Apple Cider BBQ Sauce!

Yes, ladies an gentlemen... today, in my first attempt to making my own BBQ Sauce, I created this delicious thing that tastes just like apple cider but is made with a base of tomato sauce! Ok, dont make "yucky" faces, 'cause you have to try it to be able to judge it! And c'mon, I dont have bad taste in food... so you can trust me when I say it was ~pretty tasty~

The ingredients are the following: 1 cup of tomato sauce, 1/2 cup of tomato paste, 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar (hence the flavor!), some no-calorie sugar, lots of cinnamon!!!, a bit of garlic salt, and a bit of paprika (i'm not sure how much the paprika added to the flavor, but it def didnt make it worst hehe)

So there you go, pretty simple sauce and great flavor!

I thought it was a good idea to start blogging with this story because it touches on a topic that has become very relevant at this point in my life: cooking and eating healthy!

Thinking back to my years as an undergraduate (2005 - 2008) I dont think there were many days in which I ate three meals a day, especially since I was "afraid" of cooking! Not only did I eat in such a random schedule, but I also ate very unhealthy. Unlike what you might believe, eating baby cereal (i.e. Nestum) isnt recommended for a 20-something!!

In consequence, I got very sick in my last semester in school which ended up with a surgery to remove my gallbladder last year. Then, once I started taking medicine and eating more regularly: I gained a lot of weight ('cause I was still very unactive). This made me feel very unhealthy and I knew that I was walking into dangerous spaces... Finally after seeing what an extremely poor diet can do to you, I started being more physically active and more importantly: I became more conscious about what I ate.

Last weekend I got really excited to notice that I have lost around 10 pounds in the last 3 or 4 months. On one hand this is a result of me being more active (walking around 25 to 60 minutes a day). On the other hand, I achieved this, not by following any diet, but by becoming more conscious of my calorie in-take--I've tried to make sure that I burn more calories than I eat.

Choosing to eat and live healthier has finally forced me to cook! I swear at some point I was afraid of cooking and messing things up! But since I have had no other alternative I have at last started cooking, with a little apprehension at first, but to be honest now I love it! The idea of "creating" my own food fascinates me, plus it makes me feel really accomplished when it actually tastes good (which surprisingly is very often).

Basically, what I learned is that eating/living healthier is not impossible, but it requires determination from your part. I'm sure I'll be sharing more food-related stories in the future. For now I hope that I at least inspired you to start taking active care of yourself.

If you wanna learn more: the US Govt has a really good website that explains, in a very simple manner, how to eat a balanced diet that would help you reach your goals (whether it is to maintain, loose or gain weight). Check it out:

http://www.mypyramid.gov/STEPS/stepstoahealthierweight.html