Eating With Your Dollars: The best fast food money can buy

...by Food Babe
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Sawadee ka from Thailand!
Drinking Juice In Thailand
Drinking fresh raw organic vegetable juice is one of the fastest and easiest ways to stay in tip top shape while vacationing and just happens to be one of the best ways to Eat With Your Dollars. It’s something I do no matter where I am in the world (including here in Thailand) and do back home almost daily. And just so you know, I’m not talking about opening a can of “V8” or buying a ready made juice like “Naked” that has been pasteurized. To continue reading click here

Recipe Inspiration from Koh Samui – My 3 Favorite Meals

...by Food Babe
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Three meals I had this past week in Koh Samui, Thailand were out of this world incredible. I am going to do my best to recreate these dishes when I get home and I can’t wait. I have a feeling some of you may be beat me to it after you see the pictures below and descriptions of these tasty delights.

#1 Crispy Tomato Tart from Pla Pla at the Four Seasons Koh Samui – When I initially ordered this dish, I was only looking for something vegetarian on the appetizer list. It happened to be the only thing so I decided to try it. I was not excited at all because the name of this masterpiece simply does not give it justice.  Imagine layers of crispy flaky crust, tart tomatoes, coriander paste, creamy lentil hummus and a topping of sprouted lentils, roasted shallots and arugula…the flavors all together were fantastic and if I had known about this dish when I first arrived at Koh Samui, I probably would have ordered it almost every night. Words really can’t describe how good the crispy, creamy and crunchy appetizer tasted. Thank you to the brilliant Catalonian Chef Alex Gares, Manager Brent Martin and Director of Food and Beverage Melville John for making our last meal in Koh Samui something always to remember!

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#2 – Organic Vegetables at Radiance Restaurant – If the long juice menu, organic offerings and beautiful setting don’t get you in the door to eat at this nutrition conscious cafe, maybe this little friendly bird who won’t leave you alone during your entire meal will. Besides being a bit frightened every time this bird started to ruffle it’s feathers, I enjoyed a delicious lush salad full of organic vegetables from their 20 acre farm in Chiang Mai and a smaller one in Koh Samui.  The combination of sprouted pumpkin seeds, fresh pesto and caramelized onions really hit the spot on this incredible hot day (over 100 degrees!).

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These fresh vegetable spring rolls were so refreshing – full of organic basil and mint. I try to get the whole spectrum of colors in my diet everyday. I loved the red cabbage that provided purple. And the dip was to die for.

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#3 – Pad Thai at Amala Restaurant – When the Pad Thai is vegetarian, msg-free and uses noodles made out of mung beans instead of traditional rice – something really stands out for me when it comes to the consideration and use of ingredients.  This national dish of Thailand, egg wrapped and all will steal anyones heart. It certainly stole mine and made me a lover a of a dish I haven’t had in years. There’s something so satisfying knowing you are getting additive free and nutritionally rich food.

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Mouth watering yet?

Off to Burma and Laos this morning and then to ride more elephants. Yeah!

Food Babe

 

Staying Active in Koh Samui

...by Food Babe
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We are currently on the way to the Four Seasons Tented Camp in the Golden Triangle – where the countries Thailand, Myanmar (Burma) and Laos meet. Since I have a little time on the plane before we land, I thought I would share how I kept myself active during my visit to Koh Samui. Hope this gives you a little inspiration to get your booty burning as the new week begins or on your next vacation.

Paddle boarding everyday at the Four Seasons Koh Samui was by far my favorite activity…

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Nicole even joined me one day on her break…

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One day, I was invited to Nicole’s yoga training class on the beach…

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Nicole doing ‘Bird of Paradise’ pose … in paradise. Absolutely gorgeous!

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More yoga in my villa…

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Yoga in a private little hut near our villa too….

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Time at the gym, running on the treadmill, looking out to beautiful views…

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Swimming…

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Hiking uphill around the grounds almost everyday…

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And finally more hiking, snorkeling, and kayaking in Angthong National Park…

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I think my time at the Tented Camp will be just as active – I hear they have a new “Jungle Gym” program that I simply can’t wait to experience.

How are you staying active this week?

XOXO,

Food Babe

Relaxin’ in Koh Samui

...by Food Babe
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Our second day at the Four Seasons Koh Samui has been nothing short of relaxing…well…with the exception of one little incident.

