Healthy Rainbow

Craving Kue Cubit

2010-05-25T01:48:00.000-07:00

I'm craving Kue Cubit.
Kue means cake, Cubit means pinch
dunno why it's called pinch cake
but hey..........if it's good, it's good

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kue_cubit.jpg

I know....
it's refined flour, refined sugar, cheap vanilla crystals, etc etc
but I'm just craving it
and I haven't been able to have one....for over a week
so the craving's multiplying
it's soft and fluffy and just the right amount of sweetness
the taste never change........never disappoint
ohhhh I so want one right now !!!

http://bogordailyphoto.blogspot.com/2009/03/kue-ape-again.html

going on a hunt tomorrow !!! :)

Banana + Coconut + Pancake + Ice cream + Ginger

2010-04-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

I had this for breakfast !!!

Fresh Coconut + Banana slices
so naturally sweetttt :)
and ginger tea (boiled ginger basically)

and I had this for supper :)

Pancake (booo) + Banana slices + Ice cream
Ice cream is allegedly vegan.
it contains coconut, durian and black glutinous rice, what's not to like about dat ;p
and the ginger tea

all was sooo goooodddddddd
yuummmoooooooooo !! :)

an Update

2010-03-20T23:31:00.000-07:00

Wow... I haven't updated my blog in quite a while....
I just want to say...
I'm no longer a vegan now, I think I mentioned it before :)

and I'm kinda slipping back to the unhealthy junk food girl
I think I've gained 1 kg, not significant, but hey ;p
I feel "heavier" after each meal
and I think it's a signal to get me back to my healthy food again :)
altho I can't deny that it's been easy
I can eat whereever I'm at, friends and families can ask me out where ever and not have to wonder whether or not I can eat at that restaurant.
I don't have to prepare food or cook or wash veggies,
it was convenient, it was easy
and eating the food was great, I'm an eater, I love eating, so the eating part is good.
The after eating is the not so good part, the I feel "too full" part is not good.
So...I'm going to try to start eating healthy again
and I'm just gonna be realistic this time and not go straight to a clean healthy diet.
but slowly eating more and more of the healthy stuff.

I still have lots of pics of my Vegan food in my computers and I'll post them up again soon :)

Kacang Bogor - Bogor Peanuts

2010-02-15T00:13:00.000-08:00

I bought some of these the other day.....
Kacang Bogor (Bogor Peanuts)
Vigna subterranea (L) Verdc.

Bogor is a city about 1 hour outside Jakarta
and for some reason it rains a lot there, thus the name "The Rainy City"

These Bogor peanuts are sold in supermarkets rarely, they're mostly sold by street vendors in carts like this

pic by Gagah from
http://bogordailyphoto.blogspot.com/2008/03/closer-look-at-kacang-bogor.html

They're round in shape
usually boiled or steamed
& they break open easily.........

revealing the purple-candy-like nuts
aren't they just gorgeous ???

mmmmmm :)

they taste kinda like peanuts....
but they're just perfect on your plate, right ? :)

Food Glorious food

2010-02-07T02:04:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine invited me for a food test at her Restaurant.
It's got everything.... prawns, fish, vegetables, noodle, chicken, meat etc
Cooked in different traditional recipe, some are spicy, some are sweet and sour, some are soy-saucy, some are fried, some are stir-fried, some are steamed.

What do I eat ?
I eat a little bit of everything
but I fill my plates with more of the vegetables
So when I feel full, it'd be mostly vegetables (I have mostly shredded carrots, broccoli, spinach)
and I tasted a little bit of everything... it was good
:)

Our good ol' housekeeper

2010-01-23T21:29:00.000-08:00

I don't know what's up with the housekeeper
I think she's starting to be forgetful or she's just messing with my head ;p

My whole family is omnivore and since I was a vegan before and now I don't eat a lot of meat, seafood, etc.
the housekeeper would make fried tempeh tofu stir-fry for me, or she'd buy me tofu and I'd make a plain boiled tofu.
It was good in the beginning, I loved them...
but I recently got boreddd of eating tempe and tofu so I asked her not to cook them anymore.
For some reason, I guess she forgot ?
She makes fried tempe everyday now.
and it's like dejavu every 2 days where I remind her that I'm not eating tempe because I'm bored of them.
After 2 days.... there they are again, freshly made fried tempe on the table.
so I have to remind her all over again.
I mean.... if she loves tempe so much, go ahead and cook for yourself, but don't prepare them for me....it's a waste at the end of the day because no one else eats them.

Another thing is with organic vegetables I buy from the supermarket.
Okay... they're prepacked in plastic so everytime I buy loads of vegs from the supermarket, it's plastic plastic plastic
I guess they think since organic vegetables are more expensive, they have to be beautifully and individually wrapped in fancy plastics so people would buy them.
I just don't agree with the overuse of plastic.
Ohh man.... I need to call that guy that delivers organic vegs with no individual plastic wraps.
He was running out of vegs last time so I stopped ordering from him.
Okay... back to the housekeeper.
I buy organic vegs and put them in the fridge.
She buys normal vegs and put them in her fridge.
Guess what ?
She almost never cooks my vegs.
She uses her vegs first and use mine later on when all my vegs have wilted.
I told her over and over againnnn... use mine.... use the organic vegs.
and she says "I thought you wanted to cook them yourself"
and for the hundred times, I say "nooo... I bought the vegs for the whole house to eat, not just for me, you can cook them"
and she goes "okayy"
but then.... she keeps buying vegs and keep cooking her non organic vegs instead of my organic vegs.
why why whyyyy ??
arrrggggggghhhhhhhhhhh
and sometimes when she get good deals at the market, she buys vegs in large quantities
and she thinks everything stays fresh in the fridge forever,
so after the 5th day or so, we eat wilted vegs, "fresh" from the fridge ;p
but they still taste good because she's a great cook.

She's like our family, she's been here forever and the house can't function without her.
but Oh myyyy...........
dear missy housekeeper mam....
why do you keep doing that ?
Oh well... I guess I'll have to keep reminding her.
patience..... patienceeee.......

Yummy Aloe Vera Smoothie

2010-01-21T22:02:00.000-08:00

This may look a bit pale, but it's bursting with flavors........
yummmyyyyyyy....... I could drink this everyday....

So I have a cantaloupe that's a bit too ripe... I know... I forgot about it
but it was soooooo very sweetttt.....

Okay....
I use :
- a very sweet Cantaloupe - around 1 cup ? I never measure anything ;p
- 2 passionfruit
- freshly squeezed lemon juice from half a lemon
- a big aloe vera

mix the cantaloupe, 2 passiofruits and half a lemon juice in a blender
add the aloe vera later

done !!!
easy....
It's sweet and sour with a crunch... perfect
those oreo like black dots are actually passion fruit seeds.... *crunch crunch*
If you prefer a smooth smoothie, you may want to strain the passionfruit seeds first.

How do you eat your pomegranate ?

2010-01-12T20:48:00.000-08:00

I eat them my way ;p
the messy way that is :D

look at those ruby-like capsules bursting with sweet and sour goodness
not to mention, super healthy :)

but first....
I don't buy pomegranates often, because....
1. they're not always available
2. they're quite expensive !!!
1 pomegranate (0.4 kg) cost the same as 1 kg of apples
Sometimes I get the cheaper pomegranates imported from China orIndia, but they're not bright red like this one, they're pale pink-white, more transparent clear actually. But they taste just as nice.

So... there are a lot of ways on how to cut a pomegranates,
cutting it sideways and batting it with a wooden spoon
cutting it into wedges and soaking them in water
etc etc

but I just got them up in half, save the other half in a container, stash in the fridge for later.

After that I just pick them one by one and I use my front teeth and my index finger to manouver each one and kinda try to remove the white hard seed and eat the rest ;p

huu yeahh.... it's a wonderful mess.

and yes... patience is needed, but I enjoy every tiny explosive burst of super flavors.
I don't eat the seeds, I wonder why some people can eat the seeds ;p

and I love looking at pomegranates seed sprinkled all over the salad, but I just don't know how to eat them... I mean do you eat the salad and spit out the hard seed every now and them ?
or do you force yourself to chew and swallow the hard seed ?
wait a second,
the red capsule-like thingy inside the pomegranate fruit is called the pomegranate seeds.
and the hard white seeds inside the red capsule-like thingy is also called seeds ?

anyhuuuuuuu............

yum yum.......

Isn't it amazing that those tiny red dots supply all the nutritious juice and color to each ruby capsule ? :)

Water Kefir Grain

2010-01-09T23:42:00.000-08:00

After reading about the benefits of Kefir from other blogs, I decided to try them for myself.
I chose Water Kefir / Sugary Kefir instead of Milk Kefir because I'm not drinking milk at the moment.

I ordered from the Kefir Lady because it was the cheapest that I could find.
For US$10, I get 8 grams (less than a tablespoon) of dehydrated Water Kefir Grain sent by mail, along with 3 sheets of paper containing :
- 1 page instruction to re-activate the sugary/water kefir grains
- 1 page of oil-pulling method taken from http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/oil_pulling.html
- 1 page of product list and price list

Long story short, the grains didn't grow and they kept on disintegrating and I had less and less grain and it smelled bad/off so I threw them out after batch # 19.
So they're not really "guaranteed to grow"
I thought they can live on just sugar and water, but they need quite a lot of supplements.
not all at once, but here are some of the stuff : sodium bicarbonate, coral calcium or eggshells, unsulphured raisins, unsulphured dried cherries, rapadura, etc etc
of course there are those who say that they only feed their water kefir grains sugar and water and they grow just fine, but then again, I don't know.

I made around 19 batch of 2 days duration each.
I tried
sugar + water (bottled spring water)
sugar + water + sodium bicarb + raisins + ginger slice + eggshell
sugar + water + sodium bicarb + raisins
and other combinations using the above ingredients.

Sometimes the water kefir grains would plump up a bit and I thought they'd grow but the next day it stays the same or sometime they'd shrink.
I kept the temperature below 85F/30C and it never gets cold here
Marilyn said "They didn't like your water for some reason or their environment or your sugar. There could be many reasons. They don't always prosper in every home even though everyone may use the same recipe. Water has a different energy wherever you go."
yup... I kinda figured out if it wasn't the water, it was the sugar, or it was the environment, it could be any of those things, I know that.

I didn't drink the first few batches because I didn't know whether or not I should drink the first ones.
Marilyn said "try it". I didn't dare because Kefir is new to me and at that point I didn't dare drinking a foreign liquid ;p
I drank the water kefir once only, I think at batch # 5, it was good, it tasted like a mild soda.
but it just wouldn't grow and as I made another batch and another batch, they started to smell bad, it's not the fermented smell, it just smelled off, like it's gone bad, so I didn't dare drink it.
Marilyn (Kefir Lady) said that it was probably contaminated.
But I just didn't know where I went wrong, I mean, I washed the jar thoroughly every 2 days, I didn't stick my finger to taste the kefir, although I was tempted ;p

Here's a photo of the grains, probably on batch #15
You see how the grains are tiny.

There're less and less grains below.

I felt like I've wasted 10 bucks and time and effort to get the Kefir to grow.
I read in a forum that the same grain might act differently in different houses, meaning in house A they'd grow really well and in house B they just wouldn't grow.
some also suspect the grains might become damaged when sent via post/mail because they got radiated in the process.

I don't know where I went wrong, maybe I did something I'm not supposed to by accident that I'm not aware of, maybe the Kefir grains just didn't like the water/sugar/environment. I'm just lost.
I'll probably try again next time and I might buy them from Dom
http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html
His grains are more expensive, US$35 and I don't know how many grams of dehydrated water kefir grain is included in that price.
But his website is the most complete and thorough ones I could find.
Even Marilyn (Kefir Lady) referred to Dom's website for more kefir instructions.

So... If you'd like to know more about Kefir,
go and read it at Dom's website (milk kefir and water kefir)
http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html
another one on water kefir
http://www.weim.net/homeovet/Docs/water%20kefir.pdf

or read the forums here :
Kefir Lady's forum
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Good_Kefir_Grains/

Dom's Kefir forum
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Real_Kefir_Making/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Kefir_making/

actually, I first found out about Kefir from reading this 2 blogs and the blog owners also sells Kefir grains, check them out :)
http://rawmodelcom.blogspot.com/
http://happyhealthybalance.blogspot.com/
http://happyhealthybalance.blogspot.com/2009/07/get-your-kefir-on-water-kefir-grains.html

As for me,
I can't say anything about the benefits of Kefir because well... they die on me ;p
so I can't recommend it to anyone.
but anyhow.... a lot of people are saying that Kefir is good, so.....I'm just posting my brief experience with Kefir and I'm not promoting their products, I'm just linking to resources that might be useful for you.

Another Aloe Vera juice

2009-12-14T01:20:00.000-08:00

So I made another Aloe Vera juice
yupp... that's one big aloe vera
peel and rinse to clear the yellow sap.

Blend everything first,
then lastly, add the freshly cut aloe vera chunks.
I read somewhere.... I forgot where.....that it's best not to blend aloe vera for too long in the machine, so that the polysaccharides chain doesn't get broken down too much
or something like that :)
will try to find that page.

I've always known that Aloe is good for you, but only as a hair growth "serum"
when I was a kid, I sometimes peel and use the aloe vera meat to rub on my scalp because they say it's good to promote hairgrowth.
But I never actually eaten or drunk the Aloe Vera raw.
It actually turn out pretty good.... sometimes not very tasty if I put too much of the healthy green :) but drinkable and it's sooooo good for you, lots of live enzymes :)

So here's the result, the color's not very good due to the red+brown from the watermelon+seed mixed with the greens from parsley, but it's mildly sweet.

Below is a really nice baby pink color which I just love to stare at :)
the top is frothy, blending aloe makes frothy smoothie
It's aloe + banana + strawberries
Nice :)

I just made another one of just aloe vera and melon
and it was this cool light green color.
yummyyy :)

Intermezzo

2009-11-25T22:57:00.000-08:00

Phew....
I've done posting all my journey / documentation during the Anti Candida Diet.
I don't care if people are going to read it or not.
I post them here for myself and if it can be useful for others than that's great :)

Do you ever feel that ?
You want to post something but you just haven't gotten around to it and it felt like homework and after you're done with it and posted it, you feel relieved.
maybe that's just me ;p

Another thing is I want to add at least one picture on every post.
Why ?
It makes people read the post.
I know it makes me read someone else's post and if the post have no picture on it, I tend to not read it ;p
But it turns out I have other stuff to do so I tend to not have the time to add pics on the post, well I could actually add a pic instead of writing this post, but hey.....

I also don't have the patience nor the skill to shoot a perfect picture of my food.
I go over to other people's blogs and their photos are super perfect, they make me wanna eat my screen.
My photos and my food are simple, messy at times, but it's what they are
it's who I am, a little bit messy but also a clean freak at the same time.
So it's okay....:D

Also....
Do your eyes get tired writing posts that are too long ?
Reading too many blogs ?
Editing photos
Setting up your blog layouts ?
Mine gets tired, so I always try to take breaks in between but most of the times when I'm in the middle of writing something, I don't take breaks and it's really bad for my eyes because they get too tired.
So people.... Take a break, Rest your eyes
Do a little gentle eye exercise.... Tap around your eyes to increase blood flow
Take care of your eyes :)

I'm taking a break now :)
well maybe in 5 mins

What if I go out of control ??

2009-11-25T22:43:00.000-08:00

(since I'm no longer 100% Vegan)

There are Times when
I want to be like before
like my family and my friends
to be able to eat everything and not care & stay healthy

BUT
Now when I read more, I learn more, I know more, I also get more food restrictions = headache ;p
or how to cook this, how to prepare this, how to combine foods, etc etc etc
I used to eat everything, no worries, but I'm always about 2-3 kg overweight from my current weight.
when I was in Australia & Milan, I got fat and also I got acne because of all the dairy, cheese, sweets, that I ate,
but happy and also not happy because I'd feel stuffed and being a bit fat & have acne due to my comfort food choices is also not flattering ;p
But it was so easy getting food, I could just go anywhere and find food,
so should I go back to not care about nutrition and eat whatever I want again ?
Especially now that I'm no longer 100% Vegan.

WHAT IF I GO OUT OF CONTROL AND PIG OUT INSTEAD ?
But I can't, even if I want to
and that's not a bad thing.
Now, My body would definitely tell me if I ate too much junk
It's like a natural indicator
too much fried food = throat starts to feel bad
too much fatty food = tummy feels uncomfortable
etc
we all have that natural indicator, but most of use seem to ignore it.
Our rational mind says NO to comfort food, but we tend to surrender to our cravings for comfort food and not think ahead / in the long run.
I suppose people who are more conscious about their health and who are eating healthier are more aware of these things.
Raw foodist for example, they may be way more sensitive about these things than I am.
I'm just a beginner and I'm still learning lots and lots of stuff by the minute.

BESIDES
Whenever I want to eat easy-to-reach comfort food like most people
I go over to other people's websites
Raw foodist, Vegans, I'd just go over to their blogs and I'm just glad I didn't eat junk
All those healthy yummy creative food at their blogs
makes me crave healthy fresh fruits and vegetables instead of junk.
These people are really good in cooking, they come up with all sorts of creative food combinations and they're also great photographers :)
my only problem is I don't like spending time in the kitchen ;p but I love to eat

and What about when I want to eat meat ?
when I want to eat desserts ???
Should I refrain from them forever ?
Should I be Vegan forever ?

I know I'll always change, people change
and I was a strict Vegan for almost 8 months before, but I'm not at a point where I'm allowing a small amount of good quality "comfort food"
They make me happy, they make me enjoy my meal, they make me to be able to share food with families and friends again
but of course,
First, I find a healthier alternative if I can
Second, If there's no healthier alternative, I'll make a choice, to eat it or to not eat it.
If I allow myself to eat it, I'll eat it responsibly, in smaller portion and guilt free.
There's no point in allowing yourself to eat something and not enjoy it and feel guilty the whole time, you might as well not eat it at all.
what can I eat ?
it varies.......
I know I won't be drinking milk or eating dairy ice cream anytime soon because just thinking about it makes me tummy uneasy now.
I used to love Haagen Dasz Green Tea ice cream and the Banoffe I tried in Barcelona was to die for.
I just don't want it anymore at this point.

Since I've started going to the gym, I've started eating more now.
Sometimes way too much ;p
So I'm going to have to stop pigging out on food and be in control again.
By being in control I don't mean restricting food portion drastically just to keep my weight.
No.... for the past 8 Vegan months I can eat healthily as much as I want without gaining weight.
I think I can maintain that healthy lifestyle for the future.
Although I won't be 100% Vegan now, I know I'll definitely stay on the healthy Vegan side and adding more raw fresh Vegetables to my food
and fruits, nuts, sprouts, etc etc

By listening to my body
I know I'll definitely choose not to eat junk naturally
Being responsible means I'll be "awake" and realize what I'm doing / eating.
Eating Healthily is also as important as Eating happily :)

Anti Candida Diet Result part 2

2009-11-25T22:01:00.000-08:00

LAB TEST
9 Nov 2009
After the end of the Anti Candida Diet
I did a stool test at a local Lab
I "send" in the "thing" in the morning and the result was there in the afternoon.
It wasn't a thorough lab test as the result was only positive or negative
So the result of the microscopic candida stool test was negative for parasites, fungi/yeast, amoeba.
It was positive for bacteria, but my mom said the stool test result is always positive for bacteria.
It cost around US$10

If I wanted a more accurate test, they could do a stool culture test which could take up to a week
and they'll be able to identify, if any, the names of candida types present. (cost around US$40)

I called numerous labs and they don't seem to know much about other tests for candidiasis.

And.....
My LAB TEST turn out negative for candidiasis,
so why did I even bother to do it in the first place ?
Well.... the thing is, we all have candida inside of us naturally
and eating a unhealthy diet can lead us to candida overgrowth which may cause problems that seems to be unimportant enough to be concerned about
and since candidiasis may be linked to a lot of auto immune disorder (I have Vitiligo)
So.... I did the Anti Candida Diet anyway.... just because I wanted to.
hey.... who knows right ? besides the stool test is not 100% accurate anyway.
and I'm glad I did the Anti Candida Diet, because it made me come to a NEW REALIZATION.
Read on at the bottom to find out more

SPIT TEST
I think my spit test will always result in stringy and speck-y clouds in the water.

WHITE TONGUE
I was just paranoid, my white tongue is just a normal tongue, probably with some toxins build up causing the whitish surface and the back part of the tongue.
You know how they tell you to scrape your tongue to clean it, I'll probably try that.

SUGAR INTAKE
I'll definitely control my sugar intake
I'll try to avoid all kinds of refined sugar
Palm sugar at a minimum
I also won't over indulge on Natural sugar (from fruits, coconut)
When I eat fruits, I won't eat everything in one go, I'll divide the portion so I can eat it in small portions throughout the day.

Besides,
Sugar is bad for your eyes,
Sugar is bad for candida
and Sugar can cause Diabetes
and Sugar is also called the White Death
and Our body don't need sugar anyway, so .... stay away from Sugar

GARLIC & Ginger
I'll eat puree/mashed Garlic, raw from time to time
I'll swallow a tiny portion of it with a little water and maybe with some food to help "push" the garlic down into my stomach. well....it's just a theory of mine ;p
and drinking Ginger Tea (without Tea) is good

RESPONSIBLE
I'll try to be responsible and not overeat on anything

VITILIGO
I didn't see any improvements on my Vitiligo
but Vitiligo is a slow process and I didn't expect any drastic change in 2 weeks time, but I know every little things I do to become healthier and happier counts for something.

