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Posted via email from Erika's posterous

First gourmet food truck in LA!

Gourmet food trucks seem to be popping up everywhere.  Before I left my work in the Bay, more food trucks started parking around my work.  There was your regular old taco truck that we always went to down the street and a soul food truck that parked right next to it.  Those had been around for a while.  But for a few months before I left, there was a falafel truck, cupcake truck, and misc. truck that regularly came by.  The misc. truck was Jon's Street Eats, and I had the pleasure of eating it only once.  I call it misc. because their menu changed every day.  I had fried heirloom tomatoes with corn salad and grilled corn on the cob with garlic parmesan aioli.  It might not sound like much, but, man, was it good.  When I come back to the Bay area, I'll make sure to look out for that truck.  It had been parked outside for several months and I regret not trying it until I was about to leave....  Anyhoos!  My coworker invited me to try this really good Asian taco truck with her.  I immediately said yes, forgetting about my "diet."  Being new, I thought I should take any change to get to know the people I should be working with.  I was willing to cheat for one day!  Luckily, they had seafood and veggie tacos!      

What I ate today:

Lunch:  Komodo Asian taco truck  

http://komodofood.com/

Below is what I ate:

FISH N’ GRAPES
Deep-fried Alaskan Cod tossed with Fresh Grape Salad

SOI
Vegetarian Soy Tempeh Salad with Savory Peanut Dressing

BLAZIN’ SHRIMP
Spicy Singaporean-style Shrimp with Sour Cream Salad

They were pretty good, but I have a feeling that their chicken and steak tacos/burritos are their most ordered dishes.  I must go back after this month is over.  Taste wise, the Blazin' Shrimp tacos were the best, but it was too spicy for me.  Damn my weak tongue!  the soi had a good sauce, but it was served cold, and I'm not a fan of cold dishes.  I liked the salad the went on top of the Fish n' Grapes taco, but the fish itself could've used a little more seasoning in their batter or something.  I must say it was perfectly crispy.  Wow!  I should copy and paste this on Yelp!  On my way to Elite!

Dinner:

Tuna melt - canned tuna in olive oil, tomatoes, lettuce, and red onion on tortilla with shredded cheddar cheese
I must say, it was very tasty.  Quite happy with how it came out, compared to my last couple disasters.  
 

No leftover corn and spinach soup because I forgot about it last night and left it out....  But I'm a little relieved in some ways that I don't have to force myself to finish it.

After dinner snack:

Rest of canned tuna in olive oil on crackers 
Glass of wine

So far, I think I am getting the diet under control, or at least the part where I pick only the good stuff to eat (except the day I ate all those cakes...).  Now I am wondering if I'm getting the portions right.  I feel like I'm eating healthier, but I don't know if I'm eating too much or too little to make a difference.  I had 4 of the above tacos today, 2 fish, 1 veggie, 1 shrimp.  Is that too much or just right?

Note to self:  Do some research on the new diet.  Make sure I'm eating the right portions and getting all my nutrients. 

Still need to exercise!!

 

Posted via email from Erika's posterous

Sandwich fail

:(

Posted via email from Erika's posterous

FAIL somewhat

I didn't eat meat today.  Instead I ate:

Breakfast
None

Lunch
Veggie sandwich (focaccia bread with carrots, eggplant, pepper, and cheese)
Bottle of water

Snack (this is where I failed....)
2 mini cupcakes
Then about an hour later.....
1 slice of chocolate cake, 1 slice of dulce de leche cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory
(soo bad, I know.... but they were just there and I had to try....)

Bottle of water through rest of workday

Dinner (where I failed again)
Corn and spinach soup.... was so bland, even after adding all these spices.  I have no idea what went wrong or what I could've done to change it.  Maybe it was just the wrong recipe to follow?  Had to add croutons so I can eat it....

After dinner.....
Glass of wine (dunno if it's healthy or not....but oh wells, it's good stuff I brought down from Napa)
Crackers
Snacked on a few croutons
Ate a couple dried pineapples from Hawaii 

Note to self:  STILL need to drink more water and STILL need to eat breakfast.  Stop giving into temptation!!  Should I start taking vitamins?

 

Posted via email from Erika's posterous

New "Diet": Day 2-ish

As I said before, I was at my parent's for the weekend, so whatever they cooked, I had to eat.  Tomorrow will start my real pescetarian diet.  My mom was mindful of my new diet and cooked fish, but it was deep fried... again....  So from now on I cannot eat anymore deep fried fish... even though it's so gooood.....

What I ate today:

Lunch
Leftover Chinese broccoli and eggplant
2 cups water

1 bottle vitamin water

Dinner
Deep fried tilapia with tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and patis sauce
Rice
Veggie medley (squash, okra, green beans, eggplant)
1 can young coconut juice

Note to self:  Eat breakfast.  Still need to drink more water. 

