Feels like SUMMER!

It’s about time! The weather still isn’t as hot as it should be.. but anyday that the sun actually comes out is a big deal around here. How sad is that?!

Anyways, here’s yesterday’s food!

Breakfast was no surprise obviously.. Kashi Go Lean Crunch, Fiber One with raisins, banana, and strawberries. Cereal bowl end countdown is coming soon, now that we’re almost down to the crumbs

Went for an hour long run yesterday morning while it was still a little cloudy with a slight breeze. PERFECT running weather! Ahh and I realized that I could not survive without my ipod.. Seriously, anything by Beyonce or Rihanna gets me so hyped up that I could run the whole day, no problem. But “Everyone Nose”, N.E.R.D’s new one is up there too

I never really have a huge appetite after a run, but I was craving something refreshing so I stuck this mango in the freezer before I left. It half-froze by the time I got back, a thick mango smoothie-ish texture to it.. YUM!

Still didn’t have much of an appetite later on, so I was kind of just grazing along the whole day.

First, a tiny bowl of leftover Orange Tofu Quinoa. Except.. with no tofu!! Someone must’ve picked out the tofu pieces and ate it out of the container, way to take the best part!!

Then wanted something to crunch on while I studied.. so had a handful of Kashi Go Lean Crunch Cereal & 10 Chocolate Graham Bears (yes, I counted them ) along with an Iced Coffee which I ended up not even craving, so just took a couple sips before I tossed it.

The bf and two of our other friends wanted to go try out the new Japanese place in our area. So far, so good! The pictures are blegh looking since I took them with the camera on my phone.. But started off with miso soup, ebi sunomono and green tea. The ebi was kind of a disappointment though, tasted like the noodles were in water instead of vinegar? Plus they kind of cheaped out with my measely one piece of shrimp

Everything is served in boats, so I got the Vegetable Combo which my friends called “one huge salad”. They kept asking me where the meat was and I told them it’s the VEGETABLE combo. I’m not a vegetarian but people just can’t accept the fact that I actually enjoy eating my veggies

From the left is some Oranges&Grapes, Salad w/ a mayo-miso dressing, Vegetable Tempura (broccoli, yam, and one veggie still unknown..), Tofu Teriyaki on top of stir-fry veggies, Edamame, and a Veggie Roll.

Yep, I was basically in veggie HEAVEN!!  

Then we headed off to the beach to have a bonfire. Beach bonfires are the epitome of summer!

So the bfs went off to break pieces of plywood for firewood while all we do is wait in the car and take pictures Haha! (That’s me on the right, hi!)

Of course, no bonfire is complete without smores. So I had a couple made with dark chocolate. Yeah, that definitely tastes like summer to me!

Well I’m off to do the Ab Ripper dvd & some lower body stuff that I didn’t get to fit in yesterday, then hitting the gym when the bf gets back from work. Happy Father’s Day everyone!!

Unlimited quinoa anyone?

Sorry for the once again delayed post.. Got in pretty late last night and just wanted to hit the hay asap!

The same breakfast that you’ll see until the cereal box is empty.. Kashi Go Lean Crunch, Fiber One, sliced banana, strawberries, and raisins. I am not even close to being sick of this stuff yet!

Pre-gym snack was a mini cinnamon-raisin homemade bagel with some PB! Got some upper body + cardio done within an hour.

Went to the mall (yeah, I know..) again to return the sandals I bought from Old Navy the other day that turned out to be a tad too big. But JUST as I’m walking out the door, I see Costa Blanca with 50% off sale signs everywhere. So you know what that means Came out with a summer-y dress & yellow flats. I finally got around to using up the store credit I had soo.. the best part was that I spent $0 WOOHOO! 

I STILL had some leftover cooked quinoa that I prepared the other day.. seems like I have a bottomless pit of this stuff!! Surprise, surprise what was for lunch! Whipped up Orange Tofu Quinoa.. words can’t describe how perfect this dish was! I loved how the orange flavor totally popped out.

Posted this up in the Recipes section.. you won’t be disappointed, I promise!

Then I saw the last piece of Upside Down Apple Pie in the fridge.. I wasn’t dying for a piece, but I just ate it anyways just because it was there Haha, not really a good reason but I couldn’t let it go to waste

Lunch kept me full for a while, so dinner was a small bowl of mainly the veggies from the Orange Tofu Quinoa and shared half a mango with the bf.

