Results matching “food” from Jeanette Hada's Wellness and Happiness Blog

It's 2:16 a.m. and Aislee is sleeping in my lap.  She's growing amazingly fast and is really active these days.  It's been challenging for her fighting her first real cold.  She'll wake up several times frustrated with her stuffy nose.

I've been thinking how incredibly different life has changed with the baby.   I wouldn't have it any other way.  It's almost frightening how much I love this tiny human.  The funny thing is, before she was born, my dear friend told me that it's important to not neglect the husband when the baby arrived.  It's been non-stop taking care of her that there really is no time to pay attention to Naoki or really myself these past several months.  Taking a shower uninterrupted is a luxury and I'm thankful when papa is able to take Aislee for a walk while I handle a few household chores.  He spends most of his free time caring for the house and garden.  What's interesting and a little funny, is that after you have this cute little one with small everything and inquisitive expressions, anything that was remotely cute or appealing in your partner ceases to be...well, cute.  Suddenly, the baby has taken control of all that is cute.  Not even Lucky, our comedic bird, can compete.

Other observations of life with baby...  Buying new clothes, shoes, makeup is no longer a necessity.  It has been replaced by buying food, toys (for baby), and diapers.  I wear mostly what's comfortable now.  Her comfort and well-being is my top  priority.  So far, I've been blessed with clients who are baby-friendly. She comes with me everywhere -- even to tour properties.

I never thought becoming a mother would incur so many changes.  The pressure cooker Naoki purchased is a lifesaver.  It makes healthy baby food in minutes!  I'll try chubbing Aislee up with avocados, sweet potatos, and bananas.  She loves Japanese pumpkin, kabocha, which cooks beautifully in the pressure cooker.  I add a little cinnamon sometimes.  She seems to enjoy it.

Finding time to eat for myself has been difficult while juggling caring for the baby and working.  Making sandwiches enables me to eat and have a free hand while eating.  My current addiction is Trader Joe's Garlic Cheddar Sourdough toasted and smothered with avocado on one side and thinly sliced cucumbers and cream cheese.  Sometimes I'll slather raspberry jam and a savory speadable cheese on the same bread which is super good as well.

Ok, time for us to move to the Sun Room to sleep.  This is where we now have our bedroom.  The Star Room is our library/office, the Moon Room is also an office (that's in serious need of cleaning).  I work in the Fire Room most of the time and the Sky Room (aka the dining room is used for gatherings.  We'll be hosting Aislee's first birthday in July and hope to see some of you here at our gingerbread house.

After an excellent appointment with my midwife's assistant/doula in Menlo Park, my friend and I headed to downtown Los Altos to indulge in something light and sweet at Satura Bakery. If you've not yet been, I highly suggest taking a trip there on a Thursday afternoon. After eating one of the best choux creams in my life, we walked over to the farmers market. This is one of the rare markets that stays open later in the day. We sampled different types of flavorful cherries that were sweet and not the least bit sour, hearty Jersey Brand milk cheeses, super sweet sweet peas, and dark juicy red strawberries. I left with five small, but crisp and sweet, organic white peaches from Kashiwase Farms, organic Spring Hill Farms garlic curds (made from fresh mozzarella), and also one of their pesto jack blocks, melt-in-your-mouth roasted rosemary fingerling potatoes (we ate those there), and a small basket of unusually pointy, but remarkably sweet strawberries!! Oh, and I also purchased five of Satura's choux creams for Naoki -- three vanilla and two green tea flavored. Forgive all of these foodcentric posts. Occupying my mind most of the time is food, house hunting for friends/clients and ourselves, and this baby.

White nectarines are fine too.  Well, maybe they're preferable since they don't have that fuzzy skin which I could do without.

Current fruit obsession - muscat grapes (available for a limited time at Nijiya Markets, Bristol Farms, and Whole Foods), oranges from Twin Girl Farms (available at our local farmers markets), and strawberries.

I'm sorry, nothing really new to report other than my food cravings.  I won't look for and include photos as that would just cause me to go out unwrap my truck, which takes 20 minutes to get the buckles, lock, and cover taken off, and drive through the Cinco de Mayo traffic on my street to battle rush hour traffic to buy fruit.

I came across this wonderful organization that supplies discounted groceries to families and seniors. They do not require meeting any particular criteria; however, they are still working on nationwide deliveries. According to the organization, the food provided is of restaurant and high grade quality.

The cost of groceries has risen significantly since last year due to the economy. Below is a short news clip on how you can reduce how much you spend at the stores (though I believe most people know these tips already...).

