After I came back home, I made myself a green monster <– they are back on my breakfast menu. I had this Braun blender for about 5 years and it has been pretty useful!

In the mix: 1 scoop Sun Warrior protein powder, 3/4 cup milk, 1 cup ice cubes, 1 medium banana, vanilla extract and frozen spinach (3 balls). Sometimes I will add a tablespoon of rolled oats (depending on how heavy and creamy I want my smoothie to be),  flax seed and frozen coconut cubes (for healthy fats) but this time I didn’t.

I usually eat breakfast while checking emails

I also made a quick omelet with laughing cow cheese and packed it for lunch along with some leftover (soupy) lentils and (hidden red cargo rice) and cucumber salad. I wanted a meatless lunch today.

After work I ran some errands as I was running low on some produce

-Halloween section-

Saw Gluten Free White Rice Loaf at the supermarket — I’ve never seen this brand (Ener-G) before. They cost about $11 (!) a packet and nope I didn’t buy one. Some local bakeries should come up with Gluten free (wheat free) bread too.

Organic free range eggs were reduced in price  by half because of nearness to selling date

Anyway here’s what I got – Cucumber, carrot and lettuce (will bring a salad for tomorrow’s dinner at sis’ place), cauliflower, green pepper, frozen spinach (for my green smoothies), eggs and milk

I thought of buying white eggs this time :P

What’s in my  fridge at the moment

And tonight for dinner, I made  minced pork and eggplant stew — sis made it the other time and I liked it A LOT. The additional things that I added are green peppers and cauliflower. I had it with leftover lentils.

I’m just relaxing and having some ME Time right now …

Work shoes (love!) — I feel the most comfortable in sports shoes

On the way to work. Good thing I decided not to cycle today

Because it rained minutes after I reached the office. Yep, it is the rainy season over here …

After work I went for a 8 km run around my place.  I know I’ve said this a few times before, but it was my first run in 2 months. I know it’s a bad habit! I run, then I stop, I start running again, then again  I stop  …  and the cycle goes on and on.  My last run was back in August. Sadly, upping our intervals to 300m, then 400m never happened! Oops.

On the other hand,  I am officially done with  ChaLean Extreme 90-day programme! Mum watched me as I did my last  ChaLean workout yesterday hehe. I’ve always encouraged my family to incorporate some strength training in their life.  It is  fun. It never gets boring. Lifting weights makes you stronger and helps you lose inches too.  I’m gonna follow ChaLean’s “Lean For Life” phase now, which mixes up all three phases. And hopefully will add in a weekly long run too …

“Lean For Life” Calendar

Week 1
Burn Circuit 1
Rest Day
Push Circuit 2
Burn Intervals & Extreme Abs
Lean Circuit 1
Burn it Off & Recharge
Rest Day

Week 2
Burn Circuit 2
Rest Day
Push Circuit 3
Burn Intervals & Ab Burner
Lean Circuit 3
Burn it Off & Recharge
Rest Day

Week 3
Burn Circuit 3
Rest Day
Push Circuit 1
Burn Intervals & Extreme Abs
Lean Circuit 2
Burn it Off & Recharge
Rest Day

Week 4
Burn Circuit 1
Rest Day
Push Circuit 1
Burn Intervals & Ab Burner
Lean Circuit 3
Burn it Off & Recharge
Rest Day
Burn it Off & Recharge

Tonight I made Chilli Rubbed Salmon. Yum!

I seasoned the salmon with salt, pepper, chilli powder and dried oregano. Had it alongside Thai red cargo rice and a simple cucumber salad.

Chili-Rubbed Salmon

Ingredients (1 serving)

• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder or flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Pinch of salt
• 1 salmon fillet (about 120g)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the chili powder, oregano, and salt. Pat the spices on the fish.
2. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
3. Cook the salmon until opaque throughout. (Reduce the heat if the spices begin to turn black.)

