Our Saturday - 10 Sept 2016

Today is the start of the 1-week school holiday.

So what does a school holiday as short as 1 week mean to me?

Catching up on sleep, have brunch with the girls at our favorite coffee shops at 11am, shopping, lazing around the house, working-out with the girls in the gym in the evenings and hitting the sack way past 11pm every night.  Drama Queen has already planned to bake cookies and cuppies. And the big girl has planned a movie date with her besties.

What does the school holiday mean to you?  Cuti-cuti Malaysia? Or an overseas trip? Or simply a staycation at a hotel in your town?  We used to do a LOT of staycations when the girls were  younger.  My parents and younger brother, Roy have just flown to Taiwan today. From Taiwan, they will be transferred on board a cruise liner on a pleasure voyage to Okinawa, Japan!  I. SO. WISH. TO. JOIN. THEM!!!

Some day I will. I know the day will come. PATIENCE IS THE VIRTUE!

We had breakkie with hubs at Les Deux Garcons (LDG) today.  The girls and I wanted wantan mein and bitter gourd noodles but my trencherman said big breakfast at LDG!  So LDG it is then.  Cass was really disappointed that she couldn't dig into her favorite bitter gourd noodles this morning.






Not-so-healthy big breakfast.  Nay to ham and sausages 👎 but it feels good to eat them once in a purple moon 😋





Cumin chicken and corn with pita bread and boiled potatoes.  The taste of cumin didn't really go well with the girls though.  I promised the girls that I'll make them their choice of chicken filling for a pita bread meal next week.





A meal at LDG will never be complete without a Frangipane croissant.  LDG bakes one of the best Frangipane croissants (RM8.50 a piece).

Izumio And Super Lutein - Prostate Cancer

This testimonial on prostate cancer and how the products have helped a 77-year old man with prostate cancer was originally posted by one of our team mates in June 2015.


My dad ( 77 yrs old) was diagnosed with prostrate cancer in March this year with his PSA level at 143. He didn’t want to go for further scan so we do not know what stage he is in or where the cancer has spread. The biopsy showed little cancer cells in his prostrate so the doctor ‘thinks’ that it may have spread to his bones. However he had no symptoms related to prostrate cancer. ..i.e no urination problem, or any pain. One of the reasons he took the blood test was because he had been feeling extreme tiredness. The tiredness caused by cancer is different from our normal tiredness. Tiredness caused by cancer does not go away even after sleep/rest. He went for hormone injection in March. This hormone injection works by stopping the hormone testosterone from reaching prostate cancer cells because testosterone is like ‘fertilizer’ for cancer cells. This injection is suppose to help lower the PSA level and also control the cancer cells from spreading but not to heal. After the 1st treatment in March, he became weaker each day due to the side effects of the jab. 2 months after his treatment he was so weak that he thought he will meet his Maker soon. I then decided to get him Izumio and SL. 

Fast forward 2 weeks later after IW and SL, he felt better and went to do another blood test. His PSA level dropped from 143 to 12.5. Since it is only 2 weeks after he took the products, we can’t really tell if it is due to the products or the hormone injection was working well. Whatever it is, I believed the products did help greatly. It has been a month now since he consumed IW and SL. He is less tired. More positive and cheerful. He sleeps well. No more bloating or stomach pain. Only still dealing with his tiredness in which certain days are better than other.

Dosage : First 3 days 3 IW 9SL. Thereafter till now : 4IW 12SL 

Detox symptoms : His detox symptoms started on the 3 rd day consuming the products. Some of his old symptoms came back i.e heart palpitations ( he has leaky valve) , stomach pulling, dizziness and very tired. His current symptoms magnified i.e bloating, stomach pain. 

New symptoms : sweating profusely especially in the night ( could also be a side effect of the hormone injection ), feeling heaty and of course loose stools several times a day.  

Thank God, that had all calm down from week 3 onwards.  

Yesterday, he went for his follow up treatment. The doctor was very pleased with his progress and wanted his PSA to drop further. However he (doctor) is not ‘receptive’ that the products can really help heal/cure cancer. Gave my dad another jab and told to come back in 3 months time. Though my dad is not cleared of his cancer yet ( and the doctor doesn’t believe it can be cured rather it can be controlled for many years….more like prolonging his life), taking the products has helped him greatly. From someone that used to sit and stare at the wall and looking miserable, he can now do light exercises , sweep the compound and sometimes cycle to the nearby market. Just looking forward for him to be healthier each day. 

Update (18-9-15) : My dad's PSA is now 3.4 which is considered normal for his age. He is on 3SL 1IZ once to twice a day.

