If you ask me what my favorite snack is, I would have to say my own home-made energy bar. The first time I ever ate an energy bar was when an American friend gave me one as a gift. Back then I wasn’t into fitness so I had zero knowledge about those things, and in China we simply don’t have such products. The one he gave me was a small 100g chunk, looking like a hard pressed mass of ingredients, and very dense. On the package there was a picture of a guy climbing rocks. So you know it’s not a common relaxation time snack, but something to eat when you need fuel but don’t have much time.

I definitely need these bars now as I exercise more so I decided to make my own as I can’t afford to buy imported ones. The only disadvantage is that you have to freeze them and eat them quickly, otherwise if you leave it on the counter for too long, it’s going to be mushy. :( I would have to experiment to find ways to make a drier version. But for now, I really enjoy my fresh energy bar.

 

The first time I read about edamame was in Nava Atlas’ cookbook. She introduced it as “fresh young soybeans”. In my experience soybeans were always yellow, dried, and often made into tofu. In Chinese cuisine soybeans are seldom cooked as a dish, except deep fried as a side decoration to noodle dishes or braised as an appetizer to accompany drinking. I was very curious so I Googled the picture and to my surprise these edemade look just like 毛豆(literally hairy beans) available in Chinese markets since I was young. It’s often cooked as peas with other vegetables, or boiled and braised in sauce and eaten as a snack. I have been eating them since I was young, I never connected these “hairy beans” with soybeans until now, hahaha!

Even though I eat a lot of raw food, I still haven’t gotten used to eating everything raw. For edamame I like to steam them slightly, and use them in soups or salads. Its fresh and tender green looks good alongside tomatoes, and it’s much easier to eat and digest than soybeans. If you have never eaten edamame before, try this salad as an introduction. ;-)

 

Earlier I mentioned that I joined the WHS Challenge. If you have been following my progress, you probably know that I didn’t reach my goal after three months. However, I have continued my exercises and tried to find out why I didn’t improve.

After a discussion with my friend Lukas, I realized it was probably because I didn’t do the right exercises. When I said I must train harder, he told me I should train smarter. That being said, I have to tell you that my goal is not to lose weight, but to gain weight by replacing my skinny fat with tight, lean toned muscles.

I changed my exercise routine and started to add body weight exercises, along with my street dance and Pilates. I also added two 1kg dumbbells in my dance routine, and a pair of heavy 10 lbs dumbbells in my weight lifting training. I am not trying to gain bulk; my goal is to achieve a lean body like dancer’s, so I followed the advice of taking lighter weights with more repetition. I have been doing this for over a week, alternating cardio with weight and strength training, and I have finally started to see a little improvement; I have some muscle on my arms and my belly-fat is decreasing. I really look forward to my transformation in a few months.

Besides protein shakes, I also made this delicious and fresh energy bar. As I exercise in the early morning, sometimes I felt a bit hungry but I have no time to make breakfast so this energy bar usually comes to my rescue. I also eat it as a snack between the meals. It doesn’t taste like commercial snack bars, but I know it’s good stuff I am puttimg inside. ;-) If you’re working on your fitness, it is definitely worth some time to make these and freeze them so you will have a convenient fuel for the week!

 

I highly recommend the book Willpower by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney. It contains many psychological experiments scientifically proving the existence of willpower and how it affects us. The good news is that willpower is like a muscle, it can be strengthened through training; the bad news is, perhaps, the training is not easy to maintain, and that’s why most people fail. But without doubt, if you train yourself for smaller things, your willpower is going to be stronger, and you will find it easier in other aspects. I think this is what is meant by discipline leading to great character; a concept that was mentioned in the Bible, but I never understood it fully until now.

I have definitely felt the benefits over the past two weeks. I resolved to get up at 6:00 am every day and do a work out, and I did. At the very beginning it was a struggle to get up as I felt so sleepy. But after a few days, I found myself getting tired earlier in the evening so I go to bed earlier, and in the morning, I wake up right before the alarm clock beeps. It is amazing!

One of the things mentioned in the book is dieting. Actually short-term dieting doesn’t really work, and people have to use a lot of willpower to resist temptations when they’re on diet, and once they break the rule, it is easy for them to go on a binge and destroy all the effort they’ve put in previously. The correct way, is to target your craving and feed your body nutritional foods instead of stimulating foods. Stimulants are short-lived; however nutrition will provide you with a steady and long-term power fuel. And nutrition comes from the right kind of food, be it fresh, whole, or plant-based food, as organic as possible. The best way would be to gradually change your eating habits, by adding more and more healthy food into your diet, until you don’t need to remind yourself what to eat and what not to eat. Just like when people ask me, how I resist the delicious fried chicken drumsticks? My answer is: “They’re not food to me, I won’t eat it as I won’t eat plastic.” So, why don’t you start with small things, like adding this simple salad to your diet, as small changes will become big changes later. ;)

 

The fall is finally here and pomegranates are freshly available in the fruit stores. In China, we’re taught to suck the juices out of the seeds then spit the stones out. The same with watermelon, and sunflower seeds with shells, the common Chinese snack, and grapes. I just think it’s so gross to spit all the time that is why I always hated eating fish when I was young, because you are supposed to figure out all the tiny little needle-like bones hidden in the fish with your tongue and spit them out. I often ended up swallowing the bones and they gave me an awful hard time by sticking to my throat. >.<

Nowadays we know that seeds contain valuable nutrition, and they’re antioxidants so we should actually eat them. The only thing is that you need to chew them more, and you might not be able to break them all down. This is where the blender comes to your rescue. When I blend the pomegranate, I find it less dreadful to eat, haha. By the way, I also found those fresh dates, they’re not as sweet as medjool, but they’re equally fresh and tasty. I either eat them raw or blend them into smoothies, both are palate pleasing to me. :D

Hummus is one food that I loved when I first tasted it. It’s a common dish in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine. Hummus is Arabic for chickpea which is the main ingredient along with lemon, garlic and tahini (sesame paste). It has a rich taste and is full of protein, iron and Vitamin C and it can be eaten with shredded raw vegetables as a dip and it also goes well with pita bread and tortilla.

