Some Successes and Some Burnt Sweet Potatoes

After spending most of last summer and the beginning of our dating relationship at different restaurant tables, My Man and I decided to do a lot more cooking and meal planning as we got settled into ourselves.

I'm lucky that he's so supportive of my efforts with this Nutrient Dense Challenge.  He even reminded me earlier today that I had already been moving to eat this way, but that I just didn't have the guidelines.  But it's great that he's been so helpful about shopping, meal planning, and even putting up with what I'm sure will be multiple cranky sessions.

Today, I decided to make some sweet potato chip treats for the both of us.  After doing a bit of searching around, I found several recipes that I wanted to try: a great all-around simple Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) and Sea Salt style, a cinnamon style, and a chili lime style.  My only concern with all the different recipes was that none of them seemed to have the same oven temperature or time in the oven.  Well, I figured that if I wanted them to be more crispy, that I should leave it in the oven for the longer range. 

I was wrong.

Chili Lime, Cinnamon, EVOO and Sea Salt
A little delicious, a little burnt...

Some came out not crispy at all, some had great crisp but were a little more burnt tasting, and some were straight out burnt.

I'm honestly bummed about it.  But, at least I know that the seasoning choices I made were quite tasty.

With My Man's help, we made a delicious Cottage Pie.  This was the first time I've ever eaten so much cauliflower.  After this meal, I was pretty convinced that the cauliflower was mashed potato, and I'm certain I'll enjoy it as  rice substitute.  The recipe was a combination of the Shepherd's Pie recipes in the Well-Fed cookbook and Elana's Pantry.

Cottage Pie with It Starts With Food, Well-Fed Mashed Cauliflower
recipe, and bacon on the Griddler while Cauliflower cooks.

I don't think I've ever had Shepherd's Pie or Cottage Pie before in my life.  This recipe took much longer than we anticipated.  There are multiple steps that need to be prepped before putting it all together.  It definitely help to have two of us.

Day 2 on the Nutrient Dense Challenge has reminded me to be okay with making mistakes and that I don't have to do it alone.

Going Nutrient Dense-Whole30-Paleo

I had been thinking of going to see a nutritionist.  At this point, working out, while not easy, was something I knew I could do consistently.  But the ingesting was something I found more difficult than waking up early to go to the gym.

Enter MindBodyHealth.  In partnership with my bootcamp, they brought in this Nutrient Dense Challenge.  We would be changing the way we eat, with a focus on eating real and healthy food as opposed to the overly sweetened, salted, chemically-altered foods.

I had already started focusing more on eating more vegetables, more fruits, less of the processed stuff.  But my downfall is ultimately sweets.  Give me a piece of chocolate to satisfy my craving any day.  Any. Day.

So, when I saw the list of foods to enjoy vs. foods to avoid, I decided I would take up this challenge.

I can get behind all the foods in the "Yes" category.  The idea, really, is to eat real food.  It's based on what is now known as the Paleo diet, called so because it's going back to the basics.  But it's refined by the folks at Whole9.com who focus more on the science and not evolutionary theory.  I bought their book, It Starts With Food, and I can honestly say I'm getting behind the stuff they're talking about.

I'm still in the first chapters of the book, but I'm feeling really committed to what they're throwing my way.

So let me address all the thoughts I had about the "No" items.

Not eating dairy is fine for the most part.  I only really crave ice cream and cheese when it's in the house and I know it's in the house.  But I also know that if I eat too much of it I get a little gassy, and that's not good for anyone involved.

Not eating soy/tofu?  Well, I've been living off soy milk for a while now.  I tried almond milk and I definitely disliked it.  I've decided to give coconut milk a try.  I like it so far, but I have to be careful about any added sweeteners.  Now, there's also soy sauce.  How am I supposed to make chicken adobo???  After a Google search, I found Coconut Aminos (which I bought at Whole Foods), and I'm more than willing to try to make chicken adobo with this.

No beans of legumes might be a bit difficult, but I don't have too much of an issue staying away from beans.  Of course, I'm kind of wondering where the plant protein will come from in this diet, but I'm assuming that the answer is "another vegetable."

