Black Monday

When my right eyelid twitched all of a sudden today, I knew that something doleful is imminent. This happens all the time. I seem to have this sixth sense to sense whenever something bad is about to happen - through my eyelids. I have this uncanny ability to sense misfortunes. You may say that it's just a myth and that I am superstitious but it's true. 100% true for me. When my right eyelid twitches, something unfortunate is bound to happen and if it's the left eyelid, it's the reverse.

I had a very, very bad dream a few weeks back. It's on Alycia. I dreamt that I saw her in the hospital and she was undergoing treatment for a very serious illness. It's so bad that I can't even tell it out here. After the dream, I told Alycia to be very, very careful with everything.

This afternoon when Alycia stepped into the house, she showed me her finger. A wooden splinter had gone into her finger when she accidentally knocked her hand on a wooden door in school. She tried to pull out the splinter but only half of it was pulled out and the other half  broke and was embedded under the nail bed. It hurt badly. Her Chemistry teacher advised her to go to the hospital to have the splinter removed as soon as possible. I know that it's bad to have a foreign body in your body. Her finger would most likely get inflamed if the splinter was left inside. After sending a Whatsapp message to her tennis coach to cancel today's lesson, I immediately brought Alycia to the hospital. It was pouring cats and dogs when I drove to the hospital. See, when it rains, it pours!

At the hospital, I asked the doctor if she needed to remove Alycia's  nail whether partially or fully in order to get the splinter out. The doctor said she would try to get the splinter out with a needle first and if this failed, she would cut the nail off partially. My heart sank as it's going to hurt like hell to have her healthy nail yanked off.  But Alycia was very calm, composed and cool. Even with an LA injected and a special needle poked underneath the nail to remove the splinter, she did not yell out in pain. The doctor was very efficient. Within 15 minutes or so, the splinter was removed! I was so happy and relieved! And my brave girl told me that it didn't hurt that much after all. So proud of her.




Thank God the nail needn't be yanked off, PTL!!

Sticking out like a sore thumb!
Alycia : "what, of all the fingers, it has to be my 3rd finger!"


With 3 kids, life is always full of drama and heart-stopping moments. Just over a month ago, I was in the same A&E with Drama Queen who had a fall from the staircase in school with a badly swollen ankle. And now I am here again with Alycia. Earlier this year, I was at this A&E with Cass who had high fever. But I am not complaining. Very soon when the girls leave home for tertiary education, the nest will be empty. The house will be eerily quiet and I shall miss all these heart-pounding moments again.

Birthday Party At Kidzania

Cass attended her classmate, Kate's 9th birthday party at Kidzania on Sunday. It was Cass' first time in Kidzania. Alycia and Drama Queen had the exclusive privilege to visit Kidzania two years ago as their primary school organized an outing at Kidzania for prefects and librarians, of which Alycia was a school prefect then and Drama Queen was and still is a librarian. Why I say privilege is that the entrance fee for kids aged 4-17 is a whopping RM85 and RM41 for adults and their school had given them this wonderful treat. That would cost a frigging RM337 on tickets alone just for the 3 girls, hubs and me! Kidzania is truly every kid's fantasy.

The 15 kids invited to the party:




The birthday girl was treated like a princess by Kidzania - with a tiara, a sash and a ride on a car parading the streets of Kidzania with big fanfare, complete with songs sang by Kidzania staff, clanging of cymbals, drums and her friends cheering her on with pom poms. Such a grandeur for the little girl!  The birthday girl could choose a friend to sit with her on the parade car and she chose Cass!  Cass was totally overwhelmed and in disbelief that she was chosen.  She told me that she felt really awkward, like a fish out of water, hehe!  It was only in recent months that Cass and Kate became very good friends, through Enid Blyton as both the girls are huge fans of Enid Blyton books. There was even an Enid Blyton book and a stationery set in the party pack given to her friends who attended the party.







After some games was the cake-cutting session, followed by lunch.



After lunch was the most awaited moment - role play time at Kidzania City!

But first, the kids had to apply for a credit card and withdraw some cash from the 'bank'...




