Monthly Archives: October 2008

October 31st, 2008
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Chicken Stewed With Sweet Chestnuts

My mil stewed a big pot of chicken with sweet chestnuts and mushrooms yesterday. I can never get fed up with this dish and it’s my all-time favorite. She uses fresh chestnuts, not the pre-peeled or dried ones coz fresh chestnuts taste better.


Since it takes a long time for the chestnuts and mushrooms to become soft, she put these 2 items into a crockpot and cooked them on high heat for several hours in the morning. This way, she does not have to stew the chicken for hours just to soften the mushrooms and chestnuts later in the evening.


Since there was a huge pot, we had this dish for 2 days straight… and yet I haven’t gotten fed up with it just yet.

Food For Thought…
Chestnuts are extremely good for you and are the only nuts allowed on the Pritikin Diet. They are a unique fresh product which has one great advantage – they are clean and healthy.

Chestnuts also have the Heart Foundation tick of approval.

Chestnuts, in contrast to most other nuts, contain only small quantities of fat and oil and are very high in complex carbohydrates. This makes them useful for a wider food range than other common ‘oily’ type nuts.

Chestnuts have quite a remarkable nutritional composition that sets them apart from all other nuts and makes them an outstanding food source which can be a dietary staple. Chestnuts are made up of primarily complex carbohydrate and have a low glycemic index (GI). They are low in protein, very low in fat, and are cholesterol free. They contain reasonable quantities of vitamin C and potassium, but have very low sodium levels. They are gluten free.

The protein is of very high quality, comparable with eggs, and is easily assimilated by the human body.

Chestnuts contain no cholesterol and are low in sodium, fat and kilojoules. They are rich in mineral salts and a good source of vitamins C, B1 and B2 and folates. An average 30g serve provides only 200 kilojoules.

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Homecooked Food
October 31st, 2008
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Is It My Imagination Or A Fact?

Baby C was purging for the past 2 days and yesterday, my heart sank when I smelled her soiled diaper at around noon.  It smelled foul a little.  So for the rest of yesterday, I kept feeding her with plain water, barley water and my milkie in the hope that she would pee more coz our doctors told us that the bad bacteria could be flushed out through pee.  I also washed her bum each time I changed her diaper.  I was like a cuckoo mummy with OCD wiping all her toys, her 2 cribs and playpen with diluted Dettol (suggested by Mott) a few times in a day.   I was just obsessed with washing her bum, changing her diaper and smelling her soiled diaper.  I told my mil and hubby about the foul smelling pee and my mil asked me if I was just imagining the foul smell but I told her I wasn’t.  I trust my senses and my instinct.   Today the pee doesn’t smell foul anymore.  I will just have to continue smelling the soiled diapers.  Hopefully Baby C’s body will be strong enough to fight off the bad bacteria this time and win the battle.

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Cassandra, Kidney Reflux, Urinary Tract Infection
October 29th, 2008
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The Goodness Of Broccoli


I went into the kitchen and saw some broccolis being cut up and soaked in a stainless steel bowl. My mil will be cooking broccoli for dinner tonight, together with some baby corns, sweet peas, carrots and fish cakes. I used to hate eating broccoli when I was young coz of the raw taste and hard texture but not until I found out the goodness of them.  And that’s when I started to include broccoli into my menu everyweek. Thankfully my 2 older gals love broccoli, so I don’t have to bribe or force them down their throats.

Did you know that :

Broccoli is
Low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol,
High in Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium, Manganese, Protein, Vitamin E, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Selenium?

The nutritional value and health benefits of broccoli makes it ideal for:
o Maintaining optimum health
o Weight loss – don’t include too much broccoli in your diet if you’re interested in weight gain.

Wow, I never knew that broccoli can aid in weight loss. I will surely polish off the plate of broccoli tonight then!

One cup of broccoli only has 30 calories.

