Post Summer Vacation Diet

I have mentioned that hubby and I gained weight during our vacation. We vowed to go on a diet the moment we come back. We did, for a few days I think and then we forgot we were on a diet haha! Here are some of the food I prepared during our 'diet' :P

squash in coco milk with shrimps

marinated boneless chicken thighs, mushrooms sauteed in lotsa butter and garlic

garlic butter mushrooms

perfect together!

My friend Jocelyn let me harvest fresh veggies from her garden when we came back. We got carrots, tomatoes, celery and beans. Perfect for our 'diet' :P

used fresh carrots for Caldereta

tomatoes, carrots and celery salad paired with fried chicken wings

my fave! sweet tomatoes with bagoong

my other version of pork adobo

There goes our cheat 'diet' haha! Believe it or not we cut down on rice for a bit and ate bread as much as we could but of course, hubby wanted his sandwiches loaded :P

Leila's new fave, bread dipped in sour cream

ham &egg sandwich

i love orange marmalade used as glaze for the ham

me being frugal, ends of bread used for pizza bread

Few weeks into our 'diet', we went back to eating our favorites. During our US trip, we ate at a Vietnamese restaurant and had the best Pho soup and pork chop. We tried two Vietnamese restaurants here but we weren't satisfied plus I hate wasting money on eating out. I decided to try cooking it at home and it was a success! We've been eating it almost every single day :)

sweet porkchop

Saturday brunch (Pho, bacon & waffles)

Vietnamese Pho

Pork Tonkatsu and cheesy omelette

scrambled egg cooked in a lot of chopped tomatoes

Egg Sarciado

To be honest, I haven't weighed myself to check if I lost any weight. I won't be surprised if I didn't :D

Our First US Trip (and hopefully, not the last!)

We had a fun summer vacation in the United States last August. We stayed there for more than three weeks and we had a BLAST! It was our first time setting foot in the US. I wasn't just excited for the kids but also for hubby and I. It was nice being with family, going to places I've only seen on TV, seeing the cousins bond with each other, shopping, etc.

Calgary airport

Calgary airport

boarding the plane

too scared of the view up in the sky

Lance's stuff

Leila pretending to read :P

almost there!

IKEA! :p

Okay, enough of the good stuff! Hubby and I didn't enjoy the traffic, long walks, long travel hours haha! We live in a small city here in Alberta where everything is within arm's reach. Just kidding! We are just lazy peeps that's why. We were in awe of the whole experience, bad or good. And we will be forever thankful for the generosity of my bro/sis in law.

wasted no time, went straight to Carlo's bakeshop

Cannolis from Carlo's

1st stop was red Ribbon Bakeshop

pretty girls!

precious moment :)

We had so much fun eating, hubby and I gained 10-15lbs during our vacation. We ate like there's no tomorrow, rice from breakfast to midnight snack not to mention the street food, fast food and buffet! Who cares! Life is about enjoying the things we love and eating is number 1 on my list :)

fish soup

Binagoongan

boiled peanuts

Sisig

other versions of Sisig

One of the most memorable places we went was the Statue of Liberty. The kids were very excited to see this landmark, ride the ferry and get those cool souvenir sunglasses. Our Washington trip abruptly ended because of heavy rains but we got to see beautiful landmarks as well.

We still have hundreds (maybe thousands?) of pictures to remind us of our wonderful summer vacation. I wish we can do this every year. Again, huge thanks to the people who made our stay memorable. We miss you guys! Til' we meet again :D

All Set and Ready to Go

my carry on luggage filled with kids' stuff

Finally finished packing and cleaning today. I am dead tired, not feeling any excitement yet since our flight won't be until Tuesday morning. We are going to Calgary a day early to stay with hubby's relatives. This is our 3rd summer vacation and you'd think I'm used to packing. Much as I love organizing things, I tend to over pack all the time. This time, I tried so hard to just pack 'necessities' and was able to squeeze them into three luggages.

Call me meticulous but I probably started several weeks before and only finished today. I had hubby load them up in the trunk this afternoon. I wish I had more space, I wanted to bring tons from my stockpile but I packed so much clothes, mostly Leila's.

Weeks ago, I was already busy being busy. It's the anticipation of all the madness involved in packing, cleaning and last minute errands. It was stressful for me just because I get easily stressed by anything. Come to think of it, I do deserve this vacation! We all do!

HAPPY SUMMER EVERYONE!  Enjoy yours because we are definitely going to enjoy ours :D

One Last Post

Yeyy leaving tomorrow for our month long vacation. I want my camera empty so might as well post the remaining food pictures. With kids at home 24/7, I had to whip up their favorite food mostly store bought while we try to let them eat what Mom and Dad have as well, which was hard of course :P

Perogies- my kids' all time fave, 10 pcs. in one sitting plus a generous amt. of sour cream on the side and Yakult

We can eat these all day Mom!

chicken popcorn, cheese breadstick and Pediasure

my new fave!

fresh strawberries + vanilla ice cream

3 cheese toast

leftover luncheon meat with mayo and cucumber sandwich

cucumber and corn salad

Beef Broccoli

String beans Adobo

Beef and Tripe Kare Kare

Sauteed string beans and bok choy with ground pork

I made sure the fridge is empty except for some ice cream and my juice stock in the freezer. No veggies left and all leftovers recycled. New food adventures here we come, I am so ready for you! :D