Foodalog: Banana "pancakes"

Hello all you awesome people!

Do you always crave for sweet stuff but yet always feel sad that you can't eat them?

Don't worry! You don't always have to stick to overnight oats!

Bananas always make awesome replacements for carbs/flour!

And one of it is the banana "pancakes"

First, add in one banana and an egg.

Sorry, I know this banana is too ripe and ugly!

But a ripe banana is soft and it makes it easier to mash it up! :)

Just mash until the egg and the banana is nicely combined!

Something like this, it's ok if there's some small lumps, but just makes sure that most of the banana is mashed up.

Then, heat up a pan, put in a tiny bit of olive oil and pour the mixture in :)

Wait for a bit for it to cook and solidify then it'll flip nicely.

If you flip it too early, it'll look like an omelette/scrambled egg more than a pancake

This is the product!

I didn't wait long enough for the mixture to solidify in the pan, that was why it turned out in pieces.

This, I waited and see! It really does look like a pancake :)

You can eat it with savoury sides (like sauteed mushrooms/grilled tomatoes) or with fruits & yoghurt!

If I want to eat it with savoury sides, I'll add a pinch of salt to the mixture to give a sweet & savoury taste. If not, it itself is sweet and yummy ^^

It's about 200 calories! :)

Of course, add healthy sides to make you fill fuller or just drink more water 

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Now for the unhealthy part!

I went to Hot Tomato with my dad and my youngest bro for dinner from super long ago!!

Minestrone with garlic bread

Ice lemon tea

(made from syrup, of course, but still prefer this over coke/sprite)

Mango salsa salmon!!! :)

Mine was $11.90, added on $5 for the drink + soup of the day.

I was quite pleased that the salmon was cooked the proper way!

Most of the time, salmon cooked outside gets too tough and dry and gross.

This was just the way I liked it, cooked on the outside, slightly raw centre and crispy skin

YUMMSSS

Oh yes! My brother ordered fish & chips, and the tomato salad was awesome!

It had cherry tomatoes and onions.

*drools*

TL;DR: Healthy VS Skinny

Hihi!

People keep asking me how to lose weight even though I'm not very skinny :(

But, I am proud to say that I've lost 7-8kg from Aug till now!

However..... I'm not eating healthily now because it is still the holidays!

That's not the main point!

I am here to talk about the difference between being healthy and skinny!

If you've seen my previous posts on losing weight and healthy eating habits, you'll know that I've been telling you girls that you should lose weight healthily.

Losing weight doesn't mean that you stop eating all together.

If you do this for a prolonged period, your body would eventually not know what to do with the food once you start eating normally, and they'll all be stored as fats.

AND THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU WANT!

Some people choose to go on extreme diets, like eating only fruits and vegetables, or only juice.

Well, this is good if you are doing it for a maximum of 5 days to just cleanse your body of all the junk (esp after the holiday season) but it's definitely not healthy in the long run.

Your body needs energy, so as you cut down on simple sugars such as white rice, white bread, pasta, you should still eat complex sugars such as wholemeal, oats, muesli.

And alternative, is that you eat white meat or fish in replacement of carbs.

What I ate during my "diets" was chicken breast and salmon.

(FYI, you still need fats, but healthy ones because your organs are cushioned by fats, so if you don't consume fats, it'll be bad~)

At the same time, you should exercise!

If you don't want to go out and run, then head on over to Youtube and search for cardio exercises. 

Do those that you can feel the kick afterwards, like literally panting after you end.

Then, to rid those jiggly fats and tone your body, simply do toning exercises.

You should focus on a body part a day, and do it over a week.

Eg: Monday (arms), Tuesday (legs), Wednesday (abs), Thursday (full body)

Something like this, and you can alternate cardio in between!

Like maybe odd days, you do cardio, then even days, you do toning!

This is like the gist hahaha.

And, I know, there will be people who will ask me how to get rid of bulky muscles, well, I don't really know about that. But I think genetics has a part to play as well.

The nature of the sport you do also plays a part. If you do short sprints very often (such as those in touch rugby), then you'll probably have bulkier thighs than those who do long distance running.

Also, do not consume anything within the next 2h after you're done exercising.

Guys (& some girls) who want to bulk up, they'll drink protein shakes right after they workout, but if you just want to lose weight, then you better not.

This is because, whatever that you eat within that 2h frame will be used to repair the damaged muscles in your body, (this is the reason why your muscles ache the next day) making it bigger than before.

So don't eat after your workouts! :)

Then for those who are naturally skinny and have high metabolism rates.

I know you're trying to gain weight, but it seems impossible.

However, you should still eat healthily, eat more carbs, yes. But don't spam fast food.

Just because you're skinny, doesn't mean that you're healthy.

You still can have high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and etc because of your unhealthy eating habits.