First stop was at Kurlz beauty salon, where the girls were dolled up but the girls didn't like the way they looked after their faces were made up. They wiped off the make-up with wet wipes 😁




Their favorite place was the secret agent training center, where they were trained to be secret agents!  Sorry no picture to show as parents are not allowed inside the training center.

The girls as scientists at the health institute...



The girls also 'worked' at Vitagen, as cashier at a supermarket, as nurse, doctor, etc in order to 'earn money' to pay for their games, 'car insurance', 'driving licence' and to purchase stuff.

The last stop was at a jewellery boutique where Cass made her own beads bracelet.




There were many 'jobs' that the girls didn't have the time to try out. Hopefully Cass gets another opportunity to visit Kidzania again soon so that she could finish off all her 'cash' before she outgrows her interest in Kidzania.

Today is one of Cass' happiest days and is certainly worthy of being a 'Today in history' for her 💗

My Saturday - 5 August 2017

A beautiful sky with splashes of vibrant sunrise colors greeted me on a Saturday morning.  For someone who appreciates nature and painting, I felt it was such a waste not to capture the picture of the magnificent sky in a mishmash of blue, orange, grey, yellow and vermilion.  KL Tower was illuminated in fluorescent green today (on the left in the pic below).

I used to be pretty good in poster color painting when I was a teenager as my mum got me a very talented tutor to teach me painting and drawing, so much so that I always scored an A1 for my art tests, including the one in my SPM exam.  I had painted skies in that color tone  umpteen times during my secondary school days.

When I retire and have too much time on hand, I think I'm going to spend some of my time painting again 😊

While waiting for me to hang out the wet laundry before we have breakfast together at the coffee shop, Cass took out her magic clay set to roll out her creations. This time she made some fridge magnets in the shape of miniature cakes.

Fruits of the day: cherries and super sweet peaches.

My plate is always full on Saturdays. My day starts at 5am and ends at 10-ish pm. It revolves around many rounds of chauffeuring the girls to school, tuition center and music school.   In between, I slave around the house to do chores. Saturdays are even more hectic than weekdays. This month, I don't get a day off until the last week of August as the girls have activities on Sundays, from birthday parties to marathons, on a Sunday where I am supposed to get my extra 2 hours of sleep. But I haven't forgotten about myself. Now that I know how important sleep is for a healthy body, I catch up on my beauty sleep by taking naps when the girls are in school. And I still find the time to exercise 5 times a week. I hope you will start  your exercise regimen too if you've not done so 😄

Never A Dull Moment

The big princess is a self-confessed neat and clean freak. She calls herself OCD. Too bad she's got her dad's neat freak genes and her mom's clean freak DNA ingrained in her 😆  But I'm really 'lucky' that over the years, she's transformed into an OCD coz I now have someone at home who'll help me keep the house spic and span, HA HA HA!

While one has OCD, the other 2 girls are just the complete opposite.  These 2 devils drive me and the OCD girl bonkers with their callous attitude. The things that they do are unbelievable at times.  I can never ever tolerate anyone in the house putting stuff like books, bags, iPads (these are placed everywhere on dirty school desks, oily tables and even on the road. You know kids...) and other stuff not meant for the bed to be on the bed.  Someone does just that and this always makes me lose my marbles.  I'm not going to mention any  name here as I know that they read my blog all the time.

Last evening Drama Queen stepped out of the house for just a few minutes, bare footed and then walked back into the house.  Miss OCD chided Miss Bare Footed for not wearing slippers, thus dirtying the floor that she had just moped.

Miss Bare Footed retorted "can't you see me tip-toeing into the house? Is that not enough? You want me to crawl on my hands and knees is it?"


Goodness me, that was deliriously hilarious! I was in the kitchen and suppressing my guffaw so hard that I was tearing.  She could be a fighter cock that no one could ever bully but she is dang funny too.  When she's in a cheery  mood, this little devil can make me laugh like a hyena. She just knows which spot to hit, to make me howl uncontrollably till I tear.  I'll never have a dull moment when she's at home.

Yesterday's evening sunset skyline had a beautiful splash of rainbow colors on it. Cass caught sight of it while she was doing her revision. She ran out to the balcony with my phone and snapped a picture of it 💓

Light And Healthy Snacks For Lunch

My lunch today consists of 2 pieces of sugar-free rye buns with Moondarra garlic and chives cream cheese, Kerry Gold butter and seaweed.

