Jan
13th

Cauliflower Mash is one of my favorite [side] dishes because it’s low carb and I LOVE CAULIFLOWER. Call me weird, but this bland vegetable is so damn good. Being Asian, I have to eat protein with some kind of carb on the side (a.k.a. white rice) and I can’t seem to change (or refuse) my habits but the texture of chopped up cauliflower is enough to trick my brain. Hey, it’s white and looks like rice.

Here is a base recipe, but honestly, I just throw whatever I feel like in there.

Ingredients:

• a head of cauliflower
• 1 clove of garlic, minced (or use galic powder)
• 1 tbsp butter (can omit)
• 1.5 tsp paprika
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Steam cauliflower for 10-15 minutes until tender, then drain.
2. Mash cauliflower.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mash away some more.
4. Eat and be amazed at delicious low-carb goodness.

Can it get any simpler? It’s not nutritious or filling to be a meal on it’s own but it’s good on the side of say, some tilapia and can even substitute rice.

Oct
2nd

OH. EM. GEE.

I KNOW WHY PEOPLE HATE VEGGIES!!!

Well, I may not be exactly right but I’ll bet it’s part of the problem.

I grew up pigging out on mouth-watering Chinese food and every meal always had one or more side dishes of deliciously-cooked vegetables (spinach, bok choy, cabbage, bean sprouts, etc.). They were cooked in rich sauces, steamed with simple ingredients like ginger or served with sauces like oyster sauce on the side. They were always good! I don’t think I’ve ever hated eating veggies in my life. All my [Asian] friends love veggies too… sometimes we even get into dramatic conversations when trying to decide what type of “choy” (spinach) to order with our meal.

On the otherhand, from people I know and from watching TV/movies of “white” families eating, all they seem to eat are very bland and boring looking vegetables (eg. steamed, unseasoned). Sure, steamed veggies are definitely a lot more healthy than ones covered in sauces but that’s not the way to turn kids into veggie lovers. Besides, there are ways to make things delicious and healthy at the same time, so parents: think twice before bitching at your kids for not eating their veggies! You may think it’s healthy but you’re ruining their relationship with veggies… FOR LIFE. LIFE!!

Thanks to my parents for not forcing bland vegetables down my throat when I was little, I now LOVE them; steamed, raw, roasted, baked… you name it and I’ll eat it.

Just because I’m practically drooling right now, my favorites are steamed asparagus and broccoli, raw cauliflower and celery, cabbage with bean thread noodles and ginger, baby bok-choy steamed with garlic and my grandma’s ong choy. Today I even discovered a newfound love for red peppers… I use to avoid the red/yellow ones and only eat the green ones. Don’t ask.

But anyway, I don’t want to stereotype and generalize a whole group of people but that’s just one thing I noticed (on TV… BLAME THE MEDIA!!!). I know white people know how to cook good vegetable dishes too and I know Asians who despises them.

Do you hate vegetables? Why?

Sep
27th

Lately, I’ve been more conscious about my health and have been obsessing over nutrition. I will never say goodbye to my delicious poutine (nomnomnom) but I limit when I have it and try to consume more foods with higher nutritional value. I don’t care about weight loss so I’m not strict with my diet but it’s good to know what’s good and bad for you.

• 5-6 small meals a day! Meals should be small enough so you’ll feel hungry 2-3 hours later, this way you won’t feel hungry as often and end up eating junk.
• NEVER EVER skip meals (especially breakfast). It’ll just take you back a step (or two), mess up your metabolism and you’ll probably make up for that skipped meal by eating more later on. You’ll also have a harder time controlling cravings if you’re low in calories. Set your cellphone alarm to remind yourself to eat if you need to.Sometimes breakfast is the most exciting part of my day when I’m deciding what to put in my oatmeal in the morning. Sad, isn’t it? But it’s so fun and so nom.
• Breakfast and/or your post-workout meals should be the biggest meals of your day.
• Never cut carbohydrates completely from your diet. Your body needs it for energy especially if you work out. Instead, limit carbs to breakfast or pre/post work out meals.Complex carbs (whole grains, oatmeal, potatoes, spinach…) are good for you because they’re rich in nutrients and vitamins, help stabilize blood sugar and take longer to breakdown therefore satisfying your hunger.Simple carbs breaks down faster, are less satisfying and more fattening. They come in 2 groups: bad/processed (white flour, candy, pop) and good/natural (apples, berries, peaches). A good time to eat a simple carb is right before/after a work out (the good kind of course).
• Eat your vegetables! They are high in fibre and make you feel full. A fab dieting trick is to eat a salad before dinner so you’ll be less likely to pig out on other things.
• Eat protein in every meal to increase metabolism, preserve muscles and to feel full. Examples of food high in protein are eggs, yogurt, nuts, fish, chicken, milk, rice, tofu and beans.
• The percentage of protein/carbs/fats you should eat daily depends on your body and your fitness goals so consult a qualified nutrition. If you ask me, I might tell you to eat poutine every day.
• Replace whites with browns/whole-grains (eg. bread, pasta, rice, etc). …BUT the only “white” thing I eat and will NEVER give up is white rice. Seriously… you should never tell an Asian to give up white rice.
• Eat fruits to satisfy your sweet craving. Fruits are the shit.
• Eating after [insert time] will make you gain weight is a myth! It doesn’t matter when you eat but how many calories you’ve consumed that day. The key is to choose healthier foods; leaner meats and veggies and avoid carbs/fats when eating at night.
• Lots and LOTS of water. How many times have we all heard this?
• Start with baby steps. For example, drink diet coke instead of coke, then try cutting out diet coke and replace with water, etc.
• Exercise!! Diet and exercise go hand-in-hand. You won’t reach your goals doing only one.