Angel Food Ministries is a non-profit, non-denominational organization dedicated to providing grocery relief and financial support to communities throughout the United States.

Blessings by the box

Angel Food's groceries are sold in a quantity that can fit into a medium-sized box at $30 per unit. Each month's menu is different than the previous month and consists of both fresh and frozen items with an average retail value of approximately $50. Comparison shopping has been done across the country in various communities using a wide range of retail grocery stores and has resulted in the same food items costing from between $42 and $78.

Generally, one unit of food assists in feeding a family of four for about one week or a single senior citizen for almost a month. The food is all the same high quality one would purchase at a grocery store. There are no second-hand items, no damaged or out-dated goods, no dented cans without labels, no day-old breads and no produce that is almost too ripe. Also offered are specialty boxes such as steaks, chicken and pork. Many participants in this bonus program appreciate the expanded choices. Additionally, there is no limit to the number of units or bonus foods an individual can purchase, and there are no applications to complete or qualifications to which participants must adhere. Angel Food Ministries, like most all other retail grocery stores, also participates in the U.S. Food Stamp program, using the Off-Line Food Stamp Voucher system.

It's both a Bargain and a Blessing!

Hello and welcome to my latest obsession...fresh strawberries, dunked in lowfat sour cream, then swiped in light brown sugar! 

I had a colleague share this foodie tip with me recently and internally I scoffed at it.  C'mon the combination sounded to bizarre to be good; however, curiosity got the best of me after my brother said he'd tried and liked this concoction.  So, yesterday after a quick stop at Whole Foods to pick up super ripe organic strawberries (good enough to eat on their own) and tub of sour cream, I ripped open that bag of light brown sugar Naoki was waiting to use for one of his breads (that's his current obsession btw).  Together those three simple ingredients were absolutely delish!!  I had heard that it would have a cheesecake like flavor, which I am not a fan of, but was pleasantly surprised that it was even better!

If you have a chance to try this combo, I would highly recommend it (unless you're lactose intolerant, in which case contact me for the perfect enzyme supplements).

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per strawberry: 29 calories; 1 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 2 mg cholesterol; 6 g carbohydrate; 1 g protein; 0 g fiber; 2 mg sodium; 43 mg potassium.

1/2 Carbohydrate Serving

to eat...

1. An egg salad sandwich on croissant with a dill pickle spear and avocado on the side
2. Tofu from the San Jose Tofu factory (delicious recipes here - http://www.theppk.com/)
3. My mother's spinach, cheese, and mushroom quiche - hot from the oven
4. Apple crisp with a blueberry crumble topping - also hot from the oven, ala mode!
5. Fruit salad made of cantelope, honeydew, watermelon, berries, and red flame grapes

Afterwards, I would like to...

1. Finish my crochet project before summertime
2. Curl up with a good book and hot chocolate (stirred with a cinnamon stick)
3. Surf the 'net for gifts for my friend's son's 100 day ceremony/celebration
4. ...darn, I really want that fruit salad...
5. Pay my bills, organize my tax receipts, and prepare items for donating

I'm either...

1. Dealing with severe insomnia or slept too much today
2. Getting old or well...getting older
3. Pregnant having horrible food cravings and have messed up my sleep schedule or ?
4. Delirious from lack of sleep or spending too much mind numbing time at the computer
5. Finding an excuse to write something on my blog or killing time.

Wouldn't it be lovely to have a 24 hour delivery service that caters to people's late night cravings?  They'd have access to books, movies (though we can practically find everything online these days), healthy midnight snacks or other food items, clothing/shoes/accessories (just in case),  etc.

It would cost a low monthly fee to use different levels of the service...and well, I just wish I could order an egg salad sandwich right now.

just mix all ingredients and bake it at 350 F for 45 minutes.

----------------
I hadn't seen my friend in two years, so this get-together was a very special one.  It was our first time meeting her absolutely charming, talented and interesting husband.  It was a blessing to meet a couple that pair together so well.  Both are musically inclined, share a passion for traveling and fine food, as well as seem to be very in love with each other (after being together for 10 years).


~ pictures to follow at http://jeanette.hada.us

I had an informal loan consultation with a lovely couple last night.  Thankfully I was sitting down most of the time as hours before I had taken quite a fall and ripped a nasty hole in my pants.  Lesson learned...no running across the street during the rain while holding a heavy bag of Chinese food wearing 3.5" heels.  Luckily I fell on my knees instead of my stomach or face.  A very nice woman and elderly man picked me up while won ton soup ran out of my bag and off my pants.  The funny elderly man picked a dime up that was also soaked in soup and asked if was mine.  Still in shock I took it and thanked them both.  Of course, it would be my luck that I fell at a busy intersection in front of the huge window of Wells Fargo Bank which is located on the corner near my office.

