Check Your Choice - 8 Weekly Challenges

I don't know about you but I love Wholly Guacamole! It's my go-to guac when I don't have time to whip up a batch of my own, and best of all everyone I always thinks that I made the guac (even when I didn't)! And I always feel good about serving it since it's better than traditional fattening dips. 


Wholly Guacamole is having an 8-week challenge helping you make healthier food choices. 


“Challenge,” doesn’t have to be an intimidating and ugly word. It can be empowering, inspirational and even fun! These challenges are small things you can do in your life to better your overall well-being AND you have a chance to win some really ‘guawesome!’ prizes. So put on your best booty-shakin’ playlist, do your best and have fun.

See what happens when you make a few small changes in your daily routings and see how these choices can make a big difference. Wholly Guacamole will give your one challenge per week for the next eight weeks. Weekly prizes will be given! Also find recipes, tips, fun facts and games. 

Here are a few recipes to help you start out on the week 1 challenge:

(Photo & Recipe from Wholly Guacamole)

I always love substituting mayonnaise for guacamole on my turkey sandwiches. 

(Photo & Recipe from Wholly Guacamole)

I want to try this soup ASAP! I had no idea I could make a chilled avocado soup using Wholly Guacamole!

(Photo & Recipe from Wholly Guacamole)

Of course who could go wrong with Grilled Chicken Fettuccine? 

Make sure you head over to the Wholly Guacamole Facebook page and sign up for the challenge!

Disclaimer: I was not compensated to write this post. However, by posting this content I am in the running to win a guac prize pack for myself and one lucky blogger to be given away along with coupons. 

Baked Red Velvet {Heart Shaped} Donuts

Happy Valentine's Day! Today I'm sharing with my family and friends these amazing baked (cake) red velvet donuts that are in the shape of hearts! These are a perfect Valentine's morning breakfast treat. I mean who doesn't like cake for breakfast? 

I'm well aware that all things red velvet are cliche for Valentine's Day, and the heart pan may have just brought these donuts over the top, but its all in the name of love and the holiday! 

When I first spotted this recipe from Taste & Tell blog during her week of Red Velvet madness I knew I had to make these, and then as I browsed through the aisles of Target I spotted the heart shape donut pan and knew it was meant to be. I also knew my husband was not going to be happy with me bringing home another baking dish. Hence another reason why I knew I need to make red velvet flavored donuts. It's his favorite cake flavor.

I added a little red food coloring to the frosting to give it an additional Valentine's feel, but if you feel like you've already consumed enough food coloring in the cake you can omit the food coloring in the frosting. These look like donuts but taste like red velvet cake and the glaze suits for a perfect "frosting". 

Source: Taste & Tell Blog
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes (each batch of donuts)
Servings: 18 Donuts


Ingredients for Cake Donuts:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 tbsp red food coloring

Directions for Cake Donuts:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.  Spray a donut pan with cooking spray. Melt the butter and chocolate in intervals in the microwave and in separate bowls.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. In another bowl, mix together the sugar and egg. Add the melted butter and melted chocolate to the egg-sugar mixture.  Add the vanilla, buttermilk, and red food coloring.

4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing just until combined.  Fill the donut pan with the batter, filling each about 1/3 full if using heart pan. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes.

Ingredients for Cake Donuts:

4 tbsp hot water

2 cups confectioners sugar

1 tbsp half & half

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 drops red food coloring

Directions for Vanilla Glaze: 

1. In small bowl, stir together all ingredients until sugar is completely dissolved. Use immediately to glaze the donuts; dipping the tops of each donut in the glaze. Then let the glaze harden on a wire rack. *If the glaze starts to harden you can add more hot water.

{Carrabba's} Pasta Rambo

I love finding restaurant recipes, and then making them at home. This is one of my favorite pasta dishes at Carrabba's and when I spotted this recipe in the newspaper I could not be happier. Shrimp, linguine, and vegetables in a lemon butter sauce. What could be better? The lemon butter sauce is the star in this dish, and without it, well... it would be just any other pasta dish. 

