skylive : sounds like your sister has a heavy hand at pepper. Tell her to not put as much. It sounds like she's saturating the meal with pepper so much that the actual food flavours aren't coming out.

Anyway, this was the final dish.



After roasting the brinjal, I kept it aside. Cut some onion rings which I stir-fry with 1 tsp olive oil until soft. Then I threw in some tomato sauce that I made a month ago (they were in ice-cube form - think it was celery, carrot, tomato, onion) with a bit of water. Then drop in some cherry tomatoes and stir-fry until the tomato was soft but not hancur. Then put on top of brinjal, then sprinkle some mozzarella (had to bang the plastic bag hard coz I forgot I left the mozzarella in the freezer). This was 10 min in the oven, could be longer so that the cheese was burnt but my Granny was hungry.

No salt except what was in the cheese. Although, I did season both the tomato+onion mix and roasted the brinjal with this herb mix : http://www.mccormick.com/Products/Herbs-an...-Seasoning.aspx

Surprisingly tasted like pizza. Even my Granny said that. Pizzahut puts brinjal on their vegetarian pizza I think, or they used to. I can only eat brinjal like this or as babaganoush. Chinese style, looks too icky.

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Added on April 11, 2009, 7:41 pmErrr...we didn't finish everything lah. That was a dish for 4 ppl.

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Added on April 11, 2009, 7:48 pmPandai this woman. *piak*

Higher in bad fats. And it's not going to be like going to take that much olive oil lah.

Go google. If olive oil was that bad, then why it's used in a lot of controlled diet plans compared to mayo.

This post has been edited by myremi: Apr 11 2009, 07:48 PM

charge-n-go : vinegar should be fine as long as you don't take the pre-mix salad dressing types. I prefer to mix my own salad dressing so that I can control the fat and sugar.

I like balsamic vinegar because the vinegar taste is not so strong. The other ones I currently have at home are red wine vinegar (sauvignon) and white wine vinegar (chardonnay) which are bought from the store. If you have leftover wine, just let it go sour and voila, you have wine vinegar. The alcoholic ones have some calories but it's not going to be so much per 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon which is the most you're going to put into salads anyway.

Hmmm....I do have a small recipe for a nice salad dressing but only take it if you're exercising regularly and you have cut down your carbo. Also, only for occasional use.

1 egg yolk (hardboiled)
1/2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard (more fatty than normal mustard but better taste)
1 teaspoon low-fat Mayo (add more to taste but remember, the more you add, the more the fat)
pepper
herbs if you want e.g. oregano (make it smell italian), rosemary, thyme

Mash it up. Now taste it. The secret are the eggyolk and the Dijon Mustard. You can add salt in. Pick this recipe up from the Atkins site - yes it's fatty but with a low carbo diet and regular exercise, you wouldn't be putting on a lot of weight unless you take this dressing regularly.

I know you cheeky woman.

LOL! Not sure which one is worst, low blood pressure or high blood pressure. Both have diet issues.

50% protein : 25% veggie + 25% meat lor.

Hmm...I haven't had steak in awhile. Only take it when in Germany (the marinade with dark beer is great. A non-alcoholoic version is to use Malta) or at this pork restaurant in Kuching owned by a Sarawakian Lady married to an Austrian Chef. Somehow, European cooking has a lot more herb flavours than American food. Haven't tried cooking steak at home yet. Although my Dad recommended using this :

http://www.cosway.com.my/promotion/redempt...20flipNcook.htm

It's a bit heavy to use but it makes turning the food easier and also can cover for the "pressure" cooking a little bit.

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Added on April 11, 2009, 8:49 pmAdd pineapple cubes. And change to olive oil or granola oil, gal.

Actually, no need curry powder. Rub kunyit ok.

Hmm...Assam Java stir fry with prawn also nice leh. I think that's pretty safe.

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Added on April 11, 2009, 8:51 pmSpeaking of curry, sigh. I'm going to miss eating salted fish curry with prawn and pineapple that my Granny make. One of my favourites before. Now totally cannot eat.

