P2 Lifestyle: Pregnant Girls Cocktail, Plus Repurposing Glass Bottles

I'm indulging in a Pregnant Girls Cocktail.

Fine, no alcohol. But, I want a fabulous glass for my drink!

Ingredients:
- Pretty Glass
- Water
- Slice of fresh squeezed lime
- Dash of sparking pomegranate spritz (for added flavor and color)

Sometimes, you just need to have a pretty drink in a pretty glass to kick off the day. 

FYI This glass actually used to contain preserve. I love turning glass containers into unique cups an vases. This particular one contained Braswell's All Natural Chocolate Raspberry Preserve. Yes, it tasted as good as it sounds! I got it at HomeGoods for about $4. 

Here are some other products that come in glass containers you can repurpose.  

Make the most of your food/beverage purchases, by giving them new life.

Reuse glass jars for drinking, making your own preserve with custom labels (here's a fun idea from craft store MIchael's), pencil holders or other office organizing, vases, etc. With the later, I love the idea of bunching mismatched glass containers and placing low cut flowers in them. Place three or four, with flowers, on a mirrored tray for added glamour in your bedroom or office. The littlest details can make the brightest impact on your day. Have a wonderful Wednesday! 

P2 Wellness: Energy Boosting Fig Pomegranate Salad

I’ve been feeling really tired the past few days; the kind of dragged-through-the-mud-by-a-truck-after-running-a-10k-marathon tried I felt when I was still pumping milk. Granted, I only closed the Milk Factory about two weeks ago, so my body is still adjusting. After days of falling asleep right before dinner, not being able to walk my daughter, Ms. Ilana Rose, in the morning, and moped around this house in a robe without any makeup, I decide to take action and jump back on the ultra-healthy bandwagon I jumped on when Ilana was born. I also needed to jump back on the Always Be Your Best You bandwagon!

On Tuesday morning, after a motivating chat with my mother I got out of bed, washed my face with my beloved Naturopathica Aloe Cleaning Gel, and put on It Cosmetics' Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer in Light, Hello Lashes Mascara in black, and their new Lip/Cheek stain which is still not for sale** .  Mentally, I felt a pinch better, and, I STRONGLY believe mental health feeds into physical health! Next step: have lunch.

I wanted to make something with the fresh figs our neighbors gave us on Sunday, because they are an excellent source of fiber (aka energy boost). Figs are also fat, sodium and cholesterol free.  

I hope you try my yummy salad in your kitchen and commit to living your best life. Remember, we can all fall off the wagon. Only the ones that really love themselves and want to live with a Never Surrender mojo, jump back on wearing coral lipstick and killer riding boots!

Figetaboutit Pom Salad

P2 Wellness: Figetaboutit Pom Salad 

4 fresh figs  

1 cup spinach leaves (or as much as you can grab with both hands)

2 tablespoons of crumbled goat cheese

½ avocado

½ pomegranate

¼ cup of crushed walnuts (or pistachio nuts)

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon of pomegranate juice

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

1.      Dice up the figs and avocado.

2.      Cut the pomegranate and take out the juicy pits. Careful to not stain your outfit!

3.      Crush the walnuts in your hand. Smaller pieces taste better in the salad.

4.      Mix the spinach, figs, avocado, pomegranate seeds, 1 tablespoon crumbled goat cheese and crushed walnuts in a bowl.

5.      Pour extra virgin olive oil and pomegranate juice into the bowl. Add salt and pepper. Mix.

6.      Place the salad on a pretty plate. How you eat is as important as what you eat, so I’m all about elevating ambiance to enhance the culinary experience. It also puts on smile on your face!

7.      Finish off my sprinkling the remaining 1 tablespoon of crumbled goat cheese on top of your salad. 

P2 Wellness: Figetaboutit Pom Salad, ingredients

**As soon at IT Cosmetics lip/cheek stain is available, i'll be sure to share the scoop.  

Cook For Your Man, Homemade Gyoza Recipe from Candice Kumai Pretty Delicious

Cooking for your man is just one of the many ways you can show him how much you love him, how much you appreciate him, and, therefore, how essential the relationship is in the hierarchy of your life.

Cooking Gyozas at Home

From the preparation to the plating, I love to cook. Aside from the health benefits of knowing what goes into my meal, and of course the economic perks, it's important for me to show my hubby that I value him and that I'm putting in the time to make his dinner or breakfast special. This is just one of the many baby steps that keep a marriage sizzling and fresh.
 
