Category Archives: Breakfast

The Soufflé Pancake!

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If you like pancakes, but always slip into food coma after, this soufflé pancake is the right one for you! It is super light and fluffy but doesn’t compromise on the breakfast favorite. In fact, it is super interesting – I have never seen anything like it, unless you have been to Berkeley’s Bette’s Oceanview Diner! My sister has been talking about this place since she first went and have been trying to perfect the recipe for it. Because she did, I am sharing it with you! You can swap the bananas out for another type of fruit or just eat it plain with lots of maple syrup or raw honey. Such a treat!

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Salvadoran Pupusas

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I first had pupusas at this cute little Latin American breakfast joint called Sun Rise Restaurant in the Mission – I was drawn to it because of the colorful cabbage and carrot salad on top of seemingly fried dough. My friend and I quickly ordered a huge breakfast- 2 kinds of pupusas stuffed with zucchini and spinach and cheese with chilaquiles. These pupusas were simple – it really is the salsa and the cabbage that make this breakfast delicious. I loved the runny simple salsa and the simple cabbage salad that had a hint of vinegar. It was a great combination! And what I didnt realize is that it is super easy to make and super healthy too. I love a good simple healthy power breakfast. My roomies mom makes them for her sometimes and she stores the cooled pupusas in sandwich bags and she re-heats them whenever she is ready to eat it. Perfect for the on-the-go breakfast types. Give it a try today!

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Kuku sabzi (Persian Greens Frittata)!

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Kuku sabzi: it is a delicious Persian herbs frittata with a healthy serving of all the greens you need in a day! How did I get to try this super ethnic dish? I lived with this girl during the last week when I was in SF and her mom had come up from LA to help her move her things. They were hungry and had no way of getting to the grocery store at that hour. So her mom whipped this up for their dinner and my friend and I had a slice. It was sooooo good and refreshing!!! Her mom had made frozen packets of mixed greens for her so she could eat her veggies and make this dish which I thought was really cool if you are short on time. She also made it on the stovetop which looked super easy, so I think I will try next time. I made my own version with the veggies and herbs I had on hand, so feel free to mix and match!!!

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Homemade Chai Tea Concentrate

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As much as I wish San Diego would turn Fall, it doesn’t seem close to possible. It’s still 75 deg and sunny! But the nights get chilly, so I have been dreaming about warm spiced drinks for the holidays. But I do have to go on a rant about people skipping Thanksgiving now. What the hell. Thanksgiving is a grand holiday that gets people excited for Christmas but it seems like people are forgetting about it. Friends are decorating for Christmas already, stores are open on Thanksgiving, Christmas decorations are sold before Halloween now. It is getting utterly ridiculous. Like what happened to Thanksgiving ya’ll? What happened to giving thanks for what you have, not the latest TV you can buy on Thanksgiving for $100 cheaper -_-. And this is coming from a person who LOVES Christmas. I swear I will be the perfect mom because I am festive, loves Santa, and actually decorates every single year (lights all over my house, a REAL Christmas tree, day after Thanksgiving dedicated to decorating for Christmas, baking cookies, etc.). I am just mad that Christmas has become so commercial – there isn’t that slow, sweet anticipation for Christmas anymore. WE EVEN SKIP THANKSGIVING NOW. I just want everyone to take a moment and remember those times when we were kids and slowly waited for Thanksgiving to pass and then have a whole month to get ready for Christmas. I want Christmas to be cherished during that special time of the year, not make it a 4th quarterly thing. Let’s all just step back and enjoy the holidays the last quarter of the year : Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years in this order.

In the meantime, I will sip my spicy hot drinks in anticipation for Thanksgiving, and then bring out the peppermint for Christmas. Anyone care to join me?

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Acai Smoothie and Avocado – Power Breakfast

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So I am back on the skinny grind- meaning I need to diet and exercise again to go back to my pre-summer weight. In addition, I plan to tone up the abs area asap (anyone got ideas)? I just came back to San Diego after a fantastic Summer in San Francisco. I came back and I was immediately struck by food poisoning. Apparently that didn’t do anything to my body besides put it in pain, so even poison can’t get rid of my excessive fat. Therefore, I am back on the skinny grind!

The first step to the skinny grind is to eat breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Why? It jump starts your body into gear after a long night sleep. It increases the metabolic rate (how fast you burn calories) and tells your body what to expect during the day. If you don’t eat breakfast, your body won’t process your next meal as quickly because your body is going to want to save everything because it doesn’t know when you will eat next. It is super important to have a breakfast routine! In addition, if you don’t eat breakfast, you tend to eat a bigger meal. That is obviously not good.


