A fat cat who created a Vegetarian

I'VE MOVED!!

2008-04-05T23:25:00.000-07:00

I'VE MOVED TO

www.Lengslog.Wordpress.com

Almost up to date! Meals for 04.04.08

2008-04-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

Late night snacking

And here's the how the tofu looked like after baking in a 400 degree F oven for 15 minutes.

In addition to tasting great, it was also NON-greasy! :-)

This is how it looks like PRE-baked.

We're doing something a little different tonight for dinner by baking the tofu instead of frying it up. It was first marinated in:

Soy Sauce (As usual)
black sesame seed oil
black pepper
pepper flakes

spinach and garlic cooked with just sherry.

Chinese broccoli with garlic and onions.

I took one bite of this custard filled dessert thingy. eww wasn't too good.

Long brought me a little treat when he came home from work today. I ate half.

a little chocolate indulgence. I thought of making Dreena's Vegan Chocolate Chip cookie again, but ended up munching on the choc. chips.

an apple on the go.

Quiet morning breakfast.

Meals for 04.03.08

2008-04-04T23:39:00.001-07:00

Potato chips. What I really want to try soon are sweet potato chips and "fries" that I saw on Kath's blog.

GReen Beans and tomatoes. Since we haven't really gone to the market to stock up on food, we didn't have any fresh tomatoes on hand. To improvise we turned to canned stewed tomatoes. Could hardly tell the difference.

Long and I split an egg sandwich. It's just so yummy!

Before heading out to class, I stopped by Peet's Coffee.

Oh, how I was missing my PB & J.

I did something a little different with today's oatmeal by adding a cardamom and cinnamon. It is said that Cardamom is supposed to go well with coffee. I don't really know why. To me everything goes well with coffee for me. hehe.

Burrito Fillings for 04.01.08

2008-04-04T23:38:00.000-07:00

Vegan Fried Rice

1 ½ - 2 c. of day old cooked brown rice
1 c. total of frozen (or fresh) veggies:
Carrots, Edamame, and corn
1 T. Canola oil

In a small bowl mix:
1 T. Low-sodium Soy sauce
1 t. Black pepper
1-2 T. of garlic chili sauce, recommended Sriracha
Pinch of salt (optional).

Heat the wok on high heat, medium-high heat if you have an electric stove, add the canola oil. Make sure the wok is hot enough before you add the frozen veggies*

Cook the veggies for a few minutes; they don’t have to be cooked all the way just yet.
(Make sure you stir and move everything around vigorously or it will burn & stick to the wok).

Season the veggies with half the amount of liquid mixture, stir.

Add brown rice. Stir for a few minutes then add the rest of your liquid mixture.

Cook until rice and veggies are slightly charred, ~ 5 to 10 minutes. Remember to keep stirring.

*One way you can tell if a pan is hot enough is to look for a slight (very faint) smoke come off from the oil.

"Re-Fried" Black beans

Long usually makes this part of the burritos.

He saw Rachel Ray , on the rare occasions that he watches Food network, making taco fillings and thought it was a neat idea to make your own "refried" beans.

The good news is that it has replaced our store bought refried beans.

The bad news is that he eyeballs everything that he makes. I tried looking for the exact recipe, but to no avail, so this recipe is Long's "eyeball" version of Rachel Ray's.

1 T. of Canola Oil
1 (15 oz.) can of black beans, drained and rinsed.
1/2 a yellow onion, chopped.
Spices:
1 T. of each Chili powder and cayenne pepper,
1 t. of each Cumin & black pepper
Tapatio (Long adds almost 1/4 of the bottle, but I suggest you add just 1/2-1 T.).

Heat a nonstick skillet on medium-high heat.

Cook onions until translucent.

Add 1/2 of the black beans to the skillet.

Mash the other half with a fork in the can (add a little water to get a smoother texture). Then add that half into the skillet as well.

Add spices and Tapatio, stir and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Layer the fillings on a flour tortilla, top with Nutritional Yeast and Enjoy!

BUsy Busy Busy! 04.02.08

2008-04-04T23:04:00.001-07:00

Long bought me "truffles." haha good laughs :-D

Finishing up the rest of the almonds. Glad I had these on hand because I was starving! Need to go to the market. First on my list are Cliff bars. Before Hawai'i, I hadn't had a cliff bar since high school.

My instructor also brought yummy cookies.

For sandwiches the only protein source available were meats, so my bagel sammy was just filled with tomatoes, mayo, and lettuce.

Merritt College had a health fair, Futurama, at a local high school to inform students about the nutrition programs available after they graduated.I was lucky to be able to participate this morning.

We had food models to show students how much one serving of foods were, booklets, leaflets, health info, and test tubes filled with "fat" from common foods. Stupid me, I didn't think to take pictures of the items. There was just so many people. I never did so much talking in my life! It was a very enjoyable experience though because not only were the students interested, but some staff and other adults were also.

STarting the morning off with oatmeal and Miss Dottie.

Today I have so much to do
Study, finish up hw to turn in today 8:30-10
attend a health fair 10:30-1:30
attend an orientation for fin. aid 2:00-3:00
attend class 4:00-7:00
and drop off my bro at school 7:15-7:30

04.01.08

2008-04-04T21:51:00.000-07:00

Prunes!

Burritos made with black beans, and the vegan fried rice and topped with nutritional yeast. So simple, but SoOo good!

Vietnamese Iced coffee.

This is my second time at making fried rice. I think that I'm getting pretty good at it. The first time I made it was for my parents. It had eggs and a little bit more oil. This time I took out the eggs and added less oil. Glad I made the change because it's so much more healthier. My favorite ingredient was the edamame beans. I'll post up the recipe later on during the week.

I tried the Hawaiian Hazelnut that I bought. It was too good. I miss my regular light/medium roasts!

Lunch with Dad, 03.31.08

2008-04-03T18:45:00.001-07:00

I had a late night bite of Bitter Melon soup with brown rice.

Home popped popcorn.

I'm taking a guess that this is Cendol jelly noodles. I don't even know how to say it in Khmer or Vietnamese, which is odd because I grew up eating this so much. It normally comes in a clear plastic cup with a small container of sweet coconut milk and served at room temperature or cold. I like it cold.

and a regular vegetarian sandwich with mock meat.

Long and I split a Hot Egg Sandwich from Mai Lai

More candy. You always have candy at home Samy!

After having lunch with dad, I got to see Miss Dottie!!!
She was being a brat already by smacking my candy with her paw.

This is the only vegetarian friendly dish there. Chow fun noodle soup. Long and I split it.

Lunch with Dad at Pho King.

Camping Day 2 1/2, Meals for 03.30.08

2008-04-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

We had an overnight flight, which we've decided to NEVER do again. I think I'm still suffering from lack of sleep because I'm always so sleepy now.

Me indulging in more chocolate. I hope I'm not getting any cavities.....eh..

Check out this Afghanistan Bread!! It took about 40 minutes or so for it to come out, but I'd wait for this again any day.

Indian Food at Cafe Maharani.

I forget the names of the dishes, but I'll list the main ingredients in each one from the best of my memory.
Clockwise from naan bread (the easy one), lentil dish, vegetable korma (curry dish), alo gobi. I'm not really sure if that's the name, but it had potatoes.

Later Long and I went for a walk down to Glazer's to get me caffeine. Although the coffee was more of a bold flavor (I like the lighter roasts), the girl behind the counter was so nice and the place was really clean.

This was really delicious! I loved the abundance of green onions and the mushrooms were awesome too. :-)

More Body boarding. Thanks for teaching me Ed!! I really had to work up the courage to get out there on the waves, but was always set at ease to know you and Long were there to help me if I had any trouble (or couldn't stand up, LOL).

Long's dish was an omelet, I ended up eating more of this and he ended up eating more of my pancake

Banana Pancake with Macadamia nut sauce and POG Juice

Ed & Val, I just thought of another group you might have not named. Native Guns.

non-traditional Breakfast: Scone + an orange, mango slices, and a cookie.

Camping day 2, meals for 03.29.08

2008-04-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

a cup of soymilk to wash it all down.

so much chocolate :-D

Ed's second fire (my favorite one)

Angela's wonderfully grilled veggies.

