Quinoa Fried Rice

Hey hey everyone. I'm so sorry for not posting as often as I have been before. I've been so busy. School, studying, volunteering, working out, hanging with friends, it gets so busy! 

Anyway, I've been doing my best to manage my time. I have time for everything, except keeping up with my blogging. It's going to get even crazier once I start taking higher level classes later on, and especially if I get a part time job.  

Anyway, here's a quick and easy quinoa fried rice recipe that I love. It's really simple to make and I've been eating it a lot. Here's the recipe. 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup egg whites (egg substitute, I used egg beaters)
• 1 boca burger, cut into pieces (or any other meat you want to use)
• 3-4 tablespoon tamari

Directions:

1. Cook the quinoa with the water. 
2. In a nonstick pan, heat up the frozen boca burger (or any other meat you want to use) and the eggs. Then, add in the quinoa. 
3. After adding in the quinoa, mix it so that all the ingredients mix together. 
4. Mix in the tamari. You can add more if you like more of a soy sauce taste. 
5. Enjoy

This past week has been quite active and busy. But, I seriously love this semester better than last semester. 

Anyway, I'm really debating whether to continue strength training. My muscles are growing, that's for sure, but it's adding bulk. I'm not sure if I really want that look. My thighs and arms, you can really tell. The only good thing I can say is that, I've gotten a few compliments saying that I have nice legs. 

Anyway, I went to a local diner the PAST weekend (not this weekend) and I ordered the buffalo chicken salad. It was so good (but not that healthy, since there was deep-fried chicken). The salad was huge but it was delicious! The chicken was really spicy and I loved that. It also came with cheese, balsamic-raspberry vinaigrette  and a sliced boiled egg (and other things too, as you can see from the picture). 

After, I ordered this chocolate sundae. It was huge! 

Well, huge for my liking, anyway. It was so delicious though. Hey. It's good to indulge once in a while. 

Anyway, I guess that's it for now. I have to get some reading done and do research for my group debate. 

What are your plans for the weekend? 

Do you have any delicious quinoa recipes? 

Asian Black Bean Burgers

Hey hey everyone. How has your week been? It's been pretty busy for me. I'm so sorry for not posting as often. Anyway...here's a recipe a promised. So...

Do you guys like Black Bean Burgers?

I love how they're a great alternative to regular hamburgers, especially for vegetarians. These black bean burgers are Asian style and are really yummy. I hope you guys enjoy these. Here's the recipe.

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 can black beans, drained (15 oz can)
• 1/4 cup oatmeal
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 2 tsp sriracha
• 2 tablespoon hot chili sauce
• 2 tsp tamari
• a sprinkle of garlic powder
• a sprinkle of anise powder

Directions:

1. Mash the black beans. 
2. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. 
3. Form into burger patties. I used 1/4 cup for each patty. 
4. Bake at 350 F for about 18 minutes, flipping once. 
5. Enjoy! 

I hope you guys enjoy this! And, now here's my week. 

Monday was more of a rest day for me. On my "rest day", I took an hour long walk along the river. 

It was such a nice and sunny day. 

Also on Monday, I ate these Heart Thrive Chocolate cookie thing: 

 They tasted like a really healthy chocolate chip cookie. It wasn't really sweet, which I liked. It was a bit dense, chewy and filling.

I also tried the Kirland Almond Bark, which was yummy.

 I bought this Silver Hill Vegan bread and Laughing Giraffe Organic Goji Cocao and Maca. It's basically like a vegan coconut macaroon. It was pretty good, especially if you like macaroons. However, the bread was only okay. It was chewy. I guess it's because it's Canadian bread. I like it when it's toasted.

In class that day, we talked about the Great Depression.

Tuesday was quite a day. I learned a lot about calorie burning. A 20 minute lifting session only burns 75 calories for me and 65 minutes on an elliptical only burns 344 calories. I can't believe it. On the elliptical  it says I burned 700 calories. I guess it's 1/2 off, which is scary. I also started taking some pictures. Here's two of the many I took. 

I'm posing in one of the pictures and I'm doing the straddle stretch in the other. Yes, I got a little bored stretching after working out. 

In class, we learned about mitosis. In my other class, we learned about validity in research.

On Wednesday, I volunteered at the hospital at the Cardiac Cath Lab. It was my first day. The nurses were really nice. It was more of a learning and observation day since it was my first day. I get to watch an actual procedure next week. 

Since volunteering is about 4 hours long, I decided to eat some food (well, my dad told me to). I ended up eating a grilled chicken sandwich from Burger King and ordered their promotional 25 cent coffee. I ordered it cold with vanilla. The sandwich was eh. I didn't like the bread. The coffee was alright, considering it was only 25 cents. 

