Going Gluten-Free: Weeks 3 and 4

I finally finished my gluten-free month.  And while I have mostly kept gluten out of my diet, I've allowed a little in here and there. Honestly, I didn't notice anything dramatic, but overall I did feel pretty good.  But I think that was because I kept out most refined sugars and limited dairy as well.  Basically I plan to keep my diet as clean as possible, but not be super strict about it. 

March 3
B: protein shake
L: Nourish Bowl
D: Turkey, cranberry sauce, roasted sweet potato

Nourish bowls are our go-to for daily lunches.

March 4
B: protein shake
L: Nourish Bowl
D: Leftovers

March 5
B: protein shake
L: Nourish Bowl
D: Zuchini Lasagna from here

March 6
B: protein shake
L: Nourish Bowl
D: Oatmeal

March 7
B: protein shake
L: Nourish Bowl
D: Falafel burger with sweet potato fries from here

March 8
B: gluten-free banana bread
L: lentil patties, beet falafel, brown rice
D: tofu walnut burger with red rice

March 9
B: oatmeal
L: lentil patties, beet falafel, brown rice from here
D: Crock pot beef, sweet potato and mushroom stew

March 10
B: protein shake
L: Nourish Bowl
D: Leftovers

March 11
B: protein shake
L: Nourish Bowl
D: Oatmeal

March 12
B: protein shake
L: Nourish Bowl
D: Crock pot chicken curry

March 13
B: protein shake
L: Nourish Bowl
D: Falafel

March 14
B: protein shake
L: oatmeal
D: chicken cashew curry and pomelo salad from here

March 15
B: hard boiled egg and gf banana bread
L: oatmeal
D: vegan biryani

March 16
B: hard boiled egg with oatmeal cranberry bar
L: beef burger on tomato salad
D: Spaghetti: gluten free quinoa/corn pasta with turkey sauce and quinoa oat flat bread

Going Gluten Free: Week 2

2/24
B: protein shake
L: nuts and dried fruit
D: Beef tenderloin, potatoes, red cabbage slaw, Paleo brownie

2/25
B: protein shake
L: nuts and dried fruit
D: Nourish Bowl

2/26
B: protein shake
L: nuts and dried fruit
D: Nourish Bowl

2/27
B: protein shake
L: Greek salad
D: cauliflower crust pizza and caesar salad

2/28
B: protein shake
L: green smoothie (spinach, walnuts, coconut milk, banana)
D: Bibimbap

3/1
B: protein shake
L: beet falafel with marinated tofu (from Salcedo market!)
D: gluten-free spaghetti with turkey sauce

3/2
B: protein shake
L: nuts and dried fruit
D: spaghetti leftovers

Toddler Fractures and UTIs (or How Not to Spend Your Vacation)

Want to know a great way not to spend your vacation? At the hospital. After noticing several of Toto's pee diapers (I know, we plan to start potty training as soon as the potty arrives in the mail!) smelled strange and googling "weird urine smell toddler" I was convinced she had a UTI. So we headed to Munson Urgent Care in Traverse City. Warning: do not take your children there if you value their life. First they gave her a toy fan to distract her, which promptly began smoking. Then they took a non-sterile urine sample and spent the next week calling me to change her antibiotics as the culture results came in. That was awesome. After talking to our real pediatrician, it turns out most of the bacteria in the culture are normally found on the skin and she may not have had a UTI at all. But so glad we got to dose her with tons of antibiotics. The smell is gone, although it may have something to do with the new Seventh Generation diapers - they get super bunchy and maybe give off a strange smell??

