Custom Homemade Pizza: A Healthy Alternative

I’ve been recently inspired by the various “make your own” pizza joints popping up around the country, such as Pieology, Pizza Studio, where customers pay roughly $10 for a personalized pizza based on their selections of crust, cheese, and toppings. The concept is so simple I am surprised something like this hadn’t come along sooner. So I pulled together a few basic ingredients to try to make my own pizza at home – and the results? Surprisingly easy and delicious.

Since I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of making my own dough or sauce, I kept my process simple by buying pre-made crust, sauce, mozzarella cheese, plus any meats and veggies I want to add as toppings. For this round, I decided to go for a chicken pesto pizza, so I used:

• StoneFire Pre-made naan
• Classico Pesto Sauce
• Kraft’s Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• Diced veggies + chicken sausage

Alternatively, you can change up your ingredients with the following substitutions:

• Crust: Square flatbread, plain or garlic naan
• Sauce: Marinara, pizza sauce, alfredo, curry or masala sauce (trader joe’s brand)
• Your own cheese – as long as its shredded
• Your own selected toppings – spinach, diced bell peppers, olives, onions, mushrooms
• Your choice of meat: pepperoni, diced ham or sausage, chicken breast, salmon chunks

Some combo’s to try:

• Wheat flatbread or pita bread with marinara sauce, mushrooms, bell peppers, and pepperoni
• Plain naan with tomato sauce, sausage, and parmesan or mozzarella
• Garlic naan with masala sauce, curried chicken, and spinach
• Alfredo sauce with cheese, chicken breast, and broccoli

With some many options you can choose from, you can be versatile and have a different, quick, and delicious pizza each night of the week! Invite your friends and host a pizza night and let everyone customize their own pizza!

10 Things I Gained From Unemployment

Unemployment typically has negative connotations and can be a harrowing and depressing time depending on your circumstances, but if you use this period wisely and productively, it can offer a well deserved respite and additional opportunities for learning and personal growth. Coming off a 2 month break from my previous job, I can say that this period has definitely been beneficial for me personally, and has allowed me to push my comfort zones and gear up for the next chapter. Here are 10 benefits and lessons that you can take away from “funemployment”, even if it may not feel that way at the moment:

1. Introspection and opportunity for reflection: Forces you to face yourself and look inwards instead of being caught up in the day-to-day grind. This is a great opportunity to tune into your intuition and inner voice without any external pressures and expectations. During this time you figure out your values, what’s important to you, and where you want your life to go from here on out.
2. Flexibility: Having loads of time affords you a lot of freedom and flexibility to set your own hours at times when you feel most productive. You can burn the midnight oil or be up at the crack of dawn, go for an afternoon jog, or run errands while everyone else is at work. You can also use this time figure out next steps and accomplish personal projects and tasks on your own schedule.
3. Creative flow: You will be surprised by how many ideas or epiphanies that pop into your head when you just let your brain wander. This is a wonderful time to explore creative avenues, be it writing, journaling, playing music, making movies, scrap booking, or starting a new business.
4. Continuing education and learning opportunities: You can further your skill set or education by attending community classes, online courses, listening to seminars, or reading books on your own. The world is your library, and the library your world. This is also a great time to volunteer and give back to the community. Who knows, you may even make some new contacts and friends along the way. Which leads to my next point…
5. Networking and new contacts: As you explore new fields and opportunities, you will have many opportunities to meet new people, learn about what they do, and explore various paths and options to help you figure out the best job for you. By getting out there and networking, you will build up new contacts and people who can potentially help you advance your career further. If the thought of talking to strangers seem intimidating, start out tapping into your existing network and build upon those connections to establish and grow your network.
6. Finding out who your true friends are: Whether the unemployment was by choice or not, you find out who your real friends are by those who reach out or offer to help, whether it’s through emotional, financial support, or just offering their place to crash. Even if you have a solid social circle, it never hurts to get reconnected and strengthen ties during this time of need and limbo mode when you are more prone to isolation and depression. Having positive people and friends around will keep your self esteem up and help you stay emotionally connected to the world.
7. Gratitude and appreciation: Whether it is for something you previously took for granted or sudden appreciation for what you do have, you may realize there is more to life than work, and that you are not defined by your profession. You learn to appreciate the things you do have, like relationships, health, roof over your head, and above all personal rights and freedom. You may even appreciate your next job opportunity as you now recognize how rare and special good opportunities can come by.
8. Push your comfort zone and grow as a person: No matter the degree or severity, any change in life event or circumstance will shake up your existing routine and put you outside your comfort zone – which may not be a bad thing! Perhaps you were overdue or already burned out, or got a wake up call – this is a great opportunity to learn from past mistakes, figure out what you really want, and push yourself to excel at a higher level. No matter what, you will grow from the experience and become a better person for it.
9. Change your environment, live in a new place or relocate to another city: Along the lines of pushing your comfort zone, you may find yourself leaving your entire life behind to pursue a brand new opportunity in a new city, state, or country. Living in a new place will expose you to new culture, language, and ways of living and allow you to really get to know a place well, as opposed to just taking a vacation, which can be a lot of fun!
10. Feel recharged and ready for the next chapter! Sometimes you just need a break. And when you return to the workforce, you will be in a much healthier state and feel ready to create the next amazing chapter in your life. Best of luck! 🙂

