Why we crave Fried Food

It is because our body wants more nutrients than just vegetables and fruits.
It wants beans and nuts and seeds. (Organic & Raw if possible)
It also wants the live enzyme from fresh Vegetables (Organic & Raw)
Vegan or no Vegan... we all need to eat a balanced diet packed with nutrients.
and If we're missing out on some essential nutrients, we crave for something, and sometimes we don't know what we crave, so we turn to comfort food, sometimes sugary dessert, ice cream, and in this case, fried food.
So instead of giving in to our cravings, we better start eating right.
We better start eating a healthier, wider variety of nutrient packed food :)

Here's why :

These past 2 weeks, I've been craving fried food everyday,
Some days, I'd even just fry a simple flour+water+olive oil batter on a non stick pan and eat it with my salad/vegan food.
I know that is totally nutrition-less, but I so want that crunch in my food.

I think I know why
when I started being Vegan almost 4 months ago.
I was really good.. no fried food, no sugar, no simple carbs (rice, potato, flour, etc).
and most importantly, no cravings of those "bad" food.
I ate lots of vegetables (raw and lightly steamed) and fruits.
and....
I also ate nuts (almond, pistachio, cashew, etc) and seeds (sesame seeds, flax seed)
and I also eat some beans (red beans, green beans, etc) and soy (tofu, tempeh, beancurd sheets)

Lately, I rarely eat nuts, seeds, and beans and raw Vegetables.
why ?
After a while, I've gotten a bit lazy to prepare food in the kitchen.
So, I've only been eating vegetable dish that the housekeeper made for me (vegs mostly sauteed or lightly steamed, with olive oil and salt.)
I haven't been eating Fresh Raw Vegetables because I usually prepare Raw Salads myself.
I think that's why I crave fried food....
I actually crave the crunch, the texture, the taste of nuts, seeds, beans and raw vegetables.

Of course, I can't ignore the fact that fried food taste good !!
But the downside of Fried Food is :
1. Fried Food always make my throat a bit uncomfortable afterwards.
2. I'd feel uncomfortable if I eat too much fried food, because my stomach would definitely notice all the oils absorbed in those fried food.
3. and Yep... Fried food is bad for you.
It's bad when you're trying to lose weight, It's bad when you're trying to cleanse, It's just bad for you.
4. Do you also get this or is it just me ? When I eat too much crunchy food, I hurt my gum a bit, the one near the lower wisdom tooth at the back of your mouth, that's where I chew my crunch crunch and the friction probably irritates my gum a little.

Plus... it's kinda like "When you start again, you can't stop"
I know that's how it is, after I had my first fried food after a while, I kinda crave it and eat more and more the next time.
So I better start eating healthier food and start adding more nuts, seed, beans and raw vegs in my food, instead of eating fried stuff.

Plus.... Motivation is Important.
Knowing that you want to have a healthy long life surrounded with your loved ones, helps you focus on staying healthy and choosing the right food to eat.

:)

Panbis - Pancake Biscuit, Almost ;p

After that late night supper, I was still hungry.
I'm actually craving cisbuits
huh ?
I meant biscuits.....
huhuhuh.... I don't have any Vegan biscuits, I don't bake, I don't own a dehydrator and I don't know how that works actually hohohho..... and I don't have much ingredients at home.

So.... I try making things up...
I made Panbis !!
huh ? well... it's kinda like pancake and biscuit
So it's Panbis ;p



It's pancake-y with crunchy bits.
or it could be thin biscuit-y with crunchy bits.
:)

Recipe :
- 2 table spoons of flour (I didn't have organic whole wheat or anything healthier)
- a pinch of baking soda (honestly I don't know whether adding this make any difference)
- a pinch of salt
- a dash of cinnamon powder
- enough liquid palm sugar
- enough water and stir with spoon, should be like a smoothie consistency.
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil, mix well.
- I then add lots of black sesame seed and flax seed.
basically that's the only kinds of seeds I have right now.