No grains means no bread, no rice, no quinoa.  That also means no pancakes, no pastries, no English muffin with my bacon egg and cheese (not that I get that too often).  But wait, I thought, how do they make those vegan pancakes at the All Night Costume Dance Party every year?  I knew there had to be a way!  So, for rice I will take some cauliflower and stick it in a food processor.  For pancakes, the base will be bananas.  For pastries, there's almond and coconut flour.  Thank you, Google and the multitude of resources out there!

No alcohol will be tough on tough days.  But I can get behind that easily.  I will miss wine a bit, though.

No processed foods of any kind include no artificial sweeteners.  That means no sweets, no candies, no sweetened chocolates.  This one is probably going to be the most difficult next to no grains.  I got me a major sweet tooth.  But, I do know that I can have unsweetened chocolate, which Trader Joe's has.  Basically, anything that has a long ingredients list that includes more real food is on the No list.

For the next month, I will try to be as hardcore as possible on this new meal plan.  I refuse to call it a diet, because my main focus will not just to eat less - but eat less bad stuff.  I decided to go for the group challenge in addition to some individual coaching, for the times when it feels tough or for when I have questions.  I will be relearning how to eat, and how to make better choices.

In the second month, we get to reintroduce the different categories of foods one by one.  This way, I get to see what food groups my body doesn't like or doesn't react well with.  I already know that dairy and beans make me gassy  I already know that all that processed sugar makes me extremely tired.  So, if I know these things, it's time for me to follow through.

This challenge is going to be hard.  There will be times when I might inconvenience others, and there will be a lot of work in terms of planning meals, snacks, and eating out.  But I want to change my eating habits.  I want my body to change.  And as many a wise person has said:

I'm ready, and I know I have the love and support of those around me.  Let's do this.

California Christmas and Babies Galore

It had been a long time since I had been to Los Angeles, though I'm glad I at least got to see California in April.  But since I didn't get to spend Christmas with my family last year, I needed to see them this year.

Truth be told, this whole holiday season just crept up on me.  For the first time in a long time, I wasn't prepared with presents for all my friends and co-workers, and it was just really hard to get into the holiday spirit in general.

Regardless, it was awesome to be home.

Except that everyone is constantly asking me when I plan to move back.  It makes me sad to not have an answer, because I really want to have one that will satisfy them all.  But for now I'm on the East, and I'll still be bicoastal.

Christmas Deliciousness

My mom decorating the little tree with ginormous ornaments

We spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day up in the Bay Area with my sister, since she had to work that weekend.  My brother was in the Philippines with his girlfriend, so it still felt like an incomplete Christmas. 

But we did have our two doggies with us, since they're both a hassle to dog sit.  They're also a hassle to have in a car.

Charlie trying to be a lap dog.

Other than spending time with my family, one big draw for going home is to have some home-cooked Filipino food.  My mom cooked pancit, lumpia, and mechado over the weekend.  I was an extremely happy camper.

serious food coma for like 24 hours...

On Christmas Day, I visited a childhood friend and her 2 adorable babies.  It was great to see them, and to interact with her younger child who I had only seen as an infant.  It was amazing to see them both talking away and interacting with me like they've known me all this time.  Truth be told, these 2 kids would be a huge reason for me to move back.  I've always hated the idea that one of my best friend's kids wouldn't know me.  So it was comforting to know that they were so comfortable around me from the get-go.

Oh, she also fed me some delicious Columbian food.  I ate my way through Christmas.  It was fantastic.

Disneyland and California Adventure
How could I go to California and NOT visit a Disney park?  Seriously.

Occupy Disneyland

It was great to hang out with friends I haven't seen in too long a time as well as meet some new awesome people.

Unfortunately, it was CRAZY BUSY!!! I mean, it was packed.  I should have known better, I suppose, to have chosen a day between Christmas and New Years.  But, we still managed to hit up all the awesome rides, including Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, and the Hollywood Tower of Terror.