An assortment of swiss, Asiago, Gouda, and aged cheddar (not pictured).

Boca burger cheese sammy.

Someone brought deep fried corn nuts. I must have ate half the bag all by myself.

Long and I enjoying the beach.

It was great to have the ocean right next to our campsite. Almost a surreal experience. I wish I could go back there......

Coffee via the classic French Press

Long made us breakfast.

Camping day 1, meals for 03.28.08

2008-04-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

Ed's first fire.

Someone brought seaweed salad! I love seaweed salad. It's so crunchy and chewy.

Long made everyone chili the night before. It was delicious as always.:-) and the sammy is filled with I think cheese and salsa. I ate so much cheese on this vacation that I think I might have gained a couple of pounds off of it.

The perfect mango.

This is just a cheese sammy on sourdough bread.

Camping snacks!

I made gingersnap cookies for the 2 1/2 day camping trip at North Shore.

Hanauma Bay and a Hike in a Crater, Meals for 03.27.08

2008-04-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

I ate a few of these mochi balls.

Okay so the only thing that I wasn't good about taking picture of were the Shaved Ice. During the weekend all of us must have went to Waiola 4 or 5 times. This is actually the only picture that I have of them.

In these two pictures we're actually in an old volcanic crater called Diamond Head.

Back to Chang Mai for more Thai Food.

We went snorkeling in Hanauma Bay today, but I have to admit that I prefer Sharks Cove. There was just too many tourist and rude people here.

Half way there!

2008-04-02T21:53:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys I have been extremely busy ever since I've been back that when i get home from school I just want to relax. I've finished half of the posts for the week, but there are so many photos to sift through that it's going to take me a little bit more time. Maybe by this weekend.

Snorkeling at Sharks Cove, 03.26.08

2008-04-01T11:15:00.000-07:00

Cup of pineapple cubes.

My dish: grilled sweet jalapeno with cheese

Long's dish: Taco salad

Mexican food at Cholo's

Bub-bah and Coffee.

Meals for 03.25.08

2008-04-01T10:34:00.000-07:00

Dessert: a weight watchers fudgsicle.

Red curry with noodles and veggies.

Eggplant & Basil Tofu.

Mixed veggies in a sweet sauce.

Papaya Salad.

Thai Food at Chang Mai.

Lunch at Maui Tacos! I ordered the Paia, but for some reason it's not on the website.

Snack during hike: medium banana.

Breakfast:

Leaving Oakland, Meals for 03.24.08

2008-04-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

Grilled Seitan at Well Bento.

Top: Louisiana style with homemade Cajun seasonings
Bottom: Western BBQ style, Tamari style with homemade tamari Ginger Sauce.

We're finally leaving Oakland--Spring Break has Officially begun! :-)

Family Dinner, 03.23.08

2008-04-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

The night before our trip to Hawai'i, we had a family dinner (my side of the family). It was a tiring day because of all the cooking, picking ppl up, packing, cleaning, and entertaining. It was a lot to do on our last day in town for the week.

Dinner, 03.20.08

2008-03-20T22:44:00.000-07:00

When I got home Long had saved me some of his fruit shake that he makes like everyday! This time he stuck it the freezer until I got to it. When I stuck my spoon in it, I was expecting a cup of creamy fruit blended together, but it was more like a sorbet. What an awesome treat to come home to!

I also had a glass or Merlot red wine. I didn't finish it all because I got too distracted. Sorry for the blurry pic. I couldn't get the camera to work right.

My very first Vegetarian Bento Box! It was a pleasant surprise. For a good price too. All this for $10.00. Well....maybe I got ripped off because only the food on the right side of the box seemed edible to eat.

clockwise from top right: seaweed salad, Avocado roll, white rice, some sort of pasta mayo thingy, crisp (probably frozen) salad, with wasabi and pickled ginger in the middle.

and Tea, as usual.

Dinner came with Miso Soup

Tonight's dinner was at Kai's a new Japanese restaurant that opened up in Old Oakland.

Snack, 03.20.08

2008-03-20T22:43:00.001-07:00

I'm still working on that container of cottage cheese. Long screams out "eww, Nasty!" every time he sees it. I'll make a note not to buy cottage cheese in the near future. I think I'm 1/2 way done...?

Lunch, 03.20.08

2008-03-20T22:40:00.000-07:00

At home I had a small granny smith apple and a bag of carrots. In front of the computer.

When I got there, my stomach was beginning to growl. I needed to get something in my tummy, but didn't want to head back home. I hate backtracking. I decided to head on over to the school cafeteria to see if they had anything vegetarian or healthy to eat. Well, as you can see I didn't find much.

1/2 of my Lunch was supposed to be at school today, but I forgot my lunch bag at home! At home I ate the small plate of spaghetti while getting ready to take off for school. I was all over the place maybe that's why I didn't remember that I had packed lunch! I figured it wouldn't be too bad because it was only a 3 hour class.

Breakfast, 03.20.08

2008-03-20T22:38:00.000-07:00

Nothing too special today. Just oatmeal and coffee. I feel that I should change up my breakfast a bit. I've been stuck in oatmeal coffee rut for a while now. It's just that Oatmeal is sooOooo gooooddd. How could anyone not want to eat it for breakfast everyday?

Dinner, 03.19.08

2008-03-19T20:30:00.000-07:00

...I get black bean burger episode # 3!

I added: red onions, mixed greens, ~ 1/2 an ounce of string cheese, thousand island dressing and mayo...

Here's the line up of black bean burger patties. Aren't they beautiful!?

I didn't measure because I'm still experimenting, but here are the things I did differently:
added more garlic & chili powder
+ 1 tsp or Sriracha hot sauce
+ tvp, H20, and some spices

Study Snack, 03.19.08

2008-03-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

1 hour before my exam.

Lunch, 03.19.08

2008-03-19T20:07:00.000-07:00

I didn't have anything particular in mind to eat for lunch today, so when I walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge door I took out a container of cottage cheese.

I haven't eaten cc in years! Honestly, I think that it's really weird eating curdled milk. I think I've only had it 2 times (this being the 2nd) in my life. I even found a website on ways to eat it!

Breakfast with powerpoints, 03.19.08

2008-03-19T19:57:00.000-07:00

Breakfast: small bowl of oatmeal + my fave bev. while studying.

NarcissisticTabby

2008-03-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

Here's a video of Mr. Leo that I just had to share!

My sis has weird cats!

Mush of Love, 03.17.08

2008-03-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

Black and Beautiful...

I don't think I have to explain to you what mush of love is.

I'm excited that it's Monday! This means that Hawaii is just 1 week away. I haven't even packed yet! My main focus has been to finish my school work before I leave so that I don't have to worry about it on the trip. So far I have gotten water shoes. That's it!

Green Beans, Dinner, 03.16.08

2008-03-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

For "dessert" I had home made potato chips

Stir fry green beans, broccoli, tomatoes, and garlic.

Left over Tom Yum Soup

Fruit, Snacks, 03.16.08

2008-03-17T08:22:00.000-07:00

Black Bean Burger, 03.16.08

2008-03-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

I finally made a Black Bean Burger! It wasn't as good at the one from Bongo Burger, but still very delicious and SATISFYING, especially after a 1 1/2 walk-run session. I also had a fruit shake (forgot to take it's picture!) made with o.j., strawberries, black cherries, and a little bit of the mango sorbet I made last week.

My brain feels overwhelmed. So much reading...

Burnt Waffle, Breakfast, 03.16.08

2008-03-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

Today's meals were more normal. Well, not really because I burnt the waffles. For some the heat on the waffle maker was too high. I ate only a little bit of it because it was a bit on the dry side. I munched more on the fresh fruit and drank my coffee.

Dinner, 03.15.08

2008-03-16T11:43:00.001-07:00

For dinner I made something that I made before from Capellini, sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, and "chicken". I subbed the chicken with meatless chicken strips, and added artichoke hearts. As you can see the toppings completely covered the pasta. lOl.