Energizing Smoothie to Fill You Up and Kickstart Your Day

Whenever I over-indulge or feel bloated, I like to reset with either a juice cleanse or healthy smoothie. Here is a delicious and alternative way to get some greens and feel full and refreshed, whether it’s part of a meal or snack.

Blend a handful of greens (kale, spinach, or romaine are good options), half an avocado, small banana, flax seed/protein powder of your choice, and coconut water. Adjust to your level of thickness texture. For extra sweetness and creamy taste, add a scoop of green tea or pistachio ice cream to the mix.

Palm Springs: A Desert Oasis

I recently spent a weekend down in Palm Springs, CA, a desert resort in southern California bordering Coachella Valley and the St. Jacinto Mountains. From the minute I stepped out of the airport, I was overwhelmed by the intense dry heat – it was HOT – like walking into a sauna, and I started having regrets about not checking the weather prior to booking. However, after getting past the 110F heat and just letting myself feel and embrace it – after all it’s the dry heat that drew so many celebrities and health conscious folks to the city – I found it to be a nice change of environment and a pretty relaxing getaway. Here are some highlights from the trip, as well as suggestions for making the most out of your short stay if you ever visit:

Downtown Palm Springs: Since our hotel (Hilton Palm Springs) was within walking distance to downtown, we spent a lot of time walking along the promenade and eating at the various restaurants there. One of the first things I noticed was that all the store fronts had spraying mists to keep customers and guests from heat exhaustion. If you can brave the heat and make the walk through a few short blocks, you will find many cute clothing shops (most of which are capped at $16.99 in price – for some reason), cafe’s, and restaurants where you can take a breather. Here are just a few suggestions to get you started:

• Farm: cute brunch place off the main promenade  offering a French style atmosphere and cuisine. Try the chicken/mushroom crepe (below):

• Shake Shack – awesome delicious shakes to cool you off

• Gyoro-Gyoro Izakaya – Sushi and izakaya with lots of variety and options. Highly recommend the Kobe beef (see below) and green tea shaved ice

  

• Johannes -European/Austrian cuisine – try their famous dish called “wienerschnitzel”:

• Lulu’s – modern Californian cuisine

Aerial Tram:  This was my favorite portion of the trip as we were able escape the heat and take a scenic tram ride up the mountains for some nature and hiking. After a 15 minute drive from downtown, you find yourself at the edge of the St. Jacinto Mountain Range. From there, you pay a $25 fee to ride an aerial with 360 degree rotation and dropping temperatures as you ascend. Once at top, temperatures are ~40 degrees cooler than below, and you have the option to camp overnight or hike many trails around the mountains.

