New Conquest: The No Sugar Diet

Last March 7, I was sick and was on full bed rest, which allowed me to finish an entire season of House of Cards. Season 4 was not available in Netflix PH, and I didn't have the energy to start another binge, so I scrolled my Facebook feed and chanced upon an article about how some guy was able to think sharp after he went on a No-Sugar diet. I have been going through some stuff and I knew that I needed a big change to get myself out of my rut.

You have to understand - I love dessert. Sometimes I consider it a full meal by itself. Often times, it's an accessory to a crime (that involved steak! And pasta! And more dessert!) I tried controlling my sugar portions by only allowing myself to eat dessert twice a week, listing down the time I went beyond my two treats allowable. But I found that I ate one version of dessert or another everyday! And that I could not stop :( I have gone through pacts with my friends where we promise ourselves not to eat sugar for 20 days, and report to each other when we would feel tempted. After restarting the pact 20 times, because we would relent to our cravings for 20 straight days, we decided to stop lying to ourselves.

That's why going cold turkey on dessert is a big thing for me.

#ThrowbackThursdays: Dessert > Flowers

One of the things I appreciated about a guy I dated was how he immediately picked up on my preference for dessert. On the first time he visited my place, he brought a small bonquet of flowers and a slice of cake. On the succeeding times, however, he only brought a single-stemmed rose, but more dessert. When I asked why, his response: "On the first time, you set aside the flowers and ate all the cake. I had to remind you to put them in a vase."

#YouKnowIt

#ThrowbackThursdays: Eats more fun with Siopitohs

One afternoon during our university days, my high school friends (our group was called Siopitohs) and I decided to get together for a trip to a restaurant in Manila's Chinatown. That was a busy part of the city and had more than its fair share of pick pockets, so I SMSed instructions to look simple. Lo and behold, we ALL came in white shirts and jeans. 

#ThrowbackThursdays: Pasta dinner date

One of the dates I fondly remember was one that I had on Chinese Valentines day when my friend invited me for dinner at his place.

We both arrived very late (I speed-walked to his flat and my flushed sweaty face managed a breathless 'hi.' when I entered the kitchen, where he hurriedly unloaded grocery bags). He did everything in speed and I tried to make myself useful by throwing away the discards, until he instructed me to stop touching stuff and sit down. 

Commitment is an effort

This is not a dedicated food post but an update of what I've been up to the past twenty days of this month. Living healthy has been a #fail... First up, I went on a family trip to Singapore, where all hell broke loose because I ate everything I have missed the past three years. One concrete thing that came out of it was I joined the Katong Food Trail and met amazing people. =) 

Playing Where's Faithy on the Katong Food Trail

#ThrowbackThursdays: Partying it up in second-grade elementary

March 1995 - my first sleepover out of our house. I was in second grade elementary, and switched schools in the middle of the school year. I had already been part of my class close to five months, but still felt out of place from other eight year-olds who seemed like they knew each other from birth. I was a tall girl thus was placed to sit at the back of the classroom, where my sole seatmate was another tall girl, Macky. All the other kids sat on larger tables of 8 so it was easier for them to build rapport.

Because of our height, separation from the group, and becoming the default pair on most class games, Macky became my best friend that year. On the photo, she is the second girl from the left. This photo was taken at her birthday party, that spilled into a sleepover.

Wrong Ramen - feels so right that it can't be wrong

When I first floated around twitter the idea that we were going to eat in Wrong Ramen, a few of my friends advised that we go elsewhere. I was going to dine with one of my ramen snob friends (who was not happy with Yushoken quality... I wasn't either... good luck to us going against the grain) and another who spends her free time ramen house hopping in Washington D.C. After much deliberation, and mainly due to location (we were coming from the wonderful world of Manos), we decided, to quote, "experience the disappointment first hand." 

Maybe it's because we dispelled our expectations or there was just a lot of pork fat in the soup, but the ramen was quite good. We all went out of Wrong Ramen happy with our decision.

 I went for my #FoodFavorite, Dandan Mian (spelled on the menu as Tantanmen). It was so creamy and flavorful I didn't even want to think about what sort of fat and calories were in there. Cheat day!

