It is SO good!

Yoplait now makes frozen yogurt! Hazzah!! I saw a commercial last week and I had to have it. So today I'm dedicating an entire post to this frozen yogurt. I'm no stranger to Yoplait yogurt. I love the stuff. Especially the original strawberry yogurt. I know there are better-for-me yogurts out there but I just prefer this one. There is just something nostalgic about the taste.

It is creamy, tangy and this one had little chunks of strawberries! Everything I hoped it would be and more.

Here are the numbers for those who might be interested. Yoplait also makes a Greek style frozen yogurt as well as frozen yogurt bars in many different flavors. The supermarket that I purchased this from had a very limited selection but I'm looking forward to trying the other flavors. Also, please note that this is not a sponsored post. I'm just a happy yogurt fiend.

So Much Eating

And of course I have to talk about the food as it relates to the Ragnar SoCal race because all good races are fueled by good food as I always say. Ok no I don't always say that but I should.

The Wednesday before the Ragnar SoCal relay, I was sitting at Cucina Enoteca lamenting to M about how I had not started packing yet. I soothe my worried non-packed soul with some tasty Fruitti Di Mare Squid Ink Linguine and the Farmer's Chopped Salad (aka the world's best salad). M had the Roasted "Jidore" Chicken served with roasted asparagus and Swiss chard over fontina polenta. Everything is just so good here.

Thursday night after Ragnar van decorating party, the team went to Veggie Grill for dinner where I tried their new Buffalo Chicken Sandwich with a side of chili. It was good but I actually like their regular Chickin' Sandwich better. The sandwich was large. I ate half but that's only because I was saving room for their amazing vegan carrot cake. It was worth it!

Our first food stop during the Ragnar was at In-N-Out Burger. I had a hamburger. It was 11am in the morning and I had ran all of 2.7 miles so I wasn't all that hunger but this is always good.

At our second break during Ragnar we made a stop at a Subway Sandwiches and I ordered a 12 inch meatball sub on wheat with tomatoes and peppercini. I eat half and M ate the other half the next day. I forgot to take a photo because I was out of it by that point.

After we finished our last van leg, we all headed to the Original Pancake House for a late breakfast. I order the Blueberry Waffles. I ate the whole thing. I guess the hunger finally caught up to me.

Instead of driving back up to Irvine immediately following the Ragnar, M drove down to San Diego and we stayed at the Glorietta Bay Inn. It was about half a mile from the Ragnar finish line. That's the very bed where I passed out for 13 hours. It was comfortable. Cute little hotel that I loved.

They even brought milk and cookies during turn down service. The continental breakfast was pretty good as well. I liked this place a lot.

After crossing the Ragnar finish line with my #SMCOL teammates and checking into the hotel. M and I decided to take a stroll to find some dinner. I wanted some pasta. Ristorante La Terrazza was the first Italian place we came upon. The restaurant was upstairs but the hostess sat outside at the bottom of a flight of stairs and then would escort customers up into the restaurant. I don't know why this seemed weird to me but it did. Maybe it was due to the fact that I had not slept for 36 hours. At that point I was more tired than hungry but I wanted to eat something before I passed out.

I have to say that this place was not very good. The calamari was decent but my spaghetti and meatballs was just terrible. I haven't had spaghetti and meatballs in a really long time because I was trying to limit my carbs and this place was not a good way to waste my carb allotment if you know what I mean. Wish I would have just gone to sleep instead. What a terrible thing to say, right? The pasta was overcooked and the sauce was runny. I give it two thumbs down and I could have been easily won over in my tired state.

The next day, M and I went to pick up Sister K and D and we all went to the Blue Water Seafood Market and Grill near Seaworld. This restaurant appeared on an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and it was actually M's idea to come here. His taste-buds have grown so much since I've met him. I might do a proper write up on this place if I go back another time but here is a short one for now.

