St. Louis Top Restaurants of the Summer

A trip is not complete without a visit to all of my favorite restaurants, in my opinion. I usually ask for Taco Bell as the first stop from the airport after a long plane ride. This time around, I spent a whole month away in St. Louis, Missouri, so I had plenty of time to visit all of the best restaurants in town. My brother took me to places I've never been before and I experienced things I hadn't tried (one little Korean Mexican place, but I didn't take a picture of my tacos). I hope you don't torture yourself with the images of these mouth-watering delicacies, but here is a sneak peek at the best meals I had during my summer in St. Louis. 

{The Cheesecake Factory: Skinnylicious Pear and Endive Salad. This was mouth-watering and simply amazing. It had a combination of all kinds of flavors, sweet pears, crunchy pecans, and savory blue cheese.} 

{Quintessential: Portobello Mushroom Burger and Sweet Potato Fries. The fries were the best part of this vegetarian meal. They were absolutely delicious. I ended up eating every single thing on my plate.}

{St. Louis Bread Co.: half a Poppyseed Salad and Mediterranean Flat Sandwich.}

{Mcallister's Deli: Pecanberry Salad.}

{Dewey's Pizza: half Killer Veggie with extra mushrooms and no olives, and half Margharita with Prosciutto}

{Olive Garden: Lasagna Primavera}

Healthy Dancer Life

Being a dancer requires commitment. It is very easy to fall into extremes when you have so much pressure on your shoulders. You have to be skinny, yet strong. If you get too skinny, then you're all wrong. If you gain a few pounds, then you're all wrong. A dancer will never please others. A dancer must only please herself. 

I had to learn this the hard way, sadly. When I was in eighth grade, I felt totally insecure about myself. I had acne all over my face, I was a few pounds over weight, and I had people always telling me "no, no, no", which only worsened the situation by adding to the stress on me. I broke down one day and felt like running away. My mom, my hero, intervened and took care of it. She gave me the love I needed right at that moment, and she taught me that I was stronger than what I gave myself credits for. I visited a nutritionist and a dermatologist and with effort and commitment, I reached a healthy point. I lost about 25 pounds, and all of my acne faded away. People noticed that I looked so differently, both inside and out. I started feeling more confident, liking people complimenting my body and feeling my hip bones stick out. 

Slowly, slowly, that became my obsession. I was obsessed with everything that I put in my body, and continued to lose weight. There was a point during this period in which I felt like I could not eat a slice of pizza without feeling bad about myself. And then I would eat about five slices of pizza and not eating for a long time and I would go to sleep to not feel hungry. I lost my menstruation, and it took my mom saying the words "you might not be able to have kids" with yet another doctor across from us to wake me up from my state. Once again, with the help of my mother and professionals, I learned to love myself regardless of what people say or think about me. I have gained weight in a healthy fashion and my confidence has risen from the ashes. I've learned to love what I eat and find a balance between treating myself and taking care of myself. Even my general health has improved; my hair, my skin, and my immune system has strengthened. 

This summer, with the month of intense ballet training I decided to take, giving my body the energy that it needs has become very very essential as well. I want to share with you a day's worth of a close enough healthy ballerina lifestyle. 

1. Start by making a grocery list. I like to plan out a list and separate things according to categories. This is what I often look for.    

Fruits/Veggies: lettuce, baby spinach, carrots, celery, cucumber, tomatoes, onions, brocoli, cauliflower, pears, peaches, blueberries, bananas, strawberries, grapes, cherries

Protein: chicken, shrimp, turkey ham, hummus

Dairy: eggs, lactose free milk, almond milk, greek yogurt

Fats: peanut butter, avocado, olive oil, white chocolate covered pretzels, granola bars, pastry crisp bars

Carbs: cereal, whole wheat bread, pita bread or pita chips, rice, tortillas, potatoes, pasta (If you watch your servings, these don't have to be whole wheat, but it's always a better option.) 

Other: instant coffee, splenda, chamomille tea, condiments, salt, spices, Preggo pasta sauce, etc. 

2. Plan ahead and vary your food! 

A day of a full 6 small meals a day during a day of summer intensive for me looks like this: 

Breakfast: a cup of milk, a cup of cereal, and fruit

Snack: a granola bar or pastry crisp bar, coffee

Lunch: a whole wheat turkey ham and cheese sandwich with mustard, lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, carrots or celery, any fruit (vary your fruits and veggies) 

Snack: any fruit or veggies with hummus

Dinner: any protein (shrimp or chicken) with a side of any carb (mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta), and boiled veggies

3. Go all out. 

My teachers at the intensive keep reminding us to dance like we are on stage always. I always try to give my all into my dancing. A dancer leaves her heart and soul out on the floor. A dancer experiences an inexplicable passion with her dancing. Don't be afraid to go all out and shine. Push yourself to your limit and pay close attention to details. 

