Healthy Eats

Yes, I remember that the original purpose of this food blog was to chronicle healthy eating which somehow turned into how much bacon and fried chicken I was eating.

Well as I've announced before, I'm trying to start a new diet that is full of protein with less meat. My coworker and I somehow got on this health-kick with discovering kale and quinoa. My coworker T (who is vegetarian/pescatarian) has been bringing in a different Quinoa salad every week. First week had chickpeas and lemon juice. Second week was red quinoa with green beans, dried cranberries and walnuts. This week was red quinoa with apples and curry powder. Delish. I need to stock up pronto.

This was one of my lunches last week:

Can you guess what each thing is?

I also made a big batch of lentil soup (and sneaked in pancetta) which will be very welcoming to eat once it gets colder.

My goal by Sept 27 is to be able to run the 5K I booked in Disney World. Right now, I can probably do 2 easy. Hopefully eating healthier and losing some extra pounds will get me through the 3 miles. I believe I can do it, as last year when I tried to start running, I barely made half a mile without getting out of breath. Now, I wake up at 7 (sometimes) and run 1.2 miles. Wish me luck! Share any recipes in the comments as well.

This Chicken is Tso-Tso...

It's how I described my dinner tonight.

I made the "Massaman Chicken Curry" (which was delicious) and had some chicken leftover so I decided to make something new and low-maintenance (meaning I wouldn't have go out and get ingredients). I searched and voila! General Tso's Chicken!

Let me just say this... This is not a recipe you should alter yourself.

I half-assed a lot of the measurements, and left out other ingredients.... BUT now i know for the future.

Nevertheless, this "slurry" is really effective. The chicken crisped up nicely and stayed super juicy. The sauce, on the other hand, failed miserably. First off, I didn't have sherry, fresh garlic or red chilis. I also underestimated the power of corn starch and heat. I figured I didn't need the chicken broth and just used water... as soon as it hit the pan. it thickened up instantly into this gooey mess and I couldn't thin it out. I also forgot the sugar so it turned out to be too salty. But I added Hoisin sauce and it was a little bit better.

I made a slammin' pot of brown rice though!

Get 'Em While It's Hot and I'm Single!

I made a dozen more mini apple pies and brought them into the office. They were a huge hit!
I was going to swear off baking because several times I've baked goodies, my "significant other" and I broke up soon after. Coincidence? Perhaps. But I'm unattached, so baked goods for everyone!

Also made this little guy with the dough leftover for myself. but the fruit flies got to it that night :(

Oh well, for the best.
****
So for dinner tonight, I made my own version of my favorite dish at Saint's Alp Teahouse. Jaclyn and I order this every single time we go (and it's been many). However, she has been studying in Dublin this semester so I decided to try to recreate it at home. I made it, and realized I forgot the most important and delicious part. the "Braised Succulent Pork Chop". Oh well. I will leave it to the experts.

Here's my version:

-brown rice
-minced pork
-red pepper
-jalapeno
-onion
-egg

-hot sauce (Sriracha)
-hoisin sauce