If you know of anyone with prostate cancer, you could tell them that they can try natural supplements like water enriched with molecular hydrogen and carotenoids.  There is no 100% guarantee that they will get healed but these products have helped many people with terminal diseases get better.  These are life-saving products. You have nothing to lose by giving them a try.  I am thankful I gave them a try 1.5 years ago. Don't take my word for it. Just try them to see the difference they can make to your health.


For more reading on Izumio and Super Lutein, you can click here.

Wat Tarn Yee Mee (Yee Mee In Egg Gravy)

Dinner a few evenings ago was 'wat tarn yee mee' and 'wat tarn meehoon' (Cantonese style / Kong Foo Chow)

I am a lover of vermicelli / meehoon. While the girls had sweet potato yee mee, I had meehoon.

The girls had the sweet potato yee mee from Lohas  straight from the packet, with hot egg gravy poured onto the noodles.  The sheer crispiness from the yee mee interweaved with the hot egg gravy make this noodle dish very interesting.





I can never get sick of  eating meehoon. I love it cooked in any style. It's my all-time comfort food, though it's a high GI food. To slow down the spike in insulin, I always eat meehoon together with protein like meat and eggs.




My egg gravy composed of Berkcious minced pork, squids, organic miso, naturally fermented bean paste with toona sinensis, organic shoyu, pepper, lots of chopped garlic, fresh portobello mushrooms, free-range chicken eggs and organic Chinese cabbage.

Berkcious pork is free from growth hormones and antibiotics.




My bowl of sweet potato yee mee is 90% organic.  Even the scallions are organic :)




My 8-year old bookworm enjoying her yee mee and all soaked up in her book on David Copperfield, borrowed from her school library.

Making The MRI Manageable

If there is an MRI in your future, there are a few tips to keep in mind to make the scan a little easier. An open MRI scanner is often the best solution if you are afraid of being in small spaces or if you are physically unable to be inside the machine.

One of the things to keep in mind is that you should leave your modesty outside the door. You will likely have to wear a hospital nightgown, especially if you will need to stay in the hospital for a few days after the scan is completed. You can't wear anything metallic, and you should tell the technician if there is anything in the body that is metal as the machine is a large magnet. Some of the things that you might not think about are hair bows and earrings.

While in the scanner, don't move at all. This will only mess up the image, and you will likely have to repeat it until a clear image can be seen. You aren't strapped down on the table, and no one is in there to hold you down so that you don't move, so you will have to use willpower to not fidget while the machine is circling around you to take a picture. Patience is a virtue as it seems like it takes forever to get the results back. However, with the digital age, doctors can usually see results of the scan a short time after it's completed.

Some people think that you can't breathe while you're getting an MRI. It's alright to breathe, and the technician might tell you how to breathe at times in order to get an image of the lungs or other areas of the body. If you're afraid of being in the machine, then close your eyes. It doesn't prevent any kind of magnetic ray from harming the eyes as the scanner is safe, but it can make you feel a little more at ease with being in a confined space. The technician will tell you when you are done with the scan so that you can finally relax for a while before the results are back.

Hainanese Chicken Chop (Grilled In Oven)

The other day I saw an advertisement from a cafe promoting its menu in the newspapers. One of the dishes was Hainanese chicken chop. Looking at the enticing pictures of the chicken chop made me salivate. Since this dish does not require me to go at it hammer and tongs and sweat buckets, I decided to prepare it the next day.

Hainanese chicken chop is my childhood favorite food.  Dad can whip up Hainanese chicken chop to die for.

The recipe for Hainanese chicken chop requires  deep-frying of the boneless chicken thighs. I adapted the recipe and grilled the chicken in the oven instead. I will not prep any dish that is super messy and requires deep frying.







Marinating the meat

I marinated the boneless chicken thighs with coriander powder, a little corn starch, ground black pepper, Lea And Perrins sauce and organic shoyu.
Some recipes include five-spice powder for the chicken marinate. But I could not find it in my kitchen, thus omitted it.

After popping the chicken thighs into the oven, I made the sauce, which is pretty effortless and fast.


Ingredients For Sauce 
Big onions, cut into rings
Chopped garlic
Tomatoes - cut into wedges
Green peas - I used Wattie's frozen baby garden peas from New Zealand
Sweet corn kernels - I used Wattie's frozen corn kernels
Button mushrooms - I used fresh Portobello mushrooms
Tomato ketchup
Lea And Perrin sauce
Soy sauce - I used organic shoyu
Sugar - I used organic brown sugar

Directions For Sauce
Brown garlic and onion rings
Add in tomatoes and saute till they turn partially soft and skin withers
Add in mushrooms, sweet corn kernels and garden baby peas
In a bowl of water, add a few teaspoons of corn starch.  Stir to dilute the corn starch.  Add into wok.
Season to taste with Lea And Perrins sauce, soy sauce, organic brown sugar, tomato ketchup and add more water. Let simmer for about 10 minutes.

