Home-Cooked Dinner

I start cooking at 5 p.m. each day and only have a maximum of 1.5 hours in the kitchen before I resume my driver duties at 6:50 p.m. where I will have to pick up Sherilyn from school, drop off Alycia at the gym for her martial arts classes, go home, go out again to drop off Sherilyn at the dance center or tuition center and then pick up Alycia from the gym. And then at 9:30 p.m., I pick up Sherilyn from the dance center or tuition center. On Friday, Alycia and Sherilyn go to the gym together for kickboxing.  My evening routine is like that every single weekday. If I am lucky, the hubs will help me pick up the girls at night.

My friends have been telling me to enjoy the madness now coz in a few years time, my life will be lonely and quiet again. But I don't think I will feel lonely. I crave for quiet time so much now! My house is hardly ever quiet.  It's a battle zone every single day ~ rushing from one place to another, screaming, hurrying the 3 dawdlers in the house and play referee when the girls fight and quarrel. Every single day!

Will I ever feel lonely when the girls leave the nest?

I wonder?!

As I am typing this post, I am already late for my kitchen duty. Late by 30 frigging minutes!!

So I am going to rush off this post now. Sorry, no recipe but from the photos, you will be able to see what ingredients I use for each dish.

I cooked these dishes on one of the week days some 2 weeks ago and only have the time to post the photos now:


Steamed minced pork and minced chicken with wood fungus and julienned carrots. Seasonings used: soy sauce, a dash of oyster sauce, sesame seed oil, pepper.




Sauteed Choy Sum with garlic, wood fungus and wolfberries with a dash of Chinese cooking wine.



PPC (Philips Pressure Cooker) boiled 'Fun Kok' soup with pork big bone marrow, carrot, red dates, dried longan and wolfberries



Dinner kept in a partitioned glass container for Sherilyn. This is what I do for her on most nights. When she comes back at 9+ p.m, she pops the container into the microwave for a few seconds. Sometimes she eats them cold.

Clip-In Hair Extensions

For anyone who feels like their hair just doesn't have the length or volume they crave (and that growing it out takes too long), hair extensions are an instant solution. But with so many options out there, it's so hard to know which to choose.

One of the best options is clip-in hair extensions. They are a commitment-free way to add length and fullness or body to your hair.

Clip-in hair extensions are the easiest, fastest, and safest way to get long, thick hair in just a matter of minutes. Clip-in hair extension wefts come with the clips already attached to them. This means that you can simply take the wefts and easily clip them into your hair all by yourself, without any additional costs, time, or professional help. Clip-in hair extensions are the perfect solution for those who are looking to get thicker hair and longer hair instantly, without the hassle, long-term commitment or breaking the bank.

A good quality set of remy clip in hair extensions is worth the investment. Cheaper options can look bulky and even cause harm to your natural hair since the clips or tapes are poorly made. If you take proper care of your extensions, they will not need to be replaced so quickly.



The best hair extensions are those that blend in well with your hair and also that fit your lifestyle. For example, if you shower often, dance, work out, swim, or play sports on a regular basis - perhaps it is best to consider temporary methods of hair extensions such as hair extensions clip-in human hairlink, because they can easily be taken out for the duration of those activities and clipped back in when needed. Not only will this  ensure proper hygiene and will also make your hair extensions last longer, but will also be less damaging for your own hair.



You can get a good range of clip-in hair extensions from BHF Hair at the following websites:

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Matcha Pancake

Sherilyn got back from her school's cross country event at 1-ish p.m. today and since she had the whole afternoon free before tuition at 8:30 p.m., she whipped up a stack of matcha pancakes as the flour that we bought last year was about to expire.  The matcha powder was bought from Bake With Yen.

As usual, I left everything to her own accord. She found a good recipe online and within an hour, we had some very pillowy and fluffy matcha butter pancakes for tea-time! This time the pancakes are very buttery and creamy as she put melted organic butter and full cream fresh milk into the pancake batter.








Sherilyn layered her pancakes with matcha bread spread and had a scoop of peppermint ice-cream to go with it. She was so stuffed to the gills that she skipped dinner!

