Favorite Teas:
1. Zhena's Gypsy
I love their stackable varieties and great herbal teas.
2. Yogi Tea
Their Bedtime tea is probably my favorite tea on earth. Every tea I've ever had from Yogi was excellent (at least 10) except for the ginger tea, which tasted bad and was too strong. You can also get a free sample from their website if you want to try it first! Their green tea tastes significantly better than some of the stuff you find from other brands.
3. Twinnings
Kind of generic, but if you like black tea at all then Twinnings is a go-to. I actually also love their Pomegranate and Raspberry herbal blend.
4. Traditional Medicinals
I actually only drink their tea when I'm sick (steep the Throat Coat and add some lemon juice), but it is fantastic, and really helps in the winter especially. My friend who is pregnant also uses their mother's milk tea; it's one of the few brands that has tea explicitly for pregnant or nursing mothers.
5. Celestial Seasonings
This is the best cheap tea in my opinion. I've had a lot of Stash, too, but it's not nearly as good. I particularly love their Tension Tamer, Wild Berry Zinger (all the zingers actually), and the lemon and chamomile ones.
6. David's Tea
This is the best gourmet tea shop I've ever been to; it's about 300 times better than Teavana, and they don't force you to buy like an entire pound of tea. The blends are out of this world; it's a little pricey, but especially if you live nearby a store (I don't so I would have to buy online) it's a fantastic option.
There are definitely other great options (Republic of Tea, etc.), especially from relatively small brands, but these are a lot of what you might find at the grocery store.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
A review of 5 food magazines
1. Saveur
This is probably my all-time favorite food magazine because it's not really just about food; it's about families, culture, and how we interact with food. It's more expensive than some of the other food magazines, but it's worth it to me; I've subscribed for 3 years and every issue is worth it. If you're not as into stories about cooking and family, though, it might not be the best. I like that they've featured southern food and food from the middle of the country (Kansas, Oklahoma, etc.); especially the second isn't featured much in magazines, but that's how people actually eat, and their articles feature the best of these recipes! I've actually cooked from Saveur recipes quite a bit, and they turn out amazing. The photography is also excellent.
2. Bon Appetit
This is a great magazine; besides food it also deals a lot with traveling, etc. As a grad student, a lot of the recipe ingredients and places to travel are simply out of reach, so I don't currently subscribe. Their website is definitely worth checking out, especially because you can add their recipes to the app Pepperplate, which unfortunately Saveur doesn't do. Bon Appetit is also owned by Conde Nast and I prefer smaller companies over big conglomerates, but I can forgive them for it. I almost never cooked their recipes when I subscribed (sorry, but I don't have ghee and other random ingredients lying around!), although I do from their website sometimes now.
3. Food and Wine
I'm obsessed with food and I love wine, so I thought this would be perfect, right? It's ok. It's a decent magazine, although I've only subscribed for about 3 months so far. The stories and writing aren't nearly as good as in either Saveur or Bon Appetit, but they have drink guides and instructions that I've enjoyed. I only drink beer if I have to (i.e. at a dive watching a game) and I despise liquor, so I really wish their drink articles actually focused on wine... Despite what you would think from the name, they don't. How sad; for a magazine about some of the greatest things in life, they're not doing the subject matter justice. I'll keep my subscription for the year to see if I just got a bad couple issues, but probably not after that.
4. Cooking Light
This magazine is good if you're trying to lose weight. I stopped subscribing because I thought the recipes were kind of silly; all about trying to replace the heavy whipping cream, butter, or the meat or essentially the best part of a recipe. But as long as you eat in moderation and make veggies the majority of your meal, there is nothing wrong with whipping cream, butter, or meat! I did find some cool recipes that featured vegetables, but you can find that in any magazine... If you prefer being healthy and eating raw vegetables, I guess this magazine might work. Some of the recipes really weren't that healthy, though; maybe they were low-calorie, but not necessarily filling or realistic for a normal person.
5. Real Simple
This isn't actually a food magazine; it's lifestyle I suppose. I didn't subscribe because I thought it was for middle-aged women, but my sister gifted it to me, and now I'm hooked (although the parts about organizing your household don't really apply to me). Each issue has an article on food, another on 10 things to do with X ingredient, and 5 recipes that are quick and easy but still great-tasting and gourmet-ish. I've cooked a lot from this magazine and it always turns out well; the food is accessible without being boring.
This is probably my all-time favorite food magazine because it's not really just about food; it's about families, culture, and how we interact with food. It's more expensive than some of the other food magazines, but it's worth it to me; I've subscribed for 3 years and every issue is worth it. If you're not as into stories about cooking and family, though, it might not be the best. I like that they've featured southern food and food from the middle of the country (Kansas, Oklahoma, etc.); especially the second isn't featured much in magazines, but that's how people actually eat, and their articles feature the best of these recipes! I've actually cooked from Saveur recipes quite a bit, and they turn out amazing. The photography is also excellent.
2. Bon Appetit
This is a great magazine; besides food it also deals a lot with traveling, etc. As a grad student, a lot of the recipe ingredients and places to travel are simply out of reach, so I don't currently subscribe. Their website is definitely worth checking out, especially because you can add their recipes to the app Pepperplate, which unfortunately Saveur doesn't do. Bon Appetit is also owned by Conde Nast and I prefer smaller companies over big conglomerates, but I can forgive them for it. I almost never cooked their recipes when I subscribed (sorry, but I don't have ghee and other random ingredients lying around!), although I do from their website sometimes now.
3. Food and Wine
I'm obsessed with food and I love wine, so I thought this would be perfect, right? It's ok. It's a decent magazine, although I've only subscribed for about 3 months so far. The stories and writing aren't nearly as good as in either Saveur or Bon Appetit, but they have drink guides and instructions that I've enjoyed. I only drink beer if I have to (i.e. at a dive watching a game) and I despise liquor, so I really wish their drink articles actually focused on wine... Despite what you would think from the name, they don't. How sad; for a magazine about some of the greatest things in life, they're not doing the subject matter justice. I'll keep my subscription for the year to see if I just got a bad couple issues, but probably not after that.
4. Cooking Light
This magazine is good if you're trying to lose weight. I stopped subscribing because I thought the recipes were kind of silly; all about trying to replace the heavy whipping cream, butter, or the meat or essentially the best part of a recipe. But as long as you eat in moderation and make veggies the majority of your meal, there is nothing wrong with whipping cream, butter, or meat! I did find some cool recipes that featured vegetables, but you can find that in any magazine... If you prefer being healthy and eating raw vegetables, I guess this magazine might work. Some of the recipes really weren't that healthy, though; maybe they were low-calorie, but not necessarily filling or realistic for a normal person.
5. Real Simple
This isn't actually a food magazine; it's lifestyle I suppose. I didn't subscribe because I thought it was for middle-aged women, but my sister gifted it to me, and now I'm hooked (although the parts about organizing your household don't really apply to me). Each issue has an article on food, another on 10 things to do with X ingredient, and 5 recipes that are quick and easy but still great-tasting and gourmet-ish. I've cooked a lot from this magazine and it always turns out well; the food is accessible without being boring.
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