Chicken Larb

If your a Thai food fan I'm certain you've tried larb which is a classic Thai dish made with spiced meat. Don't let the name throw you off, larb is a refreshing dish filled with flavor and doesn't leave you with the feeling of being stuffed.  When I prepared this for my husband he insisted on calling them lettuce wraps until he bit into one and discovered it's a completely different taste.  After one bite he fell in love!  Served as a wrap in romaine lettuce it's the perfect low-fat dish.

Ingredients:

1lb ground chicken
1 pkg romaine lettuce
1/2 red onion
1/2 large chile pepper chopped and sliced
1 small lemon grass stick finely chopped
1/2 small white onion
3 1/2 tbls Olive oil
Sea salt
Garlic powder
Pepper

Larb sauce
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon
2 1/2 tbls fish sauce
2 1/2 tbls honey

Directions:

1.  Add all the ingredients for the larb sauce in a medium bowl and  mix well.  Set aside

2.  In a hot skillet, heat the olive oil over medium fire.  Add the chile, onion, lemongrass, sea salt, garlic powder and pepper.  Cook until tender for about 4-5 minutes.  Add the chicken and season with salt.  Cooking until cooked throughout.  Add the larb sauce to the chicken and let simmer for 3 minutes.

3.  Spoon the chicken onto the lettuce and serve.

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Health & Fitness

When it comes to fitness I have to admit it's truly a necessary evil for me.  I would rather devour an entire bread pudding in one sitting than work out, but unfortunately it's not an option anymore.  I, like pretty much every woman I know is not 100% satisfied with my body but have over the years accepted the fact despite how many lunges and squats I do, I will never be completely rid of cellulite.  In addition to the cellulite which I now consider womanhood,  I will NOT eliminate carbs from my diet, nor will I deprive myself, it's just simply not gonna happen I love food wayyy too much.  With that said,  I do make an effort to watch what I eat and have become accustomed to naturally graviting toward healthier options.   I'm conscience of what I eat and know that regardless how intense a workout is, if your diet isn't on point, it's all for nothing. The last few months I have been asked about my health and fitness routine which I promised I would post, so here goes.

I workout at home 4 days a week for a little over an hour using the following equipment with the following routine.  If you don't have access to gym equipment, the workout I do gives you a mix of home and gym.

Equipment:

Treadmill- Lifespan 4000I 
Multi Gym-Inspire M4 fitness 
Curl Bar
Weight Plates  2x25lb  4x10lb 4x5lb
Weight Bench


Treadmill- (4 days)
10 minute run on the treadmill at 5.0 mph and 2 incline
3 minute on each side, treadmill side step 2.8 mph 10 incline (see an example here)
5 minute reverse walking treadmill 2.0 mph 10 incline (see an example here )
2 minute treadmill walking lunge 1.3 mph 15 incline (see an example here)

Legs and glutes (alternate with chest arms and back days)
Plie' Squats-2 sets of 12 with a 40lb weight (see an example here)
Walking Lunges-50 walking lunges with a 10lb weight in each hand (see an example here)
Weighted Squats- 3 sets of 12 with 2 25lb weights (see an example here)
Dead Lift- 3 sets of 12 with 2 25lb weights- (see an example here)
Leg Extension- 3 sets of 12- (see example here)
Leg Curls- 3 sets of 12 (see example here)
Kick backs-2 sets of 12 on each side (see example here)

Chest, arms, abs and back (alternate with legs and glutes)
Chest press- 2 sets of 12 (see example here)
Twisting jack knife- 2 sets of 12 using a 10lb weight (see example here)
Shoulder press- 2 sets of 12 (see example here)
Tricep push down- 2 sets of 12 (see example here)
Kneeling ab crunch 2 sets of 12 (see example here)
Bicep Curl 2 sets of 12 (see example here)
Wide lat pull down 2 sets of 12 (see example here)

Pre workout drink- I generally need something to give me gym energy but doesn't leave me jittery for the rest of the day and this one is pretty good.

Found here

Shakeology- Perfect after work-out shake  

Vitamins vitamins vitamins- I am faithful to my vitamin intake and because I am not a fan of taking pills, I take the easy route and go gummy when I can.

Fish oil- Heart health, weight loss, improved immunity and anti-inflammatory

Multi Vitamins- Overall health

Calcium + vitamin D- great for my bones, heart and nerves to function properly

Immunity Support- I'm going to thank little guys these for allowing me not to have contracted a cold since 2009

Iron- because I don't eat red meat, it's a necessity

B-Complex-Energy

Phyto-hair and nails 

Health and fitness is a part of my life not just because I need my clothes to fit properly but because I want and need to be healthy.  When I start my day with fitness I tend to make better choices throughout.  This routine works for me, it's very no frills and because I workout at home, gives me NO excuses.