Take out your non stick pan.
Low heat.
pour a spoonful of the batter on the pan so it makes little pancake.
Flip after a while, then it's done....
Donee.... it's that simple ;)

The seeds makes it crunchy.... They're like tiny pancakes with crunchy bits inside.
They look like chocolate pancakes ;)
They also look like thin chocolate chip cookies ;D

Leave longer if you want them crunchier.
mmm... this was actually quite good for a non cook like me ;)

I might have to try putting this in the oven and see what happens.
hohoho....

But then... I went to this site and I'm now drooling...
It's raw biscuit made from nut pulp and other sweet goodness.
It's ten hundred times healthier than my oh-I-just-made-it-up Panbis and I think that was exactly what I was craving for in the first place.....:)
http://greenandcrunchy.blogspot.com/2009/07/making-raw-dehydrator-cookies-from.html
Ohh.. they're so lucky I'm full right now.... otherwise I'm going to have to..... beg for some ;D

but my Panbis is easy and quick and I might make it again sometimes.
I should really just eat fresh fruits :)

PS.
Go here for the updated Recipe of the Panbis cookie :)
I added almond meal
http://healthyrainbow.blogspot.com/2009/08/panbis-cookie-super-easy-to-make-cookie.html

Late nite supper today

This is potato.... pan fried.... with just a little olive oil , with garlic and large chilli.
I always take the chili seed out so it's not too hot.



Done....

with Raw napa cabbage, they're crunchy and nice :)

I don't really eat potato.
But these days I'm always so hungry at night.
I should really start sleeping early.

Late night supper 24 july 09

This is sautee rice ( with olive oil, garlic, ginger, large chilli, salt )
plus Raw napa cabbage and Raw string beans.



It's warm, with a hint of spicyness from the large chilli and garlic.... yum.
I don't really eat rice... but this was good ;)
besides, there's more vegetables than the rice ;D

Mango Ice Cream - Vegan - Almost Raw ;)

I made that.... ;D *gloating*

So.......... everyone was eating ice cream at home...green bean ice cream, sweet corn ice cream, red bean ice cream, taro ice cream....
They were eating the traditional coconut based ice cream, which's called Es Puter, translated to "Stirred Ice cream"
well, because it's ice cream, and because you have to keep stirring to make ice cream,
just like any kinds of ice cream ;)
but this one still has added sweet condensed milk.
So I'm looking for alternatives.
Why ?? because they made me want ice cream ;p
Yes there are quite a lot of traditional Vegan ice cream, coconut based, but in most case, milk are added, because people seems to like it more now.

So..........
I'm making Mango Ice Cream.
It's Vegan, it's Almost Raw (everything is Raw, except for the Palm Sugar)

Recipe
wow... another Recipe.......
After reading here and there about Coconut based Vegan ice cream recipe, I've decided not to use any recipes, but there are some preparations though.

How to make Vegan Mango Ice Cream
actually,
just make a mango smoothie (mango pure + coconut milk)
then freeze and eat while almost all frozen
(you can add the liquid palm sugar in the smoothie (lots of sugar and will darken the orange smoothie color) or drizzle the liquid palm sugar later.)
but hey... if you want to spend lots of time in the kitchen....
Here goes :
1. Puree Mango (cut up fresh mango and puree it)
2. Coconut Milk (I prefer raw)
3. Liquid palm sugar or white sugar (or no sugar at all, will explain later)
yes that's that.... that's the recipe !!!
How much of each ?
Just think when you're making a fruit smoothie.
Everything is according to your taste.
It's that simple !!
I like to add more mango, because I want to really taste the intense mango flavor ;)
If you add sugar, make sure you add more, because when the ice cream is frozen, your tastebuds probably got a bit numb, so it needs more sugar to taste sweet.
But you can actually not add sugar and drizzled some of the liquid palm sugar on the ice cream, and it'll make it sweet and you don't have to take in a lot of sugar, which is healthier.

