Food: post food comma and avocado casserole

I felt terrible when I woke up the next day after being in food comma. I was sleep deprived and bloated :evil:. I didn’t want to eat anything until 10AM and when I finally did, all I wanted was strawberries. Glad that Whole Food is just a block away from home, I went there just to get it. Excited about eating a bowl of organic strawberries that costs me $5, but it tastes nothing! No sweet, no sour, nothing!!! 😦

few hours later… I made a veggie soup with celery, burdock root, onion, tomato, collard and chicken broth.

chop and boil

add a tbsp of miso at the end

voila! a colorful soup, perfect as post food comma meal~

At night, I made a egg-tofu scramble with onions, asparagus and tahini. It was delicious~~~ definitely going to make it again!

Yesterday I made avocado casserole

blend 1 large avocado, 1 cup of pumpkin, 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, juice of half lemon, garlic, mustard, S+P and 1/4 cup milk

prepare the brown rice pasta and chop some steamed broccoli

mix everything (added some chopped peppers to color the dish), top with parmesan and bake for 30 min at 400F.

It was soooo rich and filling! I’ve never tried mac and cheese :opss: but from what I’ve seen in the blog world, this casserole resembles it! 😉

and finally, my latest breakfast combo: toasted bread + avocado + friend egg

love love love this golden liquid

Q: What do you eat after a food comma?

A colorful post

First, few personal notes:

• I fall down two days ago and now my right hip hurts whenever I make a movement 😦
• I did my first run in 2011! I’ve been wanting to run outdoor for a long time but the weather and the knee problem hold me until yesterday. I only did 3 miles and I felt them!!! How easy to lose resistance so quickly? (well…. 4-5 months). Bad news: my knee is still not okay. I didn’t feel sharp pain as I used to have after running just 1 mile, but at the end, I could feel that the pain was coming. So I’ll go to the doc and hopefully she can figure out what’s going on.
• New challenge: cut back on coffee. From now on, I’ll be having only 1 cup (half mug) of coffee in the morning (I was having 3-4 cups daily). I’d like to eliminate caffeine completely but the reality is I like coffee too much to take it away completely from one day to the other. If this goes well, in a month or two, I’ll cut it to 1/2 cup.

Okay. Let’s start this colorful post.

Breakfast: orange + red

oatmeal cooked with pumpkin puree and 1 beaten egg, topped with bean curd with fermented red date

Lunch: black, red, green and purple

sauteed black fungus, asparagus, shiitake, red peppers and vegetarian chicken

brown rice, purple cabbage and edamame cooked in the rice cooker with miso

Dinner: green, red, yellow

stir-fry chinese mustard, mushrooms, red peppers and fresh bamboo (I’m loving it, you’ll see them more!)

What’s missing in this palette? Blue! I consumed it in form of movie. Blue Valentine

Are you a big fan of The Notebook as I am? Do you like Ryan Gosling? I love him! He’s my favorite actor and he’s the perfect lover!

I went to watch it thinking that it’s going to be another love story. Well… yes, it is a love story, but a sad one. If The Notebook is too romantic to be true, this one is the opposite. It’s an elegy for love, a monument to heartbreak.  Blue Valentine understands love, processes it in ways we see in our own lives more than we do on the big screen.

After I watched it, I can’t get it out of my head. It is both sweet and emotionally devastating. The drama is about a couple whose relationship is warm and fuzzy at first but then grows cold and bitter over time. It is a reality check and it shows precisely what I talked about yesterday, marriage is not just about passion and feelings; if other things don’t match, failure is guaranteed.

Maybe not everyone wants to see a reality-check movie, one that shows the dark side of love and marriage. But I really like it. If you decide to watch it, I wouldn’t recommend you to go with your loved one.

Q: who’s your favorite actor?

Challenge J&J #14-15 & 2 reviews

J&J #14 @Eat Clean Cookbook: fresh berries in vanilla infused avocado oil

I didn’t have avocado oil so here’s my version:

• 1 cup of chopped strawberries
• 1/2 tsp coconut oil
• drops of vanilla
• 2 tbsp coconut bliss ice cream

DIVINE~~~ berries and coconut is definitely a winning combo! 😉

J&J #15 @Eat Clean Cookbook: grilled asparagus with primavera sauce

my version: grilled asparagus with poached eggs.

Review #1: Maranatha Almond Butter

I bought it last weekend in Costco with a good deal and haven’t been having it with oat bran every morning since then

Coco’s review: I have mixed feelings about it. From on hand, I like that it’s smooth and runny, even stored in fridge, no stir required, so it’s easy to eat/melt. From the other hand, its lack of body and creaminess let me unsatisfied, I also find it not salty enough. So, I think I won’t buy it again. Rating: 3/5.

I made a tortilla-free burrito. hehehe…. well, it’s just rice/bean chili that I made the other day topped with a bed of greens.

I just started reading Country Driving: A journey through China from farm to factory

Dinner featured another stir-fry of greens: romaine, broccoli, mushrooms with garlic and sesame oil.

Review #2: Few days ago I received from Sahale Snacks 3 packets of their flavored nuts and they’re all gone!!! 😆

#1 : SOLEDAD: This delectable snacking experience features almonds, apples, and flax seeds, tickled with date, balsamic vinegar and cayenne.

Coco’s review: this is my favorite one. First because I love almonds. And then the combination of flavor is amazing, a bit sour, a bit spicy, perfectly balanced with the sweetness of the dates. Rating: 5/5

#2: Cashews with pomegranate + vanilla: a perfect combination of sublime flavors: Pomegranate, Vanilla, and Cashews. The whole roasted Cashews are teamed with Pomegranate and Apple, and balanced with pure Vanilla bean. Our light glaze adds just the right amount of sweetness.

Coco’s review: this is an interesting combo, it tastes like dessert for me although a little bit too sweet. Rating: 4/5.

#3: Barbeque Almonds with Mild Chipotle + Ranch. Enjoy the harmony of classic tastes with an all-natural twist. The Barbeque Almonds are seasoned with a proprietary “Dry Rub” spice blend and accented with tangy buttermilk ranch. Then, they’re slow roasted to a smoky, spicy-sweet perfection.

Coco’s review: it sounds really good but I didn’t like the flavor. It was like eating a meal when I was actually snacking. I guess it would be a nice topping for salad (I should have saved it for that instead of just finishing the packet without enjoying it). Rating: 2/5.

Overall, I like their products, their creative flavor combos and the handy packet size. I definitely will buy them in the future.

Q: Do you like flavored nuts? If you can make one, what would be?