So, like I always say, eat healthy, do your exercise, and make this unique to yourself!

Adapt to your own liking, so you can do it on a daily basis, don't make this feel like a chore, or else, you'll not have the motivation to carry on with it.

Oh oh, and, not to forget, you can have a cheat meal, MEAL, a week so you can have a goal to look forward to. It's just for a meal, not 3 meals for the entire day ok?

And you know, there's this hype about the thigh gap and now, the bikini bridge.

Well, my opinions about it is that, it makes girls look anorexic.

I know some of you are born skinny, and I'm not talking bad about you, I'm talking about those who purposely want to be stick thin.

Why torture yourself? :(

Why not try to be skinny for life? :)

Heck the trends of having thigh gaps and bikini bridges, just be healthy and you'll be happy!

I'd rather girls aim for abs than to aim for gaps and bridges.

By the way, these are all my own opinions, I don't need everyone to agree with me ^^

And, I'm sharing all these for fun, I am not an expert at this weight loss thing because I'm still not at my desired weight, neither am I toned enough :(

So... BUHBYEEEEEEE~~

Foodalog: Overnight Oats

Hi awesome people!

I just finished my first paper, and I'm supposed to start on my revision for the two papers tomorrow but I'm tired :(

Anyway, this is just a quick update on the overnight oats I've been making for the past few days! :)

Overnight oats | HL low fat milk | Marigold peach and mango non-fat yoghurt | bananas | raspberries | strawberries | sunflower seeds

Looks really good right? It isn't that hard actually!

What you need:

equal portions of milk and steel cut oats. (It can be any type of oats as long as it is not instant)

yoghurt (optional)

fruits

nuts

What you need to do is to mix all your milk and oats together in a container. You can add more or less based on how sticky you like your oats!

Then keep it overnight! :)

The oats will soak up all the liquid and become soft, it's pretty much the same as cooking it, just that cooking takes time, I prefer just mixing my oats and leaving it to do the work on its own since I don't have much time to cook :(

You can choose to eat it cold the next morning or just heat it up for a bit :)

Milk makes it creamier, you can choose to cook in water but it wouldn't taste as nice in my opinion.

And don't use instant oats especially if you want to eat healthily as instant oats have process sugar and the oats are processed to cook faster too.

You can customize your own oats, use goat's milk, almond milk, soy milk.

You can add flavoured yoghurt or plain ones, you can choose to add in all sorts of fruits and nuts according to your preference too!

There's this apple with cinnamon one that you can try too! :)

And the below are some other variations I had!

Nutella overnight oats | bananas | raspberries | sunflower seeds

Nutella overnight oats | bananas | sunflower seeds

For this, just add in half a tablespoon to one tablespoon worth of nutella.

Don't add too much else it wouldn't be healthy anymore HAHA.

I stay in hall and I have no time to get more variety, so I can only play with what I have.

But as a person who dislike oats, I think nutella makes it really delicious!

My friends like to use peanut butter too :)

Then again, if you just wanna use normal milk, you can add honey to sweeten your oats.

And, since you wanna be healthy, try not to put too much nutella/peanut butter. Else it'll still be unhealthy in the end. 

Click here! They mentioned that a bit of nut spreads are good for you! :)

Maybe, you can tag me on fb to show me what you made? :)

Instagram will do too! :)

@thlovecarousel

Back to studying :(

Let's Float: What do I eat?

Hi guys! I know I've mentioned that I'm going to show all of you what I eat in part 1 right? 

So here it is!

HEALTHY DIET

More than often, I buy my own ingredients to do my own cooking because I can control the amount of oil and salt I add.

Although you can say that I can grab yong tau foo and soups outside that are considerably healthier, but you have no idea if they had put any msg in them etc. haha

I choose to not have carbs when I cook so I can save my calories for good restaurant food ^^

This is enoki mushroom and diced chicken breast with green onions.

Many of you will ask: "How do you marinate the chicken?"

Just marinate them in simple soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper! You can prepare this a day before hand so that the chicken absorbs the yumminess!

For this dish, I merely heated the pan, added a teeny bit of olive oil, put in the chicken and the enoki mushrooms and wait!

The mushrooms will produce water so the chicken will be soaking in yummy sauce infused with the seasoning of the chicken. 

I don't like my chicken to be too tough (reason why I hate chicken breasts I buy outside)

The ones I cook is always so tender and juicy <3

So always watch your chicken, as soon as they do not have pinkness, remove them from the pan.

This is diced chicken breast with onions. hahaha.

It's cooked the same way as mentioned above :)

This is salmon with garlic and lemon juice.

I love salmon because it's is so tender, I hate the ones outside because they LOVE to overcook them.

SALMONS SHOULD BE SOFT AND TENDER, NOT HARD LIKE A ROCK.

