Friday, February 27, 2009

Yogurt obsession


Do you ever go through a phase with a certain food? During the summer, I craved some cruncy bean sprouts everyday. I can pop them like pills! Not a bad habit to have since it's not candy. :P Then in the wintertime, I craved for starchy food, like steamed sweet potatoes and microwaved corn. But recently, I've been OBSSESSED with yogurt mixed with museli. After reading others' recipes of pumpkin oatmeal, I'm really curious to find out what would it taste like if I mix pumpkin with Greek yogurt topped with some grains. The verdict? IT'S AWESOME! I don't think I can 'stomach' a big bowl of pumpkin oats in the morning (maybe it's too dense for me so early), but as an afternoon snack, mixing plain yogurt with some pumpkin is a healthful meal. Heck, I even have it for lunch!
For this photo, I topped it off with some wheat berries. I looooove the nuttiness of wheat berries. I'm also experimenting with cooked barley. Barley gets a little mushy when cooked, so it's great for stews and soups. I actually mixed barley with some diced avocado, bean sprouts and some tomatoes for lunch today, but forgot to take a pic. :( I'm sure there'll be a next time.
Pressure cooker is da bomb! You can cook so many variety of grains and beans with it without resorting to the expensive already-prepared products. A little goes a loooong way.
What kind of food obssession have you had?

Sunday, February 22, 2009

In the Mood for Baking


It's a rainy Sunday afternoon. I'm bored. Procrastinating mainly. Just got myself a can of pumpkin, so I decided to bake a vegan pumpkin pie/bread. I like to 'spread' it out because I like crispy top. I kept this really 'healthy' meaning I used applesauce instead of oil and no sugar. But I really enjoy the pure sweetness from the puree pumpkin. Besides, I plan to toast this up tomorrow and crumble it over some Greek yogurt. Sounds delicious? :)

Intuitive Eating

Aren't there days when you're just not hungry at all and then days when no matter what you consume, your stomach still has some 'extra' room? I guess everyone has their own 'hunger' clock. For example, my old college roomie was never hungry for breakfast, so she always skipped it and ran right off to class. Whereas for me, I can't start my day without 'something' in my stomach, even if it's just a glass of orange juice. I also find that my 'metabolic' fire flares up the most mid-afternoon. I wouldn't feel hungry at all at noon and then all of sudden. BAM! I need to grab something. Luckily, I crave for healthy foods, but I tend to favor carbs like bread and fruits. I used to survive on a salad for lunch, but I realized I need a balance between protein, carbs, and fats to hold me over for a longer period of time.

Then are days when I just can't sleep. Would you roll around in bed? Get up and watch TV? Or walk over to the fridge and have a snack? That was my "Sophie's Choice" last night. I couldn't sleep because my neighbor was being really loud :( I was so frustrated. The stress level caused me not to be able to fall asleep even though I was extremely tired. I automatically got up and went to the kitchen and brought back something to my room. But then I stopped. I listened to myself. Did I want to eat because I was bored and stressed or because I was truly hungry? My answer was...I just needed something to reduce my stress. Good answer. That means I wasn't really hungry, so why force something or I don't even need it? So, I relaxed my arms, my legs, and my heart and slowly drifted to dreamland (although I didn't wake up early). I was proud of myself. Normally, I would just munch away, but I listened to what my body really wanted and it was sleep, not food. Studies after studies have shown that stress and lack of sleep causes food craving and I've experienced this. So sometimes when I feel 'munchy' I ask myself, do I need to nap or eat? And usually, I'm just tired and needed to sleep a bit.

So start to listen to your body and not your brain sometimes. If you're tired, just take a quick nap. 15 minutes does wonders I tell you! If you're hungry, fine. Are you hungry enough to eat an apple? If your answer is yes, that's great. Your body needs fuel so have a healthy snack. But if you're answer is no, then you probably needed food to 'keep' yourself awake.

Intuitive thing and eating coexist. It's a difficult process that I'm slowly trying to get used to. But it's something that will create good physical and psychological health.

Cheers~

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Cooking with Anne: Homemade Hummus and Wheat Pita

I know we all know how to make homemade hummus, but how about pairing it with some homemade whole wheat pita as well? Found this cool blog that gives you such instructions.
Cooking with Anne: Homemade Hummus and Wheat Pita

Friday, February 13, 2009

My Secret V-Day Cupid Has Arrived!


Look what Jemima from How I Mash Potato sent me all the way from the UK - I love the stationery sets as well as all the health bars! How did you now I need some munchies for

my evening classes? :) Thanks Jemima! Oh, have fun on your trip! Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day EVERYONE! VDay isn't just for lovers, but it's a day to celebrate your love and care for your family and friends as well - Share the love around, don't we all need some in this time right now.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Here's my 'attempted' whole wheat pumpkin 'bread'


Well, it's not so bad. It's more pudding like than I would've wanted, but I still liked it and finished it all! I would toast it up like bread for the crunch factor plus drizzle some honey on top. Yum!
Have you had any cooking/baking catastrophes?

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Should I post a not so good attempt?

I tried to bake a vegan whole wheat pumpkin bread, but it was undercooked and turned into a pudding instead. I'll post my pumpkin pudding soon. It's actually not so bad, just not too uniformed. I guess live and learn...

Friday, February 6, 2009

Quaker True Delights - FREE GIVEAWAY!


For those of you (like me :P) who loves to receive freebies, here's your chance! Quaker is giving away a free True Delights granola bar when you sign up on their website - http://www.quakertruedelights.com/


And for those who love them already, here's a website for you to download a $1 off coupon!




And for those who watches Top Chef, Quaker is sponsoring a cookoff contest! Come up with an original recipe that involves Quaker's oatmeal (of course) and you'll get a chance to win a big prize!

Check this website for more info: http://quickfire.bravotv.com/quickfire/index.php

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The Versatile Oatmeal


Oh...oatmeal, how we all (well, most of the bloggers) adore you. I see you in almost every breakfast choices of the blogs I read. You can be paired up with so many sides - pumpkin, cinnamon, chocolate, berries, yogurt...you're so versatile, you're omnipotent!


I was reading Health magazine and it featured, you guessed it, oatmeal. Besides eating oatmeal, it also has other external usages as well! Did you know that we can make an inexpensive, yet effective facial mask by mixing 1/2 cup of oatmeal, 1/2 cup of hot water and 1/4 cup of honey? Blend these ingredients together and apply the mixture on your face for 10 minutes and rinse. Oats' saponins cleanses and exfoliates your skin. Just don't eat off from your face. :)