Then I get a call to go to this Italian restaraunt, Anducci’s, for my friend’s last minute birthday dinner. Even though I had JUST finished eating, I got a small appy of Wok Chili Squid. No camera, so unfortunately.. no picture! But the description was.. “Tender pieces of squid sauteed in a sizzling wok with fresh garlic, crushed chilis, lime and bruschetta salsa.” So try to picture THAT! It wasn’t greasy at all, so A+ in my book! I also had a Strawberry Daquiri that I drank a leeetle too quickly, so I left feeling a tad light-headed. Can we say.. lightweight?!

When I got home, the bf made a concoction involving some Breyers FF Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream + Organic Chocolate Graham Bears..

= this! Topped off with a couple white chocolate chunks.. HEAVEN I tell ya!  I totally didn’t need this either, but I blame my lack of control on the alcohol

As for today, I had a pretty productive morning already. Picked up my paycheque, went to the bank, went for a nice hour long jog, and did laundry! WHEW. Now I’m off to study some math for the THEA and do some at-home lower body workouts.

Happy weekend :D! 

 

Case of the sniffles

Ugh woke up this morning with that stuffy nose, mushy-head feeling.. BLAH! I’m thinking it’s because we slept with the window wide open last night, but over time I’m starting to believe that’s just another old wive’s tale that my mom used to tell me. So who knows!

Yesterday I was at home all day long since I had to take care of the bf who was suffering from a bad hangover from the night before! Whatta party animal. So I rented the complete second season of Sex and the City on dvd and made the bf watch it with me Surprisingly he got really into it and I had to kind of tear him away from the tv for a bit.. Now it shouldn’t be a problem taking him to go see the movie again

For breakfast I had (surprise, surprise) my cereal smorgasbord of Fiber First, Nature’s Path Raisin Bran, Kashi Go Lean Crunch with bananas and raisins. I swear, once I find a breakfast that I love.. I’m hooked! But don’t worry, you won’t be seeing my repeat cereal bowl every morning pretty soon since our boxes are close to empty

We had the perfect veggies in the drawer for Shrimp Stir Fry. I think I’ve finally perfected a method for stir-frying..

1. Saute 1 tsp of minced ginger and a minced garlic clove in a med-high wok until ginger is fragrant.
2. Add a chopped onion and a handful of chopped green onions and saute until onion is translucent.
3. Place shrimp into the wok, sprinkle with black pepper and remove when shrimp barely cook (they should just turn pink–about 1 min per side)
4. Add chopped mushrooms and roughly sliced baby bok choy to wok. Drizzle 1 tsp of sesame oil, 1 tbsp of water, 3 tbsp light soy sauce and 2 tbsp rice vinegar.
5. Stir-fry until all bok choy is wilted.
6. Sprinkle with chopped almonds, peanuts, or cashews and CHOW DOWN!

Munched on a small plate of sliced pears, pineapples and a handful of homemade granola while working our way through the SATC dvds!

Did some at-home workouts since I couldn’t head to gym.. but still workout up a nice sweat! Did the Ab Ripper from P90X, various arm exercises, and got some ideas from here for some lower body.

I was planning to make some Cinnamon-Raisin bagels but we were running low on ww flour so put together this recipe of Apple-Banana & Raisin Oatmeal Cookies!

Pretty random but all of the flavors really worked out together.

This made about 30 mini-cookies, about half the size of the palm of your hand. Yeah I’m aware that only 28 are shown here.. but I had to taste two of them fresh right out of the oven

Posted this up on the Recipes page (along with the stir-fry) so try out these healthy little suckers!

For dinner we finally left the house and met up two other friends for some late-night Japanese tapas. Everything is served in small, appetizer-sized portions which works out perfectly because you get a taste of everything without feeling stuffed to the rim. Sadly, no pictures of all of the yumminess that occured last night because I forgot the cam, but you’ll just have to go out and try it for yourselves!

See you all later!

Computers don’t like me

Yep another late post since we got home at 6 in the morning from last night’s shenanigans..

Yesterday’s breakfast was what I like to call my new oatmeal.. a mixed bowl of Nature’s Path Raisin Bran, Fiber First, Kashi Go Lean Crunch topped with raisins but sans bananas!