The good thing that came out of this Anti Candida Diet is
THE REALIZATION
Realization that it's about everything, it's not all about food
LEARN TO LISTEN TO UR BODY, EXERCISE, REST WELL, REST/SLEEP ENOUGH,
HAPPY, SINCERE, DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF, etc
IT'S ABOUT EVERYTHING
and that's why I'm now writing about THE HEALTHY LIFE DIET.
To spread awareness what we can be healthy and happy and enjoy our meal at the same time
that it's not all about the food and losing weight.
It's about a healthy balanced diet without any judgement, strict or drastic changes.
It can be done gradually and of course, responsibly :)
You have to want to make a healthy change :)
It's just easy
Read more at www.TheHealthyLifeDiet.com

=========================

IMPORTANT FOR ANTI CANDIDA DIET

TO DO THE ANTI CANDIDA DIET, MAKE SURE U HAVE ENOUGH NUTRITION FROM FOOD !!!
You can also supplement while doing the Anti Candida Diet
I supplemented with :
Acidophilus capsule
Kelp capsule
Multivitamins
Garlic capsules or Raw Garlic puree/mashed
etc
other stuff : Ginger Tea, raw parsley, Aloe vera, etc

DON'T USE THIS CANDIDA DIET TO LOSE WEIGHT, EAT WHENEVER U'RE HUNGRY !!!!

If you don't have a major candida problem,
don't force yourself, esp on the first days !!!
if you can't handle the food, the hunger, the "die-off" reaction, etc
do the diet slowly and gradually, baby steps !!!
If you can go "drastic" you might experience the detox effect + die-off effect
and that could be a major discomfort.... major

I myself have been a vegan for 7 months
I've done :
- vegan+fruits (no carbs, grains, sugar, fried food)
- vegan + fruits+ carbs + grains + sugar + fried food
- vegan (no fruits + no carbs, grains, sugar, fried food)
- now I'm back again to
vegan + fruits+ carbs + grains + sugar + fried food
but limiting the fruits, carbs, grains, sugar and fried food
I'm eating responsibly and feel happier now.

All this time, I've eaten almost no canned food at all, no fake meat
no exercise during my 7 Vegan months -NEED TO
Update. I just started the gym last 2 weeks ago and I just love joining the Body Combat classes.
So I eat more now coz I work out more.

I've gradually lost roughly 2 kg - 2.5 kg during the 2 week period that I did the Anti Candida Diet.
But I've now gain back the weight I lost and I'm now back to my normal weight.

REMINDER
During the Anti Candida Diet, Eat whenever you're hungry, don't wait or postpone eating

DON'T DO THIS IF U LIVE ALONE
Always have people around just in case, tell them that you're doing the Anti Candida Diet.
I stay at home with people around me all the time.

Always Have Food ready in your fridge
so when you get really really hungry, you can eat right away

Remember to eat a large variety of Vegetables.
I'm amazed of what I've been eating, they're just so healthy and green
although they looked green and fresh but sometimes it's a struggle to eat them
but they're so healthy :)
that's why towards the end I added fish, tofu, etc
It really helped me to eat the food with ease and it made me enjoyed the food :) and it's important to feel Happy when you eat.
Read more at www.TheHealthyLifeDiet.com

ANTI CANDIDA DIET RESULT part 1

2009-11-25T21:59:00.000-08:00

WHAT I NOTICE :

I noticed bad breadth during the first days of the Anti Candida Diet
but it went away in a few days
(I didn't experience bad breath during my normal Vegan days)

During the Anti Candida Diet
I'm always hungry, constant hunger
sometimes when I took a nap and woke up, I just got super duper hungry !!!!!!!!!
sometimes also in the mornings.

-------------

No sugar cravings
It's good to not have sugar cravings.
During my Anti-Candida Diet days I didn't have any sugar cravings at all.
I mean, you're no longer addicted and think about it all day, it's like being free.
No more cravings like crazy
No more going back and forth to the fridge
No more being dictated by the alleged crazy monsters, that lives inside you, too fetch them sugar.

when I normally eat fruits, (before the Anti Candida Diet)
I tend to cut and prepare too much, but ate it all, because, i'm greedy and "there's only 2 pcs left on the plate"
must control portion !!
Now I seem to eat less fruits at just one time and distribute it evenly throughout the day.

I appreciate sweet stuff more
fruits, coconuts
heavenly when eaten in moderation and not too much

Cravings are only in your head ?
wanting food is in your head ?
After I'm done with the Anti-Candida Diet,
I was on a strict diet a few days ago and I didn't want anything
but I stayed at home, so I didn't really have big temptations, except from cooked food at home.
But since I'm starting to loosen up a bit now, still on the healthy side though, I started wanting other stuff, not really craving them, just kinda wanting them, but not strongly.
Maybe I was a bit "envious" looking at other people eating everything ?
Maybe I was just bored at just eating vegs
When I said I was going to do the Anti-candida diet with all its restrictions, I didn't want any other food.
I started adding fish just because I thought I needed it because I didn't get enough nutrition by not eating fruits.
but I stayed on the healthy side.
So cravings and wanting food is probably just in your head ?
When you "restrict" yourself from a lot of food and picture a "NO" in your head, you don't want all kinds of food or junk.
but I found that "Once you "allow" yourself more food choices, then you start wanting more food"

----------

Sometimes I found it hard to breathe, like there's not enough Oxygen in my room
I know I live in one of the polluted city in the world, but it was just worse a few times during the Anti Candida Diet
It only happened a few short times only and usually I feel okay after a meal.
Is it a sign that I was dying ? ;p

You know how sometimes when you're asleep and you hear a loud bang and you suddenly woke up with your heart beating fast ?
Sometimes..... like twice during this Anti-Candida Diet, I woke up like that, without hearing the loud bang.
Not a good sign, is it ?
but I'm good now....

I suppose if I had to re-do the Anti Candida Diet again
I'll definitely consult my physician, do a proper blood test, stool culture test, etc
But honestly, I don't really trust doctors here and I don't know if they really know much about candidiasis or not
and my being a Vegan might even "confuse" them
I know.... doing this on my own is "crazy" but I'm okay and nothing bad happened.
But this is just me, don't do this on your own though.

-------------

WHITE TONGUE

I checked my tongue and it's healthy pink around the tip and middle part
but towards the inside, it was kinda whitish, although I don't think it's oral thrush
As usual, I just keep on checking it day by day during the Anti candida diet
It looked the same on day 3, day 4, day 6, day 10
I supposed it's just my normal tongue color, although I think it's less white on the last days, but I could just be
You know how you can scrape your tongue to help remove toxins (white substance) that builds up on your tongue.
well, I didn't... actually I did, once, with a spoon ;p
the scrapings was whitish creamy substance.... yuck I know, but I guess it's just the normal toxins build up
but the tongue remains whitish.... so....
But hey... I went for a regular check up at the dentist last week and if it was oral thrush, my dentist would've definitely notice it right away.

2 nov 09 - 3.58 am
I checked my tongue again and on the whitish part of the tongue
(base of tongue / the back part of the tongue)
now have red dots on it.... not much, just some red dots
http://beyondwellbeing.com/headaches/liver-wind.shtml
"Finally, red dots on the tongue can also indicate internal heat. You may find these spots specifically on one or both sides of the tongue"
I'm just paranoid, but are they just my normal tastebuds ?
okay....I think it's called circumvallate papillae

I don't know about this one
http://www.santa-fe-chiropractic.com/sayahh.html
"The normal healthy coating should be a thin white layer starting at the root of the tongue and thinning as it approaches the tip of the tongue.
A thick white coating over all the tongue indicates respiratory problems; the thicker the more extreme the condition"

White tongue can also be caused by dehydration or toxins build up
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/white-tongue/AN01696
http://searchwarp.com/swa15094.htm

White tongue can also be caused by internal heat (chinese medicine) in which we have to eat food with cooling properties.
it could also be caused by a weakening immune system
White tongue can also worsen if you have a cavity

-------------

When I eat mashed/puree raw garlic, It's just easy to swallow with some water
but sometimes ,
I get a slight headache/nausea for a few minutes, but it'll go awat by itself
recently, I concluded that it's probably because the garlic is stuck in the end of my oesophagus, just right before entering my stomach, I didn't drink a lot of water when I eat raw mashed garlic because I don't want to dilute the garlic, usually I'm fine after I take a bite of something, I think it helps "push" the garlic into my stomach. or maybe not...;p just a theory of mine.

Day 4 & 5
Soft supple cheek
Even though it seems like I haven't been sleeping enough, I don't look tired with panda eyes.
Just some tiny bumps on my forehead which always shows up when I lack sleep.

During the diet, I was busy noting my progress and what I ate and how I felt physically
candida diet, food, weak
I forgot the most important thing
being happy, calm and prayers !!!

------------

and If I had to re-do this Anti Candida Diet
I'd rather not ;p
Why ?
it's time consuming to prepare all the food, and it's tiring to choose "wisely" what to eat and what not to eat,
it's time consuming to do the research ;p
it's time consuming to document the Anti Candida Diet
I'd rather be responsible in what I eat and control my sugar (or fat) intake all my life ;p
but it was good to do this on my own and learn more about myself and discover new things.
I now find that it's okay not to be 100% Vegan and everything is connected.
thus The Healthy Life Diet
www.TheHealthyLifeDiet.com

How to test for candidiasis / bloodtest

2009-11-25T09:03:00.001-08:00

(I'm not familiar with any of these tests, this is just what I found on the internet)

I myself only did the spit test, the tongue check and a simple 1-day stool test at the lab.

How to test for candida :
- Saliva Test / Spit Test
- The IgA, IgG, and IgM test
http://www.stopyeast.com/candida-antigen-blood-panel.html
- Stool culture / stool test
The first is the Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis (CDSA) that evaluates the stool for malabsorption, yeast, parasites, pH imbalance, and bacterial overgrowth. The second is a Comprehensive Parasitology Test (CP x2) with a purge, which is a more detailed test for parasites.
http://www.womentowomen.com/understandyourbody/tests/stoolanalysis.aspx
- The Candisphere Test
The Candisphere is a blood test that shows the toxic waste that the Candida is releasing into the blood. The toxic wastes detected can only be released by large amounts of harmful Candida and not by small amounts of normal Candida. This test helps us to determine what stage of Candida overgrowth the person is in.
This test was determined to be 90% accurate for Candida by the FDA. When combined with the CDSA test it gives us the most accurate view of a patient's level of Candida and the cause of it.
http://healthychristianliving.com/candida_treatment.htm
- Candida Immune Complexes test is the most reliable.
- maybe a mouth swab if you have oral thrush

Candida Antibody blood test to check for any candida yeast infection. Make sure the test measures IgG, IgA and IgM antibodies to candida as well.
http://www.yeastinfectionadvisor.com/candidatests.html

let your blood be tested for antigens against Candida Albicans
take an IgG-allergy test where they also check the level of antigens you have in your body against Candida.

CAUTION : These posts are here for my own documentation and NOT as a guide on how to do the Anti-Candida Diet. I'm not a Doctor/Nutritionist so please do your own research, consult your doctor and Take care of yourself :)

More on the Anti-Candida Diet

2009-11-25T09:02:00.000-08:00

This is what I found out more :

Other than fresh good quality (Organic) Vegetables, some good fats,
some good quality meat for the Non-Vegans

These are what I found to be beneficial to add to the Anti-Candida Diet
(and What I can easily find here)
well... they're good for you in general too, so :)

Good for candida :
garlic
ginger
aloe vera
lemon
parsley
celery

Supplements :
Kelp / iodine
Enzymes,
Probiotics
Spirullina

Aim for a Healthier Balanced you :
Prayers, Healing Vizualisation, Breathing
Happiness
Morning Sunlight

I also read that Candida lives on acid environment.
so it's a good idea to do the Alkaline Diet.
Stress also worsen your candida condition.

Avoid tomatoes for now because they're acid.

Always have food ready and eat when u're hungry !!!!!!!
don't starve yourself, you're not trying to lose weight, you are trying to eliminate candida.

I don't know whether Virgin Coconut Oil helps or not, some say yes, same say no
Green apple is said to be OK in some websites, but some also say no to all fruits
But if it helps me gobble up aloe vera + parsley + celery juice + other stuff
then it's a good thing ??? maybe ???
I seem to be able to "withstand" the vegetable taste without additional sugar (fruits)
So I think I'll just add water to my blend, but we'll see....

----------------

This is the stuff I found on the internet and I've found some information on them,
(but some sites also sell products, so I don't really trust all of the information listed, use common sense and stay open to learning more and consult your doctor)

----------------

White tounge may be a sign of Candida
http://searchwarp.com/swa84947.htm
So check your tongue :)

http://buellerskitchen.com/?p=182
http://www.candida-cure-recipes.com/index.html
http://www.candida-cure-recipes.com/susans-story.html
about candida

http://www.yeastinfectionadvisor.com/candidadiet.html
green apples may be eaten
sweet potato is considered alkaline forming food
cooked carrots are bad
raw carrots are a yes and a no, it contains sugar but is also an antifungal
so if u must, eat with the fibre I suppose ?

http://www.healthy.net/scr/Article.asp?Id=463&xcntr=8
St. johns wort
The bacterium that causes tuberculosis, the fungus Candida, and the gastrointestinal parasite Shigella have all responded to St. John's wort

http://candidablog4u.com/candida-and-the-eyes/
candida and eyes

I don't know where I found this, google it....
I don't even know if this has anything to do with candida
Sweating is one of the way to remove toxins from our body
and If you can't sweat ? you may need iodine / kelp

http://www.breathing.com/articles/candida.htm
Die-off can begin in a day or two or in two weeks.
Lemon water helps through dieoff.

http://community.livejournal.com/candidiasis/22472.html
I would chop the garlic coarsely or finely depending on what I was eating and sprinkle it on my food. For one snack, I boiled some zucchini and mashed it into a paste and then added spices and fresh herbs and tons of finely chopped raw garlic in it. This way I could snack on celery sticks with it and get lots of garlic while fighting off cravings to snack on anything with more sugar or carbs. I also put lots of raw onions into my food because I heard that can help too.
For juices, I used cucumber and celery for the bulk of the juice, because they yield a lot of juice, and then I would add a half lemon and about three cloves of garlic. I also added some spinach or kale, and even a carrot now and then, but don't add too many carrots because they are high in sugar, for a vegetable. The juice tasted gross after adding the lemon and garlic, but having it diluted in a big glass of juice is the only way I could drink it without hurting my throat and stomach. I also added fresh lemon juice to my water as a way to get extra lemon into my diet.

http://www.askanaturopath.com/faqs/lemon-juice-candida/p/259
The juice of lemons has the ability to change the pH (acid/ alkaline balance) environment of the body. Lemon juice although acidic in its natural state when it is consumed it increases digestive secretions due to its bitter properties and this effect actually alkalises the whole body. This alkalisation inhibits Candida/ yeast infections to colonise as this bacteria requires an acidic environment to continue to grow.

http://www.askanaturopath.com/faqs/candida/p/188
Alkalinze the body - Spirullina can help
"Have a vegetable juice each day such as carrot, celery, ginger and beetroot."
CARROTS N BEETROOT JUICE = SUGAR ?????
I don't know about this..... because carrots and beetroot juice contains quite a lot of sugar....but when steve pavlina did a raw diet, he monitored his blood sugar and even when he ate 19 bananas in 1 day, his blood sugar didn't spike. Someone else mentioned that she cured candidiasis by juicing and fasting, so I don't know what carrot and beet juice might do to candidiasis.

"Improve the immune system by eating large amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, fish, bitter foods, lemon juice, vegetable juices"
FRESH FRUITS ???????? = SUGARRR

----------------

candida n moldy environment
"Symptoms can worsen in moldy places (basements) or in damp climates"
http://www.livingfoodsinstitute.com/article5.htm

---------------

"To make matters worse, the Y/F overgrowth is swapping its wastes for your hormones, blood sugar and other nutrients. Consequently, you are always hungry and/or have rapid drops in blood sugar (glucose) levels."
http://www.candidafree.net/resource_34.htm

-------------

- candida and other illnesses
candida and thyroid
http://www.healthyawareness.com/articles/hypothyroidism.htm

Other causes to candida :
STRESS, DIABETES, ANTIBIOTICS, BIRTH CONTROL PILL, HORMONAL IMBALANCE, etc

HYPOTHYROID
Low thyroid is very common in cases of Candida. The thyroid gland has an important effect on the immune system. Adequate thyroid function also helps the digestive system operate correctly. As pointed out earlier, lack of proper digestive secretions can cause reduction of friendly bacteria.

PARASITES AND INTESTINAL WORMS
Parasites and intestinal worms are more common then anyone would think. Some researchers have estimated that over 85% of all people living in North America and Canada have parasites. Parasites can be large worm-like creatures or small microscopic organisms. Either type destroy friendly bacteria in the intestines making yeast overgrowth possible. Parasites can be detected in the Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis.

http://www.becomehealthynow.com/article/conditionwomen/416/2/

-----------------

vaginal candidiasis is contagious through sexual intercourse
oral thrush might be contagious through sharing food

Do you need to take multivitamins on an Anti Candida Diet ?
I think yes just to be safe

http://www.candida-cure-recipes.com/antifungal-herbs.html
chamommile
cinnamon
clove tea
garlic
lemongrass
neem
peppermint
rosemary
turmeric, but maybe bad for Vitiligo
Oregano Oil
etc

=============================

"I have also read that if you follow and extremely strict anti-candida diet, the candida - instead of giving up - will burrow into the lining of you gut and eat of your blood sugar, leading to 'leaky gut' syndrome. This theory does fit in with my own experiences, but I don't know if it's true."
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=292831

HOW SCARY IS THAT PEOPLE ?????
I don't know whether it's true or not ??? But If it is, that's creeping me out right now.
But I read this
"As the immune system continues to weaken from yeast overgrowth and its toxic by-products, more and more symptoms arise. This fungus burrows its roots into the intestinal lining, creating a leaky gut, allowing the yeast/fungus to go into the bloodstream."
http://www.healingnaturallybybee.com/news/news1.php
That makes sense, right ?
but I dunno about the strict anti-candida diet making the candida burrow itself to the lining,
Isn't the strict diet causing the candida to starve to death ???
But then again, they could go crazy for food and also burrow itself to the intenstinal lining.
or maybe not.
I don't know.

----------------

"I found the herbs and extracts such as Paul D'Arco root, grapefruit seed extract, caprylic acid, oil of oregano,garlic, etc., only aggravate the candida and the symptoms caused by it.
When you stop eating the foods that feed candida, the candida goes into an armored spore form, which means the candida will protect itself by transforming itself into a dormant form. If you are not doing anything to remove the candida from your body, it just lies in the dormant form until you once again begin to eat the foods that candida feeds on."
http://candidasurvivalkit.com/candida-faq.html
Garlic is not good ??
and IS IT TRUE THAT THE CANDIDA WILL GO INTO A DORMANT FORM INSTEAD OF DYING ?????
IF IT'S TRUE, THEN THAT'S SCARYYY !!!
They're like one of those aliens in the movies that never die.

================================

enzymes supplements ??
My dad has enzyme supplemented that contains fermented molasses
http://www.digestiveenzymesupplements.com/what-is-non-sugar-natural-digestive-enzymes.html
"However, using sugar will result in fermented enzyme containing high level of alcohol and sugar residue. Diabetics are not advised to consume such products."
So I didn't take his enzyme tablets.
Besides, it's fermented, so it can't be good right ?
because on the candida diet, we are advised to stay away from mold, yeast, fungi, etc
but.... fermented food such as kimchi, sauerkraut are probiotic, and has good bacteria.
and also KEFIR.

I don't know about Apple Cider Vinegar
"If apple cider vinegar helps cure candida yeast infections, then why do some people say to avoid fermented foods for candida?"
http://www.candida-cure-recipes.com/apple-cider-vinegar-cure.html

Someone says coconut water is too sweet and not good for the candida.
So it's better to make coconut kefir using water kefir grains.
I'm trying to make KEFIR soon :)

=========================

Some questions :

High sugar diet can lead to diabetes.
Can Low sugar diet lead to diabetes as well ?
probably not, right ?

Can the Anti-candida diet cause a low blood sugar ? can you pass out ?
It can ?? if you have hypoglycaemia and diabetes, it can be dangerous ??

Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and vegan who don't eat fruits ???
day 1 n 2, I suspected that I was low on blood sugar ?
but Vegetables contains sugar and carbs as well,
so I shouldn't feel so weak,
but about Alkaline Raw Vegan foodist ?
and Dr. Robert O Young mentioned that Sweet Fruits are best to be avoided.
http://articlesofhealth.blogspot.com/2009/04/eating-fruit-may-be-hazardous-to-your.html'

but then again
http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/fruit-article.html
"According to Dr. Robert Young, author of “The pH Miracle,” fruit is acid-forming due to its high sugar content. He then goes on to explain his unproven theory that the sugar in fruit ferments and produces acidity in the body.
Dr. Robert Young is completely mistaken on this point. Fruit is alkaline-forming, even if it contains sugar. The natural sugar that fruit contains is perfectly utilized by the body and doesn’t necessarily ferment to produce acidity."

Can the digestive system become too tired from too much vegetables (fibres) ???
probably not ??? as long as you're fine

can u die on a very strict candida diet ?
I mean, is my candida diet dangerous ?
mine restrict all carbs, grains, meat ---> what about people on a Vegetable juice fast ?
they seem to be able to go on for days
I think we need to use our common sense and listen to our body.
also do research, consult physician, and ask questions

LOW FAT DIET = Dangerous ?
Example : daily lunch
person A. pasta + chicken
person B. pasta + vegs sautee (1-2 types of vegs)
person C. vegs/salad (4-5 types of vegs), olive oil + almond
person D. instant noodle , fortified
person E. cheeseburger (high fat diet)
which one is more at risk ?
the one eating instant burger (high fat diet) everyday or the one eating salad (low fat diet) everyday ?
I'd say the one eating a low fat diet is healthier, but
Just keep in mind that anything that's too extreme is dangerous.
We all need a healthy balanced diet and a healthy happy state of mind and lifestyle :)

CAUTION : These posts are here for my own documentation and NOT as a guide on how to do the Anti-Candida Diet. I'm not a Doctor/Nutritionist so please do your own research, consult your doctor and Take care of yourself :)

The start of The Healthy Life Diet

2009-11-25T06:34:00.000-08:00

Thursday, November 5, 2009

After doing the Anti-Candida Diet for 8 days, today is supposed to be the Anti-Candida Diet Day 9, but ..................

