Miracle Noodles... Get in Me BELLY!

When my mother-in-law was visiting us a few months ago, we got some chap chae - Korean glass noodles that are delicious.  What we didn't know was the noodles needed to be warmed up before they got the soft texture we had consumed so many times at Korean restaurants.

While my mother-in-law was searching online for a remedy for our lifeless noodles, she came across these "miracle noodles" which I cannot WAIT to purchase and try!  They are a bit pricey, so it will have to wait.. but can you believe it?  NO CALORIES!  Like eating air!  Learn more here!

Update: For those unwilling to shell the cash on these miracle babies, just try spaghetti squash!  You can cook it in the oven on a bed of water until it's soft (I usually cut it in half and then turn it upside down on a sheet and cook for about 350 degrees for 20-45 minutes).  Then, you just scrape off the squash and it turns spaghetti ish and is a great substitute for noodles!

You can mix in... cooked onions (1/2 chopped and cooked until translucent or about 3 minutes, some feta (1 cup), a 16 oz can of diced tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper.  We all love it!!

Chinese Oval Flat Noodles

I'm cooking a lot more Chinese lately.  Here's my latest from scratch creation, done without a recipe!  No filter on this photo either... it really is that greasy hahaha.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground beef, pork, turkey or chicken
2 bunches of baby bok choy, rinsed and separated
1 package of flat Shanghai rice noodles (just place them in boiling water for a bit to soften them, no need to cook 'em for too long thereafter)
1/2 cup light soy sauce
1/3 cup sesame oil
1 T corn starch
1 tsp pepper
1-2 garlic cloves, diced
1/4 cup black bean paste

Directions:
In a bowl, mix ground meat with soy sauce, sesame oil, corn starch, garlic, and pepper.  Mix around.  In a medium saucepan, cook meat on medium until meat is browned.  Remove and cook bok choy in the leftover oil.  Add in the softened noodles, black bean paste, and cooked meat already put to the side.  Cook together for a bit... and done!

My Favorite Pizza Crust

I love California Pizza Kitchen.  In fact, it's probably one of my FAVORITE restaurants.  Despite eating it ALL THE TIME during my former life as an auditor every busy season (only open restaurant to order from when we were working overtime on the weekends in downtown LA), I could do it everyday.  In fact, one job in Pasadena consisted of a team who had the same love of CPK and I think at one point, we had it everyday for four consecutive days.  There's so much variety in the menu, healthy and not so healthy, that we couldn't resist!

So here's an ode to CPK through my favorite pizza crust recipe, taken from the Pioneer Woman, who I adore but when I need to make my favorite pizza dough - waiting for all her photos to load and scroll down becomes a nightmare.

So here it is (mainly for me) but maybe for you too!

Ingredients:
1 tsp yeast (the kind you make poofy with water)
1-1/2 cup warm water
4 cups flour
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 or 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil - depending on how I feel, or how much I feel is necessary.

Directions:
I sprinkle the 1 tsp of yeast over the 1-1/2 warm water and let it stand for about 10 minutes.

Combine 4 cps of flour with 1 tsp of Kosher salt (trick to sift it in is using a mixer by hand).  With an electric mixer (because it's easier), drizzle in the 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil until it's all combined... now add in the proofed yeast and continue mixing until your dough gets caught up in the mixture because it's so sticky.

Coat a separate mixing bowl (when I'm lazy, I use the same one.. it's no biggie) with a bit of EVOO and roll the dough into a ball and cover it with a towel and set aside for 1-2 hours to let it rise.

I normally put the dough away in the fridge, taking it out an hour before I want to use it to let it rise again.  Pizza dough tastes best when it's done beforehand - 24 hours up to 3 days.  

I cook it at 375 degrees with my awesome pizza pan (with holes underneath to let the heat get through and helps to make the dough crunchy) for about 10 minutes.  You can also just see when the dough is starting to brown on the sides and the toppings are melting.  

Crock Pot Nacho Chicken

What do you call chicken that's not yours?  NACHO CHICKEN!!!  Never gets old.