I was only allowed 1/3 cup of pasta (so little!) so I added a little more. I was left full and satisfied.

pasta: 2 svgs CHO
"chicken" strips: 2 svgs protein
sun-dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts: 1 svg non-starch vegetables

Pre-dinner snack, 03.15.08

2008-03-16T11:40:00.001-07:00

Planned snack:
Gala apple
cottage cheese

Again, I didn't have enough room to take in anymore food, so I just ate the apple with a little bit of Peanut butter. I thought twice about eating the cottage cheese (needed a protein source) because I already had a lot of dairy (cheese) from the pizza.

1 6 oz. granny smith apple: 1.5 svgs of CHO
1 T. of peanut butter: 1 serving of protein

Lunch, 03.15.08

2008-03-16T11:31:00.000-07:00

Today's Lunch plan was to have Kashi's Mediterranean Pizza and top it with extra veggies and meatless sausage balls. When I went to the store, they didn't have any on stock, so I grabbed Tony's cheese pizza instead and dressed it up. It actually came out pretty good. The plan was to eat 1/3 of it, but I had 1/2. Man was I full! It looked so good that I wasn't able to pass up.

Since I took more CHO than planned into my Total CHO intake for the day, I'd probably have high blood pressure after eating this meal, if I were a diabetic.

Pizza: 1.5 svgs of CHO, 3 svgs Fat
meatless sausage patty: 3 svgs protein
1 cup chopped veggies: 1 svg non-starchy vegetables

Snack, 03.15.08

2008-03-16T11:27:00.000-07:00

Mid-morning snack planned for today:
red grapes and string cheese (Long tried to sneak in the cheese).

I didn't have enough room to eat anything else after the grapes, so I passed up on the string cheese.

3 oz. grapes 1 serving of CHO

Breakfast, 03.15.08

2008-03-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

Morning all!! Well, today is going to be a bz day for me. I'll be doing A LOT of reading today--have an exam next Wednesday. As you all know my posting schedule is sporadic. Today is no different. I might have to post lunch and dinner late tonight or tmw morning.

So far I'm doing well on my second day eating as a diabetic person. It's actually not that different from my regular meals. I just have to pay attention to portion sizes, my Carbohydrates, Fats, and protein intakes. To me THAT is the most difficult.

This morning seems like a great start. I'm on track for the rest of the day.

Breakfast:
3/4 cup of Multi-Grain Cheerios ~ 1 serving of CHO
1 cup of Calcium fortified, plain, soy milk = 1 serving of CHO & 1 serving of Fat
1 cup of black coffee (Free Foods category)

For more info on my experiment on diabetes menu planning, refer to meals for 03.12.08

See you at dinner!

Here's a Good Laugh.

2008-03-14T21:31:00.001-07:00

He sits like this ALL THE TIME!! Really weird and sometimes really creepy. When you walk by him his head turns and everything else stays still!!

Here are a few pictures of my sister's cat, Leo. He weighs 14 lbs and is about 1.5 feet long.

Left Overs, 03.14.08

2008-03-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

Tonight's dinner is left over soup. Still really good the next day. Love the veggies.

Free Food, Snack (?) 03.14.08

2008-03-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

Long came home with 2 packages of left over lunches from work. It wasn't that bad, could have used some rice and vegetables though.

Lunches consisted of: corn potatoes, and some veggie patty.

Study snack 03.14.08

2008-03-14T21:11:00.000-07:00

I bought this sugar cookie from Bongo Burger last Tuesday. I have been saving it for the right time to eat it. It's amazing that even after so many days it was still soft. As you can see so soft that it fell to pieces.

Lunch, 03.14.08

2008-03-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

Maybe I should have waited until tmw to try the chickpea burger patty since I know exactly how much carbs are in it etc. Nah, this was a really good lunch. I down portioned it from the last time, with the addition of some spices (garlic powder, black pep.), and nutritional yeast. It was peeerfect! Highly satisfying. :-)

Breakfast, 03.14.08

2008-03-14T12:35:00.000-07:00

Breakfast: The usual stuff, a bowl of oatmeal, and a cup of coffee.

Tmw I'm starting on the second day eating as a diabetic. I might even do the first day over since it was such a MESS! I've re-planned the menu and Long is going to be doing it with me. Yay! It's also the weekend, so it'll be less hectic. I think I just chose the wrong day to experiment. Looking forward to it.

My Way, 03.13.08

2008-03-13T22:27:00.000-07:00

Click on the photos to get a close up. You'll see that the tamarind has not yet melted fully. Mmmmm....:-D

For tonight's dinner, I had Tom Yum Soup (with brown rice), another childhood fave. The basic ingredients of Tom Yum Soup are: Chili, Lemongrass, Galanga, Citrus leaves. You can buy it premade as a paste and dissolve it in your water (or veggie broth). Or you can buy all of the ingredients separately to make it from scratch. My dad always did the latter. I, on the other hand, did the former. If my dad saw me cooking this soup with the paste, he'd probably say, "Kids these days don't just don't know..." But......it was delicious nonetheless!!!! I actually thought it was savory and satisfying. The sour and tartness of the pineapples combined with juicy tomatoes, flaky "fish," tender carrots, sweet, melted tamarind, and crunchy water spinach produced the perfect soup.

SnackAthon, 03.13.08

2008-03-13T20:47:00.000-07:00

A snack for my brain.
dark chocolate, pecans, walnuts, dried cranberries.

Fruitlicious!

My daily dose of oatmeal. I couldn't wait until tmw morning to have it.

Snack, 03.13.08

2008-03-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

15 minutes later I started to get hungry again. I guess because I have been running around all morning (like a mad woman) and worked up an appetite without knowing it. I had a container of Lemon Soy Yogurt topped with granola & dried cranberries while driving.

While studying in the library at school, my stomach started to growl. I tried to ignore it, but the growling wouldn't stop. I needed to feed it something, so I took out a small bag of red bell peppers from my lunch bag.

Better the Next Day, Lunch 03.13.08

2008-03-13T16:56:00.000-07:00

I also had a small glass of orange juice to wash it all down.

For lunch I had left over Pad-Thai that Long set aside for me while he took the rest to a potluck. I don't know about you, but I prefer to eat Pad-Thai the day after it was cooked. The noodles aren't as mushy, the flavors are enhanced, and the noodles are not as hot. I'm a weirdo who sometimes likes her noodles cold.

Snack, 03.13.08

2008-03-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

After a couple of hours my body craved it's daily dose of Potassium.

Back to Normal, Breakfast, 03.13.08

2008-03-13T16:40:00.000-07:00

After eating a whole day on a Diabetic menu I was glad to be able to eat freely, as I normally do.

I decided on having cereal with coffee for breakfast as opposed to my favorite bowl of oatmeal because I'm actually still stuffed from yesterday.

This project is helping me to fully understand what a diabetic has to do to maintain his/her blood glucose levels. I had no idea how difficult it would be. EVERYTHING eaten for the day is restricted! Of course I still had a choice in choosing WHAT foods to eat.

After just the first day I now have a new found respect for those following this type of restrictive diet. Day 1 as a "Diabetic" done, 2 more days to go. Not today maybe something next week.

Awesome Dinner! 03.12.08

2008-03-12T21:36:00.001-07:00

Now here's something that I definitely don't do everyday--measure my portions! This meal actually went as planned! :D It was a well balanced and very satisfying meal. I wasn't too full or empty. Hey maybe I can plan a Diabetic menu after all.

1/4 cup of brown rice.
I had 1/2 cup of "Spinach and Garlic."
1 cup of "Green Beans & Tomatoes." For the protein I used MorningStar Farm's crumbles.
The names of these dishes basically tell you what's in it.

This meal fulfills:
1 serving of CHO (2 left for the day).
2 servings of Protein (2.5 left for the day).
1.5 servings of Non-Starchy vegetables.
2 servings of Fat (0 left for the day).