Sister K and I shared half a dozen raw oysters. They were great! We also shared a small Cioppino Soup. I didn't like it as much as I thought I would because the only seafood in there was fish. It would have been better with some shrimp or scallops or something. The fish that was in there was very good. It was not overcooked and dried like it can be. Sister K and I both ordered the Red Crab Sandwich. The sandwich was very big. We were so full. I thought I was going to burst. M ordered the beer battered cod tacos and they were amazing. Get that if you go. It was amazing!

On Sunday afternoon, I drove Sister K back home and we managed to align a visit to see my niece, Sister S and the B-I-L. We went to dinner at Sam Woo. Sister K and I were not that hungry because of the large sandwiches we had for lunch but somehow when we showed at this place the delicious aroma of the food was all it took to get our stomachs going. We followed dinner with a visit to Half and Half tea house.

So much eating went on that I am just getting over it. I probably should go for a run later.

Cultured

This Yoplait yogurt in strawberry is one of my earliest childhood memory. It was the early 80s, I was probably 6 or 7 and my family was living in Boston at the time. We had only been in the US for a couple of weeks. One Saturday morning, my family and I went on a walk near a wharf. I remember it was near a wharf because there a guy there shucking and selling oysters and I remember having one. It was fresh! I was an adventurous eater even at that young young I guess. Anyhow, I also remembered that there was a Yoplait vendor there that day handing out free yogurt. Not just a sample but the whole container. We were very poor at the time so getting a container of yogurt all to myself was a real treat. My mom didn't like it. She said it was sour tasting. She still doesn't really like yogurt to this day. She always says it tastes like old spoiled milk. Yogurt was not eaten very often in Vietnam I guess. From that very first taste, I was in love with this creamy treat. I ate it often, even after I discovered that I was lactose intolerant. I know some people are able to tolerant yogurt but I am not one of them. A couple of years ago, I stopped eating yogurt all together. It was a sad time in my eating life. I felt like I had lost a taste sensation from my childhood. But I practiced discipline and have not had one in a very long time.

Then recently I had that old strawberry yogurt craving. And for a second, I thought about just having one and dealing with the stomach cramps but I think that I've been suffering enough lately so I went to my local health food store and raided the alternative dairy case. There are A LOT of substitutions these days. I think soy may have been an early contender but now there is also coconut, almond and even rice milk yogurt. So that's the good news. The bad news is that they are far from tasting like yogurt. Here let me explain...

Amande Cultured Almond Milk (Strawberry) - had a weird almond taste. I guess I am just not a big almond milk fan. I've had almond milk before so I like almond milk enough but I didn't like this. Weird after taste so I didn't finish this one.

WholeSoy & Co. (Raspberry) - this is the first time I tried a soy yogurt. I am not a fan. I would rather not eat yogurt again than to have to eat this. Thumbs down.

So Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk (Strawberry) - this was the best tasting of the bunch but it was not creamy. It was runny and smoothie like but it tasted the closest to the Yoplait strawberry yogurt if you can overlook the runny texture. This was the only one I actually finished.

Almond Dream (Strawberry) - this one had a really strong almond taste that I could not get over. It was thick in texture but it was not creamy and that heavy almond taste caused to me toss this out after one taste.

Ricera Brown Rice Milk (Strawberry) - I would rate this one better than the Almond Dream one but not by much. It didn't taste like yogurt. I toss this one out as well.

SO DELICIOUS Coconut Milk yogurt was the winner of this bunch. I wish that it was a little bit thicker in texture. I had a feeling that I would like this one best because I feel that coconut milk is the best substitution (taste-wise) in place of milk. I mean So Delicious was the first company that made it possible for me to experience the sensation of eating ice cream again after 10 years. That stands out big in my mind! ;) So that's my little yogurt experiment.

10 Delicious Things I Ate in 2011

Last year I put together my first list of "10 Delicious Things I Ate in 2010" and now I present to you my 2011 list. Again in no particular order, just pure deliciousness all around! It was really hard to narrow down my list to just 10 items this year but after staring at it for a while, the choices were clear.

1) Macarons from Pacific Bakery

2) Poached Eggs and Cauliflower in Brown Butter at Boulettes Larder.