Started the day with exactly what I do back home – Habit #1…Yes, I even brought my own bottle of cayenne pepper with me!

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While my husband took a dip…I practiced yoga before breakfast.

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We headed to Lan Tania at the resort for breakfast… wouldn’t it be amazing to look out to this every morning! IMG 1074

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I got my wish – tons of exotic fruits available for me to indulge! This one is called Rambutan – it is closely related to the lychee, a little tougher to peel, but certainly worth it.  Rambutan has gallic acid, a compound that attacks free radicals in your body and is regarded as an aid to cancer. Isn’t it amazing that wonderful sweet delicious fruit has this type of power?

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Later I had some of their homemade yogurt, homemade granola and more delicious fruit – papaya, dragon fruit, jackfruit, mango and pineapple. I haven’t had yogurt for breakfast in a very long time! I am a bit of a yogurt snob and only prefer to have it homemade (my Mom makes the best!)… and this yogurt almost exactly the same!

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Because they have a ridiculous assortment of every jam imaginable – I had to try some.

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I slathered coconut jam on one of these whole wheat croissants. Which lead to eating three more. Whoops. Full confession here… When the chef comes out with a fresh strawberry (hot!) version, then chocolate version and to top it off with a chocolate peanut butter version, a girl addicted to croissants can only help herself to all of it! Seriously, I think this is going to be a problem for the rest of my stay! You have to commend my effort trying to start with the “healthy” whole wheat version, right?IMG 1184

The rest of the morning was filled with a gorgeous uphill trek of the entire property and then followed by a swim at the main pool down by the beach…

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I was so full from breakfast, I couldn’t even entertain some of the tasty treats offered by the Four Seasons staff. This cute lady came by serving fresh grilled corn, guava, dragon fruit and sweet potatoes to everyone by the pool and beach. I loved the offerings! Whole fresh foods – and no junk! Can’t wait to try these another day…

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We ended the afternoon at the spa. My husband I chose the couples’s Siam Fusion massage.  All I can say is WOW. 2 hours of pure bliss. I loved how the treatment started with a foot rub in a bath of fresh herbs – keifer lime, turmeric, ginger, and lemongrass…. all natural fresh ingredients (note: no chemicals products! yeah!).IMG 1207 IMG 1208

Followed by the most amazing thai and western massage. I feel asleep many times.

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After our massage, we had another animal encounter… if you read my previous post about how this property is situated right in the middle of the jungle – you’ll understand. The spa treatment rooms are all individual huts that are very private, you basically get your own little cottage for relaxing before and after with a nice shower and other amenities. When we opened the door to leave after our treatment, our therapist had us rush back inside because he noticed a swarm (huge swarm!) of bees had decided to locate right outside of our door!  My husband and I looked at each other in disbelief – and of course giggled at the whole incident. We were held captive in our cottage until the maintenance crew tried to fumigate the area. This did not work. So they literally wrapped us up in sheets with only our eyes poking out so we could run through the swarm of bees!  We thought the whole situation was HILARIOUS and the travel story priceless!

I guess the amount of bees on property makes it easy for the Four Seasons to serve fresh raw honey straight from the comb at breakfast… ahhh it all makes sense!

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For lunch we went back down to the Beach and dined at Pla Pla.  I had the tomato gazpacho – which was divine! Perfectly light and refreshing.

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Followed by a salad and a slice of margarita pizza. I LOVE when pizza has thin crust.

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For dessert – I have a habit of asking the waitstaff which one is their favorite and I always pick that. The staff’s favorite was the yogurt whipped cream mixed with hazelnut crumbles, fresh passion fruit and mango marshmallows. WOW.  I would have never picked this and I’m so glad we tried it. I’ve never had whipped cream made out of yogurt… have you? I’ve love to try to make this back at home.

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We skipped dinner as we slept right through it!  As I am writing this – I think we are finally over the jet lag.

We have a big day planned today – lots of fun in the sun, paddle boarding and monkeying around with Nicole later tonight!

Hope you find time to do something fun today too!

