Cut to shape (AW14 lingerie + shopping)

When it comes to shopping for lingerie I buy whatever catches my eye. Admittedly, I do not consciously keep my bodyshape in mind, because I already know what will look good on me without trying it on. Are you, however, clueless when it comes to lingerie, with the oversupply in shapes and colors of panties and bras? Then definitely keep on reading to find how you can rock the latest lingerie trends with your bodytype!

Enjoy reading!

Healthy or nah? (review Thai Food Café & Saigon Café)

Hi everyone! The past week has been one full of social commitments with loved ones. I mentioned in a previous post that one of my favorite ways to spend qt is by having dinner. Of course it is not easy trying to eat according to a semi strict diet (e.g. Paleo) when eating out, because you never know how much sugar, sodium, or MSG is dumped in your food during preparation. The only thing you have control over (except for picking a different restaurant) is opting for healthier choices on the menu. But I honestly did not do that, lol. The "healthy" part about the dinners I had is that they were at restaurants serving Asian cuisine.

First up is the Vietnamese dinner my so and I had at Saigon Café the other day. We had the rice paper rolls with shrimp and pork for starters, and split the crêpe with shrimp and pork, beef phô, and garlic lemongrass ribs for main. For dessert I had the coconut pudding with stewed bananas. I always enjoy the food at this restaurant, although their rice paper rolls are not the best I have had so far. I would have preferred the pork to have some roasted skin on it and the rolls to be a bit bigger. I can really recommend you the crêpe though!

Today I also met up with my childhood friends to catch up, and we decided to eat at a Thai casual styled restaurant. For starters we had the mix of entrées (meatballs, chicken skewer and sausage) and coconut soup with mushrooms. For main we had the pad Thai, massaman curry, and pad king, and for dessert we split the sticky coconut rice with mango.

You would think that Thai food is fairly safe for me to eat. As far as I know, Thai cuisine is known for cooking with coconut milk, which does not contain lactose. Although the food was delicious (the entrées being better than the mains), somehow my body still managed to reject it and refuse to digest properly. Because my friends did not have any symptoms I still do not think I had food poisoning, but seen as I did not ingest any milk based products (from my knowledge) I am still quite confused as to what caused my (acute) condition.

This is just one of the many times I have had problems with my bowels that cannot be explained, and which therefore fall somewhere under the category of "Irritable Bowel Syndrome". I guess that was enough non-Paleo eating for the coming weeks, although I did notice a major change in my eating pattern already. Namely, I eat way less than I am used to! I usually stuff myself full and look about 3 months pregnant after I am finished eating. But now I tend to eat until I am content. Progress is showing!

www.saigon-cafe.nl

www.thaifoodcafe.nl

Lobi,

Fail.com + exercising (update #1)

Hi everyone! I hope everyone is having a great week feeling energetic, happy, and content. Unfortunately I do not have a recipe for you today, because I have not been very creative in the kitchen this week. In between all these recipes and pictures of food that turned out tasting great, I have had my fair share of FAIL.com situations in my kitchen.

The other day, for instance, I tried out a recipe for sweet potato bread I had been dying to make. The bread came out looking great, but as soon as the smell hit me I knew something went wrong. I did not screw up with measurements this time, so I am not really sure what went wrong. Maybe I should invest in a food processor, seen as my blender cannot handle everything.

1) Back to the bread story, I actually baked a mini loaf and some cupcakes with the mixture. Everything that came out of my oven smelled like egg. Yes, eggs were part of the recipe (uhh, we are baking here), but that is not the smell you expect when your main ingredient is sweet potato! Unlucky for me, the bread tasted like egg too. Can you imagine the horrible taste, if it had an "eggy" flavor, but somehow still did not taste right?

I will have another food post coming up soon, because I am determined to "bake" a dairy free, gluten free, raw, vegan "cheese"cake! I have been eyeing those Pana Chocolate cakes for ages now, and fatty as I am I simply háve to try some (counterfeit versions) of these babies out! Seen as I cannot board on a plane to Australia anytime soon, this just means I will have to make some myself. :)

2) The other day I had a lecture by Vodafone's current CEO and I remember him saying somewhere along the lines of; If you don't make time for exercise now, you'll eventually have to make time for being sick. I could not have agreed more with him and his inspiring/motivational speech. Unfortunately, my body does not always do what my mind tells it to do. I have been on my "journey to health" for about two weeks now and I can honestly say it has not been flawless.

You know the notion "You don't realize what you have until it's gone"? Well, I have a somewhat similar relationship with food. For instance, I mentioned in a previous post that I am not really fond of eating bread. I like it, but seen as it is usually served with cold cuts (e.g. cheese), sweet  toppings or spread, it has never been a favorite on my list. So I figured I could easily cut out wheat from my diet. Boy, was I wrong. Knowing I could not have any grains or dairy, I suddenly began craving for French bread with cheese, really really bad. After a week or so, I succumbed.

In learning new habits, I have found out through the years that I am not a "cold turkey" type of person. I can be. For maybe 1.5 week tops. And then I fall back into my old routine, which often includes binge eating. The best way for me to change is with baby steps. A healthy lifestyle is obviously more than just eating clean, it is also about exercising. The problem with me is that I have always viewed exercise as a means to something. A means to getting toned, to get fitter, to lose weight.

Until I started exercising regularly last year in Toronto I did not realize that exercise can also be a means to mental health, and in itself be a form of relaxation that can be enjoyable despite of the effort and pains it can involve. Changing my mindset is a step-by-step process, and I am slowly getting there. And what way better to change your outlook on life and your body than to practice yoga? I have been enjoying my weekly yoga classes and I can recommend this form of exercise to anyone who wants to become healthier physically and especially spiritually.

On a last (random) note, another thing I absolutely loved about the lecture? Finding out that I am not the only one who thinks the Dutch saying (and common conception) "Doe maar gewoon, dan doe je al gek genoeg" [Act normal, because normal is crazy enough], is a pair of bullocks. Stand out in this world and be your own unique self. Screw what others think of you and be confident enough to walk in your own shoes.

Lobi,


Pictures from panachocolate Instagram, Google.com