What can really comfort a tummy is a hot bowl of homemade porridge. I am one who eats no or very little rice (solely for diet reasons) but when my mil whips up a pot of chicken or fish porridge with meat pre-marinated to perfection, I almost always succumb to a piping hot bowl. And the warm porridge can really comfort the tummy and mind on one of those stressful week days.
Fish and pork porridge, sprinkled with some crunchy meat floss from Taiwan.
They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day for us. I totally agree on this. I have a pretty heavy breakfast everyday. It keeps my tummy full and satiated and all thoughts of snacks and food will be stave off for the rest of the day! As we burn the most calories in the morning and afternoon through house work, running errands, etc., our body burns off the food very quickly. All the carbo ‘allocation’ that I allow myself is mostly eaten during breakfast — fruits, kuih, cakes, bread and even junk food are all taken in the morning. Also, I need not have to eat stealthily in the morning as my kids are all in school! 🙂 My lunch is moderately heavy and dinner is the lightest meal of the day for me. Supper is a no-no for me but I have that once in a blue moon supper when we hang out with friends.
Here’s my typical mid-morning breakfast. Here, I had lightly toasted homemade wholemeal bread with butter, 2 free range chicken eggs – half boiled and sprinkled with some Taiwanese meat floss, a piece of Nyonya kuih and a mug of green tea which is a must every morning. When I wake up every morning, I down a cup of apple cider vinegar with psyllium husk and Manuka honey. Half an hour later, I have my cup of coffee with milk and take my vitamins. Once I am back from my morning exercise, I eat fruits and half an hour later, I have my mid morning solid breakfast.
What do you eat for breakfast every morning?
This week long school term break, apart from a short holiday in Ipoh, the girls have been spending most of their time watching TV, playing with their new Lego sets which their aunt bought from Hong Kong and playing educational games like educa from the iPad. I have bought some more workbooks for Aly and Sher to do before their brains turn rusty when school reopens! If I can remember, I will set work for them everyday. Aly and Sher will be sitting for their final exam in less than 2 months and that’s when my stress and blood pressure rise again. Oh well, that’s motherhood.
Today 2 new part-time maids will be coming to cover for the existing one who has gone back to her hometown to celebrate Hari Raya. I find it a hassle to have to supervise part-time maids, to ensure that things are done properly, orderly and thoroughly. Supervising the part-time maids takes up my time too and sometimes I feel like doing the chores myself when I have to waste time explaining to them and showing them how to do. But there are certain chores like washing the kids’ canvas shoes, school bags, wiping the ceiling fans and windows and ironing which I absolutely hate to the max! I do not mind washing the loos, moping the floor and learning how to reformat hard drive but definitely not the chores that I mentioned above. I rather spend some money to remain sane.
Here’s another easy and quick to whip up lunch for my girls – San Remo mac and cheese (MSG-free) with broiled organic french beans and free-range scrambled eggs. It’s a no-fuss and no-fret lunch for the girls. Sometimes I use broccoli and sometimes I add in some fresh mushrooms. Milk and butter are added to the San Remo mac and cheese to give it a creamier taste and texture. I normally cook extra and deep freeze half a portion for another day’s lunch. While the girls wallop the mac and cheese, I will only eat the eggs and french beans. That’s not enough to fill me up, so I normally get my portion of carbs from wholemeal crackers, wholemeal bread or yoghurt with nuts. As I age, I find that I cannot tolerate heavy meals anymore. I feel better when I am about 70% full, physically and mentally (guilt-free)!
On recommendation of a friend who also feeds her son with Fluimucil to expel phlegm, I bought a pack from the pharmacy to try it on Sherilyn. Initially I tried Pei Pa Koa but had to stop that when I realized that it caused her to have loose bowels several times in a day. The same thing happened to Cass who was also fed Pei Pa Koa to expel her phlegm. Alycia was the only one who did not consume Pei Pa Koa and she did not suffer from loose bowel, so I surmised that it must be the Pei Pa Koa that caused loose bowel in Sherilyn and Cass.
Next I tried store bought Ivy leaves cough syrup but that did not seem to reduce the phlegm. So I decided to give Fluimucil a try. Though it did help in reducing the phlegm and cough substantially, Sherilyn had tummy upset and purged 3-4 times in a day. She soiled her pants when she let out gas. Another time was a big scene but thank God it was at home on a Sunday. She dirtied the room floor with her loose faeces, which splattered onto the cupboard and drawers! I spent over an hour cleaning up the mess and disinfecting the room! I suspect that one of the side effects of Fluimucil on Sherilyn is that it had caused her tummy upset and loose bowel but this is not conclusive. I also surmised that cough syrups in general had caused Sherilyn loose bowel movement and tummy upset.
My drama queen took over half an hour to finish half a mug of Fluimucil effervescent with water. Actually the smell / taste ain’t that bad. If I can stomach it down, so can anyone, as I am one who can totally not swallow any syrupy meds.
I have been coughing my lungs and ribs out for the past 5 days. It’s so bad that my ribs, stomach and lower armpit areas hurt a lot whenever I cough now. I hardly ever have cough and flu but the lack of sleep for the past 2 weeks has taken a toll on my immune system. All I feel like doing now is to hit the bed and have a 10-hour uninterrupted sleep but I still have a lot of work to be done. I have to find out which custom built laptops are the best to get, have some emails to reply and of course house chores that must be done. Perhaps the only way I can get a 10-hour uninterrupted sleep is when I check myself into the hospital now!
This bowl of muesli was the first item that I helped myself to at the buffet breakfast @ Hilton Sentral. Of all the interesting grub laid on the buffet tables, the first two items that caught my eyes first were the yoghurt / nuts/ muesli bar and fresh juice bar. I started off with some fresh cut fruits, a glass of freshly juiced orange – apple – celery juice and muesli, followed with eggs, sausages and a little bit of everything.
My bowl of muesli with lots of sliced toasted almonds, pistachio nibs, fresh pineapple slices and low fat fresh milk.