Along with all other veggies in the cruciferous family, broccoli is important because it contains natural substances that may help the body fight certain cancers.

Broccoli also helps heal kids’ cuts and wounds—it’s a particularly good source of vitamin C.

For a vegetable, broccoli has very good source of calcium and it helps build strong bones and teeth, which is perfect for growing up kids, as well as adults. Broccoli is one of the best nondairy sources of calcium—better absorbed by the body than spinach.

You can hide broccoli in Oprah’s recipe for Chicken Nuggets.  I am going to try it too myself.  Oprah’s chicken nuggets recipe even has flaxseed meal in em.  Pretty healthy and wholesome for kids!

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Healthy Food
October 28th, 2008
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Strabismus In Babies

When Sherilyn was a baby, she appeared to have Strabismus or what people call ‘cock-eyed’ or cross-eyed.  For many months until she passed her 1st birthday, I was worried sick and had brought her to see several pediatricians to check her eyes out.   Upon checking her eyes,  I was reassured by the doctors that Sherilyn most likely does not have Strabismus.  But  I was still worried sick, being the wimp and worry freak that I am.   The doctors told me that the false strabismus or pseudo-strabismus is caused by

o an extra skin that covers the inner corner of the eye

o a broad, flat nose

o eyes set unusually close together or far apart

Since Sherilyn’s eyes are set quite far apart and she had quite a flat nose when she was a baby, she appeared to have Strabismus. The false Strabismus gradually disappeared as she grew older and now, her eyes look perfectly normal, thank God!

With Baby C, her eyes crossed intermittently for about 2 months, i.e. when she was 1 month old until she passed her second month, especially when an object is placed too near her eyes. When she had her first attack of UTI at 2 months old, her eyes crossed even more. After the second month, her eyes never crossed anymore and now she has beautiful eyes, thank God too!

Here’s some information on Strabismus, which I have obtained from Health A-Z.

Definition
Strabismus is a condition in which the eyes do not point in the same direction. It can also be referred to as a tropia or squint.

Description
Strabismus occurs in 2-5% of all children. About half are born with the condition, which causes one or both eyes to turn:

inward (esotropia or “crossed eyes”)

outward (exotropia or “wall eyes”)

upward (hypertropia)

downward (hypotropia)

Strabismus is equally common in boys and girls. It sometimes runs in families.

Types of strabismus
Esotropia is the most common type of strabismus in infants. Accommodative esotropia develops in children under age two who cross their eyes when focusing on objects nearby. This usually occurs in children who are moderately to highly farsighted (hyperopic).

Another common form of strabismus, exotropia, may only be noticeable when a child looks at far-away objects, daydreams, or is tired or sick.

Sometimes the eye turn is always in the same eye; however sometimes the turn alternates from one eye to the other’.

Most children with strabismus have comitant strabismus. No matter where they look, the degree of deviation does not change. In incomitant strabismus, the amount of misalignment depends upon which direction the eyes are pointed.

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Strabismus
October 27th, 2008
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Clean Freak

Ever since Baby C has been having frequent attacks of UTI and having bacteria detected in her pee most of the time, I have taken many precautionary measures to minimize bacteria from entering her body. Yesterday, I bought some Dettol wet wipes and a box of alcohol swabs from the pharmacy. 

I wipe the railings on Baby C’s crib (the part where she chews and licks on all the time) at least twice a day with the alcohol swab. The dettol wipes are to wipe her toys and other things that she has contact with.  I wish I don’t have to do this, it makes me feel as if I have OCD (obsession compulsive disorder) but I am just trying my utmost best to prevent another UTI from attacking my poor baby.   It crushes my heart each time she has a UTI or has bacteria detected in her pee… as this would mean painful jabs for her and lotsa torture for my poor baby 🙁

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Baby Care, Me
October 26th, 2008
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Prolactor Probiotics