Snack, 03.12.08

2008-03-12T21:31:00.000-07:00

For my snack, I had green grapes. Initially I planned on eating 1 oz. of cheese, but didn't think it was a good idea after the egg episode. lol. I had this in class. Good thing I had it on hand because for some odd reason (after that humongous lunch) I was starving! I also brought along a cup of coffee to class with me. Really tired and needed the caffeine. I can't quit the crack! argh :E

This snack fulfills:
1 serving of CHO (2 servings left for the day)

Enormous Lunch! 03.12.08

2008-03-12T21:16:00.001-07:00

Here's what's left of my lunch. Although, I don't like to waste food, I have a hunch that Long will finish it off. He's my garbage disposal. ;-)

This Lunch fulfills:
2.5 servings of CHO (3 servings left for the day)
1 serving of Protein (4.5 servings left for the day)
1.5 servings of Fat (2 servings left for the day)

When I planned my menu for the day, I did not realize how much Carbohydrates I packed into today's lunch!! It made me so full!

I wanted to make Romina's Kidney Bean Patties, but didn't have any kidney beans!! I was so disappointed! Maybe next time I'll try it with kidney beans, I prefer it over Chickpeas (what I used today). Instead of using vital wheat gluten I added 1 cup of bread crumbs oh and 1 T. of Tahini. I didn't have any mayonnaise, so I used canola oil to pan fry the patty to fill my Fat requirement. It turned out really tasty. Bummer that I wasn't able to finish it all.

Snack, 03.12.08

2008-03-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

Mmmm strawberries. I won't protest to eating this! I wanted more, but I'm only allowed 1 and a quarter cup on the Exchange Lists. :-(
I also planned to have 1 boiled egg as my protein source, but I ended up eating only 1/2 of it (no pic). Whenever I eat eggs I normally have something else mixed in with it. Rarely do I ever eat it hard boiled just by itself. To tell you the truth I didn't like it. It sort of made me sick. I'm the same way with animal milk. I can "eat" when it's mixed in with something, but I can't drink it straight.

This snack fulfills:
1 serving of CHO: Fruits (5.5 servings left for the day).
0.50 serving of Protein (5.5 servings left for the day).

Menu Planning, Breakfast, 03.12.08

2008-03-12T09:58:00.001-07:00

This breakfast was a total of:
2.5 servings of CHO (6.5 servings left for the day)
1 serving of Protein (6 servings left for the day)
1.5 servings of Fat (3.5 servings left for the day)

For my Medical Nutrition class, I have an assignment where I plan a Diabetic Menu using the American Dietetic Association & the American Diabetic Association's (both ADA) Exchange Lists for Diabetes. Basically the objective of this assignment is to understand how a diabetic should/would eat to maintain his/her blood glucose levels. Now, I'm still in the learning process, so there may be mistakes (Please correct me if this happens).

What I am supposed to do:
-Plan a 3 day menu for myself based on my weight, height, age, and gender. I'll be using Choose Your Foods by both ADAs.
-For 3 days, not necessarily consecutive, I must eat based on that planned menu. If I'm not able to finish eating the foods or end up eating more, I'll note it on the side.

Sounds like an easy thing to do right? It might be easy for someone who has counted calories/servings. I hope this turns out well. Today is the first day that I plan on eating like a diabetic.

My calculations are based upon
1,400 calorie diet (sounds like a little, but believe me I do not eat MORE than this amount in one day)

I need to eat at/around the servings below
Servings of Carbohydrates,CHO: 9
1 serving of CHO ~15 grams
Servings of Protein: 7
1 serving of protein ~7 grams of protein
Servings of Fat: 5
1 serving of Fat ~5 grams

American Diabetes Association
American Dietetic Association

bad example,dessert 03.11.08

2008-03-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm a bad example of a person trying to eat healthy because I have had gelato 3 times this week. Yikes! That's a lot of fat and sugar. The tub is almost done, and I won't be making gelato for a while after this. The mango sorbet that I'm planning on make today is more for Long than me, so I don't think I will be indulging in that very much.

Worked up an appetite, Dinner, 03.11.08

2008-03-11T18:15:00.000-07:00

Anyway, After the hike we stopped by Bongo Burger. I ordered the Black Bean Burger. It was, by far, the BEST BURGER I've tasted in a long time. Even though, it had the simplest ingredients (tomatoes, lettuce, mayo, ketchup, on an onion bun), I enjoyed it extensively . The black bean patty. My gosh I can't even express to you how good this burger was. All I can say is that I will come here again and again and again.

I had a Gatorade during the end of the hike.

The hike went really well. The students seemed to really enjoy it almost as much as I did. It was sort of chilly up there today because the sun wasn't really out. The sky was more overcast, so at least it wasn't gloomy. Normally I would post some pictures, but I don't want to get into trouble or anything since these are kids etc.

Yay I have time to post lunch! Lunch, 03.11.08

2008-03-11T13:11:00.000-07:00

For emergency hunger strikes on the hike, I'm packing pecans, walnuts, and chocolate, and dried cranberries. There's a lot here. I doubt that anyone will get hungry enough to eat it (well, maybe me).

Since I'm going hiking today, I need some fat and carbs to hold me over. As a last minute fix, I had a bagel pb & j (strawberry & honey pb.)

Lunch today was a salad: mixed greens, cuke, red bell pep., I think there's a mushroom in there somewhere. I have to say this is one of the most refreshing meals I have had today! The salad was fresh and crisp that I didn't need to add dressing. Instead I drizzled a small amount of walnut oil on top. Very good, even Miss Dottie liked it (She started to lick my plate).

I forgot I had Nub Spicy Chai tea in the fridge. I think it's been in the back for about 1 month and 1/2. At first I wasn't going to drink it, but it didn't smell bad. It didn't look bad either. I know I could get sick this way, but I figured it's not alive, so I'm pretty safe. The worst that could happen to me would probably be diarrhea, stomach ache, or vomiting. eh.. been there done that. I wanted my Chai tea. We'll see if I get sick. LOL

Happy Tuesday! 03.11.08

2008-03-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

It's only Tuesday, but it feels like it should be Thursday (I wish). This daylight savings thing gets to me every time. I'm a habitual person and if something even the littlest, teeniest, tiniest thing gets altered, I get thrown off my course. It'll take me a week or two to get back to "real" life. However, I do like this time of year better than the winter season. It's not as dark in the morning and there's light out when I get out of class (best part).

Anywho, I am contemplating having a cup of coffee just to get me started on today's school work. I have to finish up some computer work, read (study for an upcoming exam), and get ready to take another hike at the Big C in Berkeley with Long's students. We're taking them on a little educational field trip and I'm the host. :-)

Looks like I won't see everyone until dinner time, as usual.

Meals for 03.10.08

2008-03-10T21:55:00.000-07:00

And dessert: thick, rich, and creamy white chocolate gelato. There's is still a bit left. Next on the frozen dessert list to make: mango sorbet!!

Here is the outcome. Doesn't that look good? I love how the tomatoes makes a nice thick juice that goes perfect with green beans and brown rice. :-)

1 medium steakhouse tomato.

This is a mixture of black beans and chilies.

I added some left over quail eggs from last night's yaw hawn.

about 3 cloves of garlic

I marinated the tofu in a mixture of light (2 t.) and dark soy sauce (1 t.)

For dinner, I didn't really have anything particular in mind. I knew that I wanted to use up left over veggies from last night before they go bad. I'll show you in a series of steps how I make stir-fry veggies.

A classmate gave a presentation and as a part of her presentation she made the class a sweet pastry, similar to foccacia, and mini tangerines. I ate 2 pieces of the pastry and 1 mini tangerine.

This is what I packed for lunch today. Good thing because I didn't get home until 7:45 pm.

Coffee for today--I really needed it. I'm starting to rethink this coffee thing. Walter C. Willett M.D, author of Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy seems to think that coffee in moderation is ok. Would drinking it once a day 5-6 times a week be considered moderate?

For breakfast, I had a wonderfully delicious bowl of oatmeal. It consisted of the usual ground flax, brown sugar, vanilla extract, bananas, almond butter and walnut.

Late night craving, 03.09.08

2008-03-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

Last night I wasn't able to sleep. I stayed up reading and had a bowl of cheerios, since there wasn't any candy, cookies, or cakes in the pantry. Maybe that's a good thing eh?