   

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DIY Midi High Slit Skirt

When it comes to midi's and maxi's, diy's give me a perfect opportunity to experiment.  For this high slit midi skirt I used jersey fabric from Mood and this Vogue pattern with the following alterations:

Used only the skirt pieces for view C
Extend the slit
Added a high 4" waist band

For the top I used the bodice of this dress pattern with the following alterations:

Double layer 3/4" sleeve
Extended the wrap ends to create a full wrap top

Top-DIY
Skirt-DIY
Heels- Camilla Skovgaard
Belt-DIY
Shades-Prada

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DIY Ruffle Dress

When I fall in love with something, I tend to go all out buying or making it in multiple colors and variations which is what happened with this Mccalls 6355 pattern.  It was such a quick fun dress, I couldn't resist making it in this medium weight jersey I picked up from Joann's.  I made a few changes this go around with a slightly longer ruffle, and top stitch pleat design lines down the front of the dress which makes the dress better fitting and uniquely different.  I also added 1/8" to the sleeve to balance the longer ruffle.  I may try to sneak in another version before the end of the summer :).

Dress-  available here
Clutch- Fendi
Shades- Prada

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Shrimp Francese

When it comes to shrimp I could literally eat them daily, but unfortunately I have to check my hereditary cholesterol issue so I try to keep it to a minimum.  But one of my favorite dishes which I remember vividly acting as a taste tester for was my mom's shrimp francese which has a tangy citrus explosion of flavors.  Dished up this is a gorgeous meal to serve to at a dinner party.

Ingredients

1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined and butterflied

2 large eggs and 1 tbls egg white

1 cup flour

2/3 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup white wine

juice of 1 lemon

1/3 cup onions

1 cup chopped tomatoes

4 tbls cold butter

1 8-oz package of spinach

garlic powder

pepper

sea salt

4 tbls plus 1 tsp olive oil

parsley

shaved Parmesan 

1.  Whisk the egg, parsley, garlic powder, pepper and salt in a small bowl.  In another bowl add the flour.  

2.  Heat the 4 tbls olive oil in a shallow pan.

3.  Dip the shrimp in the egg mix then flour and fry until lightly brown.

4.  In another skillet add 1tsp oil and brown the onion.  Add the wine, lemon juice, broth and bring to a boil.  Add the tomatoes and butter and simmer for 3-5 minutes.

5.  Steam the spinach in a sauce pan with salt and pepper and set aside.

6.  Add the shrimp to the wine sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes.

7.  Serve the shrimp and sauce over the spinach.

8.  Garnish with fresh shredded Parmesan.

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DIY Perfect Summer Frock

I love maxi dresses like no other so with summer looming, a closet of light weight maxi's will never get old so prepare to see quite a few in the coming weeks.  Using Butterick pattern B5454 and this light weight jersey from Mood I made the following pattern alterations:

Added 23" to the skirt
Added 7" to the sleeve and added elastic
Wanted a thinner belt so cut 72"x3"
Instead of the two block pleats in the front and back of the skirt, I used small pleats around the entire skirt.
Instead of the block pleats on the bodice I used three small pleats on each side
To add volume to the shoulders, I added two pleats

Dress: available here
Necklaces: DIY
Shades- Prada

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DIY Skater Dress

When looking for a dress style I wouldn't typically wear, I pulled out this Butterick pattern I picked up a few weeks ago during a $1.99 sale and used this Mood fabric left over from this spring leather DIY. I decided to make the bodice of A and the skirt of B with the following alterations:

Removed 7" from the skirt
Instead of gathering on the bodice and skirt, I used pleats
Instead of a traditional lining for the bodice, I used the same fabric which gave it more structure.
I didn't line the skirt

I plan to make a few variations of this pattern considering it only took a few hours to put together.

Dress- DIY
Heels- Miu Miu alternate version here
Clutch-Prada
Shades-Dior
Earrings- DIY

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DIY Leather Tassel Clutch

 Who can resist a white leather clutch? not many! With summer looming, this addition to your wardrobe will be an easy goto.

Tools:

    Additional supplies: bag stabilizer 14.5x8.5

                                     black leather scraps

Trim the edge of the zipper if necessary 

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DIY Nautical Dress

I've been hanging on to this jersey fabric from Mood for quite a while and figured what would be better than a little summer frock.  Jersey dresses are insanely easy to fit, which makes these 2 hour dresses perfect for summer sewing.  I used the super easy McCalls M6355 pattern view D with the following alterations:

Opted for sleeveless
Included back darts for fitting
Added a hem ruffle- cut a piece of fabric 1.5 x the length of the circumference of the hem of the dress x 4.5" wide.  Pin the ends of the cut fabric and sew together on the wrong side.  Pin the fabric to the seam of the dress on each side with one pin each which will leave excess fabric in the middle.  Begin to pleat the fabric as you work your way around the hem.  Double stitch the fabric to the hem.

Dress: Available here
Heels: Alexander Wang
Shades: Prada

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