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!

Bittersweet Ending

Today marks the last day of classes for my sophomore year. Such a bittersweet ending-- bitter because my wonderful college years are zooming by SO FAST, and sweet because I have high hopes for the future!

For lunch I met up with ER at Soy Grill and Roll. We were actually on our way to try Fat Burger but the appealing sushi and udon posters drew us in to this semi-newly opened restaurant. Their menu was pretty diverse so it definitely took a bit of time to decide on what to order. Finally I went with the Volcano Roll.




OMMMGGG.... It was hands down the BEST sushi I've ever had in my life! This picture definitely doesn't do it justice. Everything was so fresh. The sushi was crunchy and hot in all the right places. Even the salad and ginger was phenomenal. I really can't wait to go back again.

Afterwards, we satisfied our dessert craving with some Yogurtland.



For dinner, I decided to give my digestion a rest so I gathered some fresh fruits for a light meal.



Still hungry, I made a bowl of oatmeal with skim milk (although I think I'll stick to water from now on) with cinnamon, strawberries, walnuts, and Craisins.

It All Works Out

I have reached a point where I have so little food that I am forced to eat out. I tried to stay healthy so I stopped at Chipotle and order a chicken salad with black beans, corn salsa, mild salsa, and fresh tomatoes (my delicious usual)



I ate a little over half of my salad (saving the rest for tomorrow!) and ended with a dessert plate: dried dates, walnuts, dad's fenlisui, and some peanut butter on multigrain cracker.



After sitting for hours and studying, my muscles were aching for some exercise. Thus, I hit the gym and burned over 500 calories!! Whew... this was the most I've done in a very long time and I feel great.

When I can back, I made a post-workout snack consisting of an oatmeal, veggie juice and yogurt smoothie with a ham roll with Romain lettuce.

Something New

Alright, so I've had USC sushi before...

But today's selection was extra fresh. The ginger was fully hydrated and the salmon tasted actually tasted like real salmon.

I complimented my lunch with King Henry's Gourmet dried fruit pack which contained mangos, papaya, pineapples, and figs...

I've never had dried (or fresh) figs before and it was definitely interesting...

For dinner I heated what's left of my fijita leftovers...

And satisfied my sweet tooth with a yogurt parfait with granola, raisin, and walnuts.

Concert Devo

Before I headed to the library, I went downstairs to pick up a care package filled with fabulous jewelry and native Taiwanese treats from my parents.



The treat on the left is a traditional Taiwanese cookie-cake, called Fen Li Su, filled with pineapple jam. The treat on the right is a Taiwanese candy which was basically peanut clustered together in delicious nougat.



After spending a few hours in the library, all of the hard work and research left me aching for something to eat. Thus, I went to Tutor Hall Cafe and bought something light in anticipation for the Concert Committee Devo Dinner tonight at Casita Del Campo tonight. Since it was close to closing time (5 pm on Fridays), the best choice they had was chicken noodle soup.



Topped with some saltine crackers...



I only ate half since 1) it was wayyyyy to salty and 2) it was all broth! I really don't think I'll be buying soup from Tutor Hall again...

Luckily, my taste buds were saved a couple hours later with delicious Mexican food from Casita Del Campo in Silverlake.

After knocking back a margarita at AR's house (which was about an mile away form the restaurant), we loaded up three cars and headed over to the restaurants for our long awaited dinner.

Both the exterior and the interior were extremely adorable. I'm not able to go into too much detail about the exterior since it was night time, but the interior was FABULOUS. Colorful-- even in the dimly lit restaurant-- with paper flowers and paintings everywhere. Their tortilla chips were like pita chips-- thick, crunchy and fresh.

From Google Images

I didn't get a chance to take a picture of my meal at the restaurant but the portions were so huge (not to mention stuffing myself with chips and side salad prior to the entree) I was able to carry home at least two days worth of leftover fijita with spanish rice, refried beans, vegetables, shrimp, chicken, and beef.

For dessert, we order four plates of flan for the table. I've never had flan before but when I tasted this custardy-eggy-pudding dessert...



I realized I definitely had this before! I have to say I wasn't too much of a fan... but something about it made me kept eating more and more... :)

Unnaturally Natural

Since my OChem tutoring session was cancelled this week, I got a chance to enjoy a very refreshing lunch outside by the Viterbi Fountain.



As I was eating, I read an interesting article about Wendy's "natural fries" that claim to be so "real" that it's as close to a regular potato as fries can get.



In their television ad, it's implied that this popular chain simply cuts the potatos and sprinkle it with some salt.

However, these "natural fries" may not be so natural after all. Sadly, in addition to salt, Wendy's also adds chemicals such as sodium acid pyrophosphate to prevent discoloration and D-glucose to give it the correct color (paradoxial in my opinion). Subsequently, these fries are fried in oil containing dimethylpolysiloxan-- a chemical that prevents foaming so that the resturant can re-use the same batch day after day.

Let's take a closer look:

Sodium acid pyrophosphate

From Google Images

The average American naturally obtains enough sodium acid pyrophosphates from meat and dairy products. If excessive consumption occurs, it may lead to diseases such as osteoporosis.

D-Glucose aka Dextrose

from Google Images

While dextrose is important to living organisms, this sugar represents loads of empty calories, contributes to tooth decay, and contributes to fat storage. Additionally, dextrose also promotes both hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia by spiking the blood sugar (hyperglycemia), then initiating the body to produce uncontrollably excessive insulin (hypoglycemia).

Dimethylpolysiloxane



Although studies have shown that this chemical isn't harmful for the body, I still have a hard time believing dimethylpolysiloxane-- a chemical used to make contact lenses, medical devices, shampoos, lubricant oils, cosmetics, polishes, and adhesives-- is okay to be consumed.

After this article, my appetite for eating out was completely shattered. All I wanted to do was make a dinner with ingredients I can actually pronounce.



Kale with tofu and 100% beef patty with red lettuce for the bun. Served up with some dessert...



Pitted dates, dried apricots, and walnuts... 100% natural. 100% delicious.

Taste of Freedom

I continued to cram in some last minute studying at Doheny while munching on an Odwalla bar.



This bar was delicious! It tasted like a soft chewy cookie without being too sweet.



Feeling pretty prepared, I came out of the test with a strangely satisfying feeling. In a good mood, I called everyone that I have been missing for the past few days and made dinner. Today I kept it relatively simple with a 90% lean burger protein style with a slice of tofu and a spring mix salad with Asian Sesame dressing.



Oh yeah, and just a taste of one of the strange events around campus...



Farewell to semi-boring posts about studying! The rest of the week is going to be exciting events!

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!