Veggie Kate

Take Steps Toward Healthy, Vibrant Living

360 Revolving Restaurant May 16, 2013

Filed under: Restaurant,Saipan — Veggie Kate @ 3:25 am

I love this restaurant – it has an amazing view, it’s been quiet every time I eat here, the service is good, and the food is amazing! And you can have a crazy combo of casual burgers paired with classy lobster.

Whatever your mood, they have the food!

Whatever your mood, they have the food!  We had ketchup bottles next to our champagne :)

The 360 Saipan Revolving Restaurant – 8 floors up, with a clear view of the island, this gem is located in Susupe’s Marianas Business Plaza, tucked behind the library and JoeTen Center.

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Enjoying the expansive view

On my most recent visit to the 360, we managed to time it perfectly – we got there with the sun still up, and after one rotation getting to see the island spread before us, the sun then began its descent. Upon the second rotation, we got to view the glowing colors dancing off of the ocean, and kissing the tree tops good night, until it hid from view, and we were left with the dark starry sky.

Enjoying blue lights in the trees

Enjoying blue lights in the trees

This restaurant is taking the lead in sustainable practice, and hopefully other companies will get to follow suit. They are installing an aquaponic system that will allow them to grow their own lettuce, with the run off water flowing into fish tanks. In the tanks, they will grow their own seabass, the Baramundi, (which supposedly tastes similar to salmon.) The Baramundi will eat left over food scraps from the restaurant, and in turn, their water will then help cycle back to feeding the plants with wonderful nutrients. And the Baramundi will be 100% mercury free!

The plaza is also planning to install solar panels over the entire parking lot, providing not only solar energy for the restaurant and building, but providing sheltering shade for patrons who are parking there.

The restaurant takes strides to use local produce, as well as purchase locally caught fish – sometimes caught by employees of the 360 themselves! In addition, the menu offers up brown rice as a healthy alternative to the standard white; and there are rumors that the exotic Black Rice, or Forbidden Rice, may make an appearance on future menus.

Perhaps a little TOO much champagne fun...

Perhaps a little TOO much champagne fun…

There is such a variety of tempting treats on this menu that I have not yet gotten to try. But there are definitely some good, healthy choices for those looking to enjoy eating out while maintaining healthy habits.

Broiled Tofu Steak: a warm marinated serving of protein-rich tofu, served on a bed of vegetables with a unique wasabi dressing. Light yet filling, savory yet refreshing. Wonderful vegetarian option.

Mahi-Mahi with coconut sauce: this is my favorite! (Yes, a fish dish is my favorite – who’d have guessed?) Usually made with locally caught mahi fish, it has a drizzle of creamy coconut sauce over it – but not overly saucy or heavy. It comes with a side of cooked local vegetables and a starch – though I always ask if instead of fries or a potato, I can just get additional vegetables. The staff is happy to make this happen.

There are other healthy-looking options that I have not yet had the pleasure of trying. But you may want to look at the grilled salmon salad for a healthy dose of omega oils; grilled chicken with lemon, feta, salsa, and brown rice; a sashimi starter; and for a tasty indulgent side – definitely give the locally-grown sweet potato fries a try!

Great food, great view, and great forward-thinking plans for health and the environment.

Cheers!

Cheers!

Website: www.360saipan.com

Location: Susupe’s Marianas Business Plaza, behind the library and JoeTen Center, 8th floor

Hours:

Lunch: 11am-2pm, Mon-Fri

Dinner: 5pm-10pm Mon-Sat

Video about future plans:

 

My Confusion in Cali March 15, 2013

Filed under: California,Travel — Veggie Kate @ 9:21 am
Tags: , ,

When I went back to California, I was re-exposed to so many things that are different from Saipan.  Bustling crowds, billboards galore, carpeting, and cars going faster that 45 mph.  But none of this phased me – I slid right back in to the routine of these sights and sounds.

So what was the one thing that stalled me out?

I was in my hotel room the first night, before family came to visit.  And I was soooo thirsty!  I pull out the hotel map, and start desperately looking: where is the ice machine and water system?? I can’t find it anywhere!  I go to brush my teeth, and see two clean glasses sitting stoically next to the faucet.

And I do the proverbial *facepalm

Oh yeah, we can drink tap water here!  Who knew… I have grown so accustomed to nothing but the filtered bottle water of the islands.

It’s the little things in life that throw you sometimes :)

from http://www.deq.gov.mp/

 

Stories in California March 13, 2013

Filed under: California,Travel — Veggie Kate @ 5:37 am

After a talk with my mom online about some of my dreams and plans, she promptly got off chat, saying she needed to go to the library.  She was to be flying out in the morning to join me on my stay in California.  When she and my sister arrived at the hotel, mom pulled out her library treasure.  She had brought me the book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller, and pointed me to one particular chapter.

Within a page of this chapter, I set the book aside and opened up my computer.

“Don’t you want to read that chapter?” she asked, looking perhaps a little disappointed that I’d so quickly set aside her book.

Moms know best!

“I do, mom!  But in this first page, he said so many things that just resonated with me — I have to record them somewhere before you take the book back to the library!”

So here I am, recording the parts that just ring so truthfully and fully to my ears and my heart.