Desert Hot Springs: North of Palm Springs, you will find many mineral hot springs and spa resorts that boast the therapeutic benefits of hours spent soaking in various mineral baths/jacuzzi’s as well as for your body and skin. A popular destination for “snowbirds” from the north , you can easily spend a day at one resort relaxing in the pool, taking dips in the baths, and booking sessions for massages and facials in between. Just don’t forget to stay hydrated and nourished! (Miracle Springs Resort, below)

Palm Desert & Rancho Mirage: If the quaint downtown area of Palm Springs isn’t doing it for you and you want a bit more of a high-end and luxury experience, just 20 minutes south of Palm Springs is the city of Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, and Indian Wells, where you will find many country clubs, golf courses, hotel resorts, and luxury shopping to satisfy your tastes. While I did not spend a lot of time here, it was definitely a very different feel from the rest of Palm Springs.

Celebrity Homes: Scattered around the hills of Palm Springs are famous celebrity houses belonging to likes of Barbara Streisand, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Ann Miler, and Richard Kaufmann (see below for Kaufmann Desert House). Due to its proximity to Hollywood and dry temperatures, people often came here for rejuvenation, spas and hot springs, health benefits and general wellness, and to escape from the city life. To get the most out of the experience, reserve a Celebrity House Tour in advance to learn more about the history behind the city and the people who occupied it.

Air Museum: This museum is a nice little detour on your way back to the airport (~5 minutes from the Palm Springs Airport) if you have a couple hours to kill and want a little dose of WWII history. The museum’s exhibits are divided into two main hangars, one focused on the war in the Pacific and the other in Europe. The aircraft take up the bulk of the space within each hangar, but there’s plenty of anecdotes, videos, and reading materials along the walls and exhibits to give you as much as info as you can absorb about the events and implications surrounding the war. There are also plenty of volunteers (many who might be veterans themselves) sitting around the exhibits to share additional info and answer any Q’s – they are super friendly and adds a nice personalized touch to this cute little museum.

Other General Suggestions: 

• Pack light, loose and comfortable clothing and hats that allow for coverage from the sun and heat.
• Drink plenty of liquids and apply sunscreen often, especially after being in the water. Since the temperature never drops below 85 even at midnight, why not try for an early morning lap swim or midnight dip in the pool? The dry heat makes it more optimal to go walking or swimming in the late evenings, after the sun has set.
• Rent a car – even though the town is relatively small, depending on where you stay – it’s just easier to get around the city and reach bordering towns or Joshua Tree Park – parking is not an issue at all. Just make sure to blast the A/C for a bit before getting back inside the car!
• Visiting during off-season and warmer months will give you very steep discounts on flights and resorts, away from the crowds. For example, 5-star resorts such as the Ritz Carlton or Marriott JW will charge roughly $200/night, when normally they could go as high as $400-500/night.
• Since Palm Springs is a relatively small town, you can cover a lot within a weekend (if you’re a local) or over the course of a long weekend. Virgin, Alaska, and United are good airlines to check out for cheap deals and direct flights into PSP.

5 Film Scores for Mental Focus and Inspiration

Are you looking at a tough week ahead? Recovering from a vacation or long weekend? Or perhaps going through a challenge or problem you don’t want to face? If you are looking for something uplifting and inspiring to bring you out of a slump, here are five amazing film scores (not to mention movies to watch if you haven’t done so) that will help you focus, get out of a rut, and improve productivity, instantly:

• IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE STILL DREAMING : The Inception soundtrack’s haunting and mellow score, from the slow lulling themes of “Time”, “Dream is Collapsing” to the super-charged “Mombasa”, will help you float out of your dream and into reality.

