Panda Express + Diet and Fitness plan

So at my school we have a Panda Express that I pretty much pass by whenever I walk back home from class.  That being said, I mentioned in my last post that I had put on a bit of weight! I decided that if people were able to lose weight through Subway, why not try the same with Panda?

So I decided to change my eating habits by replacing my meals with Panda Express.

To be specific: their mixed veggies and a healthy choice entree for lunch every weekday for the next month!

I'm too lazy too cook lately since I only have myself to cook for since I moved out and with my full time student work load… let's just say,

So cost wise here is the breakdown:

it cost me around $15 including tax to have a large entree of just mixed veggies and a large entree of mushroom chicken. That being said it was easily dividable into three pretty adequate portions!

That is literally $5 a lunch meal. Not so bad for a college student. 

But what will I do for breakfast and dinner?

I can't afford to eat Panda for all three meals of the day no way! That would mean $15 a day!

So instead I opted for something more feasible on my part.

Breakfast:

One Banana + 2 eggs + protein powder (blended)  to make pancakes

OR oatmeal + silk milk with fruit

Dinner: 

Protein shake 

Snacking on veggies and fruits

This works out perfectly because our campus is literally a work out to get from class to class and the breakfast will keep me energized throughout the day.

Dinner will also work out perfectly since I will be doing at least 30-45 min of cardio every day when the sun goes down (trying not to tan haha).

Will be blogging about the progress soon!

Hiatus is over!

So after a long hiatus I am finally back!

A lot has happened since my last post.

1) I moved out

So since I'm in my senior year at undergrad I decided to move out so that I can finally experience all the my university has to offer me! Joined a couple clubs and made new friends so it was a nice change from commuting to school. Definitely a lot nicer having support networks!

2) gained a bit of weight

After my juice cleanse from down below, I actually went on a crazy binge eating spree during summer because a close friend from SF came to visit me. I have a new fitness and diet plan (which will be a fun little project) that I'll be discussing in the next post.

3) changed my career goals

I was on my path of going into nursing school and all that jazz and a "stable future" as my mother put it but I finally decided that I needed to do something for myself rather than living my life to please my parents. It was a difficult decision to make mainly because I didn't want to let them down but ultimately, it put me at peace and helped me to learn to love myself more.

4) began taking cosplay more seriously

I don't know if I mentioned this previously but I cosplay with my friends from time to time. Since I have more time to myself from living closer to campus AND finally being able to own a sewing machine, I decided to put my artistic side to the test! (NO MORE HAND SEWING!) That being said my facebook cosplay page is: facebook.com/yunie.jk so feel free to go check it out!

Of course many other changes have occurred as well but I felt like these were the main points I wanted to catch you guys up on. (:

Hope everyone has been doing well!

What you can expect to see in the near future:

Cosplay progress pics/ posts

Cooking/ baking posts

Diet/ Fitness posts

And fun little projects that I will be taking on here and there!

Peace out!

My SUJA 3-Day Cleanse: Part 3 PLUS an insane new Pilates DVD

So this post is LONGGG overdue

but I am going to write about the last day of my 

Suja juice cleanse and some long

term effects.

 Long Term Effects:

 I no longer crave fatty foods as much

and I feel like I have conditioned myself

to choose healthier options and eat

smaller portions.

Which is great for long term weight loss and for

a healthier lifestyle!

I also went through the third day without any problems 

but I didn't finish the Vanilla Cloud for the last day.

I now drink a lot more water than I used to which is also good

since I used to not drink a lot of water prior to the cleanse.

One problem I did have with the cleanse was that

my metabolism was extremely slow when

I stopped the juice cleanse

and began to eat solids once more.

I think next time I'd opt for a half juice and

half solids diet plan just so my 

metabolism doesn't slow down.

I have lost 5lbs and have successfully still

kept it off until now.

I did NOT work out

during my juice cleanse but I did do

3 minute planks just to have 

something to do.

Overall I was extremely satisfied with the cleanse

despite it being on the expensive side.

I also saw my skin get healthier and

smoother. My parents and my

friends all commented how well my skin looked

after the cleanse. 

Hopefully if I maintain a healthier diet

I will keep these benefits.