200m x 10 sets (1 : 1)

I’m not a fast runner. Those 200m were done in the 40 sec – 45 sec range, good enough to shoot up my heart rate. Right now I am liking short distances and can’t imagine myself running a marathon. Next month we will up our intervals to 300m, then 400m and so on. That is, if he sticks to the plan!

After our run, I made us dinner and we ate while watching “I am Number Four” on DVD <– I enjoyed the movie!

Pek Chye with shrimp in oyster sauce (2 servings) – 2 packets pek chye, 16 small shrimps, 10 Chinese red dates (optional), 2 garlic cloves (chopped) 1 tbsp cornflour, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, salt, some water.

Honey glazed chicken – Some honey, some black soy sauce (I prefer the black one for the color), salt, pepper, ground ginger (optional), red chilli powder (optional).

* Website is not ready yet … we are still working on it!

The walk was fun! I have not walked or run at Bedok Reservoir in over 3 years! It was nice to see some new stuffs.

With the husb

Today is Singapore’s National Day. So it was also an early National Day celebration among Club Zoom members, hence the Singapore flag.

There were pizzas, banana, drinks (sponsored drink which is not available in supermarkets yet), nuts …

We waited for the Muslims to break their fast first before attacking the food

Birthday cake for all of us

I’m waiting for more photos …

***

We are celebrating my sister’s birthday later at my brother’s place. I’m gonna bring a colourful chickpea salad and some “gato piment” (chilli cakes). Off to the supermarket now!

By the way, this is what happens when you decide to check your Facebook for just a couple of minutes :)

Luckily, the chickpeas are not completely burned. Still edible.

Workout summary:

Total distance: 6.2 km

• 1km warm up jog
• 100m jog + 100m sprint
• 200m jog + 200m sprint
• 300m jog + 300m sprint
• 400m jog + 400m sprint
• 200m walk (active recovery)
• 400m jog + 400m sprint
• 300m jog + 300m sprint
• 200m jog + 200m sprint
• 100m jog + 100m sprint
• 1km cool down jog

Followed by body workouts (x2)

• 10 wide push ups
• 20 crunches
• 10 tricep push ups
• 20 bicycle crunch
• 1 min plank
• 20 superman

After the sweaty workout (it was so humid today due to the rain), I dropped by the supermarket and bought a fresh young coconut and a red snapper. I had a hard time opening it! I should have watched this video first ;)

I finally did manage to make a hole on top. It took me 5 minutes to open it and 5 seconds to gulp down the fresh juice while talking to the husband over the phone. Okay maybe I’m exaggerating but you get the idea.

Then I made a quickie dinner. Pan fried red snapper fish (seasoned with salt, pepper and a generous amount of red chili powder), pan fried cherry tomatoes & broccoli and a baked green banana <– nice, you gotta try! ** I love  how colourful this plate looks.

Earlier today, I attempted to make a gluten-free lemon cake –  Lately, I’ve cut down on products containing wheat. I have not eaten bread in 2 weeks. I even ignored that crispy tortilla from that green garden salad. But I think I will snack on one of these gato oreille soon!

Anyway, this lemon cake was epic fail… looks yummy but it’s totally inedible :( I used a gluten-free flour mix, so I don’t really know what went wrong…

Will try again another time  …

Remember me saying that I was reducing my dairy intake?  I did and it has been easy. I’m not taking any of the Whey protein stuffs either. It’s been a while since I last cooked omelette! I made some today. Note: I am not vegan. I eat meat. I just try to avoid or reduce certain food due to health reasons.

I’ve decided not to repeat Month 2 of Insanity 60-day program anymore. I’m gonna go back to strength training, yoga,  running and do other home DVD workouts. So Jilian and Jackie are back into my life hehe. I may still add in some Insanity workouts once or twice a week though. I am so looking forward to the release of Insanity Asylum! Rumor has it that it will be released in February 2011.