Sigh sigh sigh.


This post has been edited by myremi: Apr 11 2009, 08:51 PM

Hmm...lemme show you a picture of something. What's wrong with the picture? In terms of dieting

Digressing a bit from the topic but since we're on a discussion about fat...

Make a guess.

Warm but not quite.

LOL! nutella and mayo.

That picture was taken in a Medieval Restaurant in Germany. Tables had benches and all made of wood. Plates were the chopping boards with a wooden spoon and wooden knife for eating.

The bread is rye bread and is very healthy - pumped full of complex carbo but very thick and heavy.

And that bowl with the white stuff is actually lard i.e. pig fat.

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Added on April 11, 2009, 9:28 pmIf I do this one, you owe us one executive summary of what you're reading about health (diet or exercise).

This post has been edited by myremi: Apr 11 2009, 09:28 PM

Well, most chinese hawker shops in KL still use lard for frying you know.

This post has been edited by myremi: Apr 11 2009, 09:29 PM

Ouchie about the low blood pressure thingie. Well, I guess whatever I can't take, you can. LOL! Here's some salt sources :
-Fish sauce has more salt than soy sauce
-Soy sauce >.> Local brands I suspect have more
-Fishballs
-Buy bread from outside. They have a lot of salt in them.
-Seafood?
-Salted fish?
-Tin food

Hmm...one site suggested Epsom salt baths for 10-15 min.

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Added on April 11, 2009, 10:06 pmChicken cube stock. and maybe a few pinch of MSG >.>

This post has been edited by myremi: Apr 11 2009, 10:06 PM

Hmm...that acaloriecounter website ah... It's either the author writes for BB.com or he piagiarises from BB.com .

Well, nearly correct.

Not only watch your calories, make sure it's low GI/GL food so that your blood sugar doesn't spike so often. Apparently, if there's too much insulin in the body (because of the high blood sugar), there's not enough glucogen hormone produced (it breaks down fat).

There are cases where ppl are watching calories and still putting on weight. Trick is low GI/GL food i.e. watch your carbo intake.

Urgh, not feeling too good today. Cough came back but surprisingly, the body isn't as tired as it used to be. So supplements does work as well as exercise and healthy eating.

One thing about low GI, medium GI and high GI is that you notice the actual values are very close to one another. And a food that has a low GI of 5 is differnt from a low GI of 50.

Low GI diets aren't an exact science (according to this UK book I pick up at the bookstore. "The GI Counter" by Dr. Mabel Blades. And this was a little red book that didn't have the GI for corn, bah). Fat is 0 on GI scale. So is protein. So have to watch out.

The low GI foods is to make sure that you're able to control your cravings. Because watching calories doesn't do it. Watching your blood sugar does.

For protein intake, the thing to watch out for is whether a person has an existing kidney problem. The kidney isn't like the liver which can regenerate itself. That's why I do say that it's important to have a blood test regularly to check if liver and kidneys are functioning ok. It's not the end of the world having a kidney problem, it just means that you have to be extremely careful on what you eat and what your exercise regime is like.

When I first got diagnosed with high BP, I went around hunting for various diet plans by medical establishments e.g. American Heart Assosiation, Mayo Clinic, etc. And did some comparisions. Most of them are the same diet plans so it seemed ok to eat a lot of fresh food, rather than processed food. The most difficult diet out of all those medical diet plans is the low-sodium one. Seriously, salt is the hardest thing to give up completely.

Another option is meal replacement products. I'm actually ok with them and believe that they do work. 2 things I'm not happy with though :

1-some companies aren't honest with what they put into those meal supplement plans. You also need to have a strong understanding of nutritional requirements when taking them so as not to go overboard and get your body into toxic shock from vitamins and minerals.

