[Welcome to my Weekly Love List. A list, on all things I love. Because if I love them - well then obviously you may (and should) love them too. As the Backstreet Boys song says (and yes I am actually quoting them) “My Love is All I Have To Give.” So with that throwback, here are this week’s list-worthy things…]

1. Pumpkin Mousse. It may be post-Thanksgiving but while the rest of the world has moved on to egg-nog or latkes, I’m more like Ross Gellar and still craving Thanksgiving leftovers. So if you still need something to be thankful for make this low fat amazing pumpkin mousse and then thank me later.

What you need: 2 Packets instant fat free/sugar free vanilla pudding, 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 2 cups skim milk, one 15 ounce can of pumpkin, and one tub of fat-free Cool Whip. Make the pudding with the milk and once it’s ready, fold in the other ingredients, stick it in the fridge, maybe throw some ginger snaps on top and you’ve got yourself some guilt free leftovers.

2. While I may not love Miley Cyrus, I love this girl who loves Miley Cyrus. Seriously, over 1 million hits, tons of tribute vids back, and over 12 different videos. And those special effects? Ahhhmazing. Check out her version of Disturbia too… I sort of want to be her best friend.

3. Britney Spears’ comeback. I know, I’m a sucker like everyone else, but that magazine cover? The vid? I’ve been working out to old school Brit all week and I’m just rooting that our favorite baldie makes this comeback big (not lame-o like the last one). I know you are all excited for the documentary tomorrow night. Watch it with some pumpkin mousse for a double dose of love. Read More »

While diving into a giant slice of warm apple pie (the kind with the crumble topping) and a melty scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, I thought to myself,

“Holy sh*t, this is better than sex.”

And I totally meant it. That treat was pure heaven: creamy, sweet, indulgant…and I didn’t have to have awkward conversation with it after.

There aren’t many things I think that highly of, but I would give up sex for that dessert any day. (Or every day if it was fat free.) Like me, the rest of the CollegeCandy writers love getting frisky, but this week they weighed in on the very special things in life that are truly better than sex.

Olua: A good book. Call me a nerd if you want, but I’d usually rather be reading on an uneventful night than doin’ the dirty.

S.E. - Fordham: Gooey butter cake is way better then sex. It melts in your mouth, tastes like heaven, and is sweeter then any orgasm.

Kathryn S.: The thrill of the chase, because you can imagine “the perfect moment,” you don’t have to worry about “the morning after,” and because Chuck Bass instigated it on Gossip Girl.

Erica – Kent State: I don’t know why, but I am absolutely in love with pizza. I can’t tell you how many nights I have decided to skip going home with a hot guy in favor of returning to mi casa because I knew my roommates were going to order something from Pizza Hut. Read More »

It’s officially fall. The air is feeling crisper, the leaves are changing and girls are dusting off their Uggs.

Which means it’s time to bust out those fall recipes and all things pumpkin.

I’m a huge fan of pumpkin bread; it just tastes like fall. This recipe is my absolute favorite - it’s always moist, it’s the perfect combination of spices, and it’s easy enough that I can do it. So get the oven ready, bask in the scent of it, and then dig in.

INGREDIENTS
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 3 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 (16 ounce) can solid pumpkin Read More »

People seem to always associate sweets with being unhealthy. Of course sweets aren’t GOOD for you, per se, but they can be done better and healthier than you might think. If you eat sweets in moderation and cook them the right way, you’ll be able to have your cake and eat it, too. (No pun intended. Ok. I take it back. The pun was completely intended.)

The next time you want to make something sweet and do it with a relatively healthy twist, consider this recipe for Organic Chocolate Macadamia Bars. Read More »

There are some things that are so good they just shouldn’t be messed with. And there are some that, while absolutely delicious, can be made even more amazing with a few simple additions. Brownies fall into the latter category.

While everyone loves a good brownie, a brownie can be made exponentially better by adding peppermint (or peanut butter, caramel, marshmallow… the list goes on).

Mint chocolate brownies are the perfect treat as the weather gets colder, but really, they’re perfect for any time at all. Is there ever a bad time for a brownie? Read More »

When my boyfriend and I split, I went through usual grief: denial, depression, rage. Well, mainly rage. I had all this excess energy bottled up, so I considered my options. I could buy a pint of ice cream and watch every depressing episode of Sex and the City and cry my eyes out, I could go downtown and blow most of my bank account on fabulous shoes, or, I could do something productive like writing my humongous paper. I wound up taking a walk downtown and found a farmers’ market with a huge selection of fall fruit.

I ended up buying 5 pounds of apples.

When I got home, I decided it was time to put all my energy to good use and bake a pie. I turned up loud, energetic music and started up the oven. As a semi-professional cook, making delicious things was always a kind of therapy, and was a way to channel my emotions. I asked one of my male friends if baking a pie was an appropriate response to a breakup, and I was told, “Only if you’re planning on throwing it at his face while it’s still steaming hot.” Aah, right to the point.

So now I present the:

I’m-Too-Good-For-Him-Anyway Apple Pie: Read More »

100-Calorie Packs are the new Starbucks Skinny Latte. They are taking over the world, one grocery store shelf at a time. Though these snacks are making bank for Kraft Foods, Nabisco, Frito Lay, and every other conglomerate on the single-serving bandwagon, there has been some recent media backlash, which brings to light the fact that:

a) The 100-calorie packs are often more than twice as expensive per ounce as the products they mimic.

b) In meeting the 100-calorie limit, the snacks or sweets inside the packs are sometimes pale imitations of the originals. The 100-calorie Oreos, for example, are 20 mini “chocolate thin crisps.”

c) Smaller portions don’t make snacks good for you, especially when they are as highly-processed as 100-Cal Packs.

Still, as Americans, we have issues with self-control. I can go through a box of Cheez-Its in three days and think nothing of it, until I look at the box and realize I averaged about 5 servings of Cheez-Its a day. So, when a small package helps me know when to stop, I dig it. I do agree with above comment on the 100-calorie Oreos: these are a waste of money. So, friends, what follows is a list of my top five picks. All of these are so tasty, I thank my lucky stars that they are measured out for me in 100 calorie intervals. Read More »

Hi, my name is Lauren and I’m a cupcake-aholic.

My addiction has taken over my life. Sometimes, when I am driving home from anywhere, I suddenly find myself at the local bakery or grocery store, frosting all over my chin, and have no idea how I got there. There was even that one drunken night when I woke up with half a cupcake in my bed.

And I finished it.

I cannot walk past a cupcake shop without stopping in and trying a few, and I have been known to spend Saturday nights at home with a box of Dunkin Hines cupcake mix, my oven and a jar of icing.

I have been battling this addiction for years and it is tearing my life (and pants) apart. I am working to kick the habit, but I am not strong enough to do it cold turkey. I now consciously avoid streets that house any sort of mini cake delight and have in turn turned to the internet to feed (or not so much) my urges.

Yes, I am now a subscriber to cupcake porn. Read More »