New Healthy Ramen

Walked into an Organic shop at Great World City basement 2 and found new brand and flavours of Instant noodles.
I quite like the Chia Seed Ramen shown above which texture is quite nice and believed to be Healthy as it contains Chia Seeds. Other flavours available in the shop included Quinoa, Pumpkin and Wholemeal Wheat Ramen & Mee Sua. Will return to buy other flavours. :-)

Season Herbal Tea

As my favourite brand of Herbal Tea was not available, I was introduced to this alternative Season Herbal Tea recently. It came in box of 2 sachets and even with sour plum packed with it. Well, it did not taste as bitter and I need not have to take the plum with it but the kind thoughts of the plums is appreciated.

According to indications on the label, it can be used for symptomatic relief of cold, sore throat, fatigue and stomachache. So, if you find yourself starting to develop symptoms of cold or fever, can try taking it.

Easy to take too with boiling water and simmer for 5 minutes in a cup, and considering it is quite effective too, I believe this will add to my list of favourite travel essentials. :-)

Healthy Tea

C introduces me to the great benefits of Gynostemma & Rosemary.
Her new brand of tea products...
Cute packaging, Great Christmas gifts...

Silver Dew ~ Silver Defense

Silver Dew - A product introduced to me by a friend. A Made in Singapore odourless Antiseptic with Healing component that is safe for spraying directly onto the face and even drinking it according to the testimonials given.

I am one who is quite cautious about consuming such products into my precious body but I don't mind trying on exterior skin.

And it came introduced handy in a season that I always have unknown sensitive skin problem or Eczema. At the beginning symptom of it, I immediately sprayed using their small spray bottle (travel pack) that is designed for convenience of use on affected area and till now,  it is under good control. :-)

 

On another occasion, in the red eye infection season, I was recommended to spray directly on my face at a distance like mist and by the next day, the itchiness and red eye disappeared.

Indeed an anti-bacterial dew!

Then, it was also recommended for its healing effect on hard to heal infected wounds especially for diabetics. Hmm, just got some cuts & blisters recently, and yeah, it works wonder again!!!!

 

It is a Made In Singapore! product. :-)

It comprises of  pure distilled water and ultra pure 99.999% silver with new technology called Silverlysis.

Learn more about it at: http://www.colloidalsilver.com.sg/

 

And it seems to have an amazing range of uses, More uses of it on :

http://colloidalsilver.com.sg/Benefits.php

http://www.colloidalsilver.com.sg/Real-Stories.php

 

It has now been added to my Must Have Travel Essentials Pack. :-)

 

The distributor is now having a promotion and if you order it online: http://colloidalsilver.com.sg/Online-Shop.php

, it would be kind of you to quote your source about it from: sunnyvege

and I may earn some credit from their recommendation scheme for next purchase. :-)

 

Like them at facebook.com/Natures.SilverDew

 

Cheers, Happy Healing! :-)

Beetroot Oat Milk

We ran out of Biogreen Five Grain Oatmilk Energy and the shop patronised is out of stock too and S was recommended this other product from Taiwan: Beetroot Oat Milk.
Similarly,it could be easily prepared by just adding 2 table-spoon of it into 250cc of hot water and stir briskly until dissolved completely for drinking.

It is stated on label to be of no preservatives; no coloring and flavoring, no sugar and Dairy-free! It is a pinkish-red drink which then if no coloring is because of its beetroot ingredient and is sweeter in comparison to the Biogreen Five Grain Oatmilk Energy drink. Quite a nice drink too at cost of ard $10 more per tin in comparison.

Ingredients on label: Oat, Beetroot, Lactobacillus, Water-soluble Dietary Fiber, Calcium Gluconate, Grapeseed extract, Red Clover, Flaxseed, Vitamin A,C,E, B2,B6, & B12, Soy Isoflavones, Yam extract and Ginkgo Nut extract.

Jack fruit

Another fruit in season around Jun/July. Saw the hugh pieces of Jack fruit bulbs being removed and arranged nicely by the fruit vendors for sale. It sure looked attractive and recalling a recent sampling of the fruit cooked in Sri Lankan Curry, I couldn't resist to purchase a packet though mum had expressed concern about the heatiness of the fruit which the vendor kindly advised that by washing the bulbs with lightly salted water before consumption, it can help reduce the heaty effect of the fruit. Another wonder of salt.:-)


And guess what? Was told the seed of the Jack fruit is edible too if boiled or roasted. I tried boiling it and it softened to taste much like the chestnuts.

