Chia Seeds Diet!!??

I saw Chia Seeds Diet on Japanese TV show a couple of weeks ago. Then told myself, "why not? Sounds easy enough."

But first, have you heard about Chia Seeds? Or remember "Ch-ch-chi-chia?" jingle? That's the same seeds I am talking about!

They are simply small black seeds grown in South America that were a staple in the Aztec and Mayan diet.

According to the TV show, you only need 1 tablespoonful Chia Seeds a day and if you consume more than that, it does not effect the result of more weight loss, but you may have diarrhea.

Interesting thing about Chia Seeds is they change the texture when they absorb water.  They become "jello-like".

On the TV show, a lady tried eating 1 tablespoon of Chia Seeds a day for two weeks and lost 6 pounds. 

Since Chia Seeds are tasteless, you can eat these in many ways. I simply mixed with yogurt, smoothies and cereal.

Banana, strawberry, yogurt smoothie

Banana, peanut butter milk shake  

It's been a week since I started eating Chia Seeds, and I lost about 2 pounds. I am not sure if it is because of Chia Seeds or I just did not eat much or something else. But I am going to keep including Chia Seeds in my diet because they have nothing negative but great things!

Here are good stuff:
 1. Chia seeds boost your energy
 2. Reduce effects of type 2 diabetes
 3. Help bone health
 4. Reduce chances of developing heart disease
 5. Help you lose weight

 6. High in protein
 7. Good source of ‘good’ carbs
 8. Antioxidant boost
 9. Extremely low in calories
 10. Easy to incorporate into your diet

Obviously eating chia seeds needs to be combined with a balanced diet and exercise in order to help you lose weight. By consuming chia seeds on a regular basis, you are providing your body with an improved dose of fiber (up to 40% of your daily requirement), which slows the absorption of food and regulates your digestive system. This can contribute to weight loss by expanding in the stomach and therefore dulling your appetite and making you feel full. So get chia-ing for the perfect figure!

You can buy Chia Seeds at most of the grocery stores, definitely at Whole Foods. I bought them at Sprouts. They were on sale for $6.99/lb (regularly $9.99) and I bought 1/4 lb. It is about a full of mason jar.

Now, are you feeling to try Chia Seeds???

Must-have for Face Mask!

Cheap item to maximize Face Mask Effect!

Have you been to "DAISO"? It's a Japanese store where many unique Japanese products are sold at very reasonable price! I am talking about $1 and more. Their quality is very good. I've been #DAISO in Japan and here in LA. I can find exactly the same item I see in Japan.  It's really fun to visit as well.

The item I talk about today is this:

Silicon Moisturizing Mask Cover- reusable

By wearing over a sheet mask, it prevents mask essence from evaporating, help reserve the maximum amount of essence for skin nourishment. And this keeps the sheet mask in position. The sheet mask won't slip off when you move, so you can do more things than ever rather than resting.

 Recently I tried Orange Face Mask and Avocado Face Mask. Orange one smells so nice! Both of them gave me a great moisture. Orange one was recommended by Tomiko, my friend and purchased at Marukai (I don't remember how much, but it was about $5..?), Avocado ($3.99) one was in one of Beauty Boxes.

Haha! You can use just for eyes.

This one was highly recommended by my Japanese BBF, Yuriko. She said it is the best! #SK-II. It is very expensive. 10 packs $170. http://www.sk-ii.com

 For now, I use #Dr.CiLabo. Pack of 5 is $33. http://www.cilabousa.com

It's fun to try many kinds to see what works best for you!

I will post interesting items from DAISO soon!

 

If you don't have DAISO nearby, you can shop online. http://www.daisojapan.com. 

Have fun!