“And I found myself wanting even better stories.  And that’s the thing you’ll realize when you organize your life into the structure of story.  You’ll get a taste for one story and then want another, and then another, and the stories will build until you’re living a kind of epic of risk and reward, and the whole things will be molding you into the actual character whose roles you’ve been playing.  And once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life, and you can’t go back to being normal; you can’t go back to meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time.”

“The beauty of the inlet was nearly that of Peru, and I wondered at all this exposition God had created, as though it were an invitation to an epic so grand it might match the scenery.  The mountains themselves call us into greater stories, I thought.”

 “I asked Bob what was the key to living such a great story… he thought about it and said he didn’t think we should be afraid to embrace whimsy… that nagging idea that life could be magical; it could be special if we were only willing to take a few risks.”

What stories are you writing?  Are they the ones you want to be writing, and leaving as your legacy?

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One Year February 26, 2013

Filed under: Saipan,Travel — Veggie Kate @ 9:36 am

It has officially been over one year since moving to Saipan.  One year since my tearful goodbyes to my family.  One year since being picked up at the airport by a stranger to take us to our apartment.  One year since my nervous breakdown thinking I’d gotten in over my head.  One year since taking this beautiful leap of faith.

And what a roller coaster ride is has been!  It’s had its ups, its downs, its crazy twists, its terrifying plummets, and it has been filled with joy and excitement!  And some sadness and loneliness as well.

It is amazing to think how “normal” life feels now, when looking back at things that seemed so foreign when we moved here.  Dave has become so proficient at timing our water tank, keeping us stocked on drinking water, and navigating us around the island.  I have learned so much of the local foods and cultures (though not nearly as much as I would like!  So much still to see and explore and learn!) I have learned some basic phrases in multiple languages, gotten to attend multiple Dietetics conferences, and have improved my CYA policy at work. Ha!

As we prepare for some friends to visit in April, I am excitedly lining up more of the site I’ve wanted to see but haven’t made time for.  Look out, Saipan!  Here we come!

View from the tippy top of Mt. Tapochao, looking out and seeing ocean all around.  What adventures lie waiting for us??

When I revamped this site a year ago, I still didn’t know what direction I wanted it to take, but my thought was to make it focus on healthy lifestyle tips for locals and visitors – what are the local foods, how do you eat them, how can you eat out and stay healthy, and how can you get involved in different activities that get your bum off the couch?

But I have met so many people off-island who are curious about the life on Saipan.  What does it look like?  What is the culture?  How are the people?  What have my travel stories been?

from http://astoriedcareer.com

So I had been keeping a more personal journal of sorts, that was mostly to update family.  But it seems more people are interested in some of our experiences here that are not necessarily health related!  So I’ll be moving some of those other stories over here to VeggieKate.  I do apologize to those friends and family who will be getting a “double dose” of these stories now in your inbox if you subscribed to this site.  But I hope that you’ll enjoy reliving these stories as much as I do!

hugs!

~Kate

 

Beach Relaxing January 21, 2013

Filed under: Saipan,Travel — Veggie Kate @ 11:31 am

There are many beaches around Saipan — ok, we’re like one giant beach!  We have been exploring some of them, but time and again, we keep returning to the beaches by the Garapan hotels.  There is just something about the soft sand.  They provide chairs and umbrellas if you’re fast enough to snag one before they’re gone!  Oh yeah, and the US Military has ships watching over you ;-)   Not sure if you’d consider that a cool sight or an eyesore… but I like it.

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A Plea for Help August 20, 2012

Filed under: Travel — Veggie Kate @ 4:09 am

I am writing to petition for help: for prayers, for advice, and maybe for people to contact for financial or tangible donations.

My job at the hospital is one that I love, and a very rewarding one, but one I am concerned about. I moved here knowing that things were on shaky ground, and that the funding was minimal.

Now it is non-existent.

On a personal level, Dave and I are doing okay and we have plenty of back-up and emergency plans in place.

But I come to you with news of the hospital. Here, we are out of Pediasure, Whey protein, Ensure, Glucerna, and infant formula such as Similac, Alimentum, and Isomil. These are all staples to the diet of someone severely ill, unable to eat, or in desperate need of the supplemental nutrition. And we cannot help. We have to ask families to buy them on their own, and it is the rare patient here that would have that sort of money. Very few, if any, can afford that for even a few days.

We are running out of regular food, as well.

To try to keep levity to the situation, I jokingly tell my staff, “hey! Look on the bright side! In one week’s time, if this situation isn’t fixed, all we’ll have to serve patients is bread and water – so all but 2 of you can take the day off! I just need one to pour the water, and one to toast the bread!”

We try to laugh about it, but it is serious, and I read it in their eyes: they take their jobs seriously, they care about the patients, and it weighs on them that they cannot provide the healing nutrition these people so desperately need.

The vendors here have been extremely gracious in providing as much free food and supplies as they can, but the debt they should be paid is now taking its toll on them as well, and they have reluctantly had to inform me that they can no longer help until they can get some payment for past items.

So I am asking if there is anyone out there who knows of organizations that may be willing or able to donate some supplies overseas. Or perhaps grants that fill this sort of need.

I know relying on donations is not a sustainable solution – it is merely a band-aid fix to delay whatever may happen next.

But when you are lying on the floor, watching the nutritional life for patients drain away, you will cling to any band-aids – or even dirty wads of discarded cloth – that may be tossed your way.

Keeping my eye on the silver lining…

 

 
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