I simply fried the garlic, rubbed a bit of salt and pepper on the salmon and put it into the pan skin side down.

I read from somewhere that every oz is equivalent to 1min of cooking on the pan.

So, if your salmon is 5oz (convert on google if you don't know), you should cook it about 5 min in total, which is 2.5min per side.

If you like your salmon soft and tender, remove it once it's cooked, because I love salmon sashimi, I don't really care if it's a tiny bit raw in the middle still. But for those who mind, just cook it a slightly longer, you can adjust the timing according the the doneness you like your salmon to be :)

Then just squeeze lemon juice over when it's about done! :)

This is diced chicken breast, with sauteed mushrooms and a sunny side up.

The chicken is cooked as mentioned above.

As for sauteed mushrooms, I used button mushrooms, (don't use the canned ones please omg) you can choose other mushrooms that you like too!

First, wash them, then DRY them! This is so that your mushrooms won't release too much water during cooking. Then, chop them up, put a bit of olive oil in the pan, throw in chopped garlic and onions. Wait till the onions turn slightly translucent and when the garlic is aromatic, then add the chopped mushrooms. Now you wait and let it cook slowly.

Make sure that every mushroom touch the pan, so all of them can get cooked.

This might take 10min as they slowly release their water. Then, you can season them when they are more or less cooked! :)

This is the same, just that I added a wholemeal wrap to wrap a bit of chicken, mushrooms and lettuce :)

This is long beans with egg, pan fried chicken breast and aglio olio!

For the long beans with egg, chop up the long beans, add a bit of olive oil and fry them until soft.

Then add in the eggs that are pre-seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper.

Cook till desired doneness.

For the pan fried chicken breast, heat up a bit of olive oil (until it's very hot).

Rub the chicken with salt and pepper.

Place it into the pan skin side down, away from you.

Once it has a bit of brown-ess, flip it over and cook the other side.

Once you're done, place the chicken breast on a plate and place it into the oven at 150 degree celsius for 10minutes. This is for my oven, different ovens have different configurations so you need to test it.

The reason why I don't want to continue pan-frying the chicken to cook it because the outside of the chicken is going to turn super tough before the centre gets cooked.

I learnt this from master chef HAHAHA.

Then for the aglio olio, boil a pot of water, add salt. Once it boils, place the spaghetti in and wait for 7-10 min depending on how hard or soft you like your spaghetti to be.

Then, remove it from the pot and rinse it under cold water to stop the cooking.

Now, in a frying pan, add olive oil, chopped small chilli padi and garlic (however much you like) and once the garlic is aromatic, add in the spaghetti. Keep stirring and then season with salt (and pepper if you like). Don't cook it for too long else the spaghetti will turn hard.

Then you're done! :)

And on lazy days, I just cook soups!

Simply cut garlic, fry them till aromatic. If you're planning to add meat, add in here to fry them a bit.

Then add water , and your chopped ingredients.

I like to put in cabbage, enoki mushrooms, tofu and egg! :)

Then just leave it to boil and you're done!

Oh yes, this is soup and steamed fish!!

I have no idea what this fish is, but it's best for steaming. LOL

Make sure you get the fish monger to remove all the innards and scales. Then wash it.

Cut up some plums/ginger and garlic then place then inside the fish and on top.

This is to remove the fishy taste, you can add a bit of soy sauce to season it too!

Then just steam it <3

And yes, eat loads of fruits! HEHEHEHE.

I love the wooden bowl so much, it costs $15.90 from IKEA btw :)

UNHEALTHY FOOD

I do cut myself some slack some times and give myself a good treat :)

Awesome and delicious macarons from my seniors at only $10 per box of 6!

It comes in dark chocolate, salted caramel and matcha!

Check here to find out more, but he's not taking orders at the moment as he's away for a trip and will only be free in Jan 2014.

Mini cupcakes that oozed yumminess from their inside from Smoulder

The chorale treat we, ICs, gave to the members for the job well done at the good luck concert!

It consists of mac and cheese, salad, bread pudding, mushroom soup, chicken, watermelon and hot dogs. 

YUMMY FOOD FROM IKEA!

The meatballs were disappointing :(

Medium rare rib eye steak with potato salad and mac and cheese from Astons!

Cheap $16.95 seafood platter from Fish and Co and the ala carte scallops ^^

Ebi meal!

I swear right, I rather spend my calories on restaurant food than fast food as I feel that fast food's super process. At least restaurant food are of better quality and nutrients, so they are worth me using up my calories. HAHAHA.

The only reason why I broke my 2 months no-fast-food streak for the ebi meal was because I like seafood. But it disappointed me. The fizz was filled with syrup taste, ebi patty had real prawns which surprised me, but tasted like some gooey thingy, because it is frozen. The banana pie was good though :)

I don't eat junk food as much as possible because they are filled with unhealthy fats and carbs. Even though their calories are less than 100 per packet, but still, the nutritional levels are quite low.

