Final Book Review

I read the book called "Thrive:The vegan nutrition guide to optimal performance and health" by Brendan Brazier.

First let me start off by explaining the title of the book. The writer is a former triathlete champion and competitor and he talks about how from his experience, by eating only off of plants (a plant based diet) his performance level was a lot more better than when he was eating a meat based diet. He often mentions that by eating a plant based diet gives a lot of energy as well as a good recovery food after workouts. The title of the book basically means that you are "thriving" living off / (successfully making progress) by eating a plant based diet will give you the best performance throughout life as well as when you are working out.

The book was quite long but I easily finished it because of the simple and easily understandable writing. Before reading this book I was expecting it to be very complicated and hard to read but it ended up being surprisingly extremely simple which made so much sense when reading. I borrowed this book from my older sister and was planning on giving it back to her after I read it but I ended up keeping it because I wanted to read it twice!!

The book had so much information on how to eat a healthy vegan lifestyle as well as very good tips on shopping for ingredients. When people decide to go vegan or vegetarian, most tend to get overwhelmed with the unfamiliar ingredients but Brendan explains how you can get most of the ingredients like lentils, chickpeas, and hemp for example, in most supermarkets. After reading this book you really do start to see the types of foods around supermarkets.

Because I was looking for a book that would give me some information on what to eat as a sort of supplement during and after workout, I was extremely pleased that I had the opportunity to read this book as it gave me a lot of useful tips and advice on what to eat.

Before starting weight lifting I was looking up on what to eat before, during and after workouts to get the best nutrition and foods that will help me recover faster so I can work out everyday I would always get a vague explanation such as "eating carbohydrates before and protein after working out is best" but there were no scientific evidence on why it is good.
Because I was always so lost on what and when to eat I was always confused when doing my research.

I feel very lucky to have been able to get this important details on what to eat to get the most out of your workouts as well as in day to day life.

There was a ingredients and recipe section in the back of the book where he gives his original recopies for  pancakes, smoothies, pastas, salads, homemade granola bars and so on. I am a big fan of this home made coconut chia seed energy bar. Making it is so simple and it is very nutritious. All it contains is coconut oil, chia seeds and dates. You put that in the blender then spread it onto a sheet then put it in the fridge to freeze for a few minutes. 
He says that you should eat this before workout to get the most out of your workout and I can tell you, it makes a big difference when I eat it before I hit the gym. I realized that It was more easier to push myself to the fullest when I ate it.


 The book also gives a lot of insight on vitamins literally from A to Z! I learned a lot about how most vitamins contain fiber and protein.

The part that stood out to me the most was in the back of the book where he mentions that some vegans and vegetarians are low on  B12 and that just by taking some chlorella, it will do great wonders. I was so convinced that I bought my own clorella tablets to go along with my other supplements.

The only negative thing that I would have to say about this book is that it was not any longer! It was too good to end in just one book.







 

The video to my restuarant review!

Restuarant Review written!

It’s crazy how the westher can really affect ones mood! Ever since it has been getting more chilly as the days go on, I have had the hugest appetite. So not only was I excited to start this restuarant-review-task, but I was also very bright eyed to fill my tummy with good food!!


Aoi, Ebie, Fumio and I had the opportunity to go to this posh-looking but also a very cosy restuarant called "Mame-cha".

We were origionally planning on going to this other restuarant but unfortunately, we could not find it (Or it closed down? We will never know! lol) so we decided on a wim to try this place out and I have no regrets!!

I was drawn to the name of the restuarant, as I love beans! (although there were no beans in the menu! haha!)But reading more I saw that there was kaisendon,....my love for fish is up  and above anything in this world so I immediately wanted to check this place out. You have to go down by stairs to get to the place and as you go down you can see this beautiful waterfall-like thing which I \thought was superb! It gave the impression that this restuarant was rich and full of life! Although when walking out of the store, I completely forgot that there was the waterfall so I thought that it was raining very hard for a second until I remembered the waterfall. Even then I still like how they put it there!

I dont like having to wait when entering a resuarant, even if I am not in a hurry so when the clerk came to greet us with a warm smile right when we entered was more than enough for me!

Happy People eager to fill our bellies...or am I just too eager? lol

I'm not sure if the restuarant was a little empty because you had to go down below or not but the only customers were two people and ourselves. crowded and loud restuarants arnt my thing so having this place (sorta) to ourselves was very nice! It was a Japanese sort of style place so there were some cubicles as well as wide open space. We sat in a corner where we could either bend our legs or put them under the table. I like how they give you this option as I tend to get sleeping foot very easily.

As you can see here, we had the tables on the tatami floor. We got the whole Japanese feel of the restuarant!

I really liked this part of the restuarant how the walls were a little bent to make it really bonhomie and cozy. If I get the chance to come back here again, I would like to as to sit here. I was so fond of this corner that you can see both of the corners in my movie that I made.