Below - my wok of sauce with lots of colorful veggies is all ready!







Grilling The Chicken Thighs
Grill chicken thigh at 150C for about 15-20 minutes on each side.
Earlier, I steamed the sweet corns, potato and sweet potato wedges for about 15 minutes in the wok. Then I transferred them into the grill tray and grilled them with the chicken.





For sides, I made a mash of grilled potatoes, grilled sweet potatoes and blanched cauliflower.  I whizzed the 3 items for a few seconds in my Shimono blender.   Added some fresh milk, pepper and salt to taste. This mash is really delish. The girls loved it! It's so creamy, so rich and naturally sweet. Once you've popped a spoonful into your mouth, you just can't stop whacking more.

Our Saturday - 3 Sept 2016

Cass waited impatiently for another week to Saturday, not so much to attend piano class but to see her favorite doggy at the pet shop - a mighty cute and fluffy Samoyed, whom she has named Twitchy Nose (and then changed the name to Samo!) as this little Samoyed pup likes twitching its cute little black nose when playing with Cass, separated by a glass panel.








Samo has long white eye lashes and double eyelids. It's such a perfect and beautiful dog. This explains the RM8,300 price tag on Samo!

 


As long as we stay in a condo, there is no way we can keep a dog... much as I love Samo too.  It is just too cute, too cuddly, too irresistible.





Dinner was just us girls, without the hubs, as he was at a client's function.




We had economical Japanese food at Lao Jiu Lou restaurant, opened by a Japanese hunk!

 









Back home, I drilled Drama Queen on conversion of metric measures by setting tons of questions for her. She wasn't 100% sure on the conversion and techniques and the only way is to give her loads of problems to solve.  Told her that she needs to practice the problems until she has them down cold.  This knowledge must be at her finger tips as she will be needing it for life.

Struggles With Tweens

Yesterday the big girl casually asked me to do something. She made it sound like I was obligated to do it for her. She turned into a bear with a sore head when I kept refusing to help, which made me blow a fuse at her just before bedtime.

Her classmate wanted to buy a few Rubic's Cubes from an online shop but didn't want to purchase it herself.  The friend would pay Alycia and Alycia would in turn pay me to do it.

Sounds really shady, right?

Reasons for enlisting my help?

I. DON'T KNOW.  It all doesn't seem to make sense and sounds like a jive the more I probed.

The reasons were so many. After I queried and probed, the answers and reasons kept changing, DUH!  Kids, they really think that their mothers think like them, with a simple mind.

First, the friend said that her mother won't allow her to buy things online, thus she needed my help.

Then she said that her mother allows her to buy the cubes but she feels bad using her mother's money. Like I believe!

The girl then cooked up another story...

After probing further, she said that  the mum allows her to buy just one cube but she wants to buy a few, which her mum wouldn't allow.  Who am I to help some other people's  daughter to do something which they do not approve of?

Next she said that her mum does not want the courier guy to send the parcel to her house.  But why send to our house??  I kept grilling the big girl on this but she could not give me a satisfactory answer. The answers she gave were  clearly revealing the untruth!!  I could smell the shenanigans.

The reasons kept changing each time she communicated with her friend on the iPod via Messenger.

It was so clear that the girl's mother disapproved of the purchase. More reason why I should not give in.   The more I grilled the big girl, the more pushy she got and the more fibs were told.

I told the big girl that if her friend's mother doesn't allow her friend to buy the Rubic's Cubes, I have no dang right to help her friend to do it surreptitiously. I would be encouraging the big girl and her friend to go against their parents. Karma will bite back at me like a bitch.  One day Alycia would do the same too and buy things that I oppose to, covertly. I would be fuming if I ever find out.  This makes me wonder too - where did the girl get the money from??

I am sure Alycia's friend's mother would react the same too if she found out that her daughter has been buying things without her approval behind her and enlisting her friend's mother's help. I would be seen as a conspirator. A mama thug!!  I imagine the story of our shameful act shared a million times on social media with my face, my Facebook name and blogs exposed - the Health Freak Mommy Who Is A Thug!!

My final reply to the big girl - "NO MEANS NO and don't ask me again. Ask your friend to get some other mother's help.  I want to sleep now!!"