According to this website where Shaun T talks about Asylum:

It’s very athletic, all sports-specific training. There’s a video called Game Day where you’re doing football, basketball, track and field, tennis, rock climbing, soccer, speed skating, baseball — it’s heavy, heavy, heavy sports-specific training. Another thing that’s crazy about Asylum is that it’s going to have a strength video where you’re using dumbbells, and you get into this thing called a Cardio Dumbbell Rotation. It’s something like you’ve never experienced before [laughs].

There’s another video called Overtime, so even if you’ve done one of the Asylum workouts, if you want more, it’s another 15 minutes of just pure going for it. Asylum is going to take people who did Insanity, take their fitness level, and then put their skill to the test.

The great thing about Asylum is that there will be a couple of pieces of equipment, but it can all fit in your suitcase, so you can still do itn your hotel room.

Two more weeks till Christmas! Two more weeks till our short holiday! We haven’t been there in 5 years. Any guesses to where we are heading to?

Flashback 2005

Just hope it will be sunny this time!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. XOXO.

Flashback Saturday. Birthday dinner for my brother.

In the kitch. I was preparing hummus dip then

For dinner we had Tender chicken, a yummy beef noodle dish prepared by sis, green salad, crackers, fruits and cakes. I was stuffed!

My dinner plate. I went for seconds.

The birthday cake: A very rich and creamy chocolate cake.

My sweet little niece who can walk a little

A short video of her walking

To end this post, here’s me and my brother hahah. He won of course hehehe. But thanks to Insanity, I am stronger now hhehe.

***

Guess what came in the mail Friday?

My Insanity DVD kit! I couldn’t find it at any local stores in Singapore, so I purchased it online. To be more exact, I emailed them (read the top). The package came within a week. That was fast.

The inside: 10 DVDs, an Elite nutrition plan book, an insanity calendar and a fitness guide. Basically Insanity  is an intense 60-day fitness program that uses the Max Interval Training technique.

10 DVDs inside

A short Introduction

So I tried it out today, first thing in the morning because I always workout in the morning now. However I may need to do the workouts in the evening after work because I usually feel sluggish in the morning… Oh well I shall see how it goes.

Did the 30 minutes Fit Test which consists of 8 moves in this order — switch kicks, power jacks, power knees, power jumps, globe jumps, suicide jumps, push-up jacks and low plank oblique – lots of jumps. We have to do as many reps as we can in one minute, then record our results after every exercise.

Just for my own record aka my first Fit Test result (D1F1):

1. switch kicks – 114
2. power jacks – 50
3. power knees – 84
4. power jumps – 32
5. globe jumps – 8 complete (8×4)
6. suicide jumps – 17
7. push-up jacks – 22
8. low plank oblique – 38

Oh my … the globe jumps followed by the power jumps is no joke! It was painful. Painful yet enjoyable! Does that make sense :)

Tomorrow will be my Plyometric Cardio Circuit. Can’t wait to see how Shaun T is going to kick my butt on a daily basis!

I finally got a new digital camera after two  months of waiting! I hope my new Canon Powershot S95 will last for years (my previous PowerShot S2 IS lasted for a good 4+ years).

My Sunday started at 11 am. After 10 solid hours of undisturbed sleep, I was ready to hit the road for a run. I couldn’t resist the nice weather!

I had two of these ‘licious nutty-fruity cocoa coated balls (recipe at the bottom) and drank a glass of warm water before hitting the road!

I ran gadget-free. I always do. No watch, no music player. Brought along 10 bucks  though, in case I needed to buy drinks — which I did after I finished my 15 km run. Running is addictive. Oh yes it is.

Rice Cracker Sandwich as post-workout fuel.

The filling: Egg white, Tomato  sauce and crunchy faux bacon bits

I  also had one or two more of those nutty-fruity cocoa coated balls.

Nutty-fruity cocoa coated balls

Ingredients

• 15 dried apricots
• 7 dried prunes
• 5 dates
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup peanut butter of your choice
• 1-2 tbsp water
• 1-2 tbsp honey
• 3/4 cup roasted silvered almonds
• 2 tbsp raw cacao nibs
• 2-3 tbsp unsweetened Hershey cocoa powder

Method: Place the first 7 ingredients into a food processor and process until they stick together. Place the sticky mixture  into a bowl and add the silvered almonds and raw cacao nibs. Mix well. Shape into balls. Coat each ball with cocoa powder. Pop the Nutty-fruity cocoa coated balls into the freezer. Best eaten frozen!