Posted via email from Erika's posterous

I am going to be a pescetarian for one month

A couple of years ago I tried do be healthy and lose weight using the Abs Diet.  I read the book and really liked the concepts behind this diet.  But I only lasted a month...  Why did I fail so badly?  I realized that the diet requires a strict eating schedule (3 regular meals and 3 small meals at the same time every day), and I am not the type to follow schedules... so after a while I became lazy.  Now that I'm supposed to be in a wedding next month, I am more determined than ever to lose my belly fat.  I thought about trying to attempt the Abs Diet again, but figured I'd end up failing again.... Then I remembered that people I know who are vegetarian or pescatarian are always really skinny.  I know I can't survive off veggies alone, so I decided to try to be a pescetarian for one month (with exercise of course).  I do love fish and seafood, so I think this would be easier than going on a really strict diet.  The hard thing is finding recipes and cooking them.  And also eating without rice...  I started looking up some resources and one tip was to start a journal, so I guess I'll start listing what I eat each day and how much progress I'm making.  I hope to lose 5-10 pounds this month.  I am also going to start running every day for at least 30 minutes at the gym.

What I ate today (note: I am at my parent's house right now, so diet is not so strict since they cook.  I will really start it up once I get back to my place in LA):

Breakfast
Fried rice, scrambled eggs and potatoes

Lunch
Lumpia, gulay (green beans in garlic, soy sauce, and vinegar), cucumber in vinegar and pepper

Dinner
Hot and spicy soup (2 small bowls), deep fried flounder, eggplant in garlic black bean sauce, Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, almond jello (ate at Chinese restaurant)

Note to self:  Need to drink more water.

Posted via email from Erika's posterous

My 5-Year Plan

This stupid article about the Quarter-life crisis (http://www.eyeweekly.com/article/55882) got me thinking that I needed a plan. I realized that I am about to turn 25 which is 5 years before 30. Around 30 I will probably be married with a kid. I decided to make a list of goals to accomplish before I turn 30. Hence, my 5-Year plan. There are a lot of things I keep saying I want to do, but never do. And as I get older and get more and more responsibilities, it will only get harder. So here is a list of things to do within 5 years, and I may add some as time goes on:

Move to SoCal -- I am working on it. Doesn't need to be permanently at this point since I still plan on going back to school. But I feel like it will be good to be back there for at least the next couple of years. To be honest, a big part of it is for Erik. I just want to be a normal couple, dammit!

Learn the guitar -- I tried to teach myself once. I only know 3 chords, lol.

Learn a new piece of music on the piano (or perfect one I already know) -- I keep starting up new songs and never finishing them. Or I used to know how to play it, but not anymore due to lack of practice.

A couple I know, but suck at now:

Liebestraum by Liszt --

Moonlight Sonata 3rd Movement, by Beethoven -- although I was never able to play it that fast

These I have been dying to learn forever:

Fantasie Impromptu by Chopin -- soo hard because the left and right hands are in different rhythms, triplets against quadruplets. So awesome though!

Arabesque 1 by Debussy -- also hard because it is triplets against duplets... no matter how hard I try, I just can't do it!

Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin -- this song is a monster. I gave up after the first 3 pages, lol. Out of the above 2, this one is probably the hardest and definitely the longest (about 14 minutes long). If I really want to learn it, I'm going to have to devote some major time to it. Part 1 Part 2

It makes me sad that once upon a time, I probably would have been able to learn these easier because I would've had a teacher to guide me and I would've had more free time to practice. Unless I get a new teacher... hmm..... Moving on!

Be in a musical -- I had so much fun in my first and only musical in high school, which wasn't even really a musical. We performed 2 or 3 songs from about 5 different musicals instead. I always look back at that time with very fond memories. I had so much fun and I loved the experience. I hope there's a community theater out there that doesn't mind my lack of experience. I would be fine just being in the ensemble. There is no way I would be good enough for a leading role.

Be in a choir -- Oh, how I miss singing. So much. In high school I always wished I could be in the choir, but it didn't fit into my schedule, but I was able to be in the youth choir at my church. So I mostly sang Christian and gospel type music. In junior high I was able to be in the choir, where we sang, like, Disney-ish songs haha. Throughout college, I wasn't able to sing again until my senior year with the University Chorus, and there I was introduced to choral music. We got to sing this song from all those epic movies/commercials! (O Fortuna, Orff) That was sooo much fun! If I were to join a choir again, I wouldn't mind what kind of music as long as I am singing, but if I were to have friends to come watch my performances, I think they would prefer something more modern and contemporary. I think they got bored when when they came to one of my performances in college =/

TRAVEL! ANYWHERE! -- I haven't been anywhere outside of the continent. Canada doesn't really count. And I was 2 years old when I went to the Philippines. So I talked to Erik and told him we are going to backpack through Europe after he graduates! Then, I realized that my cousin is getting married in the Philippines in January so instead of Europe, maybe I should take the opportunity to travel through Asia and save Europe for another year (can't really afford 2 big trips in one year....). Either way, I am determined to GO somewhere next year at least.

Get an advanced degree -- Still deciding on which one....

Maybe for fun, audition on American Idol because my friend and I have talked about doing it for YEARS, but never have. And we better do it before we reach the age limit (omg that's in 3 years)!

Okay, the tricky part is.... School will take 2-3 years and I doubt I'll have enough time to do most of the things I listed while in school. Soo... that means I need to get the bulk of this list done within the next 1-2 years! Or learn some mean time-management skills, lol. Do you think I can do it??

P.S. Looking back at this post, it's not really a 5-year plan, lol. More like just things I want to do within 5 years.

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