This is a quick entree to make your loved one and screams romance all over! Since Valentine's day is on a Tuesday this year this makes for a satisfying yet romantic dinner that will sure to wow your partner in crime. Top it with fresh parmesan and basil and you'll feel like you are dining at a restaurant! 

Source: Orlando Sentinel, 1/18/2012
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4


Pasta Ingredients:
1lb linguine
2 tbsp olive oil
10 oz sliced white mushrooms
1lb medium shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 cup spinach leaves, stemmed, washed, chopped
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan Cheese


Lemon Butter Sauce Ingredients:
12 tbsp cold unsalted butter
2 tbsp yellow onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup dry white wine
3 tbsp lemon juice


Directions:
1. For lemon sauce, melt one tablespoon butter in nonreactive skillet on medium. Stir in onion and garlic and let it cook for about 3 minutes. Add wine and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Cook until liquid reduces to two tablespoons, 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Whisk in remaining butter one piece at a time. The butter should soften into an emulsified sauce in 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. *Sauce can be stored at room temperature for up to two hours.
2. Cook pasta in boiling salted water until al dente.
3. Heat one tablespoon oil in skillet on medium-high. Stir in mushrooms, 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl. Heat remaining oil in skillet. Stir shrimp until barely opaque around edges, 1-1/2 minutes. Stir in chopped spinach, 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, 1 minute. Return mushrooms to pan. Stir in lemon sauce and basil. Reduce heat to low. Stir sauce 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Drain pasta; return to pot. Stir in sauce. Serve with parmesan and fresh basil.

Oreo Truffles

Skip the store bought candies this year for Valentine's day and make your own oreo truffles. Your loved one will definitely go head over heals for these truffles! These are simple to make and are probably the most decadent dessert I've had in a long while. I love that you can coat these in just about anything and place toppings on the chocolate before it hardens. My favorite is the white chocolate with a drizzle of milk chocolate on top. It gives a good balance of chocolate flavors. However, you could easily dip these in dark chocolate and top with a little additional oreo crumbs. Even if you aren't an oreo fan (like me) you will surely swoon over these little delights!


Source: My Fabulous Recipes
Prep Time: 30 minutes + 1.5 hours cooling
Cook Time: 1 minute (chocolate)
Servings: 24


Ingredients:
1 16oz package of oreo's
1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 bag (each) of white chocolate and milk chocolate
1 cup chocolate chips
2 cups white chocolate chips + 1 tbsp butter


Directions:
1. Place half the oreo cookies in a large food processor and puree until fine crumbs. Remove the crumbs and place in large mixing bowl. Repeat with the last half of oreos until the entire package of oreos have been made into fine crumbs. 


2. In a stand mixer begin whipping cream cheese. Gradually add the oreo crumbs to the mixture. Mix well until both cream cheese all oreo crumbs are well combined. The filling will be dark in color. 


3. Roll the oreo cream cheese mixture into small balls, placing on a parchment paper lined tray. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes until chilled and firm. 


4. In a microwave safe bowl, place 1 cup chocolate chips in bowl and microwave in 20 second intervals until liquified. *If you prefer to use white chocolate, microwave 2 cups white chocolate chips plus one tablespoon butter. Be careful do not over cook the white chocolate as it will harden quickly. 


5. Once the chocolate is melted, pull out the oreo cream cheese balls and begin dipping them in the chocolate. I found the best method to be using a spoon and dunking the ball into the chocolate. Place chocolate covered oreo cream cheese mixture back on parchment paper. Repeat until all oreo cream cheese balls have been covered with chocolate. Refrigerate for one hour or until hardened. 


*Store for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. 

Buffalo Chicken Stromboli

Every now and then I get in the mood for buffalo style chicken. The other night I was trying to think of what I could do with the remainder of my rotisserie chicken. I knew at this point it would taste best if it was shredded. That's when I remembered I had one sheet of puff pastry in the freezer. I instantly thought about making a Stromboli of sorts out of puff pastry, and then the light bulb turned on. Why not a buffalo chicken Stromboli? I knew my husband would approve of it and I could essentially take the same concept as my Buffalo Chicken Dip except make it in the form of a Stromboli. Oh, and make it heavier on the chicken and less on the dip.

