Hi everyone! Quick post to announce the random winner of my Balance Bar Giveaway.
*drumroll please*
Congrats to Peggy Perry who won for tweeting about the giveaway! I’ll be sending you an email tonight.
Thank to everyone who participated! You guys are the best 
So it turns out that strong black coffee is not meant to be had at 9:30 at night.
Granted, I did have a long-ish lab report to do and had an ochem midterm today so I needed some liquid energy, but two cups was probably overdoing it. Just know that at the moment, I’m practically bouncing off the walls.
One good thing about being so hyped up on caffeine? I have the energy to get up this here tasty post at 1:30 a.m. 😯 .
ANYWAYS. Let’s bounce towards the main point of this post: Healthy Asian Lettuce Wraps
When it comes to different cuisines, asian food has always held a special place in my heart. Maybe it stems from all those weekly family gatherings at my obachan’s house, or maybe it comes from the delicious sweet and salty flavors that are characteristic of a lot of asian dishes (sugar+soy sauce on everything, please), but I just plain luuuuuuuuurrrrrve Japanese/Chinese/Vietnamese/Korean dishes.
I know I’ve said this before, but growing up with a Japanese mom and Norwegian dad lends itself to a pretty weird culture mix. Holidays involved Japanese festivals and dressing up in traditional Japanese clothing along with marching in my little bunard dress waving Norsk flags around for syttende mai (the Norwegian national day). Weekly dinners involved copious amounts of steak and potatoes, as well as hot sukiyaki, curry, and sashimi topped with raw salmon eggs and octopus at my obachan’s house. I don’t think I even tried more all-American fare like meatloaf or baked beans until I started dating Kyle and eating over at his house, even though I’ve lived in the US almost all my life.
Even Christmas was celebrated differently. Unlike most families that get together on Christmas day, the festivities for my extended family start on Christmas Eve. We all fit into one house that’s practically bursting at its seams with all the people and love in it and open presents after a fantastic dinner. It wasn’t till I got older that I realized that most kids had to wait till the next morning to open presents and have the traditional Christmas celebrations (muhahah).
Since Christmas day is always left open, we have a family tradition of going out to a nice Chinese restaurant for a big lunch. One of my favorite dishes have always been their delicious lettuce wraps which include a mouthwatering sweet and salty ground beef that’s filled with crunchy water chestnuts. As soon as the waiter would bring the dish to the table, my cousins and I would make a beeline to serve ourselves a heaping pile on a crisp piece of lettuce and spoon a little extra sauce on top. <—— –the BEST.
These are a spin off of those taste lettuce wraps, only they’re much more pimped out thanks to the addition of toppings like roughly chopped peanuts and crunchy carrots for extra texture. AND they’re healthified. Lean ground beef (or your choice of meat, pork and chicken would work great as well) cooked with a little olive oil for healthy fats and, if you’re looking for a dinner that’s low in carbs, the lettuce wraps make the dish come out with only 7g of carbs per wrap naturally. I made a big batch for dinner tonight and Kyle and I inhaled all of it within a day.
I’m telling you, these wraps are that good!
Back to Monday.
WHY.
I have a midterm for my organic chemistry lab today and a lab report due tomorrow, so this post is going to be on the shorter side. I hope you guys had a great weekend!
Pizza Night:
Kyle and I picked up a couple of Costco pizzas for a pizza night at my house with some friends and ohhhhhh myyy gosh. They’re HUGE. And so cheap. A college kid’s dream.
I’m sorta kinda running more!
For me, the hardest part about running is getting out the door. Well, that and the actual moving part. So all of it, really… One thing that does make it a little easier is the view I get at the end of a certain route I go on:
On the topic of exercise, let’s talk injuries. Most people get them from doing extensive cardio or pushing themselves a little too much with the weights. I get mine from ramming myself into a table while out dancing with my friends and tripping up our stairs. Yes, UP the stairs. The result? A bruise the size or a crater on my shin and a strained hamstring. I like to tell people I got them fighting a bear. Obviously winning at life over here.
Last day to enter the giveaway for a buttload of balance bars, an adorable fruit infusing mason jar, and Balance Bar branded headphones! Enter if you haven’t, time’s running out!
Swimsuit Shopping
I’m going to be vacationing in Hawaii in a month or so with Kyle and his family, so I’ve been in the market for a new bikini or two. As usual, I happened to fall in love with one that was out of stock the next day, so fill me in on some good online sites to shop at if you have any recommendations!
I’ve also been eyeing a few from Victoria Secret since they’re having a sale…
I really like the idea of teal and gold one, but I don’t want the girls slipping out all willy nilly and flopping around 😯 . Also, you’re welcome for that image hahah.
Mangoes
Yesterday I ate 3 full mangoes in one day. Today I’m left with only two very unripe ones and am not sure what to do with myself. If you haven’t tried them yet, pick one up from your grocery store! They’re the perfect summer fruit and I have plans on making a Mango Orange Protein Smoothie soon with tart greek yogurt and plenty of fruit chunks. Doesn’t that combination sound dreamy?
And that’s all for now! Time to get caught up with some reading and then hit the hay.
Question of the Day: What have you been up to this last weekend?