2-The meal supplement products are not cheap. If in the US or UK, sure, they are cheap but when they come to this part of the world, it gets automatically converted to ringgit and costs too much. That's what I seriously don't like about companies selling meal supplements. My health shouldn't come at a cost.

Hmmm... one thing though guys. Please do take what I say with a pinch of salt. Information about diets and nutrition changes rapidly so what we know today may be very different 2 years down the road.

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Added on April 12, 2009, 8:29 pmI think back in 83, I saw the MacGyver series for the first time (living in Miri, watching Brunei channels was the in-thing because we could always watch the latest sitcoms with no adverts) and thought, it's cool to grow up like him. Sadly, form 4 Physics was a pain so switch to Chemistry. And yeah, did Chemical Engineering coz it was cool to work in factories rather than in a boring lab. I have this thing about being bored, maybe too geeky.

I'm working in a semiconductor industry, not oil and gas. Wasn't too smart to get in. But some things that I learnt in Engineering does help to understand scientific text. My parents are always telling me to cool down and stop being too analytical.

And if you're wondering if I have a Swiss Army Penknife, yes, I have my Dad's one when I left for college and university ages ago. I don't carry it everywhere lah. But it is somewhere in the drawers.

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Added on April 12, 2009, 9:49 pmOK, putting a weight counter thing. If that little flower moves left, I get the feeling that a few of you may just whack me for it. >.>

This post has been edited by myremi: Apr 12 2009, 09:49 PM

I'm looking at your journal and just wondering, how on earth did you calculate the kcal for wantan mee and dimsum?

I suspect that you're not having any drop in weight or waist, is because of the foods you're eating. Either underestimation of colories or you're not producing enough glycogen.

I don't have my book with me atm so you'll have to wait until I get back home to check. Glycogen acts as a fat-releasing hormone as well. However, it is also sensitive to insulin content in the blood. So if you eat too much food with high GI, there may be more insulin than there is glycogen. So, no weight loss.

Insulin is used to control your blood sugar levels but if your blood sugar yoyos too much in the body, it's hard for the body to control itself (a nutshell kinda logic). I'll have to get back to you on this one later tonite.

But looking at the foods that you posted in your blog, hmm...I would say that maybe it's the blood sugar effect but guessing game here. It's obvious that you are a very active person. You might need that much carbo anyways.

A lot of processed food around. Since you don't have access to a kitchen, I would suggest for lunch and dinner, try to eat "economy rice" where you can pick and choose your portions. Avoid sauces and gravy but go for food cook from fresh food e.g. vegetables and meat. 2 spoonful of rice, or beans instead since beans are a good source of carbo with low GI. Avoid yams and potatoes except for sweet potato. McD sunday cone is a bomb lah.

The problem with eating "economy rice" is that there's a lot of sugar put into the meals. Even eating at Chinese Restaurants, there is a lot of sugar put into the dishes, just to get rid of any sour/salty/fishy taste/smell. But I guess not much choice. So "economy rice" food choices is the best option for you atm. Avoid the fried stuff and eat fish or chicken.

You may also want to consider the approach that BBers adopt with cutting fat stage. Not to the extreme that they do but just a little bit to drop the amount and then go back to your normal eating habits to maintain the cut.

Less than 15 a’s: You are a slow or medium oxidizer of carbohydrates. You do not need
to restrict carbohydrates, but you may still feel better with less refined flour and sugar.
You will do well with lighter proteins like fish and goat cheese.

Me atm. The questionairre looks like a survey on low carbo / processed food / fermented food.

skylive : Some of the questions are based on the concept that "what-you-eat-may-caused-health-problems" e.g. pupils, dandruff, insect bites (it's something to do with some kind of acid forming on your skin that attracts insects, or the rate of skin healing).

With homeopathic "medicine" or naturaopathy, the practice is to avoid taking processed medication and use natural remedies for healing as well as avoiding chemical exposure. There is some true into it and people who have allergic symptoms to chemicals will find it does work more effectively for them than conventional medication.

