Lately, I've made it a goal to start eating clean and healthy weekday dinners. I admit that cooking for myself is not the most exciting pastime, and so it was natural that I ended up putting very little effort into my meals and consequently ate a lot of junk food. I have to admit that doing this didn't make me feel the best, and probably even escalated the amount of stress and anxiety I was feeling on a daily basis. The amount of sugar I was eating left me feeling tired yet antsy all the time. So, in an attempt to start taking care of my physical and mental health, I've started waking up early to go to the gym and to eat more healthy, non-processed foods. This decision wasn't necessarily to lose weight (I'm lucky that I'm still young and have a fast metabolism). It was more geared towards making me a happier and more positive person. I can tell you that I felt 10 times more energized going to work after exercising in the morning. Of course, during weekends, I'll still treat myself to a Tonkotsu ramen or even some Korean fried chicken. But on weekdays, when I need to be at the top of my game and to feel confident, I'm really trying to improve my emotional health through exercising and avoiding sugary and processed foods.

One of the first Korean dishes I was introduced to was bibimbap. I had the normal cold version at a Korean church and later learned about dolsot bibimbap (the one in the hot stone bowl) from going to Korean restaurants with friends. I loved putting loads of gochujang (sweet, spicy paste) in my bibimbap and mixing it around with the sunny-side up egg. It was so satisfying. But bibimbap can also get a bit heavy with amount of white rice that's in the dish, which you might not even notice when mixing it around with the other ingredients. The portion given at restaurants for this dish can also be quite big.

In my version, I took out the rice completely and added in edamame and avocados to replace the carbs with protein. I took out the bulgogi and replaced it with imitation crab meat—which is insanely delicious and is only 80 calories per 3 ounces. Then, I swapped out the fried egg for a soft boiled egg. On top, I took out the gochujang for its high sugar and salt content and replaced it with a small drizzle of sesame oil and freshly cracked black pepper. I guess the only ingredient that ended up staying was the kimchi. On the side, for some banchan (side dishes), I steamed a small block of tofu and drizzled it with soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.

Healthyish "Bibimbap" calories

Ingredients

For the "Bibimbap"

• Half an avocado
• ½ cup Edamame
• 1 oz Imitation Crab
• A few pieces of Kimchi
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• Black Pepper
• Sesame Seeds

Steamed Tofu

• ¼ a block of soft tofu
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp rice vinegar

Takes 15 minutes, Makes 1 serving.

Instructions

1. Put the edamame and tofu into two separate bowls and bring a pot of water to a boil. Place the two bowls into the boiling water and steam the edamame and tofu for 5 minutes.


2. Chop up half an avocado into small bite-sized cubes.


3. Layer the edamame, avocado, imitation crab, and kimchi into a bowl. Lightly drizzle with sesame oil.


4. For the soft-boiled egg on top: put an egg into boiling water for around 6 minutes and then immediately submerge the egg into an ice water bath to stop the cooking process. Peel the egg carefully, slice it into halves, and layer it on top of the ingredients in the bowl.
 

5. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and garnish with freshly cracked black pepper.


6. For the tofu side dish, mix the soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar and drizzle on top of the steamed tofu.

This dish super is easy to make and requires very minimal cooking (all you need to do is steam the edamame and tofu, and soft-boil an egg!). Since you're only boiling/steaming the ingredients, your clean-up will super simple as well. See? Eating healthy doesn't mean you have to spend a lot of time cooking at all!

Eating healthy also doesn't mean cutting out all of your favorite foods. There are loads of delicious ingredients that also contain numerous health benefits—avocados are my favorite, haven't you noticed? There's no one simple solution for everyone to eat healthy, so find your own favorite healthy ingredients, and start getting creative!

♥ Cindy

After scrolling through my Instagram feed one night, I discovered a clothing brand called Petite Studio: an online womenswear brand for Petite women, by Petite women. After scrolling through their feed and coming across a few clean, elegant pieces that gave off major “Effortless Parisian” vibes, I instantly felt like I needed to buy everything. Not only did I fall in love with the brand’s aesthetic, I knew everything would fit me perfectly as well.

This was also a collaboration with the talented Iann, a photographer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Be sure to check out her amazing work on her Instagram and website.