I normally cook my own beans and peas but chickpeas are an exception; raw chickpeas are expensive here so I buy the cans to save time and energy. Hummus is one of the oldest foods and dates back to the 13th century when it first appeared in a cook book in Egypt. Isn’t it amazing to think that after all these years people are still eating it? ;-)

 

Last week I went to see the movie The Dark Knight Rises with my friend François. Since he had to work and I insisted on seeing it in IMAX, we had to book the tickets for Saturday morning 9:15am one for good seats, because the evening ones sell out quickly. The movie runs more than two hours, so for a person like me who gets up at 6:00 am, I was sure I would be very hungry during the movie. Unfortunately all they have at the cinema is popcorn and coke, which are pretty unhealthy, so I decided to bring some simple potato salad.

We really enjoyed the movie. Despite the fact that I liked the Dark Knight better, the whole movie echoes a very positive message about being optimistic in the face of darkness and evil. François was sad because Batman has to give up so much and makes so much personal sacrifice, but I think he chooses that way purposefully because he knows it is his mission. The satisfaction he receives from fulfilling his role outweighs the sacrifices he is forced to make. Perhaps heroes become heroes because they are strong enough to follow the inner voice that guides them. I admire people who have the courage to take the road less traveled because they believe it leads to goodness and justice, even though it’s paved with darkness. : )

And I am so glad that I brought my salad, because I doubt I would have enjoyed the movie as thoroughly on an empty stomach. ;-) By the way, I also made the vegan mayonnaise to go with it, and I will share the recipe with you too. In China you have to make everything from scratch, as vegan products aren’t widely available. It takes some work, but it’s fresher and ultimately better for you, as you don’t need to put in any preservatives to prolong its shelf life.

 

If you are a vegan baker, apple sauce is definitely not a strange ingredient. It is often used as a healthy alternative to both butter and sugar. People often ask me what’s the exact amount and I can’t really answer as there is no formula; you need to investigate how the ingredients function in the original recipes. Therefore, I think, the best way is to look for well designed and tested vegan baking recipes already incorporating apple sauce.

Veganism is a new concept in China so unless you have the budget to buy imported apple sauce, you have to sacrifice a little of your time to make your own, but it’s very very simple and requires very little cooking skill. You don’t have to buy the best apples. I sometimes buy apples that are being sold off cheap because I know they’re still good inside, and it can save me some money. ;-)

Freshly made apple sauce is amazing. I often eat a small bowl while it still warm right after it’s made. Its sweet, fruity taste and soft texture appeals to anyone from babies to seniors. Besides using it to bake, you can also use it as spread on toast, mix it with vegan yogurt or ice-cream, or a dip for fruit skewers.

 

Israeli salad is probably the easiest salad in the world. The two main ingredients, tomato and cucumber, are widely available in most parts of the world. Sometimes onion and parsley are also added. The salad dressing is made up of lemon juice and olive oil, making it a very fresh and light summer salad. I heard it used to be a dish on a traditional Israeli breakfast table, but now it has disappeared as Western cereals have invaded Israel. What a shame! This one is a much better choice for morning fuel!

The key to this dish is to chop the vegetables into finely diced pieces. I found using fresh and firm tomatoes and cucumbers helps a lot, also using a serrated knife works better too. But of course, if you can’t chop them nicely, dicing them into any kind of chunks is fine as well. The most important thing is to enjoy a fresh simple salad. ;)

 

If there is ever a super plant protein contest, hemp seeds would easily win. This simple, tiny seed is probably the most nutritionally complete food in the world. Just look at this perfect balanced nutritional profile: high quality, easily digestible, complete protein; high polyunsaturated essential fatty acid ratio; perfect 1:3 ratio of omega 3 to omega 6, (the closest to the optimum ratio of any other natural oil), both soluble and insoluble fibre and various other nutrients. It really is the super food.

I purchase whole hemp seeds in bulk, rinse them thoroughly and wind dry each batch on my window sill. They have an earthly, fresh, nutty flavor, and are super crunchy. Eating the seeds with the shell is best, plus they keep for longer in their shells; the only disadvantage might be that the shell fibres stick between your teeth. Hee hee.

When the weather is too hot and my appetite decreases I always like to make food that is lower in calories by portion but higher in nutrition. This tomato brown rice salad is one example. The ¼ cup hemp seeds gives the dish 15g of protein, and this alone accounts for nearly half of my daily protein intake. By the way, if you want to know how much protein you need per day, take your weight in kilograms and multiply it by 0.8 or by 1.1 if you are training or pregnant. For example my current weight is 42kg, so using the above calculation I would need about 33g protein. As you can see, with a vegan diet, it’s not hard to meet your needs at all!