I love rye buns as rye has resistant starches, which are "carbstars".  Carbstars are carbohydrates which are high in resistant starch. Resistant starch is so named because it resists digestion. Resistant starch is a weight-loss powerhouse because it does not get absorbed into the bloodstream or get broken down into glucose.

I read from health blogs that we should eat 10 – 15 grams of resistant starch per day. They say that, if you do this, you will kick up your fat burning by about 25%. Seems too good to be true doesn’t it? As long as the carbs are good for me, I'll be glad to indulge in them, moderately. Carbs are still carbs and we still have to watch our carbs intake at every meal every day.












I love Moondarra range of cream cheese:





Lots of chives and garlic in the Moondarra cheese:



Moondarra Cheese is quite simply the best flavoured cheese that you will ever taste. Made using a base of Australian cream cheese, a variety of natural ingredients are blended together using unique manufacturing process to create a wonderful assortment of flavours.

Why We Should All Exercise!

What's the secret to good health and longevity besides having good genes, eating healthily (and lesser too), getting enough restorative sleep, getting enough laughter each day, managing stress well and be socially connected?

Exercise and lots of movements daily!

In Bama, China, one of the world's "longevity villages", the people were outside, moving their bodies all day. People of all ages engage in physical activities like farming. Everything was done by hand because this remote area had no access to mechanical equipment like power tools until very recently and no televisions or computers. In this village, people live up to 100 years old and beyond. There are no obese people in Bama and it is rare to come across elderly people suffering from common health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, gout or even cancer. The people of Bama live such long lives that at age 70, one is still considered young enough to carry out demanding physical work. Though life is tough, people are happy. Many of the villagers have never been to a hospital.

Research data also shows that people who stay physically active get extra years of life. In a Taiwan study of more than 400,000 people, researchers found active people enjoyed an extra three years of life. They needed only a bare minimum of physical activity to prolong life — 15 minutes each day. The reason relates, in part, to heart health. It’s often said in the cardiology community that you are only as old as your arteries. If your arteries age, it wears out your brain, heart, and even kidneys. This is because by being physically active, you can slow the buildup of plaque in your arteries – and keep your heart and body healthy a lot longer.

There's this 85-year old lady living at my condo whom I really revere.   She exercises every morning, whether is rains or shines. Though she does not run, she does brisk walking, tai chi, qigong and even takes a public bus to the heart of KL city to do banking and run errands! Sometimes she walks to the nearby supermarket to get her groceries. She is also a frequent flyer travelling alone to Australia to visit her children and grandchildren. She's more active than most people half her age are and her complexion is silky smooth and flawless.

I just had to take a picture of this white-haired grandma to motivate you and you who still haven't gotten the inspiration to start an exercise regimen. Each morning, she would walk round the pool for over 20 minutes. Then she would work on her tai chi and qigong.


This former tailor who only started exercising regularly at a ripe old age of 60 has another health secret, which many people like myself often stop her on the street or airport to ask her.  Does she take any supplements?  Besides fish oil, she takes Brewer's Yeast regularly for the past 25 years. Apart from undergoing Lasik to fix glaucoma on her eyes, she has no major health issues.  And she told me that her secret to her good health is exercising everday and she won't sweat over the small stuff.

So does that motivate you enough to start exercising TODAY?


Only 25 percent of longevity is in the genes; the other 75 percent is lifestyle.

Healthy And Simple Lunches

Home-cooked is always the best, however simple it may be.  On most days, I'm very tempted to take the easy and fast way out, which is to get takeout lunch for Cass who comes home to eat after school. But OCD me will always change my mind after reasoning with myself why I should cook instead 😊

These are some of the home-cooked lunches that I whipped up in a jiffy on a school-going day:

A slice of grilled cheese on multi-grain toast; a slice of butter on toast;  boiled chickpeas with curry powder, cumin and salt; fruits of the day consist of red dragon fruit, guava, kyuri.



I used Emmentaler cheese from Emborg, which is the least salty of all the types of cheeses that I've tried. The sodium content is only 1g per 100gm.  It's pretty costly at RM16 for a pack of 8 slices.



