Greek Froyo + My Fit Foods

This has been a tiring week.  I decided I needed to run and overdid it.  It's weird how I used to run every single day, 4 - 6 miles for three months straight and felt great.  But throw some hills in there and one day is enough to kill me.  Add in some headwind and I might as well call in to work dead.  I'm short.  Hills are not my friend.

Anyway, I had a craving for something frozen this week and since my ice cream maker bowl was already in the freezer, I decided to whip up some greek froyo!  So it's not comparable to froyo shops, probably because I myself refuse to put in as much a sugar as they do, but it was still good.  I made some blueberry fat free froyo and now that I think of it, adding in some xanthan gum would've been a good idea to make up for the lack of fat and give it a nice mouth feel.

Blueberry Greek Froyo Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Fage 0% (or whatever you like, this is what I used)
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 2 Tbsp sweetener (I think honey would've been awesome, but I only had corn syrup.  Also, I've read that the liquid sweeteners will contribute to a better mouthfeel)

Method:

1. Mix sweetener into yogurt until completely dissolved or evenly distributed
2. Add blueberries and mix thoroughly
3. Dump into prepared ice cream bowl and use according to ice cream maker's instructions

It took about 10 - 15 minutes to get it to a nice scoopable texture. Being fat free, a lot of it stuck to the frozen ice cream bowl! I think adding in some guar gum and xanthan gum would give it a better texture.  

In my last post, I mentioned trying chicken. Well, I did.  And it wasn't too weird as I had eaten chickpea nuggets before and do eat seitan and such.  The difference was how filling it was.  I decided on Thursday I was going to try it and went to My Fit Foods and bought two entrees.  I almost forgot to take a picture and already ate a slice of chicken. This was a small portion and probably half a breast. It made me full! I mean, it was a different feeling of satiety from eating the vegetarian fare I normally eat. 

I really liked this dish, especially the pilaf, there was so much variety in the flavors. The chicken was good too and I am keeping chicken in my diet.

Yesterday, we had lunch catered in at work and I opted for a spinach strawberry salad + chicken. It had goat cheese and sliced almonds as well. I brought my own dressing and after tasting the salad, used only a tad. The chicken was well seasoned and the strawberries with goat cheese was practically a dressing in itself. The portion looked small, but it was actually filling. My eyes are usually bigger than my stomach. Good thing this was portioned.

I plan on trying some simple chicken recipes soon and will post the ones that taste decent!

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A trip to Trader Joe's

Have you been to Trader Joe's?  They only recently started opening stores in my area and I waited forever for one to open near me.  Before that, the closest one was about 45 minutes away.  Now I can jog to Trader Joe's or drive there in 7 - 8 minutes.  I went there a couple days ago to pick up their 3 grain tempeh, which I have yet to try.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've been on a tempeh kick lately.  

Anyway, as it always happens, I got distracted in the store and picked up a couple other items.  I got their dried flattened banana.  It's almost like taffy and it's so chewy and sticky!  It's like candy, really.

So the dried bananas were right next to a weakness of mine - the nuts!  Trader Joe's does have some of the best value when it comes to their nuts, I especially love their roasted deluxe mixed nuts, but opted to try something I hadn't seen before in their store - Thai Lime and Chili Almonds.  I usually get their cashew and peanut variety and there was one similar of just plain cashews, although the seasoning was a bit different.  I just know I liked the one with tom yum flavor a lot more and this one had it.

I immediately tried it when I got home and it's amazing! I do like this better than their cashew and peanut variety as it seems to be less oily.  The tom yum flavor overpowers the cashews too much anyway so I think the almond variety is more balanced and definitely has a better crunch.  It's a bit addictive though, so I won't be buying it too often.

When I was getting my tempeh, I happened upon their Italian Sausage-less sausage.  I've tried the ones from Lightlife before and I thought those were pretty good, but wanted to try other brands.

I pan-fried half of one sliced in half on a sprayed skillet and it crisped on the sides nicely. It is slightly soft, but doesn't really fall apart when you cut into it. The texture was good, I think it's similar to Lightlife's version, and the flavor was good - it brought back memories of sausage pizza. My first thought biting into this was, I should make a pizza out of this and that I will soon. Maybe just get pita bread, mozzarella, tomato sauce, and top it off with diced chunks of this.