BEST RIDE EVER
so simple...yet the laughing and screaming are so fun!

And I got to feast on some delicious Mickey Mouse Pancake action.

I'm pretty sure it's more delicious because it's so happy.

It was definitely a highlight to finally ride the new Little Mermaid ride, though I'm personally of the belief that the ride could have been an awesome water ride.

*squee!*

 Then!!! I got to meet Ariel!!

She asked me about my outfit (which was clearly
all Little Mermaid-ed out). We chatted a bit about fashion,
as two mermaids would.

Gotta love that Princess pose...

How funny is it that the two celebrities I geek out about are redheads?  Those Gingers are awesome, what can I say?

It was such a great day, even if my poor legs were exhausted and tense for the next 2 days.  Good times all around.

Babies!
So, I had already talked about one of my best friend's babies and how awesome they are.  But I also got to meet two other friends' little ones for the first time.  One of them was about 2 months old, and the second one was about 14 months.

It was funny to me that this trip to California was like a baby tour.  But I'm so very proud of my friends who are raising mini-humans.  All their babies are beautiful, and I'm excited to see what their personalities will be like as they grow up and experience life.

*****

Leaving California is always hard.  Leaving the warmth and the love from my friends and family there is hard.  But I guess I'm just not ready to leave the adventure of the cold cold of New England.  Nor am I ready to say goodbye to my friends and adoptive family here.

Til next time, California.

10 Day YOU Challenge - 5 Foods

5 foods:

1.  Sinigang

2.  Butternut Squash Ravioli from Giacomo's in Boston

3.  Sushi

4.  Cakes (I mean..any kind of cake...including the flan and cup variety...but obviously Ube and Tres Leches are the tops)

5.  Brunch (I know this isn't an actual food item...but anything and everything brunch fits in this category)

10 Day YOU Challenge - 9 Loves

9 loves:

1.  My Kitties

Yoni

Mencken

 2. My Family

3.  My Friends on Both Coasts

map of friends listed on Facebook

4.  My Zune and Music Collection

I've been listening to a lot of Tori lately due to her new album

5.  Dancing

Taken by Nina at Katia's Retreat

6. Food!

mmm..mickey mouse ice cream bar...

 7.  The Ocean and Beach

From Nahant Beach

 8. The Color Green in Every Shade

9.  What else but Mermaids!

my mermaid scarf

 

Weaning Off the Lent Challenge 2011

Remember when the boyfriend accidentally got vegetarian burgers with cheese in them?  Well, when I ate the rest of the package (there were 4 patties in the box), I would always notice that my tummy would be grumbly immediately after.

Honestly, it made me really nervous.  Did I suddenly build up a sensitivity to cheese???

I mean, I know that the overly-processed milk and dairy products don't usually sit well in my stomach.  But the times I've had raw milk (mmmmm....raw milk...), I've never had any problems. 

I do remember having some stomach pains after feasting on cheese during my friend's party, and then while I was in New York.  But I don't know if it was because of the cheese or if it was the fact that we had eaten so much that day.

I love cheese.

Well..not creepily, like this...
But I do love cheese.

My sister has some weird allergic reaction to cheese, though dairy doesn't cause her any issues as far as I know.  I always thought it would be the saddest thing (well, okay, ONE of the saddest things) to not be able to have cheese.

So, in an effort to make my upcoming birthday more pleasurable (in a week!), and knowing that I'll be flying to California, I've decided I need to wean myself off this pescatarian/vegan diet.

I leave for California on the 20th, and I'm planning to hit up In N Out to celebrate the end of my diet.  I know that's completely counter-intuitive, and will probably be detrimental to my actual weight loss.  But I promise I won't go overboard on any other day except for my birthday.  All bets are off on my birthday.

So, in the next couple of days, I'm going to start reintroducing small bits of cheese, yogurt, and eggs into my diet.

If I'm out and about, and there are no vegan options, then I will go for something vegetarian or even something that might have the smallest amount of meat.  If I eat meat, I will start with chicken, but I will still have more veggies on my plate.

