Let's start with a bit of background info. I'm a pretty tall Asian girl at 170cm who until I had my first (and only) child was considered quite slim. Then I had my baby, ahem, 10 years ago, and packed on almost 20kgs. I was 65kg before pregnancy, then was almost 80kgs at the end of the pregnancy. I know it's normal to gain so much weight and I hear stories of people gaining even more weight than that.
When baby was born, I think my weight went down to almost pre pregnancy if I remember correctly. Excuse my memory, but it feels like a long time ago. Anyway all that breastfeeding helped to bring down my weight. But, when you're breastfeeding, you tend to eat a little more as you get hungrier since you're feeding for two, so you just eat anything without any thought of whether all that food you put in your mouth will eventually go no where. So once the baby was weaned off breastfeeding, I guess I just kept on eating the same amount. That's when the trouble started.
I have never in my life had to really think about dieting because I had always been such a skinny, slender girl. In Grade 12, my friends even thought I was anorexic coz I was so skinny! But no I wasn't, it was just coz my Mother wasn't around to cook for me, so I was probably just malnourished, I dunno.
After the weight crept up...and up...and up...my perception of myself went down...and down...and down. I hate seeing myself naked because I can see how horrible I've let myself go. I am forever thinking about how to reduce my weight. I am forever chastising myself for not being able to stick to proper exercise or to a proper diet.
I don't consider myself a junk eater. I don't overeat. In fact I try my hardest to stick a more sensible diet. I know my mistakes in the past was that I never had any portion control...and perhaps went to one too many buffets. But in recent times I've exercised, taken stairs, walked a lot, but nothing happens. The food thing....well....I try...I really do, but my will power is not strong.
So the other day my neighbour introduced me to this program by NuSkin called AgelocTR90. It's basically a weight management program. But it goes beyond just managing your weight, its goal is to try to make you be the best you that you can be.
When the measurements were taken, I knew beforehand that yes i was fat, well according to my BMI (body mass index), I am actually Obese. Then the tests showed I had more Visceral Fats than Muscle which is terribly bad and supposedly is the cause of why I can't see to move the weight. And on top of that, according to the tests, I had the health age of a 53 year old!!!!
This program is by no means cheap, and I really have to thank my dear hubby for paying for it. But there is an interest free installment plan which helps to look at the costs a different way. What you pay per month is kind of like paying the same amount for a personal trainer and supplements, because well that's actually what you're paying for, a coach, supplements and eating plan. And maybe even cheaper too coz though I don't really know how much it costs for personal trainer in Singapore, I know in Australia my friends' personal trainers are $90 a session.
I am really excited to start the program tomorrow. I have confidence that I'll see some changes, I have a really good feeling about this.
Next Entry: AgelocTR90
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Pressure Cooked Mentaiko Pasta
I love my pressure cooker more and more these days. I can't believe that I used to be so scared of it in the past. Scared that it would suddenly explode. But with regular use, that fear is fading.
Recently online I've seen lots of people cooking pasta in the pressure cooker, from raw to finish taking less than 10minutes. Now that's my kind of cooking. So I gave it a go.
When cooking with spaghetti, you have two options, 1. you can break the pasta in half so you can fit it into the pressure cooker pot or 2. you can presoak the pasta for about 5-10 minutes in room temperature water just to slightly soften so that you can put it in whole into the pot. I don't soak it until completely bendy, but enough so that it can slightly bend allowing you to push the pasta down a bit so it is below the rim.
For this simple meal I used prepackaged Mentaiko Japanese Cream Sauce which I bought from Daiso. This is enough only for one serving, so I added two. It's quite thick, so once I added the sauce to the pasta that was in the pot, I added some water to the pasta sauce pouch, gave it a swirl to mix in the left over sauce and added it to the pot.
Once I closed the lid on my Philips Pressure Cooker, I made sure the valve was at Seal and pressed the Steam/Stew mode and adjusted the Keep Pressure Time to 6 minutes and pressed Start.