If you’re anything like me, you love giving away the meals and treats you make. I’m a weird food blogger in that if I’m not cooking at least partially for others, I’m extremely lazy and will usually just end up eating cereal for dinner or heating up a microwavable meal since I don’t feel any urge to get creative in the kitchen just for myself. Thinking about it now, I guess it could stem partially from cooking narcissism in that it’s fun to show off to others what you make, but I think the majority of comes from being raised in a family where food is a way of showing love.
When I was growing up, every Friday night was set aside for dinner at my obachan’s house (Japanese grandma). I’m lucky in that I lived smack dab in the middle between my extended family, with my cousins and grandparents living less than a five minute drive up or down the road. Friday nights were the best and some of my favorite childhood memories come from those Friday night dinners: using chalk to draw imaginary roads and peddling our kiddy bikes around for hours, climbing trees, running away from the skunk that lived in the bushes (terrifying, but exhilarating), trying to make a campfire by rubbing sticks together, but most of all, the food. I come from a line of women who are amazing cooks and my obachan is no exception. Fresh sashimi arranged beautifully on a plate and hot and crunchy shrimp tempura were two of my favorites, but there was no end to the goodness of her slow-roasted lamb or homemade sweet sushi rice. Those Friday nights were the best.
Now that I’m all grown-up and off at college, I don’t get the opportunity to head over to her house every Friday night, but whenever I’m back in my hometown I find myself asking “Is there obachan’s house tonight?” and most of the time the answer is a happy yes.
Anyways, I lost myself in that big paragraph when the initial point I’m trying to make is that food=love to me. Here are some creative ways to package all that love!
Retro Oven Cupcake Box via Claudine Hellmuth
Is this not the cutest thing you’ve ever seen? Claudine offers a printable version in her etsy store and all you need is a printer, cardstock paper, and some basic office tools like scissors and a glue stick to put them together. Also, she includes 6 different color choices for the oven. OMG NEED.
Paper-Plate Goodie Holder
Such a simple concept, but I love how the final product turns out. Just take an ordinary paper plate, fold, and dress it up with an adorable ribbon.
Simple DIY Cupcake Holder via Bird on a Cake
A little plastic wrapping from your local craft/grocery store, a small desposable cup, and a ribbon! Instant cuteness.
Jam and Baguette Gift Package via Martha Stewart
Being a self-declared baguette babe, this is a total must.
Accented Brown Treat Bag via The Party Studio
Brown paper bags don’t just need to be a vehicle for school-time lunches anymore! Use craft scissors to make a scalloped fold-over top and attach a few fun labels.
{Free Printable} Brown Treat Bag via The Pretty Blog
Soo apparently you can print on brown paper bags?! WHAT?! Why am I just learning about this now?
DIY Cake Pop Bags via Cakeinkevents
A little more of that craft-store plastic wrap, some twine, and a printable label and you got yourself a wedding-favor worthy gift!
Pimped-Out Cookie Box
I love how beautiful and rustic this cookie box is. Just take an old brown box and fill up different paper containers with some delicious treats!
Homemade Baking Mix Jar
Okay, okay. This is just way too freakin’ cute 😯 . Layer in the dry ingredients for your favorite cookie/cake recipe, stick on a label, and PA-ZAMMMM! You are everyone’s favorite secret santa.
Sweet and Savory Breakfast Set via Country Living
I died when I saw how lovely this is. Then, I looked into mini cast-iron skillets and apaprently you can get them for under $6 each at online stores like this. Guess where all my money is going?
So there you have it!
Question of the Day: What is your favorite way to package food gifts?
So this is me right now. I’m sitting at our dining table in our gorgeously open and light living room. The glass door is open. You can hear the sound of waves crashing softly in the background. Palm trees blowing in the wind. All I can see is a huge expanse of ocean. Well, that and our neighbors playing beer pong in their backyard.
Brb. I’ll show you.
To say the least, it can all get a little distracting 😯 .
I’m blaming my lack of ability to concentrate on living in such a gorgeous place. I have miles more free time now that it’s summer, but I find myself not being all that productive. Back when I was sleeping 3-5 hours a night for weeks at a time and living in the library, I had grand plans of spending all my free-time blogging, working on my freelance work, exploring new places in Santa Barbara, etc. Instead all I want to do is sit outside and watch the waves roll back and forth with a cup of coffee and a cookie (or 12).
Specifically these cookies.
You see, the deliciousness of a cookie directly correlates to the amount of goodies and add-ins you can stuff into it. It’s proven by a complex math derivative that involved copious amounts of physics, or something.
Here, let me try to explain it in this helpful diagram.
Ahhhhh yes… I see. Intriguing.
*twiddles mustache thoughtfully*.
If you carefully study the diagram, you can easily see the relationship to the piles of added cookies and cream chunks and white chocolate chips in these Chunky Cookies and Cream Cookies to their deliciousness. I mean, if the name has the word “cookies” in it twice, it must be twice as good, right?!
Like their name suggests, these babies are loaded fully loaded with yumminess and have a great chewy crust but soft middle. They’re fantastically sweet and go better with a cup of coffee than any other cookie I’ve ever had, and that, my friends, is saying something.
So grab yourself a mug of liquid energy, a cookie straight out of the oven, and an oceanside view like me and you’re ready to start your morning off right.
Life is good.
Cookie base adapted from The Kitchen Magpie