Had one of the last Crunchy Peanut Butter Clif Bars left.. I swear a whole box doesn’t even last us a week!

Lunch was the last whole wheat bagel from the batch I made a couple days ago. It got a little dense.. but still good! Stuffed this tiny one with almond butter & bananas.

And here are my last food pictures since my computer was not on my side this morning! I accidentally deleted some pictures that I haven’t uploaded yet,  so I go back to the Recycling Bin thinking I can still retrieve them since I didn’t empty the bin yet, but to my HORROR.. they were all gone!

Since when does the Recycling Bin empty all by itself?! It needs permission to do that!! I swear this laptop as a mind of its own.. I’m probably getting a Macbook soon when the new school semester starts, so hopefully my tech stress will go away forever

Anyways, I found some spring roll wrappers so I made 3 different healthy versions: Sweet Potato, Grilled Carrot & Apple Spring Rolls. I say they’re healthy because I baked them in the oven and it’s traditionally deep fried in a huge batch of oil.. boo to grease!

I never really measure anything, so the measurements aren’t anywhere close to being exact.. but here’s a rough outline of what I did:

Sweet Potato Filling:

1. Peel and boil 3 medium sweet potatoes (amount depending on how much filling you want to make) until tender. 
2. Mash with fork and add 1/4 cup chopped green onions, 4tbsp chile powder, salt & pepper, 1 minced garlic clove, 2 tbsp nf plain yogurt.
3. Bake finished spring rolls (seam side down) in a 420 degree oven for 8 mins per side or until golden brown.

Obviously for the Apple & Grilled Carrot fillings, I thinly sliced them. You can also sprinkle a little sugar and cinnamon on top of the apples before rolling them.

There are so many ways to roll these babies up, here’s one:

Wet all edges of the wrapper with water. Place filling on the bottom corner and fold over.

Fold in the left & right sides, leaving a “point” at the top.

Roll up to the top and press edges together to ensure its sealed & VOILA!

Now this is when I would’ve put pictures of the finished spring rolls.. but apparantly my computer likes to makes its own decisions without my approval, so I’ll leave you to imagine them looking all pretty.

This ended up making about 50 spring rolls and I ate a couple of them dipped in salsa and nf plain yogurt! Sooo good. I’m really disappointed that I don’t have a picture to show you how DEEEELICIOUS they looked! I’m really not lying  

I also went to the mall again yesterday (I have no idea why I keep setting myself up for disaster!) and picked up 2 jean shorts and a pair of grey heels from Old Navy.

CUTE! Them actually being comfortable is an added bonus!

The second dangerous place for me.. Shoppers. Everytime I go in there, a sale always gets to me leaving me to justify my purchases with.. “because they were on sale”. Boots No7 Primer (I get oily in the T-zone area so this stuff saves me from lookin like a little greaseball), Revlon Nail Polishes in Berries In the Snow & Perfect Pink.

We had Homemade Hot Pot again at one of my girlfriend’s houses last night while watching Knocked Up (my fifth time.. but I still laugh uncontrollably as if it were my first!) No picture but my plate was constantly filled with Chicken & Veggie Dumplings, baby corn, mushrooms, and broccoli!

Afterwards I met the bf up at a bonfire he was at with friends, and let’s just say that it’s 12 in the afternoon right now and he’s still passed out sleeping.

Make your weekends worth it, everybody!

Sex and the City, anyone?

Another delayed post since I got back home pretty late last night from watching Sex and the City which ended up being around 2.5 hours long but it was soooo worth it

My old friend oatmeal and I were reunited yesterday morning once again. Bananas, walnuts, raisins, cinnamons.. YUM, I knew we couldn’t be parted for long

Because of the chocolate fondue I had the night before (and I knew I was eating out for dinner later), I tried to balance out my meals for today. So lunch was a Fruit plate with apples, pears, and strawberries plus the last of the cottage cheese along with some cinnamon & raisins.

The picture doesn’t do it justice.. the plate was GIGANTIC and def filled me up for sure.

I also did some at-home exercises (a couple I got from here) and the Ab Ripper dvd from the P90X series. PHEW! Everything altogether gave me a great workout, just like a came back from the gym. The Jumping squats I did were really good too since I can def feel the soreness in my legs today!!