Hubby was informed by his pharmacist friend that one of the best brands of probiotics in the market is Prolactor.  Prolactor has 10 billion CFU (colony forming units) of good bacteria.  Most other brands of probiotics only have 5 billion CFU of good bacteria.  The packaging for Prolactor is pretty impressive.  It is packed in an aluminium resealable bag and comes with a Thermafreeze (something like dried ice). I had read from a health magazine that probiotics that requires refrigeration works better than those that can be kept at room temperature. Hubby bought it from a hospital and the price?  Darn expensive at over RM90 for a bottle of 30 capsules or over RM3 each capsule.  Hubby doesn’t mind as long as his precious baby gets the best treatment.  Hopefully the probiotics will be able to help Baby C’s body fight off the bad bacteria and win the battle, thus prevent another UTI.  

Hubby has to spend close to RM500 per month just on Baby C’s health supplements, exluding Baby C’s consultation with our doctors and urine tests which cost another RM300-RM500  per month.  That makes it almost RM1,000 a month just on Baby C’s health supplements and medical consultation fees and medication.  What about diapers?  I dare not even calculate how much she spents on diapers per month as our doctor has advised us to change her diaper after just one pee.  I think she uses more than 10 diapers a day.   Sigh… that’s the reason why hubby and I have to slog like a dog to earn more moolah 🙁

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Cassandra, Healthy Living Products, Kidney Reflux, Urinary Tract Infection
October 24th, 2008
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Update On Baby C’s Urine Culture Test

continuation from here. 

I called our pediatric nephrologist this morning.  The urine culture test shows that there is very scanty growth of bacteria in the urine.  Our dr. said that the amount is so insignificant that it is not considered a UTI.   That’s why the initial urine FEME test done on Monday showed that there was no bacteria and no WBC (white blood cells) in the urine.  Only 2 RBC (red blood cells) were detected.

Today will be the last day I need to feed her antibiotics twice a day.  Tomorrow onwards she only needs to be fed antibiotics once a day, 2.5ml a day.   So am I glad or sad?  I am glad that it is not a full blown UTI but sad that there is still some bacteria lingering in her urinary tract.  Looks like I will have to continue being trapped in my nightmare, continue to smell her soiled diapers everyday, continue to check her urine several times a week and make endless trips to the hospital until only God knows when they will all come to an end.  Sigh….. really sien and I am really, really mentally and physically frazzled 🙁

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Cassandra, Kidney Reflux, Urinary Tract Infection
October 23rd, 2008
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Hallucinations Arising From High Fever

I got a scare outa my wits one time when Alycia had high fever and started to have hallucinations. That happened 2 years ago when she was almost 3 years old. She was having high fever for a few days, despite being on medication and one morning, she woke up and told me that she saw a snowman at the window and she appeared to be in a daze!  I thought she had brain damage resulting from the high fever and quickly brought her to see the pediatrician.  She also had rashes resulting from the high fever, which hubby and I were worried sick that it was Dengue fever.  The dr ordered a blood test done and thank God, all was well.  In fact, Alycia’s fashion is that whenever she has very high fever (above 38.5 degrees Celsius), red blood spots and rashes will appear on her face and body.  After noticing this trend several times, I no longer get worried when she gets blood spots and rashes when she has high fever now.  My mum told me that I used to be like this too when I was a toddler, so I guess it’s all in the genes.

Alycia is very prone to getting fevers. In fact, she will have fever whenever she has a throat infection (something which she gets very frequently as she has a sensitive throat, just like daddy and mummy) or runny nose. Each time her body is burning with a high fever, she tends to have a mild hallucination and will say things that she will not say when she is normal, which is really scary. As she grew older, the high fevers are lesser now, thank God! But she is still pretty much prone to having throat infections and can’t eat too much heaty food like biscuits, chocolates, crackers and deep fried food.

