Breakout Outbreaks

Is it just me? Yes, when I'm frustrated with an issue, I like to be egocentric.

Here's my issue:

Every month, about 1 to 2 weeks before the Menstrual Cycle Fairy comes to pay me a visit, I breakout. It's not one or two cute little red babies planting themselves on my face but an invasion--a rash outbreak plus one to two humongous babies sitting oh so comfortably on me.

Here is what I don't understand:

I don't eat junkfood. I haven't eaten junkfood since probably 8th grade. Therefore, it's not like I have toxins in my body and they are producing these munchkins every month.

I'm a clean freak when it comes to my face and hygiene.

I'm physically active. I run. I do yoga.

I drink lots of water. My KleanKanteen is being refilled at least 5 times a day.



I eat lots of veggies and fruits. As noted, I'm about 95% vegetarian. I LOVE fruits. I eat some kind of fruit after every meal.

Potential Causation:

I eat too much sweets, especially before my monthly cycle. I know craving sweets is one of the symptoms but my kind of sweets is mostly natural. I eat lots of fruits to replace my sugar cravings. Sometimes, I eat some homemade oatmeal cookies made with brown sugar or honey instead of white sugar.


Do these types of sweets also affect my hormonal balance?

I leave you with a cookie.

Well, We're Just All Over the Place Today, Aren't We?

See? I've been getting better at this updating thing, no?

I woke up this morning hungry. Scratch that. I ALWAYS wake up hungry.

One time, I stuffed myself with all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ STILL woke up hungry the next day. However, don't worry, my herbivore friends, I will never do that again because I'm in the process of slowly transitioning into a vegetarian diet. I must admit that I will probably never be 100% vegetarian because my omnivore family, particularly my mother (I love you mom!), doesn't believe that I can be nourished just eating plants, nuts, and seeds (awww..but ma!).

Nevertheless, since my transition, I find that my digestion is better and I don't constantly feel HEAVY. I hate that feeling. Every time after I eat meat, even in moderation, I feel as if I'm lugging around 10 pounds of fertilizer in my stomach.

Sorry to go off on a tangent. Let's get back to breakfast.

So I'm scrounging around our fridge to see what I can mix up.
Side not: I LOVE combining ingredients. It's like learning about how to mix your primary colors to produce secondary colors. I feel such joy when I hit that right combination of flavors! It just makes food more enjoyable.

I see new cans of Yoplait Thick & Creamy Vanilla Yogurt. Their marketing strategies are just amazing. I love that golden lid complementing that soft yellow layout. Thumbs up!


I spin the can to the back to read the ingredients. "High fructose corn syrup." Hmmm..that's great. I put it back in the fridge.

I see some corn tortilla wraps. My mind whirls as it imagines all the things I can wrap in there to bring to work for lunch. I flip the package to read the ingredients on the back: "High fructose corn syrup." Okkkay, maybe I won't have this for lunch.

Please someone tell me if America really needs to be this deceptive. Food production companies telling its consumers that they use the "finest ingredients" when you can produce finer ingredients at home.

Yes, I can go to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's to buy my food but then my wallet would be empty all the time. Consequently, it shouldn't be a surprise that America is fighting obesity because most people can't even afford to buy good food or even trust the food market these days.

However, I'm glad that many food bloggers out there are showing to the world that we have SO many options to enjoy good food.

Let's continue to spread awareness about living a healthy lifestyle, whether it is with our food, friends, lovers, family, pets...whoever!

Cheers to happiness and food!

Imperfecting Perfections

Gena over at Choosing Raw brought up an interesting topic today. Jenna from Eat Live Run has already hit on this issue before when answering to a comment on her blog.

Admit it. As bloggers, we strive show the best of ourselves on our blogs--our best creations, our best selves, our best writing.

Yes, there are times when we admit certain flaws about ourselves to our readers but those occasions are rare because c'mon, who wants to hear about someone's woes on a daily basis?

As Jenna had said in response to a comment, blogging has made her part of the media. Thinking of topics that would fuel her readership is difficult, especially if done on a daily basis.

However, we don't mind scratching our heads for ideas. Humans like attention. Our eyes immediately light up when someone finds interest in what we do, who we are, and to know that someone out there cares. Thus blogging is a satisfaction.

Just like food.

But enough about why we do what we do. Since Gena had the guts to reveal her imperfections, I'd like to hop on that train and reveal something me too.