Yao-Hawn, Dinner 03.09.08

2008-03-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

And here is the photo of the hot pot with all of the wonderful veggies! I ate this dish with brown rice (no pic). Mmmmm can't wait for dessert I know it'll Something sweet :-)

For protein I used the "duck" from the other night, and pre-fried tofu and quail eggs.

Here is the basket of veggies that went into the hot pot.
Clockwise from the top: Ta Koung* (Khmer for Water Spinach), white button mushrooms, Sdet Kur* (Khmer for long green beans), red bell peppers, and zucchini.

*Ta Koung & Sdet Kur

So, for dinner tonight I thought I'd make something that I loved eating growing up, Yao Hawn (Khmer for a Hot Pot dish). This is the soup base that I used to cook the veggies, tofu, and eggs in. It has a nice flavor to it, but if you've never had it before you might not like it too much because it is basically fermented soybean curd made into a paste with chili sauce.

The hike really took a toll on my body. I was starving, maybe because I didn't eat lunch. Because of that we didn't hike as far as we wanted to. Next time we'll be back with food in our bellies.

Right when we got home, Long made us a fruit shake. It consisted of the usual pineapple, strawberry, & o.j. The perfect refreshment I needed.

Joaquin Miller Park, 03.09.08

2008-03-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

Me sitting at the Lookout Point

Redwoods

Here are a couple of photos from the hike today at Joaquin Miller Park.

Omelet, Breakfast, 03.09.08

2008-03-09T13:55:00.001-07:00

There were left over egg whites from the Gelato (which called only for egg yolks), and I don't like to throw away perfectly fine and edible food...so here's something that I don't do often--I made an omelet. Well, I planned on making an omelet. My skills at making eggs aren't terribly bad, but it isn't great either. I have my moments, as with everything else in life. LOL. To salvage my Omelet, I turned it into scrambled eggs instead.

The scrambled eggs consisted of:
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 of a yellow onion, chopped
green onions & cilantro, chopped
white button mushrooms, chopped
pinch of salt
1 t. of soy sauce
1 T. of soymilk
black pep.

By the way does anyone have any tips on making omelets?

Late night cravings, Dessert, 03.08.08

2008-03-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

And a small bowl of cherrios to end the night. More like to add some liquid in my belly to stop me from eating anything else.

2 mini scoops of this delicious frozen dessert.

I made the gelato 2 days ago (03.07.08), but the gelato wasn't ready to eat until today.

Last night I stayed up watching Road to Perdition with Tom Hanks and Judd Law. I watched it before, when it first came out, but forgot how it ended. It's a pretty good movie. I feel bad for the kid, Michael, though. He's had it pretty tough. Walking into the house to see his little bro & ma dead. Then seeing his father die right in front of him. I know it's just a movie, but I'm sure some kids have gone through something similar. At least it sort of ended with a happy ending. Michael didn't turn out to be a gangster and lived with farmers who needed a child.

I guess the sadness in the movie made me crave sweets. During the commercial breaks I got myself White chocolate Gelato, and a bowl of Multi-grain cherrios.

Burritos, Dinner, 03.08.08

2008-03-08T20:27:00.000-08:00

You can never go wrong with Burritos for dinner. Everything that went into here was homemade. Salsa, Refried blackbeans, and ground "turkey" mixture. I was in charge of making the salsa, so I'll put the recipe up. If you'd like the recipe for the rest of the toppings I'll have to get back to you later on that. But I don't mind giving it out.

For the salsa there were some missing ingredients, so I improvised by using other similar ingredients. I'll write down what I normally put in it.

Serves 2

1 medium steakhouse tomato, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 up of cilantro, chopped
1 to 2 T. of distilled vinegar
1/4 cup of pickled jalapeno
2 chili pep.
1 stalk of green onion
Juice of 1 lime

Just mix them all into a bowl and you have yourself a delicious and refreshing bowl of salsa.

For dessert tonight I think I'll have 2 scoops of ice cream, but I'll have to post that up tmw morning with breakfast. Lately I haven't been able to post my meals as I eat them. I have been pretty occupied. Oh, wait tmw I'll be going hiking again. Looking forward to that!! Alright I'll try to post breakfast before I leave. See you then.

Back Home, Snack, 03.08.08

2008-03-08T20:24:00.000-08:00

Here is the orange from earlier.

Once I got home I had a 1/2 a slice of an english muffin topped with raspberry jam. Honestly I could eat this everyday and not ever complain.

Lunch, 03.08.08

2008-03-08T20:12:00.000-08:00

These grease sesame seed cakes were the highlight of this meal. I ate one, gave one to my sis, and saved the last one for Long. I don't really know what the filling is, but it tasted like rice and some other stuff. haha, Sorry I don't know how to make Asian desserts.

and a vegetarian sandwich. I only ate 1/2.

I got myself a Thai iced tea.

Lunch was in pieces again today. The first part started off in the car with the usual salad with mixed greens, nuts, and raspberry vinaigrette dressing. The drive to Modesto wasn't so bad. At least I didn't have to drive. I'm teaching my brother to drive, so he drove the whole, hour an a 1/2, way. And once we got there we went straight to our favorite Vietnamese Sandwich shop, Ly Sai Gon Sandwich.

Cheerios, Breakfast, 03.08.08

2008-03-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

I also had a banana. The orange I didn't eat until later, you'll see.

For breakfast today I had the good ol' classic Multi-Grain (or as my sis calls it "Multi-racial) Cheerios. I love this stuff!

Pho, Dinner 03.07.08

2008-03-07T21:42:00.000-08:00

The main course was a bowl of Pho. Vegetarian of course. Actually, there are no animal products in here so it would, technically, be considered vegan. :-)

Veggie Pho consisted of:
Fresh rice noodles
mushrooms
onions
star anise
ginger
veggie broth
mushroom balls and fresh tofu slices
Toppings: basil, cilantro, thinly sliced onions, mung bean sprouts (I didn't have any tonight)

To make the broth I cook the mushrooms, and onions with a little bit of canola oil until it chars the bottom of the pot. When the bottom of the pot is almost completely covered, I add veggie broth. This process adds a lot of flavor. Then I let it simmer for about 5 - 10 minutes with the star anise, ginger, and mushroom balls. Tofu is added in the last 2 minutes.

When done add toppings and eat with hoisin, black pep, chili pep, and sriracha sauce.

Here is the cooked "duck." I just sliced it and placed it under the broiler for 4 minutes. 3 minutes on the first side, 1 minute on the other. They kind of look like french fries...

Cooking dinner in the kitchen, 03.07.08

2008-03-07T21:35:00.000-08:00

The manufacturers actually shaped it like half of a bird which I do not like so much because it makes it seem like vegans/vegetarians miss eating the meat of a bird. It doesn't taste anything remotely close to duck, so why make shape it like a bird? Beats me. I just like the chewy texture.

Long took a snap shot of me taking over with the cooking in the kitchen. At this moment I'm drying my hands to get ready to take a picture of the "Duck"

Chocolate, Snack 03.07.08

2008-03-07T19:55:00.000-08:00

I had a little bit of chocolate as a snack. I wasn't really hungry, but craved for something with caffeine, other than coffee.

So glad the weekend is finally here! Well, not really I have to get up early tmw to drive to Modesto. aya!

Lunch, 03.07.08

2008-03-07T19:52:00.000-08:00

Lunch today was a "turkey" sandwich with a cup of soy milk. I had a salad on the side also, but the sammy filled me up that passed up on it. For the sammy I used Yves "turkey" deli slices, veganaise, mustard seeds, dijon mustard, lettuce, 2 slices of a steak tomato, on whole grain bread.

Snack, 03.07.08

2008-03-07T19:43:00.000-08:00

I split 1/2 of this with my brother. He never eats anything but meat. I'm glad that I'm rubbing off on him. I even got him to eat meatless burger patties :-)!

I didn't have time to pack my lunch today. Luckily I make it mandatory for myself to carry an emergency snack in my purse. This isn't my favorite Kashi bar, I prefer Original, but it did it's work by giving me energy for the next 2 hours until I went home.

