It All Comes Full Circle

Hello again hungry humans of the Internet! I am back with another great review! As my year comes to a close, I was thinking about how much has changed in just a short period of time. I remember sitting at home just wondering where my future would take me, and it is just crazy to think about all of the choices we made and the things we did that led us to where we are now. Everything you do is significant, so make them count because life goes by so fast. Even this year went flying by.

The very first time I visited the University of Delaware, my family and I went to an Italian restaurant my mom found called Taverna. Their food is out of this world, and everything is homemade from the bread to the dessert. When I walk into that restaurant I just feel a sense of home; the tables are long dining room table under a chandelier, and the food makes you think that your grandma made it for you. Taverna is very expensive, so I have only been for larger occasions which also makes the restaurant that much more special. I went to Taverna on the first day I moved into college as well as for my birthday dinner. I never indulge by eating pasta, but when you come to Taverna you have to. I have tried many of the other dishes my friends and family has ordered in the past, but I always get the same thing. The Chicken Taverna is my favorite dish that they offer. It features breaded chicken with capers, lemon, white wine, and cappellini pasta for $24. I prefer lemon and white wine sauces to a red sauce, and Taverna’s white wine sauce is perfect. I would recommend this dish to anyone.

Although Taverna is not a typical college dinner hot spot, their restaurant is perfect for special occasions. It is nice to feel like you have a little piece of home once and a while. I think it deserves a 9.5/10.

Additionally, I would like to rate my year. I know I haven’t shared much of my year besides the food I have been eating, but reflection is important. I didn’t know what was in store for me when I first moved into college. Life definitely changed in a lot of ways, and it was hard to adjust to that change. However, at some point the new change just becomes life, and you forget what life was like before now. My advice to anyone going to college or going through a large change in their life is to embrace it because looking back it is really fulfilling to see all of the changes I have gone through. Growing is awesome, so don’t resist it.

Song of the Day!

It’s a Celebration

Hello again hungry humans of the Internet! I am back with another food review! May is my favorite month of the year; it’s when the world is blooming again and the sense of hope and happiness is in the air. It also happens to be my birthday month! My birthday is May 1st, and I had a great day with my friends and family! My family surprised me the Sunday before at a parents brunch for my sorority, and I was shook!

To continue the festivities, I wanted to go to a spot on Main St. Newark I never tried before. Newark Nutrition is a small store that has over 40 different protein shakes as well as tea and coffee. I love protein shakes as a fast and low calorie lunch, and I was dying to try their delicious flavors. My roommate and I each got a shake for only $6 a piece. I got the fluffernutter shake with peanut butter and marshmallow whey protein power, and my roommate got the banana nut bread shake with banana bread flavored whey protein powder. These shakes are sooo delicious!!! Each shake is under 200 calories with 17 g of protein and 21 vitamins as well as some shakes containing added fruit or powdered peanut butter.

Newark Nutrition claims that their protein shakes help you lose weight, but few people know that it is because their shake base contain laxatives. Some people can be turned off by this, but I do not mind because they do not bother my stomach, keep me full, and taste delicious! I went back the following day to order the cookie monster shake which did not disappoint either.

Overall I give my birthday a 10/10! My friends are the best and I had a great time with my family. Newark Nutrition also gets a 10/10 too 🙂

Birthday Song of the Day!

Wakey Wakey Eggs and Baccy

Hello again hungry humans of the Internet! I am back with another food review! As you all know, I am still a freshman in college which means I have a meal plan. The dining hall is great because I don’t have to pay for it. I get twelve meals a week. This semester, I have an 8am integrated Biology and Chemistry lab class, so I always get breakfast at the dining hall after with my friends! Our dining hall, Caesar Rodney always has so many options available to us; it is easy to find at least something you like. Although it may not be the most flavorful and satisfying of food, the staff works hard to make sure we are all fed.

my friends (left to right), Vida, Olivia, and Bailey

For breakfast there are not as many options. Caesar Rodney either has pancakes or french toast with breakfast meats and eggs at the “Home Zone”, bagels and toast, fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, or my personal favorite the make-your-own omelette station. At home, I eat an egg white omelette every day, so it makes me feel good to start my day like home. I always make an egg white omelette with no cheese, red pepper, mushroom, and spinach. Also, their breakfast potatoes on the side are always good; they are soft yet crunchy with the perfect amount of salt.

An 8am Bio class may suck, but food makes up for anything sucky. 🙂 Caesar Rodney gets a 7/10 for me. For being a dining hall, they do a pretty good job.

Song of the Day! (my morning song)

Back to My ROOTS

Hello again hungry humans of the Internet!! Happy Easter He is Risen!!!! This past Friday, I drove home to New Jersey to celebrate Easter and my grandma’s birthday with my family. It was so nice sleeping in my own bed and having everyone together again. I stayed until Monday, when I drove myself back to Newark and all I could think about the whole time was getting ROOTS! If you are not familiar with Roots Natural Kitchen, it is a smaller chain restaurant that prides itself in natural nutrient dense ingredients. Roots offers salads and bowls (like Chipotle) with a wide variety of toppings, dressings, and off the grill items. The full menu is below.