Day1 Green Smoothie

Quick post from my mobile, sorry the lay out is not pretty! :)

I committed myself to the instagram.com/SimpleGreenSmoothies 30 day challenge and will try to have a green smoothie first thing in the morning. It might be a bit difficult on the first week since I'm heading to SG tomorrow for a family bonding trip, and we're the type to eat wherever we find food. Fight! 

500 ml: 7 grams spinach, 2 green pears, 1 green apple, 1 red apple. 

Infused waters

The easiest and yummiest drink made around our house is infused waters. Just cut the fruits and dump it in the water, then drink your way to a healthier body. Pitchers of it lie around our house so it is easy to fulfill our daily required water intake. Health for the lazy.

Below are the benefits to help with detoxification and hydration. Put as much fruit as you like and let the water sit for at least 30 minutes before drinking. You can put more water on the same fruit but you must discard it after 48 hours.

Green Tea, Mint and Lime - fat burning, digestion, headaches, congestion and breath freshener

#ThrowbackThursdays: Kashgar food snaps

I believe that travel is the most enriching experience, so aside from food, that is where my money goes. Close to a year ago, I did a three-week solo backpacking trip in West China (where they do not speak a lot of English). It remains one of my proudest accomplishments. 

Below are some food photos of my trip to Kashgar city. Kashgar is made up of 70% Uyghurs Muslims, who look like a blend of Chinese and Eastern Europeans. Uyghurs are physically and culturally different from the Han Chinese, and Kashgar's architecture and design was unlike the Mainland's (instead of Confucian temples there were Islamic tombs). I felt like I was in another country.

Muffin Frittatas

Thanks to Su, I have another easy go to healthy meal: frittatas! It's so easy and healthy I was done in 30 minutes. Su advised on her blog that I go crazy, so I did!

Healthy Frittatas, adapted from Makan Musings

Vegetable Tofu (with Broccoli and Carrots)

I get creative when planning home-cooked dinners with my mom because she is into healthy, organic food.  We can't eat chicken because they are raised in a coop and fed manufactured food. We can't eat fish because they are raised in a cramped pen and are fed unspeakable chemicals. Beef and pork are not allowed for elders. The only option left for us to eat is vegetables. I don’t want to float any discussion on the growth conditions of vegetables because we might end up eating nothing.

One of the dishes we keep coming back to for dinner is Vegetable Tofu. It has everything I want and it meets my mom’s standards for edible, healthy food.

Vegan Coffee Butter Almond Ice Cream

I have been reading on equally yummy versions of ice cream that does not require an overdose of eggs, milk and cream, as dictated by the gelato recipe we made the last time. One of the healthy alternatives that made it to my radar was vegan ice cream.  Making vegan ice cream basically means you make ice cream without using milk and eggs. We got some coconut milk and coconut cream and decided to give it a try (for the sake of our cholesterol levels and the risk of diabetes)

We tried it for the Coffee Butter Almond Ice Cream recipe we found. There will always be subtle differences between simple ice cream, gelato, frozen yoghurt etc, but I'm not choosy as long as it satisfies my sweet tooth. This one came out creamy and not too sweet.

VEGAN Coffee Butter Almond Ice Cream

Adapted from the Cusinart Recipe booklet, our minor renditions incorporated to make it vegan

Metabolic Pumps (4 of 4)

My mom is a health nut, which was ok with me growing up since if we wanted junk food we can just drive out of the house. But now I thank her for making my transition to a healthy life much easier because we've been eating healthy stuff all our lives.

Here's a some of the food lying around in our house all the time, and incorporated in our food preparation. This article is meant to get you started in increasing your metabolic rate. The list is a product of random readings and our lifestyle. 

The last of four posts.

15. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Slice then add to soy sauce and vinegar or sprinkle on top of your viand, or drink whole as a tablet

Torres Family X National Bookstore Foundation Annual Outreach

Every year my maternal family's side holds an annual outreach activity for less fortunate. There was a time when we held a Christmas party in an elderly home (where I just kept on crying because I missed my grandparents), and another Christmas party for orphaned children, when we gathered, packed and gave away clothes and school materials for children of a municipality in a far away province, another year in a small school.

Christmas 2012's project is my favorite thus far. We teamed up with National Bookstore Foundation to help paint the library of the school across my grandparents' house. Education is a very important advocacy for our  family because my grandparents were provincial public school teachers who rose up the ranks and raised their children by teaching children.

