Saturday, February 16, 2013

The Week's Eats

One of the first things I did when I returned from my winter holidaze was getting my life back together. And because that sounds too abstract to grasp, let me be more specific: I bought a new Moleskine planner. I haven't stopped obsessing over it since then.

I religiously jot down the things I need to do, people's birthdays, the damages I've done to my wallet, the feelings I ate and ignored, you know. Just your run-of-the-mill planner. Nothing special. It also serves as my constant reminder to keep up with this year's resolutions. It sounds passe perhaps to even be using that word but resolution actually has a really good meaning. It means a course of action determined or decided on; the condition of being resolute or firm.  I reckon during my many idle moments, these resolutions started coming to me. 

One of this year's is to eating healthy. 

I guess I've always been independent since I can remember. I recall frying myself an egg whenever I didn't like what was served on the dinner table (usually greens) so it wasn't a huge disorientation when my sister and I moved out of our parents' and were left to fend for ourselves. However, reality is, you can only really eat so many fried options. And the shocker is, there aren't very many.

I don't have too much time on my hands nor enough knowledge (yet) to create fabulous dishes but I guess my main priority is staying on course, being resolute to eating healthy. If you were already following me on Instagram, brace yourself, a deja vu awaits you!

My resident boiled sweet potato + grilled peppered salmon + shredded cabbage.
That is what my typical lunch looks like. I eat salmon and sweet potatoes 3-5 times a week. One of my main pillars to eating healthy is committing to a proper serving of greens at least once a day. So I searched far and wide and luckily found how in love I am with shredded cabbage. It's surprising but cabbage actually has more Vitamin C than oranges. And if you didn't know, Vitamin C is one of the best anti-oxidants out there which helps reduce the radicals of the body that cause aging. Nobody wants to admit it but we're all deathly afraid of getting old.  

I also try to shy away from red meat on weekdays without punishing my tastebuds so salmon is my go-to source of protein. Sweet potatoes are good for you, too and not only because they're quite filling but also low in GI (but only if you steam or boil them). Please give them a go!
  • buy a shredder for the cabbages (I cheat and just buy packed shredded cabbage at the supermarket)
  • boil sweet potatoes for about 20-25 mins (depends on the size)
  • grill salmon about 3 mins on each side (watch closely as it's really easy to overdo it and nothing is worse than dry salmon)
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10-minute Chinese-style stir-fry!


It's great to always keep mushrooms lying around your fridge. They release a lot of juices that pack a lot of flavour! These are also known as "bunapi shimeji mushrooms" which are at almost every market in Japan.
This is store-bought but you can also press your own tofu!

Clean and simple! On top of the ingredients, I also used a couple drops of sesame oil because we ran out of onions and garlic and I wanted to add more flavour to the dish.
  • medium heat on a shallow frypan, add oil (you can use any kind but EVOO would be great)
  • throw in the tofu, then the broccoli and then the mushrooms
  • add 1/4 cup of water
  • ground black pepper, cayenne pepper and a tablespoon of fish sauce to taste
  • mix altogether and reduce to low heat
  • allow to cook for about 5mins max
Keep your eye on it lest you overcook the broccoli. I normally opt simply steaming/boiling veggies as cooking them any other way removes their nutrients and what would be the point?
Did you know that cooking a carrot increases its GI? Yeah, so play it safe with vegetables and try to eat them as they are!

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Valentine's Day dinner for two!

I become twice the anti-social that I am come winter time so I generally can't be bothered to go out unless its to go to work or a necessary trip to the supermarket. Valentine's Day was no different (not that it's a real holiday or anything). I went to work and stopped by the deli and the supermarket to buy ingredients for my dinner date with my sister at home.

Just a quick back story to the dinner, a couple of days ago, I paid a visit to my fruits and vegetables haunt in Sakae for some spinach (as I've been hooked on green smoothies just recently) and to my sheer delight what was sitting in front of the cash register were boxes and boxes of POMEGRANATE!!! I absolutely love Pom (nicknaming is one of my finer strengths) and I remember Googling weeks ago when and where to find it here in Japan as I've only ever had it in Australia. With zero hesitation, I bought myself one and planned a dish around it!
Just the right balance of protein, good fats and carbs!
Nuts are the best for snacking but like any other food, have them in moderation. I'd have to say though that with regards to taste and nutrients: ALMONDS!
I have this nasty habit of buying fruits and veggies impulsively even before knowing what to do with them. Something I'm trying to correct, too!
This merits a photo of its own. Prior a couple of days ago, I had never opened a pomegranate on my own. Let me tell you, my kitchen bench looked like a war zone.
INGREDIENTS:
  1. 1 cup white quinoa
  2. half an avocado
  3. 1 pomegranate (if you can't find any, substitute a tropical fruit like pineapple?)
  4.  a handful of walnuts (pine nuts/almonds also okay)
  5. bleu cheese (I reckon fetta or chevre would work great as well but I like it stinky)
  6. any kind of leafy green veggie (baby leaves, rocket, anything BUT lettuce -- useless vegetable)
If you've never made a salad before, bless your soul! Here's a rough guide to how I created the dish:
  • Cook the quinoa. Now, I'm guessing it depends on what kind of quinoa you're working with but most instructions would tell you the quinoa to water ratio is 1:1.5. However, I used organic quinoa and it came with the instruction of using a 1:3 ratio so READ LABELS and turn to Google for anything! This is a simple and easy guide to properly cooking quinoa.
    • I didn't add any salt to it as I wanted the natural flavour to play out (also because I read that it affects the length of time to cook it)
  • slice the greens, chop the walnuts (depending on how fine your prefer it), scoop out the avocado using a teaspoon for smaller portions, slice/pull apart the cheese
  • in a big bowl, toss them all in together, saving the cheese for last
Don't forget the best part about cooking: taste away and adjust ingredients to your preference.
What's so great about using fresh fruits in salads is that it saves you the option of having to add any dressing. You get to keep the fat/carb/calorie content at bay without compromising the taste. Apples, cherry tomatoes and pineapples taste amazing in salads, too!
I also bought these. I would've easily chosen some piece of ham over smoked salmon a year ago. I'm a woman of exquisite taste now LOL

And because we rarely ever sit down to eat together these days, this was my sister's end of the deal:
Yummy baguette albeit a bit stale from Tendresse
Finally opened my bottle of Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Jacob's Creek, EVOO with balsamic vinegar for dipping YUMS
 
And of course, it's not a date without dessert! I love how my sister's fickle-mindedness worked to our stomachs' delight! But good job on her because choosing cakes from Harbs is always so confronting.
I NEVER liked cakes in the past and only now do I realise, it's because they weren't cakes. THESE ARE CAKES.
It's such a challenge to form a healthy eating habit, to be honest. I've yet conquered an entire week without falling victim to something dirty (I had instant spicy ramen for lunch yesterday) but it's a work in progress. I have another 10 months to get to where I wanna be!

So... That concludes my week's food diary. We now have enough leftovers to last us the entire weekend which is a great thing as I work on Saturdays, too. However, I can hardly sit still inside my cubby now just thinking about chopping up my celery and apples lest they go bad!

xx