Weekly Goals + Elf4Health Recap

Happy Sunday everyone! How are you guys doing today?

This post is going to be a really quick one since I have studying and a project to work on.

Last weeks goals were pretty much simple. I did review some Spanish the past week, which was pretty cool. My friend gave me a new workout to try. He's an exercise maniac! I did study for my chemistry exam, which was a lot of fun. And, I tried to smile more. But it was hard yesterday because I watched a sad movie for one of my classes.

Here are my goals for this week.

As for my Elf4Health Recap, here were the challenges for this week.

• Monday: Handwritten Note
• Tuesday: Eat the Rainbow
• Wednesday: Makeup free
• Thursday: Workout buddy
• Friday: Operation Beautiful
• Saturday: Fridge and Pantry Purge
• Today: Gratitude List

I pretty much did all of the challenges this week except for yesterday's challenge. We did go grocery shopping, if that counts! I also was unable to do operation beautiful since I was busy with classes and working on the project. Other than that, it's been a good week. I'm enjoying these challenges! We get our new elf buddy today. My elf, Danica, has been great! We talked about the challenge and discussed how we would be completing it. 

What are your goals for the week? 

Elf4Health Week 1 Recap

Hey hey everyone. This week was the first week of the Elf4Health Challenges. I'm happy to report that I survived the first week.

This weeks challenges were:

1. Monday: Go Meatless
2. Tuesday: Unsubscribe
3. Wednesday: New Workout
4. Thursday: Make a phone call
5. Friday: Track water intake
6. Saturday: Treat Yourself
7. Sunday: 100 burpees

I'm doing this recap a little early so that I can keep up with my other posts. Sundays are Weekly Goals. Mondays are Tip of the Week, and Friday is Fitness Friday. 

Anyway, back to the Elf4Health. 

• Monday was pretty easy for me. I'm a pescetarian/vegetarian. 
• Tuesday, I realized how many websites I have subscribed too. Some, I forgot about. I decided to unsubscribe to some of them since it was clogging up my inbox. 
• Wednesday was pretty cool. I did a new pilates workout on youtube. It's been a while since I've done pilates. 
• Thursday, I called my cousin! haha. 
• Friday, I drank at least 80 oz of water. I get pretty thirsty. 
• Saturday, which is today, I am going to treat myself to Starbucks. I'm probably going to buy a Gingerbread Latte and a pumpkin loaf. I haven't tried any of the Starbucks foods yet and I really want to know how they taste. 
• Sunday, it's pretty easy for me to do 100 burpees. I'm just debating whether or not to do it all at the same time or to spread it out throughout the day. If I do it all at the same time, then I don't have to worry too much about it after. If I do it throughout the day, it'll help boost my metabolism and get my blood going! However, I may have a hard time fitting it in since I'll be studying. It'll be mys study break exercise if I do it throughout the day. 

Well, that's it for now. I did try a new Insanity workout today and it was pretty intense. I thought it would be a little easier because of my fitness level but I guess not! And, don't worry. I'll post my review for Catching Fire on Tuesday. Be on the lookout! 

How was your Thanksgiving?
What challenges did you take on this week?

Elf 4 Health

I'm so excited to be part of Elle and Lindsay's Elf4Health Challenges! I participated in this last year and I'm so happy to be part of it again. Elle and Lindsay do a great job coordinating, planning and organizing everything.

Well, what exactly is this Elf4Health, you might be asking?

It's four weeks of health challenges that Elle and Lindsay posts! Every two weeks, you are assigned an "elf", who you will talk to and help each other out with the challenges.

Isn't it a cute button? I think it is! It really speaks to the theme of the challenge. Elf, holidays, get it?

Today's challenge is to Go Meatless. No meat eating for today. It's fairly easy for me because I don't eat meat! 

Oh, I forgot to introduce you guys to my elf. Her name is Danica  and she blogs at It's Progression. From talking to her, she sounds like an awesome person! She's studying to become a Certified Holistic Health Coach, which is great! I actually found her blog when she guest posted at Lindsay's blog. I've been hooked to her blog since (although I don't comment). She talks about life, exercise, eating and health. It's a great blog. Go hop over and see! 

How was your weekend?

What challenges are you going to try this week? 

Do you go meatless at least once a week? 

P.S. That is today's tip of the week. Go meatless! =) Also, my professor postponed the chemistry exam! 

Cheesy Quinoa Casserole and my day

Tell me, you guys. How does this casserole look? Now, be honest.

I know it's not the best looking casserole in the world but it tastes pretty darn good. 

I made this casserole because:

1. I want to learn new ways to cook new things.

and 

    2. I want to learn to cook healthy, delicious things. 

What I really like about this casserole is how it covers a lot of the food groups in such a tasty way. I made it just because of that. One of our Elf4Health Challenges was to eat at least 3 food groups in each meal. So, it was perfect timing. 