After the 6 minutes is done, I very carefully released the pressure manually instead of waiting for the cooker to do it automatically. I did this because I don't want the pasta to be over cooked. It's best to check the pasta first and if you need more cooking time then you can do so later after you'e checked the pasta. I always release the pressure a bit at a time, with a long spatula I just push the valve knob thing a bit at a time, once the pressure is more than half released then I push it all the way to finish releasing. You will know when it's done when the metal pin on the lid drops, usually you can also hear it drop.
Carefully open the lid and stir the pasta around. My pasta was delightfully al dente. The sauce did dry up though so I added a splash of water. I used the pasta soaking water as that was starchy. I added some deshelled prawns to the pot and closed the lid turned the valve to Bake and used the Bake function for about 2 minutes just to cook the prawns. And then it's done!
You can leave it as it is at this stage, maybe add a bit of freshly ground black pepper. Or if you have some frozen Mentaiko like I did, add some into it. The more the better I say!
Give the pasta a stir and if you want, add some olive oil to it. And serve while hot! I hope you've enjoyed this recipe, please remember to give credit and link to my website if you decide to share this recipe and don't forget to check out my other Social Media links on the right or below and Follow and Subscribe to our Channels :)
Recently online I've seen lots of people cooking pasta in the pressure cooker, from raw to finish taking less than 10minutes. Now that's my kind of cooking. So I gave it a go.
When cooking with spaghetti, you have two options, 1. you can break the pasta in half so you can fit it into the pressure cooker pot or 2. you can presoak the pasta for about 5-10 minutes in room temperature water just to slightly soften so that you can put it in whole into the pot. I don't soak it until completely bendy, but enough so that it can slightly bend allowing you to push the pasta down a bit so it is below the rim.
For this simple meal I used prepackaged Mentaiko Japanese Cream Sauce which I bought from Daiso. This is enough only for one serving, so I added two. It's quite thick, so once I added the sauce to the pasta that was in the pot, I added some water to the pasta sauce pouch, gave it a swirl to mix in the left over sauce and added it to the pot.
Once I closed the lid on my Philips Pressure Cooker, I made sure the valve was at Seal and pressed the Steam/Stew mode and adjusted the Keep Pressure Time to 6 minutes and pressed Start.
After the 6 minutes is done, I very carefully released the pressure manually instead of waiting for the cooker to do it automatically. I did this because I don't want the pasta to be over cooked. It's best to check the pasta first and if you need more cooking time then you can do so later after you'e checked the pasta. I always release the pressure a bit at a time, with a long spatula I just push the valve knob thing a bit at a time, once the pressure is more than half released then I push it all the way to finish releasing. You will know when it's done when the metal pin on the lid drops, usually you can also hear it drop.
Carefully open the lid and stir the pasta around. My pasta was delightfully al dente. The sauce did dry up though so I added a splash of water. I used the pasta soaking water as that was starchy. I added some deshelled prawns to the pot and closed the lid turned the valve to Bake and used the Bake function for about 2 minutes just to cook the prawns. And then it's done!
You can leave it as it is at this stage, maybe add a bit of freshly ground black pepper. Or if you have some frozen Mentaiko like I did, add some into it. The more the better I say!
 |
| This big frozen packet of mentaiko was bough from Big Box supermarket at Jurong East (Singapore). For only around $14 for 500g! That's cheap! |
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Sunday, October 9, 2016
My first ever surgery experience.
I have never had to stay in hospital before except for the time I gave birth. Giving birth is a happy occasion so we don't often associate that as 'staying in hospital'. Staying in hospital is usually associated when you're sick or if you've had surgery. For me, this first time of staying in hospital was for a Laproscopic Ovarian Cystectomy. Meaning I had cysts in my ovaries removed via keyhole surgery. In addition to the cysts in my ovaries, there was a rather biggish cyst that was outside of my reproductive system that the Dr couldn't determine what it was hence it was recommended that I do the surgery.
Let me tell you the first thing I felt was shock. I had never ever needed surgery before, and I was in fear. Firstly I feared the surgery itself, feared something would go wrong and secondly I feared what they would find. What if it's something that wasn't benign?? As I was telling my hubby on the phone I struggled to hold back my tears.
For the whole week I was trying hard not to think about the surgery and I was trying hard not to think about what would happen if something goes wrong. I shed a few tears and said a lot of prayers. I was feeling somewhat at peace, but the fear was still there.