My dad also bought this Chinese drink at the Chinese store. It's the same exact drink I drank a lot while I was in China! Oh, memories. 

In class that day, we learned about the Great Depression and much about Franklin Roosevelt and his reforms. 

Yesterday, I was quite busy! I had 3 classes, one of them a night class. In one of my classes, we learned about meiosis. In the other, we went over our exam from last week. In my night class, we learned about some social problems. We also watched a video in that class. We got free coffee, baked goods and fruit.  I also stayed late yesterday working on homework for the class with friends. 

I ended up buying this for dinner. It's Jamba Juice Flat Bread Smokehouse Chicken or something like that. 

Don't let the picture deceive you. It wasn't that big. It tasted alright though. The inside was good but the crust was really bland. It was interesting that they put corn on it. 

Today, I went for a walk with my aunt's walking group around the park. It was nice. Then, I had work, where I had to scan and copy a ton of paper. I ate this ProMax Lower Sugar Peanut Butter Chocolate Bar and the coconut macaroon thing I bought earlier this week: 

The coconut macaroon thing is really good. The ProMax bar was alright. It was chewy but there wasn't really a chocolate flavor to it. 

I also ran to the library and back. My dad rode his bike behind me. It's funny because my running to the library and back is faster than riding my bike there and back. 25 minutes, 3 miles. Usually, it would be faster but my foot has been hurting for a while. I don't know why though. 

Well, I guess that's it for now. 

How was your week?

Do you like coconut?

What's your opinion on black bean burgers?

Delicious Shrimp Shirataki Recipe and my week's eats

It's been a busy week for me. I haven't had time to post much recipes the past week! But, I'm going to make it up to you by giving you this recipe for Shirataki noodles.
As you probably have heard, shirataki noodles are these miracle noodles since they're low in calories (as in zero calories!). They can be substituted for some noodle dishes.
I bought this regular shirtaki brand from an asian store and it doesn't use tofu like some brands do. I hope you guys enjoy this recipe. Well, I didn't measure out the ingredients. I eyeballed it instead. But, it still tastes good and you can adjust how much pb, soy sauce, or sriracha you want. If you like spicy, add more sriracha! It's a Thai inspired recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 pack of shirataki noodles, drained
• shrimp
• any veggies you like 

For the sauce:

• pb2 or peanut butter
• water (if you're using pb2)
• soy sauce
• sriracha

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix together the sauce ingredients. 
2. Cook the shrimp and the veggies. 
3. Then, heat a nonstick pan and spray with nonstick spray. Place the noodles, shrimp and veggies in it. 
4. Mix in the sauce. 
5. Heat and stir the noodles as it is cooking. Cook for about 5 minutes. 
6. Take off the stove and enjoy. 

Now, here's some eats I've been eating the past week. They're pretty delicious, if I say so myself. 

 I got the Berry Fulfilling from Jamba Juice during their $1. Yummy! I also requested soy protein. I drank this after my workout at the gym. It's my regular Jamba Juice order.

 I decided to try something new for breakfast. I pan fried an egg and topped it with avocados and sriracha. I ate it with the multigrain rounds from Costco. It was delicious! I'm definitely going to eat this combo again.

 I also bought this from a local store. It's a Cookies N Cream ProMax bar and a Double Fudge Brownie ProMax bar. My sister ate the Double Fudge one and she said it tasted good, like a really good brownie, but then had a weird taste after a few bites. She stopped eating it for a bit and then ate it again and it tasted fine. Then, it had a weird taste and stopped eating it. She kept doing that until she finished it.

 They were giving out free samples of PinkPerry Frozen Yogurt in front of my school's bookstore.

 I took advantage of Starbuck's Buy One get one free deal. I ordered the Vanilla Spiced Latte with soymilk, no whipped cream. I actually liked this. The spices blended well together with the drink.

I was so disappointed with this Cookies N Cream ProMax bar. It looked like it would taste so good! Well, boy was I wrong. The outer yogurt coating was sweet and good but the inside was just chalky! It was chewy too and I did taste chunks of chocolate cookies. But, I was not satisfied with this bar. The first ProMax bar I tried, with the peanut butter and chocolate, was really good. I don't know why this wasn't as good...

 I've been seeing bloggers talk about the BelVita for the longest time. I've been hesitant to buy and try this but, boy am I glad I did. I had a night class and had to stay all day at school. I got so hungry so I bought this Blueberry BelVita from the bookstore. I'm so glad I did because these taste too good to not be that bad for you. They tasted like a crunchy blueberry muffin.

 And, of course, since it was a night class day, I bought a Mayan Mocha with soymilk from EcoGrounds. I needed it to stay awake!