So... here we go :)

I'm using Fresh Raw coconut milk,
So this is also How you make Raw Coconut milk the almost traditional way.
If you manually grate the coconut instead of using a blender, then you are doing it the traditional way all the way ;p
skip the first 3 photos if you're using instant coconut milk.



To make coconut milk, you need to get the old tough coconut meat.
I bought 2 coconuts, scrape the dark outer skin and cut it up with a scissor, yes a scissor ;p
and put it in the blender, add some water, ready to go.



I have more than enough coconut pieces and I put them in plastic bags, and was going to put them in the freezer for later use. and thought to myself, "Why didn't I think of this before?"
So I turned on the blender, and started blending.
But the sound was louder than when you're blending ice cubes, phew... luckily I didn't wreck my blender. Now How can stash those coconut pieces leftovers in the freezer for them to get rock hard and put it on the blender ? That's why no-one ever thought of stashing old coconut pieces in the freezer, well, unless they have a super powerful blender, then, it's OK.
So next time, I don't think I'll use my blender for the old coconuts again ;p
I was thinking of using my juicer, but I don't want to risk it.
I should've just done it the traditional way, that is to not cut up the coconut and grate it manually and add a lil bit of water and start squeezing to extract the coconut milk.
Oh well, you learn something new everyday ;p hohoho



So... even with technology, I still have to manually squeeze the blended coconut and strain it to get the coconut milk.
So that's done...

Next I cut up one big mango, I use Mangga Harum Manis, it's one of the traditional Indonesian Mango variety, which is sweet and juicy and succulent and bright orange.
If you've ever eaten a mango dessert in a Thai Restaurant, you know the one ;)
I almost couldn't stop eating the mango while cutting it, they're so fresh and sweet and slightly sour, just perfect... mmmm I can eat this all day .... need to focus....ice cream... mmmm

Put the mango in the blender.
I didn't add water when blending, instead, I added the coconut milk. this way the mix stays thick. Blend.


So this the mango puree, straight from the blender.
Now you can add white sugar or liquid palm sugar.
Or you can choose NOT to add sugar at all, and you can drizzle the ready ice cream with liquid palm sugar. It's healthier and seriously, the sweetness, tastes about the same.


Liquid palm sugar added.
Remember, that using the liquid palm sugar will cause the bright fresh orange color to turn brownish.
So next time, I'll choose not to add any sugar at all, but will drizzle the liquid palm sugar on the ice cream.That way the ice cream color stays fresh and bright and appetizing and I end up eating less sugar, which is good ;) They taste the same anyway.

And Remember, Make the mix according to your taste,
if you think you need more coconut milk/sugar/mango, add some more.


Mix done. Put in the fridge.
I read that you should stir if every few hours, or put it in a mixer /blender to soften it and put it back in the kitchen.
So I kept going back and forth stiring. The ice cream was kinda flake-y because of the thin ice crystals, so I thought stirring it every hour would eliminate it, but it didn't haha.
This is what I should do.
I should've just left it for around 3 hours, and since it won't freeze rock hard like water would, after around 3-4 hours I can easily put it into a food processer or a spice blender (so you won't need to add water like you would in a normal blender) and blend till smooth and put it back in the freezer, and that's it.


Everytime I stirred, I ate some.... and that whole bowl, turns into just 1 mug.

Thaw a little bit before serving, it melts quickly and you can shape it with a spoon into this :


mmm yummmmm ;)
I can still feel the lil bit of ice crystals, but it's mostly soft and creamy


Add the Liquid palm sugar for decorations


Or just drizzle it like crazy.....
oh boy they melt quickly
yummmm ;D

It may not be the perfect Vegan Mango Ice Cream, but that was good for me :)
It even has my mum's approval, she doesn't even like Mango desserts in general.