4. Be cautious and take care of yourself.
I have been experiencing a sharp pain in my hip flexer for a while now. I know it is because I am not used to such heavy excercise on a daily basis. Each morning before dance I rest with this heat on the part of my body that is in pain. Every night I repeat the same routine. I also take Ibuprofen if the pain is too much for me. Don't neglect your injuries, no matter how little they are. A blister can be deadly, I know that from experience. Also, don't forget to rest. Your body needs to charge batteries at least with 8 hours of sleep a night.

5. Treat yourself! "Is it Friday, Saturday, or Sunday yet?" I ask myself. 

Feel free to treat yourself with the things you like. You deserve it. You worked for it. Now, do the things that make you happy. Everything in an excess is bad, so be wise and enjoy the little things in life! 

To St Louis and Back

Three days are never enough for a weekend, let alone a trip to another country. Last week my family and I packed our bags and hopped on a flight to the beautiful city of St. Louis, Missouri. The reason? My genius brother's graduation from college. The trip was full of delicious indulgences, lots and lots of shopping, and family quality time. Seeing my brother (and my uncle who lives in D.C. popped in the picture too) for three days was not enough. Living thousands of kilometers away is definitely hard. You miss so much of each other's lives, moments like an honors reception at school or a ballet recital where you're the lead role...*sigh*. So when we are finally together, we make the most out of our time. 

{Possibly one of the best restaurants in St. Louis. Mcallister's Sandwiches, Soups, and Salads. I ordered half a berry pecan salad and half a "The Veggie" sandwich and the most amazing strawberry lemonade.}

{Almond milk cappuccino at Picasso's} 

{The most beautiful vintage coffee shop in Main Street. Picasso's (if you've watched The Voice, you'll know that Caroline Glaser began to sing in this place} 

{Walgreen's finds: Yogurt covered pretzels, Yogurt covered raisins, and possibly the best white chocolate ever--Lindt's white chocolate truffles}

{The St. Louis Ballet} 

{Shopping for all of the pretty equipment a ballerina needs}

One Day Road Trip

Some of the perks of living in a third world country are the tiny things that contribute to its masked beauty. A typical Sunday day, a group of friends and I headed to the southern outskirts of town just for the sake of hanging out and have a good time. We arrived at my friend's house in Sabana Grande, which may I say, is like flashbacking to colonial American times before all of the historical crap that led to its independence and thus industrialization. It was nice to forget about all of the highly contemporary distractions that make up the bubble that we live in and get a taste of what my country is like.

{Transportation here is basically this. Moto taxis also known as "tuk-tuk" because of the sound they make}

{The entrance to the park: "Never say no to Sabana Grande}

{Heliopower mills in the south}

{We ha a delicious meal of steak, grilled chicken, pico de gallo, fried plantain, refried beans, and grilled veggies} 

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.

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! 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

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! 

Arab Weekend

WARNING: IF YOU'RE HUNGRY PLEASE DON'T LOOK AT THESE PICTURES. 

The pleasures of Christmas: eating, eating, and eating! Whenever we travel to San Pedro Sula to visit my other half of the family, they greet us with banquets of exquisite Arab food. This time was not an exception. The motive for our trip was my cousin's new born baby's beautiful baptism. My godmother or "madrina" organized the whole event for her grandson and whenever you put my madrina's name with "celebration" in the same sentence, you can bet it's gonna be priceless. The moment I saw this baby I fell inlove with him. He was so serene and peaceful. He did not moan about everyone trying to hold him. Instead, he seemed to enjoy all of the attention. His older brother, who is turning three in January, is impossibly adorable too. Sometimes I wish I had a little brother...or maybe even better-a sister. 