 The next day was work, so I stopped by the local coffee shop (which I've been going to the past 2 weeks) and ordered the Hot Pumpkin before going. It was so good! It tastes just like the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks but better. This had very few and simple ingredients but tasted so good! I finally found out the name of the place. It's called Fluid. They have vegan pastries too. I love this place!

 I snacked on this Apple Cinnamon BelVita that my cousin gave me before I went to work.He said that he likes the Golden Oat better. He says that these tasted a little bland. He's right. There was a hint of cinnamon and some chewy spots in the cookie but other than that, it wasn't that special. The Blueberry one I tried was a lot better.

 I also ate this Crunchy Macadamia Pineapple Rise Bar. I gave one to my mom a couple weeks ago to try and she didn't like it. But, the funny thing is that it's my favorite so far out of the other flavors I've tried. The texture is great and it's sweet but has a natural sweetness I like. The crunch comes from the Macadamia nuts in it. They were very generous with those. The nuts are spread well throughout the bar.

And, yes. Even I eat fast food once in a while. This is the Jalapeño Turkey Burger from Carl's Jr. Sad thing is, I think I wasted my calories and fat on this. It was only a decent burger. The sauce was really yummy though. I liked the spiciness but other than that, this burger had no real flavor to it. 

I guess that's it for now! Oh yea. I attended a volunteer orientation today at a hospital .I'm so excited to start volunteering!

How was your week?
Are you crazy about coffee and mochas like I am? If not, what beverage do you prefer drinking?

Chinese New Year Recipes

大家好！

As you know, Chinese New Year (CNY) is coming up. It's on February 10th. 新年快乐！By the way, today is also my blog's birthday! Anyway...

Since the New Year is coming up soon, I thought I'd link up some of my recipes here so that you guys can make things for the CNY. It's also known as the Lunar New Year.

So, for the sweets, here are the recipes:

Traditional Fa Gao 发糕 Chinese Prosperity Cupcakes
发糕 Recipe
年糕 Steamed Chinese New Year Cake
Red Bean Mochi 糯米糍
煎堆 Red Bean Sesame Balls
烤年糕 Baked Nian Gao
Steamed Sweet Glutinous Rice Balls

There are also other things like peanut cookies, almond cookies, and some pastry cakes but what I have are the basics.

Here's some savory ones:

饺子 Potsticker/Dumpling Recipe

This recipe is from another website but it's a Chinese recipe. On Chinese New Year, the first meal eaten should be vegetarian. It's called Buddha's Delight, or Jai. Here's a link to a recipe. 

I hope you guys enjoy these recipes!

Do you celebrate the lunar New Year or CNY?
What's your favorite CNY treat?

蕃薯糖水 Chinese Sweet Potato and Ginger Soup

Hey hey everyone! How are you guys doing today? As you know, I just finished my health challenge and I have to say, I learned something from it. I mean, I already knew it but it was reinforced after completing the challenge. What I learned is that you should eat things in moderation. If you have a chocolate craving, have a little chocolate. Just don't go overboard. What I also learned is that you don't have to eat super clean to be healthy. Sometimes, it's just not possible to eat 100% clean, due to the environment you live in such as money and the people you live with. It's just better to make healthiest choice possible depending on the situation. Also, my weight pretty much stayed the same (I lost about 2 lbs).
With that being said, here's the recipe for the sweet potato soup I've been talking about lately. It's mainly healthy and nutritious (except for the added sugar). I love this sweet potato soup. Well, actually, when I was little, I loved it. Then, as I was in my elementary school and middle school years, I didn't want to touch it. Now, I love eating it again. It's weird how our taste bud changes, huh? Anyway, here's the recipe. I'm sorry that there's no exact measurement but that's how my parents make things. They eyeball the amounts.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 medium to large sweet potatoes
• about 8 cups water
• 5 -6 sticks Brown Sugar Pieces , depending how sweet you like it
• ginger (optional)

Directions:

1. Peel the skin off the sweet potatoes. Then, cut them into small chunks. 
2. Pour the water into a pot and place the sweet potatoes in. Boil and cook the sweet potatoes until it's soft. 
3. Then, take it off the heat.  Pour some water out of the pot into a huge bowl. Using a huge spoon, mash the sweet potatoes. Then, pour the water back in. 
4. Add in the brown sugar pieces. Cover and heat it until it boils. Then, add in the ginger. Let it sit for a few minutes. 
5. Serve and enjoy.

It's great to serve on a nice cold day. I absolutely love it. Also, if you do not have the brown sugar pieces, you can use brown sugar. You will need about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup, depending how sweet you like it. Adjust it to your taste buds! 