3) Crab Cakes Benedict at Mon Ami Gabi

4) Fish Trio Sampler at Suzanne's Cuisine

5) Zhong made by my mom! :d

6) Self-Served Goi Cuon lunch at my parents'. <3

7) Cupcakes from Susie Cakes in Newport Beach.

8) Jamon Iberico de bellota (hand-cut) from Barbacco in SF.

9) Almond Croissant from Layer Cake Bakery

10) Crab sandwich and Manhattan Style Clam Chowder from Ferry Plaza Seafood.

Slightly Less Bad Is Still Not Good

I try hard not to eat packaged food too often. For me, packaged food often means overly processed. I don't have a problem with processed food, I just try not consume too much of it. It's a personal preference as I know lots of people including friends and family that love it. I love it too unfortunately sometimes.

One of my worst food weaknesses is ramen. Yes, ramen! My love for ramen stems from fond childhood memories. Doesn't many of our food obsession start that way? Anyhow, I try really hard not to eat it too often because it is not that good for you. The noodles are deep fried before packaging and the powdered soup base is loaded with sodium. Loaded! There is honestly nothing healthy about ramen. I eat it in the closet! Okay, not really but I do feel bad when I eat it because I feel like I am doing my body a disservice. When I can get my hands on it, I try to find fresh ramen, as in from a restaurant where the noodles are fresh and the soup is not from powder. That in itself isn't a health food either but a little better than the packaged kind.

Recently, while I was shopping at H-mart (a local Korean supermarket) I found packaged fresh ramen made by Pulmuone. I *love* Korean ramen (yes there are different kinds) so I threw one in my basket to try.

The sodium content is still off the charts but the rest looks much better than your average packaged dry ramen. 

Inside the bag was a package of noodles, dried seaweed flakes and a powdered soup base. 

The noodles were soft since they were fresh. 

I boiled some water to make the soup, then I added some water spinach and cracked an egg right into the broth, followed a couple minutes later with the noodles. They don't need to be cooked too long since it is fresh. I have to say that I really liked the final product! The noodles had a nice chewy texture and the soup wasn't half bad. I didn't think I would like this much because I've tried other fresh packaged ramen before but I never repurchased so I'm guessing I didn't like them. I would definitely buy this again.  

Another not-as-bad for you packaged find was this box of WhoNu? That's the name of these nutrient rich cookies that resembles Oreos. I was picking up a couple of things from Albertson's the other day when a lady at a sample table beckoned me over to try one of these cookies. Don't have to ask me twice to sample a cookie. I have to preface my next sentence with this little fact, I am not an avid Oreo cookie eater. Something about crunchy cookies that turns me off. I actually cannot remember the last time I had one. So I tried one of these and it tasted good to me, just like an Oreo. So I purchased a box since she gave me a couple for $1 off. I take the box to share with my loved ones and they tell me that it tastes nothing like Oreos! They said something like, "yes...these do taste like Oreos, if Oreos were healthy." Hmm. I don't know, I think they taste just like Oreos. More for me I guess.

This is impressive for a cookie! It's like the little cookie that could. 

So I started eating bagels again recently since I've been doing so much cardio. I find that I have more energy to work in the early morning hours if I eat a little something. That something has been half an Orowheat cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter. I was at Trader Joe's the other day and realized that I was about to run out of bagels so I picked up a bag of Whole Wheat Raisin Cinnamon Rolls. Okay, so these are not technically bagels but the bagel selection at Trader Joe's is slim pickin'. Seriously, they only carry healthy bagels with terms like sprouted and flax seed this and whole grain that. Man, sometimes I don't want all that fiber before I go on a run. These are okay. Obviously not chewy like a bagel because they are not bagels but it was the only cinnamon raisin anything in that section. It tastes good when you toast it up though.

I guess not all packaged food is bad. Yesterday, I forgot to pack lunch and it was already too late in the day to go and eat lunch at my work cafe so I picked up a single serve container of Sabra hummus with pretzels and ate it with 2 hard boiled egg whites. It wasn't much but it was lunch and it was good!