Cold Morning, Breakfast 03.07.08

2008-03-07T11:02:00.000-08:00

This morning was colder than usual. It's weird how the weather goes from Sunny to overcast in just one day. A hot cup of coffee would have been perfect to keep me warm...was just a thought. No coffee until Sunday/Monday for me. I'm being good and showing some self control for a change. haha. I had cold water with this breakfast instead.

Miss Dottie

2008-03-07T00:26:00.000-08:00

Laying on her back under the couch.

In the Kitchen eating her kitty grass.

Here she is taking up the whole entire couch.

This was when she used to sleep with me. Her head would rest on the pillow as she slept. Weird cat that thinks she's part human.

I found some old pictures of Miss Dottie that were really funny. Enjoy.

Dinner at Sabina's, 03.06.08

2008-03-06T19:46:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of a small little man that lives with me. He insisted that I put up this picture to show everyone how he looks like when I torture him. Puhahaha!

Chole Bathsura came with deep fried bread. There was naan also (not pictured)

Chunky, spicy, and savory....

Creamy, nutty, and sweet...

From left to right:
Rice, Navartan Korma, Chole Bathsura (incorrect spelling).

After leaving the Kaiser, Long and I got hungry and didn't feel like cooking. I played the they took my blood card. Well, Long didn't want to cook either so we just ate at Sabina's.

Here's a picture of me enjoying my large cup of Chai. Mmmmm....

I went to the Dr. today to do a few tests. One, of them included a blood test. Now, I don't think I ever had a blood test done on me before. I don't even know my blood type!

Caffeine, Lunch 03.06.08

2008-03-06T19:33:00.000-08:00

Here's my Melitta coffee maker. The best way to make coffee at home.

So, today I had another cup of coffee. It was planned for tmw, but I reasoned to myself that I would't have any coffee until Sunday or Monday. I don't have anything to do this weekend that requires concentration, like today. I needed something to help me focus because the topic was sort of boring

For lunch I had a refreshing salad:

Flattened chow-fun rice noodles cut up into small pieces
cucumber
green onion
cilantro
"fish" sauce
chili pepper sauce
A side of carrot sticks.

Breakfast, 03.06.08

2008-03-06T19:09:00.001-08:00

Later I made coconut jelly. This is the result when it finally cooled down. This is the piece I ate, along with 2 other ones about the same size.

A little while later, I had some fruits while reading.

I finally got Long to eat a bowl of oatmeal! Took a while, but finally. We have another thing to enjoy together.

My bowl had the usual: oats, brown sugar, ground flax, pecans, vanilla extract, and crunchy almond butter. Long had peanut butter, which put a smile on his face. :-)

I forgot that today was faculty development day at school, so I ended up doing reading, cleaning, and eating at home. No complaints here. I'd rather eat and clean at home anyway.

Green Beans & tomatoes! Dinner 03.05.08

2008-03-05T21:42:00.000-08:00

His specialty--fruit shake

Green beans, tomatoes, ground "turkey," with garlic.

Papaya Salad:
Papaya, chili pep., garlic, green beans, tomatoes.

I got home from class around 7:30 pm and Long cooked dinner tonight. It was nice because my dinner plans for the night didn't turn out. I wanted to make sweet soup along with coconut jelly. I wanted to show you guys two of my other childhood dishes. Hopefully I have time to go to the Asian market tmw.I just need to pick up a few ingredients.

Well, it's it's time for bed. Have to get up early tmw morning so I can head out to school. On that note, I might be posting breakfast and lunch at dinner time. Have a good night.

Spread out, Lunch 03.05.08

2008-03-05T21:23:00.000-08:00

The soy yogurt was saved for the class break (along with the rest of the salad). For some reason a few classmates were looking at me oddly while I was eating. Was it because I was soOo into my soy yogurt? (I might have made some "Mmm" noises).

I began eating the salad at 3:00, after finishing up 2 hours of computer work. I wanted some peace and quiet, so instead of eating in the cafeteria, I went to class early to eat the rest of my lunch. I didn't finish the salad until our break because one of my classmates came in early also and we just starting chatting away. LOL

When we finished driving around town, we went to Starbucks. I was good though. I didn't get any coffee, just Madeleines. I love how they are light and heavy at the same time.

Today's lunch was spread out in pieces today. First I had the apple and carrot sticks while running errands with my bro. Glad he was there to keep me company.

Apple
cut ups of 1 carrot
salad: mixed greens with Italian dressing and ground flax and pecans.
Soy yogurt with granola for the topping.

Sweet!, Breakfast 03.05.08

2008-03-05T10:04:00.001-08:00

For breakfast I had French Toast with carmelized bananas. It was Soo good. The toast was nicely crisp in all the right places. The bananas were sweet and hot...and the light drizzle of honey made me close my eyes. (haha, I really did!). I also added 2 pinches of cardamom to the batter because I heard it went well with coffee. They were right. I can't describe the taste of it because I can't compare it to anything else. The flavor complemented the coffee very well. I couldn't have been more satisfied.

Yay!! I get to drink coffee today!! I can't tell you guys how hard it was for me to not reach for a cup of coffee during the past 2 days. I'm so proud of myself because I have been struggling with quitting coffee ever since I was in high school. To have made it 2 days, that's a LONG TIME FOR ME, I feel really good about it.

Dessert, 03.05.08

2008-03-05T09:59:00.000-08:00

I had about 2 cups of strawberries last night. I didn't post it because Big Brother 9 was on and I wanted to see what happened. Initially I was gathering the ingredients to make a strawberry ice cream for Long by weighing out the strawberries on my food scale. They looked so good that I just had to eat them!

Left Overs, Dinner 03.04.08

2008-03-04T17:59:00.000-08:00

I got home around 5 pm after picking up Long from work. Right when I walked through the door I felt hungry. So odd because didn't I just eat 1 hour ago? I walked into the kitchen, but there were dishes piled up from yesterday and the fridge looked really messy, I gotta clean and organize that soon. So, out of my laziness today leftovers are it for tonight.

The bub-bah (rice porridge) was still really satisfying. It wasn't too heavy or too light. I also had a small side of veggies, and some chopstick-ful of the noodles (no pic).

I started to get a headache again. ah the withdrawal symptoms. I can't wait until tmw when I really get to enjoy my coffee. I didn't want to take any asprin. I try not to take pills unless I really need it. I decided on something else chocolate! there were 3 cookies left and I was on it like a fly on sh*t (ahem....got too excited). I had about 5 oz of soymilk to wash it down.

Well, if I don't eat anything else for the night, I'll see ya'll tmw.

Lunch, 03.04.08

2008-03-04T17:47:00.000-08:00

I packed lunch to go today. I needed something that didn't require any heating and was easy to eat while walking. I packed cut ups of 1 carrot, 1 orange, and a pb & j (ate the 1st half in the car on the way to campus).

I didn't get to this bag until I left campus at 4 pm. wasn't really hungry during those 4 hours on campus. The soy yogurt and 1/2 sammy did the trick. I'm just glad got a lot of work done. It was like a big load was lifted off my back. :-)

SCORE! Mid-morning snack, 03.04.08

2008-03-04T17:36:00.000-08:00

I almost forgot that I had soy yogurt. While rummaging ( I really do ) trying to find a snack to keep me and also to curb my craving for coffee. I was just about to give up until I looked underneath an assortment of veggies--score! There were 2 containers of soy yogurt left! One plain, and one raspberry. I chose the raspberry and topped it with ground flax, almonds, and pecans. Mmmm...I love raspberries.

03.04.08

2008-03-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

have a good morning everyone, I need to go catch Miss Dottie, she's eating plastic bags again.

The almond butter that I got was from Trader Joe's. At the shop that I normally go to, Farmer Joe's, it's $11.00 a can, but at TJs it was only $5.00!

For breakfast I'm having oatmeal with strawberries. I'm working on perfecting the right portion size for my oatmeal. I had to downsize Kath's recipe to 1/4 cup of oats, and 1/3 cups of water, 1/3 soymilk. Today, was the perfect size. I finished it without having leftovers.

