment for the first time, try these 5 EASY, healthy recipes for busy college students! If you need ideas for substitutions or cooking improvisations, drop me a comment below!

If you want to look at some of the crazy things my roommate and I cooked up in our dorm, take a look at some of these really old posts! Cranberry Pecan Muffins, Snickerdoodle Cake and Roasted Acorn Squash with Wild Rice Stuffing!

1. Avocado Chicken Salad

2. Sweet Potato, Kale & Black Bean Hash

3. Sauteed Sweet Potatoes with Lemon Parsley Gremolata

4. Fresh Lemon Mint Pasta with Chicken and Peas

5. Blueberry Basil Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Pumpkin Spice Biscotti

October 11, 2014 by Mackenzie

So… I quit my job. And it’s been GREAT! I can’t believe what I’ve been missing. I started working at Nordstrom exactly a year ago – and I loved it. The job pays well and it was a fun distraction from the stress of school. But when I started back up again this school year, I started to lose my mind. I was stretched so thin with 19.5 credits of classes, writing my thesis, working as a Teaching Assistant and working at Nordstrom. And then trying to enjoy my senior year and hang out with friends. And then I missed a whole week of class while I was in New York at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting (all my pictures are posted here! So many famous people!) I was so stressed all the time, barely slept and was sacrificing valuable job-searching time as well.

Two weeks ago I finally decided to call it quits. I was sad to leave my co-workers, worried about no longer having a paycheck (still am!), and bummed that I was losing my discount 😉 but after last weekend of freedom and looking forward to many more – I am SO glad I quit. I’ve caught up on schoolwork, worked on my thesis, am blogging, went to the grocery store… I mean, I’m finally doing life stuff! It feels so good.

So in the spirit of celebrating… I baked biscotti! I had a little leftover pumpkin after making these Pumpkin Millet Muffins last week and for some reason, pumpkin biscotti just wouldn’t leave my mind! So – I set to work last night and made these Pumpkin Spice Biscotti. Oh my goodness, they are absolutely amazing. I used some of the [amazon text=Pumpkin Spice Oil&asin=http://www.amazon.com/Lorann-Oils-Pumpkin-Emulsion-4oz/dp/B00BR25W9E] that I got from LorAnn and that you can get on Amazon (see this post about Earl Grey Tea Shortbread for another use for LorAnn Oils!) and gosh, they turned out good! I dipped them in white chocolate (that I had brought back from Madagascar!) and now have a delicious plate of treats!

Pumpkin Spice Biscotti

Recipe Type: Cookie, Dessert

Author: Mackenzie

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 1 hour 5 mins

Serves: 16

Ingredients

1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin spice emulsion (optional but highly recommended!)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
white chocolate for dipping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the pumpkin, butter, eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin spice emulsion. Beat until combined.
In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flours, sugars, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
Divide dough in two and on a floured surface, roll each half into a 9x3inch (roughly) log. Place both logs on a cookie sheet fitted with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until edges are golden brown.
Let cool for 15 minutes and drop oven temperature to 300 degrees. When logs are cool, use a serrated knife to cut them into one inch strips. Turn pieces on their side and return to baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes until dry and crisp. Remove from sheet and let cool on a wire rack.
Once cool, melt white chocolate in a double boiler. Dip biscotti in melted chocolate and return to wire rack to harden.

Clinton Global Initiative 2014

October 4, 2014 by Mackenzie

After a thrilling week in New York City, I am back in the school-grind. On top of missing a whole week of class I had five essays due last Sunday-Tuesday – like, what?! Five essays and I had to work all last weekend. It was a rough week but I’ve finally reached the top of the mountain and I’m ready for a semi-relaxing weekend! I know I posted a LOT of pictures and anecdotes on facebook throughout the week, but now I want to tell the whole story of that amazing week! I’m still riding the high – I mean, everytime I walk in my bedroom and see my blazer with hanging with my Secret Service pin I get pretty excited 🙂

The Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting is a four day meeting in New York City that the Clintons host to bring together political leaders, CEOs, philanthropists, and NGO leaders to facilitate communication, idea-sharing and resource collaboration. There are large plenary sessions, breakout session, TV interviews, and time for commitment creation over the four days. I was able to attend the Clinton Global Initiative University meeting back in March (see this post!) and through that experience, was able to volunteer at the larger meeting this year! And wow, what a phenomenal experience. Below is Hillary Clinton opening the meeting on the first night.

