Haze Holiday (Wednesday, 18 Sept 2019)

Sherilyn received a Whatsapp message from her school teachers at around 9:45 a.m. yesterday informing her that school's out for a day caused by the worsening haze. Like most school kids, she was overjoyed!  So was I!  School holiday = NO school run and NO mad rush cooking dinner!  She quickly removed her school uniform and donned on her outing clothes and to Mid Valley we went for retail therapy 😎

Again, I gave her the liberty to pick a restaurant of her choice for lunch and she chose Japanese.



The API breached the 200 level yesterday. It's worse today with a reading of over 300 at some areas in KL. We could smell strong acrid smog inside our house and outside was choking!



Cass and Alycia's schools were the remaining few schools in the Klang Valley that were still open yesterday.  We spent the whole day checking the Education Ministry's website and on the API reading to see if KL's API reading has breached 200 (API of 200 would mean closure of school). Finally we received notice from the respective ministries that all schools in the Klang Valley will be closed for 2 days (Thursday and Friday). Someone was too happy 😏

Sherilyn spent the entire evening practising the pieces on her guitar for a librarians' farewell party to be held this Saturday. Check out the hazy skies.




Dinner was grilled cajun, black pepper and turmeric chicken wings and ribs (organic Pineapple chicken), mash of carrots + sweet potatoes + cauliflower, cherry tomatoes and sweet corns.



For more information on organic Pineapple chicken, have a read here.

Sherilyn also made a healthy crispy vegetarian pizza using her homemade tortilla and homemade pesto, Camembert cheese, onions, cherry tomatoes, walnut and almonds.




Healthiest mash ever composed of sweet potatoes, organic cauliflower and carrots, seasoned with organic grass fed butter, salt, black pepper and fresh milk.   Dump everything into a mixing bowl and blend with a hand blender.  You can also blitz it in a blender.  With a hand blender, cleaning up is slightly easier.


Do give this no-guilt mash a try. It's healthy, wholesome, lower in carbs, full of fiber and vitamins and pretty easy to whip up!

Organic Food Products

Eating organic doesn't come cheap and I'm only a partial organitarian. Out of the 8 items in the above shopping cart, only 5 items are organic and the total bill already exceeded RM100!  The organic items are cherry tomatoes, raw honey, cucumbers, soy sauce and snacks (baby snacks!).

The Organix baby snacks are really yummy and crispy but expensive!  They are made from non-GMO corn with no added salt and sugar, with a sprinkle of onion powder, tomato powder, sunflower oil, apple powder and Vitamin B1.  At about RM4.50 a packet (one pack contains only 4 small packets), they make great snacks for the girls' recess.

If I were to go 100% organic, our grocery bills will triple the amount each month!

Are you a 100%, partial or occasional organitarian?

Throwing Out Chemicals From Our Home

I've been busy the past few days planning in phases to throw out chemicals from our home by replacing everyday personal care products and cleaning products with those that do not contain harsh chemicals. I have been busy scouring the internet for DIY recipes to make spray-on deodorant, face toner, beauty serum, household cleaners, etc etc. I am SO EXCITED with my DIY projects!  Todate, I have already tried and tested two DIY personal care and make-up items and I am very, very pleased with the results. I have made baby powder and loose powder blusher using only organic ingredients from arrowroot powder to roselle powder and essential oils.  My next few projects are homemade teenage face toner for our girls, spray-on deodorant for everyone, mouth rinse and a beauty serum for moi.  Today I ordered Thayers witch hazel and an assortment of bottles from the internet and by next week, my homemade organic face toner and deodorant will be rolled out! And they are all sans chemicals with long scientific names that I don't even know how to pronounce or know what they are.

My first collection of pure essential oils and diffuser from Young Living ~ the best essential oils in the world:


Working at my desk has never been this relaxing now that I can inhale the scents of my favorite essential oils while being massaged by my portable OSIM massage chair, BLISS!

Human Nature Natural Personal Care Products

I spend a chunk of my moolah each month on toiletries and skin care products that are free from harsh chemicals. I am a sucker for all things organic, natural, environmental-friendly and most of all affordable. That is why I have to refrain myself from stepping into an organic shop. Some ladies go wild in a Hermes or Coach boutique. I get carried away when I am in an organic shop 😁

When I found out about Human Nature, I went berserk, literally. I was totally impressed with their range of natural products and their affordability.

Human Nature is the largest natural personal and home care brand in the Philippines. They now also have the most number of NPA-certified products in the world. That’s right – more products certified by the USA-based Natural Products Association, than any other brand in the whole world! Human Nature products are available in the USA, UAE, Singapore and of course, Malaysia. And they are still growing.


Last week, I received my babies from Human Nature consisting of natural body wash, massage oil from essential oils, cooling leg and body cream, lipstick and blusher.






The Natural Body Wash which has a very pleasant and natural berry scent gives me a very refreshing shower, yet does  not leave an overpowering scent that lingers on my body after my shower.  Cass loves the scent and says it smells like her favorite organic strawberry lollipop.

 


I love the Rejuvenating Massage Oil, which has nature’s premium calming trio of lavender, orange and lemongrass essential oils. I use it to moisturize my body after my shower. It's great on Cass' hair and mine too. It tames the frizziness on our hair.

 


The Cooling Leg And Body Cream is da bomb!  It invigorates my tired legs, arms and shoulders with a refreshing and cooling tinge of eucalyptus, peppermint and bergamot. This luscious cream gives me a restful mood and the cooling feeling I get after massaging the cream on my body gives me an instant lift. Love this body cream!




The ColorCreme lipstick in the shade of Coral Kiss, is 100% natural.  It is made in a luxurious fusion of cocoa butter, sunflower seed oil, passion fruit seed oil, and natural vitamin E that melts onto your lips for an exquisite, creamy glide.  Now I can apply lipstick on my lips without worry of ingesting toxic chemicals.


 




Human Nature's Perfect Glow Mineral blush in the shade of Pink Bloom looks amazingly natural on my fair skin. What I like most is that it stays on the whole day with just a few swipes.  It is made with a  blend of natural Vitamin E and pure mineral pigments that give cheeks the right glow to enhance your naturally blushing beauty. It also comes with a mirror and natural blush brush for an easy touch-up anytime, anywhere.




Internationally, Human Nature pride themselves on being a leading social enterprise with a palpable mission of promoting beauty with compassion. This means offering products that are not only good for our bodies and our planet, but also make a huge difference to impoverished farming communities. This is what I like about Human Nature. They use natural ingredients that grow, or can be grown, in Asia because that’s their way of helping alleviate poverty among farmers. They are among the poorest in the world and as long as they grow nothing but rice they will remain poor for generations to come. Teaching them how to grow high-value crops like lemongrass, mangoes and coconuts, offers them a truly sustainable way to get their families out of the vicious cycle of poverty. Human Nature operate under fair trade principles, meaning they pay market price or higher for their ingredients. Why Human Nature?

All of Human Nature’s products are natural and chemical-free (no SLS, no parabens, no artificial fragrance, no formaldehyde, no phthalates).

The products can be bought online and delivered to customers anywhere in Malaysia, to help busy mummies and other multi-tasking superwomen.

The products are priced reasonably so that even the average family can afford to go chemical-free.


Do hop over to Human Nature to check out their products and I am pretty sure that you’ll find something for everyone in the family. Christmas is not too far away.  You can start shopping for gifts now 😉