Food: playing around

From time to time I feel lost in term of what to eat. I don’t want the same thing anymore (chao stir-fries), I want something exciting, fun, new, tasty and filling food to eat. So creativity and imagination (both that I’m not good at) come to play.

Since last week salad I’m hooked with avocado. I picked 4 large avocados last week and every morning the first thing I do is to check whether another one is ripped :shock:

For breakfast I’ve been having either this

I made a batch of black rice, aduki beans and barley. So I’d either add white fungus or simply avocado.

Both are YUM~

As meal, I’ve been having spinach cannelloni. For the sauce I used 1/3 cup pumpkin puree, 2 tbsp nutrtional yeast and 2 tbsp of milk.

Love this meal~~~ :) It’s so easy (just heat the frozen cannelloni and make the sauce, 5 min top) and so tasty!

Last weekend Star and I went to the farmer’s market. I’m so happy to see more fresh produce! I got a bunch of greens.

rainbow chards

sauteed in butter

steamed brussels sprouts broiled for 5 min

soft boiled egg (insert the egg into boiling water for 1-2 min, turn off the heat, cover and wait for 3 min more)

I said I’m obsessed with avocado but you only saw it in breakfast once. How come? Well… I’ve been eating a lot of salad, all massaged with 1/2 large avocado. For the dressing, I used miso/pumpkin/tahini/mustard mix. I’m loving the flavor of this dressing.

A salad with fat (avocado and tahini) and protein (salmon) is a full meal. You’d be surprised that a salad can satisfy you so much and for so long (at least 4 hrs).

Q: What’s your favorite way to eat avocado?

I’m back: updates, package and more

I’m back and

• my luggage arrived a day later
• I lost my passport
• Jet lag is in full motion! (4-5 hours at night and 1-2 hours during the day, not fun! :evil:)
• Star has temporarily moved his “office” to my place! :D

I got a package from Libre

sample of loose green teas

and a very cute tea glass

The Libre glass ’n poly has a health-conscious glass interior for fresh taste and a durable polycarbonate exterior for ‘on the go’ durability. The stainless steel tea filter is surrounded by BPA free polypropylene as is the lid interior. Can be used 2 ways to brew and travel with loose leaf tea.

I haven’t cooked for more than a month. I don’t know… I’m in a not-cooking mode lately :(. But breakfast is important, so I made a nutritious one.

I soak assorted beans: soy, aduki and mung beans for 12 hours

made soy milk

cooked white fungus soup with goji berries and chinese dates. And a handful of pistachos completed the breakfast! :)

and the rest of the day was spent watching TV, napping, eating chinese take out :(

I hope I can recover from the jet lag, bad mood and start cooking soon.

Now…. into something that I mentioned in a previous post, that I miss veggies. Many of you was surprised that I miss veggies because you see a lot of vegetables dishes in my posts. You’re right. Chinese people do eat a lot of veggies, but only when we eat at home. When we eat-out, we don’t usually order veggies. 1) what’s the point of ordering something that you can make at home at a much cheaper price, 2) I don’t trust the cleaning condition of the restaurants. Vegetables in China are not as clean as those that you can find here in the US. It requires a lot of cleaning and we doubt that they do it.

Because it’s only me and my Mom, we don’t cook often at home (2-3 times in 5 weeks). We either eat out or snacks on corns, chestnut, buns, etc. At the end, I eat less veggies in China than in US.  What’s the consequence of that? constipated, feeling full all the time, heavy and bloated. But I ignored all these and enjoyed fully my stay in Shanghai :)

Remember that I had a knee issues? I was having ITBS and could barely run 10 min before getting the pain. Well, the TCM proved once again effective. I can now run at least 40 min without pain! :lol:

Let me explain what treatment I had.

First week, they put two press needles on me, one in my insured knee, one in the opposite elbow

it’s a sticker with a metal ring in it

they make a cross on the point and put the press needle on it. It feels a sharp pain at first but then the pain goes away. It only feels when you press on it.

second part of the treatment was moxibustion

the practitioner hold a moxa close to the pressure point for about 15 min.

After the first treatment, I could run 12 min without pain. After second treatment, 15 min; third 20 min, etc. It was magical!!! And you know why it works? it is because blood don’t flow much to knee area. And when we have tense muscles in these area, we need external help to release the tension. Acupuncture and moxibustion do that precisely. It attracts blood flowing to the area and release the tension.

I can’t wait to run outside!!! :D

Next posts: what I got in China, new skin care routine and products!

 

Asian flavors & A race?

I used my new running shoes for the first time yesterday!!! I’d say it worth every penny of the 100 bucks!!! :D It’s light, it fits perfectly and I can tell that it provides more cushion than my previous nike. :D

I was feeling weak yesterday, I slept a 2 hours nap (very unusual :shock:). I needed a stress reliever and a mental giveaway (my coding didn’t went well and I was in panic). I ended up doing 4.5 miles, 35’50”, 8 min/mile.

For lunch I made a japanese style meal using these

Soba salad with veggies and bonito flakes! :D YUM~~

I’ll definitely make it more during the summer! It’s easy and delicious!

What you need: soba, veggies, bonito flakes, bonito seasoned soy sauce (or just soy sauce), sesame oil, salt and sugar.

Method:

1) cook the soba, rise with cold water and set aside

2) cook veggies with salted water

3) prepare the sauce: 2 part of soy sauce + 1 part of sesame oil + salt + sugar

4) mix everything and top with bonito flakes!

I also made asian “pudding” using cooked white fungus with goji berries

used agar-agar powder + stevia (review to come)

End product!

isn’t it pretty? :)

Continued with asian flavors, dinner was chinese. I made steamed fish just like chinese restaurants.

1) Steam the fish (seasoned with salt, cooking wine and ginger) for 7 min in boiling water.

2) Heat 1 tbsp of canola oil + 2 tbsp soy sauce

3) Pour the hot oil to the steamed fish and top it with fresh scallion.

I can guarantee you that it’s AMAZING!!!

assorted veggie stir-fry

porridge made with millet, polenta, goji berries and chinese dates

very satisfying meal~~~ I’m sooo making the fish again tonight! :D

A race? Yeah~~~ I’m going to run my first 5K today! in <2 hours!!!! :lol:  As everything else that I do (like getting married?), it was 100% spontaneous decision. After I came back yesterday from the run, I was feeling the runner’s high and decided that I’d participate the 5k for autism organized by my university!!!! :D

I’ll be back later with the result!!! :D Wish me luck!

Q: when was your first 5K? Stats? not to compare ;) just to have a reference.