Then a couple days later Toto tripped over a cord and cried harder than usual. Clearly something was up when she wouldn't walk on her left foot. So, we packed up the Green Lake cottage and headed back South to see her pediatrician. After an x-ray showed a minor fracture, we headed to the ER for a splint. Despite the fact that she couldn't bear weight on the leg, Toto was a champ and spent lots of time crawling wildly with my parents, sister, and brother-in-law. After five days, we saw a pediatric orthopedist who took the splint off and said that the fracture was so minor that if Toto would walk on the foot she was free to go. Did I mention she is a bit stubborn? No matter what I promised her - ice cream (at 8am), a bike, watching movies - that child refused to walk on her foot. Probably because she was freaked out to be at the doctor's AGAIN and have everyone staring at her begging her to walk. In the end they sent us off with a removable walking boot, which she seemed to love.

We made the long drive back up North to The Shark's childhood home where Toto immediately ripped off her boot in order to ride the new bike from Grams. And that's the end of that story.

Despite the medical drama, we managed to squeeze in lots of fun.

The Henry Ford Museum. Lots for Toto to look at while sitting in her stroller wearing a splint.

Cranbrook's science museum. 

Birthday breakfast at the Original House of Pancakes - oven baked omelette. You need extra protein at 33.

Birthday dessert - lemon meringue pie. Delic.

Lots of butter at The Shark's family reunion.

Back in Manila. And happy to be here.

Last Japan Post: Osaka

We had a day and a night in Osaka before we flew back to Manila so we decided to stay in an airport hotel. It was fine, but it was a 30 minute train ride from Osaka. Our flight wasn't until the evening so we got up bright and early to head into the city. I beelined for an adorable "slow food" cafe for breakfast, but realized it didn't open for another hour. The rest of our traveling party was not thrilled. We managed to entertain Toto for an hour then stood pathetically near the doorway until the let us in. Toto promptly whacked her head on a table and screamed for a while. The donuts were worth the wait.

One of the main goals was to see the moss buddha. After walking for about 20 minutes, there it was in all its mossy glory. We poured some water on it.

Then we stopped by the must-see Dotonbori street, full of huge mechanized and brightly-lit signs.

 And then sampled the local fare - Okonomiyaki - a pancake. Maybe shouldn't have gotten the cheese.

Japan was an adventure. A clean, organized, rule-oriented adventure. Hopefully we make it back before we leave Manila in 2015.

Japan: Yudanaka

And back to Japan, folks. Yes, this trip occurred in March and it is now May. Carry on.

The original plan was for The Shark to do some skiing in Nagano (shocker: there is no skiing in the Philippines), but since we had limited time with Sister and her Hubby, we decided to nix the snow and stay in a traditional ryokan in Yudanaka, a small town outside of Nagano.

From Nagano it was another 30 minute train ride out to Yudanaka. Our tiny van pulled up and all 6 of us crammed in. Our driver spoke mostly no English and it was hysterical when we tried to ask him how far the hotel was from the station. He held up 5 fingers, then 4, then 10, while we shouted out guesses, Kilometers? Miles? Minutes? Hours? It turned out to be pretty close. Then we saw this cat. Maybe it was better he couldn't understand us.

Just, why?

The hotel was amazing. The whole room was covered in tatami mats and we slept on thin futons. The best part of the hotel was the many hot spring baths you could relax in, including the one attached to our room.

Every night we had an elaborate multi-course dinner.

That's Toto's seat in the middle with the Hello Kitty silverware. She mostly ate the rice.

It always looked pretty and tasted fresh.

The highlight of the trip, besides seeing Sister and her Hubby, was the snow monkeys. We decided to forego the bus and head up there on foot. There were lots of signs.

The monkeys were adorable soaking in their hot tub. And so docile. I am generally very wary of monkeys, especially after I saw one grab a woman's glasses off her face in Bali. But these guys were way used to humans and weren't looking to snatch any of our stuff.

And luckily there was a sign warning of us, you know, this:

We sampled some local soba and it was delicious. Funny story about this place. We had to wait outside for a table, so obviously we bought some beers while we waited. There are no trash cans in Japan, so we put all the bottles in a bag and stashed them under our table while we ate. And of course mine wasn't empty and may have spilled a little. I didn't even want to have that non-versation with the restaurant lady so we left a good tip, and got out of there.