This morning I woke up sore with the blanket stuck to my bloodied knee.  I think I'll invest in some flat shoes and knee pads...

I will smother my boo boo with Emprizone, an aloe based gel.  Thankfully it doesn't burn and seems to heal my injuries rather quickly.

Please note: It looks like I have chicken skin in the photo below, but those are badly bruised hair follicles. yes, gross, but true.

Dear Friends,

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced last month that
the Agency will likely approve the sale of cloned foods this
year. FDA's action flies in the face of widespread scientific
concern about the risks of food from clones, and ignores the
animal cruelty and troubling ethical concerns that the cloning
process brings. What's worse, FDA indicates that it will not
require labeling on cloned food, so we will have no way to avoid
these experimental foods!

In response to FDA's pending approval, US Senator Barbara
Mikulski (D-MD) has introduced Senate Bill S.414, the Cloned
Food Labeling Act, and U.S. House Representative Rosa DeLauro
(D-CT) introduced an identical bill, HR 992 a few weeks later.

Tell Congress to support the Cloned Food Labeling Act! Please
take a moment today to send an email to your Senators and
Representative in support of these important bills. It only
takes a minute and you can take action now through the Center
for Food Safety at
http://ga3.org/ campaign/ Cloning_Label? rk=p7suhdK11UVcW

2007 was an interesting year of new and interesting experiences.  There was some sadness with the end of certain projects and relationships, but also lots of happiness with the strengthening of old friendships, and the meeting and making of new friends from many places. I am thankful to have my family and friends in good health, a growing career that allows me to work independently (most of the time), and most of all a peaceful life. 

I wish all of you a very healthy, happy, and prosperous 2008!

On New Year's Day we celebrated 2008 by visiting our good friend who has prepared the traditional Japanese New Years dishes for us for the past couple years.  It was a little challenging as Naoki is vegetarian and I basically eat fish (ok, sometimes I'll have chicken, but it's rare these days).

She made my favorite dessert made from fresh Fuji apples and agar.  It makes for a lovely, gelatin-free, refreshing jello.  Everything was lovely and neatly sorted in a lacquered box.  My favorite is the soup she makes flavored with kelp and filled with savory bits of dark leafy greens, daikon, and mochi (which she first toasted in the oven).  The black beans that she prepared were soft and chewy in texture and slightly sweet.  The chestnut/sweet potato was hearty and a beautiful golden color.  Her anago rolled omelet was absolutely delicious and small rounds of seasoned taro were just a few of the items there.  What a wonderful and special treat to experience every year!  Pictures to follow at http://jeanette.hada.us

Ok, obviously I'm a little obsessed with food and would love to share a few of my favorite foodie sites.  Some of these most people already know, but here they are just in case...

http://www.yelp.com
- This is an excellent site, where people can critique (rant or rave) about their experiences with different places they've visited.

http://www.opensourcefood.com
- By far my favorite recipe site with pictures that will have those late night hunger pangs kick in.

http://www.annamariavolpi.com/foodmovies.html
- Another food lovers list of food-related movies

