Four Quick Health Tips for Your Thanksgiving Dinner

1.         Talk More, Eat Less

Thanksgiving is the great time for family and friends to get together. Every day we are busy with our own stuff, so it’s a great time for you to catch up with your loved ones. Chatting with people at the Thanksgiving dinner table not only helps you get social, but also healthy. When you talk, you slow down with eating, and it gives your brain time to detect your fullness and let you stop eating. When you eat slowly, you’ll get a chance to enjoy great flavors than just stuffing yourself to maximum capacity with all the food.

2.         Light Food Goes First

Turkey is a must and stuffing is appealing. However, try to fill yourself up with lighter dishes first, such as salad and veggies. Sweet potatoes have a great mixture of fiber and vitamins, and a pinch (just a pinch and no butter needed) of brown sugar makes it delicious. When you have a good food base in your stomach, you won’t clean up your plate in seconds like a storm.  Instead, you can slowly enjoy all the great flavors melting in your mouth. 

3.         Go for Sweets, YES!   

Instead of trying to find reasons to persuade yourself from desserts, I say go for it.  BUT, keep portion control in mind, it is the key. A small piece of pie, a scoop of ice cream or a small bowl of chocolate pudding won’t kill you. You probably have been waiting for them for a long time. Have some but limit it to a small portion. Other than that, remember to have some coffee along with your desserts. A study showed that caffeine generates a greater thermic effect, which increases energy expenditure, basal metabolic rate and fat oxidation.¹   At the same time, caffeine acts as a central nervous system stimulant and reduces the sleepiness after turkey consumption.

4.         Move Around after a Meal

After your great meal, take a 15 to 20-minute walk. Walking after a meal helps you increase your metabolism and burn off any excess calories from the meal. If you don’t like walking by yourself, ask your family and friends, or even take your pets to join you. You are helping them stay healthy too! If you still feel walking is too boring for you, then do something else. Help clean the table, put away stuff, do the dishes or take out trash. There is always something better to do than just sitting down and watching TV.

1. Westerterp-Plantenga. Green tea catechins, caffeine and body-weight regulation. Physiology & Behavior. 2010; 100 (1): 42–46.

Wisdom Teeth Extraction Recovery Food / Diet

      I haven't done too much lately because I got four impacted wisdom teeth pulled out last week.  It was like a whole surgery process and I was a little scared.  The surgery went well because I was put to sleep.  I didn't feel any pain, however, the recovery phase was horrible.  My face was swollen for about three or four days.  Right now, the swollen phase is over, but my teeth, gum and jaws are still very painful, especially in the early morning and late night.  And that is the "alarm" to wake me up every day.  In the first three days after surgery, I had to wake up around 3 or 4 in the morning and took pain pills.  The worst part is I had to eat food before taking the pain pills, so I wouldn't be "killed" by the pills.  Plus the eating is a painful process, it was a NIGHTMARE!
      Right now, I'm feeling better but still in pain, especially when I eat (even thin, runny, liquid food!). I decided to put up some food I have been eating during this period of time, so people out there who have the same problem may get some ideas. 

Food / Diet #1

I have never had yogurt like this before, but it tastes really good.  Probably it will become a regular food in my diet.

Yogurt

Apple sauce

Honey

Cinnamon

Mix them together and eat!

Food / Diet #2

Oatmeal

 (cooked in more water than usual to make it thin)

Protein Powder / Protein Drinks

(I use Ensure, Chocolate flavor)

Mix them together and eat/drink!

Food / Diet #3

I guess you can use whatever ingredients you want, but this is the way I do it. It tastes very good for me and it has a lot of fiber and vitamins. Fiber is kinda important at this time, because the pain pills usually cause bathroom problem for me. I'm not sure whether this is a common probem for other people.

Celery

Carrots

Frozen blueberries

Frozen Strawberries

Honey

Water

Put them in the blender and make them into a shake!

Food / Diet #4

For me, I use those flavor packs come with instant noodles. However, there is a huge amount of salt in those packs. I really have to make sure I only use a little every time. They are just easy to use, and I don't feel like doing any work when I'm in pain. I opened a pack, and I have been using it for several days, and I still have a lot left. If you don't like those flavor packs, you can use whatever spices you like :)

Rice (Porridge)

( I cook my rice in a large amount water for about 20 mins to make sure it's really soft)

Spices / Flavors

Cook rice in the water to make porridge and add spices/flavors

Food / Diet #5

Canned soups without solid chunks work well and easy.  However, canned soups have a lot of salt and it's processed food.  For me, I go back and forth with canned soups and homemade soups.