I love cooking with the crock pot and frozen chicken breasts for days when I know I won't get home until later.  Here's a quick easy and delicious nacho chicken recipe.  I put it over a bed of romaine lettuce and a few crushed chips for a salad (there's enough juice that you won't need additional dressing) with some Mexican cheese sprinkled on top and for my husband, I put a bed of chips, topped it with the cheese and then drizzled the chicken all over it.  Muy bueno!


Ingredients:
4 frozen chicken breasts
1 8oz can of whole kernal corn - drained
1 8oz can of black beans - drained and rinsed
16 oz pico de gallo - I used the huge Costco can we got for Superbowl that of course, did not get finished.. this recipe brought me close, may have to use it everytime we buy that huge thing of salsa!
1 tsp chipotle powder
4 oz of light cream cheese (or half of a normal package size)

Directions:
Put the chicken, corn, black beans, and salsa into the crock pot and cook for 4-5 hours on low.  Shred the chicken, add the cream cheese, and let it sit on warm for another 30 minutes.  To eat, top with shredded cheese and put it over a bed of lettuce or a plate of chips.  Easy peasy!!

I didn't take a photo but will add one when I make this again.  It's a repeater!

Easy Granola Recipe

I made granola on Monday from my friend Lorraine's recipe.  I tweaked it a bit.. so here it is...

Mix it with some low-fat Danon vanilla yogurt, sliced strawberries and berries and BOOM - easy healthy breakfast as evidenced by my hubs:

Ingredients:
4 cups oatmeal

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup honey or maple syrup

½ tsp vanilla extract3/4 cups unshelled sunflower seeds (raw or cooked)

1/3 cup sesame seeds (I used toasted)

½ cup sliced almonds

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place oatmeal in large bowl.  In medium saucepan, heat oil, brown sugar, and add honey over medium heat, until thin, about 5 min.  Remove from heat.  Add vanilla and salt.  Pour over oatmeal, add sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and almonds and toss to combine.  Spread evenly on 2 baking sheets and bake 15 minutes, stirring every five minutes.  If you want it a bit toastier, cook it a few minutes longer.  I did one at 15 and one at 20... and I kind of like the 20 better.  Makes 6 cups.

Warning:  Due to the content of nuts in your granola, eating it in large quantities (think larger than a handful) is very high in protein but calories as well.

Mommy Muffin Top Destruction Begins

I knew boob feeding meant an extra 500 calories.  I ate well, exercised mildly (if that), and quickly lost all my baby weight.  I was left with some jiggle, but it wasn't too bad... easily hidden with clothes not too tight on the waist, flattering dark shades, and jewelry.  And then at 9 months, we began to ween my son.

I went from around 7 feeding a day to 5 and then to 3 and finally I'm at 2.

And I continued to eat roughly the same (I won't lie, I had some moments with Chinese New Year and then Superbowl Sunday!) and my work outs were likewise.

And then....

Out of nowhere, I gained five pounds (two of it might of been gone after I pooped).

Worse than that... the jiggle has magnified into a very noticeable mommy muffin top.

And so it begins today.  I will annihilate you mommy muffin top.  Say good bye to your days on my hip.

DAY ONE 


Thursday - I went to a latin aerobic class today that was boring.  My mom made me go, I talked with all her friends, noticed I was the youngest girl there by about ten years, and tried my best to remember how to move my hips from my ballroom days (about ten years ago in college).  My left ankle started to throb.  I continued.  I sweated a tiny bit.  I hope all that hip twisting did a number on my muffin top.  Cha-Cha, Samba, Rumba, and even about one minute of Jive.

I think I'll put on Smash and Switched at Birth while doing some bicycles and toe taps.  And yes, I'll post a before and after photo - I'm just too embarrassed to post a before one now.  To be continued...

Cooking Rice with a Tatung

I know of no other rice cookers.  My entire life.. I have only seen this one.

Tatung!

Too bad I never helped my mom make rice.

1 person = 1 cup of rice, 1 cup of water in the container... 1/2 cup of water outside the container in the base of the cooker.

