This week's food diary features a fab cooking experience with Miele, an epic desert adventure with Vogue and Simon Outlets, and star sightings in Beverly Hills!
I'm taking full advantage of the small window of opportunity to be as active as I can before the last stretch of pregnancy shuts me down completely! Everyday the baby kicks are getting stronger and sometimes quite painful as they reach as high as my ribs and as long as my bladder as he's constantly reminding me of his eminent arrival. With my fridge stocked with pressed juices and kombucha, this week, I'm focusing on balancing healthy eats with the usual blend of indulgences.
{Monday}
11am: Half of a Whole Foods bran muffin and Juice Served Here Jinja Greens. The juice is choked full of greens like spinach, romaine, and kale while the lemon and ginger gives it a tangy and spicy kick. It's one of my favorite green juices!
4pm: Apple and a few pieces of Manchego cheese
5pm: Health-Ade Kombucha in my favorite flavor, The Original. I've read reports speculating on the health risks of drinking kombucha during pregnancy due to its trace alcohol content and fermentation process. Since there's really no definitive reports from medical authorities saying no to the drink, I've decided to drink it in moderation. I mean, the French drink a glass of wine a night while pregnant so I think I'm okay.
7pm: Dinner at Gyu-Kaku where Monday is all day Happy Hour! I love their beef sukiyaki bibimbap, roasted yam, and grilled mushrooms. As for meat, M likes his lean while I like it fatty so I eat my beef toro while he eats his NY strip and shabu beef.
9pm: For dessert, I eat a Sprinkles coconut cupcake left over from the baby shower.
{Tuesday}
12pm: Yogurt parfait with a side of Suja Green juice. It's pretty sweet and tastes more like a berry smoothie than a traditional green juice.
6pm: After a busy day of work and taking photos, I arrive at the Miele showroom in Beverly Hills starved and ready to eat as I'm hosting an intimate cooking and dining night for some of my blogger friends. We start with some cheese, fruit, crackers and nuts and move on to our cooking stations where I make a steam oven baked salmon with a delicious sour cream dill dressing and griddle grilled asparagus. We also feast on pork tenderloin and an addicting farro with mushroom dish. For dessert, I have two servings of the chocolate pot de creme. They're served in tiny cups so two is really just half of a regular dessert. Or least that's how I'm justifying it.
{Wednesday}
12pm: A East meets West lunch of porridge, pickled vegetables, and Juice Served Here in Jinja Greens.
3pm: Health-Ade Kombucha in Berry.
7pm: I make pasta for M while I eat leftover rice and bbq pork along with sautéed cabbage and a eggs and tomato dish passed down from Mom.
{Thursday}
12pm: Juiced Served Here Jinja Greens and a yogurt parfait.
3pm: Juiced Served Here Strawberry Lemonade. It's very sweet so I water it down with plenty of ice cubes.
7pm: Dinner at Awash where we get our usual Ethiopian favs-the vegetarian platter and the beef tibbs. I always feel super full after eating here but the bloat is worth it. Seriously, if you've never tried Ethiopian before, please do! The flavors and the spices are so addicting!
9pm: I somehow manage to stuff down a cup of pistachio and vanilla Froyolife.
{Friday}
1pm: Lunch at lemonade where I get the chicken and green bean salad, the watermelon salad, and a side of arugula.
4pm: A small "super bowl" of chia seed pudding, granola, berries, and sliced banana.
7pm: At the Four Kings And An Ace charity poker tournament at Citizen in Beverly Hills, I dine on a plate of cauliflower, romanesco, and baby carrots, cheese bread, chicken, salmon, and mashed potato while watching Vince Vaughn, Andrew Garfield, and Mel Gibson play poker for Mending Kids, a charity that provides much needed medical treatments and surgery to impoverished kids around the world. For dessert, I have a small pumpkin bar.
{Saturday}
9:30am: I arrive at The Line Hotel for an epic shopping adventure with Vogue and Simon Outlets! I fuel up on a can of cold brew to wake me up.
3pm: After a marathon shopping session at the Simon Desert Hills Premium Outlets, I wolf down my Blaze Pizza and vegetable salad before getting back on the bus to check in at The Saguaro.
8pm: At an al fresco dinner underneath the stars, I have a caesar salad, grilled chicken with veggies and mashed potatoes, and two petite pieces of churro for dessert.
