Different Combinations

The great thing about well, any recipe, is that you can combine them and make different meals, maybe even incorporating different spices or a new veggie here or there. It's like a whole new adventure for your taste buds. So familiar! YET NEW. All you need is something borrowed and something blue.

Asparagus will have to do. Roasted Asparagus is like taking a walk outside on the first day of warm weather after a chilly winter. Delicious. Wait, what?
I mean amazing. Wahaha.

Asparagus, Cauliflower Rice, and Veggie Stir Fry with Ants on a Log:

You'll notice that I don't post some of the amounts for some of the ingredients, because it's really up to your liking. Veggie the heck out of your meal! Just make sure to measure out your nut butter because it's easy to indulge in this high-protein, healthy, yet high-caloric food.

Ingredients:
-Broccoli
-Tomatoes
-1 cup Spinach
-2 Mushrooms
-2 slices Onion
-Cauliflower Rice and Ants on a Log (recipe here)
-Asparagus Stalks
-Extra Virgin Olive Oil
-Black Pepper
-Salt

You will also need:
-Blender
-Toaster Oven
-Microwave
-Stove Top

Directions:
1) Cut the veggies and mushrooms up.
2) Make the Cauliflower Rice and Ants on a Log
3) Cook the sliced onion for a few minutes on high. Reduce the heat to medium and add the sliced mushrooms and cook until browned. Turn off the burner and add the spinach and cook until wilted.
4) Heat the broccoli in the microwave until steamed.
5) Prepare your asparagus by washing them and cut about ½ inch off the ends. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Rub each stalk so it's thoroughly covered. Roast your asparagus in the toaster oven at 425°F (220°C) for 12-18 minutes.
6) Arrange is all pretty and eat!

Fun Fer-eeking Fact: Your body gets a better nutritional package from cooked spinach vs. raw. You nom on more calcium, magnesium, iron, and antioxidants. Make sure not to overcook though!

So mix up some of the recipes that I've posted and combine them to make new dishes. Stay green, Soldier Bunny. ()(^.^)()

When In Doubt, Punch it Out

If you didn't know, I recently joined a new kickboxing gym. =^.^=

You can find me at 2:08!

Good thing they posted this on Facebook and I'm posting it here...

Favorite Question: "Do you work here?"

Luckily, for those of you in Japan, you can try out the kickboxing gym, Silver Wolf,  in Shimokitazawa that I went to for a few months for free. It's only about a 15 minute walk from the station. Let me know if any of you want to try it out! I can ask my friend, Kazuya, who works there and goes to Seijo, to take you there ^___^.

But anyhoo! Exercise may not seem like it's much fun, but maybe it's just that you haven't found the type of exercise that you would enjoy doing. For me, it's kickboxing. When I'm punching and kicking that heavy bag, I feel like the most B.A. fighter alive. I'm BabyDoll from Sucker Punch, Trinity from The Matrix, Katniss Everdeen from District 12 trying to survive in The Hunger Games.

There are so many gyms out there that let you try out their classes for free.
If not a gym, Seijo offers a ton of sports classes and clubs that you can take up. Sign up for a ton, sample them, and say sayonara to the ones that just aren't your thing. And the great part about those classes is that you don't have to sign any contract and there isn't an extra charge for tuition. Hot dang, what have you got to lose? Well, besides stress, sweat, and fat.

Find your exercise! Maybe you'll take a liking to swimming and pretend you're Nemo. Even with a little fin that guy could travel across the Atlantic. Maybe it's regatta and you're Tom Hanks trying to retrieve Wilson back. Or maybe your need to g-g-get your head in the game in a basketball class like Zac Efron in The High school Musical. I swear, I've never actually seen that movie, but just the music video for that song...

Even better, signing up for classes together is a great idea. When you have someone else there to motivate you and maybe even mentally and (secretly) compete with, you'll put a lot more effort into your workout for sure. I know this firsthand from the kickboxing classes at Title. We cheer each other on and I make it a job to try my hardest and push myself to influence others to do the same.