I have also recently purchased a POP-pilates workout 

DVD from Casey Ho, you can purchase

the same DVD for around 22 dollars including

tax and shipping.

IT IS NO JOKE PEOPLE.

I have taken kick box cardio classes, bootcamp fitness classes,

regular pilates, yoga, and other classes 

for a long, long time.

None of them were as intense as this pilates DVD.

By the time it was over I was about to

collapse from how tired I was from the workouts.

It's been one day since then and I'm still feeling

the effects on my buttocks and my obliques and

they are on FIREEE!

I had a hard time walking around doing Christmas

gift shopping LOL.

Made me hate Christmas for a bit.

I guess I'll post a before and after pic of my body

using the Pilates DVD diet plan I've started

within a month's time.

Until then! CIAO!

(Sorry this post is so wordy. I usually

bombard my posts with GIFs to make it

entertaining but I am just so sore from the 

workouts that… just no.)

My SUJA 3-Day Cleanse: Part 2

Day Two

I have to say that sleeping last night was the biggest challenge.

The hunger pangs hit me around 1am which wouldn't have been

a problem had I already been asleep.

But since I was up studying for my finals (which are on Thurs & Fri)

I unfortunately could not sleep until 4-5am.

Hunger pangs + throbbing headache =

NO BUENO

Then I proceeded to read some of the online

pros and cons of juice cleanses and some

were arguing that by depriving your body of solid foods

you may be shocking your body into storing more fat when

you start eating food again.

.

.

.

GREAAAAAAT

Combine that with the statements from the juice cleansing companies

stating that it must be juice only to promote digestion of

stored leftovers in the body…

and I'm just confused.

I decided if worst comes to shove I will eat a boiled 

egg to combat my hunger.

BUT

When I woke up today I actually no longer had a headache

and was surprisingly not hungry anymore.

Boiled some eggs to have on hand just in case but

I really don't have much of an appetite.

Even now as I sip on my "GLOW" juice, I'm not

really feeling the need to eat anything not drink anything.

No cravings either.

I do have an increased amount of concentration however,

I was able to get more note taking done than I did yesterday. 

Higher levels of concentration?

The critics of juicing claim it's from hunger.

I can't really tell since I'm not hungry.

So for now I'll attribute it to the large amounts of

vegetables I've been consuming through this juice cleanse.

OH

Btw I have lost 5lbs as of day one!

Probably water weight but maybe I'll see more progress.

The rest of the drinks are easier do drink now as well.

They all taste the same at this point.

If you're curious what it tastes like…

two words

HERBAL MEDICINE

(edit)

Actually after careful consideration, I declare FUEL my favorite flavor. 

Anything that doesn't taste like celery is FANTASTIC at this point.

One thing I noticed is that the ingredients are labeled clearly on the bottle

and if you check, it tells you exactly how many of what is in it.

(e.g. Fuel has 9 carrots, 1 orange, 1 apple, 1 slice of pineapple,

1/2 a lemon, and an inch of turmeric.

I think this is pretty helpful. It gives you an idea of how much you're 

taking in. It's hard to keep track since you're seriously

only drinking juice.

Another plus is that SUJA is a non-GMO verified product.

Hell, if I'm sacrificing food… It better be good.

I miss chewing on something.

My SUJA 3-Day Cleanse: Part 1

Unlike many of the SUJA reviewers I saw online,
I was not given a free 3-day juice cleanse to review.

I bought this at Whole Foods for a whopping $150.

So if you had doubts about this juice cleanse,
just know that my review is unbiased in any way.

Day One

Today I started my juice cleanse. 

I am regretting it as I type. 

My love for food is so well known that a few of my friends 

could not believe I was starting this juice cleanse. 

My boyfriend seemed supportive though. 

(Probably wants me to shed a few pounds)

*cries*

So the 3-day juice cleanse is pretty much these 6 juices 

(in the order shown) repeated in the course of 3-days.

Glow: Predominantly tasted like celery and what I would imagine kale would taste like.

Did not enjoy very much because I dislike celery but it did make me feel very awake.

Fuel: Tasted predominantly like carrots. Probably why it's so orange.

This one was actually easier to drink than Glow. 

If you drink it fast enough you can't even taste the carrots!

Purify: It tastes like… dirt. 

Had the same taste as Glow in the beginning but ended with earthy undertones.

