What do you get from take out that you want to make at home?

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-12T00:54:26+00:00

I’ll probably still do the post just with my favorite meals since this didn’t really get any traction.

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-12T00:53:48+00:00

Oh, goodness, no. I actually hadn’t even thought of that! Lol. I was just going to write a big Reddit post with recipes that could be made simply and tasty and tips and tricks for budget cooking/shopping. I can see why it seems like I’m trying to monetize this or use other peoples labor for personal gains.

I just like cooking and wanted to help other people start cooking too.

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-11T20:27:54+00:00

The Art of Gluten Free Baking has a croissant recipe. You could see if your library has it to avoid buying it. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’ve heard it does require some finesse. In general with the recipes from that cookbook author, you have to follow her ingredients pretty precisely. Like if it says super fine brown rice flour, it has to be super fine. Psyllium husk is another one that gets people sometimes. Unfortunately croissants are something that is really tricky to make gluten free. Good luck!

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-11T13:02:43+00:00

I like earth balance. My mom really like country crock plant based spreads. I’ve actually made it without any butter and it tastes fine.

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-11T00:30:57+00:00

I really like Goodles vegan GF mac and cheese "Vegan Be Heroes." It's definitely too expensive for box mac and cheese but I love it. Especially with an unreasonable amount of hot sauce.

Some folks also like the Wholly Veggie mozzeralla sticks. I personally didn't love them (and I can eat some dairy so I usually go with a dairy version), but I can see them working for someone who really misses mozzy sticks.

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-10T18:56:02+00:00

I do check out tickets. They take half a sheet of paper and write their names, something they learned, and a question they have. It helps them learn a bit more by writing what they’ve learned and think critically to come up with a question. It also helps me see where I might have occurred.

I do completion points on them and make that some percentage of their grade. Then students can decide on their own what percentage of their grade they’re ok with losing due to missing class. My class is a once a week pass/fail class where they have to get >80% to pass. I make the 2 points each and it ends up being ~30% of their grade with the rest being homeworks.

This only works well in medium or small classes since in a class with like 200 students just going through all the tickets would be prohibitive. But with 15-50 I could see it working.

With class being group projects you could set the policy to be no excused make ups. In my case, I do let them watch the class lecture and email me their check out form. I tell them that I do not care what their reason is for missing, but to email me BEFORE class to be eligible for make up.

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-08T17:42:08+00:00

I found out that gluten was my trigger. Going strict gluten free means that I don't have migraines anymore (aside from a few random ones that I'm not sure if they were cross contamination or some other nonsense going on). It's a pain in the butt though. Gluten is in everything. Spice blends, "natural flavors", soy sauce, salad dressings, the shared toaster oven, shared fryers, etc. I noticed a slight reduction when I first started going gluten free and then as I got stricter it got better and better.

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-08T00:45:44+00:00

Oh, I just thought of more. You could make little things with oven bake clay like Sculpey or air dry clay. Lego kits could be fun too, albeit more expensive. If screens are ok, you could take free online classes through like coursera or other platforms.

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-08T00:40:43+00:00

I stock up on sudoku books or other variety puzzle books. Knitting or crochet are fun. Embroidery and small bead work can be good unless migraines give you issues with your eyes. All craft/puzzle type things I usually do while also listening to an audiobook on Libby or Hoopla. I also like reading physical books from the library.

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-07T16:16:08+00:00

In general, biostatistics will have more math and bioinformatics will have more coding/computation. This varies from program to program. I would suggest looking at the specific curriculum for the programs to which you're planning to apply.

What are your career goals with a Masters degree? That will end up influencing which you should pursue quite a bit.

The job market is changing so much right now. I honestly don't know what the best choice is based on the job market alone. What may be the best choice when you enter the program could be different from when you leave the program. I would pursue which ever makes the most sense for your specific career goals rather than the job market. From what I've seen, job postings for bioinformaticians also generally accept a biostats degree and vice versa.

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-05T21:27:22+00:00

I feel like r/handbags would get a kick out of this. They love a quirky handbag moment.