Searching the internet for its nutritional value, was impressed that it is not only rich in dietary fiber which is good for the colon, its combination of Vitamin A & flavonoid pigment aids in antioxidant and vision functions but it is also rich in Vitamin B & C and good source of minerals such as potassium and iron. Wow...will eat more while it is in season...:P

Baby corns

New vege introduced by the vendor : Baby corns with corn Silks still covering it.
Unlike the usual baby corns with exterior removed, the immature maizes were harvested early and sold to us just like the mature maize with external leaves covering it.
Was told that these baby corns made a good ingredient to cook with barley water and has good detoxing effects.
Just cleanse the covered baby corn with some water to remove any soil or dust and throw a few stalks with its cover unremoved to brew with barley water.
Unlike the exterior removed baby corns, the protected corn is much softer in texture and much sweeter and fresher that after brewing in barley water, one can remove the exterior and munch on it which has a natural sweetness and soft to chew.
A great difference in comparison to the usual baby corns with exterior protection case removed and has harder texture in comparison especially after cooking.
Try it! :-)

Alternative to Dairy Milk

S had a minor surgery recently and in the surgery arose some complications that she had to be given transfusion of 2 bags of blood. Her incident made me realise the importance of regular blood donors and am really grateful to them.

However, as she was later prescribed with iron tablets to increase her red blood cells, she experienced some side effects of unsmooth bowels.

Understanding her problem, a vegetarian friend introduced her to Biogreen Five Grain Oatmilk Energy from an Organic shop. Oat is believed to be helpful in smoothing bowels.

This is suitable for Vegans as this Oatmilk energy claimed to be an alternative to Dairy Milk with the benefits of Oat, Omega 3, Soy Lecithin.

One just needs to take 2 table-spoons of it and mix with 250ml of water, just like preparing a milo drink.
The oat had been very finely-grinded with no coarse texture of oat tasted at all and the drink tasted like milk-water with strong fragance of vanilla.
It is now been used as an alternative to coffee for S's coffee-break.

Ingredients on label: Oats (non-GMO), Buckwheat, Soy Lecithin (non-GMO), brown rice, black rice, red rice, Pearl Barley, Amaranth, Wheat, Black bean, Flax seed.

Sounds like a nutritious drink on normal days too.:-)

Quick Cold Remedy

I prefer Chinese to Western Medicine (even if it is much bitter:P).
My 1st choice of cold remedy is to take Ge Gen Tang and my favourite brand is this Red Sun Cold Remedy manufactured in Japan.
It disappeared from the Chinese Medicine market for a period & returned recently with this packaging (somehow I preferred previous packaging which looked more Japanese & professional:P).

The medicine effect can be immediately felt and after a good sleep, one usually recovers.
It is also a must bring item for my tour. :-)

The label states that the herb extracts include:
Radix Pueraiae Lobatae (Ge Gen), Herba Ephedrae (Ma Huang), Fructus Jujubae (Da Zao), Radix Glycyrrhizae (Gan Cao), Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens (Raw Ginger), Cinnamon Cortex (Gui pi), Radix Paeoniae Rubra (Shao Yao)

Quite a number of Chinese herbs and quite a number of brands of Ge Geng Tang on market which I tried during its absence, but I still prefers this brand and glad it returned. ;-)

Sugar Apricot

Wow, another fruit in season! This mini peach like fruit recommended by the fruit vendor is actually Sugar Apricot. It's actually a 2 in 1 fruit as you just need to wash & eat the fruit without peeling of skin & the unappealing seed inside which is inedible contains Almond that you need to smash the seed with the help of an hammer to get it. It's real interesting & fun for the 1st timers deriving their own almonds instead of off-shelf purchase. :-)

Apricot is known to be rich in natural sugar, calcium and vitamins, beneficial in treatment of constipation & aid digestion process if consumed before a meal.

Yang Mei, Arbutus!

This is mum's favorite fruit & is in season now or ending soon, she had finished boxes of it by now. (Saw Lychee also same time in season now with similar packaging too so be careful not to mistaken the two ...)

I only know it as "Yang Mei" in Chinese and only from the label do I know its English name as "Arbutus". What we had here were from China but a search in the internet showed few replies.

It is supposed to taste refreshingly sour plus some sweetness & well known to have a good cooling effect for a bad sore throat.

A simple way taught by lovers is to wash them & then sprinkle some salt over them (was just recommended on adding both salt & sugar together tasted good too by the vendor but hadn't tried adding both yet). This way will enhance their flavor and tasted fantastic especially taken out cool from the fridge.