So try a sport out! There is a sport for everyone. One or maybe even a few are just waiting for you to try them out. And try bringing friends to help each other on the road to living healthier. I mean, the worst that could happen is that you find out the class isn't for you, but now you at least have a story to tell at dinner. =]

Frozen Fruit-yo Dessert

Oh hai! Calling all you blender wielders- here's a frozen, healthy dessert for you. And if you happen to have a blender (I'm calling you out, TOM), then please invite some peeps over to take a break from watching Psych and make this together ^____^.
The admission fee should be to each bring one or two ingredients to add to the customization of:

Frozen Fruit-yo.

I'm sure most of you have heard me rave about the frozen yogurt place in Shibuya, Partyland, on several occasions. However, with this recipe - there is no yogurt or added sugars, flavorings, etc. It's just fruit.

YEAH, YOU HEARD ME. All you have to do is cut up and freeze some fruit, put it in a blender, and you have some healthy, naturally sweet frozen dessert. I used a few different fruits, but the most common recipe that is very popular right now, is banana ice cream, using only frozen bananas as the base to your ice cream.

And blend it up until it reaches this consistency:

You can use whatever fruits you want, blend them up separately or together - it's up to you ^___^.

But for this one...

Ingredients:
- Handful of frozen blueberries
- Handful of frozen strawberries
- 1 frozen mango
-1 not frozen banana

Possible Toppings:
- More fruit like kiwis or peaches
- Dried Fruit
- Nuts
- Sunflower seeds
- Shredded Coconut
- Dark Chocolate Pieces
- Drizzle of Honey
- Cinnamon

Directions:
1) Freeze the fruit of your choosing.
2) Take the fruit out and let the the fruit thaw out for a few minutes.
3) Put the banana with the frozen fruit in the blender and blend until you reach a smooth consistency.
4) TOPPINGS!

Possible Variations:
- Add a tablespoon of cocoa powder to the blender to make a chocolately dessert.
- Add peanut/any nut butter to the blender.

Grant's was prettier with the jimmies on it XD.

Remember- fruit has a lot of sugar in it, too, so try to top this dessert with things like nuts to get a more nutritious and satisfying dessert ^___^!

Postworkout Salad with Garlic...and Blueberries?

Guys. Guys, a new kickboxing gym opened up right by my house and they have a freebee session for your first go. =^.^=
Oh gosh. It was amazing. So, I made a postworkout salad to match and made sure I gave my body the nutrients it needed after an awesome butt-kicking session.
Also, at the end, I'll show you a nutritional comparison between this salad and a salad that my mom bought at Panera, a local cafe chain.

It's su-pah easy to make and even easier to gobble up like a turkey, without turkey.

Now, I know the mixture of garlic powder and blueberries is a little strange, but bear with me. All I can say is, it's really delicious and please give it a go! ^____^

Ingredients:
-1 cup Spinach
-⅓ medium Sweet Potato
-2 Broccoli Trees
- ¼ medium Tomato
-½ Avocado
- Small handful of blueberries
-Garlic Powder
- Black Pepper

Directions:
1) Wash and tear the Spinach into smaller pieces. Place in the bowl.
2) Microwave the Sweet Potato (about 2 minutes, flip, then 2 more minutes) and slice.
3) Slice the Avocado.
4) Slice the Tomato.
5) Microwave the Broccoli for about 25 seconds (you may need more- just microwave until it's a pretty vibrate steamed green).
6) Put all of the prepared ingredients in a bowl.
7) Garnish with the washed Blueberries.
8) Sprinkle with Black Pepper and Garlic powder.

Kat's

It's a great post-workout salad due to the protein from the spinach and broccoli, the healthy fats from the avocado, the carbs from the sweet potato, and the blueberries that help to metabolize the carbs, protein, and fats that you're eating. Not to mention all of these have anti-inflammatory properties, which to put it simply, help your body to recover faster after a workout.
Now, that was just a simplified version of all the amazing attributes these foods have for your body (nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, dietary fiber, etc. not mentioned).