Actually, hmm... wonder if we can "makeover" the nasi lemak to something healthy :

-brown rice
-roast chicken drumstick
-cucumber
-boiled peanuts
-boiled egg

But my head hurts thinking of how to prepare the sambal. Maybe just make the sambal as it is and just go with it. A small portion shouldn't contribute much to weight gain since the rice is not cook in coconut milk anymore no?

Ermmm.... very hard to control lor. When eating dimsum, say the prawn + pork meat in dimsum, they will probably use a combination of meat and fat together (e.g. fatty meat, skin). Also, they do at in sugar.

Come to think about it, most Chinese food has sugar in them. Watching my Granny cook some of those restaurant style dishes as well as Penang Nyonya cooking, must say she does have a heavy hand a it.

And the oink-oink you mention is suckling pig?

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Added on April 13, 2009, 3:19 pmCan't replace salt. Maybe have to use seasalt or just adapt to not having salt in food.

Sambal : the problem is sugar. There is alot of sugar in sambal that makes it sweet and to overcome the salty taste from the prawn sambal salty taste.

This post has been edited by myremi: Apr 13 2009, 03:19 PM

Dim sum + 2 bowls of more than 50% pork fat will make you not lose fat.

Dim sum has too much fat in it. Our body loves fat. Our brain loves fat. Our brain is MADE OF FAT. Sugar is another thing that our brain loves, although in the form of glucose.

The picture you posted earlier is known as the three-layered belly pork. The downside of this pig cut is that it's not the leanest part and that's quite a lot of fat you swallowed in those 2 bowls. The plus side is that it just tastes so darn good for being so darn bad (my favourite piece of the pork).

No wonder no drop in weight. Now you have to work harder this week.

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Added on April 13, 2009, 5:50 pmSigh. I haven't had a good plate of nasi lemak since I moved back to Sarawak. The sambal just isn't the same. Helps with weight control though.

This post has been edited by myremi: Apr 13 2009, 05:50 PM

hi dokidoki,

errr... we are serious? >.> don't think so. we tempt each other with bygone days of delicious fatty food...

I guess the best thing is to track everyday then. there's a members journal area you know.

The most we do is try to motivate each other on.

Although, having said that, anyone seen Clarkfann around? Her bday came last week and she has been pretty silent since. Hope she's ok.

charge-n-go & tengster : Ok, I made an error in the word. It's not glycogen, it's glucagon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucagon
http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathp...s/glucagon.html

It's a hormone coming from the pancreas that releases fat from the body. For it to do that, there must be a balance of insulin and glucagon for it to happen. Too much insulin (from too high blood sugar so insulin builds up to try and bring the blood sugar levels down, but it can overcompensate causing blood sugar to go down very very low) will push the levels of glucagon down. So, to maintain healthy balance levels of insulin and glucagon, one needs to have a balance of protein, carbs and fat. Too much high GI carbs will cause too much insulin in the body so may need to have some low GI carbs food in the diet.

For athletes or people who train strenously, they have to be careful of this effect of high and low blood sugar after the training. THey will need a different pre- and post-nutrition just to handle the roller coaster effect of the different blood sugar levels. Hence, that's the reason why it's ok for them to take energy drinks and higher carb foods after

http://www.oztrack.com/gi.htm

For the athletes or ppl who exercise a lot, they may need to adjust their GI intake according to their body needs. Not quite a precise science.

Still reading the book.

Nope, the book doesn't mention it. It does mention that it's good to have aerobic and anaerobic activity to reduce insulin resistance. Increase in insulin resistance means the possibility of diabetes. The book itself revolves a lot around insulin and diabetes as well as other chronic health problems prevalent in modern day. However, he does occasionly peppers the books with information on children and the state of their health with the diet intake these days.

Oh, one thing that the book does say is that a human being starts loosing muscle mass from 35 yo onwards. To counteract this, one is to take up strength training. Even at 80s and 90s, it's still possible to do some strength training.

Still haven't read everything. Still reading on.