About Me
A little background.....
Hello and welcome to my blog!! My real name is Elizabeth but I go by the nickname of Betsy. I'm a 30 something year old and was raised in Anchorage, Alaska, lived in Salt Lake City for 10 years, Sacramento for 2 years, and recently moved to Denver!
My husband Jake and I met in school at the University of Utah, almost 13 years ago. We've been married 6 years and had a beautiful ceremony and exciting reception in Utah. We spent our honeymoon in Santa Barbara, CA doing some of the things we love the best: wine tasting, biking, and eating great food.
Parenthood:
This past fall, we became parents for the first time and becoming a mother has been such a wonderful, and amazing life-changing experience!
Travel:
We love visiting foodie destinations and from our Honeymoon experience, we highly recommend Santa Barbara, California:
Dancing:
I was very lucky to have worked my dream job as a professional contemporary dancer for six seasons/years. The job took me all over the United States and to Europe usually once or twice a year:
Cooking:
I've never been a picky eater that I can remember. My parents always provided healthy food growing up.....fast food was only a treat when we went on early morning fishing trips! We ate whole grains and lots of fish (it was Alaska!). Most of the time growing up dance was my life and I didn't want to be bothered with anything else. When I went to college (and moved thousand of miles away), I found that when I got stressed or homesick I would try to cook things my mom and dad used to make at home. That turned in to being more curious about trying out new recipes. I started buying cooking magazines (the addiction began here!), borrowing cookbooks out from the library, and cooking a lot! My boyfriend (now husband) also got his start as an official taste tester (a job he still proudly holds today!).
Cooking is my stress relief.........others go to a spa....I cook and try to bake. A few years ago, I worked part time at the cooking store Sur La Table. I was thrown in to leading a few product demos for customers: meaning, first thing in a shift I had to bake cupcakes, pies, or mashed potatoes and then explain to customers the best way to make an apple pie, etc. I winged a lot of it and didn't always know what I was doing but I loved it! After about a year there, I decided I missed having my weekends free and I wasn't saving any money (but I have a lot of really nice things in my kitchen!). My favorite Sur La Table purchase:
The Blog:
I started this blog as a way to show friends and family my adventures traveling and touring around with the dance company and then my adventures of cooking in the kitchen. I'm firm believer that if more people tried out cooking at home they would love it! However, I understand how busy people are (I am too!) so that's why I focus on recipes that are healthy and easy to make. I hate how people say that you can't eat healthy inexpensively. I don't make much as a professional dancer, but I've learned where to shop and what to buy to maintain the healthy lifestyle I want to live. Now, I do probably spend a lot of my money on food compared to most people and that's totally a personal choice. Fortunately these days there are so many options available to finding healthier foods at affordable prices:
1. If you have a Whole Foods Market in your area, shop their generic 365 Everyday Value Products ("Fill your pantry without emptying your pocketbook").
2. Try Big Lots stores for low priced pantry items: I stock up on cereal by Kashi, grains by Bob's Red Mill, whole grain pasta, green cleaning products. Always of course, check the expiration date but most of these products are perfectly fine and I find them for $2-3 dollars!
3. Coupons! People I know use to complain that coupons were mostly only for unhealthy processed foods. While most coupons in the newspapers still are, there are many other ways to find money saving coupons on the products you want to have in your kitchen. Most direct company websites have coupons you can print for their products. I really like Mambo Sprouts, which you can pick up at Whole Foods or sign-up online to get coupons sent to you via email.
When I'm not dancing or cooking:
In the little spare time I have, I try to enhance my time by doing things that are active. I love practicing yoga and hope to one day become certified to teach classes. I don't currently have a gym membership so my husband do free things outside like running and cycling in the summer and snowshoeing in the winter. I used to hate running (and I still kinda do on a treadmill) but I since I started running outside with my husband about two years ago, it's now something I really enjoy. I ran my first half-marathon last year and it's one of the hardest things I've done.....maybe it was also hard because we didn't train very well and I had never run over probably 10 miles in my life, so my body was like "WHAT ARE DOING TO YOURSELF!" However, I like the fact that running is something you can do just with yourself, no equipment needed (well, except for shoes and clothing!). Sometimes, my husband runs barefoot though! In the future I'd love to do another half-marathon but this time I'll for sure train more!
I hope you find something you love on here, weather it's a recipe or a new restaurant to check out! Let me know what you think of the blog, send me a picture of a recipe you've made, and say hello!
In the words of my favorite Story People quote:
My husband Jake and I met in school at the University of Utah, almost 13 years ago. We've been married 6 years and had a beautiful ceremony and exciting reception in Utah. We spent our honeymoon in Santa Barbara, CA doing some of the things we love the best: wine tasting, biking, and eating great food.
Parenthood:
This past fall, we became parents for the first time and becoming a mother has been such a wonderful, and amazing life-changing experience!