I need to start experimenting with other recipes soon as stir-fry anything is getting boring (although it's so convenient). Maybe foray back into chicken??? It's been on my mind a lot lately since I started eating seafood again last August after 5.5 years of being a vegetarian. I still can't get past the image of a chicken looking at me with his leg missing and asking me why I ate his leg. When I went to Tan Tan last week, we had ordered fish - the waitress pointed to the fish tank which size was which. When the dish came out and the fish was sitting on top of the plate (yes sitting, they did not put him on his side), I looked back over at the tank and there was one less fish.  He was only swimming around 20 minutes before.  I'm still haunted by this. I was a bad vegetarian for 5.5 years and relying on greek yogurt for my protein gradually gave me a massive sweet tooth (dairy has a lot of sugar and really, I don't think I would try and eat a bowl of savory greek yogurt if there was ever a thing). Becoming an endurance runner as a vegetarian who wasn't careful with macros intake turned my healthy eating habits upside down and I'm still trying to fix it (both habits and health). We shall see.

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Overnight breakfasts, a time-saver

I've been on a overnight oats and chia seed breakfast kick, although I do like the overnight oats a lot better. It does save a lot of time in the morning when I oversleep on a daily basis and am rushing to cook my morning oatmeal. Initially, I tried making overnight chia seed pudding for breakfast the next day - it came out pretty good but it more like a dessert soup since I added too much water. 

I ended up making overnight oats. The first time I had any type of oats soaked in yogurt was swiss oatmeal from Corner Bakery. I was obsessed with it. Oatmeal soaked in yogurt and served with green apples, currants, and almonds. It was pretty good, but probably high in sugar as well. I decided to make my own - a healthier version. It's almost like a rice pudding, but healthy! I've done a couple of variations on this based on what I'm craving - I'm thinking of trying a mocha flavored soon as well as a matcha flavored one! I love matcha, but I think the yogurt might overpower it - it would probably be better with milk if going for a matcha flavor.

Overnight Oats Base Recipe

• 1/2 cup rolled oats 
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt (I used Fage 0%) 
• Sweetener of choice (I used Wholesome Sweeteners organic stevia here) 
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup of liquid (I used 1/2 cup of water) 

Additions:

Fruit, PB2, nut butters, cocoa powder, extracts, lemon zest, the possibilities are endless! For a decadent dessert, I will probably add some chocolate chips or Sunspire's unsweetened carob chips (Sunspire has the best carob chips and since carob is already naturally sweet, I don't feel a need to get the sweetened version).

Method:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, cover, and let it sit overnight
In the morning, stir the mixture and add more liquid if preferred for a looser texture or eat as is for a thick, pudding-like texture!

I can definitely see myself making this when I'm craving something like rice pudding. I would want to try it with canned coconut milk for dessert. Hmmm with toasted coconut and dark chocolate chips. Maybe add in some roasted chopped almonds for an almond joy variation. Yum!

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Exploring workout options, Teo Chew chinese food, and mango chips

It's been awhile since I've eaten at an Asian restaurant but after a heavy leg day today (and a good workout at Studio Fitness Heights - trying it out for now), I ended up going to get one of my favorite dishes since childhood at Tan Tan restaurant. It's called banh bot chien and and this restaurant makes the best. Many have tried to pull it off but no one comes near. I remember reading this is a Teo Chew dish which is hard to find these days.

It's made from rice flour, turnips (I think pickled turnips?) and eggs. This is what I ate throughout my childhood every time we came here to this restaurant. It's classified as an appetizer but it's easily a meal on it's own. Another childhood dish is crunchy fried noodles with a veggie and seafood stir-fry in brown sauce laying atop of it all. I love the contrast between the noodles that have already absorbed the sauce and the dry crunchy portion. This is another dish this restaurant is famous for.

Back to the workout at this new gym I'm trying out; my friend said he would help me so I'm debating if I should join. I tend to feel uncomfortable in the free weights section and generally around the machines. I also need someone to spot me so I can lift as heavy as I can and I refuse to ask strangers for help. It's a little farther than I'd like but my workouts will probably be quite a bit better having someone I know there to push me (and won't let me give up).

