The "Savvy" Pad Thai

Pad Thai is one of my favourite dishes. It has the perfect blend of savoury, sweet and tangy flavour. It also helps that it is so darn easy to cook (my version anyway). It's one of my regular dishes I cook whenever there is a potluck event. People always ask me, how did you make this? And I always reply, "It's easy! You need..." then I blabber on how to make it but I always get interrupted with this response: "Just write down or email me the recipe, ok?" But then I always forget (tsk tsk).

So now, I'm sharing my recipe! And I can tell everyone who asks me how to make this again to check out my blog :)

The "Savvy" Pad Thai

(Please be warned that I don't measure when I cook, some measurement are just "eyeballed")

Ingredients:

1 pkg. thin rice noodles

3 green onions (chopped)

3 to 4 cloves of garlic (chopped)

1 zuchinni (grated)

Big bunch of bean sprouts (rinsed well)

1 lbs of peeled and deveined shrimp (You can use chicken or skip the meat altogether)

1 pkg of extra firm Tofu (sliced into strips)

Sauce:

1/4 cup Fish sauce

1/4 cup Rice vinegar

Photo from Wikipedia

1/4 cup brown or turbinado sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons of Asian hot chili sauce

Toppings (all optional):

Slice of lime

Chopped green onions

Chopped peanuts

(I used walnuts for this batch because I didn't  realize I ran out of peanuts! But it worked great and tasted the same.)

1. 
   
   Cook you noodles first by following cooking instructions in the package. But I usually let my noodles sit in hot water in a bowl for about 5 to 7 minutes. Then I transfer it to a strainer and rinse it with cold water in the sink. Set aside.
2. 
   
   Preheat your Wok or big skillet set in medium and add about a tsp. of oil or a spray of PAM just to coat the bottom of the pan.
3. 
   
   Saute garlic untiil it's fragrant (don't let it burn!)
4. 
   
   Add the shrimp and cook until it's opaque and pink (5 minutes or so)
5. 
   
   Add all the vegetables and tofu, mix and cook for another 5 minutes.
6. 
   
   Dump all the sauce ingredients in the wok, mixing it thoroughly.
7. 
   
   Then add the cooled rice noodles and mix everything.
8. 
   
   You can top it off with peanuts and more greens onions with a side of lime, of course these are all optional.

Eat and enjoy!

Tip:

 Add about 1/2 a teaspoon of the chili sauce at a time and taste to check for spiciness. That stuff is smoking and a little goes a long way. I prefer my food spicy but lately I have been making my food mild because of my DD.

Oh and the fish sauce stinks like garbage but don't be afraid to use it in this dish, if you think it makes it too salty just add more rice vinegar. 

We had this for dinner tonight and it was scrumptious! I expected for my DD to enjoy it since she loves all noodles equally but I was surpried that she wanted seconds!

I do let her get messy during dinner sometimes, she surely enjoy slurping all those noodles!

Now that the weather is getting warmer, I think this dish is perfect for a light summer meal outdoors. And speaking of summer, Fashion meets Food is doing a very cute and summery giveaway! She is giving out lovely Miss Trish Sandals perfect for any of your summer outfits. I have entered myself because those sandals are just too darn adorable.

Just to give you a quick update on my workouts, I have stopped doing P90X in the meantime. My training partner is still injured and I simply can't get motivated enough to do it myself! I have been running 3 to 5Ks a few times since last week to compesate. I usually do ab ripper or Yoga X as well after my runs also. Tonight, I did a 3k with the hubby but skipped out on the ab ripper because I'm just too pooped out.

Let me know if you have your own variation of Pad thai! And if you do try my version, I would love to hear if you liked it (or not)!

Yummy eats

So yesterday was Sunday and I wanted to indulge in some good food. I have been eating pretty healthy and I thought I deserved a cheat day!