Next time it's gonna be avocado+pandan ice cream.
All green.... yummmmmmmmmmm

Never Leave your Food Boiling in the Kitchen

I was boiling some barley the other day.
Since the barley would took quite a bit to cook, then I left it on low heat, added more than enough water and told myself to check on it in 10 minutes.
I wouldn't forget.... I said to myself.
Then I went to my room, started working, I was in front of my computer when I smelt something kinda burning.
so I went
*sniff sniff*
"What could this be?"
*sniff sniff again*
*still in my room*
then "Oh shoot, the Barley !!!! "
I ran to the kitchen.... where it smelt all burnt and smokey,
the water in the pan has all dried up.
a little smoke was coming out of the pan....
I quickly turned off the stove.
the inside-bottom of the pan was all black, which means all the barley down there was all black also.
Oh man !!!
I will never ever leave kitchen unattended again....
Sure I say to myself, "Oh I won't forget"
but the truth is, people tend to forget !!
So no more leaving boiling food unattended.

What about the pan ??? and the barley ??
I threw the whole thing out...Luckily I was only cooking small amount.
Then I tried to scrape the black crusts on the bottom of the pan, but it was still kinda too hard.
So I filled it with water, boil it so it might help soften the crust.
*yes I stood there waiting till it boils this time*
after it boiled, I turned off the heat and left it there.
I'll scrape it off later ;)

So.... moral of the story,
The ready to eat barley dessert in the street food stall is really a good idea ;D

but the hidden moral of the story is,
It'd be great to have an "timed-automatic-turn off" function in your stove.

and the untold secret message is,
Get your love-to-cook-n-bake sister to cook things for you ;)

So... never ever leave food cooking in the Kitchen unattended.

Bakwan - Fried Corn & Shrimp Batter

Just wanna say that this is the best Bakwan I've ever tasted.
Bakwan is actually fried batter.
and this one consisted of Corn and Shrimp.
I don't know the recipe, but it's just the best fried Bakwan everrrr...........
yes it might look simple and street-food like, but don't let the look deceive you.
It has a lethal yummy effect. You just can't stop nibbling it.
Yes it's dinner and snack at the same time ;p



I only took a picture of it, and didn't eat it hohohoho....
But I sniffed and sniffed... it smelled great.
I just don't eat it anymore....
Do I crave it ? well.... I know how it totally taste , I remember every bite ;p
But I've made a commitment to go Vegan for now and I'm sticking with it.
and I'm totally fine.... so I don't crave it, not really ;)

Getuk and Dadar Gulung - Trad Indo Dessert

What's that ?
well, those are the names of some of Indonesian traditional Vegan Desserts.
well... except the Dadar Gulung.

Getuk or Gethuk is made of Steamed Cassava / Tapioca and then pounded.
added with palm sugar or white sugar.
then moulded into different shapes, and sprinkled with shaved coconut meat.
(or you can eat is just as is without the shaved coconut)
The result is this chewy yummy treats, kinda like a soft fudgy consistency, and totally Vegan :)
The one I have is the simple square ones :)
The V-shaped garnish is from Pandan leaf.


Getuk - Traditional Indonesian Vegan Dessert

The yellowy pale one is Getuk with white sugar.
and the browny one is Getuk with palm sugar.
They come in combination like that, otherwise I'd prefer the palm sugar, because it's well, palm sugar, it has more aroma and it's chewier :)


This other traditional dessert is called
Dadar Gulung. (not Vegan)


The filling is shaved coconut meat cooked with palm sugar and palm leaves is added for the aroma :)
The wrappings is similiar to crepe, it's soft and it has eggs in it.
I thought this has no eggs and ate a few that day, because you can in fact make crepe without egg *i think* but it turns out the batter is added with egg. (1 egg to make around 10-15 rolls)
uaaaa............ but hey... it was good.... but I'll try to avoid it next time ;p hohoho
The green color is totally natural color from suji leaves. (Pleomele angustifolia N.E Brown)

So... Enjoy :)


Dadar Gulung & Getuk

Why do we crave Junk Food ?