Typically, I'd use a mixture of cream cheese and bleu cheese for the dip, but on this particular evening I didn't have either on hand. What I did have is my favorite soft spreading cheese around, Alouette® Soft Spreadable Cheese in Garlic and Herb. 

In a large bowl I mixed all the ingredients together and placed it in the middle of the puff pastry. Wrapped it tightly, brushed it with butter and let the oven do its magic! This came out flaky and full of buffalo chicken goodness. I served carrot and celery sticks and ranch with our stromboli. You could easily make this as an appetizer or serve it as a main meal like I did! 

Source: Katie Original

Prep Time: 10  minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients: 

1 container Alouette® Soft Spreadable Cheese, Garlic & Herb

2 cups shredded chicken

2 tbsp diced celery 

1/4 cup Franks Buffalo Hot Sauce

1 sheet puff pastry

1/4 stick of butter, melted

Directions:

1. Thaw 1 sheet of puff pastry according to package. 

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

3. In a large bowl mix shredded chicken, soft cheese, celery and buffalo sauce until well combined. 

4. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet then lay the puff pastry on top of the parchment paper. Add filling to the middle of the of the puff pastry, then carefully fold until all edges are sealed. Seal each side; folding pastry together like a package. Using a silicone brush -- brush puff pastry top with melted butter. Take a knife and make a few 1 inch slits on the top of the puff pastry. 

5. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Serve immediately with carrot and celery sticks and bleu cheese or ranch dressing.

Loaded Potato Skins

I don't know about you, but I love this time of year when the Super Bowl is quickly approaching, party invites go out and menu planning begins. I love all the greasy fattening food. In my mind it's ok to indulge in these types of food for one day. Everything in moderation, right? 

One of my favorite, bar style foods is the loaded potato skin. Words can not express how much I adore the potato, and then to broil it and make the skin crispy and load it with cheese, bacon, and green onions in my mind completes it! Potato skins can be a labor of love, but I've come up with a much quicker alternative. I microwave my potatoes and then throw them under the broiler. I know... gasp. This could be considered a crime in some people's book, but it's not in mine. I don't want to wait hours to indulge in a few potato skins! So in my book--you  get the best of both worlds. It takes half the amount of time to cook these spuds and you still get the crispy flavors like it's been baked for an hour plus. 

I also like using red potatoes which is steering away from the traditional large russet potato. Honestly, use what you have on hand. I always have red potatoes on hand, so that's what I use. If you always have russet potatoes on hand--use those. The same goes with cheese. If you have Mexican blend shredded cheese on hand and not sharp cheddar--don't go out to the store just to buy the shredded cheddar for the recipe. Adapt, adapt, adapt! Don't be scared to do so. Typically, if I have fresh bacon on hand, I will cook up some fresh bacon, and crumble it for this recipe; however, if you don't and all you have is bacon bits on hand don't be afraid to use them ( I use them). It's all about making cooking simple, and this is especially true if you are entertaining.  And remember, don't be afraid to indulge in these spuds! 

Source: Katie Original

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 4 (2 per person)

Ingredients:

4 red skin potatoes (medium-size)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar, divided

8 tsp bacon bits

4 green onions, diced

salt & pepper to taste

Sour Cream for dipping

Directions:

1. Scrub potatoes clean, pierce with a fork and ramp each individual potato in a damp paper towel. Microwave on high for 5-8 minutes until tender but not soft. *Preheat oven at this time to 400. 


2. Slice each potato in half. Using a spoon, carefully scrape the potato filling out of each skin. I like to keep about a half inch of potato in each skin. 


3. Place your oven on broil mode. Then place each potato skin facing up on a baking sheet and broil on low for 5 minutes. Flip (potato side up), and broil on high for 1-2 minutes (do not allow them to burn and watch them very closely). 


4. Remove potato skins from oven and top each skin with one tablespoon shredded cheddar cheese, 1 teaspoon bacon bits, and sprinkle with green onions. 


5. Broil on high for 1-2 minutes, until skins are browned and cheese has melted. Serve immediately, sprinkle salt and pepper on skins and top with sour cream. 