The first item I fell in love with was the Bailey Jumpsuit. The looseness and effortlessness of the jumpsuit stood out to me, and it gave me a “vacationing in Southern Europe” feeling. For a petite girl, shopping for pants is hard enough. So you can imagine what shopping for jumpsuits is like. Usually I have fit issues with standard-size jumpsuits—they would fit correctly on some parts of my body, and then fit horribly on others. This one, on the other hand, fit like a glove.

Can we seriously appreciate how the length of the pant sits right above the ankle? Gives me a perfect opportunity to show off one of my favorite shoes: The Modern Loafer Mule by Everlane (in white, to complete the whole white-on-white aesthetic)

Bailey Jumpsuit: Petite Studio NYC| The Modern Loafer Mule: Everlane | Dangling Hoop Earrings: Yesstyle

Because of the bagginess and the slightly tomboy-ish vibe of this jumpsuit, I made sure to throw in a more feminine accent with these dangly hoops.

The next piece I chose from Petite Studio was the Poppy Dress. This dres combined three of my favorite trends into one: gingham, the button front accent, and yellow. Again: instant vacation vibes. I paired it with a white, cropped denim jacket and a pair of yellow mules to complete the clean, effortless vibe of the outfit.

Poppy Dress: Petite Studio NYC| Cropped white denim jacket: ZARA | Yellow mules: Thrifted

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Thanks a ton to my photographer for all of this, Iann, who reached out and planned this entire shoot at the Legion of Honor. Be sure to follow her on Instagram: @iannivy

♥ Cindy

It’s autumn in California, and you know what that means—fig season! For breakfast, I decided to ditch my usual avocado toast (unheard of, I know), for a more seasonal favorite—figs and ricotta on toast. This simple 4-ingredient dish will complete a fancy breakfast or snack in minutes. Let your toaster do most of the cooking, and then just finish up with the assembly of ingredients on top.

As I entered through the doors of Trader Joe’s, the boxes of figs were the first to catch my eye. It’s always delightful to see them pop up every autumn at groceries stores and (occasionally) at the office. As soon as I saw them, I knew I had to pair them with one of my Trader Joe’s favorites—the Sliced French Brioche. This bread is the perfect size for this kind of open-face toast. Not to mention they are so delicious just by themselves because of their buttery, sweet taste. I have to confess that I’ve eaten them plain and un-toasted without any butters or jams multiple times.

Figs are super versatile in what kind of dishes they can contribute to. For the savory category: toss them into a salad with arugula and walnuts, sprinkle them onto flatbread with gorgonzola, or add them on top of a crostini with prosciutto. As for the sweet, well, there are too many recipes to list. But cakes, tarts, pastries, bars, and cookies are just some ideas. One of my coworkers even incorporated them into an ice cream!

Fig, Ricotta, and Honey Toast

Ingredients

• 2 Figs
• 2 tbsp Ricotta Cheese
• 1 tsp of honey
• Sliced Bread (preferrably on the thicker side)
• Honey for drizzling

Takes 5 minutes, Makes 1 serving.

Instructions

1. Remove the top stem of the figs and slice them into thin, round disks.


2. Thoroughly mix the ricotta cheese with the honey.


3. Toast the bread using a toaster, oven, or a pan.


4. Spread the ricotta cheese and honey mixture onto the toast and assemble the slices of fig on top. Drizzle with honey to finsh. Enjoy while the toast is still hot.
 

Did I mention figs also have a high content of potassium, fiber, and calcium? They will add a great boost for a nutritious breakfast without contributing much to the calories.

Happy fall, everyone 🍁

♥ Cindy

As summer comes to an end, I wanted to give a shout out to the Eggieshop summer drop for rocking my outfits on my vacation to Italy. I wore one of my favorites from the collection, The Helena Top, on the island of Burano off the coast of Venice. And boy, the clean white, feminine top looked so gorgeous against the backdrop created by the vibrant, colorful houses

Every corner on every street in Burano is extremely photogenic. The photoshoot actually ended up becoming pretty difficult because all of the locations that we stumbled upon worked so damn well. Beware, this island is not for the indecisve.