It took the girlfriends and I forever to decide what we felt like eating. I even had a chunk of pineapple at the house to hush dying appetite!

We always say we’re going to try a different cuisine but can never settle on the same one so we headed to our always-reliable, Japanese! Well, I wasn’t complaining since you all know about my severe sushi addiction..

Started off with a bowl of miso soup

Wanting to step outside of my usual California or Veggie roll that I always order, I got the special bento box of the day. On top was Salmon & tuna Sashimi and green salad with Ginger-miso dressing. Bottom was the Canuck roll (crab, avocado, tobiko with smoked salmon on top) and the middle was kind of a mystery for me.. salmon & tuna and I’m guessing the other two were crab with tobiko and unagi (bbq eel)?

Who knows but the bbq eel was surprisingly tasty! I gave away a couple of my sashimi pieces and ate all of the salad, the mystery sushi, and about 3 pieces of the Canuck roll.

We rushed to the theater afterwards so we could get there early and not be stuck with seats in the front row straining our necks (don’t you hate it when that happens?!). Luckily we got came just in time and as for my Sex and the City review.. I thought it was everything  that I expected and more!

It was also funny because the theater was pretty much all girls (surprise, surprise) but then two regular teenage boys walk in all casually.. getting all comfortable in the front row with their popcorn and everything. For the longest time, my friends and I were waiting for their girlfriends to show up, but nope! It was just them two! Haha I guess SATC isn’t just popular with the ladies!

And that is the story I’m telling the bf to convince him to watch it with me for the second time

Saving money = happy me :)

Didn’t get a chance to post yesterday again since I got home around 2am-ish and all I wanted to do was pass out in bed and sleep my little mind away

So here’s FRIDAY!

Breakfast was Fiber One Cereal with bananas, walnuts, raisins and cinnamon. I love this Fiber One stuff, too bad it’s already finished because when the bf eats cereal, he doesn’t just eat it in normal cereal bowls.. he fills up a huge serving bowl! Ahh whatever he’s a growing little boy..

Went to the gym again for a good morning workout before heading off to my longer Friday shift at work. Going clockwise is.. a Spring salad (I put my dressing–nf plain yogurt, honey, paprika, pepper–in a bundled up plastic wrap so it wouldn’t get the leaves all soggy, worked out well!), Pineapple slices, Pear (which I had later as my snack at work), Pita chips & Black Beans & Corn. 

MmM it was such a filling lunch! I ended up having half of an apple at work since the cookies and cake hanging out at the work kitchen was getting me all in a munching-mood! Thank God my will power was feeling mighty strong  

When I got home I had a little portion of cottage cheese with cinnamon & raisins (which is half eaten here since I only remembered to take a picure mid-bite =/)  

Everyone else was out clubbing tonight, but a couple girlfriends and I weren’t really up for it so we had a night in. Which is always a good thing since clubbing sucks the money out of me! No WONDER why they put ATM machines in there.. because when you’re tipsy, you feel like you have an unlimited bank account and can buy everyone a round of drinks. Aaand yeah, I wasn’t in the mood to wake up the next morning.. broke.

So lucky us, we found her fondue pot and had our own little Hot Pot! Filled the pot with broth and plated: bok choy, baby corn, water chestnuts, tofu, lobster balls, shrimp, chicken breast, and ham (random, I know)

It was just like having it at the restaurant without having to pay for overpriced ingredients! I tried pretty much everything except for the lobster balls and shrimp, not really feeling the seafood.

Then we discovered some chocolate chips and had Chocolate Fondue for dessert! Forgot to snap a picture but I had a couple strawberries & grapes dipped in.

Definitely a fun “splurge” night!

Today I’m planning to do some at home exercises then go for a good run.

I also think we’re having a girls’ night out tonight, possibly watching Sex In the City or going out for dinner/dancing at this restaraunt that has a live band! Should be another fun night.. without the boys

I live on Sushi

Woke up early this morning and our intentions were to hit the gym before the bf had to leave for work. But right when I woke up I could feel how fatigued my lower body was from all the cardio! I really pushed myself to bike up those steep hills so I knew I was going to be sore the next morning. Surprisingly, I love that feeling when you wake up with a sore body the next day. All this means to me is that I got an awesome workout

Here’s my lovely bowl of oatmeal with bananas, flax, cinnamon, raisins and walnuts.

