going healthy II

Okay, I know I should seriously stop spamming you all with random posts but I really need to get all of these recipes off my chest so I don't start crying in agony about how I have too many recipes to post and not enough time and when I do get the time I don't post and it just turns terrible.

I've really been struggling with my weight and my body image since coming to AC. In all honesty, I've never really had my thighs rub together but I didn't have a complete "thigh gap" either. I felt really good in my body and I was honestly quite thin but muscular.

I've essentially turned into a tub of lard since coming to AC -- and I'm ready to change that. All my muscles are covered with a good ol' layer of fat and I'm off to kill it.

I think it all starts with diet -- 70% diet, 30% exercise, right?

Right.

My goal was to go to the gym every day for the rest of this month but I think I'm going to take a step back. I can't fuel my exercises with absolutely terrible, carb-laden food day in and day out like I have for the past three months. I'm going to take this month and use it to reshape the way I see nutrition and everything. I'm going to make sure that I eat right. It takes 21 days to form habits -- that's what I've got.

Obviously I don't expect to make myself absolutely perfect, but I've got to practice moderation and I have to remind myself of what it feels like to eat well and treat my body well. So I guess this will be the beginning.

Here's the description that I wrote for it when I put it on my Tumblr:

I think I’ve just regained my love of salad. I’m Chinese, so I grew up eating rice to “bland out” the stronger flavors of meat and other dishes. Now, I love rice and I’ll never stop eating it because it’s part of who I am and it’s part of my culture and my upbringing. However, salad really does offer a great alternative. The lettuce basically replaces the rice - it helps provide balance to the strong, distinct flavors of the salmon and the chicken breast chunks.
This is a great recipe and the portion is HUGE. And it’s a bit over the amount of calories that are usually in my recipes, but seriously, this there’s so much food in here it’s ridiculous.

Smoked Salmon and Grilled Chicken Breast
3 oz smoked salmon
4 oz grilled chicken breast, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 head romaine lettuce, shredded
5 cherry tomatoes, halved

Toss all the ingredients into a bowl. Serve immediately.

going healthy

because, like I said, I need to lose weight.

This is from a couple of months back when I still did the Insanity! workout. It was pretty good but I stopped after like 45 days (I know... so close, right?) because I started getting bored with it and I wasn't seeing any results to be honest. I wouldn't do the fit tests because I hate being tested for anything to be honest.

But I did get this nifty, low-cal recipe from the recipe book, and I remember it tasting pretty good.

Chicken Stir-Fry with Broccoli and Mushrooms
Yields 1 serving

4 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp chicken broth
1 tsp sesame oil

In a large skillet coated with cooking spray, cook chicken breast pieces over medium heat until cooked through, about 7-10 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and cook broccoli and mushrooms in the same pan. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 6-8 minutes. Add the chicken back into the pan, with the vegetables, and season with soy sauce, chicken broth, and sesame oil.

hong kong: day 2

I HAVE OFFICIALLY RETURNED TO THE WORLD OF REAL FOOD.

Oh, Chinese food, how I've missed you.

My fat-kill journey is most definitely not going to be easy.

I say fat kill because I don't want it to ever be found/appear/haunt me again.

I woke up at 9AM this morning and went to the gym. I just kind of realized today that I don't really like going to the gym all that much and it's no fun for me at the moment. I tried to run but I got shin splints really really quickly and there was a sharp pain in my butt. Hahahaha. Now I see how that's kind of funny. Because running is a pain in my butt... literally. See what I did there?

Okay. I'm sorry for that.

Anyway, I went to eat lunch at Cafe de Coral afterwards. It sounds a lot fancier than it is. It's basically Cantonese fast food, but it obviously tastes better than anything McDonald's could ever churn out.

Then I went to eat some Cantonese street food.

Eggettes! (鸡蛋仔）

a mango dessert for which there is no english name (糯米慈) 

The outer layer of the mango dessert/snack is made of glutinous rice flour, I believe, and it sprinkled with shredded coconut. There's a nice mango filling inside (with actual fruit haha.)

Then we headed to Causeway Bay. My sister was getting a facial there and I went to Forever21.

We also went to see The Hobbit. Gollum is the scariest thing ever and the movie ended way too quickly. I'm pretty sure there's a Part II. That really irritates me because by the time Part II comes out (i.e. 28347502394857 years later) I'll have forgotten what happened in Part I. I'm really bad at remembering plot lines and stories.

For example, I read Wuthering Heights last year and I remember really, really enjoying it but I can't remember much about what happens to who.

I also thought I would show you this picture I took on the MTR (i.e. subway/metro.)

For dinner, I went to a place called Fairwood which is basically like Cafe de Coral, but worse.
My father and my sister ate hot pot. I ate BBQ pork + chicken with rice.

I also went to the same street food shop thing and ate siu mai.

P.S. I ate three eggette waffles today and two siu mai skewer thingies.
P.P.S. I really need to lose fat. And weight, basically. This sucks and I feel disgusting right now.

blast from the past: vanilla cupcakes with icing

I think that's what you call it, right?

A blast from the past?

Bringing something from eons (not really) ago back to modern day?

I got my camera back today (I hope you got that from my previous post.) I was scrolling through the pictures when I saw really really appetizing pictures of foods that I had made in the past.

I've decided to start with these nice-looking vanilla cupcakes first.

The icing solidified quite quickly because... I don't really know why. But it "solidified" quite quickly (it just turned not-drippy).

This is why I want to explore molecular gastronomy: I'm really interested in the way flavors work together in terms of science and chemicals, as well as the cellular responses in our bodies that tell us what tastes good and what doesn't.

I'm planning on doing my extended essay (EE) for the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma.

It's not too difficult to make.

It's not difficult to make at all.

If I can make it, you can make it. :)

Vanilla Cupcakes with Icing 
Cupcakes
from Brown Eyed Baker
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
½ cup sour cream
1 large egg , room temperature
2 large egg yolks , room temperature
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Icing
Water
Powdered sugar


1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin/cupcake tin with paper or foil liners.
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add butter, sour cream, egg and egg yolks, and vanilla; beat at medium speed until smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula and mix by hand until smooth and no flour pockets remain.
3. Divide batter evenly among cups of prepared tin. Bake until cupcake tops are pale gold and toothpick or skewer inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 24 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from tin and transfer to wire rack; cool cupcakes to room temperature before frosting.

Pour powdered sugar into a bowl. Drip small amounts of water into the powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.