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I can’t believe that in just two months I will have lived in the United States for a year. It seems so crazy, because South Korea and Japan still seem like they happened yesterday. I was so sick to go back when I moved back to Indiana I really thought about applying to teach again in Seoul just so I could get my fix again. In the end, I stuck it out. I still miss it like crazy, just not as constantly as before. When I see my friends posting about their adventures online, I still get that twinge of longing. I truly think that Seoul and Okayama were some of the best times of my life. Everything just went together so well! I met some amazing people, saw things that went above and beyond anything that I knew before. In a word… it was just priceless. Travel really does change you.
Other than my epic Asia summer tripped that I’ve planned for the summer, I have to get by in other ways when the sadness hits. One of the best parts of Asia in my opinion in the food! And I don’t care what anyone says… the stuff we have here in the US just doesn’t cut it. I remember when I first came back, I was so excited to see a Korean BBQ place I couldn’t wait to go! It was super expensive, I had to tip (the horror!!!), the meat tasted weird and you had to pay for the side dishes that usually comes along with it back in Seoul. I was so disappointed. So I’ve been working my way through the kitchen creating some of my favorite dishes from South Korea and Japan that I can’t seem to find here.
Speaking of which… I got a little surprise after staying in Asia for so long. I’ve become lactose intolerant! I can still tolerate cheeses and yogurt in small doses, but milk just tears me up. I didn’t really drink a lot of milk while abroad but now that I’m back… woah nelly. That was a really unfortunate surprise. 🙁 I had a rather interesting evening one day when I drank a big glass of chocolate milk. My husband has always been a little intolerant, so we just decided to make the switch to something without the lactose. My tummy has never looked back!
We saw a new brand called fairlife pop up in Kroger that we ended up giving a try. Ya gotta love Kroger… when I went to pick up the fairlife after some research they had actually ran out of everything but the chcoolate milk. The employee was super nice about looking in the back for me and then gave me their chocolate milk for free since they didn’t have what I wanted. So nice, and exactly why I like shopping at Kroger! My husband is a big fan of the chocolate milk, and he’s always using it for his protein shakes after he goes to the gym. The cool thing about fairlife is that it has 50% more protein! It also has 50% (!!) less sugar which is great for me because of my PCOS. It even has more calcium. It’s all natural, no added proteins or calcium due to their ultra-filtering process that retains the milk’s natural goodness. How awesome is that? Their website was really informative when I was reading up on it and they seem like a great company with health in mind.
It’s really allowed me to keep milk in my diet which is a great thing because my coffee addiction is real. Except I need my coffee with milk of course! 😉 These days I’m on a missing Japan vibe since my good friend who taught with me in Korea has been touring Japan. I’ve been following along on Snapchat and dying of jealousy. Japan how I miss you! To cheer myself up a little bit, I made myself a drink I would get sometimes there, a red bean frappuccino! Sounds so weird right? Believe me, this thing is so good you will definitely be coming over to the beans as dessert side of the fence soon. I’m crazy for red beans in any form… don’t even get my started on my patbingsu obsession!
And the best thing about this recipe is that it’s ridiculously easy. Put everything in the blender, blend and serve! I don’t know about you, but when my cravings hit I’m more of an instant satisfaction kind of gal. 😉
Q: Are you a fan of red beans? Do you also suffer from lactose intolerance?
If you are thinking of making the switch or are just curious, check out fairlife’s facebook page here. Their milk is creamy, delicious and I highly recommend it. They don’t put artificial growth hormones in their products, so you can rest assured nothing funny is going on here. Just pure, yummy goodness!
Red Bean Frappuccino
Servings: 1
Ingredients
1/2 cup fairlife 2% Milk
1/3 cup ice
1/4 cup sweetened red beans
whipped cream
Directions
Add all the ingredients to a blender. Blend until smooth. Top with whipped cream and enjoy!
