Negative-calorie foods( FactFriday #8)

A negative-calorie food is a food that requires more energy to be digested than it provides. While this concept is popular in dieting guides, there is no scientific evidence to support that any of the foods claimed as negative-calorie foods are such. Personally I think is more a placebo effect but as long as it tastes good and it feels me up with natural whole substances, I don't think what scientific studies show is relevant.

As a negative-calorie beverage, ice water has no calories but requires the body to expend a very small amount of energy to raise the liquid to body temperature. So it will help boost your metabolism. Same goes with hot water with lemon.

Foods that are negative in calories are mostly low-calorie fruits and vegetables such as:

•  celery

•  grapefruit

Sexy legs (FitWednesday #8)

We all want sexy sculpted legs and a nice perky butt. I have been seeing some improvements after doing this workout. It is fun, quick and you will feel you heart rate go a little bit faster(bit a little I mean a lot).

Without any other stalling here is the workout:

Video games( MondayTalk #7)

You might have noticed that for the first time in two months I haven't put a blog post up on Monday. I was meant to write it on Sunday night but an interesting thing happened...I bought Sims 3. And anything and everything was put on hold.

Last week was the first week of the second semester. It was such a busy and a bit stressful experience. I have, yet again 7 courses, I have to do a three week internship which will be evaluated and I will get a grade on. Also some of my professors are not on the same page as me in terms of my future plans. I do have some really awesome ones that start to tear us apart to build us up again. I do genuinely appreciate those types of professors more.

Other than that, there was a party on Thursday which was a lot of fun. I had a chance to unwind and let my hair down, dance with my girls and also catch up with friend. I did wash down a number of beers but it was all in the name of good fun. After the party ended I went on a walk with my best friend and waited, like true ladies for the subway and buses to star their schedules. I did have a pizza when I got home, but again, all in the name of not starving myself and in good fun.

This week I have to start on my projects. I have 6 projects these term and they are hard stuff. I can estimate I will have to write a 30 page paper on a macroeconomic subject, a 15 page paper on an entrepreneur and a combined number of  5000 code lines for the other 4 projects. And the code part we are doing it in teams and I will have some help. It is still a lot of work for just 11 weeks of school, now just 10 weeks.

That's about it for tonight. Uploading program will be resumed to normal as of today and tomorrow. I do hope I can keep it up because it is actually really fun doing blog posts. I get to put all of my knowledge in one place and have kind of a weekly diary type post which is fun!

Stuffed red pepper (RecipeTuesday #8)

If you have noticed, I don't eat a lot of meat. I do like vegetables so much more than meat and I want to find ways to make them taste different and delicious. I experiment with different combinations and seasonings. This is my stuffed red pepper and it is soooooo good.

Here it goes:

What you do:

Why is water important? (FactFriday #7)

I have been seeing people lately stress more the importance of drinking water. I for one know that I don't drink half as much as I should. The other day I got a zit(gross, I know) and I realized that I haven't had that much water. That got me thinking....why is water so important.

4 minute intense workout (FitWednesday #7)

There is no excuse for not doing this workout. It only takes 4 minutes, it will burn calories after you are done and it is fun. My favorite music to listen to when I'm working out is dubstep and most song are 4-5 minutes long so this is perfect for me. I just put on a track that I like, and by the end of it I actually finish the workout.

Easy crepe recipe (RecipeTuesday #7)

Crepes are one of my favorite things to eat. Either for breakfast or just dessert. I find it odd that most people eat american pancakes. I don't associate them necessarily with pancakes. As someone from Europe, my version of pancakes are crepes. Thin, elegant, light, delicious.

This is my grandmothers easy and healthy recipe for crepes. I do indeed enjoy eating them as often as I can(even as a midnight snack).

What you need:

What you do:

New semester (MondayTalk #6)

As I anticipated, the break has gone by faster than the school year. I feel excited that this semester I get more into my specialization: economic informatics. This means that I will have a lot more subject for programming, which is AWESOME! I am so glad I don't have to learn silly things that I will not use ever.

This break I haven't done as much as I wanted. I did learn some things for a computer application for the ONG I'm in. This was fun. I love learning useful information that can help me in my future career. For my drivers licence I haven't done anything, I have to squeeze this in as soon as possible. I really want this summer to drive to my friends that don't live in my hometown.

Last week was relaxing, I got to paint and draw and sleep. This might be my most favorite thing to do when I have time. I didn't want the days to end. I felt so good.

Dealing with insomnia(FactFriday #6)

Any student at some point in time had had problems with getting enough sleep. Either it is because of the partying, exams, stress or bad roommates, we all have dealt with insomnia.

To help during those sleepless nights I have compiled a list of reasons for insomnia as well as some natural remedies that can help ease you in to the land of rainbows and unicorns!

15 minute crush! (FitWednesday #6)

Time is of the essence. I would rather prefer learning something useful or reading or watching a dumb TV show than work out. But in life, you have to work hard for everything and anything you have and health is no exception. I have been on a break for so long with all the commotion  at college with finals and learning that I missed a lot of workout days.

