This morning I woke up jittery so I went out for a jog. I did about 1.75 miles (?). When I got back I picked up my breakfast from Metro Cafe – a 12 ounce oatmeal made with skim milk + cinnamon, banana, and blueberries.

I finished it, but it wasn’t very good. I’m not getting it again. What the what Metro Cafe? I’ll stick with your bagels. Tomorrow’s breakfast is going to be instant grits from a hotel we stayed at on the road trip. Hehehe.

After a long day at work I opted for the hot foods bar at a random deli on my way home (I walked; about 1.5 miles or so). I met up with Bobby in the middle. (He got pizza.) I dumped honey mustard dressing on this.

This meal was kind of oily but really good. I had grilled chicken, random prepared salads (something with broccoli, one with mushrooms, a sealeg salad, tomatoes, etc…), a sweet potato (I think), and some other things that I can’t remember right now.

Dessert was rice with honey mustard dressing (a little random) and these carob chips that my sister gave me. Um… more than pictured. I might still be eating them now.

I’m off to snuggle and get some rest before work tomorrow. I apologize for the lack of commenting as of late; I’m sorry to say it’s going to continue. I’m still reading of course.

What was your favorite job?

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Appetizer: Heavenly Stuffed Wings – de-boned chicken wings stuffed with ground chicken, silver noodle, cilantro, water chestnut and black mushroom. They came with this great sweet dipping sauce. This was kind of scary at first (fried! processed! breaded!) but the deliciousness made up for it.

For dinner we shared 4 dishes. The Blue Mango Fried Rice – a big house special: chicken fried rice topped with sweet garlic pork.

The Green Curry – eggplant, bamboo, and bell pepper are soaked in coconut milk, with a hint of basil (cannot be mild).

Mushroom Mountain, as usual – soft tofu, baby corn, bamboo, straw mushroom, and bean sprout stir-fried with a bit of green curry paste. Sesame seed are sprinkled on for a beautiful finish.

And Basil Chili Chicken, also as usual – with bell pepper and onion.

After dinner we went out for dessert (frozen yogurt) at Golden Spoon – pumpkin pie and chocolate flavors. The toppings were raspberries, mango (not ripe, unfortunately), and crushed brownie bits.

Blue Mango never disappoints. And neither does Golden Spoon. If you ever get a chance, go there! (I’m talking about the Blue Mango on Stevens Creek – I hear the other one is not so good.)

Now that I’m in NJ I don’t have Blue Mango. But I do have Edo Sushi! Bobby, Julia, and I all went out for dinner tonight. I love this place. Edo Sushi is a Japanese and Chinese restaurant on Route 31 in the same shopping center as Pennington Market. It’s about a 10 minute walk from my parents’ house.

First is the tea… (unlimited and free – my two favorite qualities). Notice my cool NY key chain – it’s kind of vintage because it has the twin towers on it. I think I got it back in middle school.

I got chicken and broccoli with the sauce on the side (brown sauce).

The other pictures didn’t come out, but Julia got veggies and tofu with the sauce on the side (also brown sauce). Bobby got the Dragon vs. Phoenix – chicken, shrimp, and veggies stir-fried with yet another brown sauce. He also got a big pot of rice.

We finished everything. The check came with pineapple cubes and fortune cookies. Yum! I love Edo’s.

This dinner was nice after my indulgent afternoon… My parents gave me a massage + facial combo for my birthday and I finally used it. I went to Sydney Albert Salon Spa in Princeton. I’d highly recommend this place – I’ve been going there for years and I’ve always loved everything. Their haircuts are amazing, the facials are fantastic, and the massage was wonderful. Bobby also got a massage and he loved it.

While we were getting pampered, our Relocube arrived. Now we have to unpack it. I’m going into the city tomorrow, but when I get home I think we’re going to try to start sorting through all of our stuff. It’ll be a big project.

What’s your favorite restaurant?

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• March 9, 2009 -- More yoga thoughts & Thai food
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• October 22, 2010 -- 3 Essential Blog Branding Tips

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Brandi‘s Stuffed French Toast:

Sabrina‘s Egg White Veggie Frittata Muffins:

Frog Hollow Farm‘s dried fruits (and Warren pears! So amazing).

Frog Hollow Farm also had a variety of chutneys and conserves, which were incredible. This was my favorite booth of the afternoon.

Some kind of shrimp and scallop ceviche from Fuego (can’t find a link):

A cool table with non-traditional shortbread made by Botanical Bakery:

Handmade marshmallows (pumpkin was one of the flavors) by Gateau et Ganache:

Chocolate covered nuts. I brought some of these home for Bobby and he has been calling them "poo balls". They are delicious despite their odd nickname.

