A week of Detoxing

My boyfriend and I have just recently celebrated our 3 month. When we had first started seeing each other we were convinced we wouldn't be like other couples and GET FAT. However, it's a difficult feat, and like all good couples before us, we slowly stopped working out, spent most of our time lounging around, gaining weight/losing muscle, and eating unhealthy.

He used to work out everyday, and I at least 1-3 times a week. Now we are pretty much stagnant. 

This past Sunday, we decided to make an active change. We would take this week to detox and cleanse our bodies from all to crap, we've been putting into our bodies. However, we wanted to be realistic and not just drink smoothies for the whole day but would allow ourselves one meal of solid food: LUNCH.

Below are some of the detox smoothies we've tried so far. These smoothies are taking from or inspired by detoxpage via Instagram.

Monday:
Detox Breakfast Smoothie
Blood Orange-Raspberry
Blend 1 cup of raspberries
1/2 cup of beet juice (I just used one beet)
1 large banana
2 medium blood oranges (I used 3 regular oranges)
1/2 cup of coconut water
(For two people)

This actually tasted a lot better than I expected with the beet juice. I was also worried that it would be too dense. I'd definitely try this one again. Unlike the BF, I didn't make this day without cheating. I snacked on a chocolate chip cookie for my brunch snack. Then I had some cashew nuts for my linner snack. I think if you are going to snack make sure it's healthy snack unlike my chocolate chip cookie.

Detox Dinner Smoothie
His & Her Berry Smoothies
1 cup of almond milk
1 tbsp raw almond butter (I didn't add this)
1/2 banana (I added a full one)
1/2 cup of frozen blueberries
1/4 cup of blackberries
I also added a spoonful of peanut butter and a spoonful of spirulina which isn't in the original recipe. It was a bad move. The smoothie tasted horrible. I wasn't able to finish mine. Also the above version is technically for "Him".

Wish us luck on our journey! Finishing up on Day 2 and eager for tomorrow's solid food lunch.

Dickie's BBQ Pit Review

Drove all the way to Dickie's BBQ Pit, because I  had a gift card to waste to find out their card machine wasn't working.

I was a bit worried that the $25 gift card wouldn't fill us up, but turns out it would have. We ordered the Picnic Pack.

Picnic Pack feeds 2-4 – choice of 1 meat (1 lb.), 2 medium sides, 4 rolls & barbecue sauce.

We decided to go with a pound of Spicy Cheddar Sausage bursting with jalapeño, waffle fries, and a side of potato casserole. It definitely filled us up, and I had leftovers for lunch today. We should have probably had less carbs though. The sausage was spicy as advertise, but they didn't warm up the meat enough. The fries were bland, but I liked the potato casserole.




It's definitely worth a visit once, and even a second time especially if you have a gift card yet to use. 

Have you been there before? Are we foolish for not getting something smothered in BBQ sauce?

Wong's Gourmet Review

Lately, I've been making my eating decisions based on my ValPak coupons or direct mail pieces. Yesterday on my half-day, I was craving greasy Chinese food, and I had a coupon for Wong's Gourmet. It was a deal for a few dollars off if we spent more than $15. The meal was so inexpensive I wasn't even able to use my coupon. They actually have a coupon listed on their website as well.

The meal was mediocre. We order their lunch specials: Kung Po Chicken and General Tso's Chicken (about $5.75 each) which comes with rice and crab rangoon or eggrolls. We weren't given an option of crab rangoon or eggrolls, but we received crab rangoons. They had the option of fried rice or white rice. I thought they put too much vegetables in their Kung Po Chicken and not enough chicken. Their General Tso's Chicken tasted like any other Chinese restaurant decent but nothing spectacular.

Kung Po Chicken Top: General Tso's Chicken on Bottom

I think the portion size were decent. I actually ended up packing my dish to go. I wouldn't go out of my way to try this place, but if you happen to be in the area and craving some Chinese food stop by for a cheap meal.

Any good Chinese restaurants you recommend? 

Stanley's Bar Room Northeast Review

Is it just me or does nice hot weather make you want to stuff burgers and beer in your mouth?

We had two choices either I would attempt to make juicy lucys, or we would go somewhere close by for burgers. The decision was to go to Stanley's Bar Room Northeast, and that decision was based on the fact that we had a coupon for buy one meal with two drinks and get one for free (up to $10 value). We are frugal or wise like that.

Fruli Strawberry

I got to try my first Fruli Strawberry beer. It was quiet refreshing and was the perfect fix for my beer craving. I don't even really like beer!! This beer was a bit pricey though for someone frugal like me $8. I think it was worth it though. It's something you should try at least once. Even my beer loving boyfriend enjoyed it after saying something like "Ugh...how can you mix some fruit in with beer." They have lots of beer options. Check out there list.

We fatties of course had to have an appetizer to quell our hunger. My BF wanted something "light", and we decided on the jalopeno poppers deep fried in beer batter. Yes, apparently our idea of light is different from the rest of the logical world. No regrets. It was surprisingly spicy; however after the first few bites it wasn't as bad. (Baked jalapeño halves or whole beer battered and deep fried jalapeños, filled with cream cheese and bacon, served with roasted red pepper coulis.)

Also sticking with our "light" theme, we both ordered two burgers. I ordered the Blue Burger - Half-pound beef patty topped with a creamy bleu cheese patty and crispy onion strings. Lettuce & tomato upon request. It wasn't something that amazed me. However, the patty was HUGE. I'm eating the leftovers for lunch today.