I try too hard. My attempt to be the "perfect" being means I freak out when things don't go as planned. It goes like this:
1) I discover my error
2) Calm on the exterior, panicking on the interior
3) Mind wants to correct error immediately
4) Rash decisions cause more mistakes
5) I correct my error and finish my task
6) I find out there was actually an easier way to the complete task

I don't like looking at myself in the mirror. To me, this is a good thing because I am very critical of myself. The less I am able to examine my imperfections, the less I will worry about them. Moreover, I hate taking pictures or even showing people pictures of myself. Therefore, posting a picture of myself for the food blogging world to see is actually quite bold and new for me. Creating this blog was about self-improvement so I figured being proud enough to show the whole who I am means I'm one step closer to self-acceptance.



*Smiles*

Blah Blah Blog

I know, I know. I'm horrible. I say I'll come back later but then disappear for a month.

A mother never abandons her child so I shouldn't either.

I'm sorry.

After sneaking around the food blog community for a while, I've come to a conclusion: this bond we've (food fanatics) created is the next Twitter or Facebook.


Best of all, you won't need to report to your mom what you ate today.

"Dear Mom,

I've created a food blog! Please don't call me to ask me what I ate; just micromanage my food blog.

Love,

Your All-Grown Up Daughter"




Wait. This blog isn't a type of correspondence between you and your mom. It's correspondence with the world (if you don't set any restrictions).

Let's take this analysis a bit further.

Hi, I'm a reader.

I'm also human.

I like your daily Greek yogurt with muesli for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, and a huge plate of salad for dinner but I can almost predict your menu for the following day.

I'm a girl. I need JUICE.

Yup. That's right. Readers want to know about the person behind the daily blogging and photo shoots.

Bloggers don't seem to mind. This show-and-tell has become a blogger's outlet. Not only are we discussing food but also our daily lives and we want our readers to become immersed in our problems, fears, and dreams.

We've taken one step forward. Let's take one step back. Has it ever occurred to anyone that we don't know each other yet we talk everyday?

Like going on a blind date.

Yet, we put our faith in our readers. We inhale their suggestions, praises, and criticisms as if they have been our friends for years.

Without knowing, we've created a support system just like Caitlin's Operation Beautiful.


I'm ready to share my food. Are you?



*Smile*

A little more on this later!

I am RUNNING right now :) Please leave me a message...

Mango Pancake

This may just look like a regular pancake, BUT it's not...

Let's look at this from the flip side:

The fluffiness of the pancake compliments so well with the softness of the mango. My family and I never use any syrup on our pancake so when the batches didn't come out as sweet, I drizzled honey on it.

PERFECT.

Here are some tips that helped me and might help you too during your pancake cooking adventures:

1) DON'T over mix. I've heard it from Alton Brown on Good Eats but his word of heed never really stuck in my head until I read the same again in another blog.

10 churns. Step away. Don't touch it. It really helps. (Lumps in the mix are actually acceptable *gasp*)

2) If your antsy hands happen to have over mixed your batter and your pancake becomes flat and flimsy, don't panic. Transform these pancakes into crepes. They will still taste great :)

3) DON'T add your "toppings" into your pancake mix. Wait until you're cooking the pancake and the uncooked side foams up. Then plump your toppings onto the pancake and gently press it into the batter. It helps the toppings stick to the pancake.

Okay. Let's get to the good stuff.

Recipe:

1 c whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp honey

1 c soymilk

Mangoes cubed

VEGAN CINNAMON BUNS

Sorry my friends, I only have a picture of my creation through the camera on my cellphone. Maybe I'll get a chance to snap of shot of it on my real camera before the buns get all gobbled up.

I must say I wasn't a true believer of this recipe at first because the rising time was so short for using yeast, but I followed the recipe exactly and it produced amazing cinnamon buns! I will definitely be using this recipe again :)

Recipe adapted from: Meg's Vegan Recipes

Rolls:

3/4 C unsweetend soy milk

1/4 C Earth Balance, softened

3 1/4 C all-purpose flour

1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast

1/4 C white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 C plus 2 TBS water

Filling:

1 C brown sugar, packed

1 TBS ground cinnamon

1/2 C Earth Balance, softened (I use about 1/3 cup or a bit less)

Glaze: (I lessened the original recipe and took out the maple syrup and corn syrup)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 C icing sugar

4 TBS unsweetened soy milk

Instructions:

Heat the soy milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove

from heat. Mix in margarine; stir until melted. Let cool until

lukewarm.

In a large mixing bowl combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt;

mix well. Add water and the soy milk/margarine mixture; beat well. Add

the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each

addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a

lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes

Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon,

softened margarine.

Roll out dough into a 12x9 inch rectangle. Spread dough with

margarine/sugar mixture (if you want you can add in some raisins or

nuts).

Cut into 12 equal size rolls and place cut side up in 2 lightly

greased rounds pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30

minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until browned. Combine

all the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl and mix until

smooth. Let rolls cool a few minutes then drizzle with glaze.