Today I'm starting my New Diet / Lifestyle
(actually it started on Nov 2, 2009, but it's official today ;p)
Let's just call it The Healthy Life Diet ;)
www.TheHealthy Life Diet.com
It's not even a Diet, it's more of a Lifestyle, because it's all connected.
but Hey... it needs a name ;p

Healthy Mind, Mood Happiness, Love, God Healthy daily routine.
Sleep early, Wake up early

Morning Sun

Exercise
it's important
It's Fun, it releases endorphin :)
it also makes you sweat and releases toxins.
Don't aim to lose weight, aim to have fun :D

Healthy Food
I'm still mostly Vegan and for now, I hope to stay Vegan by adding more raw vegetables.
BUT
I'm allowing some meat (fish, prawn, etc)
ONLY IF I really really want to and I can't get out of a situation where I have to eat them. and I won't feel guilty about it.
and still being candida-aware for now,
allowing sugar but in small amounts (coconut, fruits, complex carbs)
But in time, I hope to always be aware to limit my sugar intake in a natural way that I never over indulge in anything and always be in control of what I eat.
That way I don't have to "limit" my sugar intake or whatever-food intake because I'll always listen to my body and be in control of what I eat.

and If I had to eat out, Most Restaurant Food equals MSG and requesting for "No MSG Please" is useless, trust me I know, but it's a good thing to always order "No MSG Please"
So.... I don't think I'll be eating in Restaurants any time soon.
but at least I'm not restricting myself, I can eat n not feel guilty, even if i have to eat at home all the time ;p
My housekeeper is a kick ass chef, so I'm good :)
but she's also cooks the old-school way and refuses to change, so sometimes she'd make a quick prawn stir-fry but she'd deep fry the prawns first for like 15 minutes, oh my... I've asked her not to time and time again, but..... oh well... I can always ask again :)
and.... ummm... she always cooks vegs a tad bit too soft and I need to constantly remind her and she doesn't understand why I buy organic vegetables .... so... yupp... a little problem in that area actually ;p
and she often cooks way too hot and spicy for me and when I told her not to... she said "I thought you like hot & spicy food" or "your mom told me to cook this spicy".... I don't know if she's starting to be forgetful or she just loves hot & spicy food. yes she eats what we eat, afterall she's been working for the family for 30 years now.

yup... of course a little part of me is scared of going out of control and start eating a lot of junk food again and I'm also worried about the limited number of healthier food choice available out there but I'll stay "awake" and be in control.
besides, my body will definitely let me know if I eat too much "junk".

I know I'll still be bringing my own food often when I go out, but at least I have more food options and not feel guilty, although I'll still be extremely picky about what food I eat :) but it just feels liberating now.
but still picky..... ;p

My being a Vegan makes me have a constant weight.
and I feel light all the time, I feel good.
I believe this new Healthy Life Diet will also give me a constant healthy weight, and a healthy mind and body :)

So Embrace The Healthy Life Diet :D

Today would probably the Last Day that I'm noting all my food (still candida aware) and uploading it here, it does take a lot of time :) but it was fun, although time consuming ;p

6. 45 am woke up
2/4 small granny smith apple & 1/4 avocado
10 am finished eating

This is what I ate for breakfast
- raw cucumber,
- raw okra,
- raw Ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula Roxb) --> they're sweet and spongy
- sautée kangkung (Water Convolvulus)
- boiled winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolabus)
1 Mega Acidophilus capsule

12.40 pm finished lunch
- sautée kangkung (Water Convolvulus)
- boiled winged bean / kecipir (Psophocarpus tetragonolabus)
- muntahu (tofu dish with prawn bits and minced pork)
1 Kelp capsule
1 Garlic parsley capsule

1 - 2 pm Nap
2 - 2.30 pm 1/2 glass of coconut
Lunch
- Muntahu
- raw Ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula Roxb)
- boiled winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolabus)
I thought I wanted rice but after one little spoon of it, I just didn't want it
1/2 glass of coconut water
1/2 glass of lemon water
tummy kinda full - heavy, maybe coz of the muntahu.
Okay... no more tofu for the next few days.
I probably shouldn't be eating tofu at all during the Anti-Candida Diet anyway.

Last night, the right corner of my mouth cracked a bit....hurt a bit when I opened my mouth. Maybe I lack sleep, and also I have what the chinese say "internal heat" and that I'd need to eat food with cooling properties.
but in the morning (6 nov 09) it healed very nicely, I didn't even put anything on it.

5.20 pm 1 glass of coconut
7 pm I finished eating
Muntahu - againnnnn I knowwwwwwwwwwww
raw parsley + raw dill
raw cucumber, raw okras
mung bean soup
1/4 coconut water
1 Mega Acidophilus capsule

8.20 pm 1 glass of coconut
I ate a total of 1 coconut today
9.45 pm 1 small granny smith apple
10.30 pm I notice I've got quite a lot of whitehead on my nose area (yuck I know) probably it accumulated during the 1 week period or is because of the 3 meat-eating days ? I dunno
I gave myself a little facial and I'm good now :D
11 pm - midnite Sleep

6 Nov 09 -- just briefly.... I can't stop noting what I eat
morning - lemon water
10 am Finished eating
muntahu - yes I've been eating it everyday in small portions
mung bean soup
broccoli and carrot
10.30 am - 11 am kinda weak
ate 2/4 apple and mung bean soup
I was fine after that
Pre dinner - I ate vegs drizzled with olive oil
Dinner 1 whole coconut at 1 go
a little portion of grilled fish (ikan kuwe/kue) which I didn't like but I just had to eat it because I was eating with other family members and they put the fish on my plate and I just couldn't return the fish. I really didn't feel like eating that fish but I ate it anyway.
Later that night I ate some vegs and apple

7 Nov 09
I'm back to totally Vegan again

8 Nov 09
I started eating strawberries
I ate salmon & vegs & brown rice
I ate dragon fruit

9 Nov 09
I started gym woohooooooooo !!!!
so happy, so excited

I ate peanut sauce salad and crackers and rice
let me elaborate that
fried peanut, palm sugar, sweet soy sauce, fried crackers + msg, white carbs
but so happy ;p

I'm not 100% Vegan (for Now)

2009-11-25T06:27:00.000-08:00

(decided 2 Nov 09)

Why ?

Most of the time I enjoy my Vegan food,
(both cooked and Raw/Living Foods)
BUT
- While I certainly don't miss the "full" feeling after eating non-Vegan food, I do miss sharing and "fighting over" for food with my families and friends who are non-Vegan.
This is what I wrote in a previous post :
Entering month 7 of being a Vegan, I probably started to lose motivation
I was alone during my Vegan months, I enjoy my Vegan meals, but no one to share it with, except at my blog :) and nobody support my being a Vegan. oohh poor me :) but I'm a tough one :D
and I sometimes feel kinda annoyed of the limited food choice I have when eating out and feel like I'm missing out, not on the food, but on spending time together sharing food at dinner tables.
You know how sometimes the best food is the one you have to fight over with your families/friends, when there's only one thing left on the plate with 5 hungry people staring at it. :)

- sometimes my lack of kitchen skill makes my Vegan food taste quite bland and I get bored.
I know I can add healthy tasty raw dressings to my salad, but sometimes I have no time, no knowledge of it yet nor the ingredients and I lack patience in the kitchen, even just for washing vegetables ;p
So I'm allowing more stuff for when I'm bored with my Vegan food and for when I really really want the other food so I can really really enjoy it so eating is not a chore and I can be happy.

I need that happy satisfied feeling at each meal.
thus THE HEALTHY LIFE DIET
www.TheHealthyLifeDiet.com

I'll still eat healthily, mostly Vegan with more raw/Living Foods,
but I'm at this point right now where I'm a Vegan and I totally feel good about it, but I sometimes secretly want some non-Vegan food, (due to numerous reasons) so I'm allowing small portions of good quality fish, prawns, etc if I feel that my body needs it and if I really really want to (and not on a daily basis)
and I'm not going to feel guilty about it and I'm going to enjoy my healthy food, share good times with families and friends and be thankful about it, add some happiness, exercise, morning sun, etc and Life's good, which is what the essence of The Healthy Life Diet is.
I'll definitely listen to my body and be in control of what I eat and importantly, I want to truly enjoy all my meals, Vegan or non Vegan.
Even if one day I went overboard eating a non-Vegan food, I know my body will let me know that I need more healthy vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds.
Hey.... I might not even want to eat a non Vegan food ever again after I wrote this, but at least the option is open for me.
This is my journey and this is where I am right now, and in the future I want to finally be able to go 100% Raw, maybe 95% ;) and totally feel satisfied with eating just Living Foods.

For now
I will try to eat more raw living foods and I don't know when I'll be back to being 100% Vegan again, maybe next week, maybe next month, maybe tomorrow... who knows :)
(At this point, still No refined carbs, refined sugar, Fried Food.)

- Vegetables - as much as possible is okay, more Raw please

I'll slowly incorporate these below in my diet only If I feel I need to, I'll listen to my body.
- Fruits - I'm not going to over indulge, I used to eat lots and lots of fruits in 1 day until my tummy goes big ;p but I know better now. I'll eat in smaller portions. Less sweet ones first.

- Complex Carbs & grains - maybe sweet potato, brown rice etc only in small portions, I'm starting gym and I'm scared of passing out during workout, although I've never passed out before.
(Update. I now bring coconut water to the gym instead of water, and I feel great at the gym :D)

- Soy - Tofu & Tempe - Also small portion and not daily
Soy may not be all that good for you but Tofu and Tempe is a staple food here since forever and I love them and I don't eat them everyday anyway.
- No dairy (not interested at this moment)
- Meat
Fish & Prawns - fresh good quality ones are allowed.
I'll be aware of the mercury level though, read here :
http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm110591.htm
Lamb, Duck, Pork - maybe, we'll see if I really really want it.
Beef, chicken - not really interested

Chickens - we have available here chicken with no hormones, so it's much smaller in size, called ayam kampung (it literally means : village chicken)
some are free range and eat natural food, but you don't really know.
So I'll probably allow myself some of this chicken and eggs, but I don't really feel like it at the moment.

I might eat fish one day and stay Vegan for the next 5 days.
or I might eat not even want to eat fish and sweet potato and just eat vegs.
You know how your eyes get "hungry" ? ;p and your nose as well.
You see food and you smell food and you want it, even though you know it's bad for you.... So you eat and you feel bad afterwards (and oh the guilt).
I've been on that cycle before but I want to always be in control now. I'll listen to my body and not my eyes :) nor my nose (sense of smell) ;p
We all know what we need to eat but we tend to get tempted and eat "junk" instead. So we all need to really listen to our body, listen to what we really want to eat. Feel it, feel the vibration :) and you'll also feel good about it.
I'll always eat lots of vegs and choose what I eat healthily.
I might go back to being 100% Vegan, or I might not. I don't know.
but I'll still be "candida aware"
which means I'll restrict my sugar consumption (fruits, carbs)
and I'll still have my garlic, ginger tea, Probiotics, and other supplements.

--------------

and Maybe after a few weeks from now,
I'll allow myself to eat some of the "junk",
(occasionally or rarely ;p)
such as :
- Fried Food
Why ?
Reason no.1
Because I love Fried Tempeh so much !!! :)
but I'll be in control !!!
1 bite = 1 bite
2 bite = 2 bite
1 Fried Tempe makes me happy.
5 Fried Tempe makes my throat hurts, and my tummy all greasy and uncomfortable.

Reason no.2
Raw salad can sometimes be bland and boring.
Raw salad + crunchy Onion Rings bits is too die for :D
See... it makes me happy and I totally enjoy my food, which is a big factor.
If I had a dehydrator I might be able to make healthy raw chips from vegs, but I don't have a dehydrator right now, so.

- Sugar
Yupp... after all this time, I'm still tempted by Desserts
I'll still opt for the Traditional Vegan desserts for now though, non dairy and using palm sugar instead of refined sugar.
but I'll try to eat them rarely and in small portions !!!!
besides, if everyone else is enjoying a glass of cendol, instead of just staring at them, I can at least take 2 big spoonful of it :)
But if I can find a guy selling fruit salad nearby, I think I'm good :)

- Refined carbs
white rice, bread
maybe... not interested now
but in the future, also rarely and in small portions

- Cheese
I don't know at this point.
I love cheese in general, fresh mozzarella slices, manchego cheese, parmegiano, etc. Not those commercial cheese with preservatives and artificial colors and colorings.
But I don't think I'll be eating cheese anytime soon.

---------------

Now what I'm gonna eat is gonna be
Not too strict
Not too much Fuss.
but still healthy, I'm going to be picky and choose the best quality possible.
It actually feels kinda liberating, it's exciting ;)

I don't want to think about Food Food Food all the time.
My Life is going to be much more exciting than just day dreaming of what to eat for lunch, for dinner, etc.
and If I can prepare my food, I'll try to always prepare it whole heartedly and happily, even though I don't like being in the kitchen ;)
If I can't prepare my food (No time to prepare) and I have to eat what's available, which is just vegetable that's too soft or too salty, instead of sulking and eating with a bad mood, I'll just eat it & be thankful for the food that is served on my table and I'll try to enjoy it and cherish that meal time spent with friends and families, with a big sincere smile.

Can I be a NEW BREED OF FOODIE ??
Someone that's not entirely Vegan, but not eating animal products on a daily basis either. (only good quality ones)
Someone who's on a journey to maybe become a Vegan Raw Foodist but allowing guilt-free food temptations along the way.
Someone who listens to her body and who's in control of what she really needs to eat instead of "lusting" for unhealthy food.
Someone who's aware that it's not just about the food but it's about everything because everything is connected. (World, Environment, Life, Happiness, Exercise, Lifestyle, Grateful, Spirituality, Love, Friends, Families, Loving your Job, etc)
I'm ready for that interview, Oprah !! :)
Okay... one can always dream ;D
I know others are probably already doing this diet/lifestyle..... but it's just good to realize this on my own :) realizing my mistakes, what I'm missing, weighing the options, learning how to stay healthy but still enjoy Life and the company of Loved ones.
And how did I get here ?
I'm lucky that during my being a Vegan and my reading other people's websites and blogs, I've encountered a lot of good useful sites that are filled with ever-blooming information. So a Big Thankx to all of you out there :)
See... we're all connected.

And the most important thing is I
Enjoy the Food
Enjoy Dining with Families and Friends
Laugh out Loud
Exercise + Morning Sun
Purely Happy
stay "Awake" in Life, Positive Energy, Lot's of Love,
and Prayers in everything :)

I'll listen to my body, I'll be in control
and I'll keep on learning and open to new ideas.
It's THE HEALTHY LIFE DIET
www.TheHealthyLifeDiet.com

Anti Candida Diet Day 8

2009-11-25T06:12:00.000-08:00

I ate meat .......I started yesterday
done on Wednesday, November 4, 2009

7 am woke up
still sleepy
7.30 am 1/3 lemon water
8.20 am a little coconut meat - leftover
8.50 am 1 raw garlic mashed
soon after.....the "kick" - little headache and nausea, must be the garlic effect
(but i didn't get the kick on 7 nov09)
9.10 am breaky
steamed broccolis,
raw cucumber,
raw coriander leaves,
raw okras,
muntahu (tofu dish with prawn and minced pork)
steamed kangkung (Water Convolvulus)
boiled winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolabus)

see my table....
and towards the end I added some chicken soup (minus the chicken) and the salted/pickled vegetables (probiotic)

I feel soooo fulll... must eat less, but If I eat less, I get hungry quicker and I don't feel like eating constantly throughout the day now.
10 am 1/3 lemon water
1 Mega acidophilus capsule
1.30 am hungry again
11.45 am 1/2 glass fresh coconut water - so sweet
12.30 pm finished lunch
it's more or less the same as breaky, but no chicken soup and I added 1/4 avocado
1 Multivitamin tablet
1 Kelp capsule
1 pm - 3.30 pm Nap
4 pm 1/2 glass coconut (meat and water)
1/4 avocado
white tongue check - same like before
mouth ulcer check - looks the same but it doesn't hurt anymore since yesterday afternoon.

I'm starting to think that :
- my spit test will forever have strings and specks and sink to the bottom of the glass
It's just not an accurate test like some people say
- my white tongue is my normal tongue, with some normal toxin build up on the surface.
- My being "weak" and the headache, nausea, was caused by food poisoning and eating less and not the die-off reaction, or maybe it is ? and garlic might also help giving me nausea.
- maybe I should just go back to my Vegan eating way and just do a detox and 1 day fasting.

4.30 pm hungry
5 pm I ate a little bit of yesterday's fish leftover
3/4 avocado --> it made me a bit too full but I was going to take my dogs out for a walk, so I need the energy
1/4 coconut (water and meat)

6.40 pm I finished dinner
yuckkk :(
Why yuckkk ?????
I love rockets /rucola, but this one is bitter I don't know why so since I tend to mix everything together, yes mix everything together and eat.
The whole thing becomes bittery :(
It would've been a nice soupy veg soup if I hadn't put the rockets in.
It's steamed broccolis, raw cucumbers, sweet potato, raw okras, raw parsley, raw rockets, steamed carrots

top with some muntahu (tofu dish with prawn bits and minced pork) and a lil bit of the chicken soup (without the chicken) and pickled vegs (probiotic)

mix mix mix

I only ate half of it, leave the rest for later ;p
6.45 pm 1 Pandanus/Red Fruit capsule (I chewed it and throw the capsule out)
(Pandanus Conoideus Lam)
1 Mega Acidophilus

8.20 pm hungry again...
I finished the leftover

11.30 pm a little bit hungry
but I just drank...
I've been thirsty all day
Am I just needing water or is because of the MSG in the food ?
(update, I think it's not just because of the MSG, I've just been thirsty all the time lately)
I'm starting to feel guilty about eating the muntahu and the chicken soup thingy now because, yes, I'm accusing the MSG in the food.
But I'll allow it every once in a while if I really really want to.
I'll get back on track soon :)
Besides.... salad with avocado, nuts, beans, complex carbs, still sound really good for me, so I'm not going to lose control and start overeating all the non-vegan msg laden meal.

1 am still a bit hungry
sleepy, but I'm still in front of the computer
1.40 am finished doing stuff in the computer
ate a little avocado and 2/4 small granny smith apple
2.15 am sleep

CAUTION : These posts are here for my own documentation and NOT as a guide on how to do the Anti-Candida Diet. I'm not a Doctor/Nutritionist so please do your own research, consult your doctor and Take care of yourself :)

Anti Candida Diet Day 7

2009-11-25T06:03:00.000-08:00

Introducing Fruits
done on Tuesday, November 3, 2009

6 am Woke up very very hungry, but still sleepy
6.20 am I ate
1/2 a cucumber
a little portion of yesterday's leftover fish
2/3 of an avocado
1/4 of a small granny smith apple
6.45 am - 7.20 am Morning sun, naked at home ;p
8.30 am 2/4 apple
8.45 am mouth ulcer is a bit painful now because it's in contact with my tooth when I'm chewing
(update. 4 Nov 09 - Day 8, mouth ulcer is still there but it's healing nicely because I can hardly feel it anymore)
9.20 am 1/4 apple
9.40 am I ate some broccolis, 1 piece of steamed carrots, and
I didn't really enjoy it
12.30 pm I ate asparagus, lettuce, parsley,
and "labu air", if I'm not mistaken, it's called bottle gourd (lagenaria siceraria) but this one doesn't look like a bottle
hopefully this is the right one
http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/vascular/images/lag_sic.jpg

1 pm 1 Kelp capsule
1 garlic+parsley capsule
1.30 pm 1 Mega Acidophilus capsule
1/4 avocado
Road trip.... I went to Family Villa up in the mountain 2 hours away.
I napped in the car
5.30 pm Pre-dinner

3/4 of fish (white pomfret again)
asparagus
steamed carrots
sweet potato - didn't finish the sweetpotato
feel so fullllll.... :)

7 pm a little nausea
7.10 pm 1 Mega Acidophilus
1/4 lemon + water
7.25 pm I started to feel hungry again
I just realized that I seem to get my Rainbow food from fruits.
Vegs are mostly green..... except for Eggplant and Tomato and Bell peppers and Purple cabbage... okay I got the point, but I'm not eating nightshade plants at the moment, and I read somewhere that tomato might be to acid ?

7.30 pm I went to a Restaurant, I was just going to accompany the rest of the family to eat and was going to eat at home afterwards and I got tempted.
I ate frogs with salted/pickled vegs (probiotic)
It had MSG, some corn starch/sago starch to thicken, and coconut cooking oil
a little bit coriander leaves garnish
3 small slices of cucumber, again, garnish
a tablespoon of rice
1/2 glass of fresh coconut
It was good !!!
But I'm thirsty now.