 I loved how the menu list was very detailed and easy to look at with the title of the food and the price of the meal on the bottem.

There were also drink menuts(Green), a wine list (Red) and the dinner menu (Orange) which was easy on the eyes, not too colorful but enough color not to be so bland. We did not get any drinks and instead we just ordered some warm tea that was for free (win!!) that smelled almost like bark or somesort of tree! It was the first time to have tea that smelled so rich! Whats more, the waitress kept coming back to refill our cups everytime they were empty. I tend to get very annoyed when the waiters do not come to refill my cup because it makes me think that they want me to hurry up and get out of the restuarant, furthermore I get thirsty very easily so i was happy with the good service!

Like it or not, but I am very picky when it comes to restuarant bathrooms. I believe that bathrooms show a lot about the hygene of the whole restuarant so going in the bathroom to see no trash on the floor and a clean sink as well as a nicely wiped mirror gave a good impression on the resturant.

I think the only negative thing that I would have to say about the restuarant is that the slippers in the bathroom were a little slippery becaues it was stone floor and wooden slippers. The looks of the slippers were very authentic and matched the theme of the restuarant, but if a pregnant women or an elderly person came to eat here and went to the bathroom, I would be concerened for their safety.

Becaues I am extremely sensitive to the cold, I am a loud customer when the temperatures are not to my liking. This place had the perfect temperature, not too hot or not too cold.

The choice of music was also relaxing and approriate. Sometimes the music in restuarants tend to overpower any other noise in the place to the point where you have to almost shout to get what you want to say across to the person who is only sitting across or next to you. This place was at a good volume to where there is back ground music but you can easily have a comfortable conversation.

Mame-cha used they adorable lantern-like lights that were very homie and almost romantic! I think that yellow like compliments food a lot more than pure white light,so the choice of lighting was very appealing in my opinion.

Now to talk about the food! MMMM!

Three of us ordered the Kaisendon but I had the kaisendon without this "chyawamushi" type of substance (a savory steamed egg custard with assorted ingredients). I was glad that they were flexible enough to take that out for me!

I always had the image that all miso soup tasted the same so i did not have a good image of it but when I tasted this restuarants miso I was completely blown away! there were cooked carrots, and usually if there is cooked carrots I just totally loose my appetite but this was something else!! The taste was not too salty but it had enough flavor to satisfy any miso lover.

The green that you can see in the bowl that sort of looks like a flower is steamed spinach with bits of tofu. I actually like raw spinach so if I were to choose this over raw I would definitely choose the raw spinach, but this was not bad! It had a very fresh viniger taste which was not too heavy and quite nice.

The little plate with the pink and green stuff may not seem so savory-looking but it is pickled daikon and spinach which tasted very good and crunchy! I really like to have pickled something next to a bowl of rice...although it does make me want to keep refilling my bowl! It is too good!

I thought it was really cute how the chef added a little flower to the bowl of fish. When eating raw fish there is always a hit and miss....in this case, it was a total hit!!! I was completely silent when eating my meal because I was out of words from the awesome flavor and softness of the sashimi which was spanking fresh! There was a big glob of wasabi that killed my nose every now and then! I forgot how the taste and the strongness of sashimi is a lot more powerful than other cheap kaiten zushi places. But, I'm not complaining!

For dessert, there was a good amount of warabi mochi　topped with some roasted soy bean flower and sause. The warabi mochi was softer than any other mochi that I have eaten and it was so good! I know I will be having soft mochi dreams tonight!

Even though three of us got the kaisendon, our bowls were a little different which I thought was interesting. I was the only one that had a flower like bowl. I kept emagining opening and closing the flower haha!

The cost of my meal was 1800 yen. Normally, I would think that for a meal that is a little pricy but conidering the quality, good service, clean facility I was only full of graditude to have had this lovely meal for only 1800 yen!

In the beginning I was looking forward to going to the first restuarant that we origionally planned on going to, but after eating here I was glad that we could not find the other place!!

We entered the restuarant at around 7 oclock and decided that we were going to leave at around 8:30 to work on our homework but we ended up staying till around 9:45 because we felt so comfortable and really enjoyed the meal and the whole feel of the restuarant.

To sum it all up, I would have to say that I was one HAPPY customer! Everything except the slippers in the bathroom were perfect in my opinion. Everthing from the restuarant lights down to the customer service and the entrance to the restuarant! Before long my money might to slowly but surely disapear if I dont forget about this amazing restuarant!!

On a scale from 1 to 10 I would easily give this place a 10+!

Book Review 12

Acai

I have always been a big fan of acai ever since my sister took me out to eat acai bowl with her at this little cafe in Omotesando. Because of the sweet taste in the acai bowl, I had the image that acai was naturally sweet so when I went out to get some frozen acai packs at Kaldi I did not realize that there was an unsweetened pack and an already sweetened pack of acai. I just so happened to get the unsweetened pack and was so surprised to find that real acai does not taste like ...anything! It always tasted like oil because of its richness. I was planning on making an acai bowl but because it did not have any taste, I ended up putting it in the mixer with some frozen fruit to make an acai smoothie.