As hungry as a wolf - Cass gobbling down her toast the moment she stepped into the house.  There's also a cup of cool and refreshing fresh coconut water for her to wash down her food.





Cha soba with Marmite soup, egg strips and seasoned Korean seaweed; grilled chicken drumsticks (leftover from previous night dinner); orange + apple + passion fruit + lemon + raw honey + goji berry smoothie; and of course her Izumio and Super Lutein to keep her healthy everyday.


Grilled turmeric palm sugar organic chicken drumsticks...








My mid-morning breakfast - a bowl of Marmite soup with scallions.


According to Telegraph.co.uk, science has proven that Marmite is actually rather good for you. In fact, the black stuff was considered so essential for a healthy diet that it was included in soldiers' ration packs during World War One and has subsequently been used to treat conditions ranging from malaria to malnutrition. And according to Huffingtonpost.co.uk, one daily teaspoon of Marmite could be seriously beneficial to brain health.

Pan-fried terriyaki + turmeric + palm sugar organic chicken fillet with caramelised onions, blanched broccoli and Korean seasoned seaweed with rice.  This was our previous night's dinner and I kept a small portion for Cass' lunch.

Tom Yam Fried Rice

After a month plus of abstaining from curried food following my surgery on 29 May, I have been craving for spicy food lately.

Yesterday I cooked Tom Yam fried rice.  It's a very simplified version of the authentic Thai Tom Yam fried rice using instant Tom Yam paste and fresh kafir lime leaves.  It's a lazy dish to cook on a busy night, yet wonderfully delish.

I used only 2 tablespoons of Tom Yam paste from Mak Nyonya to suit the girls. You can add however much of Tom Yam paste that you desire, based on how fiery your palate is. I didn't want the girls to eat too spicy, lest they get a bad tummy ache or sore throat. Exam is just days away and they must be in their pinkest of health.


The thinly cut kafir lime leaves imparted a lot of flavor to the fried rice and gave it that Thai punch.  I also sprinkled some crispy flavored Korean seaweed to the fried rice to give this dish that more-ishness.




Tom Yam fried rice ingredients:
Cooked low-GI Basmati rice
Tom Yam paste
Lots of onions and garlic, chopped
Thai Fish sauce (optional)
Soy sauce
Chicken, cubed
Chopped scallions
Fried eggs
Kafir lime leaves, cut into very thin strips.
Tomato (optional)
Sweet corn kernel (optional)
You can basically add ingredients that you fancy like prawns, squids and pineapple - anything that's Thai.

Method:
Fry some scrambled eggs and plate up.
Brown onion and garlic
Add chicken and saute till cooked and browned.
Add in Tom Yam paste and stir fry till fragrant.
Add in rice, soy sauce, fish sauce, sweet corn, kafir lime leaves and chopped scallions.
Mix well and fry till the rice and all the ingredients are well mixed.
Plate up and decorate with more kafir lime leaves strips, fried eggs and seaweed.





I chose to cook this on a Tuesday night so that I can keep 2 portions for Drama Queen and Cass to bring to school for lunch as Wednesdays are co-curricular days.

Super Smoothies

I'm back at whipping up smoothies again after a hiatus of several months 😀🍹

What I like about making smoothies for the girls is that I can hide raw greens and superfoods like goji berries and almonds in it by blending and mixing them into a wonderful and refreshing drink that the girls wouldn't even be able to tell 😊

Besides, when we drink smoothies, we get our daily allowance of fruits and vegetables. Consuming the daily recommendations of fruits and vegetables can be a challenge. Blending a couple of servings of each into a smoothie helps ensure you meet your body’s daily nutritional needs.

Smoothies are also great for  our digestion. Nobody wants to experience constipation or indigestion. Let your blender help you “chew” your fruits and vegetables and ease the burden on your digestive system while you simultaneously consume plenty of dietary fiber to ensure excellent digestion.

Last week, I whipped up a concoction of  super smoothies.

Below: apple, orange, pineapple, lemon, raw honey and organic lettuce smoothie.  I only use organic greens for smoothies. Cass liked the smoothie so much that she gulped down 2 large jars of it.