I refuse to have any sensitivity to cheese.  I absolutely refuse.

I know that it hasn't been the whole 40 days (though really, Lent is longer than 40 days).  In fact, today is the 36th day.  By the time the 40th day arrives (the 19th), my stomach will be prepared to have meat in my body once again. 

But if I had to choose weaning myself off this or suddenly reintroducing foods and making my body go into some weird angry shock, I think I'll choose the former.

Eating on a Budget

The most interesting thing about being poor and on unemployment is what types of meals are made.

Breakfast has been the most difficult meal for me to deal with/adjust to.  In the past 2 weeks, we've not had milk and we've been trying not to use up all the soy milk.  We haven't had coffee, but we're finally able to use all the varieties of tea that we have.  Luckily, I've had some evaporated milk and condensed milk that I've used in making desserts, so we've been using that as substitute milk in our tea.

In the past several weeks, I've renewed my love for peanut butter by having apple slices with peanut butter for breakfast.  It's really quite a healthy breakfast when you think about it.  But it was difficult to know that part of the reason we had to eat them was because we really had nothing else.

The upside is that we're finally able to slowly work on emptying our fridge.  When we make trips to Trader Joe's and Costco, our "pantry" and our fridge get too full, and we start losing track of all our food items.

Though I can't say we've been starving, it's been an interesting part of the unemployment experience.

This week, we finally went to Trader Joe's and Costco.  Never has coffee tasted so good.

"Eng eng eng...pot pot pot..."

"...Chaporado malapot." 
(malapot: thick)

That was the little rhyme my grandmother used to sing about this delicious weekend treat.  Once in a while, we would be lucky enough to have some for breakfast in the morning.

Champorado, not to be confused with though very similar to the Mexican champurrado, is basically a chocolate rice porridge.  I would personally like to argue that it's better than oatmeal - I mean, chocolate for breakfast???  Heck ya!

Though I didn't eat this all the time, it definitely explains why I'm not remotely close to my "normal" weight.  But, this dish is a staple in Filipino households.

There were some mornings that my siblings and I would specifically request this for breakfast.  Did I mention that my Lola lived with us?

Day 2 in the world!

I've lived with my Lola for most of my life.  I'm #26 out of 34 grandchildren.  My mother was her 9th child out of 12.

For a couple of years, I believe (relatives, feel free to correct me!), my Lola and Lolo joined three of their daughters living in Chicago, but soon moved back to the Philippines.  In 1990, after my Lolo's death in 1989, my Lola moved to Los Angeles into our tiny house.

House on N. Berendo St. (it used to just be a white house, but my aunt schnazzed it up!)

She specifically asked to live with my mother and our family, though she was asked to move to Los Angeles to help care for one of my younger cousins.  I've always wondered why she chose to live with us all these times.  Though, and maybe I'm biased here, in the end, my mom (with my dad at her side) was perhaps one of the ones who were better equipped to handle all the logistics of her death.

Regardless, my Lola managed to pass along a healthy appetite to all of us, in the Philippines, in Chicago, in Florida, in Los Angeles, and in other international locales.

Now, traditionally, champorado could be accompanied with a salty treat.  My sister favors salami, microwaved just a little bit.  Hardcore Filipinos favors tuyo (salty dried fish).  I personally am a happy camper with a nice warm bowl all on its own.

Salami?  Tuyo?  Or just Champorado on its own?

Champorado

Ingredients:
1 cup sweet rice or brown rice
water, about 5 cups, more or less
¾ cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips, or half the amount of each

milk or soy milk
sugar (optional)

Directions:
Cook rice in 2 cups water. Stir once in a while so the rice does not stick at the bottom of the pan. When rice starts to absorb the water and the consistency becomes too thick add more water, slowly, ½ cup at a time. Repeat adding water for desired consistency. When the rice starts to pop, add chocolate chips and mix until chocolate melts.

Serve warm with milk or soy milk to desired amount. Add sugar if desired.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1/8 medium pot

Amount per Serving
Calories 204 (not counting milk or soy milk)
Calories from Fat 83.9