ZombiLike, 03.04.08

2008-03-04T09:34:00.000-08:00

I was really exhausted last night that I didn't have the energy to post my dinner. Right after posting my lunch I went to bed. Okay well, recap of yesterday's meals:

When I got home I had left over noodles. How come everything tastes better the next day?
I had a few vegan cookies with soymilk.
And dinner wasn't really big. Just a bowl of rice porridge. Long was feeling sick and asked me to make him a bowl and I just decided to eat it also. Comfort food.

Rice porridge (The way I make it)
equal parts of water and veggie broth
~3 T. of white rice
~1 T. of canola oil
cilantro, lime (I squeeze & throw mine in), green and white onions, chili pep.

So Tired, 03.03.08

2008-03-03T20:51:00.000-08:00

Pear and kashi crackers.

I had an orange during our class break. I always get weird looks when I take photos of my food. lol.

Today I was sOooO exhausted! I wasn't able to do anything fully well today. I tried reading for a while, but kept dosing off. Then I tired exercising for a bit, but I was too weak to do any of the exercises. I was so so so SO close to making myself a nice cup of hot coffee.

Then I remembered what Long told me in the past, "If you're tired, just go to sleep."

This was a situation where I needed the rest because yesterday's activities were intense on my body. I went to the gym after dinner yesterday and did Pilates. To top it off I only had 4 hours of sleep last night. It's no wonder I couldn't function! My body needed big time rest. I took a nap for about 1 1/2 hours.

I'm keeping my activity level low today. And I am so glad that I didn't make myself a cup of coffee. Woo-hoo! Day 1 was a success.

1st day w/o Coffee, 03.03.08

2008-03-03T10:08:00.001-08:00

Oatmeal with ground flax, 1 small banana, brown sugar, pecans, and crunchy almond butter.

Strawberries. Yumo!

Thomas' Whole grain English muffin: left raspberry jam, right smart balance.

My first morning without coffee. So far, so good. No headache or dizziness yet. Although, I'm not looking forward to tmw. I think that it will be harder on me then.

Okay gtg do some reading, pilates, gym, then to class. I don't have my camera on me, using the camera on my phone for today. Sorry if the picture is a little off or blurry. Have a great MONday!

Cookies, 03.02.08

2008-03-03T09:54:00.000-08:00

Here's what they looked like when coming out of the oven. I put them in a little longer than suggested (hehe). I realize now that I shouldn't have done that because now that they're cool, they're a little dry. hahaha

These are Dreena's vegan cookies.

Veggie soup with herbs and veggie broth.

Here is my dinner plate: to the left napa cabbage cooked with just eggs (no oil). To the right, thin chow mein noodles, with onions, chinese broccoli, and tofu with a little bit of canola oil.

Hiking, 03.02.08

2008-03-02T17:14:00.000-08:00

Shortly after the shake, I had a small salad. Just what I needed :-) it's not even dinner time yet, and I've done so much! I love it when the sun is out during the weekends. There are unlimited possibilities.

Finally Home! I'm really exhausted and need some sugar. I had an orange while Long made us fruit shakes in the kitchen.

We then walked a little further to Emerypoint to see the glass road. Unfortunately the glass was taken out. You can still see some speck of glass in the dirt though. Too bad I bet it was a site to see.

At the Marina Bay. First we went to a kite park, but it's no fun if you don't have a kite, a kid, or a dog. We had books. After 30 minutes or so we ended up leaving because it got too cold.

But first we stopped by Arinell's to grab a slice of pizza. I had a cheese pizza with garlic and olives. The pizza was huge, bigger than my head, that I didn't finish it all.

Then we stopped by Half Price Books. I picked up Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy. Long picked up 7 sci-fi novels.

The path wasn't as rigorous as I thought. It was really short and only 1/2 of the trail was steep enough to enjoy. Looking across the Bay we decided to go to the Marina Bay.

Long and I at the beginning of our hike at the Big C at UC Berkeley.

Today is such a nice and sunny day that it would be a waste to stay inside. Perfect weather to go hiking! I had a small cup of o.j. while looking for a hiking spot in the Eastbay.

After savoring my last cup of coffee until Wednesday (yikes! I don't know if I can do this!), I had a whole grain waffle. I got the recipe from Food Network, but made some substitutions and serving changes. Here are they below. You can find the instructions at the website just click on the link.

Whole-Grain Waffle:
Serves 2

2/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. rolled oats
2 T. of firmly packed light brown sugar
1 T. of Wheat germ
2 T. of baking powder
1/2 t. cinnamon
scant pinch of salt
1 egg
3/4 c. of soymilk
2 T. unsalted trans-fat free margarine melted
2 T. of walnut oil

Coffee...,03.02.08

2008-03-02T10:56:00.000-08:00

I have known for some time now that I drink waAay too much coffee, so I decided that I will cut back on my coffee intake, starting tmw because I already had a cup this morning. This is my last cup of indulgence until Wednesday. I want to limit my intake to 2-3 times a week. It is going to be difficult because I'll be going through withdrawal symptoms =( Hopefully I will be able to manage. Quitting coffee is like quitting cigarettes for me lol it is an addiction.

03.01.08

2008-03-02T10:31:00.001-08:00

I stayed up pretty late last night and got hungry. I had the last of Kashi's oats and blueberry cereal.

I shared a 20 oz. bottle of Diet Dr. Pep. and a Hershey's chocolate bar with Long.

I had an orange while watching Donnie Darko. Weird movie.

Our first try at making Pad-see-eew. We found the recipe and instructions from ThaiTable.com. We didn't have any dark soy sauce, just regular, so ours didn't turn out exactly. Still very good though.

After coming back from walking the lake and to Trader Joe's, Long made us a fruit shake. I don't know exactly what he put him (would ask him but he's bz right now). I tasted strawberries, pineapple, and oj. Quite refreshing.

While we were walking, we shared a bag of chips. As I was reading, and eating, I didn't realize that lay's used Partially hydrogenated oils, makes sense since it is classified as "junk food."

I seem to be getting better at making Papaya salad. The next time that I make it I'll be sure to put up photos of how I do it. Definitely another childhood favorite, but without the fish sauce, and anchovies. :-)

I had a pear sometime during the day. Nicely ripe. They're so cute and the perfect size.

I made myself the oatmeal this AM. It's soOo good. I can't get enough of it. Now I'm contemplating what to do with my Kashi Oatmeal box. Kashi makes good oatmeal, but I think I like the way I make it better. :-P Plus, it's just cheaper to make it from scratch, anyway. I'm cheap (and broke), so if it saves money I'll most likely do it.

The Extra Day, 02.29.08

2008-02-29T21:26:00.000-08:00

this post is a boring one, I'm actually a little too tired. It's only 9:30 PM, but I think I might be going to bed early tonight.

finished the dinner off with a cup of green oolong tea.

Dinner: Sautéed Chinese broccoli and garlic. with a side dish of fresh tofu that was drizzled with sesame seed oil and black pep.

Papaya Salad. It was really spicy--just the way I like it!

Soy yogurt topped with pecans and flax and a cup of oj.

Lunch: salad (I only ate 1/2), Boca burger patty, with a side of raw carrots.

For my breakfast I had Oatmeal topped with pecans. I didn't eat the apple until a couple of hours later.

I had some Orange poppyseed muffins with my coffee this morning.

02.28.08

2008-02-28T23:48:00.000-08:00

Another free dinner! Long came home 2 hours later from work due to a faculty meeting and they served Thai and Chinese food there. He was sweet enough to bring me some. I'm not much of an eggplant person, or a Chinese food person, but I'm always grateful to have free food.

From what I tasted and saw, the dish contained: eggplant, onions, garlic, cilantro, tofu, sweet sauce, and I added 1 chili pep.

Here are my tiny soldiers.

After reading VeggieGirls' blog, I had an itch to start baking. I decided to make the only muffins that I know how to make vegan (I subbed the eggs with silken tofu). They're called Orange Poppyseed Muffins. I love making them and eating them. It's from one of my William and Sonoma baking books. The recipe called for orange zest (I added a little more) and freshly squeezed oranges. I used a spoon to eat the remaining pulp (above). Delicious. Long's co-workers will be happy tmw. :D

I first started to bake as a way to relax, but I have not been baking lately. This time it was nice to bake not because I needed to escape reality, but because I enjoyed it.