My favorite candy of the day, made by Nina. Her Single Malt Scotch Bar was awesome.

Annie the Baker‘s cookies. Amazingly buttery and delicious. They tasted just like cookie dough.

p.o.p. candy‘s toffee – I had so much of the chai one. It had nuts and dried fruit.

Yummy (and pretty) chocolates.

Fabulous spreads.

479 Popcorn. My favorite was the curry (odd because I don’t like Indian food).

My other favorite dish of the day – Vineyard Pantry‘s Autumn Savory Tartlets (little pastry filled with wild rice, butternut squash, blue cheese mustard, cheese, and more). I can’t wait to experiment with their products.

A crazy cool beet meringue goat cheese savory dessert thing. It was a work of art (and quite tasty).

Olives.

Shannon‘s savory bread pudding.

I still have pictures from dinner, but I’ll save them. I met so many amazing people, including Emily from Foodzie – what a cool woman. That is a company I would love to work for.

A big thanks to FOODBUZZ for an amazing weekend.

In other news… wish me luck – we’re moving this week. (We’re taking off Tuesday instead of Monday.) Road trip from Sunnyvale to Princeton with two cats. Will be interesting.

Happy Monday! (Or Sunday, if you’re up late.) What did you do this weekend?

Like this post? Check out...

• May 22, 2009 -- Sprouting!
• August 31, 2010 -- Reviews, Activia Desserts, & Eating To Feel Good
• September 8, 2008 -- Sundays can be just as lazy…
• February 18, 2010 -- Gourmet Park and Nutty Butter Fats
• July 24, 2008 -- "Fluffy" Waffles

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This challenge might be hard for a few reasons – 1) Bobby and I are driving across the country next week; 2) the holidays and lots of decadent foods are coming up; 3) due to the move, I don’t know what my new routine will be (we’re moving to Manhattan btw). But I’m going to try. I’m synthesizing their goals and mine, and this is what I came up with. I’m going to try to do this for as long as I can. These aren’t arbitrary; these goals are what my ideal lifestyle would be so I want to keep up with them.

1. Go to bed early (by 11:30pm) and get 7-8 hours of sleep a night.
2. Cut out artificial sweeteners. I’ve been on a diet coke kick recently and it’s time to stop.
3. More veggies, less fruit.
4. More cooked foods, fewer raw.
5. Lots of water and tea.
6. Cook and plan more (or at least eat out at cheap-yet-healthy places).
7. Sit down for every meal.
8. Do something relaxing for 30 minutes every day (yoga, a bath, these exercises).
9. 30+ minutes of cardio each day (walking, running, yoga).
10. Give myself credit. Even if I don’t do all of these things perfectly, I’m going to give myself credit for the attempts and partial successes.

Because we’re moving, I’m trying to use up the groceries we have and I don’t plan on buying more. This week I’ll be eating out a lot but I’m not too worried about that; I love eating out and I can always find something healthy on the menu. The only thing that worries me about eating out is the money issue. I wish I was less frugal

The other issue I might have is that this weekend is the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival. I plan on eating well, but I doubt that I’m going to get much sleep because two of my favorite bloggers are coming to stay with me and we’re all going together. I am so excited to meet them.

Some of the yummy dishes I plan on making and eating during this November challenge are…

a healthy Thanksgiving meal, like last year’s

fresh delicious salads

lots of squash fries…

this fun Indian mushroom recipe

… and lots more. You should check out my recipes page for more inspiration. This bread recipe was one of the first things I ever posted (December 2007).

Anyway, back to the “back on track” plan. Today has been a good day so far. I did a yoga class this morning at my studio and I went to bed early last night (crashed on the couch at 9:30pm). I wanted to go to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner, but Bobby has band practice… so maybe not.

And now this post is getting epic. Happy November! Are you challenging yourself this month?

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• December 21, 2008 -- Healthy Carrot Burdock Kinpira (BSI Entry)
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• June 13, 2011 -- CamelBak Winners!
• February 24, 2008 -- Salmon bagel from Mate
• May 25, 2011 -- My Big Fat … Cobb-y Dinner! and Avocado Dessert Guac

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Quick summary of our day: This morning my midterm went fine; I think my bowl of protein powder oats gave me some good brain power. We didn’t really do anything else terribly exciting today because I had to show our apartment at 1pm. We got Chipotle for lunch (Dad’s first time) – I got a veggie salad, Dad got a chicken bowl, and Bobby got a chicken burrito. After the showing we headed to Santana Row, an upscale shopping area in San Jose.

