Warmer weather…and fattening foods

The warm weather seems to be here to stay…finally. Tis the season to wear less bulky clothing…skirts, dresses, and shorts. It’s also about the time when people, mostly women, start freaking out because it is almost bathing suit season.  In order to keep yourself from gaining any more weight, you have to be extra careful about what you are consuming.

WebMD, one of the most popular go-to websites for health topics,  recently listed the top 10 most fattening food of the spring and summertime.  Outdoor lounging and barbeques inevitably have food at them, and you must acquire self control for these situations.

Here is the list of the top 10 most fattening foods of the spring.

1. Ice cream- Try a healthier alternative, like frozen yogurt.
   
2. Hot dogs- Try to stick with the all beef hot dogs, if you need to have one.
   
3. Chocolates- Hey, I think this is a year round fave-especially at holidays.
   
4. Brunch- It is better to eat three small/medium sized meals than eat one massive mid-day brunch and dinner.
   
5. Topping, dressings and sauces
6. Seasonal beverages- Outdoor BBQs may up the ante for sugary drinks and beers.
   
7. Passover desserts
8. Salads- I know what you’re thinking…”Hey, those are supposed to be healthy!” Yes, but only if you use low fat, non-creamy dresssing. My personal favorite is low-fat Italian. And cut back on the cheese.
   
9. Grilled foods- Ahh…cheeseburgers.
10. Coconut

Dede Wilson Visits UMass Dining Commons

Just last Wednesday, UMass Amherst was graced by a minor celebrity. You may not have heard of her, but she makes monthly visits to the Today Show and has been on The View. Her name is Dede Wilson and she is a talented chef, author, and self professed choco-holic (only the dark stuff!).

Wilson has made numerous visits to UMass and greatly enjoys them. She usually is a guest chef once or twice a year at Berkshire Dining Commons, UMass’s newest -and nicest- DC addition. Last week, the focus was springtime, and Wilson decorated cupcakes for students to watch.

I was asked to write a short piece on her visit for the UMass Dining Commons newsletter. Here is the first draft:

TV personality and dessert chef extraordinaire Dede Wilson made her second visit this year to the Berkshire Dining Commons on March 25. The theme was “It’s Spring- Sweet!” This is the third year in a row that she has visited UMass as a guest chef.

Wilson donned a festive pink apron and decorated cupcakes in the private dining room. She mixed food coloring into white frosting and worked her magic as students filed in and excitedly decorated their own cupcakes.

There were plenty of toppings to choose from in order to create the perfect spring themed cupcake. Students could put gummy worms into a chocolate cupcake to make it look as if a worm was coming out of dirt. Among the many types of candies, there were pieces of licorice and small chocolate eggs to create mini Easter baskets.

Wilson believes her chef skills and great sense of taste come from her parents.

“They were both very good cooks, and we always sat down for meals together.”

Although Wilson loves to cook and bake dinners, her heart clearly lies with desserts.

“They really get my creative juices flowing…I love developing recipes. It feeds my soul.”

Wilson has appeared on “The Today Show” numerous times and was even a guest on “The View” a few years ago. She has been a contributing editor to Bon-Appétit Magazine for 5 years. Wilson has written many cookbooks, which specialize in wedding cakes and other desserts.

“My greatest accomplishment food-wise has been publishing my first book [on wedding cakes] —and having an ISBN number in the Library of Congress!”

Wilson attended Hampshire College as an undergraduate after moving from New York City. Years ago, her first culinary job was in Northampton as a pastry chef. She has been living in Amherst since!

“I am very impressed [by the Dining Services at UMass]! I didn’t have this when I went to school.”

Side note: Dede Wilson also enjoys showing her bull terriors at dog shows. She recently participated in a competition at Edison, New Jersey. She has three of her own dogs at home and co-owns other dogs.

Click here to watch her video on The Today Show.

Spring is Here in Amherst

[This post is written for Steve Fox's multimedia journalism class.]

A mother and daughter enjoy the spring weather in early March at the UMass Amherst campus pond.

 

Click here to watch video: Spring Weather at UMass  A video by Christina Fong & Carol Lawless

These days, instead of waking up to the sound of plows outside my window, I am greeted by the lovely chirping of birds. It must be spring! Recently, the UMass Amherst campus has seen a transformation of its own: from a winter wonderland (read: treacherous sheets of ice) to a place where a mound of snow cannot be seen for miles. Finally. Geese have overtaken the field next to the campus pond. And nothing says spring like baby duckings in the campus pond! Students are seen standing outside chatting with friends more often now. In the winter, mostly due to the various wind tunnels on campus, students rush to an indoor safe haven between classes. One group of people always seem to brave the weather though: bikers.

Biking is an extremely popular activity on the UMass Campus. There is a UMass Bike Racing Club and a Bike Co-op in the Student Union, where the employed students fix bikes. Some pedestrians may complain that the bikers are reckless and will not announce themselves as they speed past those on foot, with only inches between them. But I see the bikers as smart…they are probably going to get out of the cold sooner than us and are getting their daily workout in while getting to class. Some drivers also feel animosity towards the bikers and believe that they should follow traffic rules and not just design their own, separate laws to follow.

Now that spring is here, bike racks are getting crowded. The tendancy to see a biker is becoming more and more common as the temperature rises. One Bike Co-op employee refuses to ride in the winter, stating because it’s too dangerous, while his co-worker relies on his bike as his means of getting from his off-campus apartment to class, braving all seasons. (Another worker has gotten clipped by cars on two separate occasions, and suffered broken bones–proving that perhaps bikers should follow traffic rules.)

 

A nearly-full bike rack at the UMass Student Union