My mind has just been blown by this video and I felt like I needed to get the word out:

Sugar: The Bitter Truth

Yeah ok, fine it’s an hour and a half long. Here’s the summary for you people who somehow still have no time even though exams are over:

Summary:

• Today High Fructose Corn Syrup is used in basically every processed food as a substitute for regular sugar since fructose is much sweeter
• Sucrose (made up of 1 glucose and 1 fructose) is also found everywhere since it is also sweeter and cheaper than glucose
• Fructose is evil
• We eat fructose much more than we drink alcohol but fructose is metabolized ONLY in the liver through a pathway similar to alcohol
• 30% of Fructose turns into fat whereas less than 1% of glucose turns into fat
• Fructose turns off brain sensitivity to hormones involved in feelings of satiety after meals so you never feel full
• Fructose can desensitize cells to insulin to cause Type II diabetes
• One pop drink or fruit juice is basically one serving of food; but you still don’t feel full

Freshmen 15: You gain 15lb during first year and lose 15% by the end of first year

Exams Week 15: You gain 15lb during exams and lose 15% by the end of exams

I always study with food.

And when I say ‘food’, I don’t mean a nice healthy meal. I mean chocolate, cookies, cakes, crackers, chips, candy… sugar. My logic behind it is that since I’m using my brain so much to study, I need to get lots and lots of energy…  These cavity-encouraging study sessions happen constantly in the week before exams, when there’s honestly not enough time for me to be cooking myself a full meal 3 times a day (oh the woes of not having a meal plan or parents to cook for you).

So today, I have decided to share with you all the wonderfully quick (and energy packed) foods that you can make with nothing more than just a microwave! (And the ingredients. [And some other stuff])

S’mores

Without the campfire!

• Crackers (Graham or regular, your choice)
• Chocolate (chips or bar)
• Mush-mellows (the big ones work better)

This is really self explanatory. Take a cracker, put 1 piece of chocolate (or to taste) on it, balance a big puffy mush-mellow on the chocolate and stick it in the microwave for ~10sec. I usually microwave 3-5 at the same time and watch the mushies start to puff. It’s going to give me cancer, but it’s quite the scene. Once the microwaving is done you can just add another cracker on top to sandwich it.

Mug Cake

Not just another cake

• 4 Tablespoons Flour
• 1/2 Teaspoon baking powder (optional if you want nice fluffy cake)
• 1 Egg
• 9 Tablespoons Hot Chocolate powder (substitute other chocolaty goods)
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• 3 Tablespoons Oil
• 1 Microwave safe mug
• Mixing spoon

Does this sound strange? It’s actually quite cool, though it does take a lot more ingredients. First, you can smooth some oil over the interior of the mug to ensure the cake doesn’t stick. Then, what you want to do is put the dry powdered ingredients (flour, baking powder, hot chocolate) into the mug, beat the egg in and mix in the milk and oil. Once your concoction is complete, simply microwave the whole thing for 3 minutes. Wait for it to cool a bit and take the mug out; you should see a lovely cake sitting inside it. Feel free to mess with the ingredients and maybe use Nutella instead of hot chocolate?

Fried Egg

• 1 Egg
• ~1 teaspoon Oil
• 1 Microwave safe Plate or bowl
• Plastic wrap (optional)

Bet you didn’t know you could fry eggs with just a microwave! Just crack the egg into the plate/bowl and use something clean to poke the yolk’s membrane. Do be careful with this one; you’ll have to watch the egg as it gets microwaved because all microwaves are different. I recommend 2 minutes to start and if the egg is still very liquified, add another minute. Not recommended for people who are allergic to eggs or prolonged micro-waves hitting skin cells.

Instant Noodles

• 1 Pack instant noodles
• Water
• 1 Microwave safe bowl

Put noodles in a bowl, add the powdery goodness and fill with enough water to just cover the noodles. Microwaves all vary so I’m going to say it’ll take 3-5 minutes to make instant noodles this way. Watch out, it’s hot when it’s done!

And these are just the starters! But before I finish, here’re some MICROWAVE SAFETY tips:

• NEVER put tin foil in the microwave – It WILL burn (with fire and flames and the whole set)
• Don’t leave microwave unattended when you’re using it – You never know what might explode
• When boiling water with a microwave, let it sit and cool before using it – If you add things, relatively pure water might still explode on you
• Most things will come out of the microwave HOT – Be warned.
• If your microwave explodes, it’s a good idea to call for help

Note: The author is not to be held responsible for any explosions, odd smells, burnt food or other catastrophes that come about your own microwave failures. So please, BE CAREFUL

Who: ONE LOVE: U of T Students for Jamaica

What: Bake sale

Time: Tuesday, November 22 · 11:30am – 2:30pm

Location: Sidney Smith Hall, 100 st.George street

Would you like to grab a quick snack? Come visit us at our table to buy tasty snacks and learn more about our club.We will be selling various types of baked goods. All the money will be given to support our brothers and sisters in the town of Riverton Meadows, Jamaica. So if you are passing through Sid Smith come drop by and say hello.

