Happy New Years and Green Tea Frozen Treat!!

Hello everyone!! Happy New Years! 

I can't believe it's already been a week into 2015. So much is happening for me this year. I'm finishing my undergraduate degree, going to grad school, moving to Texas, and biggest change of all, separating from my twin sister who I've lived with for the entirety of my 22 years (including undergrad). Thus, there's going to be a lot of changes, but I guess that keeps life exciting, right?

On another note, for this new year, my resolutions are to be healthier and for me, that means to...

1. Sleep more,
2. Eat better, and...
3. Exercise more

Remember my Bikram yoga post? Well... I haven't gone for maybe two weeks? Eeks! But I do have a reason for that (family vacation, and then I had no car afterwards). HOWEVER... I did go yesterday and today, hehe.

So... in my efforts to start the year off healthy (and to use my mom's new Vitamix before I go back to school), I decided to make a nice frozen treat for myself, using my organic matcha from Kiss Me Organics.

The ingredients list was super short and simple. All I used for 2 servings worth was...

1 cup ice
1.5 cup fresh pineapple
1 TBSP honey
2 tsp matcha

Bam! That was it; simple as that. Delicious and healthy, although a little cold for the winter--lol, I had to warm myself up with some hot chocolate afterwards, haha.

So the main item I want to focus on in this post is the incredible Kiss Me Organics: Culinary Grade Organic Matcha. I love it! It tastes so good and gives me a boost of energy and metabolism!!

Now what's so great about matcha? Well, below are just a few of the many benefits of matcha! Read on~

• 1 tsp of matcha powder has the equivalent in nutritional and antioxidant benefits to 10 cups of green tea
• Increases metabolism and assists in weight loss
• Contains 20x more antioxidants than pomegranates or blueberries
• Contains the amino acid L-theanine, which promotes relaxation as well as alertness and energy without jitteriness that coffee can cause in some people
• Contains the catechin EGCg, which has potent cancer-fighting properties

I don't know about you, but all of these benefits definitely make me want to make green tea somethings every day for the rest of life, haha. Anyhow, if I find any other matcha recipes I really like, I'll let you all know! Love you all and wish you all the best 2015!

By the way, you can find order this matcha powder form the following sites:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Matcha-Green-Tea-Powder-Antioxidant/dp/B00DDT116M
http://www.amazon.com/Matcha-Green-Tea-Powder-Antioxidant/dp/B00DDT116M
http://www.amazon.ca/Matcha-Green-Tea-Powder-Antioxidant/dp/B00DDT116M

What are your favorite matcha treats? I would love to try them!

sponsored post. personal review.

November is the season for pumpkin! A day's worth of pumpkin recipes to try~

My favorite thing about NOVEMBER is all of the food, family, and warm thoughts associated with the Thanksgiving season. However, one of the first things that comes to mind when I think November is without-a-doubt pumpkin! 

So below is a list of five pumpkin recipes that I can't wait to try! And hey, I just bought five cans of PUMPKIN PUREE. Yay!

1. BREAKFAST: Protein Pumpkin Oatmeal with Egg Whites

EGG WHITES? I know that sounds kind of odd in oatmeal, but doesn't Brittany from Eating Bird Food's recipe look absolutely delicious? Furthermore, the egg whites give you an extra boost of protein in the morning--perfect as a POST-WORKOUT MEAL... that is, if you can wake up that early!

2. MEAL: Black Bean and Pumpkin Veggie Burgers

Although I typically think of desserts when it comes to pumpkin, Anne from Fannetastic Food manages to combine black beans and pumpkin into a totally HEALTHY and DELICIOUS-LOOKING veggie burger! I can't wait to try it out~ 

3. SNACK: Pumpkin Cheesecake Crepes 

PUMPKIN and CHEESECAKE! What could be better than this? When I first saw Ashton from Something Swanky's recipe, the first thought that came to mind was, "I can't wait for my afternoon snack."

4. DESSERT: Healthy Pumpkin Pie

PUMPKIN PIE is a must-have staple during the Thanksgiving season, and I'm sure thankful for Chocolate-Covered Katie's recipe. Not only is it DIET-FRIENDLY, the pie looks absolutely mouth-watering!

5. DRINK: Healthier Pumpkin Spice Latte

The word HEALTHY always catches my eye! After all, who wouldn't want to "INDULGE" in a healthy treat? Megan from the Detoxinista has the perfect recipe for pumpkin spice latte~

Hope you guys enjoyed this post! 

Let me know what your favorite part about November is!

Burnt Toast and Beard Papa's?

I burned six slices of bread the last couple days! I'm too lazy to turn on the oven, so I usually just toast my toast on the stove. But more often than not, I forget about it.... and why hello Mr. Burnt Toast!

Lol, don't ask...