The BF ordered the Stanley Burger - Half-pound beef patty topped with our signature smoked BBQ brisket, sautéed onions and gouda. His was nice and juicy and looked waaaay better than my burger.

This place had a good atmosphere. I think it's worth a visit but the burgers aren't anything spectacular. It's had a great variety of beer and wine though some that's something worth stopping in for. 

Any burger joints you go to get your burger fix? Been to Stanley's before? What beers did you love/hate?

Your Role As Your Parents Age

I just recently came across this short filmed called "Mi Tes Mi Taw" or translated in English "Hands and Feet". It's basically about the roles of Hmong daughters and sons. Although I glazed over the fluff and metaphorical of hands and feet and how that's relevant.

Although I think the film was well scripted and produced, I disagree with the overall message. It was a modern day film but still had an old school message.

If you haven't seen it yet, please watch it before you continue reading.

It had the voice-over of the daughter/sister of the family speaking to her brother about his role in the family and how he's responsible for taking care of the parents after she leaves to marry into her husband's family.

The mother of the two siblings grows old and becomes more difficult to take are of, and the son faces the difficult choice of putting his mother into a home and is pressured to make this decision by his wife. At the end of the film, the sister speaks to her sister-in-law making some soft-spoken but passive-aggressive comment about how she hopes she raises her sons better so she doesn't suffer like her mom alone and in a home.

I understand it's a difficult choice on how to treat your parents and provide them with the care they deserve when they become unable to take care of themselves. However this decision is not on the eldest or youngest Hmong son alone nor is the daughter-in-law to blame if she's unable to provide the care needed and wants her husband to put his parent in a home.

Nowadays parents are not staying with only the eldest or youngest son. They stay with the child who is willing and able to take them in, or they are living on their own. It's actually more common now for Hmong parents to be put in a home. In fact, my grandma was in an assisted Hmong run home with several other Hmong parents. And guess what? My grandma had 6 sons. Are they all bad sons?

Also how qualified are children to take care of their parents? We are not all trained to deal with ailments of old age. The care of elders is 24-hour care. Is a person able to provide the care they need and maintain the care for their children (if they have any) and their other job (if the have one)? Who are we to judge how one makes this difficult decision? Especially who is the daughter to judge her brother and sister-in-law? They are one family. If her brother wasn't able to care for their mother, and she thought her mother deserved a different life. She shouldn't have so passively sat around and did something about it. It's easy to blame others and judge others, but it's best to self-reflect and look at your own actions first. What was holding the daughter back from caring for her own mother? Culture? Obligated role?

I think it's great that there are talented Hmong film makers with modern skills and less cheesy films, but let's maintain this modern with some modern day thinking. 

What did you think of the short film? What are your opinions on the topic?

Las Teresitas Review

Cravings for Mexican food?

Well as long as you are more about the taste of food over service, Las Teresitas in South Minneapolis is definitely worth a visit and be sure to come on a Tuesday. The tacos are only a $1 each which includes unlimited access to their chips and salsa bar. I'm still a little disappointed that I didn't get to try all of their salsa options.  There at least over 5 different options.

Being an over indulgent eater, I ordered 5 tacos. I couldn't really tell the difference, and the server didn't tell me.

-BBQ Mexican Style
-Lengua (Tongue)
-Carnitas (Roast Pork)
-Asada (Steak)
-Chorizo (Mexican Sausage)

Top 3: Lengua, Steak, Carintas Bottom 2: Chorizo, BBQ Pork

Given that I have had chorizo before, I'm assuming they actually gave us ground beef thinking we wouldn't know or maybe I'm ignorant and presumptuous, because it was basically like ground beef. 

I thought the lengua was the best taco meat. I'd go back again and try this place for sure. What are your favorite restaurants for your Mexican food cravings?

Copper Pot Indian Grill Review

Finally got to check out this place called Copper Pot Indian Grill in Downtown Minneapolis. I thought it was a cute place and enjoyed the quality of the food. My Indian boyfriend, however, was not impressed. He did seem to inhale his food with no leftovers, but he claimed it was because he had been craving Indian food for a while now. He thought the food took too long and was overpriced.

They brought us two thin flatbread with two different sauces. I have no clue what it was and neither did the boyfriend. I thought it was delicious like an Indian version of chips and salsa.

We started with the appetizer of Hyderabadi Chicken 65. It was a bit spicy but not "oh my god, my mouth is on fire spicy." It gave me a bit of a runny nose though.

For the main entrees, we ordered the dum puck with a side of naan and chicken briyani.

Dum Puck

Chicken Briyani

No clue how the dum puck is different from any other Indian dishes like chicken marsala, but the dum puck was made with lamb. In regards to the rice that came with my entree, I thought it was decent but it had a few hard pieces of rice in there. Being Asian and growing up on rice, I'm a total rice snob and biased to the Hmong rice I grew up with.

The chicken briyani was decent. It was basically a chicken pot pie with no broth but a ton of ice wrapped in a thin, hard and flavorless breading. The quality of the chicken in it was good though, except the meat was bone which makes it more difficult to eat.

I would probably try Copper Pot again, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there. It is probably the second best place I've had Indian food in the Twin Cities though.

Let me know what you think if you've been there before or what other Indian places in the Twin Cities you've enjoyed.