{Giveaway Winner} OXO Good Grips Egg Beater

Thank you to everyone who participated in the OXO Good Grips Egg Beater giveaway! We had 83 entries! A few facts about the OXO Good Grips Egg Beater:

• Smoothly rotating gears are enclosed for protection and easy clean-up
• Soft, comfortable, non-slip grips on turning knob and contoured handle
• Sturdy stainless steel Beaters can be removed for cleaning or for tasting
• Beaters are elevated and continue to work while device rests on bottom of bowl
• Perfect for eggs, light batters, whipped cream and more
• Base detaches from top and is dishwasher safe

And our winner is.... Melinda! She left a comment telling us how she loves to cook her eggs for herself and for her daughter! 

Homemade Chicken Chimichangas

Are you ready to have a homemade take-out night in your home? I can guarantee if you make these you will feel like your sitting at a Mexican restaurant except the only difference is that your cooking, serving, and doing the dishes! I'm working on eating out less and making more home take-out favorites. I was in the mood for Mexican food the other weekend, and didn't want to spend $30+ for dinner. I browsed the internet and found a recipe for homemade chicken chimichangas. Chimichangas are my absolute favorite and I almost always order a one when we go out to eat. 

I read the recipe--re-read the recipe and was ready to tackle this take-out favorite! I had almost all the ingredients on hand which made this dish even better. I sliced and diced the recipe to tailor my wants and needs in a chimichanga. The chimi's (that's what I call them for short) that I eat do not include rice or olives in them, so I omitted that part of the recipe. If I had olives on hand I would have most certainly topped mine with them. I can not rave enough about these chimichangas. My husband was concerned about me after the first few bites. I wouldn't stop making noises because I was so delighted on how amazing dinner turned out. Now I am even more intrigued to get a larger bigger and better deep fryer with a basket, so I can whole-heartedly fry these babies at once (instead of using multiple spatulas and panicking that the seams were going to open and the filling was going to come out). For the love of chimichangas--if you love them. Make them! 

Adapted from: BlogChef
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 3


Ingredients:
1 ½ cups chicken broth
½ cup red enchilada sauce
1 ½ onion (diced, divided)
3 (12 inch) flour tortillas
2 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 can refried beans
¼ cup vegetable oilWholly Guacamole & Sour Cream for topping


Directions: 
1.  In a medium saucepan place 2 boneless skinless chicken breast in the pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil (about 20 minutes). Once the chicken is cooked and soft remove from pan, and carefully shred. 


2. In the same saucepan as you boiled the chicken, dump water and bring back to the stove top. Combine chicken broth, enchilada sauce, and diced onion. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Stir in shredded cooked chicken and mix well. Then add 1/4 cup of shredded mexican blend cheese.


3.  Heat refried beans in a saucepan over low heat until they stir easily. Preheat oil in a large skillet on medium. 

4. Right before you are about to assemble the chimichangas heat tortillas in a damp paper towel in the microwave for 30 seconds. Carefully remove one hot tortilla and begin spooning equal amounts of refried beans onto each tortillas followed by equal amounts of the chicken mixture, followed by shredded Mexican cheese (however much you desire). Roll up the tortillas, making sure no filling is exposed. *I found that these were super easy to roll when the tortilla was very hot--making the tortilla flexible and easy to work with!


5. Carefully place the the filled tortillas (one-by-one) in the frying pan seam side down *I used a large spatula to place them in the pan , turning once, until browned on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately; top with guacamole and sour cream if desired. 

Salt-and-Pepper Shrimp with Snow Peas

I was reading my digital version of Everyday Food when this recipe caught my eye. It was featured as a recipe for one, but I knew with doing a little math I could easily adapt it to make more than just one serving. The night I made this I happened to invite my neighbor over for an impromptu dinner. I was hoping that this was going to be a winning recipe. I hit it spot on. This recipe is awesome, healthy, and full of flavor. Best of all it super simple to make and only requires a few ingredients! I made the mistake of putting the snow peas and onions in at the same time as the shrimp *as suggested in the magazine. My snow-peas and onions were mush by the time my shrimp were opaque. For crisp vegetables put them in the skillet during the last 30 seconds to 1 minute of cooking! The pepper is what gives a big kick to this meal. If you don't want it as spicy don't add the full amount of black pepper.