When I think of great food for breakfast, my mind flashes back when my hubby and I were in our honeymoon in Cancun. Every single morning during out stay, we ordered from room service and got some Huevos Rancheros.

Cancun September 2007

I have been craving some of this good Mexican breakfast for a while and I made my easy peasy version of the dish.

I made some sunny-side up eggs and heated up corn tortillas over the stove. I place the tortillas on the plate, then the eggs. I topped it off with some ready made Mexican brand salsa with refried beans and chopped avocado on the side. And it turned out great!

For more Huevos Rancheros goodness check out this link

It was a great treat and it totally hit the spot. My hubby loved it as well and we started talking about going back to Mexico again someday to get our authentic Mexican food fix. My DD just had the beans and tortillas and she gobbled it all up!

After a wonderful breakfast, the whole family headed off to church. Normally afterwards, we would have our packed lunch in the church dining room/kitchen because both we have meetings, practices and classes to attend in the afternoon. But we got a bit of a break so we headed to IKEA for some lunch grub and to check out toddler beds for my DD as well.

It sounds totally weird but I really love eating at the IKEA cafeteria. The food is always fresh and delish and it's very baby/kid friendly.

My hubby had some meatballs and potatoes

My mom and sis shared a plate of roasted chicken, ribs and fries.

My DD got some mac and cheese, garlic bread and milk.

And I had some stuffed salmon with veggies and potatoes. It normally comes with vegetable medallions (which are very yummy) instead of the mashed potatoes but they ran out :(

We all had some dessert too, Daim cake with refillable coffee! I was in food heaven. I really have no idea what a daim cake is but it has some chocolate, some kind of creamy stuff and some crunchy stuff (Sorry that my description sounds so lame, maybe you might know and educate me a little bit?)

We didn't end up buying a bed that day because we didn't have enough trunk space. But we have chosen what we want to get and will go back to make the purchase.

So it was time to head home and we all crashed and took a nap. (That definitely made the day, I never napped until yesterday).

I was starving after my nap so my DD and I snacked on some of this good stuff:

For dinner, we just had some vegetable soup and crackers. It was still really filling though. It was garlic and onions sauteed with asparagus, carrots, celery and potatoes (added as a thickener). Then chicken stock was added and creamed it in a food processor. Spinach was cut into strips and added at the very end.

It looks very green but I swear it was yummy!

So Sunday was a great food day for me. I did give in to my cravings but still made some good food choices. Now, today is a new start and I plan to eat well and get tons of h2o.

How did you spend your Sunday?

Indian food 101: Pappa.. what?

My co-worker is a lovely Hindu vegetarian. I told her about my late afternoon hunger pangs and the next day she gave me a treat!

Meet Pappadum:

It's an Indian version of Asia's prawn or fish crackers! It is completely made of rice flour and flavored with spices (Spice scale of 1 to 10, it's a 6). With a light yet savoury flavour, it's a perfect snack for a hungry girl like me.

My lovely Indian friend made a big batch of Pappadums last Easter long weekend from scratch and she gave me a big Ziploc full of it to keep it in the office for a healthy afternoon snack!

Apparently, it's a looooonnnnnnnggg process to make this yummy treat. She made the dough out of rice flour, spiced it up, shaped them in tortilla sized pieces then left them in a basket to dry. Once it's completely dry, you can fry it (the most popular choice) or bake it in the oven.

But let me tell you how I enjoy fresh Pappadums in the office.

Start with a dried up Pappadum.

Put in the microwave for 30 seconds

Flip it and microwave for another 30 seconds

Then it's ready to eat! No greasy oil, no fats, no dirty dishes!

How about that for an easy, healthy and exotic treat thanks to my good Hindu friend.

Now, I'm not entirely sure how to get more of these Pappadums if you would like to try some. My friend says a lot of Hindu women make it at home and sell them in big bags for a buck or two. If you happen to find any in a store or your local Indian grocer or restaurant, let me know!