This post is about food for the soul. Eating healthy food keeps our body physically able, but engaging in healthy activities keep our spirits alive.

Aside from our family, we had volunteers from the National Bookstore Foundation Philippines help us out. Nobody in our family is patient enough to draw this kind of art I think.

Metabolic Pumps (3 of 4)

My mom is a health nut, which was ok with me growing up since if we wanted junk food we can just drive out of the house. But now I thank her for making my transition to a healthy life much easier because turns out we've been eating healthy stuff all our lives (we still argue about my sweet intake all the time, though).

Here's a some of the food lying around in our house all the time, and incorporated in our food preparation. This article is meant to get you started in increasing your metabolic rate. The list  is a product of random readings and our lifestyle.

Third of four posts.

10. Violet Wild Rice - thing with white rice is that it is already stripped of its nutrients, which makes it a refined carb. That's why it's the first thing that people take out when on a diet. Violet wild rice (or the more commercially available brown rice), however, is full of fiber. I'm a rice person, but I still manage to maintain my weight even after eating 3 (and a half) cups of violet rice.

11. Celery - Made of 95% water and undigestible cellulose. Yummy in, easy out.

12. Broccoli - My favorite! I read somewhere that this is the healthiest veggie. Something about protein, calcium, vitamin C, but for me it's just easy to eat with everything (and nothing).

13. Beans beans the magical fruit - full of both soluble and insoluble fiber, which help lower insulin levels after digestion, causing your body to store less fat. Have it with chicken con carne.

14. Garlic - Sure, slicing garlic (go for smaller garlics - more potent taste) leaves that stench on your fingers, but adding garlic to everything (or most things that we eat anyway) helps supports blood sugar metabolism. Add crushed fresh garlic with vinegar or always have it in the frying pan.

Chengdu - Land Of The "La Mei" 辣美 (Hot Women)

They say the most beautiful women in China may be found in Chengdu, in Sichuan province. Sichuan is famous for their spices. The women's beauty is first attributed to their steady diet of Chengdu spicy hot pot. The combination of the broth's heat and spice helps their bodies have smooth blood flow, regular bowel movement, and flushed cheeks.

Hotpot from Chengdu. Token clear broth for me, the laowai.

Metabolic Pumps (2 of 4)

My mom is a health nut, which was ok with me growing up since if we wanted junk food we can just drive out of the house. But now I thank her for making my transition to a healthy life much easier because turns out we've been eating healthy stuff all our lives (we still argue about my sweet intake all the time, though).

Here's a some of the food lying around in our house all the time, and incorporated in our food preparation. This article is meant to get you started in increasing your metabolic rate. The list  is a product of random readings and our lifestyle.

Second of four posts.

5. Dark Chocolate - we lived with dark chocolate growing up because whenever my mom would buy from Santi's Delicassen (or where ever else), it would always be blocks of dark chocolate. So now I have the blehk feeling when I eat milk chocolate. Having chocolate each day reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which prompts the body to store fat. Dark chocolate, however, is famous for being an aphrodisiac.

I've watched Chocolat severeal times because it combines three beautiful things - (dark) chocolate, the French countryside, and Johnny Depp

Green Tea Gelato Recipe

Ignorance in bliss, and this never rang more true than when I finally learned how to make gelato ice cream. I remember enjoying eating gelato growing up, and then when I finally made it to Florence I spent all of my allowance tasting different versions of authentic Italian gelato.

Then one day my brother decided to make use of the ice cream maker my mom got me for Christmas to make green tea gelato ice cream. Healthy gelato! Perfect for my blog.

Wrong. I saw the recipe, then my world shattered. It was an end of an era.

They say knowledge is power. The facts (/recipe) is after the jump. No wonder people with very high IQs end up depressed about the world.

PHEW. Doing all that straining and container transfers was physically strenous, so props to gelato makers!

Yak Cheese From Yunnan province

I had a taste of Yak cheese during my visit in the Shangrila County in Yunnan Province. It was good timing entering the first restaurant on my list where I met my first friend, Ricky, owner of the famous Tantra Restobar, who was having a taste test meeting with the Tibetan Yak cheese manufacturer.

Yak cheese is not yuck at all.