Soups

(I put potatoes and soft veggies like zucchini in them. I cook them for a little longer time than I usually do, and use spoon to mash the veggies before eating)

Canned Soups

(They are quick and easy, choose the ones without chunks in there or pick out the chunks if they do have them)

      Alright, those are basically what I eat every day.  Hope it may help some people. And, I may miss some foods and I will add them when I remember :)

Mon Ami Gabi Restaurant @ Reston, VA

I was in Reston, VA last week for 5 days, and I ate at this Mon Ami Gabi restaurnat five days in a row.  Their food is beautiful and delicious, and people work there are super nice.  We met the restaurant owner on the 2nd day of visit and talked to him.  After that, we got two complimentary desserts on another two visits.  How nice was that!

Hello, D.C!

I'm gonna have a short trip to D.C and I'm super excited now!!  I have been doing research on tours and attractions in D.C. for a few hours.  I wanna go to the White House, but it's too late to schedule a tour now. Too bad!  Anyway, I'll keep looking, I wish it could be a FUN trip!

This looks really cool - International Spy Museum

Smithsonian



Pictures are from their websites

Body Scrubs & Soften Hard Brown Sugar

I ordered a body scrub online today, and it's gonna take me a few days to get it.  I got a little sunburn by accident about a week ago when I was swimming.  I can't stand the dead skin on my body anymore.  I can't wait to exfoliate my skin, I need to do it ASAP.  So, I did some research on homemade body scrubs.  There were some good ones which required brown sugar.  I got brown sugar, but it's very hard and I couldn't get it out.  Then, I had to do some more research on how to soft hard brown sugar and I came across some great articles.  Anyway, I'm going to try it tonight! That sounds super exciting!

You can click to see the articles below:

Great Body Scrub Recipes

10 Ways to Soften Hard Brown Sugar

@ The Pearl Restaurant on Treasure Island

I was at the Pearl Restaurant last Friday..late update.  The restaurant is located on Treasure Island, FL. To be honest, the outside didn't look very appealing to me, but the decor inside was very nice and elegant. Our waiter was friendly and outgoing. The food was great and I was quite impressed. They have this early special, which is $10 per dinner dish. It is a great deal, and the food is just amazing.

Baba Ganoush

Tilapia Lemon Dill

Beef Stoganoff

NYC again in December!

I'm planning to go to NYC again this December before Christmas with four other family members.  I have been to the city a few times, but not really traveled around.  I was always in a hurry.  We have four days to spend.  I'm planning to see some famous attractions and landmarks in or near the city.  Also, I'm planning to eat at some famous restaurants and do a lot of shopping.  It should be a fun time there before Christmas.  I want to stay at a hotel near Times Square which is close to many things, but the prices of the hotels are ridiculously high in that area.  Still have a lot of plannings to do. Luckily, I have several months to figure it out.


Some websites I found which might be helpful:

http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.e2a1b26d9be35ff6a62fa24601c789a0/

http://www.nycgo.com/

Picture from Wikipedia

First Time Greek Food

I went to a Greek restaurant for the first time.  Right, I've never had Greek food before.  The restaurant was loud but fun.  Several drunk people here and there.

Charbroiled  Octopus

Gyro

Falafel

Naturally Sweet Oatmeal

My breakfast oatmeal, no sugar, no artificial sweetener

Totally natural, delicious and healthy

Good breakfast which can last for a while

Ingredients:

Quick Oats

Banana

Walnuts

California Golden Raisins

Two Dinners in a Row

Photos are from two dinners.  They were good!

Fresh  oysters

Chocolate guilt...it was so good

Nutrient dense salad

Yummy

When I was in NYC

I went to NYC about 2 weeks ago. I almost forgot I have taken some pictures. I saw them in my camera today. It was a fun trip. I wish I can have more trips to the city in the future.

The last one is for FUN....