Anyway, earlier this week I went to Whole Foods and found popped mango chips with chili seasoning by Yogavive. My mom really likes dried chewy mango with chili seasoning, but that's often cooked in sugar so I decided to give these a try and maybe convert her to a less sugary alternative. This was not cheap. It was a little almost $4 for maybe a cup's worth of mango chips.

It's pretty good and can be addictive. But I learn to control myself when something is expensive (sometimes). It's a good alternative when I'm craving something crunchy. I like how the mangoes are kind of sticky when you start chewing on it; reminds me of the Mexican Lucas candy I used to eat growing up. I have an inkling that those Mexican mangonada drinks taste similar to this. That's on my list of foods to try. Perhaps in the hot and humid summer (will it ever come back?!).

With the weather warming up, I found some recipes for greek frozen froyo made at home, if I give it a try, I'll post the results!

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Coffee, Arctic Zero, and new furniture!

This week has been a fun week with my new Verona Buffet from World Market. I've been meaning to buy more kitchen storage and World Market had a sale + 20% off coupon. I saved about $140!

While waiting for a friend to help me and come pick it up (it was well over 140 lbs) since it wouldn't fit in my Beetle, I browsed the store and tried some of their Peruvian coffee and Torani Sugar Free Belgian Cookie Speculoos syrup. It was amazing! I've been curious about this syrup and I'm glad they had it out to sample. Their Peruvian coffee blend was pretty darn good too, it's got notes of cocoa and bitterness and acidity is low to none.

By the way, the Verona Buffet took probably an hour to build by myself and was pretty easy. I love World Market furniture, the quality is excellent and the price is always right. Not to mention they have unique high-end looking designs too.

I have a couple of new obsessions this week:

• Cinnamon scrambled eggs with PB2 topping 
• Arctic Zero 
• Tempeh 

Cinnamon Scrambled Eggs Recipe

• 1 whole egg 
• 3 egg whites 
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
• 1 packet SweetLeaf stevia (this brand has always worked well for me) 
• 1/4 tsp Nielsen Massey madagascar bourbon vanilla extract (the only vanilla brand I will ever use!) 
• Splash of water (I find it makes the eggs fluffier) 

In a heated sprayed small skillet, pour the mixture into the pan, wait about 30-40 seconds and start pushing the edges to the center. Repeat this process until eggs are fully cooked. I will flip over the mass of eggs when there is little liquid left. "Scooting" the edges into the center seem to make it fluffy for me. 

To top it off, I put a scoop (or a couple) of Vanilla Maple Arctic Zero on top. The whole container is only 150 calories! They came out with a new formula and it tastes pretty smooth with a creamy texture. This has been a lifesaver when I just want to indulge mindlessly.

I kind of wanted another dessert as well so I made Arctic Zero affogato! Using my handy Nespresso, I brewed up some espresso and pour it over a scoop of Arctic Zero. I was trying to mimic my dessert from Pittsburgh last week:

Enough about sweets, let's talk savoury. After all, my new year's resolution was to retrain my tastebuds to crave more savoury than sweet! I bought tempeh for the first time last week. At first, I didn't know if I liked it since it's got a weird fermented pungent smell/taste. But once you get past that, it has a really good flavor! I don't know how to explain it, but I think growing up on Asian food has me really liking it. I stir-fried it with some shiritaki noodles, cabbage, and mushrooms and served over black rice for dinner.

A note on soy: whenever I can, I always opt for organic soy since it is often GMO and sprayed heavily with pesticides.

Tempeh and veggie stir-fry recipe:

• 3.5 oz Lightlife Organix Flax Tempeh
• 1/2 package of NoOodle, rinsed and drained 
• 1 cup of sliced cabbage 
• 1 cup of slice mushrooms 
• 1 - 2 tsp Frontier salt-free all-purpose seasoning 
• 1 - 2 tsp soy sauce 
• 1/3 cup black rice 

In a heated sprayed skillet, add tempeh. Stir until slightly golden and add the soy sauce. Then add the shiritaki noodles to remove the excess water. Next, add the cabbage and mushrooms. Stir until wilts a little and add the Frontier seasoning and additional soy sauce. I like it to have a little crunch in it, so I don't cook it for too long. Serve over black rice.

Enjoy!