So math geniuses... if I want to make 4 cups of rice for 4 people... that's 4 cups of rice and water with 2 cups of water on the outside.  DUH!

Orange Chicken in a Crockpot with Snow Peas

I love me some orange chicken, but the breading ... is it really necessary?  I decided to find out.  And of course, use the crock pot since it was for Sunday dinner and the less involved I have to be... the bette!


Orange Chicken:
4 chicken breasts - cut into cubes, with 2 breaded in flour, 2 not breaded.


Sauce Mixture
3 T kethcup
4 T brown sugar
1 T apple cider vinegar
4-6 oz of orange concentrate (a can is about 8oz, so I did a little under half, and thawed it by putting it in  tub of warm water)
1 t salt

I used olive oil in a medium saucepan on medium, and browned the breaded chicken a bit (didn't have to be fully cooked since I was going to use the crock pot) and boiled the other 2 chicken breasts which were actually frozen.

I put the chicken in the crockpot and poured the sauce mixture over the chicken and cooked on low for 5 hours.  Next time, I'd go for 4 hours because most of the chicken was already cooked and the sauce got burnt on some pieces.

Snow Peas:
I cut off the ends of about 2 cups of snow peas (did you know you have to cut off the ends?!, it took me a few errors to realize this).

I chopped up 1/4 of a yellow onion, put some olive oil in a small saucepan and sauteed the onions for 3-5 minutes, then added the following:

3 T light soy sauce
1 t coarse pepper
2 T sesame oil

My husband made some rice and we had ourselves a delicious Sunday afternoon dinner.

Don't judge by the photo... some food that tastes good is not always the prettiest.  Nor is the laundry I later folded which is peeking out from the back.  HAHAHA!  but the chicken came out delicious!  Breaded or not, the sauce is a winner.  I'd do it again in a heartbeat... but probably add some scallions afterwards (forgot!).

New Goal Making!

Everyone makes new year's resolutions.  So much so that my membership advisor at Equinox (aka my fancy gym) said there are no discounts in January because no promotions are necessary!  What is it about the new year that pumps us eagerly eating right, working out, and trying to look and feel better?  I've never liked New Year's resolutions (because it's really just setting myself up for failure) but I'm jumping on the bandwagon ... with my own small tweak....


30 Day Goals!


For 30 days, starting January 16th, I will....

1) Stretch for 15 minutes a day - so my dream from when I was five years old was to do the splits.  That dream has never been actualized... not even when I was on the dance team and getting up at 6 AM to dance from 7-9AM every day.  Yeah.... life has a funny way of really handing it to you and I have never been able to do the splits.  I got close, but not entirely there!  Needless to say, I am even more inflexible than I was at 16 so stretching will help me be more agile so I can chase my baby, leap across to my husband in a perfect split, and just feel better!

2) Work out at a minimum of 20 minutes for 4 days a week - it's always interesting how life changes your goals.  Two years ago, I would have scoffed at that goal.  4 days a week?  Wimp!  I was consistently working out 6 days a week, sometimes 7.... with Saturdays being a double whammy.  Meaning, my Saturdays consisted of a hike, at least two work out classes (think pilates or some aerobic dance class), followed by at least 30 minutes on a treadmill or an elliptical and then some time relaxing and unwinding in the steam room and showers at my fancy gym... where the blow dryers and free shampoo make my world turn.  But the reality is... life changes and yes, it is HARD to work out when you have a baby and you're not a celebrity with a nanny to take care of your little one while you work out.  I have to selectively choose which classes I go to during the day (and pay for child care at the gym) and I am so lucky my mom gifted me the fancy gym membership for a year (that I barely can make it to... but still, it's nice when I can!).  I want to go to the gym at 6 AM everyday, take some spinning classes, shower and come home before Jordan wakes up... but let's face it... I'd rather sleep these days!  And showering?  Overrated.  Plus, there never seems to be time as his naptime = my work and blogging time.

So those are my two fitness goals for 30 days.  What are yours?  Oh wait, nobody reads my blog hahahaha oh well.. it's fun to pretend anyway.