Adapted from: Everyday Food, Jan/Feb 2012
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5-8 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp five-spice powder
1 tbsp peanut oil
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
3 tbsp chicken broth
6 scallions (white and light-green parts only), trimmed and cut into 2-inch peices
1 lb snow peas, trimmed
1 cup basmati rice (uncooked)

Directions:
1. Cook basmati rice according to package.

2. In a large bowl, toss shrimp with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1 tsp five-spice powder.  Mix well and let it sit for 5 minutes.

3. Heat a large skillet over high. Add peanut oil, minced garlic, and grated ginger, toss for 15 seconds. Add shrimp and chicken broth; toss for 2-3 minutes until opaque. Add snow peas and scallions, and toss until shrimp are pink and snow peas are still crisp. Serve immediately over white rice.

*To add more to this meal serve with a ginger salad and a spring roll!

Cavatappi and White Beans with Broccoli Pesto

By now, you know I love cooking vegetarian meals. I'm so lucky that my husband doesn't mind eating at least one vegetarian meal a week. Sometimes 2-3 if I catch him on a good week! I knew that this might be pushing it on the vegetarian meal level, so I set aside a chicken breast to grill. When I told my husband what we were having that evening he responded "I don't need any chicken tonight", and then I showed him the photo (because I think at times I know his eating habits better than he knows his eating habits)! Once I showed him the photo he replied... "ok I need chicken this looks too vegetarian for me!" So I cooked the main dish and he grilled his chicken breast. We both loved this dish, and of course my husband piped in and told me that this dish is best paired with a chicken breast. So, if you aren't quite ready to take as deep of a vegetarian recipe dive I suggest you serve it with a grilled chicken breast. 

I have a few friends who have come to me recently for vegetarian recipes. They want to start cooking at least 1 vegetarian meal a week. One of my friends even wants to start having 3 vegetarian meals a week. My advice to her was to start off slow. Start by making one meal a week. After a few weeks then start cutting back on your meat portions. The suggested servings size of meat is a palm full. Most Americans eat 2-3 times the suggested serving amount. With a dish like this I would suggest to serve  half a chicken breast; sliced so it looks like you're getting more. After all, we eat with our eyes, so illusions can help! Slowly ease yourself into eating a vegetarian meal a week if you aren't already doing so. Not only is it great for our environment, it helps your health, and your bank account! 


Source: Everyday Food, Jan/Feb 2012
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 25 Minutes
Servings: 4


Ingredients:
4 cups, broccoli, chopped
1-1/2 cups of corkscrew pasta
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup parmesan, grated
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup parsley
1 garlic clove
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained


Directions: 
1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook broccoli until tender and bright green, about 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer broccoli to a food processor. Return water to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve 2 cups pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot.


2. To food processor, add oil, Parmesan, lemon zest and juice, parsley, and garlic. Puree until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down side as needed. Transfer pesto to pot with pasta. Stir to coat, adding enough reserved pasta water to make a creamy sauce. Stir in beans and heat over medium until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, sprinkle with Parmesan, if desired.

Cinnamon Raisin Stuffed French Toast

In our home like many homes in the world breakfast is the most important meal to us. You can find me cooking up a storm on the weekends making a breakfast feast fit for a king! I don't make French Toast too often only because it's my husbands least favorite breakfast dish. I never make stuffed french toast and only order it when we are out at restaurants.  So this was a major treat for us -- well me. I used my OXO Good Grips Egg Beater to not only whip of the cream cheese filling but also the egg mixture. Don't be scared to make such a luxurious breakfast treat! The key is to not over soak the cinnamon raisin bread, and to over stuff your french toast... which is ok, since that is what I did since I LOVE the filling so much! 

Adapted From: Publix
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4


Ingredients:
8 slices of Cinnamon Raisin Bread
1/4 cup plain Greek Yogurt
1 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp powdered sugar + more for dusting
1/4 cup whipped cream cheese
1-1/2 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp canola oil
*Maple syrup if desired


Directions: 
1. In a bowl combine yogurt, honey, cream cheese, and powdered sugar. Whisk until well combined and fluffy. 