1. They are readily available Everywhere.
Supermarkets, malls, food courts, street food stalls, etc
All you have to do is grab them and start eating.
We tend to feel lazy even to peel a banana, let alone prepare a full healthy meal.
that's why we crave junk food, it's so easy and fast.

2. Everyone's eating them, even the beautiful people.
So it's kind of a social situation.
All your friends sitting there eating and you're the only one not eating junk food.
Here's a simple solution :
Bring your own food, Get a Take Away !!
that way you can still hang around with them and have your healthy meal.
What ?
Buying a bowl of salad doesn't look appetizing because everyone else is eating junk food and seem to be enjoying themselves, so you follow the crowd ?
You're craving junk food because of peer pressure ? kinda ?
Wrong, you should have your salad and show them you're the one enjoying your salad.
Show them a salad with a twist can be a totally great satisfying meal and make them envy you.

3. They are spoonfed at you over and over again.
We don't actually crave those processed food, we crave the thought of eating them.
Especially when those foods are repeteadly advertised in magazines, on TV, in the radio, everywhere.
And if everything is repeated a gazillion times, we tend to want it, it's all marketing.
That is why we crave junk food.
The truth is, Our bodies don't really crave them.
We crave Healthy Food.

4. There are so many variations and combinations of junk food.
How many variations and combinations of Healthy Food that you know ? that you've seen ?
Not much.
Healthy food equals to boring food to many. That is so untrue, there are so many variations and combinations and tastes in Healthy Food.
How can you see them as boring food when you don't even know them ?
How can you crave Healthy food if you haven't even tasted them.
If you want to be Healthy and have your best weight, you should really try to Eat Healthy Food, period.

Plus Junk food is presented in a cool graphic mouth-watering way, yup advertising.
so they're always Fun to look at and you're attracted to them.

5. They are mostly added with preservatives and artificial ingredients, such as artificial color, artificial flavor (MSG)
So you think they taste so much better, but they don't.


Having said all those reasons above.
You are craving junk food because they taste "good" and they are "fast" and they are readily available everywhere bla bla bla.
But you are in fact could be craving something else,
you're craving for something that's not in sight, yea if you don't see them you forget they exist,
(fruits and vegs)
you're craving for something else that might takes a little bit of preparations.
You're craving for Healthy Food.
If you're thirsty, drink water, don't drink soft drinks.
Get your sugar cravings from fresh naturally sweet fruits.
Have your bowl of fresh Rainbow colored salad when you're hungry.
If you're not Vegan, go ahead and add baked salmon, grilled chicken, all the healthy stuff.
Just enjoy your meal.
You'll feel a "lighter" after that meal, not the kinda of "heavy" feeling after a big meal of greasy fast food.

So.... Just give Healthy Food a try.
Just start today.
and hopefully You'll be craving Healthy Food always. :)

Trust me, If Yummy Healthy food are heavily advertised everywhere and they're easily found everywhere, You'll definitely crave Healthy Food above all others :D

How to Maintain your Healthy Weight ?

The thing is, it's all connected.

If you want to maintain your Healthy weight,
then you also have to maintain your :
> Healthy Diet (control what you eat)
> Healthy Lifestyle (exercising, no staying up too late, etc)
and
> Healthy State of Mind
seriously, being happy affects your whole well being :)

The "fun" part is, when you're trying to lose weight, or when you're trying a new diet/lifestyle.
It's all fun and experimental at first, then you start to lose weight, healthily.
Then you keep maintaining your Healthy Diet-Lifestyle-State of Mind
and then you finally get your Ideal Healthy Weight.
Of course you get excited :)

Then after a while,
you start to feel a bit bored, just a tad
and then you start slacking.
oh this is so classic.
You start to skip one day of exercise and it becomes three.
then you start to allow yourself that tiny scoop of ice cream.
Hey after 2 weeks, you still haven't gain weight.
So... you start slacking even more and at the end of that month
you've gain weight... yupp.... not the healthy one.
then you think to yourself "If I can do it before, I can do it again, I'll start tomorrow"
but then tomorrow becomes another tomorrow and another year.
and you end up the same as before, unhealthily overweight.
yes, we've all been there.