Amazing Thai Pong Garee

I went to a Thai restaurant for dinner last night. I like Pai Thai, but too much carbs and oil which I'm not hapy with. There was a dish called "Pong Garee" on the menu and I looked pretty good. I looked at the ingredients, it was really appealing to me - mixed veggies (celery, onion, green pepper, red pepper, mushroom and some other goodies), egges and yellow Indian curry powder.  I couldn't wait to try it. I got it with added Tofu and it tasted amazing over Jasmine rice!! I was so happy.
After I came back home, I started searching for the recipes online.  I was surprised because I couldn't find any recipe with Tofu. But, I couldn't give up until I found out what I wanted . I think I'm crazy sometimes. I started searching for Thai language online. Haha, I found it.  The Pong Garee was supposed to be a dish with crab in it, which translates into English as "crab in curry sauce". And I understood why I couldn't find the ones with Tofu. That was funny, I didn't see crab in my dish, I got a transformed Pong Garee.  Anyway, I like the one with Tofu in it.  Plus, in my dish, I thought they put somethig like coconut milk or cream, which I didn't like. But, I looked at several Pong Garee recipes online, none of them called for coconut mlik or cream. That's strange. It might be some secrete ingredient at the particular restaurant.  Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'll go back to order that dish again at some point. I secretly wish I can get the recipe which I REALLY want.
I found this blog called "Appon's Thai Food. The food looks good. And this is the blogger's version of Pong Garee.
                                 

http://www.khiewchanta.com/archives/curries/fish-seafood-curries/crab-curry-phoopadponggaree.html

What's Your BMI?

What is BMI?

Here is a short  introduction of BMI I wrote before for my website. I updated it. I think it's helpful for people to know their BMI. It's good for either weight control or knowing for own health level. It's very basic and easy to understand.

The body mass index (BMI), or Quetelet index, is a statistical measurement which compares a person's weight and height.

SI units:

BMI = mass(kg) / height²(m²)

Imperial units:

BMI = mass(lb) * 703 / height²(in²)

BMI = mass(lb) * 4.88 / height²(ft²)

The BMI of healthy weight is between 18.5 and 24.9.

If your BMI is below 18.5, you are considered to be underweight.

If your BMI is above 25, you are considered to be overweight.

If your BMI is above 30, you are considered to be obese.

If you would like to know more nutrition and healthy information, visit my website: http://www.gohealthier.us  

Some online BMI calculators can do faster calculations  in seconds.

For example, this one below:

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

Good Food? Bad Food?

When I 'm on vacation, I like eating out and exploring different places. I went to a few  places to eat in the past two day. Some food were kinda "bad" (aka unhealthy food). Even though I'm really into nutrition and health, I'm a normal person and I like tasty food. I can't stay on the healthy diet all the time, especially during the vacation. I eat "bad" food sometimes, but really in moderation, and later on, I eat healthily and exercise to work it off !

I wore this black lace dress for dinner one night. I really like the V neck on the back.

Iceberg lettuce :(  But other veggies were good.

The portion size at this restaurant was ridiculously huge! The guy sat at the next table thought I had ordered a dish for TEN. Baked Spaghetti and veggies. I like the sun-dried tomatoes a lot. It looks like Spaghetti coverd with tons of cheese at first, but there were a lot of veggies underneath.

The other dish

Looks familiar? Yes! It was on Man vs. Food! I was at this place last night.

Veggie Quesadillas. Absolutely delicious, but very greasy. Sour cream and salsa came into small packages. That's good, you don't have to eat the sour cream.

Philly Steaks. I didn't eat it. But it's said to be great!

The wall of pictures

I had my picture taken with Adam Richman. Haha!

A cute picture on the wall

Picnic by the Pool

We ordered some take out food from a place nearby.  I have been there for more than 10 times I think. Some of their food are really good, but some are just OK. The sunshine was so nice. We didn't want to stay inside at all.  So we decided to eat by the pool, a cute picnic.  Great food and beautiful weather.

I wish they could put something else instead of iceberg lettuce :(

 Seared tuna was incredibly fresh and delicious :)

Steamed vegetables were loaded with nutrients.

We were sitting under this umbrella.

Sunshine Break

My spring break  started this  week.  Finally a relaxing break after tons of homework, tests, and projects.  So far, I feel great.  I'm here in FL, warm weather and beautiful sunshine.  It's already Wednesday, the middle of my break. I wish this break could be longer.  I love it!