Here’s an article on hallucinations and high fever, which I obtained from the internet :

A high fever, especially in children, can evoke hallucinations, consciousness changes, or dream-like states that resemble hallucinogenic states. Requires urgent medical attention.Hallucinations can arise from a high fever or other illness involving a fever. These type of febrile hallucinations arise particularly in children and the elderly.Hallucinations can affect any of the senses: visual hallucinations (seeing things), aural hallucinations (hearing noises or voices), taste hallucinations, or sensory hallucinations.

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Alycia, High Fever In Toddlers
October 22nd, 2008
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Sprouted Wheat Bread

I first found out about sprouted wheat bread 6 years ago, during the height of my weight-loss journey. I had gained 6kg in 2 months due to PCOS, a hormonal disorder (my weight shot up from 42kg to 48kg). Most PCOS sufferers are resistant to insulin and have a hard time loosing weight. I found out that in order to loose weight, I had to be on a low-carb high protein diet. That’s when my obsession with low-carb food started.  I then started to avoid most food made from white flour, went cold turney on rice, white bread, noodles, cakes and even fruits with high sugar content like mangoes, grapes, durian, red apples, melons, etc.

When I found out that there is a 100% flour-free bread, I was ecstatic. I ate it for dinner almost everyday – 2 slices of Adventist sprouted wheat bread with sugar-free peanut butter and cheese and sometimes boiled some sausages or microwaved some burgers to go with the sprouted wheat bread.  I ate that in my office almost everyday as I had to work late on most days.  Sometimes my tea-lady would help me microwave the burgers and toast my bread.  With rigorous exercise everyday, I lost weight, albeit it wasn’t easy at all as I had PCOS.

I stopped buying sprouted wheat bread about a year ago when I was carrying Baby C.  When I first bought it 6 years ago, it cost RM4.50 a loaf.  My jaw almost dropped when I saw the price tag on this loaf of bread at Bangsar Village last week.   It now costs RM6.90 a loaf, an increase of more than 50%!!  Unbelievable!  Even a crate of 10 eggs cost 90 sen to a ringgit more now.   Sorry, divert a little here…..


A slice of the sprouted wheat bread only has 12gms of carb…. and it has a low Glycemix Index (GI) too, which slows down the release of insulin.  A slice of white flour bread has over 20gms of carb and has a high GI.


My breakfast today – 2 slices of toasted sprouted wheat bread with peanut butter and some ’boutique cheese’ – Lemnos Black Forest fruit cheese and Seriously Matured Cheddar Cheese.


My breakfast yesterday – untoasted sprouted wheat bread with peanut butter and kaya…. and of course with my favorite Lemnos Black Forest cheese.

The sprouted wheat bread normally turns mouldy within 1-2 days of purchase. I normally keep them in the freezer.

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Healthy Food
October 21st, 2008
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Update On Baby C’s Urine Test

I called our nephrologist today.  The initial urine FEME test shows that there are no WBC (white blood cells) and no bacteria in the urine.  There are however 2 RBC (red blood cells) in the urine…. which means that there could be an infection in the urinary tract or kidney.  Our doctor said to wait for the urine culture results to see what is actually going on in her urinary tract, which will only be out on Thursday or Friday.  Sigh… 2-3 more days of worrying myself sick. Meanwhile, her antibiotics has been changed from Cephalexin to Bactrim and increased from 1.5ml once a day to 2.5ml twice a day.

Today Baby C’s pee does not smell foul anymore and she appears as active as usual.  She is however still purging.  I’ve stopped feeding her with cranberry juice and barley water.  Yesterday she was really traumatized when the dr. inserted the catheter into her ureter and subsequently gave her a very painful intra-muscular antibiotics jab.  Her long-term memory has already formed and the moment she was put on the bed in the procedures room, she already yelled her lungs out. She could remember the procedures that she had gone through recently and my poor baby was scared.    She was really whiny and craby after the trip to the hospital and she was practically latched on to my teats the whole night!

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Cassandra, Kidney Reflux, Urinary Tract Infection
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