9 pm
I ate Muntahu (Tofu dish with prawns and minced pork)
I requested no salt, no msg, less oil, but it was still salty, I guess the tofu itself was salty or the chef added extra salty soy sauce, some people are just crazy like that.
parsley
2 little steamed carrots
1/2 coconut water
I'm too full now

I slept at around midnite perhaps
My nose was runny a bit because I was sleepy but the TV was so loud.
Woke up feeling fine the next morning :)

CAUTION : These posts are here for my own documentation and NOT as a guide on how to do the Anti-Candida Diet. I'm not a Doctor/Nutritionist so please do your own research, consult your doctor and Take care of yourself :)

Anti Candida Diet Day 6

2009-11-25T05:53:00.000-08:00

Introducing Fish

done on Monday, November 2, 2009

8 am I woke up after only 2.30 hours of sleep
I need to get ready to go to the bank.... still sleepy
I ate steamed broccolis and vegetable saute, dunno what kind of veg ;p
I then
10.10 am I started nibbling on steamed broccolis I brought with me
11.30 am Mixed boiled salad (Gado-gado) with lime juice
(boiled mung bean sprouts, cabbage, string beans, fresh cucumber)
hey...I was at the food court and there was no salad around.
12:00 pm 1 Multivitamin capsule
1 Mega Acidophilus (just bought a new one)
I know that there's no such thing as a complete live food in a bottle, but I'm feeling safer that I've got them now.

12:45 pm in the car again, nibbling on the sautee vegs

3 pm I was hungry again, good hungry
but I was kinda lazy to eat.
3.30 pm I ate broccolis, sautee vegs
yupp... the same thing as this morning....
and some rockets/rucola
I loved rockets and I used to eat just rockets with olive oil, salt and some grissini (breadsticks) when I was in Milan, but this imported rockets from Australia are so bitter :(
4 pm 1 capsule of Red Pandanus (high in Betacarotene, etc)
around 4.30 pm - 5 pm Nap
5 pm I woke up so hungry
the kind that needs food right away
I ate fish..... yupppppppppp
a White Pomfret to be exact.
steamed with garlic, ginger, spring onions and a little bit of salt
yup... that's the fish :)

I ate half if it (it's not that big) and sone broccolis, yesterday's leftover zucchini and mung bean sprouts sautee.
half a lemon and water.

7 pm
I don't know why I have a stomach ache at this time
started to have a slight headache
7.30 pm I drank some ginger Tea (I think it was cold)
and I felt normal after that

9.30 pm Started to feel hungry again
10.20 pm
I ate the fish again, lightly sautee asparagus, some coriander leaves, okras, lettuce.
and I drank the rest of the ginger Tea

I think I slept at 1 am

CAUTION : These posts are here for my own documentation and NOT as a guide on how to do the Anti-Candida Diet. I'm not a Doctor/Nutritionist so please do your own research, consult your doctor and Take care of yourself :)

Anti Candida Diet Day 5

2009-11-25T05:41:00.000-08:00

done on Sunday, November 1, 2009

8 am Woke up
Did a spit test
still stringy and there's specks in the middle of the water
but the saliva seems to float longer on top of the water.
Don't know whether that's a good sign or now, or maybe it didn't really float longer, oh well
(I don't think the spit test is a good test to determine candidiasis though)
I drank warm water + 1/3 lemon
1 Acidophilus capsule not long after.
8.30 am blend of
- aloe vera
- parsley
- ginger water
- 1/3 cucumber
9 am sunbathe
The sun wasn't hot, but I was out there for about 20 mins only
and I thought I pulled my short pants up, but apparenly not, now I have 2 asymmetrical short pants lines on both my thigh.
kinda like this

I guess no more st. john's wort for me, I took 1 capsule two day before to increase sun sensitivity to my skin, but I forgot that I get tanned so very very easily.
But it couldn't have been the st. john's wort making me more tanned when sunbathing today, can the effect happen when I just took 1 capsule the 2 nights before ?
(Update, although St. John's Wort increases sun sensitivity, it wasn't what caused my super fast tan, I tan quick because, well I tan fast, naturally and I think it's also because of all the food - healthy vegan)
hungry, shower and prepare food
9.45 am breakfast
I was starting to have a mild headache, late for breakfast ?
so I drank 1/3 a glass of coconut water
and breakfast is :
- lettuce
- 2 small raw okras
- mung bean sprouts (that's the only thing I've been sprouting)
- steamed cauli flower
- steamed cabbage
drizzled with olive oil

White Tounge Check
10:45 am I looked at my tounge again
It's whiter than yesterday ????
or is it just the lighting ? I think it was just because of the lighting

1.28 pm lunch
the same as breaky, with a little bit of parsley added
2 pm after lunch 1 garlic + 1/2 avocado
3.30 pm nap
4.30 pm woke up, hungry
Ate karedok (raw salad consisting of cabbage, string beans, sweet potato, cucumber, round eggplant) with some lemon juice and olive oil and salt
2+1 tofu and avocado
5 pm 1 kelp capsule
Are kelp supposed to be a white powder in a capsule ?
I'd assume green.

I know, not a bright rainbow color, there's supposed to be more string beans but somehow this one only has like 5 tiny cuts.
I dunno about eating tofu is allowed or not because it's fermented,and some people might add sugar when making tofu but I totally enjoyed it, so there ;p
6.27 pm I'm feeling hungry again
6.50 pm 1 slice of tofu
1/2 small glass of coconut water
8 pm a little bit of dinner like the one at 4.30 pm
but I wasn't really too hungry, probably because of the olive oil and the avocado, so I didn't finish the whole thing.
and I was bored eating the stuff, I wanted to have fish today but only had chicken at home, so maybe I'll have fish tomorrow.
9 pm 1 garlic & parsley capsule
2 glass of coconut water
oh full, now I have a bulging tummy
11 pm went to sleep
(It's 2 nov 09)
12.30 am woke up, feeling not so good, almost hungry, but weird and kinda hard to breathe !!
I don't know whether this is the die-off reaction or me dying ;p
I know I'm not starving myself because I eat whenever I feel hungry, so... we'll see.
so I ate 1/2 avocado and 1-1/2 glass of coconut water and I'm fine now.
By hard to breathe I meant not choking, but like there's only little air, but then again I live in one of the most polluted city in the world and I find it's always harder to breathe compared to in the mountains.
here, it's best described as this, when you're in an air-conditioned room, then your turn off the air-con, and after a while you'll find it hard to breathe, that's what I felt.
2.55 am turning off the computer, going to sleep....
3.30 am can't sleep, but sleepy, hungry again, but good hungry, tummy rumbling
I ate 1/3 cucumber and mung bean sprouts
4.10 am I'm still hungry, too lazy to prepare food
have a slight headache, thinking of just sleeping it off
4.30 am still hungry, still headache
so I went to the kitchen, ate 1 clove of crushed garlic
sautee zucchini and a lil bit of sprouts

ON BEING VEGAN ON THIS ANTI-CANDIDA DIET
I mean, seriously, I eat constantly, and even though I avoid sugar (carbs and fruits), I still get carbs and sugar from the vegs right ?
and I always eat until I'm not hungry anymore, and eat whenever I'm hungry.
So what's with the weird feeling ?
I mean, I've been a Vegan for 7 months now, and I eat the same vegetables as I was 6 months ago, but now I'm just not taking fruits for a while. I still take the good fats (avocado, coconut, almonds, extra virgin olive oil)
Why do I not feel good ?
I'm totally allright if this is the die-off reaction from the candida dying, but if it's not, then there's obviously something wrong with how I eat now.
Read here about Vegan diet http://www.fatfreevegan.com/faqs.shtml
so really... I'm just omitting fruits for my diet and it's only day 5
I had the weird affect on Day 1, which might also caused from food poisoning instead but I doubt it.
Maybe I really do have candidiasis in my system.

I miss fruitssss !!!!
I just miss eating fruits, but I don't crave it and I don't crave sugar, and I think that's a good thing :)
I'll eat fish, and maybe shrimps and prawns tomorrow and see if I improve.

Little caution when Consuming fish
"I do suggest you avoid shark, tuna, swordfish, shellfish, and farm raised salmon because of high mercury levels. The safest fish are shrimp and sardines and wild fish is always better than farm raised. Always trim the belly and dorsel fin section of any fish. These two areas contain the most fat and that is where most toxins accumulate."
http://naturalcandidacleansing.com/Candida_Diet_Fish_Recipes.html

"Do not eat Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury.
Eat up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury. : Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish."
http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm110591.htm
http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/Product-SpecificInformation/Seafood/FoodbornePathogensContaminants/Methylmercury/ucm115644.htm

I take a long time to eat....I eat while typing, I eat while researching on the internet, bla bla bla.... so I often take 30 mins or more while eating, a lot of pause in between, dunno whether that's a bad thing or not.

I always have trouble sleeping, but when I'm on this anti-candida diet, it just got worse,
Is it because of the hunger ?
what about famine mode and slowed down metabolism and not feeling hungry ?
Despite sleeping late last night.
I notice that I woke up looking fresh this morning, good skin, no puffy tired eyes, glowing even.

I notice that my lips are getting a bit dry since yesterday, but not chapped, I applied lip balm and it'sok.
The mouth ulcer is still there, but it's not bothering me so much.

5 am I've just decided
I'm not going to do the Anti-Candida Diet that's too strict anymore now.
What about the Candida ?
First,
I don't even know if I have candidiasis or not, I was just gonna do this for a few days and see what happens.

Second,
I'm pretty sure that candida will eventually go away in time, with a proper healthy diet and lifestyle.

Third,
I'm bored with the food !!! sometimes my Vegan food just taste so bland and I get bored, (most times it's really good and I enjoy it so much) So I'm allowing more stuff for when I'm bored with my Vegan food and also for when I really really want the other food so I can really really enjoy it ;p
I need that happy satisfied feeling at each meal.

Fourth,
honestly, some of the weird symptoms & discomfort are scaring me ;p and I'd like to be on the safer side now.
I know I'm supposed to do this under a supervision of an expert, etc etc, but I just decided to do my own research until I just got so overwhelmed by all the different information on the internet and I didn't know who to ask.
So Last night I prayed and said "If I'm doing this right, please guide me to the right information and If I'm doing this wrong, please "wake" me up"
I'm a Catholic but I'm not the most religious person, I'm still lazy to go to church and I still even got scared of ghosts when I'm alone ;p
But I believe in God and I try to say my prayers in about everything.
I know any sane person would not even try such a diet if the reaction is quite bad, but stubborn me was persistent to stay on this diet.
So today, I suppose you can say that I got my "answer" because after 5 days of enduring what I suspect to be the "die-off" reaction or what could be the effect of my only eating vegetables for 5 days, I've finally decided to slowly start adding more food such as complex carbs, fruits, fish to my diet.
So.... prayers do help :)
Still focusing on the Anti-Candida Diet though....
Read next post for Anti-Candida Diet Day 6 with Fish :)

I think I'm no longer 100% Vegan for now.
Why ? will write a post about it

5.30 am sleep
8 am wake up (2 Nov 09)

CAUTION : These posts are here for my own documentation and NOT as a guide on how to do the Anti-Candida Diet. I'm not a Doctor/Nutritionist so please do your own research, consult your doctor and Take care of yourself :)

Anti Candida Diet Day 4

2009-11-25T05:18:00.000-08:00

done on Saturday, October 31, 2009

DAY 4 IS NO FAT DAY
Why ?
because I read this,
"The advice I give to people who ask me about candida is to go on a really low-fat diet for a while, avoiding all oil, nuts and avocado."
http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/articles/candida.html
So, since I was reading about how it's the fat, and not sugar, that's causing the candida issue. I'm going to try No Fat today.
No Extra virgin Olive oil, No Virgin Coconut Oil, No almonds.

But I'm gonna see what happens, if I feel weak, I'll probably add it in.
Food will be Vegetables (cooked and raw) and maybe some fresh lemon juice as the dressing.
I'm still being a Vegan in this diet, but If I feel really really bad, I might add fish or whatever's available in the kitchen.

7.30 am Woke up
8 am Drank a small glass of my blend of
- 1/2 lemon,
- handful of parsley (wished they were organic)
- 1 fresh aloe vera meat
- 1/2 a small cucumber
9.30 am Breakfast
- a capsule of Acidophilus (which I still dunno whether it's still alive or not, and I keep on forgetting to take it 30 mins before eating)
- steamed brocolli
- steamed carrots (they were sweet, but hey)
- mung bean sprouts
- lettuce
- cucumber
no dressing no salt
I was a bit weak at this point, because after I drank my blend at 8 am, soon after I felt kinda hungry and I probably should've eaten my breakfast not long after, but instead, I made some sprouts, I went outside to sit in the morning sun for a while, (actually, I couldn't find a chair nearby so I squatted ;p I didn't sit on the floor because I didn't want to get my short dirty), then I went to the bathroom, and so I ate my breakfast at 9.30 am.
Resulting in minor headache & feeling a little weak.
But I'm feeling better afterwards, but I felt sleepy so I thought I'd take a morning nap (instead I wrote this post)
10.50 am Ginger Tea
11 am still feeling the slightest almost non existent headache, or is it nausea ? can't tell the difference.
stomach is starting to mildly rumble for food ? Am I hungry again ?
sleepy
11.35 am small pre-lunch
mung bean sprouts + steamed broccoli
1 pm
I will sleep now (please doggies, don't bark, please don't bark ;p)
nope... doggies didn't bark at all, but everyone else in the house seems to be busy making noises
it was a bad nap ;(
2.40 pm woke up very very hungry
not a painful hungry, a good hungry
I went to the kitchen right away to have 2/3 of a cucumber
(I've used the 1/3 earlier)
boy... cucumber never tasted that good, that was a good sweet crunchy cucumber.
3 pm still hungry, so I took a handful of freshly steamed broccolis, oh that was good and warm.
then after a while I had 1 garlic, crushed.
When I was walking back to my room, I felt like a slight burn on my upper abdomen, a heartburn maybe ? I dunno I've never had a heartburn before, I think. I also felt a slight headache and nause. Could it be the instant death of the candida ? I wish
It went away after 1 minute. and oohhh... 1 garlic burp...yuck.
(Update. I think it's because the garlic is stuck in the end of my oesophagus, just right before entering my stomach, I didn't drink a lot of water when I eat raw mashed garlic because I don't want to dilute the garlic, usually I'm fine after I take a bite of something, I think it helps "push" down the garlic into my stomach)
Later that afternoon I ate again, around 4-5 pm maybe
(steamed broccoli, sprouts, raw zucchini, but didn't finish the whole thing) I felt normal.

I then gave my 2 dogs a bath... I got hungry again in the middle and snacked on some broccolis.
I notice when I was squatting near my dog and stood up, I felt a slight headache, just that once, not all the time and I've been squatting and standing all the time then.
"There is another type of dizziness upon standing that's caused by postural hypotension. This type of dizziness, faintness or light-headedness results from a decrease in blood flow to the brain, due to a drop in blood pressure upon standing up. At one time or another, we've probably all experienced mild postural hypotension from standing up too quickly. As long as it occurs only occasionally, there's little cause for alarm."
http://www.drdaveanddee.com/hypotension.html
(Update, I didn't experience any dizziness upon standing up anymore)
6.40 pm I ate the afternoon's leftover (broccoli, sprouts, zucchini)
Sometimes the food tastes ok, sometimes it just taste so bland and boring, like right now ;p
8 pm I got hungry again so I had a small bowl of sprouts with a little bit of salt.
9 pm I made myself a blend of
- 1 fresh aloe vera
- half a small cucumber
- coconut water & meat
- a little bit of ginger tea (cold - in the fridge)
(I forgot to apply the blend to my face as skinfood, oh well)
It was good, not too sweet, not too bland.

I know I said that I wasn't going to have any fats today, but at least that coconut is a good fat.
I'm going to have my usual intake of good fats tomorrow, some avocado, some almond, some extra virgin olive oil.
I'm sleepy now and I'm going to bed soon..... :)
10.30 pm I really need to sleep now, sleepy since 9 pm but insisted on writing this post, oh when will I ever learn ?
I'm starting to have a mild headache now, kinda throbbing.... the one u get when you need sleep but don't sleep, and my eyes are tired.
10.50 pm I thought, just maybe I needed some fresh coconut water, took a glass, nope... headache still there.
1 am I'm back in front of the computer now, not sleepy anymore, headache still here.
1.33 am My eyes are still tired but Headache's going away, and hopefully I don't get hungry now, I'll try to sleep now.
I think I slept at 2 am, luckily I didn't get hungry in the middle of the night.

I checked and I lost 1-1.5 kg since I started this anti-candida diet.
I'm not doing this to lose weight as I'm very happy with my previous weight.

At this point,
I'm tired of researching for anti-candida diets and other relating info, some say this, some say that, it's confusing sometimes, so I'm just gonna use common sense.
The more I read the more everything seems to be connected, the symptoms, the conditions, the cure, etc etc.
So what's best is to take care of ourselves, and listen to our body and don't overeat and seriously, no junk food if possible.

I didn't take any supplements today did I ?
I guess not.

I know I know, I'm supposed to have more variety in my vegetable choice, will try to eat more different veggies tomorrow.
And I must eat when I get hungry so I don't get dizzy, maybe my blood sugar running a bit low ?

I seem to have forgotten to check on my Vitiligo and took pics for my own documentation (won't be posting them ;p)
will do tomorrow.

In the Toilet,
read this only if you're curious ;p
I always "go" every morning and today it was like a mild diarrhea and it stank a bit (sorry ;p), color was moss green.
Probably because of the spirullina I took the day before, it always happen when I take spirullina.

CAUTION : These posts are here for my own documentation and NOT as a guide on how to do the Anti-Candida Diet. I'm not a Doctor/Nutritionist so please do your own research, consult your doctor and Take care of yourself :)

Anti-Candida Diet Day 3

2009-11-25T05:10:00.000-08:00

done on Friday, October 30, 2009

Re-attempting the Anti Candida Diet on Day 3,
(after eating rice and fish curry yesterday)

I'll not force myself
If I feel I need fruits / complex carbs (sweet potato) for energy, I'll allow small portions, I won't over indulge.
But I'll definitely stay away from Fried Food, Refined carbs, and Refined Sugar.

I always drink plenty of water throughout the day.
8.25 am Woke up
I checked for "White Tounge" and notice my tounge is slightly whitish yellow inside, Is it yellow-y because I took a B complex tablet last night, or is it whitish yellow-y as a sign that I have candidiasis ?
(I did take pics but I decide not to upload it here ;p, I think I will later in the Anti-Candida Result post)
10.15 am 1 Acidophilus capsule (dunno whether it's still alive, it's been in the fridge for quite some time)
10.40 am Made myself a healthy blend of :
not measured, little portion of each
- fresh parsley
- fresh aloe vera meat
- 1/2 lemon
- fresh coconut water & meat

It turned out drinkable, and sour due to the lemon.
I thought by adding the coconut water might add a tad bit sweetness into the blend, but it didn't so I'll add water instead next time.
Just as I finished drinking it, I started to feel hungry, will eat soon.
11.50 am I Ate :
- steamed brocolli
- mung bean sprouts
- a little bit of almost raw spinach, boy it was hard chewing those.
1 glass of fresh coconut water + lil bit of the coconut meat
1 capsule of Kelp supplement

12:30 pm I felt kinda dizzy, maybe lack sleep
1 pm Ginger Tea (Boiled ginger)
1:30 pm Hungry again so I ate again
1 tablespoon of Virgin Coconut Oil
Feeling normal all day
slept for around 2 hours but kept waking up coz my dogs keep on barking
14:10 pm Lunch

5 pm woke up, hungry
ate mung bean sprouts + steamed carrot & brocolli + lettuce +olive oil + salt
St. John's Wort
Garlic oil capsule (I ran out of fresh garlic)
Organic spirullina capsule
6.40 pm Ginger Tea
hmm... I'm already starting to feel hungry again... just a bit, maybe it's me wanting to snack ;p old habits

-------

I just noticed that I got an ulcer (sprue) on the left bed beneath my tongue. (sorry, dunno the medical terms of the mouth's interior)
It's a small minor one and usually go away by itself in a few days.
Sometimes I even got a mouth ulcer (canker sores) if I accidently hurt myself while brushing my teeth in a hurry and hit my gum with the toothbrush, hurting it and results in an ulcer. (I also wonder how come I'm that clumsy sometimes)
Interesting to see that there are articles linking ulcer and candida.
hmm... will read more into that.
But I think I got that ulcer because my immune system was down a bit due to the lack of sleep these past days.
(Update. the mouth ulcer went away after 2 days or so and I didn't even put any medication on it, so I think it wasn't linked with candidiasis)

Since I was taking pictures of my tongue earlier today, I had to open my mouth widely, which I suspect is causing the cracked corners of my mouth,
I sometimes also think that's caused by eating too much salt and/or where the salt (and oil) sticks there for longer period (aka I'm not wiping my mouth when or after eating... i know gross ;p)
So both corners of my mouth are a bit dry, slightly uncomfortable, but no noticeable pain.
But I went to this website and read that cracked fissures on the corner of the mouth is called Angular Chelitis and is caused by candida.
http://www.stevedds.com/toppage2.htm
I don't think it's what I have though.
It's just cracked corner and when I ate my food with salt, it made the area even dryer.
If you had braces and you must know what it felt like after they used that plastic thingy to open your lips and take pics of your teeth.
yup... a milder version of that at the corner of your lips, minus the cracked lips.
(Update : the dryness on both corners of my mouth went away in a few days, it was just dry ;p and I was just paranoid)

and I do think I link things too much ;p
oh at least I'm learning a whole lot here.
_________________

8 pm Ate again, mung bean sprouts, steamed brocolli, cucumber
yes... I eat small portions throughout the day.
it's better for our digestive system.
and I got hungry so easily after a meal.
9.30 pm I'm feeling hungry again
but I'm just going to drink my Ginger Tea and sleep
1 am I went to sleep

I notice that I get hungry so often during this Anti-Candida Diet.

During Day 1, 2, 3
I didn't have any sugar cravings,
of course I wanted to eat fruits, just because my fridge is filled with them, but not like a really bad sugar cravings (for desserts)

About the nausea and headaches and feeling week on day 1 & 2
Day 3 is really good,
So the reason for "bad" Day 1 and 2 is :
- I might got food poisoning from either the raw mint + vanilla bean tea or the ripe avocado.
or
- I might have had the "die-off" reaction, which I'm not convinced because it happened on the first day, but then again, I might be wrong because some websites mention that the "die-off" reaction may happen as soon as day 1.