She made so much pancakes that we now have a good supply of frozen matcha pancakes in the freezer that we can pop into the toaster anytime that we crave for pancakes.

Best Place To Get Cheap Jewelry At Wholesale Price

I recently found an online wholesale jewelry platform that sells over 100,000 fashion accessories at unbelievably cheap prices.  With fashion forward costume jewelry  ranging from earrings to necklaces, bangles, bracelets, belts, fine jewelry to the latest trend in women's clothing and clothing accessories, NihaoJewelry.com is an online shopping paradise for women.

NihaoJewelry.com have their own production chains in their own factory and  have special inspectors to control the quality of our products.  New products are updated at their site  every work day.

At NihaoJewelry.com, you can find items as cheap as under one Dollar! With such irresistible prices, you definitely would not want to buy just an item. You'll be tempted to add many costume jewelry at wholesale jewelry prices into your shopping cart!

If you own a costume jewelry store and are searching for someone to manufacture custom made jewelry, NihaoJewelry.com is the right place to head to. They will purchase the raw materials, do the design, production, process and packaging for you. You can even make your own branding with a MOQ (minimum order quantity) from NihaoJewelry.com

Here are some of the gorgeous jewelry available at NihaoJewelry.com, which are all priced below 5 Dollars:

The simulated pearl cascade earrings below is stunningly elegant yet you wouldn't believe that it costs only US$0.41!

The geometric colorful crystal earrings on the right come in four gorgeous colors. This design is one of my favorite earrings as the different colors from the crystals can match the different colors of my clothes. The price? Only US$1.90!!

The charming double hearts pendant alloy necklace (US$0.72) comes in two colors ~ gold and silver while the number 9 shaped earrings give your face a slimmer appearance.




Alloy heart shape locket at only US$0.35 and pretty flower earrings with tassels at only US$2.34 a pair. The earrings come in 5 attractive colors.




This AAA Grade Zircon Silver Needle - Wheat Earrings (Platinum)  complete your office or dinner outfit and  they are only priced at US$2.64. These come in 3 classy colors.


Korean style love earrings for the K-pop fan at only US$0.53 a pair! They come in gold and silver color.


There's something special for your child's favorite teacher too at only US$1.63 each ~ a cute titatium and stainless steel necklace or perhaps a modish bracelet at US$1.19 each.





NihaoJewelry.com is the ultimate one-stop online store for all your fashion needs for all occasions from head to toe. Yes they even carry a wide range of shoes! Check them out today for unbelievably cheap and beautiful jewelry and accessories !

Steamed Nian Gao/年糕 (Kuih Bakul) with Freshly Grated Coconut

Nian Gao is a popular delicacy during the Lunar New Year. It’s a sweet and sticky steamed cake made of glutinous rice flour, water and sugar.  Yup, it's a high carbo, high calorie and high in cholesterol dessert. A big NO NO for weight watchers and those with health issues. But I only get to eat this once a year, so at this time of the year, I will just pretend that I do not know that this is a fattening food. Just enjoy it first and deal with it later, ha!

I like eating my Nian Gao steamed and coated with freshly grated coconut, with a pinch of salt. That's the best way to enjoy it. You get to savor the aroma and flavor of the Nian Gao without other ingredients like yam, sweet potato or egg masking the taste of the Nian Gao in the other method of prepping Nian Gao, i.e. deep frying Nian Gao with yam and sweet potato.

Before the mil left for Hong Kong last week, she bought a few Nian Gao to bring along to HK.  She gave one to us and I steamed the Nian Gao while it was still fresh and had not turned moldy yet.


Prepping the Nian Gao when it is still fresh, soft and ultra sticky is really tricky and messy!  I have not found a better way of removing the leaves from the fresh Nian Gao and got the gooey slime stuck to all 10 of my fingers like glue!  It took me some time to wash off the Nian Gao from my hands.  Next time, I will chill the Nian Gao in the fridge, then slice it when it's cold and hard. I think it's easier to handle it when it's cold.