 

Tried "Hello Fresh" - fresh ingredients delivery service

Hello Fresh try-out

 

Have you ever heard "#Hello Fresh"? They deliver fresh ingredients and healthy recipes to our door every week so that you can cook meal. I've seen the ad a lot lately. I thought maybe some of you might were thinking, "Should I?", so I was willing to be your guinea pig : )

I got $40 off coupon from #Fitbit subscription, so I decided to try this out. The regular price for 3 meals/week for 2 people is $69.00 includes shipping. I got $10/meal for 2 people with coupon. They have meals for 4 people as well.

First you choose Classic Food Box or Veggie Box, Veggie Box is $59.00. Then you can choose your 3 meals out of 5. I chose Spiced Turkey Meatball with Parsnip Mash and Roasted Carrots, Northern Thai Style Galaam Oop with Beef, Simmered Cabbage, and Turmeric and Pretzel Bun Bratwursts with Tangy Apple-Cabbage Slaw.

The box came following Tuesday (you can choose the date). The box had 4 ice packs and all the meat packages were half frozen. Looked good!

DAY 1: Spiced Turkey Meatball with Parsnip Mash and Roasted Carrots

Vegitable was fresh, seasoning packets were convenient and garlic was peeled. I noticed there are 4 carrots and made me think, too many carrots.... (I'm not a big fan of carrots). The recipe was easy to follow and almost no measurement, nothing was left after cooking, just a half packet of Cayenne Pepper. It was supposed to be done in 40 minutes, but it took over an hour.

Looks good? Tasted OK. Really, just OK, nothing else I could say. And there were too much carrots. I am sure everybody has their own preference of taste, so probably safe to say, it was OK. Would we want to eat this again? No.

DAY 2: Northern Thai Style Galaam Oop with Beef, Simmered Cabbage

Cabbage was pre-shredded, so not much cutting. The beef's quality was good. Again recipe was easy, it should have been done in 30, but it took 45. Was I a slow cooker? I don't think so. I used the leftover Cayenne Pepper from last night and saved a packet of another Cayenne Pepper.

Hmmmm.

Our taste buds said, "Hmmmm..." The seasoning was only Turmeric, Cayenne Pepper, Salt and Pepper. It was better than last night, but still, we were not happy.  And I know it was NOT my cooking skill or anything. Actually, my husband ate leftover Pizza after this.

DAY 3: Pretzel Bun Bratwursts with Tangy Apple-Cabbage Slaw

Since Michael did not have much expectation any more, I was like, "Just get this over with" mode. But I had a little hope in German Bratwursts and Pretzel buns. This time, it was the easiest to make and I was right on 30 minutes mark. Big Bratwursts took a little longer to cook.

Michael: "Today is the last day, right? I'll eat popcorn at the movie theater later anyway." 

He ate Apple-Cabbage Slaw and said "I am really glad today was the last night. But it's good to try new stuff and I don't mind." And I agreed. I would not even want to pay $10 for these.

In my opinion, I would not subscribe this for $69.00. Yes, it is convenient and easy to make. But it did not meet our taste preference. I am Japanese and Michael is German-American Japanese, so maybe that is the reason why these meals did not go well with us. You might like this, though. But I would not want to pay full price to try. You can find 3-meal free discount code online, if you want to give a shot.

There are many companies to provide the same kind of service. If there is another chance to try others, I am happy to! That way, I can let other people know how it is before they try it. 

I hope this helps you. I will go back to my ordinary cooking tomorrow and Michael is looking forward to it. It's a good thing!

My Fav Halloween Snack!

Rice Crackers for Halloween??

Recently, Halloween is getting popular in Japan. I heard they enjoy Costume parties. Why not? We are a country known for Cosplay (Costume Play). On the other hand, Trick and Treating is not that common since we don't have "knocking a door in the neighborhood" culture.

Last week, I went to Marukai (Japanese Grocery Store) in Little Tokyo, downtown L.A. Surprisingly, there were lots of Halloween related snacks! Then I found my favorite rice cracker, "Happy Turn" in Halloween theme bag. It was so cute and I could not refuse.....yes, I did.