As a mother, we have to be firm in matters that we feel strongly about, even if it means upsetting our child.  Geez, the big girl on the brink of teenagehood, few months shy of turning 13 and already getting into a regular verbal tussle with me!!

Lohas Natural Pumpkin And Sweet Potato Yee Mee

It looks like the 2 sisters here are snacking on Mamee.

Nah, I never buy Mamee. The girls often receive them from class parties.




This pumpkin yee mee from Lohas tastes very much like Mamee. In fact, it tastes even better than Mamee, minus the MSG, preservatives, flavoring and food additives.  I bought it from an organic shop. It's SO crispy and fresh!!  A packet costs RM6.90.






Lohas is a local company that distributes organic and natural food stuff.  I love their range of healthy products.

Besides eating the pumpkin yee mee as it is, straight from the packet, I also whipped it into a meal for dinner. Our 3 girls are big fans of yee mee but I always have qualms buying the ones sold outside, especially on the oil used to deep fry the yee mee.  Imagine what ingredients go into a packet of  6 pieces of yee mee that only costs RM3.50 a packet.




Tastes just like the ones sold outside, my fish ball and fried minced pork yee mee is way healthier.  I used organic veggie, Aussie carrots, organic tomatoes, organic scallions and Ikan Parang fishballs from Pulau Ketam. Soup base is anchovies with garlic and onions.





The girls loved my yee mee!

I cooked extra fried minced pork, enough for whipping up another fresh dish for lunch the next day.




Lunch the next day was blanched vermicell with lots of chopped scallions and leftover minced pork. Vermicelli was lightly darkened with organic shoyu and seasoned with sesame seed oil and pepper. You can also use organic thick black bean sauce and organic blackstrap molasses to replace regular dark soy sauce, which has chemicals that are carcinogenic.








I bought another packet of yee mee from the organic shop the following week and this time, I chose sweet potato yee mee.

Below - yee mee straight from the packet with  leftover braised pork ribs with sweet potato that I cooked for dinner the previous evening.  I popped the braised pork ribs into the microwave oven and minutes later, the 3 of us had a yummy and healthy lunch on a busy school-going weekday!

The Naturally Plus Business

I admit that on some mornings I wake up feeling vapid like a stick in the mud, with a feeling of not wanting to do anything.  Not even to exercise. Not even to wake my girls up for school. And especially not wanting to work. On these mornings, all I want to do is to sleep in, then wake up and do what I love best - retail therapy and enjoy a nice brunch in a nice cafe! But without the wherewithal, nothing can be done.  You may disagree with me but till today I still think that money can and does buy happiness. Money can be the root of all evil but without money, all evil exists too.

So what motivates me to work though all I want to do is to sleep in everyday? Moolah of course! I want to be able to continue buying good quality food and organic produce for my family, splurge on our weekly indulgence in our favorite food, buy new clothes, new bags, pay for music classes for my girls, go for holidays and save for  my girls' tertiary education fund. I want to have a very laid-back, relaxed and enjoyable retirement in my golden years, traveling the world like what my parents are doing now. If I don't work, these can only be wishful thinking.  Things are getting more and more expensive in KL these days. Just yesterday, the gourmand hubs spent over RM100 just on 2 frigging Musang King durians... which Drama Queen, Cass and I walloped all in just a few hours! And the killer Tiramisu from Alexis, which is my Kryptonite. That costs a frigging RM16 a slice!

And this is also what motivates me to work hard - passive income from Naturally Plus.  Check out the middle column on Bonus Total and the first column on Close Date. This is the bonus that my team leader / mentor receives. Every week! As of now, she is already receiving bonuses totalling a 5-figure amount every month.  I am earning no where near her but she promises me that if I work as hard as she does, I will be earning this much too.

 


 I have known my team leader since the year 2005 or maybe 2004.  Back then we were newly turned SAHMs and members of a mummy forum. We then became good virtual friends. We were both bloggers and still are blogging actively now. The both of us.  We've met each other at many kids parties and gatherings.  It was she who introduced me to the wonderful products by Naturally Plus, which I have no regrets taking them till today. They are life-saving products. They have saved me, my girls, my mum, hubs and mil from making trips to the doctor's office, not once but many times.

Recently, a friend's ex-hubby's days were numbered by his oncologist. It was just in a matter of days.  His son was very very upset and cried everyday.  He posted on Facebook for his mummy's friends to pray for his dad. He wanted very badly for his dad to celebrate his birthday with him.  Some of our team members made a trip to Singapore to the hospital where he sought treatment to deliver Izumio and Super Lutein to him.   He  religiously consumed the products and became better.  And he lived to celebrate his son's birthday!  I have yet to check on his status but I think he is still alive as I have not seen my friend post anything on him and I have not heard our circle of friends talking about his passing.