Cherry Blossoms

After a stressful and nerve wracking weekend, it was so amazing to wake up to this:

Cherry tree on our front yard.

For more Cherry Blossoms check it out here if you are in Toronto area.

Spring came early here and today is just gorgeous!

I have the day off today and boy I needed it.

My hubby is doing well and I will update you on that on a later post.

Today: I will just relax, enjoy time with the family, go for a stroll and enjoy this lovely day of spring.

Thank God that the sun shines bright after a storm.

Whatta friday...

and I'm afraid that the weekend will be the same as well. Let's review shall we...

Friday morning started well... woke up, got ready, woke up my DD, got her ready then went downstairs for breakfast.

This is what I had:

Kashi Go Lean Crunch mixed with Kashi Toasted Berry Crisp with Skim Milk. (Yummy and waistline friendly)

My DD munched on some toast with cream cheese with a bottle of milk.

Then my hubby and I dropped my DD off to home daycare and we both commuted to work together. Which is a nice AM bonding time despite of the terrible city traffic.

Photo from here

My day at work went without any glitches. Everything ran smoothly and although I had to deal with some "difficult" people, God gave me the patience and kindness to shower them with flowers instead of stones. Which actually works wonders, kudos to HIM!

I had to buy lunch because of lack of leftovers from dinner the night before and got lazy fixing a homemade lunch.

So I went to Metro for some sushi. Then the salad section caught my eye and I bought something called "Seven grain salad". It was basically mixed grains with lentils and other type of beans in a olive oil based dressing. It was delish and spicy but it was too oily! I'm sure I can make my own less-oily version at home.

I took the pic after I was done eating and had the leftovers for a second 4 o'clock lunch! Which was great because it prepared me for the unexpected evening that was coming.

So after work, I headed over to my hubby's office to catch a ride home. We were planning to go to our regular Friday night Bible study and then P90x afterwards, but that didn't end up happening.

We basically had to make a trip to the Emergency room becuase of my hubby's worsening condition. It was not life threatening but it needed IMMEDIATE medical attention.

We went to a walk-in clinic the night before and he was given medication for it. He was told that if it gets any worse, ER was the way to go.

Photo from here

When we got to the hospital, we waited a few hours but was seen by the doctor as soon as we got a bed. He was diagnosed, tested, then medicated properly. Although I can't reveal the details because I respect my husband's privacy, but it made me a nervous wreck up until now.

We were told to come back to the hospital tonight so he can get assessed and medicated again. And I just hate waiting for him to get better. I can clearly see that the medication they gave didn't work and I just pray that when we see the doctor tonight, she will have alternative meds or something so he can get better STAT!

I absolutely hate this waiting game....

I need prayers...

P90X Week 2!!!

Week 1 of P90X was hard and my body just went into shock. I had really bad muscle pains for 4 days and hurts to even lift my arms to hold up a paper!

We were suppose to take the day off today but we took it yesterday instead because we would like to have SUNDAY off. And besides, Kempo X is not very appealing or challenging to my hubby and I, because we had real martial arts training and it seems that Kempo X teaches really bad form.

So these are the things I need to work on for Week 2:

Get new Bands

 I use the bands instead of doing pull ups because I can't manage to do one yet (But I hope I will soon!). But there is not enough resistance in the ones I bought. I purchased my current bands in 2008 when I had never worked out at all. So I guess my strength has improved since then and I need more resistance. 

Eat more cleanly

 I was pretty inconsistent because of the constant presence of foods I should not eat. I live in a house of 6 people and it's pretty hard to cook separately for myself. (Or stay away from rich, fatty foods they are enjoying). My strategy is just to keep myself disciplined because I have done it before and I know I can do it again.

On another note, thank you for those who have commented and encouraged me with this P90X challenge. I hope I can continue to give my best and get excellent results which I would gladly share with you all.

CHEERS!

In the big bookstore

Yay it's the weekend!!!!