Travel:
We love visiting foodie destinations and from our Honeymoon experience, we highly recommend Santa Barbara, California:
Dancing:
I was very lucky to have worked my dream job as a professional contemporary dancer for six seasons/years. The job took me all over the United States and to Europe usually once or twice a year:
 |
| We often tour to parts of rural Utah on Education tours. |
 |
| A tour to my hometown of Anchorage, Alaska in January. (It was cold!) |
 |
| Performing in New York City at the famous Joyce Theatre. |
 |
| Our New York Times review. |
 |
| My favorite Farmer's Market in Aix-en-Provence, France. |
 |
| The female dancers after a performance at one of my favorite theaters in Angers, France |
I've never been a picky eater that I can remember. My parents always provided healthy food growing up.....fast food was only a treat when we went on early morning fishing trips! We ate whole grains and lots of fish (it was Alaska!). Most of the time growing up dance was my life and I didn't want to be bothered with anything else. When I went to college (and moved thousand of miles away), I found that when I got stressed or homesick I would try to cook things my mom and dad used to make at home. That turned in to being more curious about trying out new recipes. I started buying cooking magazines (the addiction began here!), borrowing cookbooks out from the library, and cooking a lot! My boyfriend (now husband) also got his start as an official taste tester (a job he still proudly holds today!).
 |
| My Nespresso Citiz espresso machine: makes the best espresso ever! |
The Blog:
I started this blog as a way to show friends and family my adventures traveling and touring around with the dance company and then my adventures of cooking in the kitchen. I'm firm believer that if more people tried out cooking at home they would love it! However, I understand how busy people are (I am too!) so that's why I focus on recipes that are healthy and easy to make. I hate how people say that you can't eat healthy inexpensively. I don't make much as a professional dancer, but I've learned where to shop and what to buy to maintain the healthy lifestyle I want to live. Now, I do probably spend a lot of my money on food compared to most people and that's totally a personal choice. Fortunately these days there are so many options available to finding healthier foods at affordable prices:
1. If you have a Whole Foods Market in your area, shop their generic 365 Everyday Value Products ("Fill your pantry without emptying your pocketbook").
2. Try Big Lots stores for low priced pantry items: I stock up on cereal by Kashi, grains by Bob's Red Mill, whole grain pasta, green cleaning products. Always of course, check the expiration date but most of these products are perfectly fine and I find them for $2-3 dollars!
3. Coupons! People I know use to complain that coupons were mostly only for unhealthy processed foods. While most coupons in the newspapers still are, there are many other ways to find money saving coupons on the products you want to have in your kitchen. Most direct company websites have coupons you can print for their products. I really like Mambo Sprouts, which you can pick up at Whole Foods or sign-up online to get coupons sent to you via email.
When I'm not dancing or cooking:
In the little spare time I have, I try to enhance my time by doing things that are active. I love practicing yoga and hope to one day become certified to teach classes. I don't currently have a gym membership so my husband do free things outside like running and cycling in the summer and snowshoeing in the winter. I used to hate running (and I still kinda do on a treadmill) but I since I started running outside with my husband about two years ago, it's now something I really enjoy. I ran my first half-marathon last year and it's one of the hardest things I've done.....maybe it was also hard because we didn't train very well and I had never run over probably 10 miles in my life, so my body was like "WHAT ARE DOING TO YOURSELF!" However, I like the fact that running is something you can do just with yourself, no equipment needed (well, except for shoes and clothing!). Sometimes, my husband runs barefoot though! In the future I'd love to do another half-marathon but this time I'll for sure train more!
I hope you find something you love on here, weather it's a recipe or a new restaurant to check out! Let me know what you think of the blog, send me a picture of a recipe you've made, and say hello!
In the words of my favorite Story People quote:
| There are things you do because they feel right & they may make no sense & they may make no money & it may be the real reason we are here: to love each other & to eat each other's cooking & say it was good. | |
CIAO,
BETSY
I love your background! it looks so fresh and delicious!! yum :)
ReplyDeleteHello! First, I want to say what a great blog you have--so user friendly and so helpful! Second, I'm Alice Osborne, co-author (along with Jeanne Wolfley) of the blog, Making Family Dinner Hour Possible (www.makingfamilydinnerhourpossible.blogspot.com), and also co-editor (along with Jeanne Wolfley) of the new cooking magazine, Cook'n. This international, reader-based magazine's first edition hits all the major bookstores, online, etc. in May. When we say it's reader-based, we mean it. It's not about us, it's about YOU, YOUR recipes, YOUR ideas, etc. That said, we'd like to invite you to submit a favorite recipe or two on the topics of quick and easy meals, strawberries, and ice cream sandwiches and cakes. You'll receive full credit, we'll include a link to your blog, and we'll send you a copy of the magazine as well. If you'd like to see the quality of magazine this will be, just go to www.northridgepublishing.com for a good idea. We so hope you'll join us in creating the best cooking magazine ever, and we'll watch for your submission(s)! Just send them to aliceanne1949@comcast.net. And thanks so much! Your fans, Alice & Jeanne
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteYour first posts just appeared on Urbanspoon! Check it out:
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/1412857/restaurant/Salt-Lake-City/Tarahumara-Midway
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/1221080/restaurant/Salt-Lake-City/Blue-Boar-Inn-and-Restaurant-Midway
I encourage you to claim your blog, which allows you to add a picture and change some settings. The blog photo shows up next to your posts wherever they appear on Urbanspoon. Here's how to claim:
- Make sure you're logged into Urbanspoon
- Go to your blog page on our site: http://www.urbanspoon.com/br/54/8766/Salt-Lake-City/A-Dancer-in-the-Kitchen.html
- Click "Claim your blog" in the left sidebar
After you submit it, we may contact you to verify your claim. Check your spam email folder if your claim hasn't gone through in a day or two. You'll also find some interesting badges and widgets on your Urbanspoon blog page - look in the right sidebar.
If you have any questions, please contact me via email.
Thanks,
Greg
www.urbanspoon.com
Thanks, Elizabeth! I just approved your blog claim. Now your Urbanspoon profile picture is displayed on your blog page. You can upload a blog-specific photo if you prefer, and can change a few other blog settings there. Also, if you vote for a restaurant that you've reviewed on your blog, we now show your vote next to your post everywhere on our site.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.urbanspoon.com/br/54/8766/Salt-Lake-City/A-Dancer-in-the-Kitchen.html
Best,
Greg
www.urbanspoon.com