If you haven't tried the products from Naturally Plus or want to earn some pocket money, please get in touch with me.  Even if you have no health issues or can't afford it, you may know of someone who might need the products.  Please refer them to me.  To date, I have several friends, strangers and relatives who purchased the products from me only months later after I had casually shared with them on the goodness of the products.  I have never coerced anyone to buy. It is not my style to harass people to buy. I only share with them on what the products can do.  The products sell by itself. Just 2 weeks ago, a friend who got a box of Izumio from me to try  eventually signed up for a full package.

You do not have to make any cold hard calls to sell, though I have friends who do that and surprisingly people replied her and tried the products. My only sharing is via my blogs, Facebook and by word of mouth. Giving samples to those in need do wonders too coz these people eventually purchased the product when they felt the difference in their health.

Come and join us! We are looking for new business partners to join our growing team. We have packages for those with low or zero capital. As long as you are willing to share about the goodness of the products we want you on our team.

I can be reached at shireenyong@gmail.com or 019 266 4290.  Again, there is no obligation to buy anything.

Compilation of Home-Cooked Dishes - 31 Aug 2016

Here are some of the dishes that I wok-ed up recently:


Stir-fried red snapper fillet with ginger and scallions. This is the big girl's favorite dish.  I'm thankful to my regular meat seller who's ever willing to accommodate to my requests to debone my chicken and fish and cut them into the sizes  that I fancy so that cooking them will be a breeze.





For this dinner, I also prepared rice cooker chicken rice, minced pork and blanched mustard greens.








Next dinner...

Silky smooth steamed egg and sauteed organic cabbage with carrot strips and homemade fish paste.





I have now mastered the skill of producing silky smooth steamed egg ;)




Next dinner...

Sweet and sour minced pork pattie.
Our girls love the ubiquitous Gu Lo Yuk (sweet and sour pork) dish.  This 'tai chow' dish is very pleasing to the palate because of the flavorsome sweet and sour sauce, paired with an assortment of colorful vegetables, all in one plate.

I have always wanted to cook this dish but the thought of how tedious and messy deep frying the pork is always turns me off.  So I replaced deep fried pork with shallow fried minced pork and the outcome was just as good.  Mine is a healthier version minus the many different types of bottled sauces (plum sauce, Lea & Perrin, rice vinegar and oyster sauce).

On a side note, have you ever read the list of ingredients on the bottle of your oyster sauce? It contains MSG and a host of other food additives and preservatives.  That's a big NO NO for me.





I used lots of minced garlic and big onions...




And lots of ripened tomatoes too to impart the sweet and sour flavors, with red and green capsicums and cucumbers.  For the seasoning, I used a dash of tomato ketchup, organic shoyu and organic brown sugar.




That was my first try in cooking this dish and there will definitely be a another round soon as the girls loved it.  The next  time, I'll toss in some fresh pineapples and a dash of Worcester sauce for a tangier taste.

My Monday & Tuesday (29 & 30 August 2016)

On a manic Monday morning yesterday, this little butterfly perched on the outside of our bedroom mozzie net lightened up my morning.  For the first time, I had the chance to take an up close and personal inspection of a butterfly's body. Pretty fascinating wings it has, though the body has resemblance of my enemy - the roach!  I snapped a picture of it to show my girls when they returned from school.





Yesterday's haze situation deteriorated overnight.  There was acrid smell of haze in the air from dawn till dusk. Visibility was bad.




This morning was bad too but it rained cats and dogs all of a sudden at around 8am for 3 hours, with strong winds. Several places in KL were flooded.  However, the haze doesn't seem to abate much.




Din din last night was something light and easy to dish up - steamed chicken drumsticks with dong guai, red dates and goji berries, blanched cauliflower and sweet corn + tomato + onion + scallion omelette, which Drama Queen cooked... on her own :)





Breakie today is organic multi puffs with skinny yoghurt, Pic's sugar-free peanut butter, dried cranberries, organic pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds and a drizzle of palm sugar syrup.




Yesterday I bought a packet of Good Morning organic multi puffs.  Good Morning is an Australian brand.  Multi Puffs is a mix of Brown Rice Puffs, Buckwheat Puffs and Sorghum Puffs. The variety of grains gives a different texture and taste.  It is low in carb, low in salt, low in fat, has no preservatives, no coloring and no artificial flavors.  It tastes very much like pop corn  minus the sugar, butter, caramel and salt.   Very mild in taste but I like it au naturel.  Multi Puffs is good for toddlers too as it has no food additives.













My shopping cart yesterday...