On surgery day itself it was so difficult. I had to fast for 6 hours before the surgery and it wasn't just fasting on food, I also couldn't drink anything. That was torturous. I gotta say tho, I had to suck on a small shard of ice just to help with the thirst. Then we also had to deal with the waiting period, we had to show up at the hospital 2 hours in advance to get registered and get ourselves ready etc.
Fear set in as soon as I was in my hospital gown and on the bed. As I was being wheeled out of the room and saying good bye to my husband I couldn't hold back my tears any longer. The nurses must've thought I was being a bit dramatic. But then again I'm sure they've seen many patients looking as frightful as me.
The doctor and the anesthesiologist had a chat to me before I was wheeled into the operating theatre. They put a thick blanket on me and I assumed because it was gonna get really cold inside. As I was wheeled in closer I tried to take in as much as I could of the surroundings. The room was sparse, but had big lights overhead that wasn't yet turned on. Inside there were a number of nurses, or were they trainee surgeons, I'm not sure. They wheeled me next to the operating bed and I was moved onto the bed. The bed was very narrow so the nurse told me not to move or else I might fall. I never knew that operating beds were so narrow...Then they told me I will feel a warmth behind my back because the bed was heated. The thick blanket was still on top of me, I was wondering how cold would it get in there? (After the operation I found out the operating theatre is kept at 18 degrees Celsius to prevent infections. Ok, but how does the Drs function their hands under such cold temperatures??).
The anesthesiologist then proceI eds to put a needle through my vein on the back of my hand to put the line for the anesthetic. That was pretty painful and actually I remember being able to feel the drug going into my system, it was also a bit painful. Within about 2-3 seconds I succumbed to the anesthetic, I was like getting dizzy then I just decided to close my eyes and that was it, I was under.
I was told the surgery lasted about 1.30 hours. I don't particularly remember how I woke up. I think they called out my name? Not sure. I think I remember saying can I close my eyes again because I still feel sleepy. Or was that a dream?
So the surgery went well and the Dr said the large cyst is not likely to be anything serious, but they've sent it for testing just to be sure. At least he said there was no abnormal growth. I don't feel any pain and even now, 3 days later I still don't really feel any pain. I feel slight discomfort and slight pulling on my tummy belly button area, that's where one of the keyholes were. The other two are to the left and right of my tummy. The only negative thing i felt was the nausea from the anesthetic which was easily fixed by a shot of medicine.
So that is my story of my first ever surgery experience. Dear readers if you are reading this and you have a surgery scheduled soon, I just want to say it's ok to feel fear. Even the smallest of surgeries is still a surgery. Don't let anyone belittle your feelings.
Let me tell you the first thing I felt was shock. I had never ever needed surgery before, and I was in fear. Firstly I feared the surgery itself, feared something would go wrong and secondly I feared what they would find. What if it's something that wasn't benign?? As I was telling my hubby on the phone I struggled to hold back my tears.
For the whole week I was trying hard not to think about the surgery and I was trying hard not to think about what would happen if something goes wrong. I shed a few tears and said a lot of prayers. I was feeling somewhat at peace, but the fear was still there.
On surgery day itself it was so difficult. I had to fast for 6 hours before the surgery and it wasn't just fasting on food, I also couldn't drink anything. That was torturous. I gotta say tho, I had to suck on a small shard of ice just to help with the thirst. Then we also had to deal with the waiting period, we had to show up at the hospital 2 hours in advance to get registered and get ourselves ready etc.
Fear set in as soon as I was in my hospital gown and on the bed. As I was being wheeled out of the room and saying good bye to my husband I couldn't hold back my tears any longer. The nurses must've thought I was being a bit dramatic. But then again I'm sure they've seen many patients looking as frightful as me.
