13 Mar ITF welcomes UT Southwestern grad student Kimberly Spatola!

Inside the Fridge welcomes nutrition grad student Kimberly Spatola! Originally from Louisville, KY, Kimberly moved to Dallas to attend UT Southwestern’s Masters of Clinical Nutrition Program. Kimberly has plans to move to North Carolina to pursue her career in nutrition after she finishes school…and graduation is just around the corner for this go-getter! When she’s not hitting the books, Kimberly loves to spend time with friends, bake desserts, and workout at bootcamp! Check out Kimberly’s Blog. 

ITF: Where do you shop for food?

KS: I shop primarily at Whole Foods and Central Market. But occasionally, if I have forgotten an item or just need a couple items, I will run to Kroger since it is the closest grocery store to me. Whole Foods and Central Market is where I go for a larger grocery haul. 

ITF: Do you love food shopping or dread it?

KS: I LOVE it and I never dread grocery shopping. There is just so much to see and new products to look at in grocery stores. I always need to have time blocked out in my schedule to go grocery shopping, because I can easily spend over an hour and a half looking at everything and deciding what I need.

ITF: What is the single most important thing on your mind when you are shopping for food?

KS: I always try to make sure all of the products I get are healthy and that I will actually eat them. I try to maximize my fresh fruits and vegetables, while avoiding picking up extra pre-packaged and processed foods that I don’t need.

ITF: How often do you shop?

KS: Typically 2 times a week. But there are times I have gone to the grocery store 4 times in one week. I like to get less food than I think I might need, because my pet peeve is wasted food.

ITF: How many do you shop for? Ages?

KS: I just shop for myself! I’m 23.

ITF: What is your weekly food budget?

KS: I try to keep my weekly grocery bill around $50 – 60 dollars.

ITF: How many times a week do you eat out? (based on 21 meals/week)

KS: I love going out to eat and trying new restaurants. I typically eat out more on the weekend, but on average, I eat 3 – 4 meals per week out. But I usually have leftovers that I will eat for lunch the next day.

ITF: What is the most coveted food in the fridge right now for each member of the household? Why?

KS: Frozen Bananas. So I can make healthy desserts with my Yonanas maker!!

ITF: What convenience product can you not live without?

KS: Cereal! My mornings are very tight, so having a box of cereal on hand is my quick, go-to morning breakfast.

ITF: What brands do you swear by? Why?

KS: I love Almond Breeze’s unsweetened almond milk. All flavors are delicious and low in calories.

ITF: What cooking utensil/piece of equipment/appliance do you live for?

KS: A Vitamix. I think my life would be complete if I ever owned one. The Vitamix can accomplish more than what your blender, food processor, and juicer can do combined.

ITF: When you hear the word “homemade” what is the first thing that comes to mind?

KS: Homemade cookies! I’m a dessert lover and baking homemade desserts is one of my favorite things. One of my favorite cookies I’ve made are these homemade “oatmeal crème” cookies!  

ITF: What food/s are important when recalling food memories?

KS: Biscuits with chocolate gravy. My grandmother makes the best homemade buttermilk biscuits from scratch that are better than anything you can find in the store. And her chocolate gravy (which is similar to warm chocolate pudding) over the biscuits is to die for!

ITF: What are your go-to food/nutrition/culinary/cooking website/s, book or cookbook?

KS: I always check out foodnetwork.com for an idea of a recipe if I am short on time. I also enjoy looking for recipes on foodblogsearch.com. I usually get more unique and inventive recipe ideas from that. My favorite cookbook is Shirley O. Corriher’s book, Cookwise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Cooking. Food science drives her recipes and I have enjoyed every one I have made. All of the recipes have turned out perfectly!

ITF: What was the last meal you cooked from scratch?

KS: I made Asian chicken lettuce wraps for a pot luck with friends, but they were definitely not my most successful dish I’ve ever made. I then turned the chicken filling into a red curry recipe, which tasted much more delicious.

ITF: What was the last meal you cooked from convenience products?

ITF: If one person could cook for you tonight, who would it be?

KS: Alton Brown. I grew up watching his show, Good Eats, and learned much of my food science and cooking knowledge from him. It would be an amazing honor to eat a meal prepared by him, and I’d love to pick his brain about this culinary knowledge.

ITF: What words of wisdom or advice do you have for other folks who are doing their best every day to fill the fridge?

KS: Never go to the grocery store hungry! When I go to the grocery store hungry, I always come home with more food than I actually need. If you can’t avoid it, be sure you have a large amount of will-power! Planning out your meals before going to the grocery store will make sure you get everything you need for the week without having a lot of wasted food.

ITF: What are you working on these days that you’d like to tell us about?

KS: I’m am finishing up school and will graduate with my Masters of Clinical Nutrition from UTSW in August. In my spare time, I work on updating my food blog, kimberlystreats.com. I love coming up with new and healthy recipes, because I get easily bored with my food.

ITF: Anything else?

KS: From my experience, it is always good to have a few frozen cupcakes in the freezer for easy defrosting in the microwave. You never know when you might need one!

Thanks Kimberly!

If you’re interested in contributing to Inside the Fridge please email leah@robinplotkin.com.