Ultimate Reset II - Day 4: The Start of a Hectic Month

Day 4

• Sup: Optimize
• Breakfast/Preworkout: Greek Yogurt, Blueberry, Peach, Qi'a & Green Juice
• Workout: Teaching Body Combat (1 hour)
• Post Workout: Purple Yam
• Sup: Optimize 
• Lunch: Red & White Quinoa with Thai Basil Curry. Loaded with protein (mushroom, tofu, egg whites, chicken)
• Sup: Alkalinize
• Snack: Purple Yam
• Sup: Optimize + Soothe
• Supper: same as lunch

What a day... I was scrambling around like chicken with no head. With purple yams saving my day, I managed to plow through the day without snacking on the not so healthy options. 

Now that I have class every morning from Monday to Thursday, and my design work started to come in, plus, I have to cook for the food fair in August - this will go on for the rest of the month, then I just found out from Mom that I needed to pick up Dad at LAX Thursday night, both me and Andy didn't have time for dinner so we just munch on purple yams on the road and while waiting at LAX.

The highlight meal of the day was lunch. I made the red & white quinoa and tossed almost every kind of veggie and protein I have in the fridge into the pot and use it for the Thai Basil Curry. The basil of course, came from my own little window garden :) Lime basil and Thai basil combined plus Thai Curry spice blend. 

Using barely a cup of the coconut milk, mixing with water, I get a tasty soup that's savory yet not heavy. It's all in the spices, I tell you. 

As always it is a good call to make enough food for 2 or more meals. We missed dinner time, because we went to the airport. I stopped in the middle of cooking and scrambled with Andy to LAX. When we got home again, it was 10:30p. I was exhausted to be honest, and feel the need to eat. So I heated up left over from lunch.

Some might say that it is too late to eat. But really. I can't sleep with stomach growling now, can I?

Tamari Beef & Brussels Sprouts

Not that I don't like Broccoli Beef, it's just been so overdone and to be honest, boring. The connotation of broccoli beef is that of fast food or cheap Chinese food, a.k.a. overcooked broccoli, chewy beef, too salty, too much oil.

However, I do like a combo of beef and greens stir fry. I think it's the Asian in me. So, rummaging around the Pantry I decided to use whatever I have on hand to make my own beef & greens dish. A healthier version of course.

Thanks to Costco, I have a big bag of brussels sprouts. I like the more "adult" taste of brussels sprouts in comparison to broccoli. To some, the slight bitterness of these bulbous greens makes them not too  desirable on the dinner table especially in household with children. But for some reason as I grow older, I am liking these type of "off taste" more and more. It might be because of the food normally available out there are either sweet, salty or sour/tangy, or spicy, or a combo of any of the four. I can now appreciate the less main stream taste.

Tamari Beef & Brussels Sprouts

Serves: 2

8 oz beef stew meat - slice about 1/4" slanted and across the fiber
2 cups of quartered brussels sprouts
2 tbs tamari sauce
1 tbs garlic + 1 tbs of garlic - I like mine garlicky
1 tsp olive oil - I used the spray kind
black pepper
2 tbs water




Use 1 tbs of tamari to coat the beef and seasoned with black pepper.

Start 1 tbs garlic with the olive oil on a wok or pan on high heat. When they start turning darker yellow, add in the beef. Stir fry it until the beef is cooked medium rare, takes only a minute or two. Set it aside.

 

Now, start the remaining garlic with olive oil until they turn darker yellow, add in brussels sprouts. Toss around with the garlic several times. When you can feel the heat of the wok rise up again pour in the water then immediately cover the wok. Let it steamed in for a minute. (I like my brussels sprouts a bit charred - they smell and taste better)

 

Open the lid, check the brussels sprouts. If they are about almost done add in the beef. Toss them together add black pepper (or lemon pepper) until the beef is cooked to your liking.
Yes, that's it. I didn't even have to add sea salt! :)

Ultimate Reset II - Day 3: Always Have a Post-Workout Snack. Always.

Day 3

• Breakfast: Toast and PB with almonds and peaches
• Workout: Teach Turbo Kick (1 hour)
• Post workout: tiny square of homemade Larabar
• Real post workout snack: Purple Yams and Greek Yogurt with Qi'a, peach, and blueberry
• Lunch: Chicken dumplings with mushroom spinach soup
• Snack: Purple Yam and Choco Shakeology
• Dinner: Zoodle with Chicken Mushroom Tomato Italiano :)

Even during non detox period I always have snacks handy. But today, I sort of shared my larabars with friends at the gym. So only ate a tiny square of it. Definitely not enough. Like a steam engine low on coals, I was feeling depleted and weak. Borderline lightheaded. I lasted long enough to complete my grocery run before going home.

I was out of Greek Yogurt, one of the reason I was out to the supermarket after the gym, so for breakfast, I opted for whole wheat toast and PB with almond slices. Not exactly sure why but my tummy felt a little funny after eating 2 slices of PB toast. Hopefully I didn't get OD-ed on the good ole PBJ-wich .... that would suck.