There were several musical performances on the first night – Randy Jackson and Jason Mraz among them… And a star-studded attendance list – Leonardo DiCaprio (new UN Messenger for Peace – whatever that means…), Eva Longoria, Seth Meyers, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright – I admire her so much as the first female Secretary of State!

This is Agnes – one of the women I lived with for the week – she is an incredible woman from Uganda who created a rehabilitation center for victims of human trafficking, trains law enforcement to better identify human trafficking and raises awareness in Uganda of the issue. She also started the organization Huts for Peace where Ugandan women come together to compile resources and build homes for themselves. While we were in NYC, she was interviewed on Arise TV – check out the clip! (starting at 4:13). Agnes, you are amazing and it was an honor to meet you! I look forward to working with you in some way in the future!

One night we wandered down the block to Times Square. Took some fun photos with Elmo, Spongebob and Mickey Mouse and then meandered to some other fun spots in the city! Finally got “NYC tourist” checked off my bucket list 🙂

On day 3, Obama came and spoke! I was so excited 🙂 I’d never heard him speak, so I guess I checked that off my bucket list too!

Oh! I almost forgot – I better explain this next picture… My role throughout the week was to ensure that the press had escorts wherever they went throughout the hotel. Because all the attendees were so high-profile, we couldn’t let the press wander on their own. Most of the week, I was stationed at the press riser inside the main plenary room “guarding” the press 🙂 It was a blast and meant that I got to watch every plenary session too! Because of my role, I ended up working quite closely with Secret Service – together we monitored the press, scanned the crowds and tipped each other off when we noticed someone wasn’t where they were supposed to be (happened quite a bit with the press ha!) So here’s my imitation of me being a Secret Service Agent – it was an awesome experience and who knows, maybe that career is in my future now too!

The next photo is some of the speakers… Upper Left: President Clinton, President Michelle Bachelet (Chile), and His Majest King Abdullah Il ibn Al Hussein (King of Jordan!) Upper Right: Jack Ma, the Executive Chairman of Alibaba, the BOOMING Chinese e-commerce company (bigger than Amazon and Ebay combined!)

Bottom: Oh, yeah… then there was Matt Damon. Who casually followed me down the stairs. (I was not casual and freaked out and snapped this picture after I let him pass at the bottom of the stairs. And in case you’re wondering – and many people have already asked me this – yes, he is just as attractive in person as he is on the screen!)

President Clinton did a live TV interview with Charlie Rose – and they needed people to fill the seats in the background and I was one of them! Once it airs and I find the link, I’ll be sure to post it in here! I sat right on the aisle where he entered and exited so when he passed he shook my hand and said “thanks for being here!” (No problem, Mr. President!)

The next day they asked me to “fill the background” for Sanjay Gupta’s CNN interview with Hillary! I’ll try and find the link to that too!

More speakers… Upper Left: Prime Minister of Denmark. Upper Right: Katie Couric interviewing a panel on women and girls, including Chelsea Clinton (who gave birth two days later!) Bottom Left: Hillary and Melinda Gates. Bottom Right: Hillary and the Prime Minister of Japan.

And finally, the closing session – what a family! (Now +1!)

Oh, what a fantastic week and a fabulous group of volunteers!

Anna graduated from WU a few years ahead of me and we happened to be volunteering together – so fun!

So bascially, this trip is like going to the grammys when you’re an academic, political nerd. I loved every second of it and obviously, had the time of my life! The trip ended on a pretty amusing note – (except not at the time) my flight Wednesday night was canceled so I ended up sitting in the hotel lobby for the entire night and took a 6am flight back to STL. It was quite miserable but hey, I made it to class at 10am Thursday on time and then went home for a much-needed nap!

Gosh, what an amazing week. I am blessed to have opportunities like these and take each one with an open, grateful heart! If you want to read about my time at the Clinton Global Initiative University, click here. You can also read some of my other Life Update post here. I can’t wait to see what is next on my horizon – it’s job-hunting season! I’ll share some of my plans on an upcoming post 🙂