White Tounge Check
After lunch, after dinner
My tongue remains whitish on the inside part, my mum said it's still normal, but I don't know because I never really paid any attention to my own tongue.
The tip of my tongue remains a healthy pink though.
(Update : I think it's my normal tongue color)

CAUTION : These posts are here for my own documentation and NOT as a guide on how to do the Anti-Candida Diet. I'm not a Doctor/Nutritionist so please do your own research, consult your doctor and Take care of yourself :)

ANTI-CANDIDA DIET DAY 2

2009-11-25T05:01:00.001-08:00

Done on Thursday, October 29, 2009

So Day 2 of the Anti Candida Diet
After yesterday's "event", which I suspect food poisoning, but secretly hope it's the candida dying.

Today :
6 am, I was still nauseas
then I slept for an hour or so,
8 am, starting to feel normal, but still weak
8.20 am, drank boiled ginger water + half a lemon
(wanted fresh ginger blended with some water and strained, but after last nite, I was afraid to get another case of unknown "food poisoning")
still a bit weak, but can walk around the house and made mung bean sprouts
(that reminds me, I have to water them..... uaaaaa I kept on forgetting)
10-11am breakfast
steamed cauli flower + steamed nappa cabbage + 6 almonds + olive oil + salt
(I wish I could find raw almond soon, mine are blanched almonds)
Took Acidophilus capsule and Spirullina capsule
I'm feeling OK now, but just not energetic and still have a slight almost non existent headache.
1.40 pm Hungry again
2 pm - ate 2 cloves of puree raw garlic (Garlic is good to kill Candida)
I swallowed it with the help of water, easy.
well, maybe less water next time as not to dilute the garlic too much.
2.25 pm Ate the same thing as breakfast

I know... looks so plain...
those cucumber were so fresh and crunchy :)
3 pm Not sleepy until now
I think I went to sleep at 5:30 pm and woke up at 7.30pm
When I woke up, I felt hungry, not a good hungry, almost like a break-up-in-cold-sweat-and-fast-beating-heart kinda hungry.
kinda hard to breathe too. ---> My guess is that the Air-conditioning wasn't really working well and my room is not airy.
(I'm not having a heart attack ;p )
So I ate some sprouts + cucumber + steamed cauliflower drizzled with lemon juice.
But I just got scared coz I was sitting there picking my food and I still felt weak, so I decided to eat rice and just the curry from the fish curry.
Then I also ate the fish.
It tasted good, but It's not really something that I miss eating being a Vegan.
Anyhoo.... I was just afraid that I'd do something wrong with my diet, so I ate rice+fish curry.
After dinner I took an Enzyme tablet. (Enzyplex)
I don't feel as weak, but I still don't feel good.
Maybe also because I ate too much... oh man, when will I ever learn to stop eating before I feel full ??

I really didn't know what went wrong.
I just ate what I'd normally eat daily, just without the sugar from the fruits. If I ate vegetables, it's almost always drizzled with around 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 tablespoon max.
When I was raw a few years ago, I was totally fine without carbs, but I did eat lots of fruits.
It just doesn't make sense, How can 1 day without sugar makes me so weak ?
Could it be that I have massive candida infestation ?
I don't know, I'm scared to continue with this Anti-candida diet.

Since I don't know whether my headaches, weakness, nausea is caused by the "die-off" reaction or the low blood sugar,
So I think now, I'll go milder and whenever I need to, I'll allow some sweet fruits and sweet complex carbs (sweet potato) in very small portions throughout the day, but I'll definitely cut down on Fried Food, Refined carbs and Refined sugar.

Oh well.... after all this, I guess I just learnt to do things in baby step :)

I was also afraid that I got food poisoning, so I asked a friend to buy me fresh coconuts, I'm just gonna drink the coconut water which is good for any case of food poisoning.
But if it was actually my candida dying that's causing me all the nausea and the "off" feeling, then I'm afraid that the candida/yeast are now coming back to live on the coconut water because it's sweet,
So I don't know, and I'm so drinking the Fresh Coconut Water now for it's electrolytes & other beneficial properties :)
I'll try to do more research on Coconut Water Kefir
9 pm Oh the Fresh Coconut water is good
I'm feeling good now at 10 pm
I think I took a B complex tablet
1 am getting ready to sleep
2 am can't sleep so I again, ate fish curry and mung bean sprouts + cucumber slices, again... I ate a tad bit too much
4 am still up
slept around 5 am ?

We'll see how it goes tomorrow

btw, I'm lucky to be able to stay at home during this period, and not alone, I always have people around me just in case.

CAUTION : These posts are here for my own documentation and NOT as a guide on how to do the Anti-Candida Diet. I'm not a Doctor/Nutritionist so please do your own research, consult your doctor and Take care of yourself :)

Anti Candida Diet - Day 1

2009-11-25T04:52:00.001-08:00

(done on Oct 28th 2009)

This is my lunch today :)

Lunch :
- steamed cauli flower
- steamed carrots
- boiled tofu
- horenzo sautee
- sprinkled with spring onions
- drizzled with a little organic extra virgin olive oil
- seasoned with some salt and pepper

Okay... it's actually my breakfast, coz I woke up at 10 am and ate at around 11 am.
Lunch is the same thing at 4 pm
and Dinner is the same thing again at 7.30 pm, plus walnut :)
Okay... I read that walnut should not be consumed during the Anti-Candida Diet, and maybe tofu as well.
I don't usually eat the same thing for breakfast, lunch n dinner, well sometimes I do, but today I was just busy.....

So busy me ate the same food for breakfast-11am, lunch-4pm, dinner-7.30pm
After dinner, I made myself a herbal tea of mint and vanilla beans
- half a Vanilla pod and the bean seed scraped, boiled
- some mint leaves blended with little water and then strained
- pour the Vanilla infused water to the minty liquid

I can't seem to smell the vanilla, I guess the mint overpowers the vanilla, or there might be something wrong with my Vanilla pods.
then
I went to bed at around 9-9.30 pm ... yeayyy rite :)
I woke up at 1.30 am (I so hate waking up at night)
I felt hungry but I was just gonna sleep it off but the hunger got worse so I went to the kitchen.
There was fruits fruits and fruits, I was tempted, and I thought I got this slight headache because I'm just low on sugar and if I ate a sweet watermelon I'll be fine, but I opted for the avocado instead.
I ate about 1/2 of an avocado and went back to my room, but I couldn't sleep so I watched some TV.

This is when it got worse !
I seriously suspect food poisoning, but read on.
The headache and nausea gradually increased,
so at 3.30 am I went to the kitchen to find stuff to eat. I saw Fruits fruits and fruits again .....my fridge is full of fruits.
I decided to cook, still headache and nauseous.
I felt my hands kinda shaking as I was cutting the onion.
I didn't want to get my mum to help me out in the kitchen at 4 am, that would alarm the whole house and my dad who doesn't even approve of me going Vegan in the first place would go crazy.
I still could manage myself at that point.

So, I mix together some olive oil, garlic, onion, leftover carrots and spinach.

See the clock at 4.25 am ?
I finished eating at 4.40 am, and I took an Acidophilus capsule (I didn't remember to take if beforehand)
I thought all the discomfort would go away.
But Nooo !!!
I even got a bucket next to me just in case I throw up, it totally felt like before (my Non-Vegan days) when I'd eat way too much stuff even though I was already full, (yes I'm dat greedy)

5 am, I was still nauseous, I couldn't sleep and I just sat there on my bed leaning on my 2 pillows againts the wall, but I was feeling better.

So...
Suspects :
- Mint and Vanilla
I don't know whether I had food poisoning from either the raw mint leaves + boiled Vanilla beans.
I've had raw mint before and I've had the Vanilla beans raw, but I never got food poisoning.
Maybe it was a bad batch ? or maybe that wasn't the cause

- Avocado
Maybe the avocado was bad ? but it tasted allright, a bit too ripe, but still allright.

- "DIE-OFF" reaction from the candida dying inside of me ;p
(Herxheimer reaction)
People do experience nausea and headache, etc when they're on the Anti Candida Diet.
This is because the candida is starving to death because it doesn't get sugar and so it's releasing toxins.
But.... does this happen on the first day of the Anti-Candida Diet ???
I haven't been eating carbs (rice, flour, etc) lately and I was fine, I just eat lots of fruits, daily.
The vegetables that I ate was steamed, so it minimize the contamination factor as it's not raw.
and I never got "food poisoning" from steamed vegs so far.

Verdicts :
I don't know whether
1. I got food poisoning from the mint or the vanilla or the avocado
or
2. I just experienced the "die-off" reaction from the candida.

If it was food poisoning, then I'm fine now

If it was the "die-off" reaction,
then it's a good thing because that means those tiny "candida monsters" are dying inside me.
I didn't even know whether or not I have candidiasis, I did this Anti-candida diet as an experiment, because I don't think I'd do anything harmful by doing this for a week.
Did I really have that much "candida" inside me ?
But "Die-off" reaction only happens when the candida overgrowth is quite severe and you're under medication, but I'm not under any medication and the candida symptoms that I think I've got was mild : mood swing, feeling tired, poor memory, trouble sleeping, cravings for sweets, and Vitiligo. Those alone probably aren't even strong enough to say that I have candidiasis.

But if it was true, man that was a fast dying process for those candida,
Do "die-off" reactions happen just 1 day like that ?
What if in the future, I'm travelling and couldn't eat fruits ?
Would I get nauseas and headache as well ?
I think I've been out there on the road where I didn't even eat fruits for 1 whole day and I was fine.

Was I just low on blood sugar ?
but that never happen to me before, but the symptom includes feeling weak and dizziness.
"If you find that your energy level is low or you are experiencing dizziness while on the Candida diet, it is probably due to low blood sugar. If this happens, simply add a mid-morning and mid afternoon snack. .........After a few days of detoxing, some of your symptoms may become worse and you could also experience headaches. This is quite normal and part of the detoxification process"
http://www.nativeremedies.com/candida-diet-chronic-yeast.html

Low blood sugar is associated with Diabetes and I don't have Diabetes.

I seriously think that I only got a minor food poisoning,
but If I did have candidiasis, I so wanted to kill those candida monsters by starving them ;p
that way, I'll obviously have a better health, and just maybe, it may help in curing & healing my Vitiligo. :)

next on to Day 2
we'll see what happens

-----------

Links :
Candida Diet
http://www.digitalnaturopath.com/cond/C7881.html
http://www.holistichelp.net/candida.html

Candida die-off reaction / Herxheimer's reaction
http://www.nutritionhelp.com/candida_faqs.php#faq2
http://www.nutritionhelp.com/quest/factpages/fourpoint.php
http://www.you-on-a-diet.net/Candida-Diet.php

CAUTION : These posts are here for my own documentation and NOT as a guide on how to do the Anti-Candida Diet. I'm not a Doctor/Nutritionist so please do your own research, consult your doctor and Take care of yourself :)

Anti-Candida Diet

2009-11-25T04:25:00.000-08:00

I'm going to do the Anti-Candida Diet :)

Why ?

A. Just becoz it's said that most people don't even realize that they have candidiasis.
(Candida in our digestive system due to unhealthy diet - over consuming sugar and fatty stuff, junk food, etc)

B. and because candidiasis may have a connection to auto immune disorder
I have Vitiligo and Read more on my other blog
http://healvitiligo.blogspot.com

So here goes :)

CAUTION : These posts are here for my own documentation and NOT as a guide on how to do the Anti-Candida Diet. I'm not a Doctor/Nutritionist so please do your own research, consult your doctor and Take care of yourself :)

Green bean plants

2009-10-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

I was out of town, driving with my friends in the middle of nowhere
and I saw this

close up

yupppp..... green beans
I got so excited because I've never seen the plant before hohoho
and I thought the plant would grow low near the soil :)

How to Stop Hiccups ?

2009-10-29T12:47:00.000-07:00

My friend once told me the best way to get of hiccups is to
bend over and drank water upside down.
like so

I laughed at him and thought he was nuts.
turns out it really works !!!!
I mean you don't really have to drink lots of water, just a sip, and it works

Just becareful not to get water inside your nose :)

What do people eat back then ?

2009-10-28T22:21:00.000-07:00

I mean, way way back then.
Were they all Vegan ? Raw Vegan ?

What about winter times ?
No Vegetables around, they have to eat meat, right ?
although they do have dried seed, nuts, grains, etc

What about people who live in warm climate where there's no Winter and fruits and Vegetables are available all year long ?
Do they still eat meat ?

I suppose even if people do eat meat, the meat came from wild animals,
a. which means these animals eat natural food from the forest
b. their living conditions are well... the jungle
no stress from being crammed in small cages without sunlight
c. no pollution from their environment
d. no antibiotics, drugs, hormones to make them grow bigger and fatter and faster.

And back then, people ate the meat :
1. Without additional preservatives, artificial coloring, artificial flavors.
2. The meat wasn't frozen and then thawed and then frozen again and then.... (u get the point)....during shipping
3. People don't eat meat on a daily basis.

So in short... Back then, People ate healthier with a better meat quality, not daily.

Let's look at NOW
Eating meat has become a daily habit, breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner.
plus desserts, dairy, cheese, sugar, sugar sugar
Yes, most of us make sure to eat all those junk food on a daily basis !!
All those meat and dairy and egg is filled with antibiotics, hormones, etc
What we eat is not lean meat, but unhealthy fatty meat.... yummm...;p
and the food we have at our table is filled with preservatives, artificial color and flavor, salt, salt, sugar, sugar.
then to make it worse, we fry them.
again... on a daily basis.
No wonder people are sick.

Of course you also get pesticides from vegetables, but we can still opt for organic ones, right ?

" Then, what about people who eat everything and are still very very healthy ?
Won't I be wasting life's pleasure of gluttonous food by just eating a restricted food choice ? "
Well... it's your choice.
Maybe Those people who eat everything and stay healthy are the lucky ones, maybe they only look healthy outside but who knows what their health condition is really like ?
Those people aren't you !
You are different from me & from everyone else.
and You have to take care of yourself.
Stay healthy, don't focus on staying thin.... but aim to be healthy, that's the main goal !!

So you ask yourselves "Do I have to be a Vegan too ?
I can't eat vegs everyday...."
You don't have to be a Vegan, but pay attention to what you eat.
If you drink sugary soda, fried fast food, creamy desserts on a daily basis, let's just start by cutting back on those.
Hey instead of eating candy, why not try fruits instead.... I don't think anyone hate fruits. Try figs, pomegranate, mangoes, anything.
Just don't make a dessert out of fruits by cooking it in sugar, all you get is well, sugar.
Start small.... start taking in more fresh vegetables and leaving the unhealthy ones behind and you'll find yourself wanting more fresh fruits and vegs by the day.

For me.....
First
I love vegs and fruits
I love what I eat
I love healthy Vegan meal
I never eat processed Vegan food (Vegan cheese, Vegan meat, Factory made Vegan desserts etc) just because they're not available here, so in a way I'm lucky that I won't have a chance to even get tempted by them.
I just have to fight my wanting to eat so much of the other Vegan "junk" and crispy crunchy fried food, but the aftermath is a really really bad sorethroat.

Second
Since I started being a Healthy Vegan, where I try to avoid white rice, white bread (but still allowing complex carbs such as sweet potato, and also some "junk" --> fried food and sugar)
My weight's been constant, it's ridiculous
No matter how much Vegan food I ate, or how full I got, I never gain weight during this 6 Vegan month.
And I know sometimes I can eat like crazy and being too full is not good for my digestion system either, but my weight's been constant during this time.
It's not like before when I still eat everything, I'd do portion control, eat less carb (rice,paste) eat less meat, eat less ice cream, eat less cheesecake but in the end I only end up wanting more and losing control the next day. Why ? because I feel hungry.
Now I never feel hungry, I can eat whenever I feel hungry.
I'm now feeling good in with my current weight and I don't even exercise to help me lose weight.
(I should exercise though, listen people, move your body and be healthy)

So...
The key is to love what you eat,
So if you force yourself to be a Vegan but you never enjoy your Vegan meal and you hate your Vegan food, then it's hard for you to benefit from it.
Just start by simply adding more vegs n fruits on a daily basis, and you'll see that in time you'll want more and more of fresh fruits and vegs :)
You'll eventually lose weight automatically without even trying, or maybe gain some weight if you're too thin. You'll have your ideal weight.

I've been a Vegan for 6-7 months now, but I had some meat a few days ago, I just wanted it so bad, I gave in and it was good.
So, Does that mean that I'm going to start eating meat again ?
I don't know.
Maybe I will, maybe I won't, maybe I will, rarely,
If I did, I'll definitely choose a good quality meat and preferably not fried, not overly processed with artificial everything, etc. (ok...here I'm totally repeating what I said that in the previous post ;p)
But for now, I still want to continue being a Vegan.
Even as I'm typing this, I'm drooling for some steamed broccolis & spinach mixed with some raw walnut, drizzled with a little bit of roasted sesame oil and seasoned with salt for dinner.
Yummmm............ :)

I ate meat

2009-10-28T22:13:00.000-07:00

Confession :
2 Oct 09 - I ate 2 slices of roast duck at night
3 Oct 09 - lunch, I ate 7 slices of roast duck
6 Oct 09 - dinner with a tiny morsel of fried fish - So Good !!
9 Oct 09 - a lil bit of fried vermicelli (mixed with meat, but didn't eat the meat)
11 Oct 09 - chocolate bread
20-21 Oct 09 - Chocolate n cheese bread & Fried vermicelli again
25 Oct 09 - a tiny portion of chicken noodle without the chicken

In my defense :
I was "very good" for 2 months
(Vegan, No rice, flour, sugar, fried food)
and I was "good" for another 4 months
(Vegan, starting lil rice, flour, sugar, fried food)
During those months, I didn't want to "contaminate" my body with meat because all the effort I've made, eating meat would waste all those "clean" months, right ?

Entering month 7, I probably started to lose motivation
I was alone during my Vegan months, I enjoy my Vegan meals, but no one to share it with, except at my blog :) and nobody support my being a Vegan. oohh poor me :) but I'm a tough one :D
and I sometimes feel kinda annoyed of the limited food choice I have when eating out and feel like I'm missing out, not on the food, but on spending time together sharing food at dinner tables.
You know how sometimes the best food is the one you have to fight over with your families/friends, when there's only one thing left on the plate with 5 hungry people staring at it. :)

So I gave in and I finally ate all those things above.
I'm sorry but I honestly totally enjoyed it, No guilt, well maybe a little.
Some part of me felt like I was betraying my Vegan friends and I felt like I failed at being a Vegan but ..... it was okay.
I really really wanted to eat those food.
I'm surrounded with people who eat everything daily, so I guess after a while, just smelling them is no longer enough, (yes I do that)
I guess I missed the taste, I missed the whole eating together experience.
So I ate some of those food along with my usual Vegan food....
and It made me feel happy :)

Will I start eating meat again ?
I don't know, I hope it's not one of those "If you start, you can't stop" thing.
But even if I do, I don't think it's going to be for everyday and I definitely wouldn't want to eat a low quality fatty ones.
Okay that sounds disgusting.... I think I'll stick with Veganism for now :)
Here's an example,
After I ate that chicken noodle (without the chicken), I craved Salmon sushi and Unagi sushi, and I even planned to eat it the next day, but the next day I was at a mall and I was literally in front of the Sushi Restaurant and I didn't want sushi at all. I wanted a bowl of salad instead, and so I did and I felt good.
So there :)

Tips :
Another thing I found, sometimes eating raw salad with minimum dressing can be tough, so I allow myself to mix it with a little fried food.
The crunch and the taste totally made it easier for me to finish that big bowl of salad, and it totally made my eating experience more enjoyable.
The taste was better, although slightly "sinful", but I was much happier eating it and I enjoyed it soooo much and I think that counts for something :)

Do you need Vitamins / Supplements as a Vegan ?

2009-10-28T22:09:00.000-07:00

Ask yourself this....
Do you happily eat a Healthy balanced Vegan diet everyday ?
If you don't, then you should....eat a Healthy Balanced Diet, happily :)

and If your lifestyle doesn't allow you to have a daily Healthy Diet, then you might want to consider adding Vitamins/Supplements.
But do your research, ask your physician, and don't overdo it.
I read somewhere that all Vitamins/Supplementations that goes inside our body are not absorbed but instead they're treated as toxins.
So honestly, I don't know.
My 88 year old grandmother eats everything all her life and has been taking lots of supplements most of her older adult life and she still has a very strong memory, although she's recently developed glaucoma and a slight knee problem.
But that's just 1 person, others might have different result.

Decide for yourself whether or not you need supplements, then consult the experts.

Let's see....
I consider myself healthier than some of my busy friends that would often eat :
breakfast : coffee and toast + jam
lunch : rice and scrambled egg + chili sauce
or even anything from a fast food restaurant
dinner : eating out in a restaurant + sinful desserts (sugar & bad fat)
or just instant noodle (msg all the way)
and if they survive without supplements, I suppose so will I.

But I don't eat a complete rainbow salad with all the good fats (avocado, raw nuts, etc) and an array of fruits on a daily basis.
Some days I eat very very healthily and very very satisfied :D
But
Sometimes I cheat and eat lots of fried food till my throat hurts, very clever right.
Sometimes I get so lazy I just eat steamed broccolis and cauli flower with olive oil and salt for lunch and dinner.
Sometimes I don't get the chance to cleanse and eat plenty of fruits.
Other than food,
Sometimes I don't even get enough sleep and I easily get stressed.

So I decide to start supplementing again.
and I think it's always a good idea to choose a vitamin / supplements that contain a lower amount of everything so you don't take in too much.
If you need more, just take 2 tablets, or 1 and 1/2.
Remember to find a Vegetarian / Vegan formula.

