Redesign

I decided to redesign my blog during 15 min break I took from studying for finals. I'm not completely finished but it's good enough until my summer begins!

Today's breakfast consisted of toast, fresh fruit and a spinach egg scramble...



For lunch I reheated some of last night's leftovers paired with some Oreos and strawberry cream cheese.

I FINALLY finished my Oeos! Now I don't have anything sugary (my biggest vice) in my pantry to spoil my diet.



A couple hours later I made a salad with some strawberries...



After studying and a hard workout, I showered and made a very bountiful dinner. Oatmeal (with a side bowl of oatmeal for "dessert") and a bowl of gochujang chicken, spinach, and egg soup. 




It was SO good! Guess what I'll be having for the rest of the week...?

Booking It

Today started off like any other day...



Studied in the library, had a snack...



Hungry again but hit the wrong button on the vending machine :(



There was also a LA County Festival of Books on campus. By the time I came out of the library, the it was almost over but there were still a lot of people.









I have to say, I'm excited to actually walk around and check it out tomorrow. (They were giving away free Ben and Jerry's!)

For dinner, I met up with CR and TL at La Barca. It's literally the best Mexican food around USC that doesn't drain your wallets. Delicious chips and salsa, wonderful margaritas, and huge portions.



I decided to try something new and go with the flauntas. I guess wikipedia puts it under taquitos but to me, it was like a Mexican spring roll. So good!

Hello Again

This week was HECTIC. I hardly had time to blog with a OChem lab test, Chinese final, Cinema paper, and Aoki all crammed into this last week of school.

But I am back!

To rebound from this blogging hiatus, I cut up some fresh fruit and poached an egg with toast.



This week is going to be filled with studying, studying, and more studying! After two weeks, my summer will finally begin...along with the much anticipated Jersey Shore Party hosted by none-other than CC and myself that's gonna blow OU out of the water.

Speaking of parties... Tuscany decided to have a pool party of their own last night to "show off" all the new renovations that's suppose to reflect the change in management. Check it out:



The party was actually BUMPING! I live right above the pool area so I got to check out all the action right from my balcony. It was crazy-- both hot tubs were running, a legit DJ was playing, and the rest of the works.

Now I love parties as much as the next person but even the thought of going downstairs was draining me after an all nighter the day before. Thus,  I ended up having a lovely night with my roommates and caught up all Glee!

Mile Long

Wow... that sushi did not sit very well. It was so deceiving because it looked so fresh! So yesterday I took a break from any interesting, or even normal, meals and just drank smoothies and light soups.

Today I'm back to eating regularly although the thought of the salmon roll from two days ago still lingers in my mind...

I was running late this morning so I only had 5 minutes to down my breakfast: poached egg with a piece of English Muffin, and a yogurt parfait with walnuts, granola, and cranberries.



Since I had breakfast so late, I was only craving something light for lunch. Thus, I picked up a Clif's Bar on my way to class.



The nutrition label appears alright (although the amount of sugar could be less). The part that scared me was the mile-long list of ingredients.

I usually like my meal/snack bars to be natural and simple (Kind Bar, Larabar, etc). However, this Clif Bar does contain about 5 g of protein and minerals for sustained energy. Hopefully this will keep me satisfied until my next meal and energized for my later workout.

Vitamins

The best part about waking up early is getting the chance to have brunch. Today, I concocted a meal with a poached egg, broiled white fillet on whole wheat English Muffin and mustard, and a spring mix salad with walnuts and Asian Sesame dressing.



This folic acid and omega-3 rich meal reminded me of a recent article that I read...

This year, studies have shown that almost 50% of US adults take at least one dietary supplement a day and the numbers continue to increase year by year. The most popular supplement is calcium... which isn't surprising considering the increase in osteoporosis and other bone-density related awareness in the past years.

Interesting enough, those who take dietary supplements are usually those who are educated, have good income, and already obtain enough nutrition from their normal, daily diets. In other words, it seems that those who are taking dietary supplements are those who don't necessarily need them.

As for me, it's hard to know whether I'm getting the recommended amount of vitamins and minerals due to my busy and unpredictable college schedule. Thus, I make sure to take a Centrum multiviatmin/multimineral daily.



With Centrum, I am able to maintain healthy skin, good cholesterol, good blood pressure, a happy composure, and many other benefits by meeting my dietary needs.

Revolution

Thursdays are always my longest days. To kick start all the business, I threw together a carrot, some peanut butter, some oatmeal, milk, yogurt, and a orange for a morning smoothie. I definitely can't say this was the best combination... but it wasn't too bad.





Last night I was finally able to catch up on my neglected television shows. I was so happy when one of my favorites-- Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution-- started a new season right here in LA. Basically, Jamie tries to revolutionize the horrid school lunch provided by the county government into healthy, wholesome meals. 





Okay, so you might not take him seriously in this pic but it was funny. 