So what do you do ?
How do you keep fit and keep your best ideal weight without feeling bored ?
1. Variations in your Diet & Exercise
Always find stuff that get you more motivated and interested in continuing your Healthy Life.
yea yea.... we all know that... but being bored is being bored....
But seriously,
> Try out a new exercise, ballet dancing, taekwondo, taichi, body combat, wushu, anything.
Have Fun, you'll find yourself getting re-motivated once again, like that feeling of "I can't wait to do it again tomorrow, I wish tomorrow would come quicker"
> Try to eat different kinds of food, different spices, different cooking method.
It might seem cliche, but it actually works.
There are times when I'm super bored with my usual food, but then I tried different ethnic food and hey, I sometimes even experimented cooking in the kitchen, and they turned out to be one of the best satisfying meal ever.

2. Competition is sometimes a good thing.
Yup.... being competitive in a positive way makes you stay motivated.
Work out together. If your friends can stay so toned after a year, so can you.
Have a potluck dinner together and compete in preparing the best food, the weirdest food even.

3. Ask yourself what makes your mouth water ?
Imagine 2 things in your head.
a. Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
(Berries, sweet Watermelon, Figs, Oranges, Fresh Colorful Salads, etc)
b. Pale Processed & overly cooked food, Cold limp Fried food.
Which one would you choose ?
or which one would you eat more ??
The answer is obvious :)
Even when you think you're craving a sweet desserts, your body might actually be craving something else, Have a freshly sliced sweet cantaloupe or grapes or other fresh fruits, then you're good.

4. If you still crave junk food, really really crave junk food.
Allow yourself those junkfood, but Be in Control and Listen to your body.
So you've really really been craving those french fries.
Allow yourself to indulge but don't overeat.
This is when we usually lose control and start to overeat.
Listen to your body, if you haven't touched fried food for some time, eating it again won't feel right and your stomach will definitely let you know.
So really Listen to your body, Be in control, Have discipline :)
I know sometimes I allow myself some fried food & sugary desserts, I miss them and eating them makes me feel happy & satisfied, but I "pinch" myself to tell me to stop.
Just imagine all those months of Healthy Eating and now you're wasting all that efforts away by eating greasy TransFat/Saturated Fat/Bad Fat ???
what ?? Greasy yucky Fattening Unhealthy Bad Fat in your stomach ??
So be in control and if you can.... don't even start eating junk food again :)

Stay Motivated !!
Stay Having Fun !!
Stay Happy !!
:)

My Favorite Books - Guide

Click here to go to My Store for 'Books & Stuff'

Books are one of my favorite things in the world.
I don't buy every new books that are marked "best seller" or "new arrival"
But Sometimes , some books are just so good, I just have to have them.
Sometimes the books are published way back then, yes old books are sometimes the best.
Sometimes I find books on sale of only 3 dollars !!
Sometimes they just got published and I got attracted by the pretty cover and they turn out to be great books.
Sometimes the cover is really "ugly" and "boring" but the book turned out to be fun.
But one thing's for sure, They're filled with so much useful and amazingly true information
Even after reading it months ago, you can always go back to it and find more information that you didn't notice before.

So here are My Book Recommendations.
http://astore.amazon.com/healthyrainbow.net-20
They've given me quite a lot of useful information about being Healthy
and I just wanna share them with you :)

There might be some useful stuff in the store also.
I'll add more stuff that I find useful for me at the store, so you can benefit from it too :)

Enjoy !

PS. I will do reviews of the books in future posts, in the mean time, you can just follow the link to see the books :)

How to not get a cold ?

1. Don't share food with people who have a cold

2. Don't hang around too much with people who have a cold.

3. Don't spend long hours in an unventilated room.
Germs fly around over and over again ;p

you get the point ;)

But But But
Generally, You yourself can make yourself sick
So :

1. Don't stay up late or force yourself to stay up late.
Don't stay up for another 30 mins of TV or facebooking.
Don't try to finish all your work in 1 nite and end up sleeping at 5 am.
Take a rest, Sleep, Be in control.
Basically If you're tired, If you're sleepy --> Rest & Sleep.
Continue your work the next day.

