lace-trim shorts & cauliflower crust pizza

This DIY is pretty simple - taking some plain jean shorts and adding a little accessory to it. :)

supplies:

2 feet lace/trim

cut off shorts

scissors

needle and thread

pins

Cut the lace into two pieces that will be used as the trim to your shorts.

Pin lace onto the shorts and sew with needle and thread.



Yay! :)

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

2 cups of cauliflower

2 eggs

1 cup of almond meal 

1 tbsp coconut oil

1. Preheat oven 450 degrees 

2. Steam cauliflower until soft and mash in food processor or with a fork into small pieces

2. Combine eggs, coconut oil, and almond meal with mash cauliflower 

3. Form pizza shape and bake in oven for 12-14 mins or  until edges are brown

Take the pizza crust out and add your desire pizza toppings (I mixed 2 tbsp of Italian seasoning into the tomato sauce then add bacon, mushrooms, and two eggs on top) then bake for another 5-10 mins. 

Sorry no picture of this yummy pizza. =/

Thanks for joining me today! :)

<3, phu

Purple Lace Cut Out Back T-shirt & Paleo Asparagus Pesto Sauce

My white tee has become over sized and not worn much so I decided to spice it up a bit by adding purple lace to the back.

You will need: a t-shirt, scissors, 1 inch lace/trim, needle, and thread

Lay your shirt flat and cut about 3 inch sections on back of your shirt

Wrap each lace around each section and sew with needle and thread.

The finish product:

Paleo Asparagus Pesto Sauce

bunch of asparagus
12 tbsp olive oil
8 tbsp chopped walnuts
salt and pepper for taste

1. Chop asparagus (remove white ends)
2. Bring water to boil and add in asparagus. Cook for about 2 mins. Remove from heat and cool the asparagus with ice cold water to stop asparagus from cooking.
3. Blend asparagus, olive oil, and walnuts in blender. Add salt and pepper for taste.

I put some of the pesto sauce over some baked salmon. Yum!

P.S. Thank you so much for reading our blog. Happy 1st birthday to our baby F.L.A.N! :)

<3, phu

shade of new beginnings & avocado pudding

I don't know if other people do what I do - I associate things such as music, food, etc to certain memories and events that I experience. This month's color theme - emerald hues - is associated with new beginnings. :)


blouse: forever21; pink skinnies: urban outfitters



One of my favorite paleo snacks.

Avocado Pudding



2 ripe avocado

honey

almond milk

ice

2 tablespoons cocoa powder (if desire)

Combine all ingredients together into a blender. Blend and enjoy. You may put the pudding in the fridge for about 20 mins if you didn't blend it with ice.

You can add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to make the recipe into a chocolate avocado pudding :)

Thanks for joining us this month!

<3, phu







snowed in with no bake chocolate cake in a mug

Ever since owning this pair of cashmere blend tights from Express, I've worn these a lot under my dresses because they keep me super warm when I'm out and about. I also love this h&m tank top dress because I can dress it up with a leather jacket and accessories or make it casual by layering a shirt over it.  :)

tank top dress: h&m; leather jacket: zara; cashmere tights: express

always laughing and smiling these days ;)



shirt: adapt



No Bake Chocolate Cake in a Mug 

WHAT?! Chocolate cake without using the oven?! Yup. I found this recipe and I knew that I had to try it. 

3 tbs almond meal

2 tbs cocoa powder

2 tbs honey

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

few dashes of salt

few dashes of cinnamon 

Mix all ingredients together and set in microwave for 2 minutes. 

Surprisingly, the cake turned out pretty good. Thanks for joining us this month! I can't believe March is around the corner. I can't wait for spring here in Chicago. :)

<3, phu

Birthday Dress & Strawberry Beet Brownies

I love lace and this dress caught my eye several years ago which has become my LBD. I wore this outfit for one of my many birthday celebrations this month. :)

dress: forever21, shoes: steve maddens, purse: katespade

necklace: charlotte russe 

I usually don't eat beets unless I order it at a restaurant and the likely-hood of that happening isn't high. As I researched for recipes, this one caught my eye and I had to try it. 