Food Babe

P.S. If you have sent me a personal email or left me a comment in an older post in the last couple of weeks – I just want you to know I’ll be responding as soon as I can. There are so many important questions and/or comments, and I want to take the time to thoughtfully respond so I can provide you with the most information as possible. Thank you for being understanding for the delay and for reading this blog – I love you all!

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Sawadee ka from Koh Samui!

...by Food Babe
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We are now in Koh Samui, Thailand…It took 4 flights and over 24 hours of travel to get here and boy was it worth it!  I still can’t believe how well I ate on the journey considering we were such a captive audience and didn’t have many food choices other than what the airplane gave us and the snacks I brought (I’m compiling a list to post for those who asked!).  Here’s a look at a few of my plane meals on Singapore Air -

2 different salads, a fruit cup, and random side of bread and crackers (Please note – I never eat bread on a plane because I have seen how they warm them up. They put the bread in a big plastic bag and put it in the microwave. Eeeek! Not to mention, the bread is usually always highly processed)

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This meal had to be my favorite – I love the inclusion of broccoli!

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My husband always gets the hindu vegetarian meal – he’s not a raw fanatic like me. I usually end up stealing some bites of his food. This time I took his spicy chickpeas and added them to my raw salad. It was delicious!

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For dessert on the plane – Singapore Air has habit of passing out ice cream, which is AMAZING if you love ice cream, NOT amazing if you are trying to avoid additives. This time they gave us a chocolate ice cream bar that had all sorts of codes for additives and colorings … not a fan!

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When we finally got to Koh Samui – our hotel car was waiting for us to take us to the resort,  ready with refreshing cold towels and water.

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We are incredibly lucky to be staying at the Four Seasons here in Koh Samui. Words cannot describe how beautiful and exotic this place is. When we checked in, we were presented with dragon fruit lychee cocktails. I was in heaven! I could have drank 10 of these little cups – especially after feeling dehydrated after our long journey.

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Our villa for the week is so perfect. spacious, private and secluded. And a little scary I later found out at night.

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We have our own private pool…Five seconds and counting after the bellman left, we were in it!

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After enjoying the dip, we took a long deserved nap to combat some of the jet lag.  When we woke up, it was time to meet up with the person we flew across the globe to see, my best friend Nicole.  She is getting her yoga certification here in Koh Samui (check out her blog).  We went down to the beach bar to grab a drink while we waited for her… The ambience was spectacular. I need to work on my night time photos to capture the moment better.

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At the beach bar, I had the “clean sweep” on the juice menu. Nicole shortly arrived after we ordered. I think we hugged for over a minute… so happy to see her. She had the “honey watermelon tonic”, which I also tasted. I am definitely going to be ordering that sometime during our stay.

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I feel so happy and grateful to be here in Thailand with my best friend and my husband – two of my favorite people in the whole world.

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Later we went for a Thai dinner at Lan Tania – the main restaurant at the Four Seasons Koh Samui. We started with a spicy dip and these crudités. Does anyone have any idea what this is?

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Followed by a few appetizers of rice paper rolls and spring rolls…

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And my favorite – green papaya salad (so spicy!) with grilled prawns. I haven’t had shrimp in a long time. I actually try to limit it in my diet, because of the levels of toxins that can be found in shrimp. These were very tasty and I’m glad I tried them.

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For dinner, Nicole and I shared a very comforting and light wok style vegetables with fresh brown rice.

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The meal was not complete without dessert.  We ordered the chocolate fondant with pistachio ice cream.  We shared it, but I think I ate most of it :)

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After dinner, the trip back to our villa was a little frightening. Because the resort is built right in the middle of a jungle – you can’t help but see (and hear!) the crazy size bugs, critters, frogs, lizards, bats (yes bats!) everywhere on the property. One huge bug the size of a lemon flew right into Nicole after dinner. Poor thing, we both screamed and then saw a bat fly out from underneath our deck into the jungle. This was after a frog jumped on Nicole while she was attempting to use the beautiful designed but scary outdoor restroom at the restaurant. My family and friends who know me best, know this – I have a irrational fear of frogs…meaning I hyperventilate and run as fast as I can in the opposite direction, screaming at the top of my lungs if I see one. Needless to say, I won’t be using that outdoor restroom EVER again.

Our trip has only just begun, lots of more eats and adventures to come – hope you enjoy the ride!

Sa yan sa wa. (Good Night)

Food Babe