As a bonus, I wanted to show you a comparison of a salad that my mom bought from the local cafe chain, Panera:

Panera's

(This is half of the salad - she splits it into 2 portions).
Here is the ingredient list, found from their site here. I'm also going to highlight a few things to take note of that make me go "wtf, why is this here".

Ingredient List

Caesar Chicken

Romaine lettuce, citrus & pepper chicken (antibiotic free all natural boneless skinless chicken breast fillets with rib meat, water, seasoning [lemon, mangosteen, natural smoke flavor], sea salt, dehydrated garlic, dehydrated onion, sugar, dry lemon peel, spices, dehydrated rosemary, dehydrated basil, citric acid, malic acid and paprika for flavor, vinegar, rice starch), Caesar Dressing (soybean oil, water, egg yolk, onion, celery, dehydrated garlic, red wine and distilled vinegar, contains less than 2% of: anchovy powder [dextrin, anchovy extract {fish}, salt], sugar, Worcestershire sauce [distilled vinegar, molasses, corn syrup, water, salt, caramel color, garlic powder, sugar, spices, tamarind, natural flavor], mustard [distilled vinegar, water, mustard seed, salt, turmeric, paprika, spice, garlic powder], salt, spice, citric acid, lemon juice solids, corn syrup solids, natural flavor, ascorbic acid, xanthan gum, polysorbate 60, propylene glycol alginate [for thickness], potassium sorbate and calcium disodium EDTA added to protect flavor), Asiago Croutons (unbleached enriched wheat flour [flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], water, asiago crouton mix [margarine {soybean oil, water, mono- and diglycerides, salt, whey, soy lecithin, sodium benzoate, natural and artificial flavor, vitamin A palmitate, beta carotene (color)}, asiago cheese {pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes}, dehydrated garlic and onion, spices and salt], enriched durum wheat flour [durum flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], Asiago cheese [pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, microbial & animal enzymes], enriched semolina wheat flour [semolina, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], Parmesan cheese [pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, microbial enzymes], salt, Romano cheese [pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes], yeast, dough conditioners [ascorbic acid, microcrystalline cellulose, corn starch]), fetina cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, microbial & animal enzymes).

 

- - - - - - - -  o(____,()(O.O)()

That made a surprised bunny. 

 

I didn't know what "polysorbate 60" was, but it sounded strange, so I looked it up and found from this site that "polysorbate 60 can cause detrimental reproductive effects, organ toxicity and cancer in high doses." 

Also, the FDA's specifics say,
"According to the FDA, polysorbate 60 may not exceed 0.61 percent of cake mix when used alone or with polysorbate 65, and the total percent of all polysorbates may not exceed 0.66 percent. When used for confectionery coating or cacao products, it may not exceed 1 percent of the total product weight."

Oh good.

So wait, all of these ingredients are in that one salad? I'm not going to even bother counting how many ingredients are listed, but let's compare that to the salad I made:

 

Panera's - over 50

Mine - 8

 

That's one thing that's so great about making your own meals - you know exactly what's going in it which means you know exactly what you're putting into your body. Even if something at a restaurant looks healthy, doesn't mean it's made from healthy ingredients. It's so much healthier to make your own food! And cheaper!

 

So make yourself something good today, bunnies in training ()(^.^)()!

Taco Bowl Friday

Last night, Grant and I decided to make some good 'ol Taco Bowls. I didn't plan to make a recipe post out of this, but our bowls looks so pretty, that I had to take a snapshot of our final products and share the recipe with you guys. On a bonus-ness, you already know how to make cauliflower rice ^___^.

Looks kind of Japanese:

Ser Grant's

Lady Kat's

As always, these are totally customizable. I'll give you a list of the ingredients we used though.