• IF YOU FEEL LIKE WALKING INTO BATTLE : “Woad to Ruin”, the theme from King Arthur will help you feel prepared for any battles and confrontations that come your way:

• IF YOU ARE FACED WITH AN INSURMOUNTABLE PROBLEM OR CHALLENGE: Channel Alan Turing’s brilliant mind as he attempts to decode the unbreakable German Enigma in The Imitation Game:
  

• IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU CAN’T BREAK THROUGH TO SOMEONE, or TRYING TO NEGOTIATE AND DECIDE WHETHER TO TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS, follow Denzel Washington and his crew as they engage their sharp wit and killer instincts to negotiate and strategize their missle tactics in the submarine film Crimson Tide:

• IF YOU FEEL UNCERTAIN ABOUT THE FUTURE AND OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE, look no farther than the team of Prometheus as they venture out into the unknown and discover new worlds and civilizations:

Hopefully these helped with recharging your day a bit more – leave a comment or requests for more soundtrack suggestions!

HoneyFund – The New Wedding Registry?

For an upcoming friend’s nuptials, instead of receiving a link to a traditional registry like Macy’s or Crate and Barrel, I was surprised when I opened the invitation to find a link to HoneyFund – a modern, online registry that allows you to fund (with cash/check) the couple’s honeymoon instead. The concept was the same as a traditional registry – instead of choosing gift(s) from a predetermined list of items, you get to select experiences or packages that are also predetermined by the couple. In my friend’s case, she was looking to spend her first few months traveling with her hubby in the southern hemisphere, most notably Australia, New Zealand, and Bora Bora, so the items listed in the registry involved items such as airfare, hotel, and tourist attractions related to their  specific trip. I opted for the Honeymoon Package, which has since been fulfilled.

The overall process probably took me less than 10 minutes, and I was pleasantly surprised by the layout of the registry and ease of use. The customizable feature makes it simple for each couple to personalize the list and experiences to their needs and budget. In my friend’s case, the prices they chose to set for each “experience” was relatively consistent, (unlike a traditional registry that has a much bigger price range depending on the item you choose) which helped in drawing attention away from finding something at the appropriate price point and more on selecting the package you want to send them. Since that decision was made relatively quickly, all I had to do was print out the certificate and attach a check, which I will drop off at either her bridal shower or wedding. Talk about a fast transaction!

The future of wedding registries?

Since I’ve used HoneyFund, apparently the company has been on ABC’s Shark Tank and acquired roughly half of a million customers. While the company is trying to expand their services to beyond wedding registries, the challenge for them will be to constantly acquire new customers as the majority of their users leverage their services only one time, and most do not upgrade or pay for any premium features. However, I do see this as a growing market since most of my friends value experiences over material things, and setting up a registry that allows them to receive money makes the planning and logistics a lot simpler. The wedding guest still benefits from selecting from a customized list of items that are specific to what the couple wants. Ultimately, the wedding registry is about the union of two people whom you share a close friendship with, so if this is what they want their registry to be, then who am I to question otherwise? My happiness comes through knowing that I’m helping to fund their dream vacation.

Tracy McMillan: On Marrying Yourself

“The fact is, sometimes it’s hard to walk in a single woman’s shoes. That’s why we need really special ones now and then to make the walk more fun.”

If you’ve ever watched Sex and the City, you might remember the episode called “A Woman’s Right to Shoes” – where Carrie loses her Manolos at a friend’s baby shower. She expresses discontent over the fact that while she came bearing gifts for her friend’s “celebration”, her friend was not willing to pay for her lost shoes. She starts to lament that for all the people who may be on their own and happy being independent, there aren’t any official celebrations or milestones to celebrate their singlehood. (Funny enough – China does have a Singles Holiday – although more targeted towards shopping and consumerism). At the end of the episode, Carrie decides to celebrate herself by sending out a wedding invite and registry, and eventually got back her shoes.

So, you probably don’t need to go to that extreme to celebrate yourself, but the episode makes its point.

In today’s world, when everyone is trying to overcompensate, live up to societal expectations, and please others, sometimes you may forget about the one person who really matters the most – yourself. So today, in the spirit of honoring yourself, I want to share a Ted Talk from Tracy McMillan, relationship author, who shares the importance of marrying yourself.