2. Don't overeat, it overworks your system and makes you more tired and somehow it's easier to catch a cold. umm... kinda..... umm... just don't overeat ;p
Eat Healthy stuff !!!

3. Don't eat too much fried stuff, or Don't eat fried stuff at all.
The worst kind of cold/flu is when you also have a really bad sorethroat/cough.
It's the lethal torture of phlegm in your throat .... yuckkk... torture.... :(
so, when you feel like you're catching a cold.... fried food is a big no no.

4. If you're too tired
Don't force yourself to go to the gym or exercise.
Don't think you're "strong" enough and you'll feel better after sweating.
If you think you're kinda weak... then eat your healthy meal and Rest/Sleep
you'll definitely feel better afterwards.

5. Take a Vitamin C supplement
I don't take a daily dose of Vitamin C because I eat a lot of Fruits and Vegetables anyway.
But sometimes when I feel like I'm starting to kinda catch a cold, I take one capsule of Vitamin C.
The bottle says you are free to take up to a few tablets in a day when you're sick, but I always take just 1 tablet and I'm usually fine the next day.
( But If I'm already sick, I don't usually take in Vitamin C, though, coz it's kinda useless for me)
Choose what's best for you, some brands don't really work for me.
I only take a capsule of 500mg Vit C (Ester-C) , not a high dose 1000 mg one.
I tend to avoid high dose of everything.

6. Know that you're NOT getting a cold.
Know that you're Healthy.
Just KNOW it
and Repeat it to yourself and BELIEVE it.
You are well, you are healthy.

7. Feeling happy and Laughter will also makes you healthier and boost your immune system.
So start feeling happy :D and Laugh out loud.

How to cure a Cold / Flu the Natural Way ?

1. Eat Right
Eat lots of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables.
(you can also throw in some raw Vegs if you want)
No Fried Food
No Junk Food

2. Drink Right
Drink lots of Water
Drink Fresh Fruit Juice.
Herbal tea also helps : warm water + raw ginger + lemon,
warms my throat everytime, but I find it kinda yucky if it's not warm ;p
unless of course, if the raw ginger is in a fruit juice.

3. Breathe well
Take in a lot of Fresh Oxygen.
yes... stuffy nose... but at least try if you can :)

4. Sleep.... Total Rest.
Don't feel guilty for taking a rest........
Don't think of anything distressing, just take a rest, peacefully.
Leave everything behind, just focus on getting better :)

5. Get the morning sun if you can.
sunbathe a little... in the morning.... around 7-9 am

6. Air up your room.
Ventilate... open your windows and get some fresh air.

7. Kill time
- Watch a Really good funny movie to make you Laugh and Smile.
- Call up your friends/family
- Positive affirmation , "I'm getting better by the minute"
- Meditate, Pray, etc

8. I never take any medications when I catch a cold, and so far I'm doing fine.
But you know your body best.
So you decide what's best for you.

9. Know that you're getting better.
Just KNOW it
and Repeat it to yourself and BELIEVE it.
You are well, you are healthy.

10. Feeling happy and Laughter will also makes you healthier and boost your immune system.
So start feeling happy :D and Laugh out loud.

11. The best part of being sick ?
You get to boss people around
*HAEURHAHAHAHH HHAAEHHAHA*
*must control self*

How to eat raw ginger ?

Well, you don't ;p
you drink it :) at least that's how I consume raw ginger.
Unlike my sister who can eat raw ginger strips on top of her porridge, I try to take in ginger in liquid form.