2. Whisk together milk, eggs, nutmeg, and vanilla; pour into large shallow dish.


3. Preheat large sauté pan on medium 2–3 minutes, then place butter and oil in pan. Quickly place 4 bread slices in egg mixture; turning quickly so that the bread is moist. Then carefully place bread in pan; cook 2–3 minutes on first side or until golden.


4. Flip bread over, and spoon 2 tablespoons cream cheese mixture over two (of the four) slices of cooked bread; cook 1–2 minutes or until golden. Assemble with one slice of each; remove from pan and cover to keep warm (or serve immediately). Repeat with remaining bread. Dust powder sugar on before serving. Serve with maple syrup if desired.

How to Cook Fluffy Scrambled Eggs + OXO Good Grips Egg Beater Giveaway!

Last month the wonderful people at OXO sent me an OXO Good Grips Egg Beater to try out. They also sent an extra egg beater for one lucky reader! I can not tell you how much I've fallen in love with this egg beater. We all know that my husband is addicted to eggs. He eats on average 2-3 per day! Which means I cook on average 2-3 eggs per day. Whisking day in and day out; its nice to get a little break. I've been using my OXO Good Grips Egg Beater since the day it arrived at my house last month. Watch my first ever cooking tutorial and demonstration on how easy-to-use the OXO Good Grips Egg Beater is and learn how to achieve fluffy scrambled eggs!

A few facts about the OXO Good Grips Egg Beater:

• Smoothly rotating gears are enclosed for protection and easy clean-up
• Soft, comfortable, non-slip grips on turning knob and contoured handle
• Sturdy stainless steel Beaters can be removed for cleaning or for tasting
• Beaters are elevated and continue to work while device rests on bottom of bowl
• Perfect for eggs, light batters, whipped cream and more
• Base detaches from top and is dishwasher safe

One lucky winner will have the chance to win an OXO Good Grips Egg Beater of their own. Please fill out the form below for a chance to enter. Giveaway ends Friday, January 27, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Sorry, giveaway open to United States residents only.

{Food Photography} A Few of My Tips & Tricks

Ever since I attended Food Blog Forum last April my food photography has improved times 100! People think... what's so difficult about photographing food? Until you start taking the time to photograph your food that's when you realize how difficult food photography is. You essentially have to create a scene--a story of sorts. You have to make your photos look as good as they taste. What makes food magazines so enticing are the pictures that are found throughout.

The number one food photography tip I learned last year was...

 "It's all about lighting"

After I learned more about lighting I began taking all my photo's of food outside. I played around with the times of day and found that the best time for me to photograph my food during the summer months were at 7pm and by 7:45 my lighting opportunities were quickly fading away. This time frame worked well. I would get home from work, quickly cook dinner, then photograph whatever I cooked that evening and if I had other food to photograph I would then photograph it at that time. I was eating warm meals again, and enjoying them at the dinner table with my husband. My food was no longer cold from picture taking (I know those of you who blog about recipes can relate to this)! I would make an extra serving for my photos, and if I didn't have time that night to photograph it I would pack it up in individual containers (a trick I learned from Jessica, The Novice Chef) and photograph it the next day. Then, daylight savings happened, and my lighting would vanish by 5:30pm at the latest. I struggled to get any decent photographs of my food. And then... I found this amazing photo studio kit. Well, to be honest, my good friend Christy told me about it. I added it to my Amazon Wish List, and asked for it for Christmas. I got it, and for some reason I didn't play with it right away. Maybe I was a bit intimidated by the large black bag that had all the tools I'd need to create an almost perfect photo. It wasn't until last week that I decided to pull it out and semi-set it up. *Semi - setup meant that only 1 light and one large pop-up tent was put together for my first photo shoot.  