Steaming only takes 10 minutes. Twirling the sticky Nian Gao with a chopstick and coating it with coconut is pretty time consuming too. All in, I took almost an hour to prep this.



Steamed Nian Gao with grated coconut is our girls' favorite CNY dessert too.  We managed to wolf down the entire large size Nian Gao in 2 days. It tasted even better the next day, when chilled and slightly hard.




My mum has recently learned how to make Nian Gao using her Philips Pressure Cooker and I can't wait to try them when we go back to Ipoh for CNY next month!

JoyMix Concentrated Beetroot Juice Powder

The beautiful and bright colour of beetroots can make anyone fall in love with it, yet it is often ignored, perhaps because of its distinctive earthy taste.  Beetroot has been gaining amazing popularity as the new superfood around the world. It’s low in fat, full of powerful antioxidants, rich in Vitamin C, and helps in the absorption of iron.  Both the leaves and the roots can be eaten. While the pink root is sweet, the dark green leaves are bitter but very rich in calcium, iron and Vitamin A.

Beetroots are best enjoyed raw and uncooked as cooking may destroy most of its nutrients. You can add them in salads or easier to just juice them up.

I love eating beetroot, in all forms, whether it's beetroot juice, salad, roast or soup.  I started to eat beetroot frequently when I was severely anemic before my fibroid removal surgery 1.5 years ago.  Beet root is rich in iron.

 Preparing beetroot can be a major turnoff and hassle for some as the uneven and rough skin is a tad hard to peel off even with a fruit peeler. And the red juice splatters can be pretty messy. Busy people who are always on the go and rush may not have the time to prepare beet root for juicing, salad or soup. And this includes yours truly.  The solution to this is beet root  powder.  With beet root powder, you can include this superfood into your diet at anytime, hassle-free.

I found a good brand of concentrated beet root juice powder  from https://www.joypremix.com/ and I am so in love with it!  With such convenience, I can now drink beetroot juice whenever I feel like it and it takes just a minute to prep a refreshing beetroot beverage.

 

The best part is JoyMix’s red beetroot powder is odor-less, unlike red beet juice that has an earthy smell. It is easy to drink, making it ideal for children and even some adults who find the smell of beetroot distasteful. Even Cass who does not like the taste of raw beetroot loves JoyMix beetroot powder.  She says it tastes like Ribena! I think so too.  This, you got to try it to verify it!

We like our beetroot powder mixed with Korean fruit vinegar.  I add one heap teaspoon of JoyMix beetroot juice powder and 2 tablespoons of Korean fruit vinegar into 200 ml of water and top up with lots of ice cubes to make a super refreshing and delightful drink to chillax when I feel hot after cooking in the evening.  Alycia loves to guzzle down this refreshing drink to quench thirst after working out in the gym or when she's back from kickboxing / Muay Thai class.

 


 I love the au naturel maroon color of the beetroot powder from JoyMix!

Excellent Mixability – The red beetroot powder from JoyMix has a very fine texture and excellent flowability to prevent caking and lump formation. It will easily dissolve in water and other liquids alike and won’t curdle. You can even mix it in flours for baking cakes and pastries.

 

I will surely restock my beetroot powder from JoyMix when the existing stock runs low.

JoyMix's health food products are ISO22OOO/ HACCP certified. Muslim consumers can safely consume their products as they are HALAL CERTIFIED.


 

Here are some of the health benefits of beetroot:

Conditions Liver – Beetroot contains betaine that conditions liver and stimulates the production of enzymes. It detoxifies the body and makes you feel fresh and rejuvenated.

Lowers cholesterol - A 2011 study on rats found that beetroot extract lowered total cholesterol and triglycerides and increased HDL (good) cholesterol. It also reduced oxidative stress on the liver.

Lowers blood glucose - Though high in sugar, beetroot actually helps in regulating your blood sugar levels. Studies have shown that it does not lead to high glucose concentration in the blood. This simply means that the natural sugars in beetroot are released very slowly in the body and thus, prevents sudden spikes. In the form of the juice, it may actually help diabetics.