 

I LOVE watching how the colorful fruits and veggies slowly turn into a beautiful hue of green when greens are added while they whiz in my Blendtec blender.

Below: mango, orange, lemon and alfalfa + broccoli sprouts smoothie.





Below: apple, orange, passion fruit, lemon, raw honey and organic goji berry smoothie.


I just love the vibrant orangy red color of the smoothie when goji berries are added.  My girls never like goji berries when used in cooking. They will single out all the goji berries from soups and chicken dishes. But when mixed into a smoothie, they have absolutely no issues with these super berries.




The number of healthy ingredients available for smoothies is practically limitless. After your basic fruits and vegetables, you can add an array of various spices, herbs, super foods and other health foods. The possibilities and combinations are endless. I love making smoothies for my family.

Organic Dinner - 13 July 2017

Tonight's dinner is 90% organic.  If I could afford it, I would want my meals to be 100% organic.

On the menu tonight is pork chop, baked beans with onion omelette, blanch vegetables, onion sauce to go with the pork chop, tomatoes and sliced kyuri.

Organic items on the plate are:
Pork chop from Berkcious free range Berkshire black pigs
Baked beans are organic from Bionova which I got from Green Wellness online shop
Tomatoes - certified organic
Eggs - not organic but are antibiotics-free and growth hormones-free
Vegetables - not organic but are free from pesticides
Soy sauce used to marinate the pork chop are organic
Tomato sauce for the onion sauce is certified organic, which I got from Green Wellness as well.
Brown sugar used to season the onion sauce is organic

Non-organic items are kyuri, onions and cooking oil.



The Berkcious free range black pig pork chop is SO tender and juicy. The girls and I love them.  I used 1 pack of free range black pig pork chop and another pack is non-organic pork chop from the Berkcious range and is also free from antibiotics and growth hormones.

Verdict: the free range black pig tastes way better in that the meat is more tender and juicier.





Even the basil leaves used as decor is organically grown in a pot in my little balcony.  I bought organic soil for my plants.


Organic baked beans from Bionova...




Berkcious free-range Berkshire ribeye from black pig ...


For RM32.08, there were only 5 thin pieces of pork slices, which is definitely not enough for my 3 piranhas! Next time, I have to get 2 packs.

Braised Chicken For Dinner And School Lunch Box

Ever since the mil left for Hawaii exactly a week ago, I still haven't found my mojo to cook yet 😩

I still dread cooking every day. But for the love of my 3 precious and the thought of eating outside food laden with oil, salt, sugar and MSG (SHUDDER!), I am trying to condition my mind to love cooking.

On my menu everyday are very simple dishes.  Yesterday, I dished out braised chicken with Chinese spices (star anise, cardamon, cinnamon, pepper) with soy sauce, thick sauce and sugar.  I used organic Kee Song chicken, organic soy sauce, organic thick sauce and organic brown sugar. This is an oil-splatter free dish.  I cooked a big portion and added some carrots in so that Cass and Drama Queen can have that for lunch in school the next day (today) as Wednesdays are CoCo days.

Veggie of the day was blanched cauliflower.





Today, I bento-ed the braised chicken drumsticks and brought them to school for Cass and Drama Queen. I also brought them each a packet of Izumio hydrogen water. They need the extra energy for a long and hot day doing co-curricular activities in school.




Cass has the tendency to leave her empty lunch boxes behind in school. Just last Wednesday, she left behind a stainless steel lunch box and only remembered to look for it yesterday after umpteen reminders from me.  When I opened the lid, OH MY GAWD, the stench of the mold was so overpowering that I almost passed out inhaling the toxic gas brewing inside for 7 freaking days!!  I soaked the lunch box for half a day with half a bottle of dishwashing liquid (almost!) and yet the stench was still lingering. I guess I will have to discard the lunch box 😓

So today, Cass and Drama Queen's lunch went into disposable plastic takeaway boxes.  And I stuck a note on the lunch box to remind them to bring the lunch box and cutlery home 😏

Home Cooked Dishes

This is a throwback post on the yummy dishes that the mil whipped up just before she left for Hawaii.

