In The City: Desert at Coolhaus!

A few weeks ago I was having a "triple couple's brunch" in Brooklyn. After laughing it up and enjoying some food, mimosas and the company it was decided we needed desert, but it had to be something with ice-cream. My friend suggested Coolhaus, a truck stationed in various parts of the city where they put a hunk of ice-cream between two cookies. This isn't your average ice-cream sandwich you get in the frozen food aisle in the supermarkets. First off you choose the ice-cream flavor you want (depending on what's on the menu for the truck that day), and then you choose your scrumptious cookie. They even have vegan and gluten free choices!

Nomnom

For my treat, I chose a s'mores cookie with Tahitian Vanilla ice-cream. And did I mention that the paper they wrap your cookie in is edible? No ice-cream dripping on a messy paper napkin. I've already gotten two of my co-workers addicted. We checked the schedule and realize they will be in Union Square on Monday so we're treating ourselves!

Their trucks are located at various parts of the cities they serve which looks like New York, Miami, Dallas, and L.A. Follow them on twitter for news of their locations!

Have any of you tried Coolhaus?

Restoration Continued

Happy Monday YAIS readers!

I forgot to put up Sunday's Question yesterday but never fear, we'll have one for you next time. I was pretty bummed about my henna fail last weekend, but I've still been using my tools to get back on track; deep conditioning hasn't happened yet but I've been sticking to low manipulation hairstyles like my high bun and loose ponytails and I twisted my hair yesterday.  I twisted on damp hair, using conditioner as my leave-in and sealing with Vatika oil. I unfortunately could not find my rat-tail comb to part so they are pretty messy but it's not too terrible. Here's a quick pic of my twists:

I've also been exercising to get rid of the stress and finally started cooking again. Before I had been eating out (or not eating at all) but I finally went grocery shopping and made a really simple pasta dish last night - just egg noodles with garlic, sauteed spinach and boiled egg (for protein) and added a little hot sauce. I know it sounds weird and I don't have a really good picture of it but trust me it was delicious and best of all quick to make. I'm so proud that I was in my kitchen after nearly 6 weeks and have leftovers for lunch today.

Back to hair, I did notice that I don't have a lot of single strand knots as much as I do splits in my hair. I am happy to see that it's breaking less and that most of the hair coming out is shed hair (yes, I was examining all the strands that came out just to be sure!) so that's already a step up from the horrible breakage I was experiencing before. No set regimen for my hair yet, but sticking to my restoration plan I should be alright soon enough!

Intro Tips For Grocery Shopping and Cooking (for the Young, Natural and Busy)

We talk a lot about hair here at YAIS, but this is also a blog for the twenty-somethings who are navigating adulthood. It can be really rough sometimes and although we are "adults"  we do need some guidance and life lessons, especially in time management, how to to deal with emotional issues, etc. For those of us who graduated high school and work or have recently finished college (like myself) we have been thrust into the "real world" and expected to fend for ourselves-- the big question is how? But it isn't all bad, if you have direction and some resources to help you out! First, let me share a picture of a recent cooking experiment SP and I had a couple of weeks ago. We made a garlicy alfredo sauce over Angel Hair pasta and spinach with garlic bread and some wine--it was a quick and delicious meal!

Our tasty pasta dinner

Cooking for oneself is a crucial skill which doesn't require culinary expertise, just an area to make your food. I'm talking about everyday eating, with food you can afford and the time set aside to cook it.  At one point I was taking a full schedule of classes, working two internships and commuting about 4 hours daily and I kept my eating out to a minimum - partly because I was a broke college student, but also because I like cooking. I wasn't preparing gourmet meals and shopping at Whole Foods, but I made rice, simple stews, and casseroles. These days I work full-time and work on projects on the side; it seems to me that I really only have one day of "rest" and that varies but my meals come from home on average 6 days out of the week; most of my meals take less than an hour to make. I even bring lunch from home, which is a combination of left overs and sandwiches. What helps me cook is basing my meals off of what I have in the house, which comes down to buying what I normally eat. I started keeping a log to help with grocery shopping. Here is a screenshot of my Google doc that lists the "staples" I try to have:

I don't always have everything on this list, and this may be anal for some, but it really helps me. (And I'm sure you're wondering what I make using this list, recipes to come!) I should mention that right now I don't cook with meat: I was a vegetarian for about 9 months after Turkey Day '10, then went "Pescatarian" (one who eats fish) and now I eat meat maybe once every couple of months, but have opted not to cook with it because it saves money and has made me more creative with cooking. It's easy to use a search engine for an idea or use resources from blogs and cooking sites. My two personal favorites at the moment are Poor Girl Eats Well and Cheap, Healthy Good. I've adapted recipes to my taste and what I have in the kitchen and they use ingredients that are easily attainable.

Eating out all the time really adds up quickly and if you're "frugal" like me, money disappearing like that can upset you. But if you're busy working, raising small children and/or going to school cooking may not be something you can do all the time and that's understandable. If you can boil a pot of water, cooking will be fine with practice. Taking some time to make sure that you eat and can take care of yourself is truly important however, and your body (and wallet) will definitely thank you for it later.