Random things I'm really liking

So yay! Finally came back from Norcal but am super exhausted. We drove since it was a holiday and figured it'd be some good bonding time. But let me tell you, driving for 17 hours in 2 days is no fun! I'm fairly tired still but I still wanted to share some of the random things I've been liking lately before I put up a "real post". I like random blog posts anyway :)

Trader Joe's Chinese Chicken Salad $3.99

GAH, This is so effing good. However I stopped buying them for awhile because if I wanted to eat something that was 650 calories, I wouldn't be eating a salad. I tried the low fat one and its just not as good since the dressing is so artificial tasting, so for awhile I started just halving the dressing since that alone is 300(!) calories. I'm not in to calorie counting but come on...so I thought of a better solution.

Look! 300 calories. JUST FOR DRESSING. So I thought...this is a sesame oil dressing. A lot of oils have 100 cals or so per tbsp. (which is why I avoid cooking with oil as much as I can) so I figured...why not just scrape off the oil? So I carefully scrape off the majority of the oil and boom. Much lower calorically and even without the majority of the oil there's more than enough dressing for the rest of the salad!

 So. Much. Oil.

You can also omit the wonton chips (but I eat them separately because I love fried wonton skin!) and you bring it all down to 350ish anyway :) Without sacrificing any of the taste! Its so amazingly good. The dressing is just so perfectly tart and I love that the salad has whole snow peas, bean sprouts and cabbage to give it a nice crunch.  It really is one of my favorite asian style salads. I take out the water chestnut though since im not a big fan, unless its chopped up in my lettuce wraps! If you don't know what water chestnut is its the little white hard disk you'll find inside. Its kind of like a sweeter crunchier daikon? :x

Spiritual Gangster Magic Carpet hot yoga towels

Here's another admittedly sort of random thing I've been liking- Spiritual Gangster's Magic Carpet yoga towels. As a lot of you already know I've been very in to hot yoga lately, and I don't like sweating all over my mat so I always use a towel for class. These don't have any plastic nubs on it- instead the microfiber is SUPER dense and short, which is what helps it stay in place. Its very heavy weight and sits down nicely on the mat. The only complaint I have is that these are a bit too big for a standard yoga mat, maybe 1 inch or so longer across each border.

It doesn't really bother me now but if I did yoga in a carpeted (aka smelly yellowed sweaty old carpet) studio then I wouldn't want any part of the towel touching the floor. I refuse to pay 40-45 bucks just for a towel so I actually found these at Marshalls! Another place i've started really liking lately. They have SO many knick knacks, most of the time you won't find anything but when you do it's a steal. They were only $16 compared to the MSRP of $55-58. 

So that is all :) Norcal foodie post soon! Hope you guys had a wonderful new year and I'll be announcing the giveaway winner to this video very shortly!

love,
Jackie

Acne skincare tips

Hi everyone,

I promised I'd make an effort to blog more, so here I am :) I want to talk about skincare and acne tips today because I think having healthy skin is far more important than any makeup or foundation routine.

As I mentioned I'd give you guys an update on my Bikram yoga! I am 110% sure its helped me bring my skin back to its original state. Ever since I tried BB creams 18 months ago my skin has never been the same. To be quite honest I've harbored a bit of resentment towards Asian makeup and skincare since then. My skin tone wasn't as even and I still had a bit of scarring left. Bikram has REALLY helped, its been a long time since my mother's complimented my skin- she has a very critical eye! So I know that I'm not imagining the improvement. So here are some things that I know help to improve skin's appearance and texture.

1. Sweat- a LOT! I really think working up a sweat helps to open up congested pores. Just make sure to wash your face after and don't work out with face makeup on

2. Improve your diet- I feel like a broken record saying this but even my friends with very severe acne noticed significant improvement in the appearance and frequency of their breakouts. It can't hurt to try, and it'll help you shed stubborn belly fat and improve your hair, nails and skin.

3. Remove dairy from your diet- so this is one I don't personally follow because I have no adverse side effects from it. However a lot of people will actually break out from the hormones in dairy products.  I notice this is mostly a problem with my friends who struggle with moderate-severe acne. Try cutting out dairy products completely and see if this helps you. All the nutrients of dairy can be found in other products as well :) so its not necessary by any means

4. Clean the surfaces that touch your face. Pillow cases, cell phones etc harbor hoards of bacteria. Did you know that about 70% of cell phones have traces of fecal matter on them? I have a clear protector screen on mine and clean it every few days with hand sanitizer or windex sprayed on to a piece of paper and then rubbed on. Don't put it directly on to the device, put a small amount on paper so that you're not drenching your phone.

5. Drink lots of water! This really truly helps your skin be more vibrant and gives you great energy. It also helps you be LESS bloated. How much water should you drink a day? Don't go by the 8 cups of water rule, this is way too general. Multiply your weight in kg by .033 to find a good amount and drink more if you're particularly active.

So that's it! I'm confident that making these simple changes truly help to improve the appearance of your skin. Also remember to wear sunscreen religiously if you're acne prone, sun damage inhibits the skins ability to regenerate and encourages scarring. So wear sunscreen to help prevent scars from being too severe.

Take care and see you ladies next week :D