Here's what I'm planning to take :
Cal, Mag, Zinc (3 in 1)
Kelp
B12 and Folic Acid
Vegans are always associated with B12 deficiency, although our B12 is stored in the liver and it might take years to show any symptom of deficiency, but I figure, since it's water soluble, it's ok to take.
There are different types of B12
Hydroxycobalamin to cyanocobalamin, and Methylcobalamin.
and Supposedly the latter is the better one.
Mine happens to be Cyanocobalamin.

I also might add Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, organic ones aren't available here.
Morinda / noni capsules, Fresh noni fruits are available here, but I can't stand the smell. :0
I might add other supplements later.

But..........
I don't really feel like taking them at all.
I think I should, but I don't really want to.
I don't know whether that's my pride telling me that I'm perfect and I can always have enough nutrients from my food and I don't need factory made supplements,
or is it my body telling me to not take supplements.
I don't know.

But I suppose I will eventually start supplementing... slowly
maybe tomorrow ?

FYI, There are other stuff that might contain B12 if you prefer that instead of supplementations, Fortified Nutritional Yeast for example, but in this article,
http://www.veganhealth.org/b12/vegansources
it says :
* Nutritional yeast often comes from bins in health food stores. If not careful, it would be easy for a store employee to order the wrong nutritional yeast out of the distributor catalogs which often list many yeasts. It would also be easy to accidentally put the wrong yeast into the Vegetarian Support Formula bin.
* B12 is light sensitive. Nutritional yeast is likely to be exposed to the light because it is often stored in clear bins or plastic bags.
* At least one vegan who thought he was getting B12 from nutritional yeast developed B12 deficiency symptoms that cleared up upon taking a B12 supplement.

So....Do your research, and Don't copy someone else's vitamin/supplement routine because we're all different.
If you want to get your B12 from raw foods, also do research :)
I'm still doing mine.

Take your of yourself :)

Do you need to have a bloodtest if you are a Vegan ?

2009-10-28T22:03:00.000-07:00

I say if you can afford it, why not ? Go for it.
It's good to know your blood test result.
So if there's something wrong, you can fix it.

For me, I was going to have my blood check after 6 months of being a Vegan.
I was all excited about it, like a kid wanting to see her school report card after being "good" for 6 months, i even marked my calendar ;p
I also wanted to check my B12 and Folic Acid Level
But it cost around US$45-50 just to do that, each !!
besides I read that a bloodtest might not give an accurate reading of your B12 level anyway, but then again, I could be wrong.
and when you Add in the normal thorough blood check fee, it would cost me around US$250
So I decided to safe the money and not do the blood test.
Kinda disappointed, but it's okay :)

Now what ?
Well....
I'm now going to keep eating healthily and HAPPILY :)
also adding more Healthy Organic Raw Vegetables :)
and I think I'll add some supplements in my diet, because there are just some days that I don't eat a complete balanced diet and I might need some supplementations.
(It's a good idea to always consult your physician first if you want to start supplementing.)
but the bottom line is... I'll stay eating Healthily and Happily :D

Can u be 100% strict healthy vegan ?

2009-10-28T21:53:00.000-07:00

Sometimes Vegans still eat a lot of junk food, me included ;p
I find it hard to be a 100% strict Healthy Vegan, but I'm trying though :)

I said in the beginning that I choose not to eat
Refined carbs,
Refined Sugar,
Fried Food,
etc

But sometimes
(again.... similar reasons as before)
- There's no one at home and there's no food at home
so I have to eat whatever's there because I'm hungry
white rice/noodles and little portion of leftover vegs and maybe I boil some beans, but that takes a lot of time and I was hungry so I didn't.
So... white rice = refined white carbs

- I didn't have the time to prepare food
so I have to eat whatever's already prepared in the kitchen
white rice and fried tofu/tempeh and vegs from vegs dish mixed with meat
No time to boil those dried beans because I was way too hungry at that time.
So.... white rice = refined white carbs
fried tofu/tempeh = Fried Food
Vegs n Meat dish = Meat, although I didn't eat the meat, but still
or I work late at night and got so so very hungry I have to eat and so so very sleep at the same time, so I can't be bothered to wash vegs and prepare them , nor to cut some fruits, coz I know I'll get hungry again in 30 mins.
So I find rice (there's always leftover) and I make fried rice, sometimes with fresh garlic, chilli and ginger sautee together, and my recent guilty cheat is using instant fried rice paste !!!!
I seriously need to throw that little packet of dark paste out of my fridge ;p

- I just lack self control ;p
Craving attacks of refined sugar and refined carbs in the form of Traditional Vegan desserts !!! yummmmm
and craving attacks of fried tempeh and fried savoury crackers.

So... problems are :
Hunger ;p
If I get too hungry I just eat whatever available
then it's
Laziness... If I get too lazy then I just eat whatever's available
Time... If I don't have time, well... u get the picture.
and Cravings & Gluttony ;p

Luckily in the course of 6-7 months, that doesn't happen all that often.
Well... only on these past few weeks.... end of month 6 and going on month 7, I seem to be "out of control"
At least I'm making green smoothie almost on a daily basis now :)
and I'm improving..... promise !!

Can you be 100% Vegan ?

2009-10-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

I believe you can :)

But in my experience so far...
I've had silly mistakes

- Egg/Milk
Some traditional desserts/cakes that I thought don't contain egg/milk, well contains egg/milk. Nowadays people tend to add egg/milk to the traditional way of making things to make it taste better or more westernized.
So... my bad... it was my lack of knowledge of food ingredients.
Yes you can always ask, but sometimes the person selling the food doesn't even know what's in the ingredients.

- Fried Food
Yes we can make super crunchy batter just using Flour and water and Fry away, so sometimes what I thought is an egg free batter turns out to be an egg batter.

- Fried Food 2
I know I'm not supposed to eat a lot of fried food, well, actually, ideally I'm not supposed to eat Fried food at all.
But when I was on the road, travelling, I had to eat fried food, such as fried tempeh/tofu and rice, because that was the ones that are available and I ate rice because I want to keep being full for longer periods of time.
so I thought I'm still being a 100% Vegan by choosing fried Tempeh / Tofu. But..... They use the same oil to fry the tempeh and the Fried Chicken.
So....there....
Okay... I should really try to avoid all fried food altogether.
(btw, Do you realize that a lot of food available out there are fried ?)

- Vegetable dish
Vegetables dish are sometimes mixed with microscopic chicken bits that you thought was minced garlic.
Vegetable soup is sometimes cooked with chicken stock.

- Friends and Families
When we travel / go out, I sometimes "annoy" my friends and families because when they've found a good restaurant, I prefer to look for another restaurant coz they don't serve Vegan food there.
Sometimes I choose to eat beforehand or even later on and not eat while they're eating, and they're fine with it and we still have a good time.
Sometimes I get take out and eat with them.
Sometimes I bring my own food and eat with them
and Sometimes, but very very rarely I just got tired and choose to eat just the Vegetables on the mixed vegs + meat dish. yes I can order just Vegs only, but it cost the same :( and sometimes the busy chef mixed the vegs with meat/egg because that's what they're used to doing so I had to re-order and it just gets tiring after a few times so I decided just to order what's in the menu and keep quiet :(

- Too Hungry
Sometimes I just didn't have time to eat and I got really really hungry and I really really must eat to prevent dying ;p
So I have to eat whatever's there.
Bread made with milk and egg
Rice with Vegetable from Veg n Beef dish, etc
luckily it only happened 2-3 times in the course of 6 months. okay maybe a tad more ;p

- Supplements
Some of my supplements use a Non-Vegan capsules, yupp... made from Bovine Gelatine :(
Some do exist in a Vegetarian/Vegan formula, but a lot of 'em don't.
I'll just have to use what's available.

So those are my silly mistakes
I suppose you can maintain being 100% Vegan when u're at home or on the go, but I sometimes just find it difficult to do but still trying though :)

How about you ?
Do you find it difficult to stay 100% Vegan ?

CocoNutty Mango smoothie

2009-10-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

I got hungry just now...
I know it's already 10 pm, but if I don't eat now I won't be able to sleep ;)

So :
1/3 of a small cucumber (I keep wanting to add this in)
1/2 leftover orange
1/2 mango
1 banana
blend
I wanted to add fresh aloe vera but the plant is outside and it's dark so I got scared ;p
This taste super good !!!!!!
You can just stop here and enjoy
it's sweet soury fresh :)

but, I added :
1 spoonful of organic golden flax seed (ground first)
and a tad bit too much of virgin coconut oil
I didn't use a spoon and just pour out of the bottle, maybe around 2 spoonful....

I know, cool glass right ? ;p
and see all the ground flax at the bottom of the glass ?

Time to mix

Now it taste coconutty sweet soury fresh smoothie :)

it's kinda eating a coconut biscuit blended in a sweet soury smoothie...
know what I mean ?
No ?
well then, you'll just have to purposely accidently pour in too much of the virgin coconut oil ;p
or maybe not :)
Enjoy

I have yet to know how to identify a good virgin coconut oil
Organic ones aren't available, but I suppose nobody really use pesticides for coconuts in Asia, they just grow really well here, but I don't know for certain, I sure do hope that mine is naturally organic :) and I hope my virgin coconut oil is a good one though, because it mildly smell like coconut, but I'll try another brand after this to compare.

How Do You Identify a Good Quality Coconut Oil?
http://www.healingnaturallybybee.com/articles/coconut7.php

While I was writing this....
I was watching this :)
Surprises inside.... enjoy ;D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xui7x_KF7bY

Green Smoothie with Aloe vera

2009-10-25T22:38:00.000-07:00

I have aloe vera plants growing very nicely.
It's potted plant aloe and nobody even takes care of them, they just grow !

So... Today I made a smoothie with aloe
Also... I read that it's best to put aloe last in the blender as to not to break down the polysaccharide chain, besides, they get blended so easily n fast anyway.

Ingredients :
- Celery
- 2 Okras
- 1/4 of Cucumber (I just felt like adding it in)
- 1 Aloe vera (peel first)
- Mint leaves
- 1 Banana
- Watermelon, with seed

Put everything in the blender and blend (remember, add the aloe vera last)

After a quick taste, I decided to add half an orange
(sorry blurry pic)

Here it is, Smoothie with Aloe (and 2 okras)

Not the prettiest color, is it ? :)
But it taste quite good,
I make sure that the smoothies I make consist of raw green vegetables combined with nice tasting fruits, so it's easier for me to gobble down lots of raw veggies ;)

Before this, I couldn't eat raw aloe because I'd just slice the aloe meat into cubes and it was too slimy to chew and swallow.
People usually boil the cubed aloe meat to remove the slime and add sugar water and eat it as dessert, but I want raw aloe !!
Blending just raw aloe ends up in a slimy goo which I can't drink as well.
But blending aloe with other ingredients makes it easy to drink, in fact I can't even tell that there's slimy stuff in my green smoothie.
btw, Okra is also slimy....but there was no slimey goo in my green smoothie :)

Can you drink a 1 day old Smoothie ?

2009-10-24T05:38:00.000-07:00

I made a green smoothie yesterday, couldn't finish the whole thing so I put it in the fridge and forgot about it.
So this morning, I saw it and thought...."Can I still drink it ?"
I smelled it, smelled fine
It was still green, not brownish.
I'm aware that everything in the smoothie might be oxidated or might have started to breakdown even ?
But I wanted to drink it anyway,
so I added 1 banana and 1 aloe vera to the smoothie and put it in the blender for a short while.
Yumbo....

So.... Can you drink a Smoothie leftover that's been left in the fridge for 1 day ?
Is it safe ? Are the enzymes still alive ?
I dunno ;p
But mine was still ok looking and tasting, so I drank it anyway :)
I'll try to always finish my smoothie right away next time :D

Ice Ice Baby

2009-10-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

This is es Cendol
a traditional Indonesian dessert and it's Vegan.
I did a post before about cendol here

without flash

Cendol + Coconut milk + palm sugar + ice = Yummm
(yellow stuff is jack fruit)
I think cendol is best made with rice flour instead of mung bean flour.
rice flour - softer cendol
mung bean flour - chewier cendol
Most of the time I ask the palm sugar liquid to be separated, because they usually add too much which makes it way to sweet for my taste.
The Green color comes from suji or pandan leaves, No artificial color there, but sometimes vendors are lazy and use pandan paste instead.

with flash

without flash

The colorful pink fiesta on the right is called es Doger
shaved ice with coconut milk and bright pink rose syrup
(okay... bright pink is not a good sign)
topped with
- fresh coconut meat slices aka white stuff
- sago pearl aka pink pearly stuff on top right
- jackfruit - aka yellowy stuff on top right
- tape (read : tuh-pay) fermented cassava aka yellow stuff on bottom right
- glutinous rice (I think it's also fermented) aka black purply stuff on bottom left
This is totally vegan, but some vendor might add condensed milk on top
and some bread cubes too :)

with flash

verdict :
es cendol looks best without flash
es doger looks best with flash
;P

They both were super good though.

Burnt...again

2009-10-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

Oh man... this is unbelievable...
I left stuff in the kitchen and it got burnt !!! again !!!
It happen once, I was in my room and I smelled something burning and I ran to the kitchen finding umm.. can't remember what it was, yes.... burnt.
I said to myself that I wouldn't leave anything in the kitchen unattended ever again.

I just did it again....
I was boiling this herbal medicine in the kitchen,
There was still approx half a glass left in the pan, so I gave it 5 mins
I even set up an alarm in my room.
5 mins later I got up and started walking to the kitchen.............. half way there I smelled something burning, so I started running to the kitchen............to find this

It looked moist because I pour water on it, but then I throw the water out and decided to took a pic of it to remind myself never to leave anything boiling unattended in the kitchen again.

I guess being a lousy cook runs in the family.... did I say lousy ? I meant lazy ;p

Brocollis, Salad and Onion Rings

2009-10-18T01:46:00.000-07:00

This was what I ate before dinner, for dinner ;p
Not the prettiest photo in the world, but they taste good :)

- Brocollis

- Raw local salad called Karedok
usually it's drenched in peanut sauce + a lil bit of galangal, but I wanted just the vegs.
(go search for Karedok's photos on google images)
usually consisting of : (all raw)
cabbage, string bean, cucumber, round green eggplant/apple aubergine, beansprouts, basil
I requested not to add the beansprouts.
I think they forgot my basil
and sometimes they add raw sweet potato, thus the orange-y bits :)

- Onion Rings - I guess there's egg and chicken stock and msg in the batter.
But they were really yummy and made me eat my raw salad with ease.

I had some leftover for supper ;p

Lemony smoothie

2009-10-18T01:43:00.000-07:00

I can't believe something this dark-green and thick can taste so lemony and mildly sweet :)

- 1 ripe banana
- 4 dates
- glistening vanilla beans from 1 vanilla pod (boiled with little water and added to the juice, but I still can't detect the smell)
- 1 Organic Tomato
- 1/3 of fresh lemon juice
Two handsful of these mixed together :
- Gynura Procumbens - which taste great in salad, kinda like a mild basil.
and has a lot of beneficial healing properties..... Go look em up.
- Organic spinach
- Organic parsley
- Romaine Lettuce

No wonder I heard some clunking sound in the blender, One of the date's seed fell inside the blender.
Amazing how it didn't get crushed at all......

Newbie to Green Smoothie

2009-10-14T08:07:00.001-07:00

I've recently started making green smoothie with my modest glass blender.
I've never mixed fruits and greens on a blender before, I've always thought of a smoothie as strictly fruits only concoction.
and Nope... I don't have the super powerful blender like Blendtec or Vita-mix, because the Blendtec/Vita-mix that are available here are the commercial ones which cost US$628-661, which is around US$200 more expensive than the home consumer one.
Normal blender cost around US$50 and that's a good brand.
So I'm not planning to get Blendtec / Vita-mix just yet, although they remain in my wishlist.

I can't use my normal blender to smoothly blend carrots though, last time I did that, it almost broke my blender, almost.... *phew*
I still use my centrifugal juicer for carrots, beets, etc
Although I'm gonna try to take the carrot pulp from my juicer and put it in my blender to see if it can be blended out smoothly to drink.

So.....
The smoothies turn out great !!!!!
Advantages :
They're easy and fast to make.
They make me drink my raw greens easily (I get all the fibres)
They make me drink my ground flax seed easily (I don't really enjoy ground flax on my salad)
The blender is way easier to clean and wash than my juicer.
and most of all
They taste like desserts !!!!!!! Yuuummmmmmmmmmm !!!!
I'm spoiled with smoothies, it makes me "lazy" to chew my vegs now. :)

This one is my green smoothie in a 0.5 litre glass.
(I made too much, it made me a bit too full, but so good though)
I put in :
- a handful of romaine lettuce & green spinach
- half a cucumber
- 1 banana,
- 3 dates,
- vanilla beans from half a vanilla pod (can't seem to smell the vanilla),
- half a spoonful of ground flax seed (ground it first using the dry spice blender)
- coconut water
- did I put mango in ? I can't seem to remember ;)

I prefer not to use water in my smoothie, just coz I don't want to bland the taste.
Last time I used watermelon and I squeezed the water out of the watermelon into the blender, yes with my barehand, I am that strong ;p
or I'd squeeze in lemon juice. and any other fruit that's water-y.

and I don't add ice cubes in my blender, if I find my ready-to-drink smoothie not cold enough, I simply add some ice cubes and stir and drink.

Since my blender is a normal modest blender,
it doesn't really blend brocollis that well,
Last time I added brocollis, okra, ground flax, raw almond and banana and watermelon.
But there was too much greens than the sweet fruits, so it turned out quite yucky and brittle-y
But I gulped the whole thing anyway ;p
Oh well, I'm still experimenting

I'd like to try Chia, Hemp, super green food powder, etc, but they're just not available here. Shipping them would be costly and I don't know whether the shipping condition & duration will make the products go bad or not.

Anyway.....
Here's what I do, for now :
- I "chew" my smoothie (I don't use straw to drink my smoothie)
I don't use a straw to drink my smoothie, because I'm worried that I'll be "drinking" the smoothie all too fast without "chewing" it first.
I mean, with smoothies, it's not really chewing, but since when you eat normal food, you need to properly chew the food so they mix well with the saliva where enzymes interact and it's beneficial for healthy digestion, so I figure I need to "chew" my smoothie instead of drinking it right away.
Yes you can also sip slowly with your straw and "chew" before drinking your smoothie.
But since I don't have a glass straw, I use my spoon to "chew" and drink my smoothie :)
It's fun, it's like melted ice cream with each spoonful.

- I use straw for :
My regular carrot & beet juice.
I also sometimes drink warm lemon water.
(it was every morning last year, it's good for your health)
Lemon, especially, is very alkaline inside our body but it can be very acidic to your teeth enamel and it's better that it doesn't stay in contact with your teeth for long periods of time.

And for that reason, I used to use a plastic straw (bubble tea straw) to drink my lemon water / juice and since I don't want to throw the straw out after every use, I wash it with soap water and a tiny brush that goes inside the straw.
But I haven't been using it lately, well because it's plastic.
Now I just drink it from the glass.
I may have to eventually purchase a glass straw, but I'm still afraid they'll arrive broken since they have to be shipped from overseas. Oh I'll figure something out :)

Here comes the Question no. 1 :
I read that raw foodist may have bad teeth because the enzymes from the raw greens/fruits may harm the teeth's enamel or something like that.
Notice when you're cutting up some types of vegs, they have a sticky sap thingy ? and cooking the vegs will eliminate this sap.
Maybe the enzyme in the veg's sap is causing the teeth to go "bad".
Also the sugar from the fruits and dried fruits.
Some people say it's better to use a straw when drinking juice/smoothie so the juice doesn't really get in that much contact with the teeth.

So in the long term, I don't know Whether it's better to "chew" the smoothie and let it interact with saliva for better food absorption and digestion or Whether to use a straw and swallow straight away so you have a better teeth ?

But I suppose your teeth won't be not any worse than the typical American diet of sugary cakes, desserts, etc, right ?
I think you're safe as long as you eat more greens than sugary fruits, and not overeat on acid fruits, dried fruits and dehydrated stuff.
And if you rinse your mouth, floss and brush your teeth and you'll be fine.

Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences :)

I also find these articles that kinda calms me down on the whole bad teeth thing :
The Raw Divas Blog titled "The Raw Food Diet isn't bad for your teeth"
http://therawdivas.com/blog/?p=156
Frederic Patenaude Blog titled "Why Raw-Foodists Have Problems With Their Teeth How to avoid dental decay, gum disease and erosion for good."
http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/dentalhealth.html

-------------------------------

Question no.2 :
I read in a book somewhere that it's better to juice not more than 3 types of fruits for better absorption in our body.
I suppose it applies to smoothies as well.
But we all tend to put like 7 (sometimes even more) ingredients into the blender.
I read a lot of health improvement in people who drink a mix of a lot of vegs+fruit smoothies and it's been proven great for our health so far

So Do the "Don't juice more than 3 types of fruit" really apply ?
What do you think ????
I suppose mixing vegetables is fine.
For example, salad consist of so many different types of vegs and the rainbow combination is good for us.

I think if it works, it works, it's that simple.
If blending 10 ingredients keep you healthy, then I suppose it's good for you, and you can always only mix 3 types of fruits/vegs when your running short on fruits n vegs :)

What I'm not sure is mixing the vegetables and the fruits, Are there any rules for that ?

I seem to keep on answering my own questions, except for the last one though :)

Woww..... this has been a long post :)
Thanx for reading :D

Grapes

2009-10-12T00:32:00.000-07:00

When I buy grapes, and when I'm not lazy, I always pull them off their stems and rinse them under running water, sometimes soak them for a bit in salt water, then rinse them again with drinking water and drain.