Ribeye steak with homemade mashed potatoes.  I made the mashed potatoes. It was a no-rice dinner and the girls were so happy! Mashed potatoes are so easy to make and this batch that I made tasted so close to those sold at restaurants.  There are only 4 seasonings for the mash: pure butter, salt, fresh milk and coarse black pepper. I figured that the good brand of pure butter that I used gave it a creamy lift. This time, I didn't even bother to use the hand mixer. Cass and I mashed the potatoes with fork and spoon.  The mash tasted even better the next day.





Chicken cooked with rice wine, Bentong ginger and wood fungus; ribeye steak again (YAY from the girls!) with onion sauce and sauteed spinach. This was a meal high in iron, cooked especially for me as I was still then under my 1 month post-surgery 'confinement'.





Now that my total blood count has gone up, I am going easier on red meat.  Fibroids are believed to be a hormone-related disease. Therefore, consuming foods that impact hormone levels are thought to pose a risk. A diet high in meat, especially red meat, is naturally higher in saturated fat and added hormones than a diet limiting these foods. Diets higher in saturated fat have been linked to higher estrogen levels, which could worsen existing fibroids and may cause re-growth of fibroids in the uterus.

Healthy Snacks

This is my healthy breakfast today:



Overnight organic oats with chocolate milk, cranberries, toasted sunflower seeds and Marks and Spencer almond chocolate for the extra chocolaty oomph.




My wholesome breakfast - overnight oats, a packet of Izumio hydrogen water to zap away the free radicals in my body and a boiled guinea fowl egg (not in pic).





I also made smoothie for the girls - orange (2), apple (1), lemon (1), raw honey and stashed in a handful of Australian baby spinach for some greensome rawsome goodness.




Lunch for Cass and Drama Queen was pizza from Ficelle Boulangerie & Patisserie.  I made myself a bowl of ngai (mugwort) soup with chicken stock and 2 eggs. The girls don't like mugwort as it is slightly bitter.

Mugwort is a herb that is known for its medicinal benefits and is also known as artemisia iwayomogi. The herb is typically found in Asia, Northern Europe and North America. It is mostly taken as a tonic, to increase energy levels in the body, to dispel wind from the stomach and to aid fat loss.

Mugwort is also taken by women who experience irregular periods and other issues related to the menstrual cycle. The oil made from the extract of this herb can also be used to prevent early or untimely menopause. When it is ingested, it can cure a number of digestive disorders and help fight infections by preventing infections in the stomach.

In traditional Chinese medicine, burning mugwort in moxibustion heat therapy is one of the oldest forms of Chinese traditional medicine and is used to stimulate the flow of qi and maintain general health. It especially dispels cold and dampness

Outsmarting Her Mum

There's an article in today's newspapers on the health hazards of eating puffer fish. During lunch, I showed Cass the article and pointed out the picture of the puffer fish to her  to warn her never to eat puffer fish as the toxins in the fish are enough to kill an adult within hours.




Me - look at this article, Cassandra. This is puffer fish and it has toxins. Some fishermen are selling these puffer fish to restaurants.

Before I could continue explaining to Cass the dangers  of puffer fish...

Cass - yes I know. My English teacher told us about this fish many months ago. There is poison in certain parts of the fish and if we eat these parts, we will die. I also watched a video on puffer fish on You Tube called Brave Wilderness.  I love watching Brave Wilderness.

Later, as Cass was peeling the shell off a hard-boiled egg...

Cass - mum, do you know that you can boil eggs with baking soda so that you can peel boiled eggs easily?

Me - really? I didn't know about that! I only know that boiling eggs with salt can do the same.  How did you know that?

Cass - I watched it from You Tube too!

Look who's giving me Science lessons!  This little girl is definitely outsmarting her mum.

There we go again on the debate on whether TV / computer / mobile phones are good or bad for children. Allowing your kid to watch TV or watch You Tube from the TV / computer / mobile gadgets really ain't that bad after all  if appropriate programs are allowed within a set duration. You can reward your kid with  half an hour to an hour of screen time after homework is done, like what I am doing now. Cass likes to watch You Tube from our internet TV.  Educational programs are good.   You Tube is not always the the baddie as long as your kid watches educational videos and you monitor what your kid watches.