Anyways, the information that he provides (both LA's and Huntington, AL?'s school system) is absolutely shocking. You would think that with the increase in childhood obesity which leads to heart complications, diabetes, etc, schools would be more conscious in what they feed their children. I think he worked miracles in Season 1 so I have high hopes for the LA edition.


In addition to revolutionizing the school system, Jamie takes on a local favorite-- Patra's Burgers-- to convert this ordinary fast food into a place that serves more nutritious items. However, the restaurant owner Deno was pretty reluctant to change his menu from the 800-1500 calorie mystery meat burger (although, his patrons seem to all enjoy their meals) to Jamie's healthified 450 calorie real meat angus burger...

Patra's Original Burger (from Yelp)

Jamie's Southern California Burger

Deno-- really? You don't want this on your menu?

Jamie also conjured up two other succulent burgers (all served with a side salad) for only $4.98-- which is comparable to Patra's most expensive combo... Maybe it's because I eat on campus where $7 for a sandwich is consider a great price. Maybe because it's selling in Los Angeles where restaurant prepared meals are really expensive... but I think $4.98 is dirt cheap for a 100% wholesome angus burger, with sprouts, homemade salsa, homemade chipotle sauce, and a side salad. 

I mean just look at it! Which one would you choose?

Unmentionables

Before I scurried  off to the study lounge last nigh, I threw together some cabbage, chicken and tofu in the pan and made oatmeal porridge .





Even though I was full, dinner just doesn't seem complete without satisfying my sweet tooth.

What started off with a small dip into peanut butter, dipped in granola...



Went on to be finishing leftover wheat thins, some pitted dates, dried mangos, and walnuts.... at least I tried to healthy?

Last night I had to pull an semi-all nighter (I can never truly stay awake for the entire time!). When I went back to my room to take a shower in the middle of ...the morning?...to "refresh", the sight of my kitchen made my stomach growl. So at 2 am in the morning, I fried an egg, served with toast... then a half of a ham sandwich, and some other unmentionables.

But I figured staying awake and studying was way more important than one of the 15 commandments so I let just last night slide (that's how it ALL starts huh?)

So it was no wonder that I had absolutely no appetite this morning.

A tradition I have is grabbing food on campus on test days. The meals can add up but it's worth all the hassle and bustle of trying to plan a meal before a test. Because I wasn't hankering for anything decadent this morning, I went to Popovich and grabbed a Raspberry Rapid Smoothie while I looked over OChem notes from last night. From what I remembered, it contained sorbet, orange juice, raspberries, and strawberries.



So far I feel pretty good about this test. Hopefully nothing too unexpected will show up!

Sparkling Waters

I must have pressed my snooze button for an hour this morning. But I knew I had to start my day early since it was T-1 day until the last OChem lec exam. 


For my power breakfast, I feasted on a bowl of oatmeal with honey, walnuts, raisin, and cinnamon, with a side of poached egg and sweet potatoes. 





After class(es), I managed to salvage a little time and sunshine on an otherwise cloudy day to sit down next to the beautiful Viterbi fountain for lunch.





On today's menu: spring mix salad with sliced oranges and Asian Sesame dressing and a whole wheat English muffin with ham and mustard.





To top the meal off, I had my lunch dessert (which was originally my afternoon snack...): wheat thins, pitted dates, and American Cheese.



And let me tell you... Kraft American Cheese is incomparable to other knock off brands hands down!


The day's getting bright by the minute and there's a wonderful spread of farmer's market booths all along alumni park. Normally, I would stop and have a peek at their amazing selection (and maybe purchase so if I can't contain myself ;) ) but today is nitty gritty day! After tomorrow, I'll be free!... until next week and finals that is.

A Fresh Start

I woke up this morning regretting not finishing my OChem lab last night. Although it only took me 30 min to finish, waking up to OChem is not my ideal way of starting the day. So I made an oatmeal, spinach, yogurt, apple and milk smoothie to power me through this morning.





The day progressively got better as the weather warmed up and seeing KE after she came back from Cochella!


A few hours later, I wanted to much on something so I boiled an egg with a side of wheat thins and apricots.





Today is going to be filled with studying, studying, and more studying for my Wednesday test. At this moment, I simply cannot WAIT to start my summer with my family and friends. I've actually already started to gather things to bring back home with me (which is less than a month away!)


By tradition, this is the time I start my Summer Diet. But this time, it won't be a restrictive diet, it's going to be a health diet. In the past, I haven't treated my body the way I should have by tormenting it with crazy fad diets. I was way too obsessed with counting calories, planning meals, and it was becoming too much of a struggle to think about anything else but weight loss.


But this time it's going to be different. Why? Because I'm not aiming to become thin anymore-- I'm aiming to become strong and healthy. If weight loss is part of that equation (which I really hope it is lol) then it'll be great. 