So these are the grapes ready to be eaten and stored in the fridge.
mostly eaten before they even get to the fridge.
But they taste better cold.
They are even better frozen. :D

I'm now wishing for organic grapes :)

Lunch with beans

2009-10-12T00:18:00.000-07:00

There are times when I don't know what to eat and there's so little stuff in the fridge, but out of that stuff, I sometimes amaze myself haoehoaheoae.....
I know I'm supposed to eat more raw vegs, but just look at them.......
Aren't they great ?
okay... enough gloating ;p

It's lightly steamed carrot from one carrot left in my fridge
and boiled kidney beans from dried kidney beans in the cupboard
and lightly sautee Water Convolvulus / kangkung which was the last greens in the fridge.
Now I have an empty fridge and a happy tummy.

It kinda look like a super bright bird's nest, doesn't it ?
No ? mmm... it's just me then.

Enjoy :)

it tastes great too :)

Distilled Water for you and The Healing Powers of Water

2009-10-08T11:03:00.001-07:00

Check out this post about the good and bad facts about drinking Distilled water
http://healvitiligo.blogspot.com/2009/09/distilled-water-good-or-bad-for-you.html

and this one about the Healing Powers of Water
http://healvitiligo.blogspot.com/2009/09/healing-powers-of-water.html

Traditional Desserts

2009-09-08T20:44:00.000-07:00

Hmmm.... just look at all those traditional desserts, cookies, cakes, sweets.....
yummm.........
Yes they're not as glamorous and pretty as the famous french desserts and pastries, but they still rock all the way ;p

Usually on weekends, you'll see rows of trays full of desserts on the top of the display shelves.
but it's just a normal weekday when I took this pic, but still :)
Some are Vegan, Some are Vegetarian, Some are not.

Even though sugar is sugar is sugar, but I think traditional desserts are a better alternative than the modern sugary desserts. So I allow myself some sweets every once in a while :D
When you're craving for sweet stuff, going to this place will definitely make you drool.
except.... I'm trying to stop eating sugar for now :)

There are too many dessert names to mention here.
will post individual items soon as soon as I have more time :D *Slurp*

More pic

Meet the Fridge

2009-08-31T06:31:00.000-07:00

So this is my messy fridge... :)
Show me yours :D

PS. Too bad the Organic Vegetables available on the supermarkets are all packed in plastics or styrofoams. I sometimes order my organic vegetables from a supplier nearby but he sometimes runs out of vegs so I have to go buy vegs all wrapped up in individual plastic/styrofoams :(
and Organic Fruits are almost non-existent here.

Chrysanthemum Tea

2009-08-31T06:14:00.000-07:00

I like drinking Chrysanthemum Tea
I love the floral aroma.

It has some health benefits to it.
It's known to have a cooling properties to our body and it's believed to aid in the prevention of sorethroat and fever, even to aid digestion.

I got my flowers dried in a package and I just move it into a container and put it in the fridge.
I then take just a little amount (they do expand) to put in my glass and then I add boiling water to it.
Sometimes I swirl the first tiny bit of boiling water and throw the water out, just to rinse the flower.
and then fill my glass and wait till it's not too hot
and sip.... mmmmmmm..... and I'd just relax :)
I also like to eat the flower petals ;p
but that's just me.

I notice that my tea turns greenish after a while.
I suppose that's it's oxidating ?

and another thing is, Chrysanthemum can also be used for pesticide.
Whattt ??????
hohoho calm down...
I suppose you have to extract a large amount phyrethrins extracted to produce a lethal pesticide, besides chrysanthemum tea has been a popular drinks in Asian countries.

But drink at your own risk ;p
As a matter a fact, I'm making myself a chrysanthemum Tea right now.
mmmmmmm........ :)

Coconut

2009-08-31T05:53:00.000-07:00

mmmmm coconutttt.....

I'm so lucky there's a street vendor selling coconuts near my home.
I don't usually eat it like this...because I get "exhausted" of scraping the tender coconut meat inside :p
I'd buy 3 or 4 coconuts and pour all the coconut water into a container, scrap the inside and dunk everything into that container and put it in the fridge.
And when I want to have some coconuts, I'd just pour them into a big bowl ;)
They're usually all gone in 2 days because everyone in the house keeps on coming back to get some more.

Coconuts are very good for you, they're a natural isotonic which means it gives a rapid rehydration when you're dehydrated.
more info here :
http://www.living-foods.com/articles/coconutwater.html

My New Water Bottle

2009-08-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

I just got myself two Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel Bottles :)

here's the small 12oz one.

but first,
5 years ago, I bought a SIGG water bottle in Milan, Italy.
I bought the large 1 L / 33 oz red one.
I would spend a whole day in class and that bottle would last me for the whole day.
It was quite heavy to carry in the morning, but by the end of the day it was already empty.
So... it's way better to use my own water bottle than wasting 2 plastic bottles from the vending machine.
My friends were asking me what that bottle was and what I was drinking.
I filled it with tap water.... but later on I stopped using tap water coz my friend told me that it's better not to drink tap water in Milan because it has calcare or calcium deposit.
But it's a different story.....
Anyhoo............. I've not used my SIGG since then, because I forgot about it and because it's too big for daily use now ;p
But I found this article that says that the old SIGG bottle may leach BPA and mine falls into that category.
http://www.zrecommends.com/detail/siggs-bpa-confession-you-arent-going-to-like-it-any-more-than-we-do

Moving on,
Most people here don't drink tap water, because.... well....tap water quality is not that good.
and Most people order the Gallon water bottles from Water companies.

I often see those big bottles transported on an open truck during the day, talk about not exposing water to sunlight ;p
And the gallon water bottle uses #7 type of plastic, which is polycarbonate, which may contain Bisphenol-A (BPA) and may leach the BPA into the water we drink.
http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/5-Gallon-Water-Jugs.htm
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cancer/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100176179
But this is something I found out recently, and I've been drinking from this gallon water bottle all my life and I don't think there are other alternatives.

Then instead of buying water bottles, I usually use one of those Tupperware glasses/tumblers with the rubbery cap/lid.
But lately water leaks from the cap/lid and I bought a cap/lid replacement, but it wasn't really rubbery and I couldn't even put the lid on, so I don't really use it all that much anymore, besides I'm trying to avoid plastic usage.
I don't know which type of plastic is used for my tumbler, probably Polypropelene.
Tupperware uses different types of plastic on their products.
Info here :
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=740073
http://www.tupperware-blog.com/tupperware-overview/is-tupperware-cancer-causing-38/
http://mommyfootprint.com/tupperware-items-made-from-7-plastic/
http://order.tupperware.com/coe/app/tup_widget.show_page?fv_page_code=safetyqa&fv_section_name=help&fv_category_code=search&fv_item_category_code=200550

And years ago, my dad got this little machine to distill water.

So I've been drinking that, but not entirely that, sometimes we ran out and we just drink the mineral water out of the gallon water bottle.
You can totally tell the difference, distilled water feels lighter when you drink it, maybe because the water's purer, so it feels thinner.
I don't know if distilling water will remove BPA.
There are also controversy about drinking distilled water because it lacks the natural occurring mineral in drinking water and it may drain your body from minerals, but some says it won't.
But hey... I still drink mineral water from the susceptible BPA leaching gallon water anyway.... oh man.
Besides.... the water that I use on a daily basis to shower may also contain BPA from the PVC water pipes and we know that everything we put on our skin, the largest organ of our body, is absorbed by our body.
So what next ? A water filter system for the whole house ?
Okay.... one thing at a time.... :)

Anyhoo.... in search for a better water bottle and to use it with my distilled water.
I finally got myself Klean Kanteen Stainless steel bottles.
well, my sis got it for me from Singapore. thx sis :)

my new Klean kanteen bottles with my old SIGG bottle.

Why Klean Kanteen ??
They say Stainless Steel is better, so.....
(but who knows what new research may suggest later on)
(besides, almost all my cookware are stainless steel)
There are other brands, but his one looks simple enough and I didn't know where to buy the other ones ;p
I got the wide one for easier cleaning, and because it has 100% stainless interior.
The wider mouth makes it feels like drinking from a glass instead of a bottle really.
From the outside, It kinda looks like my dad's old thermos.

I got the Wide bottles (12 oz / 355 ml and the 27 oz / 800 ml)
The small one to always have in my bag and the bigger one for when I need more water, exercising or to put in my car to refill my small bottle ;p

no corner inside, matte inside and out.
I can actually fit my hand in there when washing it.
and oh... the accidental scratching sound my nail made with the steel..... goosebumps.
It may leave water stain on the stainless steel surface after washing, it's always a good idea to always wipe the outer part dry after washing :)
Or not.....you'll have a subtle polka dot water stain all over, kinda decorative ;p

My SIGG bottle got dented..... I may have dropped it, but I can't seem to remember when.
Is my grip really that strong ;p
But the paint or the inside lining doesn't chip, so dat's a good sign.
The Klean kanteen bottles will also dent when dropped but hey.... I'm fine with that.

The waste afterwards....
2 clear plastic bags and klean kanteen paper tags.
I don't want to just throw them out and, so the 2 plastic bags are waiting to be reused and the paper tags are in my drawer, for now.

I'm so excited to use my new Stainless Steel Water Bottles :)
I only use it for water only (room temperature)
So..... I washed it with soap water. leave it to dry and used it the next morning.
I can smell that metal smell when I drink the water out of the Klean kanteen bottle.
not a strong smell, but it's there.
Can I taste the metal ? I'm not really sure, but if I can smell it, I might think that I can taste it as well.
Some people can definitely smell and taste the metal and someone else reviewed it and said "it taste like coin", mmm... I think that kinda describe it right.
But some people said that there are no metal taste.
So, it's probably because my bottle is still new or probably it's just that some people are more sensitive than others, me included.
My old SIGG bottle didn't have any smell to it, and my stainless steel kettle didn't have any smell to it, so probably the smell will go away after a few uses, hopefully.

Update : I filled the bottles with distilled white vinegar and baking soda and left it overnight, I also filled it with boiling water overnight (careful coz it's not a vacuum flask) and the next day, I thought I kinda still can taste the metal... But now, After a few uses, I don't really taste anything anymore, dunno if I've gotten used to it or the metal taste's gone away. :)

Just one thing though,
I've noticed that on the top part of the bottle, the stainless steel is folded, and it's probably to give it more thickness for safety purposes (so that u don't cut your lips drinking from it)

close up

Can you see what I mean ? It's folded like the blue line illus. on top right.
I don't know if it's tightly pressed or there's tiny gap in between.
So, will stuff get stuck in between there ? (food, oil, germs)
nevertheless, it creates a "corner" (where the arrow is) and stuff might get stuck there , so it's a good idea to use a brush the clean the top part when washing.

I've seen a cheap vacuum flask that has a smooth non-folded top part and it's not too thin.
I suppose, price wise, weight wise, factory standard wise, it's just suppose to be like that.
But I prefer to have a thicker heavier stainless steel bottle than having the top part folded like that. but hey... that's just me :)

I'm curious about other Water bottles and your experiences.
What water bottle do you use ?

Why Fried Food is bad for us

2009-08-13T01:27:00.000-07:00

Another reason why Fried Food is bad for us

As I mentioned before here
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.
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.

Another reason is :

Acrylamide

What is the problem?
Acrylamide is known to cause cancer in animals. Also, certain doses of acrylamide are toxic to the nervous system of both animals and humans.
(from WHO website)

How does acrylamide form in food?
Acrylamide forms from sugars and an amino acid (asparagine) during certain types of high-temperature cooking, such as frying, roasting, and baking.

What kinds of cooking lead to acrylamide formation? In what foods?
High temperature cooking, such as frying, roasting, or baking, is most likely to cause acrylamide formation.
Boiling and steaming do not typically form acrylamide. Acrylamide is found mainly in foods made from plants, such as potato products, grain products, or coffee.
(from FDA website)

WHO AND FDA links
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/chem/acrylamide_faqs/en/

http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FoodContaminantsAdulteration/ChemicalContaminants/Acrylamide/ucm053569.htm

So goodbye potato chips....
so long french fries.....

and what if you can't stop eating fried food or baked goods or roasted food ?
Just remember to balance it out by eating lots of fresh vegetables and fruits :)
and drink lots of pure water.
and in time...... you'll end up always craving healthy fresh fruits and vegetables above everything else.
:D

Awards for Healthy Rainbow :)

2009-08-13T01:02:00.000-07:00

IRaw gave me the Kreativ Blogger award.... :)
Thanx IRaw....
I'm supposed to pass this on to 7 other bloggers, but since I'm new in the blogging world and all the other bloggers I know already have this award , so the award stays with me for now :D

7 things about me :
I love small colorful wooden toys
I love dogs
I love to eat
I love the smell of freshly cut grass
I love cloudy days
I love cool sunny mornings
I love watching "The IT crowd"
:D

Another award is the Creative-Hands award from Creative-Hands.org
It totally serves as a reminder to use our hands creatively in whatever things we do :D
and I'm passing it on to IRaw at http://irawvegan.blogspot.com :)

Kue Rangi

2009-08-06T00:04:00.000-07:00

Kue Rangi is another Traditional Indonesian Desserts.
yupppp... a lot of the Traditional Indonesian Desserts are totally Vegan :D

It's made out of sago flour and coconut slices and a tiny bit of salt to taste.
then "baked" on this traditionally homemade baking tray.
usually sold on a street food vendor, served on a banana leaf shaped into a plate, cleverly secured with "lidi" (the ribs of palm leaf)
and drizzled with thick sweet palm sugar, sometimes jackfruit / durian are added for a more intense flavor there.

It's kinda crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside and the sweetness comes from the drizzled sauce............ yummmmmmm............................

What I ate is the one I ordered from a Restaurant at a Mall.
The one you found on the street......... is way more authentic and yummier.
Too bad they're a bit hard to find nowadays.....

But here's a photo of a Kue Rangi seller from Selby

I just love how Selby takes a lot of detailed pics of everything.
Selby, You Rock !! :)

That other plate is Karedok
Another Traditional Indonesian / Sundanese Raw Salad, served usually mixed with sauce made of a tiny bit of galanga (Kaempferia galangal L) + peanut sauce and palm sugar.
I prefer to separate the peanut sauce so I can add just exactly how much sauce I want :)
But more on post on karedok later.... :)

btw, Do you see the jar filled with pickles ?
It's called acar, and it's filled with cucumber, carrots, shredded cabbage, lightly pickled......... well... I don't think it's pickled because it's not pickle-y sour but instead, it's lightly soaked in sugar-salt-chili water (I think)
But it's there on every table so everyone can have as much as they want ;p

Anyhoo....
Kue Rangi rules.......... :)

Traditional Desserts - Kolak Pisang & Biji Salak

2009-08-05T23:16:00.001-07:00

This is also one of my favorite Traditional Indonesian Desserts
and yes it's Vegan :)

Kolak pisang is Banana Kolak (top right, in the bowl)
I honestly don't know what kolak/kolek means ;p
It's banana pieces boiled in rich palm sugar & water bath. (pandan leaves included of course)
You can also use fresh ripe banana if you prefer it raw :)
and then when you want to eat it, you just add the coconut milk to it (this is like adding fresh cream to your dairy dessert)
The banana used here is Pisang Gepok
It has a subtle sour-y taste to it. It's just perfect.
It's creamy and sweet and soup-y and it's just heaven.

The other one is Biji salak. (in the blue mug)
Salak is snake fruit (Salacca zalacca)
and biji salak is Salak's pit/seed.
It's probably called biji salak because it ressembles the round shape of salak's pit.
It's made with grated sweet potato mixed with sago flour.
shaped into little ball shapes or rolled into a long cylinder-y shape and cut into small pieces.
then boiled for a short while... just until they float.
then chuck everything into the palm sugar + water mixture
and add a lil bit of coconut milk to serve.
I prefer to make this myself because the ones they sell has more sago flour to sweet potato ratio so it's more chewy with a tiny hint of sweet potato taste.

You can eat the Biji Salak warm or cold.
But I prefer to eat the Kolak Pisang warm and sometimes I add raw ginger juice / boiled ginger water to the mix to add warmth to it ;)
mmmmmmmmm.............. yum yummmmmmmmm.............
You can even mix the two together, like I did :)
mmmmmmm.........yuummmmmmmmmm

Fried Shitake Mushroom

2009-08-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

yumm....
Shitake mushroom, cut in half or more.
covered in batter and deep fried.
eaten in bed.
It's so good....

I know I know..... another fried food !!!
What is this ?
Fried food Week ???? ;p

I should re-start the "No Fried Food" period again.
This is the last of my fried food
I will find crunch in nuts and seeds and fresh fruits and vegetables. :D

Fried Tempeh - My Favorite Fried Food

2009-08-03T11:10:00.000-07:00

besides kerupuk / crackers and banana fritters and everything else fried :D

I love Fried tempeh....
yes.. it's fried... :(
but they're just so good.... :)

I always thought that you just cut tempeh and fry them
but nooooo..........
you have to season them first.

This is salt + garlic + coriander seed + a little bit of water
and just crush everything using "ulekan"
It's the traditional Indonesian spice masher before the spice-blender era.
and is still widely used today because it gives more aroma and texture to the result.
kinda like a peston mortar, but you crush the spices by a twisting hand movement....
I'll post a video of it soon :)

then you dip the tempeh slices and leave them there for a while....
then deep fry it.
Done !!
yummm

Another favorite of mine is thin sliced tempeh, coated in batter and deep fried into a crispy crunchy tempeh.
oooohhh... this is even better.

Yup... everything tend to stick together

the result ......
mmmmmmmmm :)

Enjoy your tempe /tempeh :D
yes... eating too much of fried tempe will tickle my throat a bit, so I always eat my fried tempe with salad and lots of vegetables and I don't eat them 3 days in a row.... next time. ;p

Panbis Cookie - Super-easy-to-make cookie

2009-08-03T10:27:00.000-07:00

Pancake-Biscuit Cookie = Panbis Cookie
yup... it can be a Pancake or a Biscuit-y Cookie :)
It also requires such simple ingredients.
No baking, No Oven, No hi-tech equipments, No fuss.
No precise recipe.... make according to your taste and fun-chef-wannabe-intuition ;p
It's great when you have no ingredients at home, but want to make a quick tiny batch of cookie that can be eaten in 1 go.
All the ingredients are usually in your fridge and cupboard.
and if you just bought any of the ingredients, you can keep them there for weeks ;) no worries of finishing them up after opening.
So, this is perfect if you're craving pancake or cookies when you're stranded in a remote mountain area with no fresh ingredients and no oven.

This is also an update to the previous recipe,
I added lots of almond meal to the batter and reduce the flour a bit....
waaaaawwwww..... yummmmmmm
It turned out great.

Equipments needed :
Wide non stick pan
Spoon & Bowl

Recipe
(makes around 10 cookies)
Mix everything in a Bowl.
- 1.5 tablespoons of flour, preferably organic whole wheat flour or anything healthier.
- 1.5 tablespoons of almond meal or more
Almond meal = almond powder.
- a pinch of baking soda (I think this also helps thicken the batter)
- a pinch of salt
- a dash of cinnamon powder
- enough (thick) liquid palm sugar, adjust to your level of sweetness taste,
you can always add again after all the ingredients are mxed
- add enough water (If your liquid palm sugar is really runny, then you don't even need to add more water)
- stir with spoon, should be like a thick smoothie consistency.
(If it's too runny, it's not good, but don't worry, just add more almond meal and flour)
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil, mix again (It's easier to add olive oil after the flour's mixed with water)
- I then add lots of black sesame seed and flax seed or anything else.
- or add any other finely chopped nuts of your choice.
You can add whole nuts, but they may get burnt first because they stick out (not inside the batter) when you flip them over on the non stick pan.
- Stir like 2 times ;p just so all the seeds and nuts are evenly distributed.

that's it,
- Take out your Wide non stick pan.
- Low Heat
- Use 1 table spoon to pour the batter onto the pan to make 1 cookie-like-shape.
- Repeat to use up the whole batter.
- Wait a while, flip.
- Don't leave too long if you want to make a Pancake
- Leave longer if you want them to be a crunchier Biscuit-y Cookie.
Remember Low Heat and a tiny bit of patience ;)
- then it's DONE !!!

and flip

It's Vegan !!! but it tastes oh so yummy -- to me :)
It's not like most cookies, It's my version of a Vegan cookie.
It's more of a haha hihi cookie, but it's a success -- to me ;D
It tastes similar to Anzac cookie, actually.
the Almond meal makes it moist and hearty.

- will try to bake it and see what happens.
- actually, will try to leave out the entire flour and see what happens...
will the cookies stick together only with almond meal ?
- will also try to add ginger to see if it turns out to be ginger cookies ;P

Info :
When you're stirring or mxing the batter with your spoon.
Just do it gently and normally, don't do it like you're whisking an egg, we don't want lots of air to go into the batter, it will make holes the Panbis cookies..... I think.
But adding lots of almond batter, makes the Panbis cookies more hole-y...... I think.
(see the little holes on the cookie ?.... that only happens after I add more almond meal to the batter, but that don't matter coz it still taste good)

I don't know if you can just use Palm Sugar powder, it's sometimes called Palm suiker,
but sometimes Palm suiker has added cane sugar / white sugar in it so I prefer to make thick Liquid palm sugar out of Palm Sugar chunks by boiling it, besides, there are sometimes dirt?/sand? residue, so I can strain it first.
Okay, I don't strain it, I just pour the liquid palm sugar slowly so the residue stay on the bottom of the pan.
oh... I'm so practical ;p

I don't know about the usage of non stick pans, some says it's not good, especially when the coating is scratched and you need to always have something on the pan (like oil/water)
so.... I dunno.... :)

and If the Recipe Fails....
Don't blame me ;p
but the Recipe's good tho ;)

PS. Eat the Panbis right away... after a while they get a bit harder, but still totally edible.
PPS. I ate too much Panbis just now.... typical me... I won't be making Panbis for weeks now ;p

Why we crave Fried Food

2009-07-25T11:38:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-25T09:48:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-25T09:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

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 ;)

2009-07-24T03:25:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-24T03:09:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-19T05:38:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-19T05:13:00.000-07:00

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 ?