Dead batt, 02.28.08

2008-02-28T15:10:00.000-08:00

I got this recipe from Canela & Camino. It was super good! The only changes I made was adding more garlic and a few stalks of asparagus. I will definitely be making this again soon. The veggies are bright green and tasted amazing! I love blogs with recipes. It's so nice to experiment with new dishes, especially if I have never had it before.

Today was a weird day. It all started with the car battery in the Accord dying. Luckily I still had my Civic to give it a jump. I have been tryin’ to sell the Civic for about a year now, but was thankful that it hadn’t been sold just yet.

Right when I got back from droppin’ Long off at work, I had someone come over to look at the Civic. He drove it around and we talked for a bit, but I’m not sure if he’s really interested. It’s okay if he’s not because I have a few other buyers in line.

Then I headed on over to the job interview. Unfortunately, I decided to pass up on the job. It was waAay too far for me. If I was hired, I would have to drive for at least 30 minutes to get there, with traffic that translates into 1 hour or more. :x! In the past I would commute to work and to school from Oakland to San Francisco. There were times when I was stuck in crazy traffic for hours, so I’m not looking anytime soon to get back into that. Those times were one of the most torture some times of my life on the road.
I'm kind of disappointed though because I really wanted to work with a higher-up that genuinely cared for the field. Not saying that other DMs (Dietary Managers) don't care about their job. It's just that this particular DM made so much sense to me. Oh well, there'll be other jobs. It's the first one that I applied for, so it's expected that I wouldn't get it.

Drivin’ back I went to pick up my little bro, the family auto expert. We spent about an hour waiting for Kragen to charge the battery, but it turned out that it was completely dead and we had to buy another brand new one. $77.00 out the door.

It's so nice to be related to someone who knows a lot about cars. I never have to worry about auto plms, ‘cause I know I'm covered, besides my insurance. :)

I treated him to an iced coffee from a nearby cafe. I got an Iced White Mocha.

Breakfast, 02.28.08

2008-02-28T10:03:00.000-08:00

I have a job interview today at 1:00 pm. I'm a little nervous, but the person who interviewed me over the phone sounds like she's interested in hiring me. Hopefully. eeeEEeeek! ~~~~~crossing fingers~~~~~~

I made myself Oatmeal from scratch! The last time I made my oats from scratch, it wasn't so good--the oats were still hard. Then I saw Kath's video on how she made her oatmeal. I can't believe how simple it was to make.
Today's bowl was really really delicious! I'm so proud of myself. haha.

Breakfast was: 1 slice of toast topped with apricot and raspberry jam and black coffee. I drank very little of the coffee. For some reason I just wasn't feeling like drinking coffee. Maybe a good sign...?

02.27.08

2008-02-27T22:03:00.000-08:00

Okay time to get ready for bed. Really tired.

I drank only 1/2 of the soymilk.

When I got home from class tonight (~~745) I had a container of chili. I think it weighed about 10 ounces (?). Long brought it home from work. Whenever the students don't finish all of their food (free lunch program), the teachers take them home. I initially planned on making brussels sprouts with pecans ( I saw it on someone elses blog), but when there's free food.....oh, I'm always down for free food--especially free VEGETARIAN food.

The catering company advocates healthy eating, so I'm sure there's nothing too unhealthy (like trans fat etc). They also had a cute little sweet cornbread muffin that went GREAT with my chili. On the side I had a handful of dried mangoes. Mmm Mmm Full tummy for the night.

The salad is nothing special, just mixed greens with red onions, tiny amount of Asiago cheese, carrots, flax, walnuts, almonds. While making my weekly salad bin (I haven't been doing this lately), I packed 3 individual salad containers each with a bag full with 2 T. of dressing, and another with toppings (flax & nuts). I think I will be doing this more often. My mini containers have, except for a few, have lost their lids. Containers are useless w/o lids, plus it cuts down on the dishes. :)

For lunch today I had the left over fried rice that my brother-in-law made last weekend. I had it cold with 1 mini bagel topped with raspberry jam. I only have 1 left in the fridge. The morning my bro came over to have breakfast with me, he almost ate the ENTIRE bag! LOL. It was so funny because it was almost like he just popped them into his mouth one after another. Lunch was done in intervals. I needed to let my tummy settle a bit before I took on the salad, so I read for about an hour then ate my salad.

Humpday, 02.27.08

2008-02-27T10:29:00.000-08:00

Alright now to reading and then Pilates. Yay!

This coffee this morning was something different. The other day when I went to buy groceries I picked up this bag of coffee beans. I wanted to try something a little different and the price wasn't too bad either $6.49 for 1 lb of whole beans. Although, it doesn't beat Cafe Bello's beans. Hi Jane! Freshness makes a HUGE difference! Whenever you're in San Francisco, this is the place you have to stop by 'cause they are one of the rare places here that roast their own beans, and do latte art.

What I had at home: coffee, Kashi's h2h Oat Flakes & Wild Blueberry Clusters with 1 small banana, sprinkled with grape nuts, and ground flax. I love Kashi. Their mentality on food and health is going to do so well for the public.

I'm having some yogurt topped with cranberry granola on the ride to dropping Long off at work. I'm having this now because I'll be having a later breakfast than usual this morning. I have to take my brother to his job training program right after.

Go Warriors! 02.26.08

2008-02-26T23:39:00.000-08:00

I got this recipe from Prevention Magazine. I omitted the chicken, of course, and I didn't have any pine nuts on hand, so none of that either. For my protein source I used mock chicken. I don't have a picture of it in the package, but I will make a note to myself to take one next time. I also used some more chili pep. and 1 more garlic clove than they asked for and I added some red onions.
End product: ta-daaaa! Turned out to be one of the best, and I really do mean best, pasta dishes I have had in a while. There was very little oil, the sun-dried tomatoes and red onion added a nice sweetness to it. The best part is that: it was so easy & fast to make.

We split an unsalted pretzel and 1 bottle of dr. pep.

We left 2 minutes early to beat traffic. At that time they were up by 13 points, probably didn't change much the rest of the game. Another victory.

My hubby and I have a date tonight to go to the Warriors game. One of his bosses gave him season tickets; the closest we have EVER been. I actually was able to see the players faces and keep up with the ball. haha. Before we left I had Yogurt with cranberry granola cereal on top. Really good, but I think I'll stick to soy yogurt for now.

Pinini Ingredients.

2008-02-26T23:36:00.000-08:00

I was so excited about letting everyone know that I made Panini that I forgot to let you in on what was inside! Okay so the bread is Ciabatta, the insides are: shredded asiago cheese, baby spinach, basil, and zucchini. Really yummy. I'll definitely make this again sometime soon.

PaninO, 02.26.08

2008-02-26T15:42:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to make Panini for the longest time! I saw it on Everyday Italian a while ago and thought that I just had to try it! I finally had a chance today. Although I do wish I had baked the bread myself. It cost me $3.49 for a small tiny teeny weeny loaf. I didn't have a panini press, just a cast iron skillet, so I used a plate, and my "Pilated-out" abs to do the pressing. It worked!! Yay! Here's my panino. The other went to Long.

I invited my brother over for breakfast this morning. We made him eggs, and homemade hash browns and I made him my world (I wish) famous coffee. It was nice to finally have company in the morning. Long is always away at work in the morning and we both don't wake up early enough to have breakfast together.
Today I need to head out to San Francisco to get some cat food. Good thing my little bro is here to keep me company for the ride too! :) Right before we left, I had a salad for lunch. This is the first part of my lunch. (Too big of a meal to eat in one sitting for me). I had the salad dressing on the side, but didn't even touch it! The salad was so good just the way it was that there was no need for dressing. While making it I drizzled a little walnut oil on top. SooOoo good. The rest of the fixins were: grapes (green & red), romaine hearts, mixed greens, baby spinach, almond slices, crumbled walnuts and the last two grape tomatoes, along with a tangerine.

While we were there in S.F. we met up with my sister and I split 1/2 a Kashi almond flax granola bar with her. I didn't have my camera on me, so no pic. Just click on the link.