Roquefort Cheese is Where It's At

Remember the lovely produce I purchased at the farmers market this past weekend?

With a little help from this...

...Roquefort cheese! I love me some stinky moldy cheese. This cheese has to be one of my all time favorites. If you like strong cheese, this one is for you. I picked up this particular block from the Cowgirl Creamery and it is simply amazing. You can also get this at Wholefoods and just about any fromagerie. This one was very smooth tasting. I say this because I've gotten some before that had a shape taste. 

Here is the "epic" salad I made with all the ingredients. I normally make a green dressing for this salad but last night I was tired after a long day at work so I just used some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sometimes simple is the way to go. As simple as this salad is, it is the salad of my dreams!

This morning's exercise was another 9 miles. It is my final run before America's Finest Half. I will be spinning and doing some HIIT for the remainder of the week. My legs felt a little tired this morning from spin yesterday but I did complete my run so I'm happy with that.

Spicy Sausages

More busy-ness at work which means not a whole lot of time to do anything else or anything exciting. The other day when we went grocery shopping at Costco, M picked up these spicy Italian sausages. We cooked them up last night and this was the first time I've ever cooked up something like this and was shocked that you start with first adding 1/4 to 1/2 inch of water to the pan and then cooking all the water away. I would have just added some olive oil to the pan and cooked away.

Golden brown! These came 12 to a pack and they are huge. Not sure buying sausages at Costco is the best way to go but I didn't put these in the shopping cart so what do I know.

I made this...roasted broccoli florets with salt, pepper, olive oil and some nutritional yeast flakes. I think I need to add more NYF next time, I could hardly taste it.

I had a couple bites of sausage but this was my dinner. I know, it looks like what I usually eat.

I also picked up this Popcornopolis pack at Costco. I am not sure why because 3 of the 4 packs are made with real cheese and the one sweet flavor (Zebra - caramel with milk and white chocolate drizzle) was over the top sweet. I only ate a small piece before it started to hurt my teeth.

In running related news, I am going to go for an 8-10 mile run tomorrow and then a 15 miler on Saturday. It will be my first long run in prep for the Long Beach Marathon. It sounds weird for me to say that because I am running races year round, I feel like I am in constant training mode. I have a couple of races between now and then but I will actually be "racing" at Long Beach to try to best my PR. Hopefully, my health will allow me to get through this training period because I really want to do my best. Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday. I cannot wait for the weekend. I've been doing some knitting lately so I will have something to show soon. Plus I will be working with some fondant this weekend so I will be posting about that when the time comes.

Daylight Savings

Why do they still implement Daylight Savings? It always messes up my internal clock. I know it is just an hour but it always takes me an entire week to readjust. I should consider moving to Arizona.

If you missed my weekend post, I went to visit Sister K at her school on Saturday and we had lunch at Urth Caffe and then dessert at Famous Cupcake.

Then on Sunday, I hung out with Sister S. I woke up terribly late in the day because of Daylight Savings. I told you it messes with me big time. So we spent a relaxing day doing some baking and spending some time in her garden.

We made Irish Soda Bread. I have a post coming up in the next couple of days with more baking details. 

Spring is upon us for sure. Look at this healthy parsley. I need to make some Italian food very soon.

Lemonade, anyone?

Flowers

More flowers...

Oranges

I thought this lemon was perfect!

My brother-in-law made scallops sauteed in butter...

...with some sauteed veggies.

This was very good. Good job B-I-L!

I went to the grocery store and noticed that all the Easter candy was out on display. Yum!

I also spotted this bag of Mexican candy and had to try it. It is a mango flavored hard candy with a salty and sour chili center. I ate a lot of this type of candy growing up as I lived in a largely Hispanic populated area in Los Angeles. I apologize if I am improperly classifying these types of candies but I do think that they are indeed made in Mexico, thereby making them Mexican candies. All I know is that I love the combination of sweet, salty, sour and spicy all in one candy.

LA Marathon in 5 days!!!