Rich in Folate – Joymix’s red beetroot powder is rich in folate that is necessary for production and differentiation of cells as well as maintenance of DNA structure. The high folate content makes it a great option for young children, teenagers, and pregnant women alike.

Reduces Blood Pressure – Betaine in beetroots reduces blood pressure by lowering homocysteine levels in the body. Joymix red beetroot powder contains high amounts of betaine that reduces the chances of high blood pressure, heart attacks, and strokes.

Great For Older Adults – Various studies have found beetroot to prevent and halt the progress of dementia in older adults. Regularly consuming beetroot juice can assist in keeping dementia at bay.

Sharpens Minds of Students – The high nutrient content of beetroot and its effect on blood flow enhances the cognitive functioning of the brain making it beneficial for students and teenagers.

Ideal For Keto and Vegetarian Diets – People who are following a keto or a vegetarian diet will find it easy to incorporate red beetroot powder to their diets as it has low calories.

Boosts Sports Performance – Beetroots have betaine which improves cardiovascular health and blood flow. It increases the rate at which oxygen reaches cells and boosts the performance of athletes and sportspersons.

May Prevent Cancer – The antioxidant betaine which is present in rich amounts in Joymix’s red beetroot powder has been found to protect the body against different types of cancer. It protects DNA structure in cells against damage, which is a primary cause of cancer.

Improves Digestive Health – Beetroot improves digestive health by stimulating the production of enzymes and HCL in the stomach. It also aids in the absorption of specific vitamins, minerals, and proteins.

Excellent for Weight Management – Joymix red beetroot powder is excellent for individuals who are focused on weight management as it contains low calories while being nutritionally dense.

Sharing is caring  😘 Read below to get a discount on your beetroot powder!

JoyMix is now having a promotion on their health products from organic soy powder to collagen, Bentong ginger powder, macha latte powder, chia seeds, diabetic foods and of course beetroot powder.  Just key in discount code: JOYLOVE during checkout to enjoy a 10% discount on their products!

The promotion is valid from 1 January 2019 ~ 31 March 2019, so hurry and get your beetroot powder or any health products before this offer expires!

For more information on JoyMix health food products, kindly visit:

www.joypremix.com
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www.instagram.com/joymix9

Breakfast For A Recuperating HFM

I have been feeling malaise from the last few days of 2018 right until now.  Thank God things are looking up today and I've gotten back my appetite. Glad that I managed to treat myself yet again with home remedies.

It first started off with just a tingling sensation in my throat after dinner with our friends at a Chinese restaurant, which progressed to lost of voice and then a strep throat, which mutated into a horrendous productive cough which caused me to lose 4 nights of sleep from continuous coughing, then back to having sore throat and then ended with a cold that lasted for just a day.  I was so tempted to drive to the clinic to get some meds but I knew that the doctor would conveniently prescribe me with antibiotics, which would bring on a whole load of nasty after effects, including antibiotic resistance super bugs.

So I soldiered on with just chewing on Indian Borage (Mexican Mint) leaves from my little balcony garden, gulping down packets after packets of Izumio, Super Lutein, Esberitox, raw honey, propolis, essential oils and finally succumbed to buying a bottle of Prospan to stop the cough and Difflam antibacterial lozenges for the sore throat. I also ate pineapple and jackfruit for days as these two fruits are believed to be effective cough remedies. Prospan is the world's no.1 natural chesty cough medicine for adults and children. It contains extracts of Ivy leaves, is sugar-free and does not cause any drowsiness. It tastes mild and not foul-tasting at all.


I don't know which item in particular helped to treat the cough, sore throat and phlegm, but all of the above natural remedies stated above seem to have synergized and produced effective results, though not magically fast but they worked. Once again, I treated myself with home remedies without succumbing to antibiotics!

This was my breakfast on one of my sick days:





Kintry's salted caramel granola, Happy Baby organic kale and spinach rice puffs, organic brazil nuts with a little coffee milk and a spoonful of homemade organic ABC nut butter (almond, brazil nut and cashew) that Sherilyn made.