Sorry in advance for the crappy pictures – left my sweet camera at home and used the small one.

Tonight we went out for dinner with out cousins. We got Vietnamese at Pho Nam in Sunnyvale. This place is great. I got #52, the Vermicelli with Shrimp. It came with veggies (lettuce, cilantro, carrots, cucumber), vermicelli (rice noodles), grilled shrimp (with oil), and a yummy fish sauce topping. We got (unpictured) spring rolls (fried and fresh) for the table as well.

I thought this meal was fab – fresh, light, and pretty healthy. Dad got pork and shrimp vermicelli (similar to mine) and Bobby got beef pho (noodle soup). Bobby also got a strawberry shake – I thought it was pretty so I snapped a picture (and had some of course).

Dessert was lots of fresh pineapple from Safeway (Thanks, Dad!).

Just a reminder – I don’t post about everything I eat; don’t think this was everything I ate today

I have been eating this awesome smoked mozzarella cheese on apples. I’ll try to remember to take a picture next time I have it. And I still have to share that crazy chocolate treat that I got recently too.

Have you had any cool new food finds lately?

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• August 23, 2011 -- More Sandwiches Please! [Peanut Butter & Banana]

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The salad is an appetizer salad, but it is huge. I would call it a full meal. Of course I also helped Bobby with this (Shrimp with Angel Hair: Large Shrimp Sautéed with Herbs, Lemon and Garlic Combined with Angel Hair Pasta, Tomato and Fresh Basil)…

The shrimp were fantastic. The angel hair was just okay – I’m not really a pasta person. I nabbed some of his Small Salad (Chopped greens with shredded carrots, zucchini, and beets. Topped with croutons, tomato wedges and cucumber slices). Tossed in sesame soy dressing (my suggestion).

Let’s not forget the brown bread. I had most of this with butter.

And we got this Pomegranate Mojito too – Mount Gay and Bacardi Superior with Pomegranate Finished with a Float of 10 Cane Rum. Bobby gets tipsy easily and was very giggly by the end of dinner. I can hold my liquor even though I almost never drink

We didn’t get dessert at the restaurant, but you can bet that I had a huge bowl of steamed kabocha when I got home. It was super ripe and delicious. I also had a persimmon that I picked up yesterday. Persimmons are definitely my favorite fruit; I hope they are as cheap in NYC as they are here. (Ha. No way.)

When we were seated at the restaurant we were also presented with a Nutrition Guide. It listed the approximate calories and nutrients for each dish. It actually did affect my decision – I was in the mood for the Asian Chicken Salad, but after seeing that it had 2600 mg of sodium, I decided to pass. Sodium is very necessary and certainly good in moderation, but 2600 mg in one dish? I think that’s a little bit ridiculous. I couldn’t even figure out where it was coming from (not from the dressing – I looked that up). I tend to get a lot of sodium already because I put salt in everything – it’s the most important ingredient when I make oat bran. The average recommended intake for sodium is between 1500-2400 mg per day for the average adult.

What do you think about restaurants giving out nutritional information? Would it affect what you order?

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• May 9, 2008 -- Strawberries and couscous love
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• August 15, 2011 -- Recipe: Creamy Cucumber Dill Salad

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The other day I made a great stir fry for lunch – shrimp, snap peas, Brussels sprouts, okra, red peppers, bok choy, and maybe some other things.

I played around with my camera settings for this photoshoot. I think this was a lower aperture…

And so was this (different angle though)… Which do you like best?

I sauteed everything in a fair amount of sesame oil, added some garlic and chili powder, and ate it after it cooled. One of my weird food quirks is that I don’t eat anything super hot or super cold. I like to cool my food in the freezer before I eat it, and if I’m eating ice cream or froyo, I let it melt first or I zap it in the microwave for a few seconds to get it soft.

Bobby and I headed down to Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville, CA on Sunday for some apple picking. We got about 16 pounds – can’t wait to make some serious yums with them. I’m thinking:

• Oatmeal Applesauce pancakes
• Appled Brussels sprouts
• Carrot Soup with Roasted Apples
• Cranberry Apple Pumpkin Bake (BSI)
• Raspberry-Rubbed Pork with Apples and Berries
• Apple Banana Oat Loaf (BSI)
• Apple muffins – vegan!
• Oatmeal Raisin Applesauce Cookies
• Macrobiotic Apple Pie!!!

Here are a few highlights from the day.

What would YOU make with 16 pounds of apples? (Probably more like 9 or 10 pounds at the moment… I eat a lot of apples.)