Here's the recipe. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked quinoa (1 cup dry)
• 1 cup mixed vegetables
• 1/2 lb spinach
• 1 cup cheese (to put in the casserole)
• 1/4 cup cheese (to sprinkle on top)
• 1 cup nonfat greek yogurt
• any seasonings you want 
• curry powder
• garlic salt
• onion powder
• chili powder
• 2 tablespoon sesame seeds (to sprinkle on top)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. 
2. Mix together the greek yogurt, seasonings, vegetables and cheese. 
3. Mix in the cooked quinoa. 
4. Pour into a 9x13 baking pan. 
5. Sprinkle the top with cheese and sesame seeds. You can sprinkle more cheese on if you like. 
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes. 
7. Take out and enjoy. 

So, today was a different day. I went shopping with my cousin after work. I didn't buy any clothes (even though  there was this one shirt I really wanted to buy!) but I did buy some stuff from Bath and Body Works. They were having a sale.

I love the smell of vanilla. 

I also got some Starbucks. They're not selling the holiday drinks anymore, so I got the skinny caramel macchiato. It wasn't as good as I expected it to be but it was still good.

So, I also tried the Stacy's Gingerbread Pita Chips Here's how it looks:

They were so good! Crunchy, sweet, cinnamon and ginger flavor, I can't get enough of these.

I also can't get enough of this:

Baked/roasted sweet potatoes with hummus. It's so good! I also can't wait to try it with peanut butter. By the way, this is a different type of sweet potato. It's not the reddish color kind that you usually see. But, they are sweet potatoes. 

So, how was your day?

What's your favorite Starbucks drink?

What's your favorite snack?

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Scones

I'm addicted to eating sweets, as you can see. I even made these whole wheat chocolate chip peanut butter oat scones earlier in the week. I love scones but I don't like all the butter and saturated fat that goes in it. 

So, I decided to make these. They are so healthy for and yet delicious. What's even better is that they are really low in sugar (compared to other scone recipes) and are really yummy. No raw eggs are used in it and you can eat the dough raw if you want to (I baked mines). They taste really good to. 

The secret to to making these scones soft and fluffy is the addition of greek yogurt. Yes. I used greek yogurt. Actually, it was nonfat greek yogurt. It's high in protein as well (most recipes use sour cream instead). These scones are actually quite big, aren't they? And, guess what. They are lower in calorie than other scones. I'm so happy about that. They also taste so good! I guess I'll give you guys the recipe first before I go off talking about other things. =) 

Servings: 11
Calories: ~230

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup nonfat milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. 
2. In a small mixing bowl, sift together the flour, oats and baking powder. 
3. In another mixing bowl, cream together the peanut butter, greek yogurt, sugar and milk. 
4. Slow pour the dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture. Combine.
5. Mix in the chocolate chips. 
6. Roll out the dough into a rectangle and cut into triangles. Arrange on a baking sheet. 
7. Bake for 20-22 minutes. 
8. Take out, let it cool and enjoy. =) 

 I hope you guys enjoy these scones! They are so healthy and delicious.

So, I have to do some elf4health recaps.

The elf4health challenge has been so much fun. I'm so sad that we only have one more week left. I'm really enjoying all these challenges. It's really making me more aware of my choices and my health.

Yesterday's challenge was yummy. We were to make a microwave mug cake. I used a bowl instead but I still made a single serving microwave cake. It's nearly fat free (except for the peanut butter I just had to add!) and I used whole wheat flour. It's not the prettiest cake but it was delicious. I will post the recipe later on.

During the week, I also finally made the spinach dip I was talking about last week. It was yummy! My sister even likes it, which is saying something. She doesn't say anything about the things I make unless it's terrible or if it's really good. So, the spinach dip was really good. Once again, I will post it later on. I'm sure you guys can wait. I probably will post the spinach dip recipe tomorrow since New Year's is coming up. I have a lot of recipes I want to share with you guys.

Another recipe I want to share with you guys is another mini donut recipe. However, this one is a regular recipe, not a healthy one. But, it was yummy. My sister wanted to eat some donuts, which is why I made them. It uses regular flour, not whole wheat. I also made a Vietnamese peanut butter dipping sauce to eat with egg rolls. I also have my mom's sweet potato and ginger soup recipe.  You guys will love the recipes I will post later on!

On the last note, I want to share this picture of the creek I walked by today on a walk with my family. It's so pretty.

So, do you guys like walking?
What are your favorite food that your parents make?

Elf 4 Health Update!

Hola everyone. I'm sorry I haven't been updating everyday about the Elf 4 Health Challenge. Life has just been hectic the past couple days, you can say.  Anyway, here's an update.

Wednesday's challenge was to bring and give a healthy snack to a friend. I did just that. I made Dark Chocolate Chip Banana Protein Cookies. My friend loved them! The only thing she said to add is raisins and it would be perfect. She said that since there were oats, it'd made sense to add raisins too. I'll do that next time. The cookies are simple and easy to make and require very few ingredients.

