Eat to Nguyen
Welcome to my blog about a subject I am very passionate about: food.
Growing up in a health conscious family, I constantly heard my parents telling me to shed some pounds. I never listened to them because I didn't think that there was anything wrong with my weight. During my 16 year physical check up, the doctor told me I was becoming overweight. That was the wake up call that I desperately needed. For the first time, I looked in the mirror and saw my body. Seeing my reflection, I vowed to reach a healthy weight, which I accomplished through exercising and changing my diet. Along my weight loss journey, I learned many things about food, which I hope to pass onto my readers and inspire them to lead a healthy life.
How do I come up with my recipes?
Let's get this straight: I have no experience in the kitchen whatsoever. I just cook for fun because I love seeing how food takes on different tastes and textures when combined with different ingredients. Now on to the question. I like to take popular foods such as pancakes and pizza and make the healthiest version possible, using fresh and nutritionally packed ingredients. My goal is to create food that I will not regret eating once the plate is clean. Provided that I have some of my favorites food such as cottage cheese, greek yogurt, and oatmeal always stocked up in my house, you will most likely see at least one of these ingredients in my recipes. I will admit that it does take a while to come up with recipes because I try to eliminate butter, which is found in almost all recipes especially desserts! Foodgawker is definitely the website where the whole thinking process begins.
What does Eat to Nguyen mean?
My friends tease me about being healthy. They always tell me that my lunches are "foreign" to them because they consist of a variety of fruits and vegetables. Since my last name is Nguyen, which sounds like the word win, one of my close friends came up with the title Eat to Nguyen for a future cookbook. Because I cannot cook a decent meal, I just decided to use it for the name of my blog.
My other tumblr: Nick and Nat
Everyone knows that water is good for you, but did you know that some are better than others? Yes, it is all about the pH levels. 7 is neutral, so you want to aim for that or higher. Anything below 7 is considered acidic. Yikes!
Eternal water (the one on the far right) is my go to bottle. It has a pH level of 8 and tastes wonderful! I drink at least one bottle a day. If you want to start drinking any of these waters, I recommend that you buy them from Marshalls or T.J. Maxx, which is where I get all of mine at a fraction of the cost. The Fiji and Eternal Water cost $1.79 and the Hawaiian Springs cost $1.99. Stock up! Here is a list of brands listed from the highest pH to the lowest:
- Eternal (8)
- Fiji (7.8)
- Hawaiian Springs (7.7)
- Evian (7.2)
- Perrier (5.6)
- Ozarka (5.4-6)
I got these results from either looking at the backs of the bottles or on the brand’s website. Go to this link to see pictures of some water brands undergoing the pH test!
1 cup cucumber juice + 1/4 cup water + ice cubes = a clean and refreshing drink
No more store-bought soy milk for me!
Knowing how much my family drinks soy milk, my aunt purchased this wonderful machine for us. We definitely get our money’s worth because we use this machine about every other day. The natural flavor of the soy beans, which is often times hidden by preservatives and excess sugar, really shines through in this drink. If you need to spice up the milk, you have control over how much honey, vanilla extract, etc. that you want to add. I love that! The next drink that my family and I are going to try is brown rice milk. Sound good?
(Source: gethealthygetsexy)
I chugged down my chocolate hazelnut milk as if there was no tomorrow. Although making it requires some patience, the product will be worth it. Homemade is always the best way to avoid having unnecessary ingredients in your food.
- 1 1/2 cups hazelnuts, soaked overnight
- 3 1/2 cups water, filtered
- 2 tbsps agave nectar
- 1-2 tbsps unsweetened cacao powder
- Drain and rinse the hazelnuts.
- Pour the four ingredients into a blender and blend well.
- Strain the liquid through a cheesecloth. Don’t throw away the pulp! You can add it to oatmeal, raw bars, etc.
- Pour the liquid into a container and place it in the refrigerator. Before serving, shake the container.
This combination was so refreshing and light. It was the perfect drink to start off the morning.
- 1 large cucumber
- 1 green apple
- a handful of mint leaves
About 17 Lay’s Sour Cream and Onion chips have 160 calories, 10 grams of fat (2.5g polyunsaturated and 5g monounsaturated), 15 grams of carbohydrates, and 2 grams of protein.