{Sunday}
9am: I have an early shoot time and rush over to the hotel breakfast spread and wolf down some eggs, bacon, and coffee at breakfast before rushing over to the beglammed lounge to get my hair curled.
1pm: For lunch, I have two small tofu veggie wraps and some veggies as we wait to get back on the bus to go home. What a fabulous trip!
8pm: After meeting up M for a museum date at LACMA where we finally check out the Rain Room, we head over to Shabuya in Koreatown for AYCE shabu shabu, fitting for the first rainy night of the season. They have a salad and noodle station where we plate up on veggies and tofu. Their selection of meat is great and my instant favorite is the Prime Chuck Eye. It's marbleized, tender, and I just can't get enough!
9pm: For dessert, I eat a Sprinkles coconut cupcake left over from the baby shower.
{Tuesday}
12pm: Yogurt parfait with a side of Suja Green juice. It's pretty sweet and tastes more like a berry smoothie than a traditional green juice.
6pm: After a busy day of work and taking photos, I arrive at the Miele showroom in Beverly Hills starved and ready to eat as I'm hosting an intimate cooking and dining night for some of my blogger friends. We start with some cheese, fruit, crackers and nuts and move on to our cooking stations where I make a steam oven baked salmon with a delicious sour cream dill dressing and griddle grilled asparagus. We also feast on pork tenderloin and an addicting farro with mushroom dish. For dessert, I have two servings of the chocolate pot de creme. They're served in tiny cups so two is really just half of a regular dessert. Or least that's how I'm justifying it.
{Wednesday}
12pm: A East meets West lunch of porridge, pickled vegetables, and Juice Served Here in Jinja Greens.
3pm: Health-Ade Kombucha in Berry.
7pm: I make pasta for M while I eat leftover rice and bbq pork along with sautéed cabbage and a eggs and tomato dish passed down from Mom.
{Thursday}
12pm: Juiced Served Here Jinja Greens and a yogurt parfait.
3pm: Juiced Served Here Strawberry Lemonade. It's very sweet so I water it down with plenty of ice cubes.
7pm: Dinner at Awash where we get our usual Ethiopian favs-the vegetarian platter and the beef tibbs. I always feel super full after eating here but the bloat is worth it. Seriously, if you've never tried Ethiopian before, please do! The flavors and the spices are so addicting!
9pm: I somehow manage to stuff down a cup of pistachio and vanilla Froyolife.
{Friday}
1pm: Lunch at lemonade where I get the chicken and green bean salad, the watermelon salad, and a side of arugula.
4pm: A small "super bowl" of chia seed pudding, granola, berries, and sliced banana.
7pm: At the Four Kings And An Ace charity poker tournament at Citizen in Beverly Hills, I dine on a plate of cauliflower, romanesco, and baby carrots, cheese bread, chicken, salmon, and mashed potato while watching Vince Vaughn, Andrew Garfield, and Mel Gibson play poker for Mending Kids, a charity that provides much needed medical treatments and surgery to impoverished kids around the world. For dessert, I have a small pumpkin bar.
{Saturday}
9:30am: I arrive at The Line Hotel for an epic shopping adventure with Vogue and Simon Outlets! I fuel up on a can of cold brew to wake me up.
3pm: After a marathon shopping session at the Simon Desert Hills Premium Outlets, I wolf down my Blaze Pizza and vegetable salad before getting back on the bus to check in at The Saguaro.
8pm: At an al fresco dinner underneath the stars, I have a caesar salad, grilled chicken with veggies and mashed potatoes, and two petite pieces of churro for dessert.
{Sunday}
9am: I have an early shoot time and rush over to the hotel breakfast spread and wolf down some eggs, bacon, and coffee at breakfast before rushing over to the beglammed lounge to get my hair curled.
1pm: For lunch, I have two small tofu veggie wraps and some veggies as we wait to get back on the bus to go home. What a fabulous trip!
8pm: After meeting up M for a museum date at LACMA where we finally check out the Rain Room, we head over to Shabuya in Koreatown for AYCE shabu shabu, fitting for the first rainy night of the season. They have a salad and noodle station where we plate up on veggies and tofu. Their selection of meat is great and my instant favorite is the Prime Chuck Eye. It's marbleized, tender, and I just can't get enough!