Also on Wednesday, I got to hang out with an old friend at school and I met a new one too (a friend of my friend). She's pretty cool and she's from Hong Kong. Oh, I miss Hong Kong. Anyway, we ate lunch together and hung out for a bit before I went to class.

Thursday's challenge was to try a new workout. Guess what workout I did. That's right. I tried Cassey Ho's Bikini Blaster Arm Workout from blogilates. It killed my arms but it was a great workout. I love her workouts. Her ab workouts are killer too. You should try them!

Today's challenge was quite easy for me. The challenge is to not wear make up for a day. Well, guess what. I don't wear make-up. I really don't think it's necessary to wear make-up. Sometimes, it makes people look fake if they put on too much too. I like being natural. What I did instead for my challenge is to dress up a bit.

Also today, was my registration day for classes for next semester. It's crazy how fast classes fill up. With the economy and all, I'm not surprised. It is a hassle though and a huge pain trying to search for any open class to fulfill graduation requirements. Anyway....

I've been obsessed with dried fruit and nuts recently. Yes, you can call it trail mix. Peanuts, almonds, cashews, sesame, craisins, raisins, sunflower seeds, dark chocolate chips, yogurt chips, peanut butter, you name it. I've been craving them. I even ate some trail mix today at work today. I also ate a lot of craisins yesterday too. Trail mix and craisins are delicious! The trail mix I ate had craisins in them. And, they had yogurt chips. Delicious.

So, I plan on making these healthy chocolate chip cookies sometime during the weekend or next week. I love her blog. It has so many healthy (healthier) recipes. Maybe I can make these for the holidays.

So, what's your favorite cookie?
Do you wear make-up?

Elf 4 Health

The Elf 4 Health Challenge has been quite refreshing. It really makes me try some new things.

For example, on Thursday, we were to meditate for 15 minutes. It really helps. It really gives you time to reflect on your life and release some of the stressed just for a bit. It's really relaxing. 

Yesterday, we were to eat rainbow, as many colors as we can. Well, I ended up eating brown rice California Roll. It was definitively colorful. 

Today is to donate clothes. I guess it's to get us in a giving mood for the holiday season. It may also help us try to create a new start. 

There has been a lot of things I've been stressed about this week and it doesn't help that finals week is coming up. It adds to the stress. Hopefully, I can get over this. The meditating helped for that moment but then, the stress can hit you again right away. 

Anyway, today is my brother's bday party and I made my M&M cookies. This time, I added dark chocolate chips. Everyone loves them. Too bad I forgot to take a picture of the but they're delicious.

Remember that even when you're stressed, there's always someone or something to help you through it. You're not alone.  

Elf 4 Health Day 3: New Workout Challenge

Hey everyone!

Today is Day 3 of the Elf 4 Health Challenge. I'm sorry about not posting yesterday, but yesterday was writing a Thank you note to someone.

So, for my new workout challenge, my Elf Buddy, Samantha, from Runningandcupcakes, said I should try this new workout.

http://www.runningandcupcakes.com/2012/10/31/30-20-10-hurricane-workout/

I tried it today after going on the elliptical and boy, it was more challenging than I thought it would be. I did the set 3 times, each about 10 minutes long. Thanks again for the workout. I can't wait for tomorrow's challenge, which is to get up early and mediate and reflect. I think it would be good for your mental healthy and reflect on how things are going for you right now. It'll help reduce stress, which I have a lot of right now.

Here's an article about benefits of meditation:

 http://www.project-meditation.org/benefits_of_meditation.html

Anyway, back to my life.

I forgot to mention that on Sunday, my cousins from SF came over to visit. We went out to Sizzlers to eat and it was delicious! I ordered the Lemon Herb Chicken with baked sweet potato and unlimited salad bar. It was delicious. Then, I ate some of my cousins sweet potato fries and fried shrimp. I love shrimp. After, I ate some ice cream. I was full but the food was pretty much good to me. I love sweet potatoes.

So, yesterday, I made some red bean paste and this time, it looked so much better! The last time I made it was about a year ago, but I didn't have a food processor to mush up the beans. This time, I did. It tastes so good.

I even ate some with whole wheat toast. My dad and I just like eating it by itself.


Also yesterday, I tried my other PowerBar I bought.

It's the Chocolate Peanut ButterCrisp PowerBar. I really expected more from this bar. It was rather plain and bland. I did taste the chocolate and the peanuts but there wasn't much to it. I surprisingly like the apple cinnamon a lot better.

Today, I bought Quinoa. I've been wanting to try it for such a long time. Finally, I am able to. I bought the organic kind at Costco.

It's hard to explain how this tastes. It's really light and fluffy. There is a bit of a nutty flavor too. Texture wise, it may be a little too soft for my liking but it's still pretty good.

So, what new workouts have you guys tried?
What's your favorite grain?