The doctor and the anesthesiologist had a chat to me before I was wheeled into the operating theatre. They put a thick blanket on me and I assumed because it was gonna get really cold inside. As I was wheeled in closer I tried to take in as much as I could of the surroundings. The room was sparse, but had big lights overhead that wasn't yet turned on. Inside there were a number of nurses, or were they trainee surgeons, I'm not sure. They wheeled me next to the operating bed and I was moved onto the bed. The bed was very narrow so the nurse told me not to move or else I might fall. I never knew that operating beds were so narrow...Then they told me I will feel a warmth behind my back because the bed was heated. The thick blanket was still on top of me, I was wondering how cold would it get in there? (After the operation I found out the operating theatre is kept at 18 degrees Celsius to prevent infections. Ok, but how does the Drs function their hands under such cold temperatures??).
The anesthesiologist then proceI eds to put a needle through my vein on the back of my hand to put the line for the anesthetic. That was pretty painful and actually I remember being able to feel the drug going into my system, it was also a bit painful. Within about 2-3 seconds I succumbed to the anesthetic, I was like getting dizzy then I just decided to close my eyes and that was it, I was under.
I was told the surgery lasted about 1.30 hours. I don't particularly remember how I woke up. I think they called out my name? Not sure. I think I remember saying can I close my eyes again because I still feel sleepy. Or was that a dream?
So the surgery went well and the Dr said the large cyst is not likely to be anything serious, but they've sent it for testing just to be sure. At least he said there was no abnormal growth. I don't feel any pain and even now, 3 days later I still don't really feel any pain. I feel slight discomfort and slight pulling on my tummy belly button area, that's where one of the keyholes were. The other two are to the left and right of my tummy. The only negative thing i felt was the nausea from the anesthetic which was easily fixed by a shot of medicine.
So that is my story of my first ever surgery experience. Dear readers if you are reading this and you have a surgery scheduled soon, I just want to say it's ok to feel fear. Even the smallest of surgeries is still a surgery. Don't let anyone belittle your feelings.
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Musee Platinum Tokyo - non paid review
Any woman can tell you that it is real hassle to maintain certain areas of your body hair free. Not to mention the annoying way thus said hair sometimes decide to become in-grown hair causing yucky bumps here and there and then causin you to pick at this said bumps then causing scarring 😡. I really really hate it. When I was younger I did the normal shaving thing using your typical disposable razor. Then I discovered Epilators and have been using it since then. I liked epilating coz the hairs came back a little finer and I would really only need to epilate like once a week. But again those pesky ingrown hairs would make their appearance. Hate.
I wish I had plucked up (no pun intended 😝) the courage to go for IPL earlier. IPL stands for Intense Pulse Light treatment. I won't go into the science behind it because you can look it up yourself. The interesting piece of fact that I came across when I was reading up on IPL is that it will only work if your hair is dark and your skin is pale. I never knew that!
I only did my research online and didn't didn't really look up that many places. The reviews for Musee seemed acceptable and they had a promotion on their website for Unlimited Under arm hair removal for just $30! Sounds too good to be true right? We all know how these beauty centres work, you go in coz of the promo then they'll try to sell you a more expensive package. But with Musee apparently they pride themselves on no hard selling. More on this later.
According to their website, Musee uses the SSC system. "S.S.C. Hair Removal stands for Smooth Skin Control Hair Removal, which is a new state-of-the-art pain free technology*. With S.S.C. Hair Removal, our specially formulated gel is activated when exposed to beams of filtered light. As compared with self treatment such as shaving, plucking and waxing, this technology is more gentle to your skin with minimal or no discomfort. The plant peptide in the gel also helps your skin become even smoother & polished."
Sounds promising doesn't it? Plus the fact that it was from Japan was enough to convince me to try them out. So off I went to their Plaza Singapura branch at Dhoby Ghaut. At first glance they look like any beauty centre. What I do like about the place is it seemed pretty open, the beauticians are all visible out front and there seemed to be quite a number of them. Honestly I was pretty nervous going in knowing that it was highly likely that they would try to sell me some kind of package.