Ingredients per bowl:
-3 big leaves Red Leaf Lettuce
-1½ Cauliflower trees
-½ Green Pepper
-⅛ Sweet Potato (the ones here are orange inside instead of yellow)
-½ slice of Eggplant (The eggplants here have slices that are about the size of a cereal bowl.)
-¼ Avocado
-1 Hard Boiled Egg
-Black Pepper
-Tumeric
-Onion Powder

Additional:
-Salsa
-Hot Sauce

Directions:
1) Start making the hard-boiled egg.
2) Lay a bed of Red Leaf Lettuce on the bottom of your bowls.
3) Slice the eggplant and green pepper in chunks and put them in a pan, adding Black Pepper, Tumeric (I just wrote "Tumerica" at first...'MERICA), and Onion Powder. Cook until your desired cook-ness of these veggies.
4) Microwave the sweet potato and cut into chunks.
5) Make the Cauliflower Rice (Here is how to make it).
6) Cut the avocado.
7) Put all the ingredients in the bowl. O__O

Again, totally customizable. Add more of one item, less of another, omit some totally, whatevs you want.

Recommended Additions/ Substitutions:
-Black Beans instead of Eggs
-Tomato instead of Salsa
-Mushrooms
-Onions
-Bean Sprouts (Remember to wash these thoroughly.)
-For extra protein, Spinach instead of Lettuce
-Broccoli

Oh, and build a Snow Robot after:

That's mandatory.

That's Just Not Rice...

Wait a minute, is that white rice in your meal, Kat?

NO. NO IT'S NOT, READER, which you probably figured out from the title.

Anyways, what could this substance be? Couscous? Quinoa? NO, YOU BOOF.

It's actually some beautifully blended cauliflower. ikr, what the duck? Well, I found out at least one of you have a blender available and that was extremely exciting to hear. So if you don't have a blender available, some serious mashing with maybe a potato masher or just a plain fork will do just fine. You may not get as fine of chunks, but the flavor and nutrition will remain =]. (A.K.A. This is me saying you have no excuses not to try to make this recipe.)

Okay, let's make some cauliflower "fried" rice with some Ants On a Log and carrots on the side. Please tell me you've heard of Ants On a Log before...
If not, you're in luck, you darn foreigner!

Here are the ingredients that I used for the cauliflower rice, but it's completely customizable. Just as long as you have the cauliflower, you're good to go. Sometimes, I like to blend some zucchini, carrots, or other veggies with the cauliflower to make a more colorful and diverse meal.

Cauliflower Rice Ingredients:
-2 Cauliflower Trees
- Top "Fork parts" of 2 Celery Stalks
-¼ cup Spinach
-1 Broccoli Tree
-Black Pepper
-Garlic Powder
-Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Note: You may also need to add some olive oil/non stick substance when cooking your rice in the pan. I have a non-stick pan here, so I didn't need to use any. Oh hey, investing in a non-stick pan is a great idea =]] You can find some at the Seijo Corty supermarket or Tokyo Hands or wherever the heck else sells some cooking supplies.

Ants On a Log Ingredients:
-2 celery stalks
-Almond or Peanut Butter (Any nut butter, really)
-Raisins

        ~ Carrots on the Side! ()(^.^)() ~

You will also need:
- Blender, potato masher, or fork
- Microwave
- Stove Top

Okay, here we go!

Okay, but seriously...

Cut and wash yo produce.

 And set aside two cauliflower trees.

 Put the rest in a bag for easy access later for a snack or for your next meal ^___^.

Microwave them for about 35 seconds and put them in your blender.

 Blend

until you reach this kind of consistency:

Put it in the pan:

Looks pretty ricey, doesn't it? ^___^

Take the 2 celery sticks for your Ants On a Log recipe and cut off the tops (the stalks of the celery that branch off and looks like a fork). These can be used, don't discard them! Throw them in the pan with the Cauliflower rice.

Add some black pepper and garlic powder to the pan, too ^___^.

I also had some stem of a broccoli leftover, so I used that too. That's another part of a veggie you can save and use for later recipes - broccoli stem.
I reduced the heat and put the broccoli and spinach in a bowl to throw in after my cauliflower rice cooked it all in the pan for a bit.