Happy Turn (individual)

Happy Turn and Bakauke

I thought it's kinda cute to make our own snacks into Halloween! Happy Turn is rice cracker with a bit of salt taste and Bakauke is with a shoyu (soy sauce) taste. Both are too good!! And it is individually wrapped, so in my opinion, it will prevent to eat entire bag....especially this specially packed one. It's nice to have those for Halloween for a change, isn't it?

This is a flyer for Halloween snacks.

If I had unlimited budget, I would have bought all of those!

Since I was talking about snacks, I would also mention my other favorite stuff....Gumi (gummy)..

Lychee hard candy, Lychee Gumi, Konpeito

Fruit Mix Gumi

Japanese Gumi has more fruity taste and it has real fruit juice. Konpeito is Sugar Candy. It's pure sugar, so it is awfully good!!! 

There are so many other cool snacks (and more) there, so if you have time, please stop by. You'll have fun!

Have a Happy Halloween!!!

Great Cosmetic Deal!!!

Too Many To Choose From....

I am not sure if you all are familiar with cosmetic (full size & samples) "subscriptions". Let me tell you what I subscribe first, after the great deal of consideration. My #1 favorite is "#ipsy #Grambag".  If you are interesting in makeups, you might know who Michelle Phan is. She is #1 Youtuber and now makes a loooooot of $$$. She and her friends got together and started "ipsy" cosmetic sampler bag subscription. This is what I received this month.

Every month, you will received 4-5 beauty products (you'll answer some questions to tailor to your preference) and a nice bag. Usually, one or two of them were full size. And it costs ONLY $10!! They are all great name brand products, so I think this is a super good deal.

This month, there were 5 items in MY bag.

1. Royal & Langnickel Moda Standard Eyeshadow Shader Brush - full size

2. MicaBeauty ipsy Exclusive Cream Eyeshadow in Bronze - full size

3. Lavanila Laboratories Pure Vanilla Deluxe Mini Roller Ball

4. The Balm Cosmetics Meet Matte Hughes Long-Lasting Liquid Lipstick

5. Beauty Without Cruelty Fragrance Free Hand and Body Lotion

I loved everything except 3. Vanilla Roller Ball. I just did not like the scent of Vanilla on me that much.

I could say those five products would cost about $35-40, so $10 is a steel!

After you received those, you go to ipsy's website and tell them if you liked them or not and they'll adjust next bag according to your reviews.

If you want to try, please go to https://www.ipsy.com/new?refer=831s. 

I also subscribe #WallmartBeautyBox. This month I received these.

Their box is not as fancy as ipsy's but it will be handy when I travel or just keep some in my purse. Plus they include sample+coupons. This month, there was a Full size #Neutrogena Healthy Volume Mascara which values $8.50, so, yeah, great deal.

Another box I like is Target's Beauty Box ($5, sometimes $7 or $10), this one, you have to go to Target.com and order it. However, this box is very popular due to the value of the contents, so often sold out. This month I missed it. From time to time, they have Beauty Box for Him, and it is also a good deal.

Subscribing those boxes are nice way to try out the new products before you commit to buy the full size or just to get a good deal.

There are many other Beauty Subscription - #Birchbox, #Allure, #beautybox5, #NewBeautyTestTube, #FitBitFun and more. I used to subscribe #NewBeautyTestTube and #FitBitFun, but not any more. I thought they were a bit too pricy.

Hope this helps!

Have a great rest of the week!

Fitbit, you are always with me...

Fitbit CHARGE

I used to carry a pedometer to track how many steps I took a day. Because I should take at least 10,000 steps a day to be healthy, so I heard. But if I wear one piece dress without any pockets or fancy outfits, I can not carry it.

I know....I should do some exercise.. I know, I know.... I walk my Shiba, Musashi, though. No, it's not enough.