Because more drinking was in order, we went to a sake brewery. This man was very nice. It was self-serve, which seemed like a bad idea. But was awesome.

Yudanaka was a nice break from city life, even if it did snow our last day. I, being from Manila, immediately assumed someone was burning something and that was ash in the air. It was Toto's first snow by the way. At least now she can recognize it in books.

Manila Restaurants: 2012 Edition

I like to eat. Who doesn't? Manila has a lot to offer when it comes to restaurants. Pretty much anything you want, you can find. However, traffic is a nightmare, so we tend to stay close to home in Makati. So keep in mind that most of my reviews are from around there, a few we ventured a little further. Also, I don't really eat meat. The Shark does (duh), so his picks are here, too. Happy eating!

Best Vegetarian
1. Corner Tree Cafe
Intimate setting (sometimes tables are too close), awesome walnut tofu burger, good service, always crowded
2. Pipino
Reasonably priced, good service, nice selection, weird decor, limited parking

3. Sugar Leaf, Roxas corner Buendia, Makati
Convenient parking, delicious juices, small organic grocery store

Best Mexican
1. Orale, The Fort
Great decor, outdoor seating, fresh ingredients, good beer selection

2. Chihuahua, Greenbelt
Nice selection of sauces, always out of guacamole, adequate indoor seating, great margaritas (or so I've heard), now open in Greenbelt but prefer the Makati Ave branch
3. FaBurrito, Makati Columns
Fast delivery, consistent taste, not open Sundays, budget friendly, good veggie chips
4. Achoite, Rockwell, Power Plant Mall
Outdoor seating, good selection of beer, fresh ingredients

Best Italian
1. Caruso, Bel-Air Village, Makati
Great ambience, awesome service, excellent food, nice selection of wine
2. La Grotta, Legaspi Village
Cute atmosphere, decent food


Best Filipino
1. Mesa Filipino
Great for big parties, quick service, tasty salads

2. XO 46 Bistro
Small wine pours, slow service, friendly chef, delicious tofu sisig

Best Mediterranean
1. Hossein's, Greenbelt 3
Outdoor seating, quick service, large selection, awesome hummus and falafel
2. Cafe Mediterranean, Greenbelt 1
Delivers, consistent,

Best Pizza
1. Papa John's
Tastes like America
2. Yellow Cab
Fast delivery, a little greasy, overall good


Best View
1. Skydeck, Bayleaf Hotel, Intramuros

Best Indian
1. Legend of India
dim lighting, average service, delicious naan
2. New Bombay
Delivers, decent ambiance, inconsistent quality

Best Thai
1. People's Palace
Hard to get a reservation, nice outdoor seating, best Thai in town

Best Moroccan
1. Food stall at Salcedo Market.

Best American/Comfort Food
1. Apartment 1B
Always packed (make a reservation), comfortable seating, attentive servers, overpriced, great salads
2. Draft, The Fort
Awesome fish and chips, excellent beer selection

Best European
2. Sala Bistro
Outdoor seating, good service, 

Best Spanish
1. Terry's
Great wine selection, hearty pours, yummy
2. Alba, Bel-Air Village
Great live music

Best Japanese
1. Sereyna, Little Tokyo, Makati
Always busy, cool seating, delicious food
2. Omakase, Ayala Triangle
Great location in the park, limited beer selection, tasty food
3. Kokoro, Roxas Blvd., Manila
Quick meal, yummy ramen and rolls

Best Dessert
1. Chocolate Fire
Beautiful display case (that they don't allow you to take pictures of!), creative combinations (dark chocolate covered honey comb)
2. Cafe Breton
Amazing crepes, cute outdoor seating, blogged about the deliciousness here

Best Brunch
1. Sofitel
Totally decadent, very pricy
2. Marriott
Dessert room, lots of options

Japan: Kyoto

We spent 10 days in Japan. Lovely, crazy, cold, and oh so foreign Japan. It was tough to decide where to go, but we narrowed it down to Kyoto, Yudanaka, and Osaka. First stop, Kyoto.