Are you blinking your eyes to see if you read and saw the correct words and picture? Is that baby food in my bowl? Hell yes! I bought it after tasting my twin baby niece and nephew's snacks when we were in Ipoh last December.  😂😆  I never thought that organic baby snacks these days can be this yummy that even adults would love.  These are quite costly at RM15 for a small tub but  I am willing to pay a little extra for organic and non-GMO snacks packed with healthy ingredients.

Keeping Track of Our Girls' Extra CoCo Activities And Payments

This year I am even busier than last year with my chauffeuring duties.   Alycia has just started her martial arts classes, which means more trips for me to do.  The martial arts classes are not just once a week, but three times a week. Freaking THREE times a week that lasts until late evening.  On Wednesdays and Fridays she has kickboxing from 7-8:15 p.m.  and on Tuesdays, she has Muay Thai from 7 - 8:15 p.m.  Next year Alycia may want to drop kickboxing to learn yoga, which ends at 9:30 p.m.!   This year too, I may want to send Cass for BM tuition as I don't think I have anymore sanity and patience  left to tutor this kid who makes me vomit blood.

God, give me a driver pretty please!!🙏

To remember who goes where and at what time each day, I have handwritten down a very simple reminder for myself listing down the girls' activities.  This note is stuck to a cupboard next to my work desk. I look at it several times in a day.  This list does not include Sherilyn's tuition and activities in the morning. I don't write those down as her morning routine is pretty much etched in my memory after going through the motions with her for a year last year.





Payments
I also have a payment list in Microsoft Excel that lists down our 3 girls' tuition and CoCo activities and the fees for each.  I write the date on the payment column each time payment is made. I created this payment list as a reminder when I forgot to pay Yamaha for 2 months when Cass first attended piano lessons! What an embarrassment it was for me when the owner called me to remind me to pay. It made me feel like I deliberately evaded payment🤭

Last year, I received a standard warning letter from one of Sherilyn's tuition centres when I forgot to make payment for that month. I was only late for one week. I was only late for ONE WEEK and the kiasu tuition centre shot out the letter to me!  Last year too, I received text messages twice from Sherilyn's BM tuition centre when I was late in paying fees for that 2 months.

To prevent all these unnecessary annoying warning letters and text messages from harassing me making me feel like I am a loan defaulter, I have come up with some fool-proof reminders to remind myself to prepare the girls' fees each month. Since then, I have never once forgotten to make payment 😁😁

Easy reminders for myself on payment
To remind myself to prepare the various fees amounting to several thousands each month, I first key in  reminders in my e-Calendar on my desktop computer.
On the last day of each month, I prepare all the fees needed to pay the girls' school transporters, music centre, tuition centres and gym for next month.

The fees required for the girls' different types of activities will be placed individually in an ang pow packet or envelope with the name of the receiver written on it. Then all the ang pow packets and envelopes will be kept in a big zipper bag which I place in my handbag. Before dropping off the girls at the tuition centre / gym, I pass them the ang pow / envelope for them to pass it to the centre.

I also have reminders made in my e-Calendar to remind the girls to request for receipts from the tuition centres / gym. Not taking any chances of not filing receipts anymore when many yonks back, one of the tuition centres owner claimed that I did not make payment but payment was made and she was too busy to issue me with a receipt.  The centre owner even forgot that she told me that she would give me a receipt the following week but that following week, she had the cheek to tell me that she did not receive my money.  I got so pissed that I pulled Alycia and Sherilyn out from the tuition centre.

Do you have similar reminders too for your children's activities and payments?

Feasting Spree ~ 28 December 2018 (Purple Cane Restaurant & Tommy Le Baker)

For the past four days when my parents were in KL, we traversed to so many places in KL in search of good food that I lost track of where we went on each day!

On Friday, 28 December, we had lunch at Purple Cane Restaurant and then to Tommy Le Baker.

