Hello blog friends!
I managed to make it home without gnawing a body limb off
I prepared a snack the minute I walked in the door!

Apple slices, TJ’s PB-filled pretzels with jam (!!) and an Adora calcium disk. The PB-pretzels + jam was amazing – if you have these pretzels you should try it!

So so good!
Lately I’ve been inclined to just throw together a smoothie or yogurt bowl and call it a night, but I decided I should start eating more “real” meals.

The last time I was in J-Town I picked up some Japanese brown rice. I’ve always been one to stand by the traditional white rice, but lately it seems like my tastebuds have changed and I’ve lost my taste for white rice. I thought this would be a great way to get the nice, sticky consistency of the rice I love with a little more oomph to it



This rice was much less starchy than the white kind – the water was already clear and it didn’t need any washing! It appears that brown rice also needs a slightly higher ratio of water:rice than white rice.

While the rice was cooking, I steamed some broccoli and kale (which then got massaged with some liquid from the minced garlic jar), and finally cooked up the package of Gardein beefless steak tips I’ve had in my freezer for months now. I also made some cheeze sauce with hummus, nutritional yeast, almond milk and lemon juice.

Since the meal was Japanese-inspired, I decided to break out the chopsticks and thought it might be fun to go over how to use them. A lot of people have trouble using chopsticks, and as someone who wasn’t raised eating with them, I know how difficult they can be to get used to
When I first went to Japan I dropped things all the time and my fingers would actually cramp up from motions I wasn’t used to, but by the time I left I could eat anything from miso soup to spaghetti without any trouble!

To start, take one chopstick and hold it between your first two fingers and your thumb like you would hold a pencil.

Then slide the other one into your grip below it, resting on the end of your ring finger and the crease between your thumb and index finger. When you’re picking something up with your chopsticks you will only be moving the top one – the bottom one should always stay stationary.

This is what your grip should look like. It’s important to hold the chopsticks close to the top – it gives you more control, and holding them close to the middle makes it very difficult.

Although the previous way seems to be considered the “correct” form, a lot of people also hold them like this (it was considered “cuter” when I was in Japan). I never managed to master this way, though, so if you want to be cute when you hold your chopsticks I’m afraid I can’t help you
Ready to eat?


Mmm… food

The veggies were nice and filling.

And I was pleasantly surprised by the beefless steak tips. When I took them out of the package they smelled a lot like cat food, but once they were seared up they smelled much better and looked a lot more like beef. The taste and texture were great – really smooth and buttery with a mild taste. I wasn’t planning on buying more after this first package, but I think I would definitely consider them again.

I also drank lots of milk oolong tea
I headed out for a sweaty hour of Zumba (which was awesome, no sick feelings this week!), and ended up walking away with a prize.

The instructor had a bunch of Zumba bracelets to hand out to people who were giving a little extra energy, and I Zumba-ed my heart out and ended up with one of the bracelets
Yay! I always feel like the biggest spaz case ever at Zumba because I have long limbs and no natural rhythm, but I figure the only person losing when I hold back out of self-consciesness is myself, so I always give it my all.
I spent the rest of the night tidying up around the apartment, and I’m about to crawl into bed with my dessert (peanut butter banana soft serve + Vitatop) for some much-needed rest and relaxation.

Only two days of work left! Have a good night
Do you like eating with chopsticks, or are you more of a “fork” person?


August 26, 2010 at 7:45 am
Ooh, I have not tried pb pretzels with jam, now I NEED to! Awesome, thanks for the tip.
And chopsticks tricks! Awesome! I’m going to tryit now
I actually really like those beefless tips as well, great in a stirfry!
I’m learning with the chopsticks! I have “cheater” chopsticks I use all the time, though. And I am verrry picky about my forks [Weird, I know].
xo
Kris
August 26, 2010 at 8:20 am
I have cheater chopsticks too but I’ll definitely try using real chopsticks using your method, thanks for that!
August 26, 2010 at 8:49 am
PB pretzels with jam?? Genius Callie! I will try that today.
I’m getting better at using chopsticks, but I’m still pretty hopeless at it. Your method looks pretty easy to remember, I’ll keep it in mind the next time!!
August 26, 2010 at 10:28 am
I would loove to eat with chopstick but it seems that no matter how hard I try I can’t master it! My mom has tried to teach me many times but I can never get it! That vitatop and banana soft serve looks so good! as does everything else
August 28, 2010 at 11:24 pm
I’m sure you can do it!
August 26, 2010 at 10:56 am
Okay, so I am totally sitting here with chopsticks practicing
That’s actually pretty close to how I usually hold them, but I find the food always rotates and falls out (if that makes sense). I will have to start practicing. When I went for dim sum I had to ask for a fork and was slightly embarrassed.
I can’t believe you still have PB pretzels left!!!! Those would have been GONE in my house
The jam is genius though.
August 28, 2010 at 11:25 pm
I was too busy eating dark chocolate edamame to remember the pretzels
August 26, 2010 at 1:34 pm
I love eating with chopsticks. Sometimes I feel like I’m part of a special little group that can use chopsticks, hehe. I love that they are great for not trying to eat too much food all at once, portion control almost. But sometimes esp with rice near the end of the bowl I just need a fork/spoon to scoop the last reminice up to be eaten.
August 26, 2010 at 2:50 pm
What a great post!! Glad that I found your blog through Kristin’s. I like brown rice more than I do white rice, but I’m never patient enough to cook it (which is very silly.) I should totally invest in a little rice cooker, myself. Your meal looks delish, and I like your garlic massage idea!
I hear you re: zumba. I totally give it my all when I go to my weekly class. It’s a lot of fun when there are a few of us crazies flailing around!
Cool chopstick demo, too – I totally hold mine wrong, but I don’t think it’d be an easy switch to make =\
August 28, 2010 at 11:25 pm
I love my rice cooker – it saves so much time and effort and always makes perfect rice! Glad to know I’m not the only zumba crazy