After a quick 3 hour flight from Manila, we landed in Osaka. Getting our JR (train) passes was a major pain. It took over an hour. And this was after we pre-paid for them online. We missed our train, so grabbed some soba and beer. Which Toto loved--the soba, not the beer. And Yaya got to try chop sticks for the first time. I have to say that surprised me as she lives in the ASIA. And has travelled all over the world. But she got the hang of it pretty quick. Once we started riding trains, we fell in love. They were clean, on time, and spacious. And had vending machines. The best part was that Toto didn't have to sit if she didn't want to, which she never does.

Where we slept

Kyoto Royal Park Hotel, nice ambience in the lobby, expensive breakfast, friendly staff, cramped quarters, convenient location. But the best discovery? Heated toilet seat. 

What we did

The Shark booked us two private tours and a group tour through Tours by Locals, and we were impressed. My favorite activity was the private cooking class. We started out by shopping in the Nishiki Market, which was about a ten minute walk from our hotel. Thank god for our guide, or we seriously wouldn't have known what 90% of the food was. Most stalls had samples and I was in heaven when we hit a huge shop of dried fruit. We ended up with some cranberries, strawberries and kiwi. And an awkward encounter when I tried to buy the display items. 

Persimmons 

Then we walked over to our guide's apartment. We tried to act like we weren't staring at everything, but we were. And the toilet seat was heated there too! We had a blast learning how to make sushi rolls, spinach salad, and miso soup. And by the time we finished cooking, we were STARVING and wolfed it down.

Pretty and delicious.

Just like all the Asian tour groups we saw in Washington, DC, we had to reciprocate and joined a huge bus tour to see some palaces and temples.

Stay with your buddy and be back to your bus in 1 hour!

We spent a whole day on a private guided tour of Fushimo-Inari, a Shinto Shrine built up a mountain to honor a huge rock at the top. We walked several flights of stairs and saw smaller shrines along the way. When we came a map, our guide showed us that it is possible to go all the way to the top, and laughed as though we would even consider doing that. Then her eyes bugged out of her head when I said of course I wanted to go to the top and see that rock. So we did. And it was beautiful.

Just a few more steps...

Top o' the mountain

What we ate

As soon as we arrived we found the closest organic store and headed out to stock up on milk for Toto. It was called "Help" for reasons unknown to me and I couldn't read anything, but just felt better knowing it was a natural grocer. We got some fruit, milk, and tons of snacks. Toto ended up loving these rice crackers with seaweed. If I would have known, I would have bought 20 bags.

We had dinner twice on Pontocho, a narrow road near our hotel. Once for the best sushi ever (Kappa Zushi), and the other for an awesome Italian meal to celebrate The Shark's birthday. Yes, Italian. You can only eat so much soba and fish. On the other hand you can never get enough sake.

You'll love the food here. If you can find your restaurant.

What we saw

Kyoto did not disappoint in the blossom department. We were fortunate enough to be there for the end of the plum blossoms and the beginning of the cherry blossoms. 

The we hopped on a train to head for the mountains and meet up with Sister and her Hubby.

Jeggings

As part of my work responsibilities, I attended the opening of the new American Eagle in Manila. I expected a ribbon cutting and some pictures, but it was a full-out high society affair. My favorite part was the food--cupcakes, mini mushroom pies, french fries, tempura vegetables. And I discovered jeggings?!? At first I thought it was a joke like "jorts" (jean shorts). But apparently these are the norm in the US. Sadly, American Eagle doesn't carry "longs" here, so no jeggings for me. 

I was still hungry afterwards.

Jeggings on the runway.