I heard from my sister on how acai is very good for you, so when I came across a section in the 'Thrive' book about acai, I was very excited to read more about it.


The acai berry is most noted for their exceptionally high antioxidant level. Apparently, the acai berry is very similar in size and texture to blueberris which was a slight surprise as the taste is very bland I had a different image of the acai berry.

Acai berries are not only rich in essential fatty acids and fiber, but are the most highest in protein than other berries. Trace mineral levels are very high and phytonutreients and extremly rich. Brendan Brazier also mentions that frozen acai packs are more nutritious than frozen juice bars.

When I first opened up the unsweetened acai, I was very disappointed because I was craving a nice sweet tasting acai bowl, but I am glad that I just so happened to grab the unsweetened pack of acai.

Book Review 11

I recently bought a whole bunch of supplements off of this site called iHerb.  Some of the suppliments that I got were Arginine / Orinithine, creatine, BCAA and a lot of Pea Protein. Pea Protien has an aquired taste so the first time I took some I felt like I had to puke! It almost took more than 5 minutes to gulp the last remains of the precious but nasty protein!


When I first bought all of my supplements, I was very excited to start taking them while seeing more better results in my performance but right after I fineshed drinking the Pea Protein I was dreading every workout.
I wantd to find a way to take the protein but not have to go through the dread of having to take it so I researched on different ways of taking protein powder without having to mix it with water.
Most of the things that came up were recipies on protien pancakes, but knowing how Pea Protein has an extremely strong smell and taste, I knew it would not really change all that much to drinking it with water.


When doing my research on Pea Protein, I suddenly thought of the Thrive Book. I remember reading about how Brendan Brazier makes pancakes with hemp protien, buckwheat,  cinnamion and nutmeg. Instead of using the hemp protien I decided to try and substitute with the Pea Protein and experiment to see if the taste of nutmeg and the buckwheat would over power the crazy taste in Pea Protein.


I tried it out and it was just as I expected. The taste was not gone completely, but It was a lot and I mean ALOT more better than when I was just drinking it down with water. I decided to make a big batch so that when I go to the gym I could just bring these energy packed protein pancakes with me for an after snack.


Although, I did hear before that taking protein in liquid form is the best I want to try and see how this method of taking protein works for me!

Late...Merry Christmas!

I hope you all had a merry n' cozy Christmas :)

I like to spend the holidays with my family, spending most of the day in the kitchen cooking up a storm! That is exactly what I did this Christmas. A little before the big day M\my siblings and I were brainstorming on what to make as we planned to make a whole vegan Christmas dinner.

We decided to make mashed potatoes, (and of course we couldn't forget the ) gravy, ginger bread cookies, focaccia bread, qinuoa　ｓtuffed paprika's, hot wine, punch, strawberry and coconut cream dip and a few cakes!

 It was the first time for us to make focaccia, but it turned out awesome! We made three different types; apple focaccia topped with a little cinnamon, tomato and basil focaccia and avocado olive oil focaccia. They all tasted divine with a little bit of olive oil to dip and some hot wine on the side.

I was also extremely fond of the coconut cream! I have to admit, I missed some creamy goodness when I turned vegan but now that I found a substitute, I am OH so happy! It is so easy making coconut cream. All you have to do is make sure to get some canned coconut milk, put it in the refrigerator to cool then once it is cool enough, you then take out the milk hardened part of the milk which you can use to make the cream!

I like to add a tad bit of vanilla essence along with some maple syrup to make it nice and sweet!


Heres a little snap of what our Christmas dinner looked like!

Sadly I was only able to take  a photo of some of the food as my phone just had to die on me when the cakes cake out ;(
Thinking about all the food makes me want Christmas back!

Book review 10

Protein

My favorite form of protein at the moment would have to be qinuoa. I love how it is both ideble when cooked or even when it is not cooked. I usually like to mix up my qinuoa with salads etc.


Although I really do like qinuoa I believe it is important to change up the types of foods that you eat everynow and then. When reading throught the book that I chose, there was a section about hemp. Hemp has many qualities that set it apart from other foods. It is a nutrient-rich whole food in its natural state: There's no need to create isolates or extracts from it either.
Hemp in its whole food state is apparently high in alkaline compare to most proteins which is a higher pH.
Futhermore, hemp contians all 10 essential amino acids. The amino acids boost the body's immune sustem and hastens recovery more fast.


Brendan Brazier also mentions that he finds the digestibility of hemp protein to be superior to all other proteins that hes tried.


Because at the moment I do not use any supplements before of after workouts my body is under a lot of strain whether I feel it or not so, I was looking for something that not only regenerates muscle recovery but also fat metabolism. 


Hemp seems to be the perfect sourcse for me so I will definitely have to add this superfood to my grocery list from now on!!