Lazy Dinners Cooked With Help From Daughters

I definitely perform better under stress. During the school holidays, I tend to get lackadaisical.  I get 2-3 hours of extra sleep each day and when I wake up at 8 a.m., I tend to do chores at a slower pace, at my own sweet time. There is nothing to rush for  except that on some days, we have places to go to, I have errands to run and the girls have tuition.  I am even slacking in my daily morning exercise regimen.  I have not gone out to run or swim ever since the school holidays started 😳😴  But you know what, I didn't gain an ounce of weight. In fact, I lost about 1-2kg. That's because I only eat 2 meals a day during the school holidays.  We have brunch at 11ish a.m. and dinner at 7-ish p.m. vs two breakfast, lunch and dinner (total of 4 meals) on a school-going day.

Here are some interesting facts on sleep and body weight which all dieters must know!

Along with eating right and exercising, getting quality sleep is an important part of weight maintenance.

Even with the very best diet and fitness routine, if sleep is off, you're wrecked!

Not sleeping enough--less than seven hours of sleep per night, can reduce and undo the benefits of dieting, according to a research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. In the study, dieters were put on different sleep schedules. When their bodies received adequate rest, half of the weight they lost was from fat. However when they cut back on sleep, the amount of fat lost was cut in half—even though they were on the same diet. What’s more, they felt significantly hungrier, were less satisfied after meals, and lacked energy to exercise. Overall, those on a sleep-deprived diet experienced a 55 percent reduction in fat loss compared to their well-rested counterparts.

See the connection between sleep and weight now? I can see and feel it now!

Ok, back to food talk!

For dinner, if Drama Queen is around, she would help around in the kitchen.

These are the two dinners that Drama Queen helped to cook:

Dinner #1
Roast chicken and blanched bok choy with soft, fluffy and pillowy pancakes prepped by Drama Queen:








Doing what she loves best:



I made extra grilled chicken thighs and Cass had grilled chicken with toast and tomatoes before she went to school to attend a STEM Lab holiday program the next morning.








Dinner #2
Grilled pomfret fish with turmeric, Teriyaki sauce and black pepper; stir-fried broccoli and sauteed portobello mushrooms with garlic and butter (both cooked by Drama Queen).






As we could not finish the fish, Cass helped to debone the fish. The fish meat was used as one of the ingredients in our fried rice the next day.


My girls are no longer physically challenging but as they are a little older now, they mentally challenge me every single day but they are definitely my most precious gems, my gifts from God 💗