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• September 11, 2008 -- I’ve been tagged!

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Pepper-Lime Red Snapper

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 2 red snapper fillets
• juice from 1/2 lime
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated pepper
• pinch of sea salt
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, grated
• topping: salsa, parmesan

Directions

1. Combine the fillets, lime juice, pepper, salt, and grated garlic in a bowl. Mix around so the fish is well coated. Let it sit 5-10 minutes in the refrigerator so the flavors really sink in.
2. Heat a pan on high heat. Spray with cooking oil or PAM. Cook the fish for 3-4 minutes on the first side, covered. Flip them over and cook them another 3-4 minutes uncovered.
3. Serve with fresh salsa and your cheese of choice (optional, of course). Seasoned rice is a good side.

Seasoned rice: add salt and pepper to your rice (1 cup dry) while it’s cooking (I do mine in the rice cooker – so simple). In the last 3-4 minutes toss in chopped carrots and celery. At the end, add 1 tablespoon of butter and mix it around until it melts and blends in.

Tomorrow morning I’m going to to San Francisco for a blogger meetup with Kath and maybe Jenna! I also have another awesome announcement. You’ll have to wait to hear about it though Bobby has class all day so I’m going to try to get lots of work done. Go enjoy your weekend!

Like this post? Check out...

• September 17, 2008 -- Goodeats for 9/16/2008
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• January 20, 2009 -- Peanut butter scandal got you down?
• February 8, 2008 -- Lazy breakfasts…

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On Friday night we had Miwa and Armand (cousins) over for dinner. I made these Apple’d Brussels Sprouts (Brussels, apples, onions) and I also made a new recipe from cooking light: Singapore-Style Noodles. The recipe was okay… I had to change it a bit and I used the wrong kind of noodles because we couldn’t find vermicelli. But I don’t like noodles to begin with. The Brussels sprouts were delicious, in my opinion.

I was on a mission for a few days to make myself like noodles/pasta, but I don’t think I’m going to do it anymore. I just don’t like them. I never have. Bobby and the cousins actually did like the recipe a lot; I guess I’m just being picky. It was nice and spicy. The ingredients: thick rice noodles, shrimp, green pepper, spices (cumin, cinnamon, chili flakes, soy sauce, sriracha chili sauce, rice vinegar, salt and pepper, hoisin sauce, garlic powder, ginger), some oil, and fake veggie bacon.

Something I have been loving is oat bran. I made pureed broccoli oat bran (steamed broccoli, oat bran, protein powder, almond butter, salt):

It was alright. Not that great, to be honest. I won’t make it again. I’ve had a lot of this green oat bran though (oat bran, protein powder, amazing grass green superfood, salt):

This rocks. And so does this chia oat bran (oat bran, protein powder, chia seeds, salt, almond butter):

That last one is my favorite. I really really like chia seeds. All of these bowls are usually stuck in the freezer for about 15 minutes after cooking; then gel up quite nicely.

My other trick for oat bran is salt. You must must must add salt, otherwise it tastes like… well, it’s bad. It gets thrown out if I forget the salt.

Do you have any little tricks for dishes you make often?

Link Love:

• I wrote a post here about how wars influence our vocabulary.
• A revolutionary school lunch program has taken hold in Berkeley, CA.
• Dementia and Alzheimer’s patients to double by 2030. Scary, huh? Longer lifespans mean more diseases in old age. Natural selection doesn’t select for healthy old people – it just selects for people that can reproduce… which is why we haven’t evolved away from diseases that happen later in life.

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• September 8, 2009 -- Japantown Eats
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• June 13, 2011 -- CamelBak Winners!

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Ingredients

• 1 package of imitation crab meat (2.5 servings)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 2 small pickles, chopped (I used Chinese pickles)
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• other spices (chili powder, dried onion, whatever else you like)
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise (vegan canola oil mayo)
• 2 tablespoons mustard
• 2-3 tablespoons rice vinegar

Directions

Break apart the crab meat. Mix everything well. EAT.

Bobby liked his on fresh toasty bread; I liked mine plain. I think I had this with some roasted squash on the side.

I’ve been roasting squash a la Clare: cut up in pieces at 425F for 25 minutes. Here was delicata:

And kabocha (duh):

I just sprinkle some salt, oregano/dill, and cinnamon on them. I’ve heard you can use stevia, but I’m not a fan. Squash is sweet enough. I like to top them with organic, fruit-sweetened (or unsweetened) ketchup. My recipe is here.

Now have a sweet weekend! What are your plans?

(Words of the day here.)

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