I am one of the world's biggest chocolate lovers, though I usually try to refrain from going overboard especially during Halloween. When going to Walgreens I'll sometimes pick up a bag of bite-sized Twix or Snickers to share; however, if the recent email I received from PETA a few days ago (please see below) is even a little bit true, I'll stop buying every single product this company makes and encourage my friends and family to do the same. It's sickening and just doesn't make sense to torture and kill animals for food testing (or almost any testing for that matter). Forget the flavanol health claims if it means harming these tiny creatures. If it's humans that are supposed to benefit from this antioxidant, shouldn't they test these products on people? ---------------------------------- PETA has uncovered gruesome evidence that candy giant Mars has been paying experimenters to conduct deadly tests on mice, rats, guinea pigs, and rabbits. We're launching a worldwide boycott of Snickers, M&M's, Twix, Milky Way, 3 Musketeers, Starburst, Dove, Skittles, and other Mars-made products until the company has a heart and stops hurting animals. Right now, Mars is funding a study at the University of California, San Francisco, in which experimenters force-feed rats by shoving plastic tubes down their throats. The animals are then killed and cut open. Mars has also paid experimenters to do the following: * Force mice to swim in a pool of water and paint and find a hidden platform to avoid drowning—only to be killed later * Surgically attach plastic tubes to guinea pigs' carotid arteries and inject cocoa ingredients into their jugular veins to induce dramatic decreases in blood pressure * Force rabbits to eat high-cholesterol diets with varying amounts of cocoa and then cut out and examine primary blood vessels to their hearts Not one of these tests is required by law for candy. Mars' chief competitor, Hershey's, has already signed PETA's statement of assurance pledging never to conduct or fund tests on animals. We need your help to end Mars' cruel experiments! Visit our new MarsCandyKills.com campaign Web site to find out what you can do to help. Sincerely, Jason Ullman Anti-Vivisection Campaigner PETA -------------------- PETA boycotting Mars candy co. over animal cruelty Fri Dec 7, 9:25 PM ET People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is calling for a boycott of M&Ms, Twix candy bars and other snack foods made by Mars Inc, claiming the company funds experiments that kill mice, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits. "In violation of its own written policy, the candy company is currently funding a study at the University of California, San Francisco, that uses rats. The rats are force fed by having plastic tubes shoved down their throats, and they are then cut open and killed," PETA said in a statement. "In response to this new information, PETA is filing a legal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over Mars' false statement," the group said in a statement. The FTC investigates claims of dishonesty in advertising. Mars spokeswoman Alice Nathanson said regarding the University of California experiment: "I can't speak to any information that PETA may or may not have. I can't speak to any experiments." But, she said that the privately held company "would never issue or post a statement that we were not 100 percent confident in." PETA spokeswoman Kathy Guillermo said in an interview the experiments seemed aimed at developing health claims for chocolate because it contains flavonoids. Health studies have found that flavonoids protect against heart disease and cancer. Guillermo said the boycott would start on Monday. Mars says on its Web site that it bars animal research "involving euthanasia, vivisection or the suffering of any animal" in developing its snacks, drinks and pet products. But the Web site also says that a separate business unit, Symbioscience, would undertake "limited forms of animal testing" when required to demonstrate the safety or efficacy of "pharmaceutical and therapeutic food products." PETA said in its statement that Mars paid for experiments in which mice had to swim in a pool of water and paint and find a hidden platform to avoid drowning and were killed later. The group also accused Mars of funding an experiment in which plastic tubes were surgically attached to guinea pigs' carotid arteries and cocoa ingredients were injected into their jugular veins to cause a sharp drop in blood pressure, and another experiment in which rabbits were fed high-cholesterol diets with varying amounts of cocoa and later the main blood vessels to their hearts were cut out and examined. The University of California, San Francisco, confirmed in a statement that it was conducting a Mars-funded study of the potential health benefits of cocoa flavanols involving testing on rats. "UCSF takes seriously the responsibility of working with animals and is committed to maintaining the highest standard of humane treatment in animal care and use," Clifford Roberts, interim associate vice chancellor for research said in the statement. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Toni Reinhold)

If you're going on a cruise, I would recommend Royal Caribbean. Their level of service, cleanliness, on-board entertainment, and food is amazing. This was our third time cruising with them and we had the best time ever! The weather was gorgeous. One evening as the sun set, a full moon rose at the same time while dolphins swam next to our ship, the "Serenade of the Seas". Guiltily I must admit, my favorite time was spent on the ship. This cruise was an incentive trip we earned earlier this year. Can't wait to see what the company has planned for our next incentive! Interested in coming on the next trip? It's always more fun going with friends (old and new). Here's a quick slideshow of a few of the pictures I snapped with my Treo phone... Enjoy (you can turn the sound off by clicking the speaker icon) Places we visited were Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallerta. The last two ports were wonderful and I'd be tempted to fly to PV again for a short vacation. The food and people were lovely there. The other two cruises we went on were to the Caribbean (The Bahamas and Jamaica) and Alaska (Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan). Hopefully the next cruise will be aboard the new ship "Freedom of the Seas". Our ship the Serenade was twice the size of the Titanic and Freedom is twice the size of the Serenade! They have an ice skating rink, boxing ring, shopping mall, rock climbing wall, wave pool to surf (yes, that's right surf!), and so much more. Oh yeah, one of the best acts on the ship was an excellent magic show by a magician named Chad Chesmark. He and his show was beyond amazing and I had a stomach ache for the rest of the night from laughing so much! Though this cruise was a gift from the company I work with and partly a vacation, there was an informative and interesting health and business workshop held every day on the ship. Of course it was optional and part of the luxury was being able to watch it in our room!

