When I was a freshman in college, I often carried a rice crispy treat in my coat pocket. I had a little black pea coat that I bought for next to nothing with my American Eagle employee discount. It wasn’t even the slightest bit warm, but it had perfect treat-sized pockets, and unless I forgot, I had a rice crispy treat on me. It makes me laugh, looking back, that I would choose such junk as a daily snack, but it’s also a reminder of simpler days when the words “healthy” and “calories” didn’t exist in my headspace. Days when I had a piece of pie practically every day because the dorm buffet alw ..read more

If you’ve never had the pleasure of doing a honey or maple syrup tasting, I suggest you give it a shot, flight style. I did my first honey tasting at the farmer’s market this summer, and it was surprisingly grounding to compare the light, floral flavor of the spring harvest to the rich, butterscotch flavor of the fall harvest. I’m all about tastings because it’s often difficult to tell just how complex or special a flavor is without a benchmark. So you know I jumped for the spoons when a box of Republic of Vermont goodies showed up at my doorstep. I happened to have one local honey and one no ..read more

A big thanks to Hook Line and Savor for sponsoring this post and for creating great-tasting, allergy-friendly, clean ingredient products.  All thoughts and opinions are my own. In my opinion, every person should have a kale salad recipe in their back pocket.  This is important.  File it under Mary’s life rules to live by.  Whether you’re the only vegetarian in your family or the only person in your circle who cares about hitting your daily green quota, kale is there for you my friend.  In the past year, I think I’ve brought a kale salad to ..read more

A big thanks to Hook Line and Savor for sponsoring this post and for creating great-tasting, allergy-friendly, clean ingredient products.  All thoughts and opinions are my own. When the word “hangry” became a thing I felt so very validated.  After years of me proclaiming that “bad things happen when I don’t eat” (sort of like a werewolf faced with a full moon or like the Hulk when he rips off his t-shirt right before he smashes things) the world had finally slapped a label on the condition.  Hungry + angry = HANGRY.  A complex concoction of physical and emotional unful ..read more

A big thanks to Kroger for sponsoring this post and for challenging me to think inside the pantry.  All thoughts and opinions are my own. I’m heading into the third year of my PhD program in a little over a week, and I can’t help but feel like I’m battening down the hatches for a big storm.  I’ve kicked into total preparation mode, trying to get the maximum amount of stuff done now in order to make the months ahead a little smoother.  One by one, simple things like get a haircut, get teeth cleaned, and get cholesterol checked are being crossed off my to-do list.  Next up:&n ..read more