That didn't spot me get back on the horse when I finished all of the madness and I am a bit disappointed that I did not make more time to do something that I start hard but by the end of it I want more. That is an odd thing about working out on a regular basis. You dread starting the workout and by the end of the hour you are pumped for more!

Healthy brownies(RecipeTuesday #6)

I have been on a sweet kick lately so of course I want to stay healthy but not compromise on anything. This is the recipe I came up with. It is a delicious brownie, full of good ingredients. It could be more wholesome but I cannot quick white flour, you could change it with some oat flour or any type you like, this is just my personal favorite.

Here we go:

What to do:

End of finals! (MondayTalk #5)

I had my last exam on friday and I went on an end of the semester party ever, and boy I sure blew some steam. It was a long and hard period, way harder than the first two semesters of college. Oh well! I am glad it is over, I didn't fail any of my classes and I have a week to regroup and take a rest.

This week, I am sure of it, will go by like nothing! But I am determined to do something that relaxes me and not just sit on my ass all day. Today I painted for the first time in 4 years and it felt so good. I almost forgot how to hold a paint brush. But the end result was a simple but very cute tree. I love painting nature just because I have more freedom. Also I draw a samurai looking armor. I felt inspired by the last episode of Teen Wolf. I felt so good and relaxed and in my element. I sure enough have to go out and buy more drawing pencils, I don't know how I misplaced mine.

Beat the blues (FactFriday #5)

Every once in a while everyone gets a bit down and not so motivated to go on. Believe it or not there are foods out there that can help you not feel so blue and down.

The thing that we should understand is that we should not stuff our faces just because we are sad. In no way shape or form am I suggesting to go out, buy a ton of junk food and sit in a dark corner and eat your feelings. These are just mood boosting snacks that can help but food is not an answer.

1. Chocolate helps with STRESS! Not only does chocolate taste divine but it can also help with stress. Opt for dark chocolate because it is jam packed with antioxidants.

2. Salmon is great for anxiety. Because I have been in the finals period of the school year, I have a fair amount of stress. Salmon is wonderful way to calm oneself.

Crossfit for home (FitWednesday #5)

What is crossfit? Well, it is a strength and conditioning program with the aim of improving muscular strength, cardio-respiratory endurance, and flexibility. Crossfit programming is decentralized but its general methodology is used by thousands of private affiliated gyms and by many fire departments, law enforcement agencies, and military organizations.

It is an all round good exercise routine. Some of us though, either don't have a gym near by, don't have the time to go or just don't want to show how unfit we actually are(that would be me). That being said, here is a crossfit exercise routine that anyone can do at home a break a sweat!

Cocoa and cinnamon muffins (RecipeTuesday #5)

Oats are my favorite thing ever so of course when I think of a dessert I think of something with oats. Today I wanted some fun muffins to eat with my afternoon tea so I wiped up this recipe in no more then 20 minutes!

What you need:

What you do:

End of exam season(MondayTalk #4)

The end of my exams is near! I only have 2 left(which aren't the most easy but oh well!). 7 is A  LOT of exam to take in 2.5 weeks. I hate it how even if I don't find a subject useful I still have to take it and get a honorable grade.

I don't know what to do with myself after this period  is over. I have a week break between the semester so I will have time to regroup and refocus. The bad part about starting the second semester is that I have mandatory practice hours at a company in my area of future expertise and we have to figure things out ourselves. There is no program that can help us with an internship or anything so pretty much I have to go to interviews and put my resume out there. That should be fun...I hope I won't be that stressed.

So I told you at the beginning of these blog posts that I thought that the exam season is the perfect excuse to start a healthy lifestyle. Boooy, I did not talk into account the stress I am going to be put under. The snacking wasn't a problem, I ate pretty good at home, I even skipped meals because I was concentrated on my studying and I wasn't burning a lot of fuel so my body didn't really needed that much. The bad part is that I have gone from working out every day to maybe once a week(thank God at least for the FitWednesday posts). So that isn't too good.

Another thing that I have notices is that by the end of any exam (I don't eat until I have taken the exam) my body is in the same time hungry and also craving beer. Don't know whats up with that, maybe the alcohol numbs me. And I don't have early exams, most of them are at 1pm so I don't really eat. After the exam I drink a beer and then I eat like there is no tomorrow either pizza or pasta anything carb loaded. And then I don't eat for the rest of the day. That isn't healthy but I make myself think that it is ok since I only do it because of the exam.

I can't wait for the 7th of February to roll around and be done with all this chaos! I will have a clean sleight next semester and maybe do more studying during as opposed to at the end of it. I want to get back to working out every day and also I am thinking of joining a climbing gym. I think it's an active thing to do and maybe it will get me moving more and get a better grip.

This is the end of my rambling! I think it's enough. At the beginning of the post I had somewhat of a writers block. I didn't know what subject to cover, I was undecided and kind of on the fence with this post. I don't what to put something up just because I need to, I want to want to! I use a technique that my English teacher thought us. Basically I write anything and everything my mind can produce (it's called continuous flow) and after reading all of the madness from above I slap the title on. Apparently I worry about not giving exams, well I guess that's a thing.

Ok, now I'm really done!