One of my dearest and oldest friends will soon be a mother. To celebrate her lucky golden piggie, we held a celebration with her closest friends and family at the beautiful Ritz Carlton in San Francisco. The food was pretty and delicious, but what really made it special was the impeccable and absolutely wonderful service the staff at the hotel provided. The baby shower was held on the second floor in the Promenade Room. I noticed each of the banquet rooms there had a peep hole in the door that let you see who was inside. One of the staff people noticed I was peering through the wrong side of our opened door and allowed me to take a peek in the other rooms. (None that were occupied...because that would be weird, right >_o )

Ever since returning from Japan a few weeks, I'd been craving the simmered pumpkin that Naoki's mother made many times while we were there. Luckily, I found that Nijiya, our local Japanese food market carries organic Kabocha! The first time I purchased one, I selected the smallest (in case I made any mistakes in cooking it).

> It was simple to cut, scoop out the seeds, and slice into 1 1/2 inch or so pieces.
> To finish, place pieces of the pumpkin into a large pot, fill one third of the way with filtered water, soy sauce, and mirin (Japanese cooking wine).
> Sugar is optional, but I usually leave it out, as this vegetable is sweet enough (to me).
> Heat on high until boiling, then reduce to a simmer until the pumpkin is easy to cut through.
> Add a small drizzle of olive oil towards the end (my mother-in-laws suggestion) and serve hot or cold.

* My dear friend, who has the most amazing cooking skills, recommends adding butter. I have to agree that I love that richness it adds, but can do with out the extra fat, salt and calories.

* This lovely little dish makes a welcome addition to a packed lunch. It is rich in beta carotene, with iron, vitamin C, potassium, and smaller traces of calcium, folic acid, and minute amounts of B vitamins. <= last part pinched from Wikipedia.com

We sat in the middle of two firework shows. One side rapidly shot off many smaller fireworks while the other side shot off larger ones. Half way through, we were hit with a thundershower that left everyone drenched and two inches of water collected on the pavement. It was definitely a memorable event!

I've never seen fireworks as breathtaking as the ones in Japan!! Please be amazed at my remarkable picture taken with my low-res camera phone...

Tuesday and Thursday evenings were spent watching the summer hanabi/fireworks show in two different locations by the river. We had the best seats that gave us an upclose view right near the launch pad. Fiery ash and debris rained downed upon us and those unfortunate enough not to wear glasses got an eye full of soot. Naoki's camera equipment has scorch marks and we both sustained a few burns. There were also a variety of flying/biting creature near the water. Luckily I had a paddle fan to swat and smash with.

The following information has been circulating for a few years. It's copied from an email I received awhile ago. If you have any interest in learning more about genetically-modified food, please watch the documentary "The Future of Food" and visit EWG.org.

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Unfortunately this is only for North America!
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VERY INTERESTING INFORMATION

I didn't know until I read it that the little stickers on loose fruits and vegetables have valuable information on them! According to a letter from 'a scientist knowledgeable in the field of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)' in the October 2003 issue of Gourmet magazine:

"A useful tip to the consumer [would be] a primer on how to read the little stickers on loose fruits and vegetables. Besides providing the store's cash registers and computers with product identification and price information, these stickers can tell you a lot about the food you are buying. A label with four digits indicates conventionally grown food. Labels with five digits starting with an 8 indicate that the food is genetically modified. Labels with 5 digits starting with a 9 indicate that the food is organically grown."

Well as soon as I read this I looked at all my little stickers and it's true! All my organic food had stickers with 5 digits beginning with 9 and all the conventional food had stickers with four digits. There were no five digits beginning with 8, nor do I plan for there to be, but what a great thing to know! Am I the last one to know this?

This is "omurice" (Japanese-style omelette rice topped with demiglace sauce) from Clover Bakery in San Jose.

Last night I found two teabags of my favorite organic mulberry tea and enjoyed it alongside my pastries filled with spicy fish roe (mentaiko) this afternoon. The flavors brought back memories of our travels to Taiwan and Japan two years ago. Taipei is where I purchased this wonderful tea. Naoki and I often ate Japanese style pastries/bread while we were running around Japan hosting presentations and promoting our business.

The movies and dramas I enjoy most involve food. I love stories that center around cooking and people coming together to eat. It's even better when they take time to admire the dishes or ingredients.

I'm so excited about the opening of Nijiya here in San Jose! It will be the closest market to us that sells locally grown, organic produce, Japanese/Asian food items, delicious cooked lunch box sets, and yummy desserts!! We've been traveling to the Mountain View location to purchase their special organic brown rice and to Mitsuwa off of Saratoga Avenue to find other ingredients. This is so much more convenient.

Hopefully there will be other wonderful retail stores and restaurants that come to San Jose's Japantown!