Breakfast Inspiration

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. You can mask a delicious dessert and call it 'breakfast'. With my sweet tooth, I most definitely need to find a way to make something that feeds my sweet tooth but is healthy at the same time. On my plate every morning you will most likely see waffles, french toast, pancakes, cereal, or yogurt. These are a few of my favorite breakfast combinations. 

{Typical yet yummy breakfast: Special K cereal, Almond Breeze unsweetened almond milk, banana, whole wheat toast with Smucker's Sugar Free Apricot Jelly}

{Yoplait Light Strawberry Yogurt topped with kiwi, strawberries, and coffee with whole wheat cookies on the side}

{Homemade Whole Wheat Almond Milk French Toast topped with banana, strawberries, and honey}

{Yoplait Light Strawberry Yogurt topped with banana and slivered almonds, coffee with oatmeal cookies on the side}

{Yoplait Light Strawberry Yogurt topped with Komplete cereal and peaches. Scrambled egg whites with spinach, tomato, and bell pepper on the side}

{Homemade Belgian waffles topped with banana and strawberries with chamomille tea on the side}

{Attempt to homemade Egg Mcmuffins with a healthy twist. Whole-wheat bun with a mini egg omelet with spinach, tomato, and bell pepper; Kraft yellow American cheese, and ketchup. Mango and watermelon on the side.}

{Yoplait Vanilla Greek Yogurt topped with kiwi and whole-wheat toast with peanut butter and jelly on the side}

{Pancakes topped with strawberries and banana with almond milk capuccino on the side}

{Macheteadas topped with strawberries and powdered sugar}

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

My last attempt at making a Quinoa Salad turned out fantastic. The salad was so rich in flavor, and every bite left me wanting more and more. Apart from being so amazingly delicious, it turns out that Quinoa is a very, very nutritious grain. An article in Forbes magazine calls it the "Supergrain of the Future" and says it contains protein, iron, lysine, magnesium, Riboflavin, manganese, and even twice as much fiber as any other grain! (I just looked it up to look smarter). Anyway, my Cross Fit obsessed brother is trying to make smarter choices in his diet and asked me to make him Quinoa. He said he loved the last recipe, but wanted something different this time. As always, I did my research on Pinterest and voila! We have a delicious, healthy, super food.

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Quinoa (I used roasted garlic flavored Quinoa, but any kind is fine)

• 2 cups water

• 1 diced tomato

• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced

• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced 

• 3/4 cup diced cucumber with peel

• 1/3 cup chopped olives (You can add more if you love olives. They're personally not my favorite thing in the world.)

For the dressing:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 2 tbsp agave nectar

• juice and finely minced zest of one lemon

• 2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 1 tbsp dried oregano (I just used Italian seasoning)

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

• Boil Quinoa in two cups of water for approximately 15 minutes. Let cool completely and place it in the refrigerator.

• In a bowl, mix together the lemon juice, olive oil, agave nectar, salt, pepper, and oregano to create the dressing. Whisk well. 

• Mix in the Quinoa with the dressing. 

• Add the tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber, and olives and mix well.

• Serve cold and enjoy! 

Recipe adapted from here.

Little Things

The past few weeks have had their ups and downs. But while all good things come to an end, they always open up new doors and new possibilities. Nevertheless, I have a little desire in my heart to explore what the world has to offer. In the meantime, I am planning to take things step by step and work my way to the top. But, first, I must catch up on my beloved blog. These are a few of my currently favorite things...

{Awestruck with the beauty of a cold yet sunny day}

{Spencer Hastings (from Pretty Little Liars) inspired outfit of the day. Nine West ankle boots, A'GACI jeggings, GAP knit sweater, Forever21 white button-down, Louis Vuitton handbag}

{New discovery: a delicious Italian restaurant called Pazi Pizza in the city. It truly is a hidden gem}

Chocolate Chip Butter Cookies

You can never, I repeat, NEVER, go wrong with a classic chocolate chip cookie. Chips Ahoy, Famous Amos, Mrs. Fields, Pillsbury...you name it, everyone loves it! Chocolate chip cookies are definitely a comfort food. They bring a sense of nostalgia and take me back to when my brother and I used to sneak in the kitchen at midnight to dunk Chips Ahoy in a big glass of milk. Today, after a long, long week of exams, I decided to liberate my stress by baking a batch of these delightful cookies. I kind of made up this recipe simply by adding chocolate chips to my favorite classic butter cookies, previewed HERE. They were so easy and quick to make and turned out to be pretty damn deliciously comforting.

