Kale, Tofu, and Shitake Salad!

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So my roomie is a health nut and she has been trying to eat healthier and become a vegetarian. She goes to the OB People’s Food Store to get entrees and what not because she doesn’t cook. Well one time she came home with this kale, tofu, and shitake mushroom salad and it was DELICIOUS. She didn’t like how bland it was, but I LOVED it. I loved the subtle soy sauce with the mushrooms and tofu. I loved the sesame seeds. It just felt healthy. And so I set out to recreate it. My roomie tried mine and she thought mine had more flavor and liked mine a lot more. Yay! I hope you like it too!

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Pumpkin Mac & Cheese!!!

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It’s already Fall, and almost October ya’ll! And Fall is my favorite food season because of all the PUMPKIN around!!! Last year, I went on a shopping spree at Trader Joe’s, buying up everything from pumpkin ice cream to pumpkin chai lattes. I have so far held off my pumpkin obsession…but it isn’t October yet…soooo….it might spark up again soon. In a few days. Wee! Anyhoo, for those of you who have been keeping up with my blog, know I love mac&cheese. Remember that delicious Lobster Mac&Cheese? Well its Fall, so I thought I would put a Pumpkin twist on it! It turned out perfectly and I can’t wait for you to all try it!!! Happy Fall everyone! Look out for many many pumpkin recipes in the next few months! 😀

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Beef and Tomato with Rice!

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This is my family’s version of a classic Chinese dish. I grew up eating this on lunch days where we needed something fast and delicious. I had no idea that this would be considered ‘comfort food’ for Chinese people. I don’t ever eat this at restaurants. When I see other people get it though, it looks sort of weird because I am so used to my family’s version. Its actually really easy to make, with only a few ingredients. Anyone can whip this up in a second. If you don’t have much of an appetite, this dish could curb your hunger because its sweet and a little sour, and so freakin’ good!!! You can even add an egg in it to modify the traditional tomato and egg dish.

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Pork and Chive Dumplings!

Posted in Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch, Uncategorized by

From time to time I like to go back to my household roots and make things my mom or dad makes. I have been heckling my dad to create a Chinese recipe book so I can use it in the future in my own household. If you don’t know, my dad is a great cook. He can seriously make anything. Right now he is working on perfecting Chinese rice noodles, ya know the ones you get a dim sum. I wish I can be at home all the time to document his successes (i.e. macarons, Japanese cheesecakes) but being that I am in SD, I will have to do my best to find it in my memory to create the things I love eating at home. Here are some delicious pork and chive dumplings. Its a tsk tsk thing though, I did buy the potsticker wrappers this time, but in the future I will try my hand in making the wrappers.

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Kimchi Fried Rice with Hot Dogs!

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Yum! Kimchi fried rice!!! Normally its spam in there. Don’t know the real reason why Koreans love spam, but I really love spam…and hot dogs. Its funny because I met some Michigan people over the summer and they had never eaten hot dogs or spam in fried rice before! Then we took them to a Korean restaurant and ordered spam fried rice lol. They seemed to enjoy it! haha anyway, it was so nice to be around people in close proximity over the summer because when I made this, I had enough food for about 6 people. Sure enough, friends came over and ate it all after I blasted that I had kimchi fried rice with hot dogs. I am hoping that hot dogs have less sodium than spam, and are less unhealthy. I hope buying “all beef” hot dogs are better for you than mystery meat in spam. Let us hope. 🙂

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Chicken Pho (Pho Ga), Turtle Tower Way!

Posted in Dinner, Lunch, Soup by
I frequently claim I don’t like pho- which is true most of the time. When I am forced to go, I usually order chicken pho because I like the broth slightly better than the beef one. However, one of the main reasons I don’t like it is pho noodles. I just don’t like the texture or the weird after taste of them. But when I had Turtle Tower for the first time, it changed my life! Apparently they are more of a Northern style pho, with fresh flat noodles instead of the dried skinny ones. Fresh flat noodles are similar to Chinese chow fun noodles, which I grew up eating anyway. And Turtle Tower’s broth is similar to plain chicken soup, which is perfect for the soul. So when I became sick, I immediately craved the TT chicken pho, but obviously I can’t get it here because no Viet place in SD serves it like TT does. So I set out to make my own. I have heard stories about the broth being cooked for hours, sometimes even all day to achieve that delicious broth. And believe me, after making it, that’s very much true! Time is essential in creating this broth. I suggest making it at night, and letting the chicken simmer for hours into the night, when you sleep. Therefore, the next day at lunch, you can have a hot bowl of pho! 🙂 I have to say that this recipe’s broth actually comes pretty close to the taste of TT. You can always adjust the salt (or msg) if you want :). Happy eating!

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Cookie Butter Cookies!

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I am always about trying new fads. I rarely end up thinking they are that great though (i.e. the cronut). Maybe I am just picky. Maybe I am just snooty when it comes to food. Although there are times where I actually think it lives up to the hype (i.e. Lemonade restaurant in LA, the Ramen Burger). I am still sort of iffy about the whole Cookie Butter thing. Some people are addicted to certain brands, some people eat it with a spoon, some people don’t like the Trader Joes kind even though the store limits it to only 2 jars per customer, some people LOVE the original cookie butter (Biscoff brand), some people think its too sweet, some people think its the best thing in the world. I am part of the group who thinks its too sweet, and can only eat it in very small doses. I most definitely won’t eat it with a spoon or put it in everything I eat! But I do like it in the cookies I made- since cookies are already sweet, adding the cookie butter into it gives it a different flavor and increases the sugar high. If you haven’t tried cookie butter yet, I have heard the original Biscoff branded version is the cookie butter best.

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Chicken with White Wine Mushroom and Thyme Sauce!

Posted in Dinner, Lunch, Paleo by

So I went to Costco and bought a huge bag of chicken so you will be seeing quite a bit of chicken posts in the future. I normally eat chicken when I am away from Lodi; for some reason its just more versatile than slices of flank steak. Anyhoots, already 2 days into my skinny grind I was already bored with my chicken over salad thing. I was like well, why not treat myself the night before Vegas this weekend with a simple, yet sophisticated meal. Obviously in prep for this not so sophisticated weekend lol. Anyway, the white wine mushroom sauce is very simple to make. It comes out tasting like what you would eat at restaurants. So for those of you with the itch to go out to eat, whip this up and it will taste gourmet!

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Skinny Tuna/Egg Salad!

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For you protein addicts out there like me, here is a very skinny version of 2 favorite classics: Tuna Salad and Egg Salad. Instead of disgusting mayo (ya’ll know I hate it), I used greek-yogurt as a replacement. This takes out the unnecessary bad fat, and replaces it with good fat and even more protein. But the caveat is to make a single serving and eat it right away because it will get watery. This greek yogurt tip can be used in potato salads as well, or anything that uses mayo in cold side dishes. 🙂 Happy bulking!

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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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