Then put it on your plate:

Ants On a Log time!

I cut the rest of the celery stalks into smaller "logs".

And spread about 1½ TBSP almond butter on the logs.

 

Then, I put the "ants" (raisins) on the logs and added some carrots to the plate to make the meal even more colorful.

I also sprinkled some crushed red pepper flakes on the cauliflower rice to spice things up a little.

Cauliflower Rice Directions:
1) Cut off 2 Cauliflower trees.
2) Microwave for about 35 seconds.
3) Blend until you reach rice size pieces.
4) Prepare the broccoli and spinach.
5) Put in the pan (with or without olive oil) with the tops of the celery and sprinkle with black pepper and garlic powder.
6) Cook on medium for a minute or so.
7) Add the broccoli and spinach.
8) Cook for about a minute and then put on your plate.
9) Sprinkle the crushed red pepper flakes on the rice.

Ants On a Log Directions
1) Cut the 2 celery stalks into logs.
2) Spread about 1½ TBSP almond/nut butter on the stalks.
3) Place a few raisins on each log.

And that's it!

I hope you guys give this one a go ^___^. Maybe you could make some meals together. SOCIALIZATION- Do it. With good food.

1-Minute Microwave Oatmeal Muffin

Oh hai! It's been so long and I apologize for the absence of Genki Bunny posts ()(>.<)(). This bunny has hopped home to the US and hasn't had time to post some healthy recipes. Also, I've been experimenting with other recipes that require ingredients and kitchen equipment that may not be available to you guys. ごめん！

So here is finally a simple recipe for you to try. ^___^ I originally found this recipe here and of course, modified it a bit.

That is the result cut in half with some homemade almond butter. It may look a bit wimpy, but the taste makes up for that. ^____^

Ingredients:
- ¼ cup Instant Oatmeal
- 1 egg
- Strawberries (any fruit of your choice)
- Ground Cinnamon
- Honey (optional)
- Walnuts (optional)

You will also need:
-Microwavable Cup
-Microwave
- ¼ cup measure (or estimate)

As you can see, just like regular oatmeal, there is an endless amount of ways to customize this meal. Use any fruit, nuts, spices that you want. As long as you have the oatmeal, an egg, and a microwavable cup, you're good to go.

First, put the oatmeal and egg in the cup.

Then, add the cinnamon or whatever spices you want.

Next, wash and cut up any fruit of your choice

 and add them to the cup

Stir the ingredients:

The microwave here is a bit stronger, so I only microwaved it for 45 seconds, but with the microwaves there, you'll probably have to go for about 1 minute.

After it's done microwaving take the cup and flip it over on a plate:

Aw, little lopsided guy. Then, I cut it open, added some walnuts, a drizzle of honey, and tablespoon of almond butter on the side.

AwWwWw yEaAaHhHh! This is a great recipe to experiment with.

A few ways you could customize it:
-Add peanut butter before microwaving.
-Use pumpkin spice instead of cinnamon and/or add pumpkin puree (you can probably find these at Kaldi and Seiji Ishi. The pumpkin puree can be saved for many meals, so it's worth buying to add a little zing to your meals).
-Experiment with different fruits.
- Make it into a dessert and add some dark chocolate chunks in before microwaving.

Directions:
1) Put the oatmeal and egg in the microwavable cup.
2) Add the cinnamon.
3) Wash and cut the strawberries and add them to the cup.
4) Stir the ingredients.
5) Microwave for 45 seconds - 1 minute (Add more time if necessary).
6) Flip the cup upside down on a plate to release the muffin.
7) Add walnuts and drizzle honey.
8) Eat dat.

Though this looks like a breakfast meal, it's great for any time of the day. Depending on how much you customize it, you may still be a bit hungry for something on the side, like a banana or a small salad. However, if you're adding 2 tbsp. of nut butter in it or on the side, it will be very filling.

Anyways, I'm hoping to post more soon ^___^! I hope you guys get to try this delicious dude.