Day 1 

 {Hotel Breakfast: Whole-wheat toast with fresh strawberry jam, mini cinnamon-raisin roll, a banana, watermelon, pineapple, cantaloupe, and a cup of coffee}

 {Lunch at the baptism: Jumbo shrimp, Fettuccine Alfredo with salmon, salad with mixed greens, green apple, cucumber, and pomegranate seeds...May I add, my godmother made ALL OF IT}

 {I could not stay away from the dessert table. Why choose one when I can have ALL OF THEM? (muahaha). I had a brownie, a lemon bar, a mini red velvet cupcake (not in the picture), and about a hundred yogurt covered raisins and pretzels (I could not stop. They were amazing)}

{For Dinner at my aunt's house that night we had "marmahon" also known as "couscous" with chicken, "hojas de uva" also known as "dolma", and salad}

Day 2

 {Hotel Breakfast round 2: Whole-wheat toast with fresh strawberry jam, fresh pineapple jam on the side, two cranberry-orange biscuits (one I ate afterwards so it's not in the picture), a small alfajor de dulce de leche, watermelon, pineapple, cantaloupe, and a cup of coffee}

 {Lunch at the "Club Arabe"'s all-you-can-eat Arab buffet: "Marmahon" or "couscous", chicken, "hojas de uva" or "dolmas", hummus with pita bread, and salad}

{Dessert table at the "Club Arabe"'s all-you-can-eat buffet: Pecan bar (I had two), banana bread, and strawberries with whipped cream (not in the picture)}

I'm not even sure my clothes fits anymore. And I know this doesn't end here. Christmas is coming! 

Childhood Reminiscences

As a child, waking up to the smell of "Macheteadas" or "Fritas" on a Sunday morning was the best feeling in the world. Whenever my friends slept over, we were absolutely having Macheteadas for breakfast the next day. My grandma passed on this typical honduran recipe to my mother and I recently attempted to learn how to make them. Making them is a step by step process, but  I can assure you it's not hard. When we were younger, my brothers and I used to make all sorts of deliciously, unhealthy, sugary inventions to top our Macheteadas. Some of these inventions were the following:

• sweetened condensed milk
• sweetened condensed milk and chocolate syrup
• whipped cream
• honey or maple syrup
• dulce de leche or caramel (not as easy to find back then as it is now)
• powdered sugar and strawberries (my personal favorite)**

Macheteadas

Makes approximately: 12 macheteadas

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp oil
• approximately 1/4 cup milk

Directions:

1. Mix all of the dry ingredients together. 
2. Add the egg and oil to the dry ingredients. Mix them well. 
3. Slowly add in the milk until a firm dough is formed. 
4. Let the dough rest for about 10 minutes. Then divide the dough and make 12 even balls. 
5. Use a roller to stretch out the balls one at a time, adding flour regularly so that the dough does not stick. 
6. Cut 3 lines on the flattened dough. Then add to a heated skillet with oil
7. Let the dough fry until golden. After they are well cooked, remove them from the skillet and let them rest on paper towels to reduce the excess of oil on them. 
8. Serve and enjoy! 

Flourless Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Crunchy, chewy, and delicious. An all-time granny classic and one of my favorite comfort foods in the world-Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Flipping through recipe books and scrolling down through my Pinterest page, I made up my mind and decided to bake a batch of homemade oatmeal raisin cookies. To my surprise, these cookies were extremely easy to make. Even better, according to Chocolate Covered Katie, each cookie has only about 50 calories (guilt-free, gluten-free). These are perfect for anytime you're craving something sweet and you want it fast, yet you don't want to feel the thousand-calorie guilt afterwards. They are also perfect for improvised desserts, midnight snacking, or simply as a side to a warm, soothing cup of coffee.

Flourless Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Baking Time: Approximately 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees
This recipe makes about 10-12 tablespoon sized cookies.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp and 2 tsp white granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 1 tbsp oil or melted butter
• 1-2 tbsp milk of choice (start with 1. I used almond milk)

Directions:

In an electric mixer, blend together the dry ingredients. Then, add in the butter and milk. Form into tablespoon-sized cookies and place them on a greased cooking sheet. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes at 350 degrees F. 

 

Little Things

This week I came to the conclusion that I am deeply and truly blessed. I realized that sometimes our worries are really insignificant and yet we feel like the world is crashing down on us while in reality we have a million reasons to be thankful. Having a family that loves and cares for me, a bed to sleep in, clothes to wear, food to eat, and even waking up every single morning with a brand new opportunity are some of the many things I am thankful for. Despite everything, I am so thankful that I have a family that sticks together through thick and thin, in sickness and in health, and so on. Having only two weeks left of summer vacation, I am so excited for this weekend. This weekend I will be having a little getaway road trip with my father to surprise my cousin (who lives miles and miles away and I hardly see her) on her birthday. I can't wait for my aunt's homemade exquisite Arab food, babysitting my angel-like yet mischievously adorable cousins, and spending one-on-one time with my daddy.

{Target $1 reminder notes}

{Essie Bahama Mama nail polish}

{Homemade Chicken and Spinach Lasagna}

{Forever21 LOVE ring}