My hubby was taking care of DD in the morning while I was at work today. I had to meet them afterwards because he had a client to meet around 1 pm. He works in a bank branch located in a mall so I figured that I can just stroll around with my DD while he meets with his client for about an hour or so.

When I got there, I contemplated about strolling around because I was famished and exhausted with working so hard in the morning. So I grabbed some lunch from a Sushi place, which I figured will be the best healthy choice in a mall. 

I just picked what ever looked good, I think this was a California type of roll with salmon and avocado wrapped around it. And I love seaweed salad so I got as well. DD and I sat on a bench and I started eating my sushi and salad while she munchies away on animal crackers with a side of Milk (My hubby gave her lunch at home).

After lunch, I really did NOT want to stroll around the mall because of 2 reasons:

1. I have trouble with impulsive shopping, I already did that once this week and I don't want to waste any more money on clothes or accessories I don't need.
2. I was already exhausted working early at 8 am super busy and non stop until 12:30.

Then, I remembered that there is a Chapters Bookstore in the mall with a huge kids section and I thought that DD and I can hang out there!

There was actually a local singer doing a performance as soon as we walked in. Her name is Meaghan Smith and her songs has a cool yet sweet folksy pop sound to it.

Source HERE

I really like her music but I only stayed long enough to listen to a couple of songs. My DD was very antsy and she wanted to get out of her stroller and explore the big bookstore. 

We got to the kids section and she went running straight to were the toys were. I sat on a bench close by while I let her burn off some energy. After a while I asked her if she wants to read some books so we went over to the 3 to 5 years old section. My DD was so ecstatic to see sooo many books and she kept pulling books off the shelves.

I let her choose and pick while I looked at some Dr. Seuss books to add to her collection. She was just in her own world and didn't even acknowledge that I was there. 

I kept showing her books that I picked out but I just got ignored! Eventually, she showed me some books she liked.

We both read them sitting on the floor in the aisle and she thought the Elmo book was hilarious!  It was like a puppet book and you can make Elmo clap. Then, she wanted to move on to the 'In the night garden' book and she kept screaming, "TAH BIBOOHS!! TAH BIBOOHS!" pointing at the Tombliboos (Those 3 cute characters in the show).

After reading different other books for a while, we went into the Baby section. I thought I'd get a gift for friend who is having a baby while I'm there. And without even realizing it... an hour and a few minutes had past! That place was really a great in passing time and my DD had a blast too. She was getting pooped and started sitting on the floor playing quietly with a watering can that she found.

Good thing that my hubby came just in time when she was getting sleepy and I went to the cash to check out. We headed home and my little one passed out immediately the car got out of the parking lot.

It was a busy morning and a great entertaining afternoon but now I'm really glad to be home. 

Happy Weekend!!!!

P90X!

The hubby and I are starting this long 3 months of painful and hopefully rewarding journey called P90x!

We were on our 3rd workout last night which was Arms and Shoulders and Ab Ripper X. 

It was EXTREMELY HARD!!! I already had tremendous amount of muscle pains from our 1st and 2nd workouts and I could barely do the full reps.

I'm so glad though that I have a GREAT WORKOUT BUDDY! I definitely think that this time I will stick and follow through the program because of my hubby's support. (This is the 3rd time I'm attempting to do P90X)

If you haven't heard of P90X yet then just turn on your TV and for sure you will come across it in an infomercial. I must say that this is the one of the many infomercial products that impressed me. (I have the Jack Lalanne Juicer and it's great!)

Well after the workout I was feeling famished so I had a little snack.

This is my first time trying Kashi cereal and it is DELISH!!! I had it with skim milk and it hit the spot.

Although I noticed that this particular variety is pretty high in Calories but I'll look around in the grocery store next time if they have a much more low calorie kind of cereal.

Well tonight I have Bible study and Yoga X in my schedule. I tried Yoga X many times before and it is my favorite out of all the P90X workouts! It always gives me a great night's sleep which is great because I have to be in my office 7:45 am tomorrow!!!!

