25 Days of Oats, Any Takers?

The temperature is starting to drop below freezing in the mornings, and a warm bowl of oatmeal is not only extremely comforting, but also delicious and economical. Since every blogger seems to have their own favorite method for making oats, I thought it would be fun to have a “25 Days of Oats” series where (ideally) 25 bloggers would make their own seasonal bowl of oats and feature them here and on their own blog starting on December 1st and going up to December 25th. If you’d be interested in making a “holiday oat bowl” just leave a comment or send me an e-mail (startinghealthy@gmail.com) and we can try to get something organized in the next 2 weeks or so. Be sure to let anybody else who may be interested know.

On another note, I got a package today from Gnu who sent me a box of their fiber bars to try out! I’ve been wanting to try these ever since I saw them online but none of the stores in my area seem to carry them. I’ll be putting up reviews for them in the upcoming weeks.

Computer Issues…

I might not be able to post for several days, my computer decided to die on me at the worst possible time. Does anybody have any recommendations for new computers (I’m hoping it doesn’t have to come to that though).

Be sure to check out Fit and Fabulous’ Amazing Grass giveaway!

Where Do You Get Your Recipes?

Browsing for recipes online became a “hobby” of mine once I decided that I would start eating healthier. Finding recipes that are 1) healthy 2) fairly simple and 3) cheap can be pretty challenging. The best resources I’ve found are:

1) Food Blogs – These are great because they are often more detailed than traditional recipes, with tons of photos and descriptions. You also get feedback about the recipe from both the poster and anybody who leaves comments on the post.

2) Recipe Databases – The main ones I’ve had success are RecipeZaar, All Recipes, and Epicurious. These are by far the most convenient, simply type in what you feel like and you’ll get hundreds of different recipes. Many of them include the nutritional information, and there’s usually at least several reviews of the recipe. A negative is that many recipes can be hit or miss, especially is there aren’t any reviews to go off of. As far as photos go, the more popular recipes usually have at least one photo, but often times it’s just a small thumbnail of the final product, not any of the actual cooking process.

3) Visual Databases – The “food porn” websites, such as TasteSpotting, FoodGawker, and PhotoGrazing. These are photo walls of different recipes that link back to a food blog that usually contains the recipes. The only bad things about this would be that they aren’t necessarily the healthiest of meals, and that if you weren’t hungry before going to the site, you definitely will be before leaving.

4) Cookbooks/Magazines – Cookbooks and magazines are great sources for recipes, they’re usually by professional chefs who apparently thought they were good enough to sell. The biggest drawback is that unlike the previous sources, they cost money. Nutritional information may or may not be included however, and in most cases photos won’t be given for every recipe.

So, how do you find your recipes, if you use them at all?

Also, jump on over to Danica’s Daily and check out her Nature’s Path giveaway!