My current breakfast item is avocado on toast and an acai smoothie!!! In a previous post about acai bowls, I explained to you the benefits of acai. Pack that nutrition in the morning, and you are good to go! Avocado is a good fat, and a good alternative to slathering butter on your toast in the morning. So try this in the morning! (I also am obsessed currently with those 2 food items, I even eat/drink it for dinner!)

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Cold-Brew Iced Coffee!

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OKAY. IT IS EXTREMELY HOT IN SAN DIEGO, AND I GUESS EVERYWHERE IN CALI. Is it because I am used to SF weather? But really, its awful. The humidity here in SD is just dandy. The windows in my entire apartment are open, fans are running, and still feel sticky. Sweat is pouring out everywhere. It is just gross. But anyway, this hot weather calls for tons of planning…I mean tons. You have to plan where you want to be to avoid the heat, you have to plan what to wear to sleep, what to eat because hotness does not feed the appetite, and what to DRINK. I had a great acai smoothie from Juice Kaboose yesterday in La Jolla to beat the heat, but that didn’t last long because I was back to sweating everywhere within 10 min. I came back and thought about the long weekend ahead (happy Labor Day weekend ya’ll!) and figured I would need something cold and caffeinated in the morning to get me going after waking up in my bed full of sweat. So making cold brew iced coffee took some planning- you have to eagerly wait 12-24 hours for this baby to brew before you can drink up. No wonder cold brew coffee is so damn expensive to buy at coffee shops (cough cough cold brew in Palo Alto)! It takes time, and tons of grounds. Judging by the picture to this post, it seems like I have to make more today since its basically all gone after one drink. Anyway, have a fun, safe, and awake weekend ya’ll! 🙂

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Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

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This is seriously one of the best fancy side dishes ever. It can probably get you to eat your veggies! (Although it might be a tad bit expensive to eat this gourmet dish all the time!) Anyway, totally worth it if you want to snack by yourself, or prepare it for a hot date. I prefer to not share, so I will just eat it all alone. haha.

A few fun facts:

1. It’s native to most of Europe
2. A recipe for asparagus is found in the oldest known book of recipes from third century AD
3. US got this beautiful veggie in 1850
4. There are albino asparagus!!! WHITE ones!!! Very popular in countries such as Netherlands, Span, France and Switzerland
5. Low calorie source of potassium and folate, with tons of antioxidants
6. South Koreans have studied that asparagus helps with hangovers
7. There is an annual asparagus festival in Stockton, CA (Central Valley) where the main source of asparagus for the US

I hope you get addicted to this dish too! 🙂

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Acai Bowl with Bee Pollen!

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Hot Day? No Problem! Enjoy a vitamin, nutrition, flavor packed ACAI BOWL!!! If you live in SoCal, you totally should get acquainted with this delicious thing because its such a southern cali thing and they have it at a cafe in every beach area. NorCal people, get acquainted too because these are BOMB. My first ever acai bowl was at Swami’s Cafe, in between Del Mar and Solana Beach! I used to go all the time and after a gigantic meal of eggs and potatoes, I always ended with an acai bowl to share. It was also the first time I had BEE POLLEN. Swami’s puts it in the bowls, smoothies, or juices. It is such a dainty little thing and when I looked up where I can buy bee pollen in SD, my search came up with all these nutritional benefits of bee pollen.

What are the nutritional benefits of it? Bee pollen is considered a ‘super-food’ by nutritionalists because it is packed with proteins, essential amino acids, vitamins, carbohydrates, and antioxidants that can increase energy, sharpen memory, and has been said to be a natural remedy for things such as acne, allergies, and high cholesterol.

Where does it come from? When bees fly from each flower to another, the tiny dust particles of the male seed of the blossom sticks onto a bee’s legs, and the bee produces a number of enzymes into the collected pollen as well as saliva among other things. When bees come back to the hive, they pass through this grate the beekeepers built and subsequently the bee pollen falls into a container that collects it! Sounds awfully gross right? hahah well we eat honey!!!

What does it taste like? Tastes a little bit bitter and nutty.

Where can I get it? I got a bottle of it at Sprouts! It was $10.99 for a bottle. Its not cheap-that’s why restaurants and cafes put only a teaspoon on your order every time. But judging from my bottle, it could last me awhile. I plan to throw it into my protein shakes along with my chia seeds. You can also get it at farmers markets from people who sell honey. You have to ask for it.

But BEWARE: Some people may be allergic to bee pollen because they are allergic to airborne pollen or allergic to bee stings. Before you eat this thing, make sure you aren’t allergic or have specific allergies that might make you have a reaction. See a doctor if you aren’t sure!!! You could do a tolerance test, meaning take a kernal a day and increase it everyday until you reach a teaspoon. Read more on the link I provided below.

More about bee pollen here: Bee Pollen; Risks of Bee Pollen

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