I didn't like it but at this point I'm used to chugging these colorful liquids down.

My stomach is making weird noises at this point and I can't help but feel

like it is disgruntled about the whole 3-day cleanse deal.

Just three more to go.

Fiji: I have no idea what this tastes like. At this point most of the drinks are beginning

to all taste the same BUT this one is almost pleasant if you drink it fast enough.

 I read the ingredients and celery is a ingredient in almost all of the

drinks so that's probably why. Looking forward to Vanilla cloud just to get rid

of the celery taste once and for all. 

At this point I'm seriously regretting the cleanse since all I can think of are fatty

foods such as kbbq, pasta, brazilian bbq, pad thai, pancit, boiling crab…

Green Supreme: Aftertaste tastes like bitter green tea with something 

funky but when you hold your breath and drink it,

 it tastes more like lemon + apple.

I never tried kale before on its own so I would say that the weird aftertaste

is probably from the kale. 

This one was really hard to drink because of the smell…

Drank 1/2 of it and had to force myself to chug the rest.

Again I ask myself, "Why am I doing this?"

I think the smell makes this my least favorite bottle.

Vanilla Cloud: The long waited Vanilla Cloud bottle. Signals the end to my torturous

day one of three juice cleanses. I heard great reviews about this flavor so I'm 

crossing my fingers and hoping I will be able to sleep without

eating my pillows tonight.

.

.

.

Well, it tastes like watered down horchata.

Not too bad considering this is their "dessert" drink.

If you think you'll be hungry while on the juice cleanse, you're wrong. These bottles are huge. I don't drink this much EVER. I simply miss being able to chew warm food.

One thing I did notice was the frequent trips to the bathrooms. This may be

a bit TMI (too much info) but I felt it was necessary. 

.

.

.

My urine is CLEAR.

CLEAR.

As in "looks like water" clear.

Which is really good.

This stuff is fantastic. 

 I haven't eaten healthy in MONTHS so it was probably flushing stuff out. 

Well time to get back to studying! PEACE OUT!

Jerk Chicken

I'm back!

So the cornish game hens were finally thawed around last night.

Since I already finished making the Coq Au Vin and I ran out of wine…

I honestly didn't know what to make at this point for dinner.

Then I thought, "Hey, he likes Jerk Chiken!"

Seriously my boyfriend loves that stuff.

Here it is.

My nicely prepared ingredients:

Left: Dried pepper, green onions, onions, red peppers, olive oil, and thyme

Right: seasoned cornish game hens

Not pictured: all spice, lime juice, brown sugar

How it happened:

1) add the ingredients into the blender

2) commence blending

3) pour into a large ziplock bag and marinate for 4+ hrs

Originally you're supposed to grill this over an open flame but because I suck at that I

stuck with using a cast iron grill pan. Browned the outside and then baked at 350 for 35-40min.

Tadah! It wasn't as spicy as I would have liked.

Next time I think I'll use habañero to give it more heat!

Overall it was a cute and simple dish to make.

We each got a bird to ourselves. 

Until next time!

Coq Au Vin

So I've been wanting to try a new dish out for a while now since I was able to convince my bf to buy some cornish hens! Sadly… they weren't defrosted enough to cook with. 

The dish I wanted to create is called Coq Au Vin. Some French dish involving chicken and wine. 

MMMMMmmmm.

So here are my nicely prepared ingredients.

Items not shown are: chicken stock + wine

Top left: Crimini mushrooms, fingerling potatoes, carrots

Top right: shallots, red onion

Bottom left: garlic, rosemary, thyme

Bottom right: bacon, chicken thighs

How it happened:

1) brown the bacon

2) remove bacon

3) add chicken (seasoned w/ salt + pepper)

*not pictured*

4) brown on all sides, remove 

5) add carrots, mushrooms, potatoes

6) add shallots, onions

7) add garlic and herbs

8) add the bacon + chicken back into the pot

9) add chicken stock + wine

10) simmer and reduce

11) add a roux (equal part butter + flour) 

*not pictured*

12) serve 

I was in a hurry so I couldn't get all the photos in but IT SMELLS SO NICE IN HERE.

YAY. 2nd POST!

It seems like my blog is turning into a cooking blog. 

Until next time!