Bread Pudding Flan?

I didn't have enough eggs last night to make a large (9 x 12) pan of bread pudding, so I reduced the recipe by half and attempted to used 1.5 eggs (go figure) and ended up using more egg whites... the result was a weird combination of semi bread pudding on top and flan on the bottom!

Here's how I made it:

2.5 cups of sugar
1 t vanilla
4 egg yolks
1 egg and 2 egg whites
1 8oz can of coconut milk

I used 12 Hawaiian rolls, cut them in half (as if you were making sliders) and placed the bottoms into a 9x9 Pyrex dish.  I then poured half of the well beated mixture above over the 12 halves in the pan... put the tops on and then used the rest of the mixture.

Cook for 45 minutes at 350 degrees with a piece of foil covered... then remove the foil and cook for another 45 minutes.

The result is flan-tastic!

Product Review: My Lululemon Obsession

When I first bought an Equinox membership at a charity auction and the Santa Monica location back in 2008, I noticed three things.  

1. The group fitness classes kicked my butt to another level unlike any I had experienced at 24 Hour Fitness
2. There were quite a bit of good looking young and hopefully available victims (but who hits on people they meet in the gym... oh wait, my friend and me)
3. What was this weird Omega symbol on every girls' really cute-I-am-totally-jealous-want-that-cute-yoga-outfit?!

I kept spying the number of Omega symbols I counted.  Every single pair of yoga pant that fit on a butt very nicely seemed to have one.  There must have been something magical about this brand, but what I did not know yet.  All I knew was it looked cute and these girls could probably wipe off the sweat and spend their whole day in those clothes and look great!

Shortly after that, I was with my brother in Old Town Pasadena and noticed a store sign with the big Omega symbol.  "What is that?" I asked my brother.  "That's Lululemon, that store I told you about with expensive yoga pants that look DANG good on any girl."  "Oh, is it expensive?" I asked my brother, who six years smaller than me, sure knew a lot about this new brand.  "It might be, I don't know what that's aboooot."  Oh, they're from Canada folks.  HA!

Still single, in my mid 20's and with a lot of disposable income, I decided against my frugal instincts to check out the store and try on some of their stuff.

Here's what I learned.

• Sizes for ALL: Lululemon pants come in short, regular and long - which was PERFECT for me, because at 5'9... most pants owned at the time had me screaming "flood's a coming!" and only my dance pants seemed to be long enough.
• Store extras: Lululemon pants come with free hemming and re-hemming if they get it wrong (and they will even take your already worn pants back for stitching up small holes if you accidentally create one).  They also have free water inside the stores, and offer free yoga and fitness classes, normally one on the weekend and one on the weekday - check your local store for more details or subscribe to the nearest store's newsletter for more details!
• Expensive: Lululemon pants are not cheap.  A regular pair of "groove pants" which are fitted yoga pants, are normally $98.00, and my favorite baggy straight legged lounge pants (I have worn one pair on every single flight or road trip I have ever been on since owning them) is called the "still pant" and runs at $108.00.  I would definitely splurge on the pants, the tops are not always well made.  I have noticed some side seams that are crooked and after trying a few styles (I did purchase many on sale), I decided most were too thick for me to sweat in.  I prefer Ion tops or a nice sports bra with a thin yoga shirt over it (as I also hate shaving my pits!) but the Lululemon tops are nice if you're hopeful of meeting someone while working out or going to work out with a guy you may be interested in (as my husband and I did before we were dating and yes, I sported Lulu!)
• Amazing Fit: Lululemon pants have a magic elastic yoga material that makes your bum look awesome.  My husband is not a fan of my Lulu obsession, but once, he even commented - oh your bum looks good in those pants... to which I responded with... thank you Lulu to which he slammed his forehead, realizing he was encouraging my Lulu obsession.  Too flat in the chest when wearing sports bras?  Never fear, Lululemon has booby inserts (see above - the four little weird beige things in the middle)!  I actually never used 'em but it was nice to know they were there in case I wanted to.  
• Environmentally conscious and cute: Every purchase comes in a cute reusable Lululemon bag (with special New Year's editions coming out right about now!) with sayings such as "drink more water" or "friends are more important than money" or "do one scary thing a day."  Encouraging, environmentally friendly... can we get more granola here folks?