Now, I just ate my new Alpine Valley Multi Grain with Omega-3 Bread. I tried one slice with the PB& CO Dark Chocolate Dreams and another slice with Crunch Time. 

Doesn't it look delicious? I love how the Dark Chocolate Dreams was nice, smooth and creamy. It had more of a peanut butter taste to it but it was still good. You definitely could taste the chocolate too. I love the combination of peanuts and chocolate. 

As for the Crunch Time, I was pleasantly surprised with how much peanut pieces were in the peanut butter. I loved how it gave it a crunch in contrast to the peanut butter. It was sweet but not too sweet. 

As for the bread, I have to say that I'm surprised on how generous they were with the seeds and everything they put in it. The bread had seeds within it too. The bread was chewy on the outside, nice and fluffy in the inside. I enjoyed it. It had a natural sweet, whole grain taste to it. 

What I'm not so happy about are the ingredients. Yes, the first ingredient is Organic Whole Grain Wheat Flour but then the next ingredient is Organic Wheat Flour. Do you notice the word "whole" is not there with the wheat? I'm disappointed that it all the flours they have isn't 100% whole. At least the Organic Whole Grain Wheat Flour was the first on the list, making it the predominant ingredient. It's also good that it's organic. Each slice has 3 grams of protein and 65 calories. Not bad. 

Anyway, reading labels is important. 

What type of bread do you guys like? 

Do you like sweet soups?

Shrimp and Vegetable Shirataki

I love noodles. Who doesn't? The only thing I don't like about them is that they are HIGH in calories. What's even worse is that some are made with some unhealthy grains, which I try to avoid whenever possible.
That's why I love Shirataki noodles. They basically have zero calories. They are made with yam roots or something like that and are flavorless. That means you can add any seasoning you want! It tastes so good too, especially when you add the flavors you like.
So, here's my recipe for making Shirataki noodles. It's so easy to make and it's healthy and delicious. You can buy these at an Asian store or try looking at the health cold food section in a supermarket.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 bag Shirataki noodles
• 1 cup frozen Asian vegetables
• 1 cup frozen spinach
• shrimp (I used five)
• 2 tablespoon soysauce
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha hot chili sauce

Directions:

1. Boil the vegetables and shrimp together. 
2. Drain and rinse the noodles. 
3. In a wok or nonstick pan, stir fry the noodles, vegetables, shrimp, soy sauce and chili sauce together. 
4. If you want more seasoning, add some salt, pepper and sugar ( I didn't). 
5. Enjoy. 

Look how little the frozen asian vegetables are in the bag. 

I hope you guys enjoy this. It can serve 2, but since it's so low in calories, you can eat the whole thing without feeling guilty. You'll be really full after finishing it!

So, do you guys like noodles?

How do you like eating noodles? Asian? Stirfy? Spaghetti? Soup noodles?

Cravings: Iced Gem Biscuits

I remember as a little kid, my mother would always buy Iced Gem Biscuits for me and my sister at the local Chinese store. They were packaged in mini plastic purses, making them even more appealing to young girls. 

Once we arrived home, we'd devour these cookies. First, biting off the icing off the biscuit and then eating the biscuit. It was our favorite snack. I even remember a tooth falling out when I was eating these once. Oh, the memories. I haven't seen these cute snacks in stores here in California for 10 years. They totally disappeared. I miss these snacks. 

I know, these biscuits aren't the healthiest thing in the world but at least they're not the most unhealthiest thing. It's a craving I would definitely give into. It's been too long since I've last eaten these. 

I've seen these online available for purchase but I wish they would sell them in stores. I was so happy to find these when I went to China the past summer. I found them in my parents hometown, Taishan. We were at a grocery store in the town when I found them. I was so happy to have found them. I immediately grabbed the bag and bought them (after asking my mother, of course). We (I) finished eating them within 3 days. They were just so good! 

I know. This is an ugly picture of me but I'm holding the bag of iced gem biscuits we bought. I wish I bought extra to bring back to the states. I forgot to go back to buy some before leaving Taishan. They also had red bean kit-kats I wanted to buy too. Oh well. The only way now is to order these online. 

I'm really craving these biscuits right now. I should probably learn how to make these. I just wonder if I could get the icing on top just right. 

I'm so sorry about this rant. But, I just had to get it out there. There are so many childhood foods I used to like eating but they don't really sell them anymore. Especially these Iced Gem biscuits. Of course, there's Pocky and Hello Panda but they are still around. I wonder when Iced Gem biscuits will make their way back into the markets. In the meantime, I'll have to learn how to make these or possibly order these online. 

Do you like Iced Gem Biscuits?

What's your favorite childhood treat?