Anyways!! My post today is on Beard Papa's. I didn't realize until this summer that this was an international chain. I saw it when I was in Shanghai, and my roommate said she's been to the Beard Papa's in South Korea too! When I checked out their website, I saw they even have locations in Russia, Thailand, and Saudi Arabia. Cool eh?

Earlier this week, my sister bought a Groupon, which gave us a $10 for $16 discount. Since Beard Papa's is best known for their cream puffs, we decided to get $16 worth of cream puffs! We bought three very berry ones and five vanilla ones.

The Making Process:
Seeing them make the cream puffs was really cool. Although the dough part was already made, they add the filling when you order! They stick a tube into the puff and "inject" it with the cream filling.

The Review:
To tell the truth, I was slightly disappointed with this Beard Papa's. I didn't like how the bakery only had two flavors available when I went: the very berry one and the vanilla one. I thought there would have be more options, but I guess they only have strawberry (which they didn't have at the time) and vanilla daily with one specialty flavor each week. Today, it was the very berry cream puff.

Vanilla Cream Puff

Furthermore, the cream puffs themselves weren't as good as I thought. That's not to say I didn't enjoy them, but my expectations were definitely built really high after hearing so many people rave about them. I tried both the vanilla and the very berry one, but I liked the berry one better.

(Sorry, I ate the very berry cream puff before I took a picture!!)

But the reason why I liked the berry one better is probably because the vanilla filling had a slightly more milky flavor, which I'm not a huge fan of. Nevertheless, I loved--LOVED--the creamy, smooth texture of the cream and how the cream puffs aren't overly sweet.

Overall... I'd probably go again, not by myself, but definitely if friends wanted to go. I probably won't get the vanilla one a second time, but I really want to try some of their other flavors. Maybe the green tea one?!

Have you been to Beard Papa's? If so, what's your favorite flavor?

A Little late.... But: Chinese New Year and the 年糕 (“nian gao")

Well more than a little late... really late, but this is a recipe my mom makes a lot, especially during Chinese New Year (which was January 31 this year!). After more than 20 years, I finally learned how to make it this New Years as well!

This is the nian gao or steamed Chinese New Year cake!

The pictures I have above are actually from the end of January. I made a bunch of these nian gaos in ramekins, and gave them away as gifts. My friends really liked them, but what’s even better is that they’re super easy to make, and doesn’t require a lot of ingredients!

So before I get to the recipe, I want to share a little of what I know on the history of Chinese New Year.... If you're looking for the recipe, scroll to the bottom of the post!

Chinese New Year is an ancient festival based on the Lunar calendar, beginning in the middle of the 12th month and ending in the middle of the 1st month. It involves the Chinese zodiac, which includes 12 animals: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. Each new year is characterized by one of these animals.

Chinese New Year has been celebrated since the Shang Dynasty in the 14th century B.C. Traditionally, it involves activities such as cleaning and then decorating the house with red items including lanterns and Chinese paper cuts, giving out red envelopes (红包 - "hong bao") filled with money to children, setting off fireworks to scare away evil, and holding a big feast on New Year's Eve. The feast is often celebrated with the extended family and includes dishes such as the Eight Treasures Rice (八宝饭 - "ba bao fan"), dumplings, and glutinous rice balls (汤圆 - "tang yuan").

Today, Chinese New Year is no longer called Chinese New Year but instead the Spring Festival. It is still the most important social and economic holiday in China. However, the attitude towards it is not the same as it once was. It is still a time for family to get together and celebrate, but many young people use the holiday as a time to relax from work and/or watch the televised Spring Festival Gala (春节联欢晚会 - "chun jie lian huan wan hui").

So although meaning behind Chinese New Year has changed over the centuries, it is nevertheless still one of the most important cultural celebrations in China with a long and rich history.

I've never been to China during the Chinese New year celebrations, but I've heard it's full of energy and is a lot of fun. Have any of you been there during the celebrations before? I'd love to hear about your experience! :)

The glutinous rice flour is on the left! You should be able to find this at any Asian market!

Steamed Chinese New Year Cake:

Ingredients:

• 1 bag glutinous rice flour
• 1.8 cups liquid*
• 2 cups brown sugar
• Chinese dates

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together until smooth.
2. Oil baking dish/ceramic bowl with vegetable oil, or in my case coconut oil.
3. Pour contents into a baking dish/ceramic bowl, and decorate with pitted dates.
4. Cover dish with aluminum foil and steam on high for 30-40 minutes. The New Year cake is ready when the chopstick comes out
5. Enjoy!
   
   

*I used azuki bean soup, which I made by cooking azuki beans in a slow cooker until the beans were soft. However, you can also use water or milk as well.

If you’ve ever had nian gao before or if you make this recipe, please let me know what you think! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do~