Healthy, yummy and KIMOCHI

Breakkie! Banana carob chip oatmeal. Fanstastically sweet!

Look at the melted carob chips! I have never liked banana and chocolate chip, or anything chocolate for a matter of fact, but carob steals the show any day!

The lip-smacking combination was 1/3 cup Quaker quick oats, 1/2 cup Almond breeze vanilla, 1/3 cup water, 1 Dole banana- half mashed in and half sliced, 2 tablespoon unsweetened carob chips, cinnamon and a generous drizzle of maple syrup.

After breakfast I went to the old hangout, Thomson plaza's fairprice finest! It has been months since I've been there. Used to grocery shop there every week. I miss my Japan import fresh produce so much! Not very sustainable but I couldn't help myself. Good organic range too. But mainly, I just wanted to get some ingredients for LV's cake which I baked for his birthday today!!! Seen below.

Came home at 12pm and made a quick lunch to clean up the fridge of leftover carrot, hummus and taro chips. So a wacky combination going on here. Look at the vibrant colors. Kimochi!!! Raw carrot sticks, Athenos garlic hummus, 1 slice Seattle brown loaf topped with 1 tablespoon honey soy nut butter and Xndo taro chips.

Dinner was prepared in 3 minutes! With the help of the microwave of course. The electrician was fixing the lighting in the living room so I brought dinner to the parents room and ate there. The weather is so hot that I didn't want to be near the stove, especially after an afternoon of baking. So microwaved my "instant" food, Xndo's Hainanese fish rice. Stirred in a handful for frozen peas and had the remaining Xndo taro chips on the side. It's like rice and chips below 400 calories. Nice!

Here's the birthday cake for my baby doggy LV who turns 5 today! I made it with organic ingredients and follow the recipe off Okashi by Keiko Ishida. It's one of my favorite cake books because Japanese tend to use very simple ingredients and healthy ones for that matter, to bring out the taste of their food. Have yet to attempt any recipe though because they look so pretty. But I did today with her little section dedicated to some doggy treats, like this birthday cake :)

Basically dog cakes are 100% edible by humans, just that they contain no salt or sugar or other flavor enhancers that are not considered natural. The cake mix was dominated by carrot and spinach, while the cream frosting was made with tofu and agar agar powder. The decoration of his name was the cream with an addition of carob powder. My family tried it and said it was not too bad, given the absence of butter, sugar and salt. But most importantly, my LV loves it. That make my whole afternoon melting in the backyard kitchen worth it.

xoxo. God bless.