I hope you guys enjoy your weekend!!!!

Easter Weekend

Right now, I am blogging from my living room while my DD naps... I love that I got today off!!! Well, I think I was pretty much entitled to it since I worked hard last Saturday.

Anyways, I want to share how my weekend went down:

FRIDAY:

I have been helping out with our Church's youth comittee and that day was the final rehearsal for Saturday's Big event called "DISCOvering Jesus". It's a dance where our Church's youth gets to invite their friends from school or neighborhood. The purpose is to bring light to who Jesus really is and to break that stereotype that Christians are boring, strict and just sing and dance to "Jesus Hallelujah songs".

So before we headed to church for rehearsal I took some pics of my DD wearing her sunglasses:

The weather was so beautiful it really felt like it was summer time! Normally in April there would still be snow on the ground. But last friday it was warm enough for me to wear crop pants and a tank!

The rehearsal went well and we were all so psyched and pumped for the event.

SATURDAY:

I got up at 6:00 in the morning because I had to work that day! I work at a medical office and we were overbooked with appointments that day.

After a stressful and busy morning at work, I got out at 2 pm and went to Subway with my hubby and DD for lunch. Then we went straight home to get ready for the night's event.


We managed to get to the hall eventually after some trouble picking up brochures printed at Staple business depot. They had a "Malfunction" and didn't have our brochures printed! We had to wait but it was really no biggie because everything turned out fine.


The event was so much fun! We had tons of thing lined up in the program and I think the guests really enjoyed themselves. There was a great inspirational message from our guest speaker JJ Honasan, a young pastor from another church. That dude was awesome, I have never seen so much energy come out from one person! He definitely has a true passion and love for Christ and you can totally see that just by having a simple conversation with him.

My hubby also told his testimony and I think he did great. I know he had been nervous and unsure to what to say because he does not want his past to outshine what God has made him today. But at the end I think he gave the right impression in his message.

I as well spoke on stage, but not to give a message. All night I scouted for my nominees for the best dressed male and female. I based it not only their attire but also their presence, confidence and composure. I called out my 4 girl nominees and my 4 boy nominees and let them all battle it out with a catwalk. The audience picked the winners and but I think everyone was dressed their best that night!

Then of course it wouldn't be called DISCO if there was no dancing involved! Everyone hit the dance floor and there were a few krumping and breakdance battles going on... it was pretty sick. Man, these kids today are way too talented. Here are some pics:

SUNDAY:

This day was pretty chill and we got up really early to go to church, despite of the late our late night. It was EASTER after all! The service in church was great and touching. It was a really big celebration with food and refreshments after the service. It was nice to go around and mingle with the people there.

For dinner, we headed over to my Father-in-law and his fiancé's place for a big Easter dinner. They have a huge trampoline in the backyard that everyone loves and my DD had a great time burning of some energy there! Good thing the weather was still very summer like and it was really nice being outside in the backyard.

The dinner was totally delish like always. And of course we had an awesome selection of desserts as well. I gave in to the berry trifle and a really small square of cheesecake and it was sooooo goood! Sorry I don't have pics of the food but it was pretty hectic feeding myself and my DD at the same time.

My DD got really super hyper after dessert plus getting a Chocolate Frog from her Grandpa. She was running around the whole place! I was just glad that she didn't break anything and didn't annoy their other guests. But eventually she crashed on the couch by 10 o'clock (which is 2 1/2 hours past her bedtime!). We all headed out as well soon afterwards but it was really nice to see everyone there and spend time with that side of the family.




Whew that was a really long post! I started this Monday afternoon while my DD was napping and well, I had to stop because she woke up. Now it's Tuesday night and I'm about to start P90x with the hubby ( I will surely update you with that)

Well, that was my wonderful long Easter weekend and I really enjoyed it a lot... 

How did you spend yours?