DAYS 2 & 3

JUICE FAST UPDATE

I finished my juice cleanse Friday evening right in time for cinco de mayo and I have to say I'm happy I did it. I did get hungry, especially in the early evening but the vanilla cinnamon cashew milk they have as the last drink is actually really filling. By the last day I felt energized and clear minded but I was just plain tired of drinking. I really didn't feel thirsty, in the least bit at all and I would drink have the juice and want to be done with it. I did lose about 5lbs though, which was nice. So overall I give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars. Good if you want to loose some weight and feel good in a hurry. :)

HUNGER GAMES

Grilled Zucchini Ribbon Salad recipe: here

Ok. I'm hungry. Don't get me wrong, the juices have been great but I'm sick of drinking. I'm not thirsty. At all. I'm hungry...but I'm also determined not to break this juice fast. So instead of eating food I have been looking at all the delicious things I would love to eat online. Torturous? Yes. But in a small way it makes me feel a little better. So I have to share with you some of the things I've found. Starting with a couple salads. These salads look simple to make and so delicious. They would be perfect for lunch or a light dinner.  Enjoy —seriously, because I can't :( 

Tomato Salad with fresh ricotta and grilled bread. Recipe found: here

(Photos & recipes from Proud Italian Cook  and Alexandra's Kitchen)

DAY 1

Today is day one of my three day juice cleanse. I decided to do the Blue Print Foundation Cleanse, and so far (I'm only 2 juices in) the drinks have been refreshing and delicious. The first juice was a mixture of lemon and green veggies, and the one I'm enjoying now has pineapple, apple and mint. I feel clear headed but a little tired...probably from staying up too late though. Four more drinks to go today and I'm pretty excited...especially for the spicy lemonade!

AMERICAN GIRL GOES TO CHINA TOWN

Last weekend my new friends Jenny and Jerry took me to one of LA's "China Towns", and it was awesome.  I've been to the Chinese markets in NY and San Fran and it was nothing like either one. It was almost like a strip mall of asian stores with a gigantic grocery filled with extremely affordable yummy goodies I have never seen before.  Here are a few pictures from the day: 

For lunch we had Vietnamese pho - a type of noodle soup with fresh vegetables and meat. It was delicious. Mine came with thin slices of raw beef on the side, when you put them in the soup they cooked perfectly. This gigantic bowl was only 6 dollars and could have fed at least two people. 

An entire aisle filled with hundreds of different types of ramen! All a dollar or less. A college kids dream!

This tubed mayonnaise made me laugh.

I had never tried dragon fruit before and I loved it.

Fresh fish, crab, and shell fish. 

So many types of nooodlesss. And pretty pink packaging :)

I can't wait to go back!!!!

PS- yes, I did get strange looks taking so many pictures in grocery store. 

MISSING INGREDIENTS?

I wish I would have found this list sooner! I hate starting a recipe only to find I'm short on ingredients. Never will I make a late night run to the grocery store again!!! HUZZZZAH

(diagrams found at The Secret Yumiverse)

QUICK AND EASY (DELICIOUS) PASTA SAUCE

Tonight I tried a new recipe for pasta sauce I saw on the incredible blog, A Cup Of Jo via the wednesday chef. It only takes about 30 minutes to make and is simple and delicious! The only ingredients are a good tomato sauce (like San Marzanos), ricotta cheese, garlic, olive oil, and basil. Find the full recipe here. 

(photo from A Cup Of Jo and Smith & Ratliff)

GREEN TEA BREAKDOWN

One of my New Years Resolutions was to drink more water and green tea instead of coffee. The benefits of green tea seem to know no end, from preventing cancer and dementia to boosting metabolism (as long as you don't load it down with harmful sweetners and sugar!). And the best part of it all is it's super affordable and available at every grocery store. 

(photo from here)