Here's what you need to understand about my detox modification. It's mainly about eating and staying with healthy food choice. Portion is adjusted with the amount of calories I need, so for others will be different, depending on their gender, size and activity level.

I am very active. So I need more food as fuel. I burn calories as I'm sitting in front of my computer! Hence I don't let myself go hungry. If I feel low and before I get lightheaded, I grab a little snack. Operative word here is "Little". That means: several almonds, or a bite of purple yams, or a handful of blueberries, green juice, or Shakeology (not the full serving, unless it is the only snack I have in between meals).

Dinner was fun! I got the idea from the responses to my Facebook page about spaghetti subs. Spaghetti squash seems to be the most obvious choice, but I don't normally buy that squash. And the last time I bought kabocha for my first Reset..... well, it's still sitting there in the Pantry :)

So I chose to do zucchini noodles. I always stock up on zucchini and I have the grater. To me, it makes more sense as the subs.

I have 3 tomatoes needed to be used very very soon. Perfect for a mushy tomato base stir fry. Adding mushrooms, chicken, and kale, onion and Italian Herb dinner is served.

I love it. I'm big on texture and shape in my food. I believe cutting all veggie the same way as cubes is extremely boring and make them all taste the same. Variations as simple as changing the shape of the veggie, cook it the same way will change the eating experience. Try it. And tell me if you agree or disagree. :)

Ultimate Reset II - Day 2: Taking a break from Quinoa

Day 2

• Supp: Optimize + Mineralize (throughout the day)
• Breakfast: Open face Egg White & Roasted Red Pepper sandwich
• Workout: Teaching Body Combat (1 hour)
• Post workout Snack: Purple Yam & Greek Yogurt with Berries
• Supp: Optimize
• Lunch: Soymilk base Mushroom soup with Chicken and Spinach
• Supp: Alkalinize
• Snack: Watermelon juice and berries
• Supp: Optimize
• Dinner: Rotisserie Chicken Spinach Salad with Qia
• Snack: Watermelon

Breakfast

Lunch

It's a busy day but productive. Got some design work done, had friend helped me made the fish balls for the food fair, and I learned what not to do in making my fish balls :(  ... ruined one of the batch. *sigh*

Other than the Reset type meals, I ate a little of the fish balls. It's homemade, gluten free and all natural. So I figured, tasting it as I made them should be alright. Hence the light dinner.

Dinner

Notice how many time I snack today? I was dead tired and I felt my body needed the extra replenishment. To be honest, at one point when I was cooking the fish balls, I got a little lightheaded.

All in all, day two went by in a flash. Now come to think of it, scrambling around the house between cooking and working, I didn't drink enough today. No bueno. Gotta be better tomorrow.

Ultimate Reset II - Day 1: Good Day to Start a Reset

DAY 1

• Sup: Optimize & Mineralize (also for workout drinks)
• Breakfast: Greek Yogurt, blueberries, blackberries, with sprinkle of Qia
• Workout: Teaching Turbo Kick (1 hour)
• Post Workout Snack: Purple Yam (small)
• Sup: Optimize
• Lunch: Italian Herb Quinoa with Chicken and egg whites
• Sup: Alkalinize
• Snack: Greek Yogurt, blueberries, blackberries, peach, cinnamon, almond slices
• Dinner: Red & White Quinoa with Thai Curry Stir Fry (chicken, egg whites, veggies)

Here we go again. Day 1 came and went and I practically stuffed myself with quinoa. Something about those little pebbles of goodness that I just can't get enough! A friend posted a fact on my Facebook that the Mayans soldiers ate quinoa before they went into battle. Interesting fact because another friend message me saying that how much energy she felt for doing her workout, after eating quinoa.

Breakfast

Anyway, so my day went in a hot breeze (it is very hot here in Los Angeles right about now). Other than my lower back that's keeling me over, meals wise, it's all good. May be too good. Between me and Andy, we finished 2 cups of uncooked quinoa (I'd say that makes about 4-ish cups of cooked) for lunch and dinner, plus the protein and veggies.

Oh I got something new for the Pantry. It is called QI'A, a bag full of seeds: chia, hemp, buckwheat, almond slices, dried cranberries. I wouldn't say it is tasteless, but the cranberries definitely lends a lot to the flavor of this cereal.

Not a traditional cereal, you actually use this more as toppings for your other cereals or for Greek Yogurt - like my breakfast today :)

Lunch

Dinner

Workout snack as you might have guessed, purple yams. I need to stock up more on these tubers.

Lunch and dinner both made from the same batch of quinoa. I mixed some reds to the whites. The red quinoa has a crunchier texture and a bit harder. So expect to ass little more liquid and slightly longer cooking time if you use a lot of the reds.

To distinguish the flavor between lunch and dinner, I use spices: Italian Herb and Thai Curry. Simple.

#ultimatereset #beachbody #fitpantry