What's on your plate?

[lylysa]

Hello there, ladies and gents!

Keeping in line with all the fun and interactive threads asking about your most recent halls, items you have your eyes on, what you're currently wearing, what's your hair routine, and more, I've decide to branch out and ask:

"What's on your plate?"

The beauty world doesn't just stop at skin care and cosmetics, it also goes hand in hand with your overall health and well-being, so with that, I'm curious to see what we're all chowing down and snacking on be it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, or inbetween!

For those with apps that help count calories or to those who just want to keep a log, here's a place to share, possibly find and share some recipes, and even tips on maintaining a balanced diet.

Don't just share food items, but even drinks! I'm a huge fan of tea and at least have a cup of green tea a day (anti-oxidants) and drink plenty of water.

For lunch today, I had:

-Brown rice

-Steamed egg

-Steamed red snapper with green onion, sesame oil, and black pepper

-Gai lan (it's a type of Chinese vegetable/greens)

Now, tell me, Beauty Talk world, what do you have? 😄

[Candy357]

Great thread.

But as for me, I had pizza today with a pepsi. Total junk food eater.

😕

[lylysa]

Junk food or not, I hope you enjoyed it 🙂

What kind of pizza did you get?

[lylysa]

I did want to share a photo, but then I ate my lunch in a rush!

I made scallops cooked in garlic butter with mushrooms, mixed with steam broccoli and brown rice with quinoa plus a side of pan roasted pork tenderloin medallions. 😛

Had some General Tso's chicken left over from 2 nights ago so brought some of that in for lunch. Yummy!

[arielaaaaaaaa]

Does anyone know how to make some good Chinese Fried Rice??

My favorite restaurant changed cooks or something and the rice is now so bland. 😞

I would love to try making it myself! Anyone made Fried rice or have a recipe? Lylysa maybe???

[lylysa]

Say no more! I'm here! 😛

What's funny is that I saw your reply without the full write up, just up to the "Chinese Fried Rice" part and hopped right in!

Be sure the rice you use is a day old, this is key! It helps cook the rice, let it cool, store it in the fridge for the night then break it up before frying. This helps dehydrate and cool the rice so it can "crisp/fry" up a bit in the oil and pan. If you use fresh rice, it'll want to just absorb all the oil and you get a squishy, oily mess. Try using jasmine rice as well, it's a good in-between size in term of grain length and flavorful! If you can't make rice ahead, try adding a bit less water to cook up a fresh batch so rice isn't as moist.

Use either peanut, canola, or olive oil (not extra virgin, regular OO), which keep to a more neutral flavor, although the peanut gives it a bit nuttier, heartier flavor.

Start with oil in the pan and making sure it's heated up and you can add things like onion or garlic to it at this point so their flavors cook out into the oil and transfer to the rice better. Add in the rice and keep it moving and mixed. Don't let it linger and have the bottom burn. Add in your veggies and meat of choice (be sure the meat is cooked already) and mix up. If you want egg, you can go at it two different ways. Just pour beaten egg to the rice direct, this helps "coat" the grains and result in smaller separate egg bits or you can scramble up some in a separate pan, break apart and add that separately to the fried rice so it's larger, separate chunks.

In regards to seasoning with soy, there's a few variations. There are actually soy sauces made to give more "color" to rice and not so much a saltiness, same thing with others adding more "flavor" and not so much color. I find that ones labeled "mushroom soy sauce" tend to add more of that rich, deep brown color to amplify the fried aspect more than traditional soy sauce where if you add enough to make the rice brown, it's way too salty. Try playing with a different combination or both or either one to see what you like! There also fish soy sauces, which I'm a huge fan of (I use it to steam fish), but it has a sharper taste to it and I don't use as much compared to regular soy.

[arielaaaaaaaa]

MHmmmmm! I must to go to the store ASAP!!! 

I will be making some very soon hopefully!! 😄 😄

Thanks for that detailed explanation! I'm not a great cook so it helps tremendously than a reg recipe!! 😄

[lylysa]

No prob! I hope your fried rice comes out awesome! Give us an update!

[Spyski]

*runs home drooling to try new wok* 

My mom left me a wok the other day, so definitely going to try this among other things! One question, do you put the veggies into the rice when they are cut and raw or do you have to separately simmer the veggies beforehand then add to rice?