***

This morning I baked these …

Banana Almond Truffle Pancakes

Method: Cut a ripe banana into 2 inches slices. Make a thick pancake batter — I used 1/3 cup of Betty Crocker’s pancake mix.  Dip each banana slice into the batter and then roll into silvered almonds. Place on a baking tray. Bake at 200 C for about 10 – 15 minutes or until the almonds turn golden. Best served while these babies are still hot and the almonds are still crunchy! This recipe can easily be modified. I’m thinking of  cinnamon or vanilla or chocolate to the batter.

And these …

Cracked Protein Choc Muffins. Recipe can be found here.

Annnnnnnnnd these!

Orange Choc Pancake Muffins

Method: I used 1/2 cup Betty Crocker’s pancake mix and made a batter. I added orange flavored essence + sugar + bittersweet chocolate chips to the batter. Bake them at 200 C for about 10-15 minutes. Simple!

Well there is just something about baking that does magic to the soul …

***

I recently bought a new tub of Meridian crunchy natural peanut butter from Holland & Barrett. A 1kg tub! And it was only $11 without any discount!

Roasted in their natural skins

Off to sleep now …

Anyhoo … Happy Friday! It’s a public holiday over here. I started off my day with some yoga.

Still working on those poses. Look at my cat (below), he likes to disturb me.

Last night I met my friend for a movie. We watched Prince of Persia. After the movie, I met another friend to catch up a little. We hung out at Outdoors cafe & bar at Peranakan Place.

We had wine, chicken wings, potato wedges and pizza

I had 2 glasses of vino

Ham and mushroom pizza

I think I need some more rest today! Have a nice weekend ahead!

It was time to replace my old pair of Adidas running shoes with a new one.  I chose the latest Mizuno Wave Rider 13 this time. I started using Mizuno shoes back in 2005 — wow that was sooooo long ago! Can’t believe I was running in shoe of size US6.5 back then. I wear US7.5 or US8 now (for running shoes). Did my feet grow bigger and fatter in 4 years?? :)

Here’s my new pair of Mizuno Rider 13 running shoe.

Tonight dinner wasn’t alien. I cooked something familiar. I made daube de poulet, a typical mauritian dish.

Mum’s version is so much tastier :)

I didn’t make my creamy chocolate tofu pudding again tonight. Instead I had a low-fat chocolate cakey muffin. Or two. I will post the recipe another day.

Rewinding back to morning …  Breakfast was a cup of Yoplait

I also packed a sandwich (wholemeal bread + lettuce + cheese + ham + nutritional yeast + mustard + ketchup) to work.

Off to watching American Idol. Goodnight all!

Soon after I came back home I prepared dinner. I’ve been experimenting with quinoa lately and tonight I made quinoa-stuffed aubergine.

Ingredients: (Serves 2)

• 1 aubergine
• 2 small shallots chopped
• 1 medium grated carrot
• 2 cloves of garlic crushed
• Olive oil
• Soy sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste (not too much salt because of the soy sauce)
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried Oregano
• Crushed walnuts
• Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 cup water

Method:

1. Slice the aubergines in half lengthways (2 halves). Deeply score the white flesh in a criss cross pattern. Dribble olive oil over the aubergines and cook in pre-heated oven on a medium temperature for 15 – 20 minutes.
2. To cook the quinoa: Place quinoa and boiling water in a pan and bring back to boil – simmer for about 15 minutes or until cooked.
3. Meanwhile fry the chopped onions, carrot and crushed garlic in olive, adding  oregano, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Add the cooked quinoa.
4. Scoop out the aubergines from their shells and add to the carr0t mixture. Spoon the mix back into the aubergine shells. sprinkle with crushed walnuts and mozzarella cheese and place back in the oven on a low heat for about 15 minutes.
5. Serve hot.