I placed my 30 x 30 pop-up light tent on my pool table top and set up one of the lights. I hauled my pieces of cut picnic table wood from the back yard into the pool room. I placed a towel in my pop-up light tent followed by my boards. I set up my scene and began snapping away. I was beyond amazed by my Christmas gift. My lighting was just as good if not better than what it is when I photograph outside! Very little photoshop work was needed, and needless to say I was so giddy at dinner about my Christmas gift that I hardly had an appetite to eat my Chickpea Curry! 

Now, don't get me wrong. I still have a lot of photography skills to work on. I still have my days when I don't achieve a "picture perfect picture"; however, I feel so much more confident about my photography skills. For once I finally feel comfortable using my camera.

I like to see how other bloggers achieve photo's. As you can tell from the picture above you would never imagine it to be inside a tent with uneven boards!?!!? Thankfully, my handy husband has already trimmed, glued, and nailed the boards together, and is working on a few more table top finishes for me. Maybe I'll post about those in the coming weeks! 

Here are a few other food photography tips and tricks... 

Create a Scene. Tell a Story.

When you are setting up your photo try to imagine a scene you want to create. For inspiration I'll look at various food magazines to give myself better ideas of how to setup a photo. I also look to my fellow bloggers who have truly grasped the "create a scene -- tell a story" concept.

Source

If a cake has a fruit in it why not include pieces of the fruit in the photo. Without even looking at the title of the cake I know this cake has something to do with oranges. 

Let's look at my Chickpea Curry photo. I propped my french oven up on a towel so that it was tilting toward the camera (I realize some of the liquid shifted because of this). Because the curry had just came off the stove top I moved it with oven mitts (hence the oven mitts near the lamp). Try to add a nice cloth napkin to the scene. We never use cloth napkins in my house, so I had to go out and buy a few cloth napkins for food photography. The one in this picture I sewed myself. It's also reversible so I can use it for various photos. 

Think about what your reader's would want to see. Make the most undesirable food look desirable! Challenge yourself to that... 

Here are a few of my favorite food bloggers that creating amazing stories for their readers and I want to share them with you in case you don't already look to them for inspiration:

Tartelette, The Novice Chef, Food Plus Words, Love and Olive Oil, The Little Kitchen, bell'alimento, Inspired Taste, and the list could go on for hours! 

Don't be afraid to play with your food! 

Make your food look pretty! If this means you need to use chopsticks or your bare hands to move around pieces of food so that they look more appealing to the eye--do so! No one will know except you and at the end of the day you are the one eating the food! 

Wipe all excess liquid spots off your plate. Can you find the one tiny spot on my super white plate in the Chickpea Curry photo above? I can and it drives me crazy! 

Tools you should always have on hand when food styling (via Helen Dujardin's food styling class):
-chopsticks
-Q-tips
-water spritzer
-tweezer
-paint brush
-straws  

You don't need a fancy DSLR camera to achieve amazing photos. 

Last year, while attending Food Blog Forum I had the opportunity to attend a private class with the amazing Helene Dujardin. I learned so much in those 3 short hours. I learned that I really needed to take the time to learn my fancy-pants camera. The camera doesn't make the picture... the person behind the lens does! Tkae time and play with your camera. 

"It's self taught--you learn how to use your camera no matter what. 

You can build the fundamentals with the point and shoot." -Helene Dujardin

I've been getting kind comments and emails complementing my food photography over the past few months, and I sincerely appreciate it! It helps motivate me to keep creating amazing food photos. I ultimately wanted to share about my new photography toy; Square Perfect SP500 Platinum Photo Studio, and a few tips and tricks that I've found useful over the past year. In no way am I a professional. I am constantly learning new tips and tricks daily! I hope this mini tutorial on food photography will help bring your photos to a new level like it has mine! 


Lastly, Food Blog Forum is coming back to Orlando... March 17th. If your live near Central Florida or want a fun Disney/Foodie getaway I highly suggest you attend this conference. This conference is what motivated me to keep on blogging! Plus you get to meet some amazing food bloggers in real life! Oh, and TECHmunch is coming to Tampa, Florida... I plan to attend that conference as well in April! 


Disclaimer: I did not receive the Square Perfect SP500 Platinum Photo Studio for free. I received it as a gift and am writing this post solely based on my own opinions.