So I've been trying to take 10,000 steps a day. To make it easy to track my steps, I had wanted #Fitbit last year. And I got it for Christmas, yay! Since then, Fitbit is with me every single day. It has been with me more than Michael, haha. There are many kinds of Fitbit, but I wanted CHARGE, why? Because CHARGE has vibration alarm. It is really the best way to wake up (for me), much better than the alarm sound. CHARGE tracks steps, distance, calories burned, floors climbed, active minutes and sleep AND includes Caller ID! How perfect is that!? There's CHARGE HR which tracks continuous heart rate, but I did not need this function that much.

Only downside of CHARGE is it only comes with rubber wrist bands (has 4 colors to choose from), No Bling....sad face.

Then, this spring, I saw the ad for Misfit with Swarovski bling wrist band....my heart sinked....

This looks really pretty and I loved the design. But I prioritized the function and decided to keep my Fitbit. Very hard decision...function over Bling..... Good job, Ikko!!!

A couple of month ago, my Fitbit started not holding the charge well, like it lasted only 1 day (usually the battery lasts 5-7 days). I searched online and I read other people had the same issue and contacted Fitbit company to replace it. I thought they would send me the new battery to replace. With the original receipt, Fitbit sent me BRAND NEW Fitbit! Wow!!!! When I charged and synced with my desk top, the data goes to Fitbit Company such as how many times I charge my Fitbit, so they said it was good enough proof that my Fitbit had a problem. I Love Love Fitbit Company. Wonderful customer service!

Fitbit has an app to oversee your progress and input the information.

And you can also sync with the desktop.

Today, so far I took 5,484 steps, walked 2.54 miles, burned 939 calories and climbed 4 floors as of 1:55 pm.  More steps to take!!

The price for CHARGE is $129.95 on the website, but you can find it on sale somewhere. Not big discount, though. I got mine $99.75 with $20 off with 5% Target Red Card discount last year. 

Sorry for the lengthy story today. 

Being healthy is the inner beauty! So let's take some steps today!!!!

Coffee..coffee....coffee

I love Coffee. A lot.

I started drinking coffee when I was a high school student, I guess I was a freshman. At that time, it was a cool thing to skip the classes and to go to Kissaten (Coffee Shop) - it was not a good thing to do from the school's stand point. There, my senpai (older students) introduced me "Vienna Coffee". We pronounced "Wiener Coffee". It was espresso with whipped cream and it was so good. Since then, I became Coffee Lover or addicted....

Now I have many kinds of coffee makers. Every morning, I use either Keurig or Tassimo.

I love Tassimo because I don't have to have cream/milk, but the pods cost more and it needs water filter. I buy cream pods and coffee pods. It has bar scanner and make coffee as it supposed to be, like Espresso, Cappuccino, Latte and so on. The cream is frosty just like you buy at some coffee shops. Keurig seems to be more easier. When you buy the pods on sale, a cup of coffee costs only 25-30 cents. I've been using my Keurig over 5 years. Our friend, Cheryl, Dave, Kari and Ruben kindly gave it to us for Christmas. I have Tassimo over 3 years. I received this to give my review (Lucky Me!!). Which one do I like better? It depends... When I forgot to buy creamer or milk, I go with Tassimo. When I want more coffee flavor, I use Keurig.

Then I have these... to search for the best coffee taste....

French Press

Vietnamese

Siphon

French Press, I think I can get full body taste, Vietnamese coffee maker gives you much darker and stronger flavor. Condensed milk is usually added.  Siphon gives me more flavorful taste, but it takes longer to brew.

I drink Green Tea as well.  I'll save it for another day.

It's fun to change the way to make coffee here and there to enjoy the different flavor. I like darker and stronger coffee better.

In Japan, we have "American Coffee" which is weaker than the regular coffee. So it was funny when I came here all the coffee was American.... Yes, it was much weaker. Plus we can not get refill for coffee or any drinks over there. In that sense, it is heaven for me to be able to drink almost anything as much as I want at restaurants and fast food places here. The servers even come to the tables to give more until I tell them to stop. What a wonderful country!