Strawberry Beet Brownies 

1 cup roasted beets

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

3 tablespoon of almond milk

4 eggs

6 medjools dates, pitted

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup of coconut flour

1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup strawberries, chopped 

(I cheated and used Trader Joe's steam beets and frozen strawberries)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a pan

2. In a blender, pulse beets, coconut oil, almond milk, eggs, dates, vanilla extract and strawberries until smooth

3. In a bowl, add salt, baking soda, cinnamon, coconut flour, and cocoa powder together and whisk into wet ingredients 

4. Pour batter into the greased pan 

5. Bake for 40 mins or until toothpick comes out clean when stuck in

Maybe it was because I used steamed beets instead of roasted beets and frozen strawberries instead of fresh strawberries but the brownies tasted interesting. It didn't taste bad but it's definitely not like a regular brownie. I did liked these brownies more with a nice scoop of mint chocolate chip gelato though haha. My roommate however said that he loved it since it wasn't too sweet.

Thank you for dropping by and reading the last remix of the year. Have a safe, blessed, and happy new year everyone!! :)

<3, phu

Elegantly Simple & Fast

Since Pegasus belongs to Roe, I had a chance to wear this beauty when some FLAN members and friends visited Chicago back in September. Pair it with a simple dress and it's elegantly simple and a fast way to accessorize yourself. 

dress: forever 21

pegasus: stella&dot, hair clip: h&m

shoes: steve maddens

I love simple and fast meals and found this turkey taco filling recipe to meet both requirements.

Turkey Taco Filling

2 lbs ground turkey
diced onion
diced red pepper 
coconut oil
1/2 cup water 

Seasoning: 
2 tbsp chili powder
1.5 tbsp cumin
1.5 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp oregano 
1 tsp red pepper flakes 

Mix seasoning together in a small bowl. Heat pan and heat coconut oil. Brown onion, red peppers, and turkey until not pink anymore. Add seasoning and mix. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. 

Serve in taco shells or tortillas - in my case, I used lettuce as the wrap. Eating this fast and simple meal however, was not elegant at all. :)

good with or without siracha

Thank you for joining me today! I hope you have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving surrounded with loved ones and filled with lots of good food. :)

<3, phu

phu's blazer and pumpkin remix

My favorite blazer is this blazer I bought from American Eagle a long long long time ago. For this remix, I wore this blazer over a dress with tights and boots and kept it simple with the accessories. I've also worn this blazer to work over a white-tee which made me feel more "professional." :)

dress: forever21, blazer: american eagle

necklace: forever21

Crockpot Pumpkin Chili 

Growing up, pumpkin wasn't really part of my food consumption until I was a lot older so this remix was a bit of a challenge but I found this recipe and wanted to try it since I love my crockpot. Cooking with a crockpot is so easy - just throw everything in, turn it on and walk away until it's done.

1 lb ground beef (or turkey)

1 yellow onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1, 14.5 oz fire-roasted tomatoes

1, 15 oz can pumpkin

2, 4 oz cans diced green chiles 

1 cup chicken stock

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp chili powder

salt and pepper to taste 

Throw all ingredients into crockpot and stir well. Set crockpot on low setting and cook for 7 hours or until meat is cooked through. 

I baked some sweet potatoes wrapped in foil at 450 degrees for an hour and ate the chili over them. Overall, this meal reminds me of Thanksgiving and pumpkin pie. :)

Thanks for joining me today! 

<3, phu

Autumn Monkey-ing Around & Paleo Chicken Nuggets with Baked Kale and Mushrooms

Put me in a playground and I'm a kid again. My favorite are the swings but I played on the monkey bars a lot as a kid where I would do tricks and get the grossest blisters (nowadays, it also reminds me that I need to work on my upper strength haha). Like the other flan ladies, I throw on a pair of tights and boots and consider it my fall outfit but since it was a warm day, I opt out on the tights. Plus, the prints and colors on this dress remind me of autumn leaves. :)

attempting to swing on the bars... with not much of a success. :P

autumn inspiration.

Paleo Chicken Nuggets

Normally I would use almond flour for this recipe but since I'm in the process of moving, I've been trying to use all my ingredients in the pantry. I ran out of almond flour and only had coconut flour so this particular meal became an experiment (and as usual I eyeballed the ingredients).