It’s a pretty simple concept really – but how many of us actually executes on the mantra and follows through on our own personal vows? As Tracy describes, you marry yourself not when you’ve obtained a certain level of status or point in life, or as a reward for accomplishing something. You don’t abandon or desert yourself if something goes wrong, but learn to accept yourself the way you are, at this exact moment in time. You marry yourself for richer or poorer, for better or for worse, and love yourself the way you want someone else to love you. When you marry yourself, you no longer walk through life feeling like you lack something, and as a result, obtain the ability to love in a whole new way. In her words:

 Loving yourself where I am is exactly what I need to get to where I am.

Benefits of Kombucha

Say what? The first time I heard and saw the word, I was confused and wondered what it was. Turns out kombu-cha, which translates from the Japanese phrase (kombu = sea kelp, cha = tea, a salty seaweed broth) is actually a fermented tea that has been around for thousands of years. Only recently has it become popular in the mainstream market due to the health craze over its probiotics and active cultures. So for those of you who have are not on board the kombucha train, here are a few reasons why drinking kombucha is a healthy beverage alternative:

• Kombucha is an unpasteurized drink that contains live active cultures and probiotics
• It has low calorie content and high concentration of nutrients (potassium, calcium, vitamin B, etc)
• Aids in digestion and detoxification and boosts your immune system
• Available in wide variety of flavors and brands (check out GT’s Kombucha and Safeway’s Organics Line – my favorite is the ginger lemon)
• Cool, refreshing, and carbonated – great for summer months and as a soda alternative
• Relatively low cost – prices range from $2-4/bottle and often go on sale – stock up when you can!

Cute Pic of the Day: Date Night Cookie Jar

I stumbled upon this picture a few weeks via social media and cannot get over how adorable this is, so I’m posting it here! What a great idea! I suppose this can also be applied towards any other decision making activity, such as work deadlines, personal projects, what to cook for dinner, where to travel to, what to do this weekend, and so on…

That Time of Month? 3 Alternative Ways to Alleviate Cramps

Like many of my female counterparts, I’ve suffered from menstrual cramps for as long as I can remember. Everyone has a different take on the pain – but most of us experience cramping, irritability, bloating to some degree the first few days. I’ve likened the feeling to something wringing my insides with their fist, while others have described it as a battle waging war in their uterus, or being punched in the stomach repeatedly. Basically, cramps are NO JOKE.

While I usually try to care of myself by eating healthy, getting lots of rest, and applying heat pads during that time of month, I still often resort to painkillers for immediate relief, which isn’t the most natural and healthy way. Over the years, I’ve done more research and experimented with various methods, and have found 3 things that significantly alleviate the symptoms of menstrual cramps:

1. Organic Blackstrap Molasses: Who would’ve thought that this compound, when taken in regular intervals (every 2-4 hours) in 1-2 tablespoons can significantly help with cramps? While the research behind this is unknown, I’ve personally experienced not only pain reduction but increased energy due to the high levels of magnesium, potassium, and iron. Unfortunately, the taste isn’t that great, so I try to mix it in with hot tea, honey, or milk (almond or coconut milk seems to work best) making it a pseudo-latte or sweet beverage.

You can find these in vitamin shops, high end grocery stores such as Whole Foods, and online via Amazon and other major retailers.

2. Reflexology Massage: The following video will provide some interesting tips and locations on your feet for pressure points that link to your reproductive organs and provide some temporary relief. Even if you don’t think you have the stamina to complete all the exercises, the first few points are specifically targeted at cramps and can help significantly alleviate the sharp pains. Better yet, find a massage therapist, reflexologist, or loved one to do this on you: 

3. Yoga: This is last on the list because most of us would rather curl up in a ball and stay in bed than to move our bodies during this time. However, most studies have shown that exercise is a great way to loosen up the muscles down there and provide overall relief. So if you can’t get yourself to go out for a walk or jog, try engaging in some specific yoga poses at home designed to improve circulation and relief for the contractions. Here are just a few samples of videos I’ve tried to help you get started:

In order of duration (from short to long):

If all else fails, take a bubble bath, sip on some herbal tea, and avoid junk food and caffeine. As quickly as they come on, the cramps will eventually subside and you’ll have (only) another month before dealing with all of it again! Hmm, still don’t think women have it rough? 😛