Before

And after. Yum!

For dessert I made my first creamy chocolate tofu pudding!

** Wait, did I just say TOFU???? **

I had absolutely no idea what to expect from a pudding made with silken tofu. But you know what? It was amazing. Seriously, I didn’t expect it to taste this good and this creamy. If you have never eaten tofu pudding before, give it a try! I’m gonna make cheesecake tofu next time! The husband  however, thought that the tofu pudding tasted really weird!! FYI he’s not a fan of pudding or creamy things like custards  O_o

Ingredients

• Half a block of silken tofu (about 60 g maybe)
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 – 2 tbsp sugar (add more it you want a sweet pudding)
• A drop of vanilla extract

Method: Mix all ingredients into a food processor or blender until smooth and creamy. Pour into a small bowl and sprinkle with some nuts. Serve chilled.

I still have half a block of silken tofu in the fridge. I will make some more tomorrow :)

***

Time to go to bed now … Nite!

I accidentally locked my cat in one of our rooms today and I did not know anything until after I came back home in the evening! I had absolutely no idea that he had  followed me into that room this morning. Poor Mikey, he must have thought that he was being punished lol. Love my baby fur so much!

* My -cough- oil painting in the background — Yes I’m proud of  my 2nd oil paint lol *

Tonight I made another lazy meal :)

Ingredients used:

• Bringal
• Instant Pasta Sauce
• Nutritional Yeast
• Frozen corn Kernels

Direction: Skin and slice the brinjals. Place on a plate and microwave for 6 minutes or until cooked and tender. Top with the pasta sauce, nutritional yeast and corn kernels. Pop into the microwave for 2 more minutes.  Voila! Dinner is ready!

One bowl was definitely not enough!

Yesterday dinner: I made some rice porridge and cucumber salad with tangy mustard dressing as a side.

Fish + carrot + cabbage (left overs) + 7 grains pilaf rice porridge (not the congee type). It was yummy!! Love the chewy pilaf grains :)

Desert was one of these muffins

And I had some OZ cheese Twisties as a late snack. I have yet to try that dark chocolate coated Licorice!

XOXO

I’m sad to say that the whole watermelon perished. I kept it somewhere on the kitchen counter and thought of cutting it during the weekend but alas … it didn’t last till weekend. I didn’t  even taste one bite. It was too yucky to cut.

Mikey woke us up around 7am. I slept in a bit more till 8.30am. Then went out for a morning run (4km). I wanted to bring along my small camera but for some unknown reasons, it wasn’t working (!!).  After the run I did some upper body and abs exercises at home.

Last week’s workout:

• Monday: 8km Run
• Tuesday: Strength
• Wednesday: Rest
• Thursday: Strength Endurance
• Friday: Intervals (600m x 8 sets)
• Saturday: Rest
• Sunday: 4km run + 20 min abs & upper body

Sadly, I will not be able to workout regularly  in the coming weeks.

Side note: Speaking of last week …  I just realised that I ate homemade food six out of seven days. Yes I managed to pack lunch to work and prepare dinner everyday. Wow. I am impressed with myself.

***

After the morning workout my appetite was big. Petit dej was French toast (my version) using the multi-grain bread.

French Toast t0pped with some blueberries and kiwiberries

Closer look

And this one is topped with some strawberry jam, blueberries and kiwiberries

I also dipped some plain bread in hummus :) Yum!

Yesterday the husband bought this jackfruit. I think it was $5.

The skin of the jackfruit is sticky and gloves are very useful!

I actually struggled to open it.

Finally I managed to rip this big baby apart!! And voila, the end result haha. I am pretty sure there is a faster way to do that!

I kind of damaged the inner fruits while tearing open the skin.

Have a great Sunday everyone!! I am home alone again. In case you are wondering, the husband is busy with the weekend’s SPH Schools Relay. Two of his schools got medals. Maybe more today!

Next weekend is our day — our 2nd wedding anniversary :)