I decided to pair the clean and crisp white Helena Top with a more vibrant mustard button-front midi skirt from Soprano. Because this top is cropped and shows more skin than I'm used to, I knew I wanted to pair it with a pair of jeans or a high waisted skirt. But because it was nearly 100 degrees in Burano that day, I really didn't want to slip on a pair of jeans. Luckily, the brightness of the skirt blended perfectly within the bright colors of the Burano houses. 

And yes, I was one amongst many girls taking photos on the island with their "Instagram husbands."

Helena Top: Eggieshop| Mustard button-front midi skirt: Soprano, via Nordstrom | The Zip-Top Transport Crossbody: Madewell | Flats: Forever 21

Shop this outfit

EggieShop

Soprano

Madewell

Curious to see more of Burano and Venice? Check out my vlog and photos in this post.

♥ Cindy

Video was shot using the iPhoneX + DJI Osmo Mobile 2 for stabilization. Edited with Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2018 and Adobe After Effects CC 2018.

Happy Labor Day everyone! Hope you all had a great time relaxing during the long weekend. I spent most of my holiday with my family up in Lake Tahoe, exploring Emerald Bay and hiking up the mountains with... the new addition to the fam—Kairos the Corgi! 

Many of these shots were taken on the top deck of a boat cruise that circled the lake and took us to Emerald Bay.

If Emerald Bay gets a little too crowded, head on over to Sugar Pine Beach, where there are plenty of parking spots and lots of shallow waters to swim and do water sports in. Here I am, in head-to-toe H&M (probably the most inexpensive outfit from my closet).

The last few times I blogged about travel, my posts were mostly focused on bigger cities and their attractions and restaurants. It's a nice change to visit a place that's more nature-focused. In this setting, there are definitely more opportunities to take photos with more negative space (my favorite!).

Emerald Bay got its name because its waters are slightly green. The more shallow an area of water is, the more green light that it reflects.

We brought Kairos the Corgi, our Pembroke Welsh Corgi pup, along for the ride. He's super adorable but also super sassy—and can be quite a pain in the ass when he gets excited. To keep up with Kai and his daily musings, follow him on his Instagram account: @kairosthecorgi—which is growing way faster than my personal account. I don't know whether I should feel happy or sad about that.

My apparel might not be sporty enough for hiking, but I'm absolutely in love with this jumpsuit from Petite Studio. It fits me so well, and the bottom of the pant is tailored to sit perfectly on my ankles. Not too long, not too short. My only complaint is that it was quite a splurge (it's apparently on sale now though!).

If you enjoyed these photos, please don't hesitate to pin them on Pinterest. If you enjoyed the video, give it a thumbs up, and subscribe to my YouTube channel as well :)

♥ Cindy

Ah, the classic Millennial breakfast item: avocado toast. Every café in San Francisco has its own variation of it, and yes, they will charge you an unreasonable price for it. So why not beat the system and make it yourself in the comfort of your own home? There's really no rocket science to avocado toast, so there's no reason why you shouldn't make it yourself for a fraction of the price. All you need is bread, avocados, and maybe, if you're feeling fancy, an egg. Another great advantage to making avocado toast yourself is you can put whatever you want on top of it. Avocado Toast is a great canvas for showcasing your favorite ingredients—so get creative, and pile up your favorite veggies, proteins, and spices.

Variation 1: Diced, with smoked salmon and ramen egg on toast

Ingredients: Avocados, smoked salmon, bread, eggs, salt & pepper.

For this first variation, dice up the avocado into small cubes and mix with salt and pepper. Put a slice of bread (preferably thick) into the toaster and toast until golden. Spoon the avocado cubes onto the toast and layer a few small slices of smoked salmon. Top it off with half of a soft-boiled egg. Sprinkle on salt and freshly ground pepper to finish.

For the soft-boiled (ramen) egg

Soft boiled eggs have gotten incredibly popular these days after people got accustomed to them in their broth at Ramen restaurants. Although I've always hated boiling eggs due to the difficulty of the peeling process, I find that these soft boiled eggs are actually really great to make in bulk, and make for an easy cleanup after cooking. All you have to do is bring a pot of water to a boil, put your eggs in for around 6 minutes, and then transfer them immediately into a ice water bath (to stop the cooking process). I also suggest watching this very satisfying video for a more detailed demo.