Additionally Roots created their own signature salads and bowls that have won the hearts of Newark residents. Almost every day at dinner time the line for Roots is out the door. These signature bowls are below.

This morning I decided to get one of my favorite signatures with a little twist. I got the Pesto Caesar salad featured below that contains a kale base, a bulgur secondary base, grape tomatoes, lime-pickled onions, shaved Parmesan, pita chips, the best Caesar dressing ever mixed with pesto dressing and chicken from the grill, Additionally, I removed the bulgur because sometimes it is too filling, removed the Parmesan because I am trying to eat less dairy, and added my favorite veggie, cucumber, for crunch. I also got it with the works, a recommended addition by the Roots staff to add flavor. The works for the Pesto Caesar is a dash of sriracha. I would 10/10 recommend this bowl and Roots in general. It fills me up, is a good price of $9 for a healthy, fresh salad, and tastes absolutely delicious.

pictures found at
http://www.rootsnaturalkitchen.com/address/newark-delaware/

Well, until next time friends! I hope you have a great week of eating and don’t forget to check up on your loved ones!

Song of the Day!

It’s All Greek To Me

Hello again hungry humans of the Internet!! I am still on spring break, and my mom decided to take me down the shore for a day since I had nothing to do. I love the Jersey Shore; it is so peaceful. At Pier Village in Long Branch, New Jersey there are cute shops and restaurants, and we stopped at Simply Greek. I was craving a Greek salad all day; it’s my favorite salad. Panera makes a good Greek salad, but they are missing the Gyro meat! My love for Greek food began at an early age when my parents would take us to a Greek deli annually in Terrytown, New York. I am a meat lover, so when I had a lamb gyro for the first time I was in awe.

I loved Simply Greek’s greek salad. It had all the elements I loved, a mountain of gyro meat, feta, tzatziki sauce, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, onions, and lettuce. Let me tell you I have never seen so much cheese on a salad before! If I had to change anything it would be smaller tomatoes, more tzatziki sauce, much less feta, and red onions instead of white. I am picky though, so I am sure you will love it just the way it is!

It was so nice spending a day with my mom down the shore, eating one of my favorite foods. Simply Greek gets a 7/10 for me!

Song of the Day!

best movie ever

Spring Break Baby!

Hello again hungry humans of the Internet! I am back with another great review. I am currently on spring break this week, and instead of going away for spring break my family and I went to an Ariana Grande concert. Her voice is perfect even live; I was in shock at how good she was.

The day after the concert my family and I ate at the Sugar Factory for the first time. If you’ve never heard of the Sugar Factory before it is a restaurant known for their sweet creations and epic smoking goblet drinks. There are multiple restaurants across the country, and many celebrities have appearances at them.

I decided that for spring break I would be on a health kick, so I didn’t get a crazy sweet dish. Instead, I got a bacon avocado turkey club; not the most exciting food choice but still delicious. My family however indulged. My sister got a berries and cream waffle with a huge peanut butter milkshake. My dad got a chocolate chip cappuccino with an apple pie crepe, and my mom got a mac n cheese burger. I was so jealous. I did though have to try one of the goblet drinks. I got the watermelon raspberry mojito, but it ended up being mainly the soda version of a sour patch watermelon. It was so sweet, but it was an experience. My dad was not happy that the experience cost $25 though!

https://sugarfactory.com/

I definitely recommend the Sugar Factory as a have to try at least once experience. It is DEFINITELY not for anyone on a diet, but I enjoyed it a lot! 7/10 for me.

Song of the Day!

BIG food girl

Hello again hungry humans of the Internet!! I’m back with a highly recommended review, BUT FIRST I have to tell you what’s been happening. I recently joined a sorority at the University of Delaware, and the time has come for us to get our “Big”. Our Big is a surprise to us, and they shower us with gifts of food and clothes for three days. Luckily for you guys, my big brought me the cutest basket with an El Diablo bowl! El Diablo is another great Mexican food option on Main St. in Newark, DE.

El Diablo is pretty much like Chipotle if you’ve ever been there. You can create your own bowl, salad, burrito or taco as well as try their signature creations. They have a variety of toppings that you can check out at https://www.eldiabloburritos.com/eat- My mouth is watering just thinking about it now! As not to confuse my big, I told her my go to order was the Southwest Chicken Salad. It includes Chicken, Romaine, Black Beans, Pepper Jack, Corn Salsa, Pico De Gallo, Pickled Jalapeño Peppers, Crispy Tortilla Strips, Chipotle Ranch Dressing for $9.25. IT WAS SO GOOD! I think El Diablo might just have the best Chipotle Ranch dressing ever.

El Diablo is definitely health friendly with gluten free and healthy kale salad options, but it is not the healthiest food review I have done. Dumping on the Chipotle Ranch probably ruins my healthy meal, but it is so worth it. I give it a strong 9.5/10. You have to go!!

Song of the Day!

this one kills me

https://www.eldiabloburritos.com/eat-

Uh Huh, Honey!

