“The word “neige” (pronounced “NAY-guh”), meaning “that”, used in colloquial speech as a kind of hesitation noise, equivalent to the English “uh” or “y’know”. -source

All in all, our Shanghai experience was definitely an enjoyable one. We were always on the go with gift shopping, sightseeing, bar hopping, food tasting, and last but not least, the glorious hour long foot massages which felt so good after a long day of exploring the city. So with that, lots more pics to share! =)

{Doutzen Kroes looking strong and healthy}

- Lose 10lbs by Snacking; Eat more healthy and lose weight! I like the eat more part of it a lot because I actually get variety in my diet now and it’s all thanks to snacking. -D

- Satisfy your Cravings; The nutrition expert said “The best thing for you is, you know yourself. You know your triggers, you know what you need to do.” Whether you’re good at controlling your cravings or not, only you know what will really work for you to overcome your weakness. Going cold turkey works for me!

- 10 Ways to Go from Tired to Terrific; Good tips but too tired to try. =/

- 3 ways to make eating out a healthy experience;

1. Keep it simple … for the most part. The simpler your order is, the less likely it is to harbor hidden fats and calories.

2. Make special requests. If you’re watching your waistline, you’ll likely need to tweak certain menu items to make them fit within your calorie budget. (I hate it when there’s sauce dripping all over anyways so I have been asking for it on the side…and eating less of it by doing so, yes!)

3. Eliminate the extras…bread, dessert, beverages. (Portion control people! =d The only thing that I might indulge in is the bread, if it’s really good that is and omgah….so far, soooo good.) =/

- Fix Your Worst Diet Habits; My worst habit use to be skipping meals but now I eat/snack healthier and regularly and I don’t have agonizing hunger pains at nighttime like I use to. I’m also getting Babes to do the same; it’s not fair if only one of us looks good you know. muahah!

- Gross Yourself Out To Lose Weight ; The author of the post said “This diet tactic may verge on insane; however, it might just be crazy enough to work! Never underestimate the power of conditioning. The best way to keep you on track is with constant reminders. I think it might be cute to have a pet fat … I’m going to name mine Bertha. ” =D

- Healthy Supermarket Swaps; I always make a list to take to the supermarket so I know exactly what I need; it helps me to make healthier choices, not to mention I also save on time and money that way.

Here is a delicious snack I made today with ingredients I found in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 450ºF. Cut chicken breast into smaller pieces (about 6-8 depending on size of breast). Season the chicken with garlic salt. Put the jalapeno and meat into the oven. While broiling, bast lightly with a splash of lime and olive oil. Cook chicken pieces thoroughly (8-10 min). Remove from oven and cover lightly with tinfoil for a few minutes afterward to keep warm and seal in juices.

While chicken is cooking, rinse the parsley and green leaf lettuce. You can halve the bigger pieces. When chicken is ready and you have diced the jalapeno, place in this order: green leaf lettuce, one piece of chicken, chunks of jalapeno, shredded carrot, and parsley. Wrap the lettuce around the chicken and veggies and secure with a toothpick and you’re ready to serve! It came out to be a total of 6 wraps.

They were so tasty -which is saying a lot since I’m not known for my cooking abilities. mm mmm good!

Ingredients

* garlic salt, dried basil, lime, olive oil

* 1 skinned, boneless chicken breast

* 1 head of green leaf lettuce

* 1 jalapeno

* shredded carrot

* parsley

Ingredients

* Pita, 1 (54 grams)

* Canned tomatoes, whole peeled, no added salt, 1/4 cup (54 grams)

* Parmesan cheese, grated and shaved, 1 TB (15 mL)

* Arugula, 1 cup (12 grams)

* Extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) -optional

* Pepper, freshly ground, pinch

- Read Full recipe! Which was inspired by this recipe in Everyday Food:

{ Kelly Brook looking healthy and fit }

Last week I decided I needed to make a few changes in my eating habits so I started a food journal. It was in the One Small Change article; a must read for those of us who can’t fully commit to healthy eating yet but would like to get started…one small step at a time.

I’ve realized in starting a food journal that I’m more aware of what I should eat (being that it will be written in my journal as a setback) rather than just ordering/cooking what I want to eat. I am all for indulging once in a while and rewarding myself for taking care of my body but I am hoping that, in time, I won’t even crave my favorite fatty foods anymore. Also, now that I have begun tracking all my food intake, I have introduced into my life a somewhat neurotic nutritionist – who lives in my conscience and is quite obnoxious but I know she’s only doing it for my own good. =p

Here are a few sites I looked at which help calculate your calories, have food logs, blogging options, and diet/nutrition/fitness information. I am currently using these two sites and will decide which I like better at the end of the week:

- nutrimirror.com

- livestrong.com

The National Institute of Health (click link to check yours!) says you’re at a healthy weight if your BMI falls between 18.5 – 24.9. My BMI is at 18.8 which is ok but I should gain a few pounds – as you all can see. =/

I want to get fit/toned and healthy, NOT lose weight so Don’t Hate! =)

Ingredients:

pork (1-2lb)

1 green pepper

4 slices of canned pineapple

1/2 onion

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup cornstarch

seasoning: white vinegar, sugar, ketchup, salt

Directions:

For the sauce: 4 tablespoons sugar, 3 tablespoons white vinegar, 6 tablespoons water, 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Mix in a bowl.

For the marinade sauce: 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 egg yolk.

Cut pork into 2 inch cubes. Put into marinade sauce and mix well. Marinate for 30 min. After 30 min, pour the rest of the cornstarch into a plate and add the pork, coat evenly.

Cut up veggies and set a side.

Cooking:

Pour oil into pot (enough to deep fry the pork in) and turn to medium heat. Deep fry for 7min or until cooked through. Remove and place into bowl. Turn heat from medium to high and deep fry the pork pieces again for about 10 sec for a crisp outside. Remove and put in bowl.

Add 1 tablespoon of oil into pan and turn to medium heat. Add onions, peppers, and sauce. After it comes to a boil, add the pineapple and pork. Mix well and you’re ready to plate!

You can watch the video where the recipe was found on youtube, the secret of sweet and sour pork. It was delicious thanks to Sue, I was only the dishwasher. =D

(I’m the one in the hoodie, this is what happens when you can’t find anything to wear! Comfort is a style isn’t it? ahah)

Another weekend gone by too quickly,

I went out for Kate’s birthday, did a little Christmas shopping, and saw the movie No Country for Old Men. The movie was as creepy as the previews but the serial killer in it also plays Florentino Ariza in Love in the Time of Cholera, so I at least had a different character to associate him with which gratefully made the movie less disturbing.

The restaurant that we went to for Kate’s bday dinner was Republic in Los Angeles. The place itself was nice and cozy but the food was all show, no taste. I ordered the pan roasted chilean seabass which was very bland and the truffle-scented french fries that came with were stale and cold…wtf, how can they mess up on fries?! Ah well, at least I got to see a girl bend over backwards while suspended in the air, I’m sure some of you have seen it before, it was so Lara Croft; they had some chick wearing wires bring the wine down, waaay cool!

I had to take a pic of this Monique Lhuillier window display near the restaurant, it was too gorgeous not to!