I normally weigh my food like this la. I tend to look for food that will fill me, to me they are worth my calories, junk food wastes my calories and doesn't fill me :(

Plus, if I have one good meal, I'll cut down on what I eat in the later meal of that day or the next day and then do more exercise haha.

It's about balance, if you want to eat more, exercise more. If not, you'll grow fat and not lose weight :(

And last, I want to emphasize on this!

Back to studying now <3

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Let's float: How to lose it all!

I have been trying to eat healthily and exercise regularly since August and I have been seeing results. 

My friends said the same thing about me :)

But the thing is that I'm stagnating now :(

People always have this idea that losing weight is equivalent to not eating.

The fact is you need to eat! 

Whether you choose to eat in smaller portions or eat regular meals, you still need to eat.

Some people work better with having smaller and more portions throughout the day while some can manage better with regular meals.

What you need to do is to watch what you eat.

The "to-abstain-from" list is as follows:

1) Simple carbohydrates (Food with high glycemic indexes)

These are foods that would cause a huge spike in your blood glucose levels. And if you are a biology student, you will know that when there is a spike in your blood glucose level, your body will secrete insulin which converts the excess glucose in your blood stream into glycogen to be stored in your muscle cells and in fat cells. The reason why you grow fat! :(

You can read here to know all about sugars!

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2013/06/17/everything-you-need-to-know-about-sugar/

However, there are still good carbs! You have to eat carbs to have energy!

Just select the types of carbs you eat!

Choose brown rice over white rice

Wholemeal bread over white bread.

Oat meals (NOT THE INSTANT ONE! THAT HAS SUGAR) over commercial cereals.

2) Fried food

As delicious as it might appear to be, it contains a lot of oil.

And it is very very bad for you especially when you want to lose weight.

But with this said, you can choose alternatives like grilled, soups etc. As little oil as possible. Don't avoid it completely as your body still needs a bit of fats as there are vitamins that are fat soluble and your organs need fats to cushion them.

There are also food that you should eat too! :)

Greek Yoghurt.

It tastes awful :(

But add honey, fruits, museli to flavour it.

Alternatively, you can eat non-fat yoghurt!

I always eat marigold's non-fat yoghurt in peach and mango flavour ^^

Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables! 

It helps you cleanse your body, provide you with vitamins and prevents constipation :D

Drink soy milk and not dairy milk.

Soy milk has a lot of fibre which suppresses your appetite and it has a lot less fats :)

DRINK LOADS OF WATER!!!!

I cannot emphasize how important this is.

Dehydration slows down the fat burning process heh.

You can read more here :)

SOOOOOO. You have to exercise still!!!

If you are looking to lose weight, do cardiovascular workouts such as running, jogging, swimming, rope skipping, cycling for at least 45 minutes. The first 30 minutes is usually just warming up.

You can also try cardio workouts! Just search youtube and find one that is suitable for you :)

Also, you have to tone your muscles if you want a nice body!

Toning builds muscles, so it helps to burn calories even when you are not working out because your metabolism rate is increased. This is the reason why not eating is bad, as your metabolism rate drops and you lose muscle mass. You lose weight fast, but once you start eating normally, you'll gain the weight you lost almost immediately :(

If you just do cardio, you'll lose weight but have flabby body.

If you just do toning, your muscles will be toned, but they will be hidden under a layer of fats.

So in order to achieve the body you want, you'll have to do both!

Set realistic goals for yourself. 

If you don't exercise much, start off slow, start by jogging for 1km, then increase to 2km after a few days.

You can also find a friend to exercise with you, it usually serves as a motivation. But don't end up giving up together ah. HAHA

And if you ever feel tired/bored of the routine, just change it!

Moreover, your body will get used to a certain diet/workout after a while.

So if you see your weight stagnating, then change it! :)

LASTLY, have sufficient sleep.

It does not just keep your skin looking good, it helps regulate hormone levels.

And if you stay up late, you'll be more likely to eat supper, unless you can control damn well, like me la. But your body needs to rest and recover, especially after you've worked out.

Remember, it takes both diet and exercise to lose the weight.

But of course, you can reward yourself weekly for sticking to the diet plan and workout routine.

Like ONE MEAL PER WEEK ONLY HOR. Don't go eating junk food for the entire day! :)

Girls of all sizes are beautiful.

Lose weight because you want to feel healthier, do more things, not because of others' opinions on you.

And don't resort to unhealthy ways when you want to lose weight. 

It will not be permanent and it harms you.

Be fit, not skinny. :)

I'll blog about what I eat in the upcoming posts! Wait for it <3