Hello again hungry humans of the Internet! I am back again with another great recommendation. This week is inspired by my friend Cassidy and her love for her all time favorite restaurant, honeygrow. Cass is so healthy and always inspires me to think about my health and food choices. One piece of advice she abides by is that you cannot go wrong by getting a honeygrow salad.

honeygrow offers specialty salads and stir fry as well as build-your-own. They pride themselves in a range of healthy options for anyone including vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free choices. I have only been to honeygrow twice, but from what I remember you can order a build-your-own on one of their computers. Start by choosing your base. If you want a salad that would be the type of lettuce you want whether it be mixed greens or spinach; if you want a stir fry this is egg noodles or whole wheat noodles. Next is the protein choice. They range from chicken and beef to tofu and eggs. honeygrow then lets you choose your toppings. When I got my stir fry I created a whole wheat noodle bowl with half chicken and half scrambled egg topped with bell peppers, bean sprouts, scallions, cilantro, and parsley. I also added the sweet soy five spice sauce. It came to a total of $11.

Yesterday I went to to honeygrow with Cassidy and her friend Molly. Cassidy ordered her new favorite salad. She started with a spinach base, and then added chicken, carrots, beets, edamame, grape tomatoes, and quinoa. Her salad is full of nutrients, antioxidants, and fiber. Eating a rainbow is a healthy habit because you are consuming the wide range of phytochemicals found in different plants. Cassidy’s salad sure looks like a rainbow to me!

honeygrow is a great options for salads with fresh vegetables. It is more pricey than other options, but if my friends believes in it then I do too. honeygrow is a great Main St. hot spot, and cooks much healthier Asian stir fry with less sodium and more nutrients. honeygrow gets a 7.5/10 for me.

https://www.honeygrow.com/menu

Song of the Day!

By the Way, Guac is Extra

Hola de nuevo los humanos hambrientos del Internet. ¡Es taco el martes! It’s taco Tuesday!!! Everyone loves a good taco, and if you don’t you are lying to yourself. My love for tacos began when my middle school best friend’s mother made homemade tacos for us after school like it was no big deal. I remember the smell of the golden fried shells with homemade creme over top. She is from Mexico, and her tacos are still the best I ever had. As the taco connoisseur I am, I must tell you the aspects of a good taco. First, the flour tortilla must be warm. Next, the meat has to be seasoned. If there is no seasoning, there is no taco. Second, fajita vegetables. That’s it; that’s the sentence. I prefer Cotija cheese to Mexican blend cheese, and I always add lettuce and sour cream (PS: sour cream is the best condiment by a landslide).

Here in Newark, DE, there are many places to get a good taco, but nothing has taken first place from my go to order at Qdoba. Qdoba may be a chain, but it satisfies everything I look for in a good taco. The flour tortillas are perfectly warmed and toasted, topped with spicy and tender grilled chicken, fajita style peppers and onions, freshly crumbled cotija cheese, and a drizzle of cold sour cream. It is relatively healthy in my opinions because it covers every food group for 220 calories per taco, and as my nutrition teacher says, “Eat the rainbow!” This specialty item is really called The Drunkin’ Yardbird plus the fajita veggies I added. Normally, I go to Qdoba because I have gift cards, but without my gift cards, three Drunkin’ Yardbirds will cost $9.15. However, if you have your Liberman’s Bookstore Delaware Discount Card, you can get free chips and salsa, giving you more bang for your buck!

Overall, Mexico is my home from a previous lifetime, and I could not survive without Mexican food. Qdoba is my favorite spot, and I give them all my love! 9/10 because nothing will ever top homemade tacos

Song of the Day!

PS: Guac is $2.00 extra but worth it 🙂

When The Moon Hits Your Eye…

Hello again hungry humans of the internet! I am back with another great food recommendation from Newark, DE, my new home. As I said previously, I am from the great state of New Jersey, home to the Jersey shore, many diners, the best bagels and the best pizza! I am a pizza connoisseur, and it was very sad for me to leave my A+ quality pizza. My search began with the dining hall pizza, and took me from Dominoes to Pizza Hut. These choices are all good. However, nothing could prepare me for what I found next.

On Main St., The University of Delaware is fortunate enough to have a Snap Pizza franchise. Snap Pizza is a restaurant with specialty and custom pizzas. You can choose your crust, your sauce, cheese, toppings, and finishing touches! Not to mention, the small corner store had beautiful decor that made it feel not so small at all. At Snap Pizza, they have healthy toppings like vegan, cauliflower, gluten free crust, brussel sprouts, broccoli, pepperoni, ricotta, spinach etc… I have only been to Snap a couple of times, so I am still on the journey of trying all the toppings!

A funny story is that one day, Jose and I had our usual Playa Bowls for lunch but were so hungry we decided to get snap too! For only $8.99, you can create a custom pizza. In the past, I have gotten a traditional crust, basil pesto, house-pulled mozzarella, brussel, sprouts, bacon, spinach, and balsamic and a traditional crust, tomato sauce, spinach, chicken, and pepperoni. I like the fact that you can make a whole pizza for under $10, and you can create a new pizza every time! If you do not live in the New Jersey/ New York area, I highly recommend Snap Pizza. My rating is a 9.5/10! Snap makes pizza healthy and delicious.

Song of the Day!