For more information, visit the group’s website or Facebook page.

Sunday afternoon, I was working on my PolEthics essay. Then I looked out my window and realized it was beautiful outside and the sun was setting. A little thought crept in my ear. I grabbed it and ran… literally. I dropped my book, grabbed my coat, and ran out the door. I was fighting the sunset! Booked it to the metro and then to station St. Lazare to catch Bus no. 29. Why? I heard that Bus 29 from St. Lazare had the most beautiful bus route in all of Paris. I also heard that this would be the sunniest day in weeks. I somehow had forgotten about both of those things and remembered them at that moment, which was why I had to drop my books and chase the sunset.

I just sat on the bus on the gorgeous fall evening, looking out the window, to see where in Paris it would take me. I soon noticed that the inside of the bus was just as interesting as the outside… in a good way. Here is my jotted-down list of the things I saw:

1. Resto: Pharaon (a really cool-looking French diner)
2. Musée: Fragonard (a perfume museum – my mother would get a headache)
3. Resto: Café de la Paix (swanky)
4. A monument
5. Winding streets
6. Librairie: de la Mode (ooh)
7. Magasin: Y’s (really cool coats)
8. Dépot Ceramique
9. The staple fashionista stores: Cop-copine, Naf Naf, some Shoebizz store… all that jazz
10. Magasin: Kabuko (very cool-looking coats)
11. L’ethnospecialiste (huh?)
12. Resto: Madame Tomate (nice couches)
13. A random office that looked like it was from the future. I think there was an architect working on a blueprint inside. It looked like the guy’s desk was on a second floor with the glass showing both the first and second floor, but it was the size of a room with the bottom floor completely empty.
14. Behind me: ”Il bosse. Il bosse pas énorme, mais il bosse.” ”Hmm.”
15. A young woman sitting beside us: Short brown shiny bob with bangs. Big black scarf wrapped around forever, until just below her lips. Dark eyeshadow, shiny levres. Leather jacket, of course.
16. A tiny girl schoolgirl with an amelie haircut, cute black-red plaid jacket, black boots tied up, and little black socks. Adorbz. I think she was playing musical chairs
17. Magasin: Antoine et Lili. I’d seen it before. LOVE. so bright, so colorful!
18. Magasin: Tepetto? Repetto? Lepetto? I don’t know, but a cool-looking store. The first letter of its name was a little too cool-looking, though
19. Sandro. Nice stuff. Maaaaan.
20. Musée Picasso. (ooh)
21. Another monument. Oh, at the Bastille!
22. A philosopher’s bookstore (I stopped by after getting off. So cute.)

23. No inhibitions, naked curiosity, a beautiful city.

Raha loves being the only tourist on free bus tours.

-
Raha Francis is a an economics and philosophy undergraduate at the University of Toronto. She is spending her third year abroad, studying in Paris. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact her at raha.francis@utoronto.ca.

Looking for something sweet to eat? Some adventure perhaps? Something unusual, different, and exciting? Well, Tasty Tours is the answer!

With a great variety of sweet treats to eat and a tour of beautiful Kensington Market, Tasty Tours demonstrates another great example of what makes our city so awesome and quirky. Tasty Tours is truly one of a kind. Using Kensington Market as the focal point of the tour is brilliant. It has a multi-ethnic selection of foods and is such a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

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The bake sales are back on campus! While they’re a great way to promote and fundraise for a club, they’re also a great way to get your muffin fix on a dreary day. What’s better than homemade baked goodies? (Sleep is an invalid answer. It does not exist.)

I have recently fallen in love with the heavenly thing normal people like to call the “banana chocolate chip muffin” and what I like to call “OMIGODTHISISSOGOODICANTTAKEIT” (said with a mouthful of muffin). To show my love, I have written a poem.

How dare you
Marry without me knowing!
Brought together in the heat of baking,
Union consummated in my mouth,
Tickling my taste buds
In ways I never before imagined.

How could you
Not tell me?
I thought we were friends, banana!
Friend enough for you to share.
So what if I don’t like chocolate?
I would’ve given it a chance.

It’s okay now
Because I know.
I will look for you two.
Look for you and find you.
I will be that annoying third wheel
And eat you.

My unreasonable obsession aside, remember to support our campus groups! Get to know them! You can find them in Sid Smith, Med Sci, and various other places around campus. Muffins, cupcakes and cookies are usually staples.

Of course, if you know where I can find banana chocolate chip muffins, call me up. Right. Away.

Dearest blogUT readers and bloggers,

blogUT will be hosting a fall Meet & Greet.  This is your chance to come out to meet our bloggers and learn more about the blog.  Refreshments will be provided. Everyone is welcome! We hope to see you there.

Ally & Leah
Co-Editors of blogUT