Tag Archives: fruit

Summer Fruit Tart!

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IT’S BASICALLY SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY FAVORITE SEASON OF THE YEAR!!!! Have been into WHITE lately – white shorts, white tanks, white shirts, white sheets, white shoes, all white everything! Can’t wait to be a little more tan (yes I still care about my facial skin care) by being outdoors! I hope this summer is the best summer yet (unlike last year when I was studying – had a nose disease that wasn’t curable until late summer! hahah) !! Lots in store like country concerts, wedding, ariana grande, vegas, kevin hart, etc. Someone invite me to a BBQ so I bring over this magnificent fruit tart and/or cream puffs (another post). Anyway happy beginning of SUMMER!!!

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Pitaya Bowl!

Posted in Breakfast, Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, Paleo, Sweets, Vegan by

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HEALTH FOOD MEGA POST!!!! I love healthy foods as you all know- the weirder the better. I love the fascination with all this raw stuff lately and totally have toyed with the idea of going on a raw food diet for a week. Maybe when I am not about to study for finals and the bar. But anyway, if you haven’t heard, PITAYA has been popular for a year now – a very distant, more popular cousin in pop culture of the ACAI berry – but it is actually a DRAGON FRUIT! Dragon fruits are those pink crazy weird looking fruits you see at Asian supermarkets. My mom bought some once and eating the fruit inside of a real, fresh dragon fruit was totally meh. It was white on the inside with edible seeds, way slimy and lacked flavor. I had no idea that the famous pitaya was actually dragon fruit. The Asian ones however are white in flesh, whereas the Mexican and South American varieties have a red/pink hue. This is definitely a quality it shares with the acai berry: it has a big vibrant hue to it and is definitely the new craze of food health junkies. I tried a pitaya bowl for the first time a month ago at PB’s Rum Jungle and I loved it! The pitaya bowl is a lot less berry tasting, not sweet, and sorta has a slimy texture to it. Pitaya is normally paired with the same stuff as acai so they are both super interchangeable in terms of how you make them in smoothies and bowls. You can purchase pitaya packets at Whole Foods!!! Sprouts doesn’t have them yet (or at least at my local one doesn’t). I used to do a lot of those fun, fast facts about interesting food items so here are some about pitaya:

Fun facts:

1. Pitaya flowers only bloom at night so only bats and moths fertilize them. (kinda like how a bee polinizes flowers).

2. They originated in Mexico, but spread in popularity and cultivation in Southeast Asia.

3. There are many varieties- the Asian store bought ones have white meat with seeds dotted all over it inside; the smoothie pack variety is the pitahaya roja, which has a pinkish meat with seeds dotted all over it inside.

4. If you eat a lot of pitaya, your pee might turn reddish HAHAHA.

5. It has powerful antioxidents, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, fiber and omega-3s. All awesome stuff to keep you healthy and sane.

Here is a pretty powerful pitaya bowl recipe that I used for my first homemade bowl! Acai and pitaya are fun in that it can be paired with anything fun and healthy and colorful in your kitchen. Try it today since it’s so hot outside!

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How to cut a pomegranate!

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Pomegranate seeds and juice are so expensive to buy! But I never thought of buying the real actual pomegranate and cutting it up. Normally they run about $1.50-$3 per fruit. Still undeniably cheaper than the packaged seeds and juice! Right now the fruit is in season! September – January so eat your heart out! 🙂 When you cut one up, it definitely gives you almost 2 cups full. And eating as much pomegranate as you can is good for you! Tons of antioxidants that help with fighting heart disease and cancer! And it has more than your typical blueberries and cranberries!

Here is how you cut one up!

1. Cut about an inch from the top. Peel back the skin.

2. Then you will see some seeds show. Cut through the skin, top to bottom, in between the clusters. Using your hands, break apart the sections.

3. Scoop out the seeds into a bowl with a spoon! This step takes awhile, but totally worth it!

Thai Watermelon Salad!!!

Posted in Dinner, Lunch, Paleo by

How ironic I make this ‘summer’ salad on probably the coldest day in SF this summer. My feet and nose are failing to defrost as I am typing, even though the heater is blasted. I guess SF has finally hit the cold wave…after a very warm beginning of summer! My days in SF aren’t very numbered anymore so I am hoping to make my last adventures here count before I start school again. I keep chanting in my head- 9 more months…9 more months!!!

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Nutella Chocolate Cake with Strawberries!

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Ever have a craving for chocolate? Hell, I guess everyone does!!! Chocolate and nutella? Even better! I’ve made many chocolate cupcakes before, but I have never really ever been into making cakes- normally its too big and since I’m forever alone I can’t eat it at all or distribute it. This recipe is one of the most moistest, chocolatey, soft cake texture I have ever made! So excited this will become my go-to chocolate cake 🙂 Some fun facts about nutella? An Italian made this up and formed the company Ferrero, with plants all over… the North American nutella is made in Canada. Each jar contains 50 hazelnuts… it has 67% of saturated fat, and 2 tbsp of nutella contains 200 calories!!! A typical candy bar has 250 calories…yikes! Nutella is cray. Because of this awful health makeup, there was a 2012 class action suit for false advertising by Nutella…the label claimed and marketed it as part of a nutritional breakfast! Can you believe that?! Well, the company ended up paying $3 million. World nutella day is February 5. Must remember that for next year. Make this simple cake for your next potluck or fancy dinner! 🙂

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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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Lemon Meltaways!

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Had some extra lemons, so decided to make some lemon meltaway cookies! They are sweet, full of citrus flavor, and melt in your mouth! It is basically a shortbread. Sort of like the the Girl Scout Savannah Smiles cookies! I usually get them, but I didn’t buy any Girls Scouts cookies this year because of my fit obsession. But two of these that I ate satisfied my craving. THANK GOD i dont have a crazy sweet tooth like everyone else. Give this a try! I have made it with limes too! Super easy!

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