3 chicken breast
coconut flour
garlic powder
celtic salt
ground pepper
parsley 
chili powder
2 eggs, whisked
coconut oil

1. Preheat oven to 375F. 
2. Mix all dry ingredients together.
3. Cut chicken breast into nugget sizes. Coat chicken nuggets with eggs and dip into coconut flour mixture.
4. Heat up coconut oil and fry each side of nugget for about 1 min
5. Place on parchment paper and place in oven for 20 min.

Baked Kale
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Coat kale with olive oil and sprinkle some salt and pepper
3. Bake for 20 min

Bake Mushrooms
1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Coat mushrooms with olive oil and whole black peppers
3. Bake for 30 min 

instagram: phuphubear

This meal was pretty tasty in my book. It's also pretty convenient to have a toaster oven because I was able to bake the kale and mushrooms at the same time. :)

Thanks for reading my September remix! 

<3, phu

phu's maxi & summer squash remix


 A little fancy for a casual hangout but perfect for chilling at a bar next to the Chicago river sipping on cocktails, catching up, having great conversations, enjoying the city lights and sharing laughs with good company during a beautiful summer night. I'm very proud of myself for being able to do the sock bun which by the way is the perfect hairstyle for when the weather is hot and humid, when I'm too lazy to curl/straighten it or when it looks like a mess down. 

shoes: steve madden; necklaces: forever21; headband: h&m

maxi skirt: forever21; tank top: nordstrom rack; clutch: express

My photographer and one of my dearest friend Anica is so talented. She has such a creative mind and I cannot wait to see the wonderful artistic ideas that she's gonna show the world through her films and photography. I love seeing my loved ones following their passion to make their dreams come true. Ani, don't forget me when you're famous please. ;)

photography by Anica Wu.

I've been trying this Paleo diet for some time which means that I try not to eat any grains, dairy, refined sugar, or any processed foods (but of course I still reward myself with a cupcake from time to time haha). I wanted curry and decided to cook this dish where I used this recipe as a guide. Usually I would eat curry with rice but I used spaghetti squash as a substitute which goes perfect with this month's remix.


Paleo Chicken Curry Soup

2 lbs chicken breast, cubed - season with curry powder and pepper
1 white onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
mushrooms
shiitake mushrooms
coconut milk
curry powder
coconut oil
fish sauce and pepper for taste 
cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Cut spaghetti squash in half and scoop out insides out with a spoon. Place squash face down on baking pan and bake for 1 hour. Use fork to scoop out the "noodles" once it is cooled.
2. Heat coconut oil over medium heat and cook chicken ~ 7 mins
3. Put chicken aside and cook veggies ~ 6 mins
4. Throw chicken back into pan and stir for couple mins, next pour coconut milk until it covers everything and add some curry powder
5. Turn heat to low and simmer for 10 mins
6. Garnish with cilantro 

I eyeballed everything as I was cooking this dish. Add as much curry powder, fish sauce, and pepper as you like for taste. 

instagram: phuphubear

The spaghetti squash with curry was pretty tasty to me. The spaghetti squash is perfect substitute for pasta as well.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to look out for our annoucement next week! :)

<3, phu

spicy bacon beef chili

Yum. Chili. Even when the weather is hot and humid, sometimes I crave chili. This is a very simple, fast, and easy chili recipe where I wanted to use what was in my pantry.

1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey)
6-8 slices of bacon (however much you want), cubed
1 yellow onion, diced
1 red onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 jalepeno, chopped
1 (14 oz) can of roasted tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can of tomato sauce
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon coconut oil

1. Heat a large pot with the coconut oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, throw in the bacon and cook until brown.
2. While bacon is cooking, cut up the veggies. When the bacon is browned, throw in all the veggies and stir until they're a little tender (about 6-7 mins).
3. Next, add the ground beef and seasoning and cook until the beef is cooked (about 7-8 mins).
4. Add the roasted tomatoes and tomato sauce.
5. Simmer the chili at low heat, stirring occasionally for about 8 mins (Yup, hella fast).

I like my chili chunky and preferally no beans (which you can add). I hope you like this chili recipe. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!  :)

<3, phu