For more details on their products, their community, mission, blog, and learn why they are such a hot and growing ticker symbol, check out Lululemon's website.

I got their Company manifesto (what's printed on their cute bags) and decided to include it here.  

12 Snacks I Always Have In the House

90% of being healthy is eating right!  To help encourage that, and because my husband and I are notorious for chowing down on any snacks we have at home, we try to keep the snacks to a minimum and since I'm always home, I try to keep healthy snacks around for those moments when I just need to munch on something and am not really hungry or I'm hungry, but need something with protein and not too damaging as dinner is quickly approaching.

That said, here are 12 snacks (all 100 calories or less per serving) that I aim to always have on hand, in no particular order, which are all great and helped me get back to pre-prego weight asap.

1. Water - see my prior post, water is so important!
2. Almonds - warning, these are jam packed with protein, more than a a handful is actually more calories than you need when just in need of a snack
3. Raisins - need something sweet and quick?  Raisins!!
4. Ritz crackers - these got me through most of my first trimester and are a good snack, not super healthy, but just enough to help curb your hunger a bit
5. Bananas - easy fruit - you just peel it, no cutting!  no washing!
6. Apples - easy fruit - you just wash it, no cutting necessary - and if so, I just cut four pieces around the core and avoid anything else (like peeling it)
7. Dip - for veggie dipping, mine is homemade wannabe Cafe Rio dressing, you can get the recipe here, hummus will also do, but I didn't have it on hand- I usually have one or the other
8. Carrots - helps you see, taste great with dip or hummus ...what's up Doc?!
9. Celery - zero calories.. what?!  it takes you more energy to eat it than to burn it... so whatever you eat with it can have some calories.. like the dip!
10. Dark chocolate - okay, so the raisins weren't doing it... dark chocolate is superior to all other chocolates so eat some (but not too much!) it's supposed to lower blood pressure because it's a potent antioxidant.  What does that mean?  All you have to know is that antioxidants get rid of destructive molecules that are associated with heart issues.  
11. Light Yogurt - mmmm also helps with the sweet cravings and the pro-biotics in it help fight the yeastie beasties!
12. Ice cream - we always have ice cream at home.  It's our go to for dessert and it's a healthy dairy item

Lose Weight By Drinking H 2 the O

Did you know drinking TONS of water can help you lose weight?!

You don't say.  Tell me more Daisy.

Most of the time, when we snack or think we're hungry, we're really just thirsty.

Drinking water ALONE, can help you lose weight - no exercise, no eating right, etc. but of course, there won't be much lost there if you don't do the rest.  The reason lies int he fact that the body is able to flush out waste when you have enough water (poop any?) so having a regular time in the bathroom for number 2 comes with good water and a good fiber-ific diet.

Why do I know this?  Have tried it.  Whenever I look at my food journals and see that I have been eating a lot of sugary snacks - mostly candy and cookies, it's because I haven't been drinking much water.    And.... for the thousands of dollars my mom paid for me to go to charm school when I was 19, the first thing the fitness expert told us was... start drinking more water if you aren't already.  So from that day on, as much as I hated water.. I have started (tips on making it taste better include adding a slice of lemon, orange or cucumber).  Some people think water will bloat them... not true.  Instead, water helps rid your body of excess water ... try it if you don't believe me.

The prescribed amount is 8 glasses per day... but who uses glasses right?  I probably drink about two Nalgene bottles (that's one liter per bottle or 34 ounces each).  If you drink water bottles, look at the ounces and try to get around 64 ounces a day (a coke bottle is about 16 ounces or two cups and a normal water bottle like the one I'm drinking below is around 16-17 ounce a day so four a day of those.. or more!)

Yes, that's a lot of pee-ing and makes it hard if you're in a line of work (teachers... sorry) where you can't go often.. but it's what's good for you!

So H 2 to O, get your drink on.