So.... we all know that ginger is good for us.
and we also know that "live" enzyme from raw vegan food is good for us.
So I don't know whether boiling ginger slices will eliminate its health properties, but people's been doing this since forever, so... it's probably still beneficial for us.
But I also try to take in fresh raw ginger, just because :)
and this is how :

Cool Ginger Drinks
Mix it with your fruit juice.
Don't use too much if you can't stand the ginger taste.
Just add a tiny thumb size of peeled ginger when you're juicing.
Just throw it in the juicer and you get a little "kick" in your fruit juice.

Warm Ginger Drinks
Take a tiny thumb size of peeled ginger.
Put into a blender (the small one for grinding spices)
add a little bit of water and start the blender.
Strain and add warm water.
You may also add lemon, palm sugar, etc.
mmm... warm ginger drink....
but I don't really like it when it's not warm anymore ;p

Instant drinks in sachet

It is always best to use the freshest ingredients.
But there are times when you don't have time to go to the supermarket yet
or you forgot to buy something.

So.... in those times of emergency ;)
you turn into modern technology....
Instant powder in sachet

I had a glass of chrysantemum tea today...
I was warm and sweet and all you have to do is add hot water and stir.
yummm....
I actually have chrysantemum flowers in the fridge, but I so wanted something sweet today.
So... I gave in.



Sometimes they taste better....
Except Lemon tea powder, it tastes so artificial.
Even the ginger powder + sugar in sachet tastes better than the real thing.
but they are always too sweet !!!
So when I add more water to reduce the sweetness, the ginger taste also goes away.

But I'm sticking with the real fresh ingredients.
As I said... they're handy in emergency only ;p

I have a cold........... boohooo

Sooo........ I usually never ever get sick,
especially when I'm on this Vegan diet.
Last time, the whole house caught the flu and I was the only one who didn't get it.
Okay.. enough bragging. ;p

I have the flu now !!!
Here's how it happened :
Day 0
I was at our family villa a few days ago...
I started sneezing a few times, but I thought it was just normal.
plus I've been sleeping late for a few days and my mom just recovered from a cough, but I was fine.
So... In the afternoon, I walked the dogs, it was kinda chilly,
but I just wore a T-shirt and shorts.
After that I took a shower and washed my hair, at 10 pm.
yea... nice
So... right after shower, I started to have runny nose, but still normal... kinda
So after dinner, I took a Vitamin C, went to bed...
yes... late at night... I think I slept at 2 am.

Day 1
Watery Eyes
Runny nose (watery-runny nose)
yes.. confirmed, I have a cold
still runs around the house with the dogs though

Day 2
Runny nose, turning into phlegmy yucky, but only slightly greenish every now and then
I know... I'm sorry ;p
But still eating all the good stuff, steamed veggies, fruits (melon, watermelon), coconut

Day 3
No more uncontrollable watery-runny nose.
But blows nose constantly...
Thank god I didn't develop a sorethroat.... I really thought I was getting it.
I'm getting better today... played around with my dogs for a while.
I think I might even wash my hair tomorrow.
(update, I washed my hair on Day 5 hoho)


So... this is today....

wake up...
drink water
eat watermelon
lunch (spinach, carrot, string bean, cauli flower, tofu, oliveoil)



nap
eat watermelon again
eat 2 bananas
dinner (carrot, string bean, tofu, beanspouts, oliveoil, sesame seed oil on the tofu)



mix it altogether


drink sweet chrysantemum tea (sachet)
supper (barley, red bean in palm sugar + coconut milk + fresh ginger water)


mmm the ginger warms my throat.
:)

Food Againnnn

So....... this is what I have....
some of the other stuff are in the fridge. (spinach, etc)



So... here we have sweet potato, purple sweet potato, pumpkin
celery , lemon, 2 types of banana, watermelon
Kaffir lime in a package, (jeruk limo) but not the really wrinkly kaffir lime type.... oh i dunno.
peanut sauce in a plastic container on the top right.

anddd.....
This is lunch
a mix of pumpkin, purple sweet potato
chayote + beansprouts + parsley
with peanut sauce on the side :)
(not shown)



tra la la....