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Pittsburgh

I went to Pittsburgh last week for a very short trip and I almost forgot my coat!!! The airport shuttle had to circle back to the parking lot so I could get it out of my car. That would have made for a miserable trip considering I think 50 degrees is winter. So at the airport, United was offering $200 vouchers for two volunteers to take a later flight. In about 30 minutes, they increased that to $300 plus lunch. Then about 10 minutes after their scheduled boarding time, it was $500! I wish I could have volunteered, but as I was traveling for work, it wouldn't be feasible.

Anyway, by the time I got there, I was starving! I ended up getting dinner at Crystal in downtown since it was recommended on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (I love Guy Fieri!). My co-workers and I started off with their Combo Platter app and it was fresh and tasty. I especially liked their hummus since it tasted different with the cumin flavor. The feta was a bit strong for me.

For my entree, I ordered the Felafel Platter with a side of fries. Their felafel was amazing! It wasn't mushy and had a "meaty" texture to it. It wasn't greasy either. We all agreed their fries were amazing.

After all that food, we had to do some walking around town because we ate too much. We decided to walk down Penn Ave and explore some of the downtown area.

I secretly had a plan to look for a candy shop even though we were pretty full. I love buying local sweets and coffee while traveling! We came across Sinful Sweets which is a chocolate shop. I got their black and white bark with dried fruit as well as a peanut butter melt away. The bark was amazing!

Downtown Pittsburgh looked so fun to run but I didn't bring warm enough clothes or my GPS watch. Plus, I didn't want to get lost while on a work trip. Doesn't it look like a fun route?

Dinner the next day was at Lidia's, which was recommended to us by the hotel. We wanted something Italian and this place did not disappoint! The bread basket had these amazing parmesan sticks, I couldn't get enough. I ordered the fish of the day which was rainbow trout over grains. It was pretty darn good. I polished off my plate.

For dessert, i ordered their Biscotti plate. The ice cream came with espresso poured over in affogato fashion. The cookies included anise biscotti, chocolate crinkle cookies (very fudgy), peanut butter cookie, ginger cookie, pistachio cookie, and some kind of chocolate thins (which was a bit bitter). I could've easily finished, but I had self control and so I left 1.5 cookies on the plate.

Afterward, I made my way back to Penn Ave. by myself only find that the street was closed! Apparently, they were filming a Russell Crowe and Amande Seyfried movie! However, seeing as I only had less than an hour to make it to Sinful Sweets, I didn't even bother to try and see what was going on. I went down a back alley to get my chocolate fix. Yeah, it's that important. I got the dark chocolate with dried mango and pineapple bark, peanut butter bark, more of the black and white bark with dried fruits, champagne truffle, blueberry truffle, and ice cream malt balls. Yes, I ate most of it. I saved most of the mango and pineapple bark for my mom (she loves mango anything!). I must say, their dark chocolate is one of the smoothest dark chocolates I've had (my mom agreed). You gotta try it!

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Hello there!

Welcome to my very first blog post!

Monday, Monday, Monday. Why do you hate me so? I started off the morning with oatmeal mixed with PB2, two egg whites from Texas Chicken Ranch (each bird gets 100+ sq ft of roaming space!), and a couple pieces of diced apple. It was delicious! Mondays are always a "get on track" day from being sedentary all weekend long (trying to fix that). I went to the gym and worked on arms and abs today - I'm following the workouts from Jamie Eason's LiveFit program. I'm, not necessarily following the diet or the cardio (I do enough cardio on my own) and just need direction for lifting weights. I promised myself after the 2014 half marathon in January I would back off cardio and start lifting heavy!

Later, I ran just under five miles with mild hills with some gym buddies. The goal was to keep one of my running partners running the whole time without stopping, so I didn't try to run fast and just made it a leisurely run (as most runners know, that's easier said than done when you start bickering with your mind that every run needs to be a fast one).

I came home starving and fixed myself some dinner, which consisted of rainbow trout rubbed in Char Crust Hickory and Molasses, black rice, and spinach and grape tomatoes drizzled with Bolthouse Farms Blue Cheese Yogurt dressing. I am such a big fan of their dressings, especially the Honey Mustard, Miso, and Caesar.

I'll make it a habit to take more pics and have better topics to talk about other than my boring daily routine. Just wanted to get something out there. See ya soon!

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