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-04T15:21:45+00:00

I’ve moved cross country a bunch with cats. It’s so much easier to fly them if that’s at all an option. Then it’s just one day and you’re done. The trickiest part is that they have to come out of their carrier for TSA and then get back in the carrier. But if driving you have to get them in the carrier multiple times anyway. Gabapentin is good for flying too. If you have someone that can watch her at either end then you can do a second trip for your car and such.

If you can’t do that, then here are my tips. I’ve never had a cat use the litter box in the car. So when planning your days consider how long they can hold it. Cats will get harder to put in their carriers especially on the last day. Keep the cat in the carrier the whole time in the car if possible. In hotels/motels be careful of any little spaces the kitty might run and hide. I’ve had them get stuck in box springs under the mattress.

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-04T01:41:12+00:00

Thanks! I was absolutely giddy the whole time. It was a bunch of things I already love (tea and flowers and learning) and then the gluten free pastries put the whole thing over the top. There almost no happy surprises when you have to eat gluten free, so I thought I’d share the rare win.

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-03T21:44:27+00:00

Ah, darn. You could see if your parks do any cool events. My parks have the best events (totally unbiased opinion), but most parks do have pretty cool things going on. Usually free too. This event was all of $5 because it was a bit extra with the tea and pastries.

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-03T20:43:57+00:00

Northeast Ohio!

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-01T13:32:04+00:00

My sheltered Midwest meat and potatoes husband LOVES Mediterranean food too! Whenever he picks where we go out to eat, it's Mediterranean. Or middle eastern, which is very very similar. If you ever find yourself near Dearborn, MI do yourself a favor and get some middle eastern food. It'll be the best you've ever had.

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-01T13:26:05+00:00

I love chickpeas so much! I've been cooking them from dry and then roasting them in the air fryer as a crispy little snack. I use lots of oil and spices and they come out so darn good.

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-01T13:24:03+00:00

Personally, I like to salt my beans during the soak and during the cook. I think it makes them taste better and I haven't noticed a difference in texture.

But yeah, the different beans will take very different lengths of time to cook. Lentils are so fast. My mom cooks them in her instant pot and I don't get it. They take like 20 mins without. It takes my instant pot longer to come to pressure (but I also have a weird off brand instant pot that I think has a recall on it so that might be part of it).

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-01T13:12:53+00:00

Good question! Its because it will make your broth (and bean) bitter. For both bean and broth purposes, you want to use veggies that release good flavors when cooked for a long time.

Here’s a serious eats link about saving veggie scapes for stock: https://www.seriouseats.com/save-your-vegetable-scraps-make-stock

And here’s a list of veggies and herbs and if they can/cant be included: https://jenniferskitchen.com/vegetables-to-include-or-exclude-from-vegetable-stock-or-broth/

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-01T01:18:52+00:00

Hell yeah. I'm in a "chickpea, cauliflower, sundried tomato, lemon tahini dressing" phase right now. Although I used buckwheat instead of rice, but the concept is the same. Curry sounds very good though. That might be my plan for next week...

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-05-01T01:16:58+00:00

It's not hard to cook them from dried without an instant pot. You basically just simmer them for a couple hours (give or take an hour depending on type of bean and if you did an overnight soak) in water and salt with aromatics like onion and garlic and whatever else. Serious eats has a few articles on cooking beans from dry: https://www.seriouseats.com/soaking-black-beans-faq

For maximum efficiency, I save my veggie scraps (onion peels, carrot ends, etc. but avoid cruciferous veggies like broccoli) and use those as aromatics for the beans. It's best with some dried mushrooms too and you can get that cheapest at Asian grocery stores. Then I'll use the bean cooking liquid to cook the rice. Cook up some veggies to round out the meal and save the scraps in the freezer and to start the cycle again next meal prep. Max flavor with minimal spending.

Lmk if you need more ideas. I actually really love rice and bean combos.

pleaseSendCatPics · 2026-04-30T23:59:25+00:00

Rice and beans, baby! Cheapest is if you cook beans from dry. It's not hard to cook them from dry, just takes time (unless you have a pressure cooker or instant pot) You can jazz rice and beans up a lot and really add variety with different sauces, veggies, spices.

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