2009-07-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

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 ?

2009-07-12T11:32:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-11T03:32:00.000-07:00

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 ?

2009-07-07T05:31:00.000-07:00

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 ?

2009-07-07T05:17:00.000-07:00

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 ?

2009-07-07T04:58:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-05T10:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-05T10:26:00.000-07:00

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....

Always chew your food !!

2009-06-30T03:16:00.000-07:00

This is what I ate today

It's steamed carrot, sauted broccoli and raw long beans plus Deep fried tempeh coated in batter.

After having those 2 pieces of fried tempeh on my plate and taking a bite.
I didn't want them anymore, I don't know, today I just didn't feel like eating those 2 fried stuff.
and I actually listened to my body.
Good improvements right :)

So........ about chewing.........
We all know we need to chew well, right !!!!!!!
But most of us don't chew enough.
Why ??
Why don't we chew enough ?
1. We're way too hungry, so we eat really fast
2. We're always in a hurry , so we eat really fast
3. We eat over-processed food, so they're soft and don't require much chewing.

We need the enzymes in our Saliva to help digest and breaks down food.
If we don't chew well, the food doesn't get properly "enzymed" ;p
so the whole digestion process is not "well-executed"
thus digestion problems.
Okay so I didn't really explain that in a proper medical manner,
but you get the picture.

So......... in order to properly digest and absorb the nutrients from all the healthy fresh food you eat and be Healthy and Benefit from your diet,
We need to chew 30-40 times......... even better if more.
But who's crazy enough to count to 40 at every bite hey ?

So......
How do you chew that much time, without counting ??
How do you chew well and still enjoy your food ??
Here is what I just realized today,
while eating that food in the picture above. (minus the fried tempeh)
(sauteed brocolli, steamed carrot, and raw long beans)
When I eat, I mix them together so I get bits of everything at every bite.
While I was eating my food, I noticed that I chew way longer than usual.
Why ? because there are pieces of raw fresh long beans at every bite.

Yes.... the raw long beans are tougher and crunchier, so they actually require more chewing.
And as I counted how many times I chewed, I noticed it took me more than 40 chews at every bite. sometimes more than 50. I've lost count after 40 chews.

So It doesn't matter what your diet is like,
It's a very good thing to always mix your food with Fresh RawVegetables ,
it makes you CHEW !!!
plus you get all the live beneficial enzyme from the raw Vegetables !!
It could be anything, cucumber, parsley, lettuce, etc etc whatever is acceptable to you and makes you chew.

If you think it's crazy to chew that many times at every meal.
oh my jaw's gonna get tired, oh it's gonna take a long time to eat, oh I don't like raw food, oh the food's gonna go bland while chewing it, bla bla bla
Here's the Positive points of mixing your food with raw food :
1. It makes you chew, means your healthy food gets digested well and gets absorbed well, meaning Healthy you !!!
2. Raw food has more flavours,
The long beans, oh what ? it's also called string beans ? why thank you :)
So, the string beans didn't lose it's flavours when I was chewing it.
It still has the same flavour from chew 1x till chew 50x.
3. You won't over eat = Your ideal weight
Yes you'll take longer to finish your food. Yes the jaws will sometimes get tired.
But, you don't still have the "false hungry" feeling, because when it takes sometimes to chew and digest the food bla bla bla, your brain will tell you at the right time, that you are not hungry anymore, So you don't over eat, You will only eat just as much as you actually need, and You will have your ideal weight.

So... chew for a Healthy you :)

Don't eat too much !!!

2009-06-30T02:46:00.000-07:00

Seriously..... Never ever overeat !!!!!!!!!

So... Here's what happened :
this is what I ate yesterday....

It's actually very tasty, not a very good color tho ;p
but the beans are so yummy..........
What's on the bowl :
- beans + carrot + chayote soup (didn't take the soup water)
- blanched morning glory aka kangkung
- sauteed tempe with sweet soy sauce
Yes that seemed healthy and just about right !!!

I also ate some cassava balls.......;p
that is cassava/tapioca grated and shaped into balls
filled with palm sugar
and then steamed
I didn't take a pic because they looked messy, but so chewy and fudgy and yummy
I ate like 10 balls.

and after that I ate some of those Aloe vera cubes plus sugar water, as a dessert.
And I was too full !!!

Then at night,
I had the same thing again...
yes you're not supposed to eat the same stuff for 1 whole day...
u need fresh food !!!!
Anyhoo... I ate the same thing again, plus the cassava balls, at 10 pm
yes 10 pm !!!
Why would I do that ??

I was sleepy at around 10 pm, but kinda hungry
I should've just eaten fruits
but Nooooo........
greedy me wanted more than just fruit.....

So......... after the same food... although with less quantity,
I was left feeling way too full....
I secretly think the cassava expanded in my tummy.

So I had a bulging tummy ;p
I couldn't lie down, because I'd feel all the food wanting to come back up my throat.
ewww right ;p
It was kinda difficult to breath.
I was so sleepy, but I couldn't sleep coz I couldn't lie down
It was torture !!!!!!
Silly meeeeeeeeeee..................

I was kinda gassy....
and I passed gas, and it was stinky.....
I also burped ;(
I'm sorry for all the details !!
But this would remind me never to overeat the next time.
I should always be in control on how much stuff I eat,
I should listen to my body and stop eating.

Then after a few hours....
Yes it was like 2 hours after.
*after 2 trips to the toilet ;p)
I could lie down, but then I wasn't sleepy at all !!
So I ended up reading some books and watching some TV to get sleepy again.

So here's the Negative parts :
- Not only did I "suffer"
- I messed up my sleep pattern which messed up my whole system.
(Chaos inside - balance/homeostatis is disturbed)
- Overeating also means the digestive system is working harder, the enzymes are trying to break down stuff, or something like that.
And some of the food doesn't even get digested and absorbed and the food got turned into poison, thus the smelly pass gass and burping.

There's no point in being a so-called-Healthy Vegan if I'm still overeating and messing up the balance in my body, right ?
But on the next meal / next day, this is when I usually fall back into the trap
"Oh I'm feeling good today, I can finish all that stuff in one go"
"I so wanna have another piece of that, maybe 3 pieces"
and I forgot how miserable and tortured I felt when I overate,
and before I know it, I'd overate once again, and I'd experienced the same (or worse) rituals of torturing myself and messing with my health.
So, I promise myself to always eat well, listen to my body and Be in control !!

Fortunately, The next morning, I woke up feeling fine,
I went to the toilet and afterwards, felt "Clean"
My tummy was back to flat ;p yeay
But that doesn't mean I'm free to overeat whenever I please.
I don't think I ever wanna feel "tortured" like that ever again.

In the past,
A few times, during the weekends,
when I was staying up in our family villa up in the mountain.
I ate way tooo muchhhhh................
So...... when everybody was asleep..... I had to sit up on my bed with a bucket next to me.
Yes.... I was too full I wanted to throw up, but couldn't and didn't want to.
Sometimes I did throw up and it's the worst feeling in the world.
Your stomach just "pumps" all the food out your throat and you have no control whatsoever.
then after throwing up the first time, just right after you take a breath, it repeats all over again.
Eeewwwwwwwwwww......... yuckkkkkkkkkk...........
no moreeeeeee........ never againnnnnn..........
I'm sowwy for all the details, but this will remind me to never ever repeat the same mistake.

So, guys.... seriously.......
Never ever over eat
Always eat just about enough !!
Some people say "Stop eating just right before you feel full"
Always be in Control of what you eat and How much you eat !!
And always Enjoy your food !!
:)

Pepper Grinder 101

2009-06-28T09:36:00.000-07:00

This is my pepper grinder
and I fill it with black pepper.

So I've never really cared about freshly ground pepper and those readily ground pepper powder sold in supermarkets.
But freshly ground pepper is way better, obviously. It's freshly ground, so the aroma is released once it's ground.
Although I can't really tell the difference ;p hoahaha

It's said that the best pepper grinder is the one with the ceramic blade.
But it's costly.
Mine is made out of glass (the transparent one) and plastic (blue top)
and the grinder inside... I'm clueless... plastic ? stainless ?
It's a cheap one I got at a nearby supermarket.
It's very handy and in a good quality to be honest.
and you can twist the top to set the grind quality of the pepper , fine to coarse.
I didn't know that was possible ;p
But I set mine to the finest grind.

It's also better to grind the pepper before you put food on your plate.
Well... at least I think it's better ;)
this way, when the food's hot, you don't get the pepper grinder all wet and misty from the heat.
But... when you're seasoning while cooking...
well.... you're gonna use the pepper grinder over heat anyway..
So, forget what I said....
But I don't cook anyway... so my trick still works...
Grind the pepper on your empty plate first, then add the hot food ;p

Wat ??
It's also called a Pepper Mill
oh okayy...

Anyhoo.........
After using the Pepper grinder for some time...
I noticed that there are some broken pieces in the pepper grinder container (inside the glass)
And the core or the inside of the black pepper is actually white !!
Is it really like that ?
Can you see in the photo below ?

Black pepper has a white core ?
or is it a conspiracy theory of a white pepper dipped in black color ?
So I have been watching too many movies.
But seriously....
Black pepper has a white core ?

Aloe Vera

2009-06-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

So I have Aloe Vera growing all over the house...
they just grow and grow
I guess they just like the super hot weather.

So.......
I've read about the wonderful properties of Aloe.
They say it's even good for hair growth, so just rub it on your scalp..
or better.... put the aloe flesh in a blender... then rub it on your scalp.

I sometimes use it on my face as a mask...
sometimes all over my body...
sometimes it itches too on my skin ;p

How to use Aloe ?
well... you peel the skin and don't get the yellow sap
and use as you like.
I've read that Aloe has a lot of active enzyme, vitamins, minerals, proteins and amino acids.
It's just phenomenal.
There are books about how to use Aloe...
yess... you can rub it on sunburnt skin.

But.... How do you eat Aloe ?
Juicing it is yucky... I can never gulp down slimy Aloe ;p
Some people cut Aloe up to cube size and boil them to eliminate the slime
and then they add sugar water + pandan leaves
So it's like a sweet soupy dessert to be eaten hot or cold.
Which is what my housekeeper made today............

Anddddd..........
I took only the sweet sugary aromatic "soup"
oh allright, the sugar water....
and added fresh raw Alove vera sliced to cubes.
And I ate it like that.....

And as a matter of fact........
it's totally edible.
Yes you can still feel the slimy slime of Aloe when you chew.
But it's just acceptable, just chew quickly and swallow and don't eat too much of it at one time. ;p
So... it's a good way to eat Aloe Vera raw and fresh and benefit from all the amazing properties.

Which comes to my Recipe.
Wat ??? she's doing Recipe ???
heriuharuahra
oh okay, it's not an actual Recipe
but when I was eating the raw Aloe + sugar water
I just thought to myself,
Eating Raw Aloe would be nice with sweet Melon juice with some lemon squirts.
or Watermelon or Cantaloupe.
Just chuck the fruits into the blender, and they are naturally sweet so you don't need to add sugar, plus this way you get the fruit fibres as well. Then add the cubed raw Aloe Vera.
Serve cold
Yummmmmmmmmmm !!!!!!!! :)

Lunch again

2009-06-27T22:47:00.000-07:00

So... after that supper with fried flour... crunchy yum yum....

This is what I'm eating right now....
lunch is :
chayote + carrot + cauli flower
and bean curd sheet + winter melon soup
drizzled with olive oil
sprinkled with freshly ground pepper and sea salt

although I still crave for fried stuff right now....
mmm... yup... still craving it....
but this is quite a good lunch ;)

breakfast was
a small plate full of watermelon
then
a glass of fresh fruit juice of carrot + beet + pear
and I didn't get hungry until now , lunch at 12:52 pm
*gnom gnom gnom*
;)

yes... dat picture is also dinner....
sometimes I eat the same thing for the whole day...
oh well ;D

How to detox ?

2009-06-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I do a detox.
especially since now I've been a Healthy Vegan for almost 3 months ;)

But..............
I remember doing this...
(I was still eating everything... meat, dairy, sugar, etc etc)
- So I'd reduce meat, carbs and fried stuff and eat more vegetables for a few days.
(no sugary desserts, no dairy, no coffee)
- Then I'd just eat fruits for 1 day....
All kinds of fruits, watermelon, apples, bananas, melons, oranges, etc
As much as I want, everytime I'm hungry I just eat fruits.
- Then... if I could, I'd drink only fresh fruit juice for 1 day.
- I think that's about all, that's what I did.
- then the next day I'd start eating carbs (rice, noodles, pasta etc) and more vegetables
- then it's back to normal the next day

But I've always loved eating fruits all my life.
So no matter what I eat, I also eat a lot of fresh fruits throughout the day.

Side effects of Detoxing
well, it's not really a side effect,
But.... some people experience dizzyness, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, etc.
It doesn't mean you are getting sick,
It's a sign that your body is cleansing itself.
But as always, Don't force yourself, Listen to your body.
There are also different types of detoxing.
so Research on Detoxing.... Read read and read

Good Luck :)

ps. you've got to WANT to detox to really be able to detox your body ;)
pps. Adding Beet in your juice (carrot+beet juice or apple + beet juice) is a good way to help cleanse. you'll see that your poo becomes red ;p

How to do a Fast ?

2009-06-27T10:56:00.000-07:00

This is my version, right now....
it might change later, but this is what I've gathered from books, the net, etc...
it may not be the best fast, but this is how I do it.

To fast.........
I need to "prepare" myself.
I Eat only "healthy" stuff,
Fresh Vegetables, raw if possible, for 1 day (or more.)
then Only Fruits for another day. (or more)
some people even only drink juice for 1 day.
(some for longer days... it varies and it depends on you.)
Then I fast, for 1 day only.
the first time I fast, (started at 10 pm the night before), I ate at 8 pm on the next day.
the second time, I ate at 5 pm.
I couldn't go on till the next sunrise and I didn't force myself.
I've wanted to fast from sunrise till the next sunrise.
But I never could hohohoho
After I fast.... I drink fresh fruit juice and eat fruits only
and if I get hungry, afterwards, I allow steamed vegetables or salad with olive oil and salt.

I do a total fast (No water - No food)
because I read that it gives a total rest to your digestion system.
But you should listen to your body and never force yourself.
You can do a No food fast and allow water if you want.
You can also do a half-day fast.
There are a lot of version of fasting.
Just listen to your body, it knows which types of fast is best for you.

But don't fast if your goal is to lose weight.... you'll only be doing yourself harm.
Fast if you wanna cleanse your system.
and Do it right !!

If you've never done a fast before.
I don't recommend you doing a fast right away.
You need to detox first
at least I think you need to detox first.
and don't drastically change your diet in 1 day, give it a few days to transition.
although you might experience nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, etc. which is totally a normal reaction.
It's a sign that your body is cleansing.
I didn't experience those things when I did my detox.
But my sis did.

How to detox ?
it's next :)

Another Fast

2009-06-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

So....... on the 23rd of June 2009, I did another fast...
well... simply because I ran out of food.
that... and also I was too lazy to buy food and prepare food.
and I've also been wanting to do another fast to cleanse.

But.......
it's not a good one.
I ate fried food the day before.... and the day after !!!!
To fast.... and to cleanse...
I need to eat all healthy fresh food....
which means try to eat most fresh raw food (vegs n fruits)
and maybe only fruits the day before.
But hey...........it's done....

The fast started from the morning till 5 pm
(I last had water-food at 10 pm the night before)
no water no food
It was fine... I was kinda hungry during the day.... but not starving
so I took a nap hohohoho.....
and I listened to my body, which is important...
I didn't force myself to fast for longer duration.
it was just right. ;)

How to make a really crunchy batter

2009-06-27T09:13:00.000-07:00

I try not to eat fried stuff and hopefully I don't eat anymore fried stuff anymore...
*strong will power on*

But.... I might as well............ ;p
I've tried to try to make batter to fry stuff, but they don't turn out really crispy....
So......... this time it works !!!!!!
It's really simple !!!!

I know some people :
- use breadcrumbs or tempura crumb thingy *i'm so clueless haha*
- add beer to the batter
- add baking soda/powder
- add egg
and still have a crispy crunch result.

I've tried adding egg and/or baking soda/powder, but it didn't turn out crispy.
I've tried smoothing out the clumps when then flour's mixed with water.... nada

Sooooo.........
this is what works for me.....

How to make a crunchy batter
get some flour.... put into a bowl
(you can add salt if you want, but I always sprinkle some salt when it's done/fried anyway, so it's not necessary at this point)
add just enough water so it's not too thick nor not too runny
don't care about clumps... don't mix it too smoothly....
and it's done.... you can dump stuff on the batter and start frying
or just fry the thing as it is........

again... fried food is bad for you
but I now know how to make a crunch batter ;p

Fried Food is bad for you

2009-06-27T08:37:00.000-07:00

huhuhuhu... I know I know...
but the crisp and the crunch.
It's just so hard to resist............
I've been really good for 1.5 months....
but lately, I've been having some deep fried tempeh coated in crunchy batter.
I knowwww.... one piece becomes 2 becomes 5 becomes everyday.

Even last time,
I was craving crunchy stuff and I didn't even have tempeh.
So I made a crunchy fried batter... yup... just that........
and ate it with salads.
Yesss... no nutrients whatsoever in that fried stuff.
It was good while eating those crunchy stuff,
but afterwards, my stomach started to have that feeling when you just ate a really greasy food, and it's not a good feeling.
And.... after day 2, I started to feel a bad sorethroat coming !!!!!!

Ugghhh.......
So I had some ginger tea and was fine the next day.

Today, at supper,
I had another fried batter with steamed vegetables. (spinach + seaweed)

Don't be fooled by the pale color.... they may not be golden brown, but they're really crunchy

Fried food are really addictive !!
well, to me they are.
and when you don't eat them, you don't want em at all,
but when you start....... you really can't stop.......
well, you can really........
Sooooooo......... no more fried stuff re-starting now !!!!
well.... every once in a while... they're allowedd....
umm... like once every month....... oh we'll see ;)

Must eat Lots of Fresh fruits and Fresh Vegetables !!

Don't eat in front of you notebook/laptop

2009-06-14T23:39:00.000-07:00

So I was eating my salad in front of my notebook.
I usually don't , but I've been very careful lately :p and I thought I won't spill anything anyway.
Wrong !!!!
I had half of a fresh tomato on my plate, right.
Why would I have half a tomato in my salad ?
I was too lazy chopping the tomato up ;p
Anyhoo... So I used a fork to pick up the tomato and took a big bite.
and as I bit the tomato, the other half (dat's not in my mouth) squirted all over the keypad and the LED screen ..........
*panic mode*
So I started frantically wiping the keyboard and realized some of the liquid was under the keyboard.... huhuhuhuhu......
So.... I tried wiping the thing and tried to squish my fingernails in between keyboard with wet wipes.
what's worse is dat my salad was covered with sweet soy sauce !!! sugar !!!!
oh noo.............. now my notebook might attract ants and bugs and germs....... ewwwwwww
haeruaheruiahrua............
Okay... it was actually just a few drops of tomato juice and sweet soy sauce on the keyboard, and some on the screen. d'oh............ let's see.... around 20 tiny drops actually.
But still !!!!

Anyway........ I think I cleaned up my notebook pretty well....
So No ants, no bugs, no germs !!! ;)
Sooo.... never ever eat in front of your notebook/laptop okay !!! :D

Bowl of soup for Lunch

2009-06-03T02:47:00.000-07:00

I just had my lunch....

A bowl of soup of chopped carrot , chayote and red bean.
The soup itself has sauteed shallot / one of those tiny red onions (Allium ascalonicum L) and lemongrass , plus salt and pepper.
I added nori seaweed, a teaspoon of organic olive oil and a black sesame oil.

Drink : Coconut water, which was naturally sweet.

I know it doesn't sound all that yummy, and I didn't take a pic of my soup coz it don't look all that appetizing ;p, but It was very filling and satisfying..... :)
yum

Road Trip Result when you're a Vegan

2009-05-31T10:50:00.000-07:00

So............

in this Road Trip, I was in the car most of the time.
and since I don't eat rice, I get hungry.

- and in order to feel full longer,
So I ate rice ...........

- and I ate some fried stuff..... fried tempeh.
and fried peanuts (peanut sauce for the vegetable salad)
in fact, I just ate 3 handfull of homemade fried potato chips today.....
But I consciously did that, I wanted that homemade potato chips so bad... :)
can't never resist them.

- I ate another "supposedly" Vegan dessert , that contains a little amount of Egg.
boohoooo.....
and obviously, white sugar....

- I began sleeping late again, it's been 3 days since I got back from the Road trip and I'm back to sleeping late. (it's 1 am now)
Yes, my dog wakes me up every morning at 6-6:30 am, but I go back to sleep right after I let her out of my room.
So I'm setting my alarm clock at 7 am tomorrow.... must wake up.... must fight sleepiness....
update : I couldn't wake up at 7 am heuiaheuiahe... woke up at 9:30 am
it's been almost a week and I'm sleeping late and waking up late again now...
must changeeee.....

But overall..........
I ate a lot of vegetables on the way, had apples, had bananas.
drank lots of water.... (at night, not during the day otherwise I gotta pee often ;p )
and I wasn't starving on the road.
I think I gained 1 kg/2lbs........ well... weight is not important anyway....

My friend had a cough during the trip, so when we got back, I took a Vitamin C capsule just in case. and had another one yesterday coz I was kinda getting the flu.
But I took a nap and am ok now.
I was feeling kinda sluggish/low energy today so I took a B complex supplement and a Cal/Mag/Zinc at night.

So...... next is evaluating my Vegan diet....
adding more healthy food etc etc...
maybe adding supplements.