I was taken into a very nondescript private consultation room where I had to first fill out some forms and surveys. Things like any medical problems to what kindd of self hair removal methods do you use to how many times a week do you remove your hair. After a whole a consultant came in and started explaining to me anout hair removal and hair growth cycle, etc. Oh my gosh she spoke so fast that it was hard to keep up! From what I remember she hardly talked about the basic $30 package ($38 including bikini line). She asked me what areas I wanted to remove. I said under arms and bikini line and she tried to persudade me to consider getting my whole netherregion done including the...let's just say booty region. I've never been a full Brazillian girl but she did get me thinking. And before I knew it she was calculating some numbers and decided that 36 seasion would be enough to do everything and that would cost i think just under $2000 with discount Oh and did I tell you there's a credit card interest free installment plan with certain banks and she punched out some numbers on her trusty calculator to show me how much it would cost each month. By this rate my head was swimming. I've never been good with numbers and making decisions at the same time. I did ask her again but what if I just want tondo my underams and bikini line, oh then thats just $38 she says really hurriedly. But really should consider this package one you can also use it for your legs, she continues on. And anyway the bikini line area only remove not much, she says. And she says it's also good for hygiene to get it all off.
She really wasnt that pushy I guess. I was never uncomfortable talking to her. So it was more like strongly advising and encouraging.
Despite the fact that one of the requirements before treatment is for you to hve shaved 2-3 days beforehand she was ok tongove me an appointment for the next day to get whatever procedure done and sign on the dotted line. You know at first I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't just start the treatment that day. But on hindsight I'm so glad that I had the extra time to work out what I really wanted. If I had signed a package I would basically have about 2.5-3 years to use up all the sessions. That's a long time!!! What was I thinking to even consider it?? Basically if you're removing all your pubes off you will need that many sessions because it's supposed to be a highly resistant area. Back to the point, I can't even commit to a gym for more than a year and that's with me dragging myself!
So after this initial consultation I left feeling slightly confused and dazed. Oh and I also got this triangle thing which I guess was for us to go home and use as a template to shave for our bikini area. The lady should've explained it to me better since it's all in Japanese.
First Appointment:
So today I came back for my official first appointment. Point to note, appointments before 12 are easier to get. When I got there they asked me which package I wanted to sign up for and I told them just the basic underarm and bikini line. I was expecting a whole lot of of questions but that was it. The lady (different from yesterday's one) wrote on the form and got me to sign and make payment. Before proceeding she made sure that 12 hours prior I hadn't drank any alcohol, take medication or worked out. Phew I almost did work out this morning before I decided to go back to sleep 😄
After that she led me to the procedure room. The room was smaller and shabbier than I had expected.
 |
| If you notice, the curtain on top of the pic divides you from the other customer in another room. |
So here's the bed all wrapped up in plastic. There's a towel, a change gown and the little blue thing is disposable g-string paper undies.
A little locker to keep your belongings and clothes.
After changing into the garments the beautician will knock on the door asking if you are ready once ok she then comes in, you lie down on the table and the procedure begins by her putting paper towel over my eyes followed by googles or glasses and another towel on top. Next she asked me to lift up my arms above my head. She used an electric shaver to shave off whatever hair was still there. Then cleansed with a wipe or maybe she did that first, can't remember. Then she spread this really cold gel on my armpits. I quite liked the cold gel feeling actually 😄. Next she tells me she's gonna start with the IPL and I brace myself for some pain. Pain that never came. It really was pain free! For me anyway and I'm assuming it's the same for others. You might feel a slight warmth and that's it. The only other uncomfortable thing was seeing bright flashes out of the corner of your closed eyes. After that she wiped off the gel and put some cold ice pack things on my pits and moved on to my bikini area.
This area really is not for those who are shy coz she will literally be able to see everything as you are asked to bend your legs in a 90 degree angle (think breast stroke style). The procedure was pretty much the same as the armpit on. And then all was done within 30 minutes if not less!
For 12 hours after the procedure you can't exercise, drink alcohol, sauna, etc. And you're not supposed to swim a week after the procedure is done too. There's actually a long list of don'ts.
So for now I have to just wait patiently till my next appointment two months later in September. Why two months later? Well they said it's to allow the skin to rest and for your hair to go through it's natural growth cycle. The hair should fall out by 2 weeks and the new hair that comes out should be finer. Fingers crossed! They kept on reminding us to be patient before you can see results. Don't expect immediate results. And try not to shave, if you must at least wait 2-3 weeks. I'll try....that's all I can say.