Chocolate Chip Butter Cookies
Makes about 26 tablespoon sized cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 stick of butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/3 tbsp baking powder
• 1/3 tbsp salt
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• Chopped pecans (optional and highly recommended)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix the butter and the sugar in an electric mixer. Then add the egg and mix well until it gets fluffy. 
3. Separately, mix all of the dry ingredients together.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the butter, sugar, and egg mixture. 
5. Lastly, add the chocolate chips. 
6. With a tablespoon, make dough circles and place them on a cookie sheet.
7. Bake for approximately 10 minutes. Do not let them brown too much if you don't want them crunchy.
8. Enjoy with a big glass of milk or coffee! 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Little Things: New Year's Resolution Edition

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. – Mark Twain

"New year, new me," people say. How many of those people actually fulfill this idea? Not me, at least. I usually have the same goals every year, but growing up has introduced me to new doors I want to explore. In a way, the future frightens me terribly, but it also makes me so eagerly excited. For example, learning a new language, learning to drive, going to a college summer program, deciding what career I want to pursue, etc. In addition, this year, some of my goals include the following: 

Exploring and improving new tastes and recipes.
My love for baking has now expanded into a love for cooking. Salty or sweet, if it is created in the kitchen, count me in. This year I plan to improve and explore new tastes and recipes. I plan to continue "wow"-ing my loved ones with tastiness. Someday, I hope to become the best mom in the world who spoils her husband and children with her exquisite skills in the kitchen.

{Follow me on Pinterest and see all of the amazing recipes I've pinned. I hope to someday try them all out, which is realistically impossible}

Be healthy and fit. Eat healthy, exercise frequently, get the sleep I need, and stress less.
How many of us have said "I'll start on Monday"? Honestly, we all know we are only lying to ourselves. Being healthy, I've learned, is a lifestyle. Generally, I try to make the best choices I can to take care of myself.  I actually enjoy eating fruits and vegetables, and avoid deep fried foods as much as possible. I honestly can't resist staying up later than 10 PM on school nights and wake up bright and early every morning (9 AM is sleeping in for me). I've never touched a cigar or had a whole drink. This year, I hope to exercise more in addition to making good choices in life.

{I absolutely love Zumba, Pilates, and Aerobics in addition to my ballet experience. My mom just bought me a whole mini weights kit and fitness clothing.}

These are a few things that have made me smile this week...

 {I have spent eleven years of my life pursuing ballet. Hard work, dedication, and passion have guide me side by side through all this time, as is what my old pair of pointe shoes have written all over them (right). There is a large portion of my heart that holds on to this love for ballet. I can't wait to break in my brand new pair of pointe shoes when we get back from vacation.}

{The newest addition to the family...a beautiful minion. I'm thinking about naming him Phil Dunphy, due to my current obsession with Modern Family} 

{Obsessed with yogurt-covered pretzels. They are the perfect combination between sweet and salty savoriness} 

New Year's Eve

I am grateful to God for granting me another year of life. Although 2013 had its ups and downs, I will certainly keep my head up high and anxiously wait for what this new year has to offer. 

New Year's Eve in my family is usually very tranquil (ok, maybe a little boring). This year, my mom and I began the cooking at 8 AM sharp. We made pork leg (not my favorite, but it turned out pretty tasty), turkey medallions (stuffed with tomatos, spinach, parmesan, and olives), corn souffle, sweet potato casserole, and salad. For dessert, my aunt brought a delightful pecan pie. The "ooh's" and "aah's" and "yum's" coming from my family on the dinner table made the whole work day worth it. That is the true pleasure of cooking: seeing others enjoy what you have prepared. The rest of the evening, we sipped on wine until the clock struck 12 and the new year received us with its arms wide open. My outfit for the night consisted of a beautiful coral peplum dress with nude heels and gold accessories. They say the way you end a year will dictate how the new year will go. If this is true, then the laugh attack I had around my family at 11:59 PM on December 31, 2013, is a good sign (my dogs crashed our party and thinking the Christmas tree was an actual tree, ALMOST urinated all over it..It was priceless). 

Happy New Year, everyone! May this new year be full of blessings, laughter, love, happiness, and hope! 

{Forever21 chain bracelet, LOFT earrings, jewelry store cross bracelet} 

{The Collection peplum dress, Forever21 heels, Francesca's necklace}

Auntie Lili's Quinoa Salad

Last weekend, at my cousin's baby's baptism, my aunt did a spectacular job with the buffet at the celebration. She had so many different flavors that blended in together perfectly. I loved every bite I took, but one thing that stood out to me the most was this Quinoa Salad. Recently, I had heard that "Quinoa is the grain of the future" or "Quinoa is the healthiest grain on earth". I had never tried it, though, and always had the curiosity to do so. This is the recipe to my aunt's salad that introduced me to this adorable "grain of the future". I succeeded to obtain the same flavor as the first time I tried it (humbly, I think mine was even better). Once I was done, thousands of ideas popped into my mind to make a variation of this salad. I could add mandarin oranges, green apples, or pears instead of grapes. I would also change the pumpkin seeds for sliced almonds. Diced cucumber and even garbanzo beans would go perfectly with this salad. 

Auntie Lili's Quinoa Salad
Ingredients:

• 1 cup white Quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons Agave nectar
• salt
• pepper
• cumin
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 3/4 cup grated carrots
• 3/4 cup peeled edamame beans 
• 3/4 cup grapes cut in half
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

Directions: 

• Boil Quinoa in two cups of water for approximately 15 minutes. Let cool completely and place it in the refrigerator.
• In a bowl, mix together the lemon juice, olive oil, dijon mustard, agave nectar, salt, pepper, cumin, and cilantro to create the dressing. 
• Mix in the Quinoa with the dressing. 
• Add the carrots, edamame, grapes, onion, and pumpkin seeds. 
• Serve cold and enjoy!