[lylysa]

It depends on how you like your veggies, super cooked and a tad soft or still crisp.

I like to add mine about half way so whether I'm using frozen (try to pour out frozen veggies into a dish to ensure you're not dumping in random ice chips) or fresh veggies they cook up nicely without being hard or mushy. I avoid using canned veggies though, they're too soft to fry up for my tastes, but if you HAVE to use them for the sake of saving time, strain/drain them (even rinse off a bit if the can has salt added), pat dry a bit (avoid getting extra water/moisture into rice you want to fry up not sog down), then add toward the end, kind of where you would add the egg that's already scrambled so you're more so mixing/slightly heating them up rather than "cooking" them.

If the fresh veggies are small enough they should cook up fine, but if they're larger, shimmer them a touch.

P.S. A wok would be perfect for miso-honey glazed chicken....I can write out that recipe as well if you want!

[Spyski]

Sweet! I will be cooking raw veggies. Those edamame seeds I planted last Spring turned into plentiful 3 foot plants! I will be adding some of those as well as other veggies. I can't stand mushrooms (the smell, the taste, the texture), so I will be on the hunt for a great fried rice making soy sauce! 

For some odd reason, I don't fancy the taste of miso soup because it taste too much like fermented mushrooms to me. However, I love glazes especially when honey or anything sweet is involved! YUM

[lylysa]

I'll type out the recipe here for you soon, maybe even make it in the next few days so I can have photos added! 🙂

Miso soup has to be balanced right, if there's too much paste, it's too salty and overwhelming, it has to be light. When I add the recipe you can adjust it to taste, the miso paste adds nicely to the consistency, but I add enough honey personally to where it's not MISO IN YO FACE :P!

OMG! Edamame!!!! I totally have some frozen that I could have added to my scallop, mushroom, broccoli, brown rice and quinoa mix last night, darn! Ooo, you could roast edamame and add them in close to the end for a crispy, heartier texture and flavor (add some cracked black pepper or sea salt to them).

For an alternative to the mushroom soy sauce, check out:

The brand is Lee K um (BT bleeped out the "k" and the "um" together so I spaced it out) Kee, and it's their Medium Dark Soy Sauce (it sounds like the foundation world of soy sauce now....do you use "light" or "medium dark"? Haha!), it's a touch thicker, but again, not as salty so good for adding color!

[Spyski]

Oh yes, please DO make the recipe later and provide pics for the miso (not in yo face) honey glazed chicken! Thanks for the tips

[neko333]

I was actually trying to think of strange foods. Probably the strangest I can think of are mountain oysters.......Whoever came up with that dish was probably high.

[lylysa]

Not my cup of tea! 😛

[neko333]

It's funny when people don't realize what they are though. "Are they oysters that come out of a river?" Yeah sure they are. 

[Anonymous]

Ugh! I have tried a lot of things, but I never intend to eat those. Nope nope nope. 

[Anonymous]

@BeautyJunkie325: lol awesome. 😄

[BeautyJunkie325]

@midnightangel - I'm always trying new ideas to make my cooking more exciting.  I was channeling a little Lionel Richie that day....dancing on the ceiling.

[Anonymous]

@BeautyJunkie325: That pot roast is amazing in its ability to defy gravity and stick to the ceiling. I wish my roasts did that. lol 😉

Let's see...just got back from lunch hour. I had a Polish hot dog and a cup of Sierra Mist. And a co-worker just brought me madeleine brownies...oh my. Moral of the story: get health advice from a dietician, not a musician. 😛

[BeautyJunkie325]

I have been on a cooking frenzy lately.  I am addicted to Pinterest and have pinned so many recipient ideas that I started to make at least one a week.  Most have turned out good enough to try again, most with just a few tweaks to the spices.   I've been trying to take pictures of the brew recipes I'm trying and posting them to my Instagram.  I'm definitely making my non-cooking friends jealous. 

My moms favorite - chopped salad and panko breaded chicken

Italian Pot Roast in the crockpot

Bowtie Pasta with Spinich and tomatoes

Last but not least double chocolate cake for my dad

[Anonymous]

Ok @beautyjunkie- Spill the cake recipe:D