Category Archive: Vegetables nutritional informaiton

Boiled Peanuts

My visiting parents from Ipoh bought a few kilograms of raw peanuts from the wet market for us. I’ve not bought raw peanuts for aeons and I miss eating them. Each time I see a vendor hawking boiled peanuts on a bike or tricycle (which is pretty rare in KL these days), it reminds me of the time about 20-30 years ago.  Those days, my papa would bring us to the movies occasionally.  Going to the cinema was a luxury and one of the very few entertainment outlets for us back then. Before going into the cinema, papa would often buy us boiled peanuts wrapped in newspapers twirled into a cone shape.  Thinking back, how dirty it was to be eating from newspapers eh?  There were no pop-corns then. Only boiled sweet corns, boiled peanuts, kacang putih (also wrapped in newspapers twirled into a cone shape), Ramly burgers (I still love them!) and light snacks / junk food.

When I saw my mil boiling the whole bag of peanuts, I thought we would not be able to finish them but I was wrong. They tasted so soft, so good and so fragrant that all of us whacked the few kilograms of peanuts in 2 days! We snacked on the peanuts throughout the day!  When we could not finish the peanuts on the first day, we kept them in the fridge and the following day, we ate cold boiled peanuts!  Still tasted good!  Even Baby had a try and liked them but after eating quite a bit, she spat them out coz she couldn’t chew them properly with only 3 tiny teeth.

Food For Thought :

Health benefits of eating peanuts :

Eating peanuts is a good preventive measure for those who frequently suffer from nose bleed.

Recently, research showed that it helps in reducing heavy menstruation for women who suffer from heavy periods.

Very good for our heart, which in turn helps to prevent cardiovascular diseases.

Full of mono-unsaturated fats, which are beneficial to the health. Diets consisting of “good fats” control weight better than low-fat diets, thus making groundnuts a great source of weight management. Studies have shown that eating peanuts lower a person’s risk of weight gain and promotes good heart health.

Groundnut contains 13 different types of vitamins and is also rich in 26 essential minerals like calcium, iron, zinc, amongst others which are beneficial to building and maintaining strong bones.

Bursting with anti-oxidants and they help in reducing the risk of heart diseases and cancer risk.

Helps in anti-aging thus keeping the body fit, young and trim.

Regular consumption of peanuts actually reduces a lot of ailments. They also provide protection against cancer, obesity, diabetes and Type II diabetes.

As with other food, intake of peanuts should be taken moderately as over consumption can still lead to weight gain.  Many people also believe that eating too much roasted peanuts can cause sore throat and zits because of the ‘heatiness’.

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How Do You Like To Eat Your Aubergines?

I am not a fan of aubergines (or eggplant or brinjal) and I only like them when they are stuffed with fish paste and lightly pan-fried. Grilling / roasting them or BBQing them with a drizzle of olive oil are also acceptable but I hardly ever buy them from the market or the supermarket. But my mil loves aubergines and she cooks them every week. My 2 older gals don’t like aubergines either but I try to coax them to eat them.

This is how my mil normally cooks aubergines :

She cooks it the healthy way, i.e. steamed.  After the aubergines are steamed, she sprinkles some toasted sesame seeds and fried garlic + oil along with some chopped Chinese parsley and a drizzle of soy sauce.  It’s rather tasty this way.  It is also tasty when cooked with tau cheong (fermented soy bean paste) and minced chicken/pork meat and some cut red chillies.

Did you know that Aubergine is a low fat vegetable, but it absorbs a lot of fat when it is fried? Pan-fried aubergines with sambal belacan and dried shrimps is a very popular dish in Chinese restaurants and ‘tai chau’… and it’s really fattening when cooked this way as the aubergines absorbs a lot of oil.  Aubergines are also known as the poor man’s meat.

Food For Thought:

Aubergines/brinjals block the formation of free radicals in the body.

Reduces cholesterol levels.

Source of folic acid and potassium.

It is believed to be a cholesterol regulator.

It is anti diabetic.

In few countries like Africa it is used to treat epilepsy and convulsions.

In South East Asia, it is used to treat stomach cancers and measles.

It reduces swellings from joints and other parts of body.

The aubergine juice is used to prevent perspiration on the palm and sole.

Rich in Vitamin A & B.

It is low in calorie content.

It is rich in calcium, fibre, folic acid, sodium, vitamin C and potassium.

It is high in water content and has almost 92 % of moisture.

Due to its low calorie content it is suitable for people who are suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.

Tip When Preparing Brinjal Dish
Care must be taken while cooking brinjal. To prevent discoloration of the flesh, it should be sliced with a stainless steel knife.

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