UPDATE 9/10/16
So I've gone back for the second treatment and I'm glad it was fuss free and they didn't pester me again to sign up for a package. The hair on my bikini line and my left under arm is still growing, but interestingly the hair on my right under arm has kinda stopped growing. I mean there's a few that pops up here and there but it's not even that noticeable. So it's interesting that one armpit is growing and the other one isn't...weird yeah, but I guess that's how the body works..I dunno. Anyway, next treatment is in January, I hope it doesn't take too much longer to do.
This area really is not for those who are shy coz she will literally be able to see everything as you are asked to bend your legs in a 90 degree angle (think breast stroke style). The procedure was pretty much the same as the armpit on. And then all was done within 30 minutes if not less!
For 12 hours after the procedure you can't exercise, drink alcohol, sauna, etc. And you're not supposed to swim a week after the procedure is done too. There's actually a long list of don'ts.
So for now I have to just wait patiently till my next appointment two months later in September. Why two months later? Well they said it's to allow the skin to rest and for your hair to go through it's natural growth cycle. The hair should fall out by 2 weeks and the new hair that comes out should be finer. Fingers crossed! They kept on reminding us to be patient before you can see results. Don't expect immediate results. And try not to shave, if you must at least wait 2-3 weeks. I'll try....that's all I can say.
UPDATE 9/10/16
So I've gone back for the second treatment and I'm glad it was fuss free and they didn't pester me again to sign up for a package. The hair on my bikini line and my left under arm is still growing, but interestingly the hair on my right under arm has kinda stopped growing. I mean there's a few that pops up here and there but it's not even that noticeable. So it's interesting that one armpit is growing and the other one isn't...weird yeah, but I guess that's how the body works..I dunno. Anyway, next treatment is in January, I hope it doesn't take too much longer to do.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Pao De Queijo - Brazillian Cheese Bread - Airfried Version
This is a really awesome recipe that's so easy to whip up, even the kids can do and it's so yummy too! There seems to be two kinds of recipe for Pao De Queijo. One is this recipe which is a really thin pourable batter and the other one is the wet bread like batter that you can roll into balls and bake. I have tried both recipes before but I prefer this runny batter more because the end result yields a softer bread.
This kind of chewy mochi like bread is best eaten warm because once it cools down, the tapioca starch and the cheese mix causes it to go a bit tough. You can of course reheat it in the toaster or oven.
This recipe is adapted from http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_brazilian_cheese_bread/
Ingredients:
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups (170 grams) tapioca flour
- 1/2 cup (packed, about 66 grams) grated cheese, I like a mix of Parmesan Cheese with some other type of cheese like Edam, Cheddar or Mozarella.
- 1 teaspoon of salt (or more to taste, this bread tastes better when it's salty or else if you stinge on the salt it's really bland and not tasty.
Method:
1. Preheat the airfryer for 3 mins at 180C. If you have the airfryer grill pan it's best to use this as it'll be easier to get the breads out of the moulds.
2. I experimented with using the above moulds. The colourful ones are silicone moulds frm Daiso. The silver ones are tart moulds. If using the silicone one you dont have to do anything to them. But if using the tart ones you must prepare them by coating them generously in oil so that the bread doesn't stick. And believe me, they will stick! I learnt that the hard way. I tried using cupcake liners too which didn't work as they stuck to the batter like they were holding on for dear life.
3. Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth.
4. Pour into moulds just over 3/4 full.
5. If using the metallic moulds cook them for about 10-12 minutes. You can check them periodically to see if they're done. Once nicely brown and puffed up you can take them out.
 |
| You'll know when it's done when you pull it apart and the lovely stringy insides pull apart with some resistance like this. |
As you can see, the ones with the silicone puffed up a lot more than the metal cups one partly because I was able to tip the breads out to continue cooking. The metallic cases will also cook and brown the bottoms of your breads faster.
I also tested what would happen if you just leave it in the silicone moulds to cook. And what happens is they will rise up like a soufflé and the sides and bottoms won't brown. And the tops will remain flat.
So there you go, that's my version of the Pao De Queijo cooked in the Airfryer. Hope you try it! And leave me a comment if it worked for you!
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