Variation 2: Deconstructed Japanese style -

With furikake and Tamagoyaki

Ingredients: Avocados, Furikake seasoning, Eggs, Salt & Pepper

Deconstruct your avocado toast and transform it into a Japanese breakfast item by simply slicing it and sprinkling some furikake flakes on top of it. Serve it with some sushi rice and tamagoyaki on the side. It's difficult to explain how tamagoyaki achieves its shape in words, so I'll link you to this video which taught me how to make it. You don't necessarily need to a square pan to make it, but it definitely helps to have one.

Interested in what a Japanese breakfast consists of and how to make it? Hop on over to this post to learn all about it.

Variation 3: Sliced avocado on top multi-grain toast with everything but bagel seasoning and a poached egg

Ingredients: Avocados, Bread, Eggs, Everything But Bagel Seasoning (or any seasoning you like)

This is the classic variation of avocado toast, and probably one of easiest to make. Grab a piece of multi-grain toast and pop it into the toaster. Slice up an avocado and fan it across the toast, sprinkling a generous portion of Everything But Bagel Seasoning on top. Poach an egg, leaving the it runny and place it on top of the avocados. Finish up with freshly-ground black pepper on top.

If you're feeling a bit adventurous, why not dress up your classic avocado toast with some sriracha on top?

Variation 4: Protein-Style

On top of a salad

Ingredients: Avocados, Eggs, Lettuce, Grilled Chicken, Tangerines

We're all familiar with "protein-style" burgers—this term basically describes a burger without the bun. You can also apply this concept to avocado toast, and put what you would normally put on top of a piece of toast on top of a bed of greens instead. For my salad, I tossed together green and purple lettuce together with some grilled chicken and tangerine slices. I layered a few avocado slices above the salad and finished up with a sunny-side up egg on top. And voilà, the perfect post-workout meal!

Variation 5: Smashed with sesame oil and sesame seeds

Ingredients: Avocados, Eggs, Bread, Sesame Seeds, Sesame oil

Dice up the avocado into small pieces and place them into a bowl. Smash together the avocado until you reach the consistency of guacamole, and then drizzle in sesame oil to taste. Continue smashing the avocado until the sesame oil is well combined. Spread this mixture on top of a toasted slice of multi-grain bread and finish up with a poached egg. Sprinkle some black and white sesame seeds on top for garnish and texture.

Before I end the post, I also want to give a shoutout to some of my favorite cafés in San Francisco that offer some great versions of avocado toast.

mazarine coffee's avocado toast with poached eggs and sprouts

The main reason why I love Mazarine's avocado toast so much is the lovely brick toast that everything sits on top of. Mazarine gives you 2 perfectly poached eggs, a hearty scoop of avocado, chives, and sprouts on top of their pain de mie, which is toasted to perfection and tastes a bit sweeter than most breads. In addition to their avocado toast, they offer a variety of other toasts, such as toasts topped with fig jam & ricotta and salmon with cream cheese and cucumber. 

Mazarine Coffee

720 Market St
San Francisco, CA 94102

b/t Ofarrell St & Kearny St
Union Square, Financial District

mazarinecoffee.com

Blue Bottle Coffee's avocado toast with red radishes and sesame seeds

I do have to admit that $9 is an awful lot to pay for a slice of bread with some avocados and veggies on top, but when it comes in a heart shape, how can you say no? Blue Bottle Coffee has multiple locations across San Francisco, but my favorite has to be the location in Mint Plaza because of the yummy breakfast items they serve. This avocado toast comes with red radishes and a generous sprinkle of black and white sesame seeds. You also receive 2 perfectly poached eggs on the side.

Blue Bottle Coffee

66 Mint St
San Francisco, CA 94103

b/t Jessie St & Mission St
SoMa, Union Square

bluebottlecoffee.com

I hope you felt inspired by this post to head on over to the grocery store to pick up some avocados to incorporate into your own breakfast. Not only are they super delicious, but they're also full of health benefits. They're loaded with fiber, heart-healthy fatty acids, and Vitamin C (hello beautiful skin!). Not to mention, they have more potassium than bananas. They're also super versatile, and can contribute to so many different dishes of different cuisines, and work for all meals of the day—breakfast, lunch, or dinner. 

Let me know how you end up using your avocados in the comments below!

♥ Cindy