Thus... I made a list of 15 diet commandments to follow:





Hopefully these will keep me on track to become healthy and fit! No more desire to be skinny. No more desire to "look good in a bathing suit". Just plain ol' healthy and happy :)

The Morning After

After a night of partying last night, I knew I had to eat carbs, fat, and more carbs to recuperate. So for breakfast, I made scrambled eggs with shredded cheese and mustard on whole wheat toast. I also added a side of wheat thins with strawberry cream cheese and walnuts.





The toast and eggs was better than I expected. So for lunch, I had another one...





The danger to dieting after a night out is that you crave the worse and fattest food the day after. So about 20 min later, I whipped up a grilled cheese with American cheese and low fat cream cheese.

Picture taken from GoogleImages

I wanted a grilled cheese so bad that I didn't even get a chance to take a picture before scarfing it down.

Construction

For the past few weeks, Tuscany has decided to repaint all interior and exterior walls to reflect the new change in management. Apparently for next fall, we will be getting a new gym, new sauna/spa, pool connecting to the lounge, and a lot more upgrades!


Then again...when I signed for Tuscany last year, they also promised me the spa/sauna plus personal trainers. So...we'll see. But in their defense, my leasing manager did say no one was using the personal trainers and they might not rehire them for the subsequent year. Honestly, who wouldn't take advantage of free trainers?


Back to painting... so my bedroom window was sealed for the past few days so the workers would be able to paint without ruining the panels.





It was a little bit of a drag since I love fresh air and sunlight. So I was elated they removed the seal the morning and I was finally able to recirculate my room with fresh air.





It was a bit awkward when I was sitting at my desk while the painters were removing the seal. We were literally 4 ft apart and only separated by a window! For some reason I don't think they saw me....but maybe they were just trying to ignore me (like I was doing) so things won't be even more awkward.


Anyways, onto more delicious things... I woke up super early today (6:30!) and was only in the mood for...you guessed it: a smoothie. Today's breakfast was made with oatmeal, spinach, carrot, banana, milk, and peanut butter topped with granola. 


I finally realized that adding 1/2 cup of milk prompted the perfect consistency... but next time I'm going to try even a little less milk since I love almost ice-cream like smoothies.





This "super" smoothie was exactly what I needed to focus on my Cinema paper. I was so happy when I was able to crank out the entire outline and the first page by 8 am this morning! Doesn't seem like a lot of work? Let me tell you, I had to rack my brain to even get the paper started.


After this, I went to the library to study for OChem and biology. I also packed a snack for my studies: pitted dates, wheat thins, walnuts, and a slice of cheese. 





And a note about why I got up so early. I recently downloaded this app called Smart Alarm Clock for Android. Check it out! http://blog.smart-alarm-clock.com/


Basically, I set a desired time to wake up and simply lay my phone somewhere on my bed while I sleep. Because the sensitivity of the motion detectors in the phone is very high, it'll be able to sense my movement throughout the night and calculate when it was the best time to wake up. 'm not sure of the exact science of it... there's more information on the website but sure enough, I am more awake than ever! (which is very hard to do when you wake up as early as 6:30) 


I'll definitely try this again tonight and see I feel the same way tomorrow!

Brain food

I woke up extremely early this morning to study for my Chinese test, and as luck would have it, there was so much sunshine bursting through my windows to energize me. To accompany this bright day, I whipped up a oatmeal smoothie with spinach, carrots, banana, and peanut butter.



Chinese went pretty well today (thanks to my brain food) and before Cell Bio, I stocked up on an apple. However, by the time class got out,I was starving! After stealing a a plastic fork from Tutor Hall, I found a nice sunny place outside where I can enjoy my lunch: spring mix with raisins and walnuts and Asian sesame dressing and a whole wheat English muffin with ham and American cheese.



Because my OChem tutoring session was cancelled for today, I finally get a chance to enjoy lunch on a Thursday!

As for the rest of the day: Cinema until 6 (watching the Last King of Scotland!), meet up with AS to discuss fall schedules, and CR wanted to do something later at night :)

Crack Down

Got up this morning and needed a breakfast to tie me over until lunch so I made a egg omelette with spinach, ham, and cheese with a side of Whole Wheat English Muffin with strawberry cream cheese.

Today's plan: Chinese test, lunch with TL, class and study for OChem test next week

It's come to the point to seriously crack down on OChem--only 1 week away!

On the other hand, I tried finish Wedding Crashers last night...

It's a good movie, but for some reason, it's taking me a really long time (maybe 4 days so far?) to finish it. 

Early Morning

I found  that the only way for me to wake up early is to leave some unfinished homework until the next day. So this morning, I got up at 7:30 am to finish my Chinese homework. During this time, I also filled up on a fairly decadent smoothie: oatmeal, banana, milk, and peanut butter.





I love getting up early. I feel so energized and I love the fact that I'll get to "live" much longer. 


After my first class, I had two hardboiled eggs as a snack...





And ate my lunch during OChem lab lecture (which only 20 out of 200 people attend). Today I packed a very nutritious and wholesome meal: Whole Wheat English muffin with ham and cheese, and a spring mix salad with walnuts, raisins, and ginger Asian dressing.