You don’t have to be extremely strict with your diet unless you’re a body builder or your health is in danger because of your weight… in fact I feel bad for all those exercise “gurus” who are always preaching that you should eat chicken breast every day (and probably pretending that they do too). This is coming from someone who HATES chicken breast, but what’s life without good food? Eat what you want (in moderation), get all your nutrients, fulfill your daily calorie intake, exercise and you’ll be fine. It sounds intimidating but once you start, it’s actually hard to get back into the really bad junk/processed foods and an unhealthy lifestyle. Of course, you have to treat yourself to cheat meals once in a while and they’ll taste better too.

If you’re dedicated to health, earning a health education masters degree could help you maintain personal health and assisting others to achieve healthy lifestyles and good eating habits.

Sep
19th

Foods that are low in energy density are high in fiber and water content which keeps you full for longer periods of time. It’s great for your waist and your health. There are tons but there my favorites that I eat daily:

• Oatmeal. Dress it up with a dash of honey, splenda, all-natural peanut butter, fresh/dried fruits, etc. but don’t buy the instant/flavored ones so you can control what goes in and how much.
• Cottage cheese. Looks like lard but it’s an awesome source of protein, low in fat/carbs/calories and comes in low-fat/fat-free versions. I love cottage cheese because it’s sooo good and you can do so much with it; I usually eat it with a bit of all-natural peanut butter a.k.a. orgasm in your mouth.
• Fresh fruits (some). I would live on fruits if I could. Apples, bananas, oranges, papaya, berries…
• Vegetables. They’re high in fibre, full of nutrients and yummy. I don’t understand how anyone can hate veggies! Lately, my veggie of choice is … DUNDUNDUN … cauliflower. Nom.
• Egg Whites. Another good source of protein and I like them with a tiny bit of soy sauce (so Asian but so yum). As for egg yolks, they are a bit controversial because there are so many different reports… they ARE high in cholesterol BUT also full of vitamins so you should eat them once in a while.

Sep
9th

Yeet Hay (literally translates to “hot air“) is a condition that the Chinese believe you get when you consume too many “hot” foods. The Chinese culture revolves around yin and yang, so when you eat too many “hot” foods (eg. greasy/spicy food, lychee, durian, mango, etc.), your body will become imbalanced causing annoyances like cankersores, acne, dried lips, sore throats, nose bleeds, etc.

My parents and grandparents use to warn us all the time that eating too much of something will give us yeet hay but I always thought it was just something they said to make us stop eating junk food and never believed it until I got older.

Lychee is my favorite fruit and has deadly yang properties, hence the quote, “one lychee equals three torches of fire“. I can probably eat 985641564lbs in a sitting despite my dad’s warnings, but one day a light bulb went off in my head and I realized why I was getting so many cankersores in the summer (after basking in a pile of lychee)… YEET HAY! So my dad wasn’t lying after all.

IT’S TRUE. YEET HAY EXISTS. OH-EM-GEE.

One discussion that I have with my Chinese friends and family is: is there an English term for “yeet hay”? It’s always difficult to explain to our non-Chinese friends because there doesn’t seem to be an official term for it since the concept doesn’t really exist in any other cultures. The funniest definition I’ve heard is, “Are you sure it doesn’t mean yeast infection? …Chinese yeast infection?”

The Chinese believes that to cure yeet hay, you have to balance it out with yin (or “cool”) foods, for example, logans are the opposite of lychee (too bad they’re not as good).

Every ten li a station swirling with dust,
Every five li a post to urge couriers on;
Men die like flies, their corpses line the road,
So that lychees and longans may be delivered to court.
Carriages race over hills, boats sweep through the seas,
With new plucked fruit on fresh boughs, the leaves still dewy,
All to win a smile from the beauty in the palace,
Though it cost bloodshed and strife,
and its effect remains for ever.�

- Su Shi, 11th Century Chinese Poet, from A Lament for Lychees

I still eat boatloads of lychee. It’s totally worth the yeet hay considering I only get to eat it about 2 months out of a year. Slurp.