Didn’t get any of my errands done (again) but that’s why they call them Lazy Sundays, right?

Lunch was a tasty chicken quesadilla made with roasted skinless chicken breast, tomato sauce, lettuce, nonfat plain yogurt, and mozzarella cheese! Alongside is a spring salad with my “dressing” (which really means a random mixture of nf plain yogurt, honey dijon mustard, squirt of lemon juice, pepper and paprika!)  

 

Not feeling the gym today, so did another at-home workout which included some exercises I got from here

A hot day always calls for a Strawnana smoothie

My best friend is in a Filipino folk heritage performing arts group so we headed downtown to support her at their big show downtown. Had my snack on the drive there (it was quite fitting for the occasion now that I think of it..) a Manila mango!

Had dinner before the show with a couple of girlfriends at a small sushi place near the theatre. Sushi again?? Of course! I never get sick of Japanese food (esp sushi!) so I would have no problem having it everyday

I didn’t even notice that I got a yam and tofu roll again with the addition of an avocado roll (I’ve got to kind of change things up right?). Also had a miso soup on the side and a piece of a friend’s gyoza which was not the greatest =/

Here’s some pictures from the show which actually turned out to be a lot more entertaining than I expected! Haha that might not sound too nice.. but I grew up watching tons of native Filipino dances so I thought I’ve seen it all, but the group did an amazing job tonight!

My mouth felt dry as the Sahara desert the whole time so I grabbed this orange flavored Green Tea Refresher from a friend’s place. 0 cals and tastes amazing! This one is def going on my “try to mimic” list…

When I came home the bf proudly let me know that he made his own dinner. His exact words were ”Yeah, on top of the stove and everything!” He made a chicken teriyaki sandwich using the leftover roasted chicken breast. This is coming from a guy who considered using the toaster as “cooking”. Yep, he doesn’t need me anymore

Have a good Monday morning everyone!

Sweat.. it’s a good thing.

Ahh.. Martha Stewart has such an influence on me. Started off my awesome Saturday morning by making whole wheat crepes! I used to make them all of the time with my mom’s crepe pan, but a normal nonstick one did the job just as well.

I was feeling adventurous and did 2 different fillings. First, browned thin apple slices in a skillet with a dab of margarine, a couple raisins and sprinkled some cinnamon and brown sugar during the last few minutes of cooking. Layered it inside the crepe along with a little nonfat plain yogurt — one of my staples, I find ways to eat it with everything!

And here’s the second filling.. natural crunchy pb & raisins. When I just finished rolling all of the crepes, I just thought of another really good combo: pb w/ sliced bananas & a drizzle of  honey. Yumm.. damnit.

Rollin, rollin, rollin…

Served with some homemade applesauce & nf plain yogurt (as usual) then topped with walnuts!

Inside view *drools*

Had a nice, lazy Saturday morning while the poor bf had to work! Then I decided to put off my list of errands to do for the weekend (I literally make lists for everything..) because it was such a burrrrning hot day so obviously I had to take advantage.

For lunch I had the last of the leftover Mandarin salmon salad (I told you it made a huge bowl!) and a Manila mango.

I thought, “Why not save my $3.50?!” and had an at-home workout for the day. Did the Ab-Ripper workout from the P90X workout series (Def one of the best workout dvds I’ve tried so far, it KICKS your ass big time!!) followed by some push-ups & tricep dips and a good 2.5 hour long jog/walk!

The bf noticed that I came back nice and tanned from my run (I naturally get tanned pretty easily, I’ve never gotten a sunburn, ever!). Thus, his new nickname PB (pale boy) was born. Hahaha I just tease him because he’s clearly jealous of my glowing complexion since he’ll be staying as his pasty-self.. stuck at work on gorgeous summer days!   

But it was STILL outrageously hot when he got back, so we went down to the Sea Wall. My pre-biking fuel in the car ride there, was some leftover steamed asparagus (ignore the rice morsels since they were both stored in the same container =/) and the bf & I shared this mix of apple slices, walnuts, & raisins.

While biking across the Burrard Street Bridge, found this beauuutiful look-out over English Bay!

Yes, I am determined to live in one of those condos someday!!