Our healthy dishes from Purple Cane, which are mostly tea-infused and seasoned with tea leafs:

Clockwise from top left: Tomato omelette, fish and pumpkin, Bakuteh, fried oyster mushrooms, deep fried squids with Nestum

Dishes at Purple Cane are cooked with reduced salt, oil and sugar. Those whose palates are trained to savor dishes laden with salt, sugar and MSG may find the dishes at Purple Cane a tad bland. I like the food at Purple Cane as they taste very much home-cooked. And you won't have an insatiable thirst after the meal.


Clockwise from top left: sauteed spinach, 'Lui Cha' with brown rice, braised chicken with peanuts and a vegetarian dish,

After lunch at Purple Cane Restaurant  we segued into Tommy Le Baker (TLB), located just around the corner at Kg Atap to bring my parents to sample the most expensive sourdough bread in KL! It's a quaint little cafe that sells just sourdough bread, coffee, tea, juices and homemade ice-creams. But don't underestimate this cafe. Despite its limited menu at the Kg Atap outlet, TLB is always bursting with patrons, who presumably are all fans of sourdough breads / healthier breads.









Sourdough bread is very much an acquired taste. When I  first tried the sourdough bread from TLB, which the mil bought, I did not like it a wee bit. It tasted stale, sourish, dry and hard. No one in the family liked it.  I did not know that I had to toast the sourdough bread to bring out its best flavor and texture. The sourdough breads at TLB are sold by weight, which comes up to a few Ringgit per piece, depending on the size.

But the second time time I tried the sourdough bread at TLB cafe, I started to fall in love with it, just like how I did with sushi, sashimi and raw oysters.   The 3 photos below were taken on 21 December 2018 when we went to TLB for brunch.  Hubs ordered a grilled Mozarella & Tomate Tartine and I instantly fell in love with it.  It looks like we had been eating sourdough bread the 'wrong' way, thus the reason why we didn't quite figure out how to appreciate it. Sourdough bread is best eaten thinly and grilled with cheese. The thinner the slice is, the crispier it is.








The salted caramel ice-cream from TLB is to-die-for, at least for me as I am a big fan of salted caramel. The sweetness is just right and I love the fragrant aroma of caramel in every bite of the ice-cream. At RM10 for a small cup, it's pretty costly but totally worth it.

What is sourdough bread?
Traditional white bread is usually made with sugar, canola oil/butter and dried, preserved yeast to leaven the dough. Sourdough bread is usually made with no sweeteners or oils. It contains mostly whole wheat flour and water, and its secret ingredient: live yeast cultures, which is the “thing” that gives it that well known tangy flavor.
Not only does using live instead of dried yeast change the flavor, but it also means it stays fresh after being baked much longer than factory baked bread and doesn’t require any extra preservatives to ward off mold.

Similar to other fermented foods like sauerkraut, kefir, pickles, and kombucha, sourdough bread is fermented by using lactobacillus cultures (a probiotic, aka bacteria that benefits your gut).

OK, back to our feasting spree on 28 December!  This is what we ordered at TLB:




Simple toasted sourdough bread slices with butter and marmalade jam. Something so basic and simple yet totally satisfying. And I'm talking about gobbling down all these breads plus ice-cream and coffee right after a heavy lunch at Purple Cane! 😀😜


The egg mayo sandwich is outrageously yums yet ridiculously simple. This is something that we could prep at home everyday but how come we could never get this perfect outcome?


RM101.07 just on sourdough bread, coffee and ice-cream! Told you it's expensive. But worth it for the occasional treat! Thanks to my younger brother, Roy for this treat!


After 2 heavy meals, we had Korean for dinner that evening!  Talk about food, my girls really have a bottomless pit. As for me, I did not gain a pound despite all the pigging out. Not surprising to me as I control my food portion very strictly.  In fact, I lost about 1kg after the school holidays, though I did not workout, not even for a day.  Reason ~ I'm down with a bad throat, lost my voice and have not been eating well for the past one week. My weight now stands at something like 44.7kg. My girls sarcastically told me that I am grossly underweight! But I think they're jealous 😆

Now, I have allowance to indulge in durian, steak and ice-cream when I feel better. They're all in the fridge, waiting for me to claim them. Bring on the CNY cookies too!!