How many of you cooked for your significant other when you were in the early stages of your relationship? Have you stopped doing it over the months, years? You need to carve out the time to work your magic with the mixer, go wild with the wok or simply scramble and sizzle in the pan.
 
I'll be honest, during my first trimester, I couldn't stand most smells; my wonderful husband, along with the help of our moms, maned the kitchen. In my second trimester, we evacuated our home due to Sandy and couldn't return until late December. Now, back in my own kitchen and approaching seven months, I'm thrilled to put on the apron. I don't cook every night. I'm slower, when I do, and I need to be seated when doing the initial cutting/mixing/peeling etc. Nevertheless, I'm putting in the effort. In the same way I'm not surrendering my sexiness while pregnant, I'm not surrendering my spatial. Case in point, this week's gyoza. If you follow me on Instagram you've seen the images. Here's the recipe, courtesy of . It's easy, healthy and husband-approved.  Oh, and in case you're wondering, I've been know to cook in my sexy skivvies! Food+lingerie=marriage magic.

 

Mom's Homemade Gyoza Pretty Delicious by Candice Kumai

Chef Candice Kumai Makes her Mom's Homemade Gyoza

Dipping Sauce:

~ 1/4 Cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

~ 1/4 cup rice vinegar

~ scallions sliced on the diagonal

Gyoza:

~ 1 lb 96% Lean Ground Beef

~ 5 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in boiling water for 5min, drained & chopped

~ 5 scallions, finely chopped

~ 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

~ 3 large green cabbage leaves, finely chopped

~ 4 garlic cloves, minced

~ 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

~ 2 Tb Dark Sesame Oil

~ 1 tsp sugar

~ 1 tsp Fresh Grated Ginger

~ Flour for dusting surface

~ 30 Round Wonton Skins - about 1/2 the package

~ 6 tsp Veg oil

Chef Candice Kumai's Homemade Gyoza from Pretty Delicious

To make the sauce: Whisk the soy sauce and vinegar together in a small dish. Add the scallions and set aside.

To make the gyoza: Mix the ground beef, mushrooms, scallions, onion, cabbage, and garlic together in a large bowl.  Whisk the soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and sugar together in a small bowl. Add the soy sauce mixture to the beef mixture and stir together until combined.

Sprinkle a work surface with some flour. Place a small bowl of warm water next to your work area. Place a wonton wrapper on the floured area and place 2 teaspoons of the beef mixture in the center. (Depending on your wontons, you may only get in 1 teaspoon. No worries, I figured out what to do with the excess meat mix.**) Dip a finger in the warm water and moisten the edges of the wrapper, then fold the wrapper over the filling as if you were making a turnover. Press the edges together. Use your index finger and thumb to pinch the edges so they have a cute ruffled look like the edge of a pie crust. Set aside and repeat with the rest of the filling and wrappers.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of veg oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add about 10 gyoza to the pan and cook until the bottoms are golden brown, about 1-2 min. When peaking under the gyoza to check for browning, be gentle! They are very fragile. Add 1/4 cup of water to the skillet, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook without turning until the wrappers are translucent, about 2 min. Uncover and cook until the water has evaporated and the filling is cooked through, about 2-3 min longer.

 

Remove the pan from the heat. Pour any liquid remaining in the pan into a bowl. Place a large plate over the skillet, the plate should be larger than the skillet, and flip the pan over. The gyoza should effortlessly fall from pan to plate revealing their gorgeous, golden brown skins. Gyoza taste best when hot, so serve immediately with the dipping sauce as you cook up the next batch. Cook 2 more batches, adding a tiny bit more oil as needed and 1/4 cup water for each batch. Wipe out the skillet between batches if necessary.


Celeb Chef Candice Kumai's debut book Pretty Delicious

**Drizzle sesame oil into wok and pre-heat at medium/high for 1 minute. Throw excess meat/veggie mix into the wok and cook for about 2-3minutes. Throw in rice or noodles, as well as some of the dipping sauce from gyoza. Cook for another minute. Meal number 2 ready for the rest of the week.
ALSO, if you make a ton of gyoza you can freeze it. I usually make about 50 from the above recipe because my wontons are clearly smaller than what Candice buys.

Watch Candice make her gyozas.