Stopped for an outdoor dinner at this japanese restaraunt in my most favorite area ever, Kitsilano on West 4th. The bf’s donburi and California roll:

& I probably finished about 80% of my California, yam & tofu rolls!

Biked/rollerbladed for a good 4 hours! I did a lot of cardio today especially with my jog from earlier on. I really love getting all sweaty and working my body as hard as I can, so let’s just say that I am officially.. P-O-O-P-E-D.  

Goodnight everyone!

Cute workout clothes = motivation!

Even though it was a short work week, I love that feeling when you wake up and know it’s the weekend!! Rolled out of bed early to get a head start on my day with my usual morning partner.. oatmeal with 1/2 banana, cinnamon, raisins, flax, & walnuts! Walnuts are definitely becoming one of my favorites in my oats.

Got my lazy butt out of bed for a quick but tough workout. Plus, there’s just something about new yoga clothes that make me excited to go to the gym! And I officially LOVE going to the gym in the early morning. It’s mainly all of the cute senior citizens (yes, I think old people are cute.. my boyfriend tends to get jealous of the 60+ crowd now haha!) which means more mat space and no waiting for the elliptical! I always feel like I get the best workout when I finish with hard intervals on the elliptical. I never knew that one day I’d actually like exercise?!

Lunch was kind of a bore fest since I had to quickly pack something to eat for the rest of the day at work. Leftover Fish & chips and a little bit of the Mandarin salmon salad. Whoever said leftovers were such a bad thing

This pear was soo yummy and perfectly pear-ish tasting.. if that even makes any sense? Haha

When it’s such a gorgeous day outside and you’re heading to work, don’t you just feel like you’re going to be missing out on something? Ugh that’s exactly how I felt since this weather was screeeaming.. bike riding on the Sea Wall!!  

After the bf & I got off work, it was too late to go on the Sea Wall so we took a good, long walk around downtown and stopped by The Marble Slab Creamery! Didn’t feel like something too sweet and heavy, so I got the vanilla frozen yogurt with walnuts. I don’t know where this recent walnut obsession came from?!  

Here’s my petite serving next to the bf’s gargantuan-sized ice cream! He got the Swiss chocolate ice cream with crushed coffee crisp & mini marshmallows in a caramel Skor waffle cup. Yep it was mandatory that I take a couple bites of that

It’s prom time right now for high schoolers, so we saw a lot of limos (and HUMMER SUV limos!!) around downtown. That totally made me want to be back in high school all over again But here’s a picture of my bf & I at my prom. Now I just really need to find an occasion to wear that dress again.. ha!

Show me your prom pictures/dresses!

SUNday!

My oatmeal w/ flax, raisins & banana to wake me up from my 12 hour sleep

Had a spoonful of leftover chocolate mousse from the anniversary dinner last night, but my lips started to get HUGE from the allergic reaction I got from eating it. So no more mousse for me =/… Instead, quickly made a chicken lettuce ww wrap using 1/2 a flatbread, chicken deli slice, 2 large lettuce leaves, dijon honey mustard & some paprika (my favorite new spice, makes everything taste better I swear!)

Originally planned to go for a jog outside since it was such a hot day again. But the bf got off early from work so we decided to head downtown to go rollerblading/biking on the SeaWall which is basically a trail that goes all around the different beaches.

My pre-biking fuel was a small piece from the bf’s Cliff bar

Diva dog and I on the way there.. (didn’t even last a quarter of the way there! So we had to leave her in the car for the rest of the time. Yes that is a true diva over here..)

And this was Cissi passed out on the sidewalk after 10 minutes of jogging.. I got a lot of “That dog looks DEAD!”  So we had to leave the princess in the car while we finished the wall. Yeah she was HAPPY about that!

Since when are birds NOT scared of people anymore?! This seagull came up right beside me begging for food and was acting exactly like a dog! So I gave her some of the rice from my sushi despite my fear of birds. Yes, I have a fear of birds because you never know what they’re thinking!

My okay California rolls from the Granville market. Everything else was closed and these were only 2 for $5 so I head to settle!

Then headed to downtown for the night to window shop and get some bubbletea (again!). Here’s my Mango Green Tea Slush with Cocnut Jelly!

 

TONS of biking and walking today.. LOVED IT! Tomorrow, last day of the long weekend so gonna try and make it a productive one by starting my day off early!