:-)

Instant Funori Jelly

It's quite a tedious process to make Funori dessert the traditional way but with the popularity of Funori as a good supplement for Collagen & being inexpensive, it had caught the attention of merchants to come up with different brands & ways to let people enjoy it. The most popular form is the jelly style which is often being served in those organic cafe. I would thought it difficult to home-made to the softness & smoothness of cafe standard (tasted like the ice jelly found at dessert stalls) but no longer a trouble after the invention of such rock sugar cube type of instant funori dessert.

(dissolving the cube in hot water)

This was bought outside the promotion stall set up for CNY goodies outside the Fortune Centre Vegetarian supply shop near the escalator. (However, I found out that there is another new vegetarian supply shop: "Tian Yuan Healthy Vegetarian Food Paradise" which just opened at #02-23 Fortune Centre & is retailing this product)

The product from Taiwan has 2 version. This brown version that I bought was pre-added with brown sugar, red-dates and dried longan, there's also the plain version which you could add lime or passion fruit syrup or any creation yourself.

Method:
Add 500ml (5 cups) of hot water to cube & stir til dissolved.
If you find it still too sweet, which I do, simply add more water till to your taste.
Cool it & put in fridge (non-chiller section), within hrs, you could enjoy one whole big bowl of Funori jelly with a family of 6 at the price of 1.5 cup at cafe. Really refreshing on a hot day!

Crystal had a good post on her blog on the after-product of the jelly. Pls click here:
http://crystalbyblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/funori-jelly-aka-algae-essence-jelly.html

For convenience, these instant products are great, however, to really feel the collagen presence, I would prefer the conventional way of processing it, as maybe psychologically, you know through the process that there is really rich collagen content in the funori you are having. :-)

Pickled Cucumber

A more healthier snack is fresh vegetables.

I found this at Daiso, the $2 supermart:

Japanese Seasoning for pickled cucumber in mustard :

It comes in 3 small packets in the bigger package on topmost picture.

Ingredients: mustard, glucose, salt, soy sauce, (soybean, wheat, salt, water), vinegar, kelp, turmeric, seasoning, Vit C, alnm, xtanthan, gum, enzyme

According to the drawings on the label, just pour the small packet into a bag of sliced cucumber (The Japanese type of cucumber is more recommended as it is more crunchy), tie it up and let it marinate by itself.

To better marinate it, I mixed it with some water , just about 2 tablespoon (Not too much water is to be mixed as the cucumber itself will release its own water content after sometime) and sealed it in those lunchboxes and put it into the fridge. After 2-3 hrs later, I have my lightly pickled cucumber.

It is quite a success as my mum loves it. It kind of tasted like wasabi sauce but much lighter than wasabi. A refreshing taste. :-)

Preserved Ginger with Plum Juice

Another Life-saving product for me. I get to know it when I suffered from mild food-poisoning & stomach flu while travelling in China. A kind tour-mate auntie gave me a bottle to try & it works.

(驱寒)话梅姜, it really drives away the chill. With plum added to it, the "hotness" taste of the ginger is negated with the plum taste so even non-ginger lover is able to accept it. It really drives away the wind in the stomach & helps keep your body warm. A good companion for travel especially to cold countries.

I tried to find it in Spore but it is a product from HongKong and so far is not available in Spore. And it is not available in any shop in HK. Even the HongKongers may not be able to find it in their neighborhood when I told my friend who travelled to HK to search for me.

The mystery was resolved only when I managed to contact the tour-mate & ask where she got it.

It is only available in the Wing Wah 荣华 Shop at HK Airport.

Don't know why it is only available as export gift, but hopefully it will be available in Spore shops soon as I am running low in supply.

If any of you going HK, pls let me know. I need to "longbang" to get more bottles.

Or if you happen to know that it is now available in Spore, please let me know where:-)

Cheers:-)

济公喉宝JiGong Hou Bao

Being a Glutton, I will sometimes overeat & suffer from indigestion, my immediate antidote will be to take this preserved product.

I remember when I was young & whenever I suffer from upset stomach, my mum will scoop a teaspoon of this preserved fruit 佛手果 (gift from my god-grandmother many years ago from China) with sugar & water & let me drink. It always work wonder.

The name 佛手果 (not sure its English name but the direct translation is "Fruit of Buddha's hand") may be derived bec its original fruit looks like a hand & its medical effects is great so people might have associated it with the great Buddha who cures? Guessing:P

In recent years, you can see it being marketed as one of the plants for the Chinese New Year festive.

Now, in the market, mixed with other ingredients such as LuoHanGuo, almond, honey, & peppermint etc, it comes in small bottles & is easy to carry & consume. It is marketed more as soothing for throat but I usually use it more for indigestion.:P

Easily available in most Chinese Medical shops, it usually comes in package of six & costs less than a $1 per bottle, a treasure that I always carry along when I travel nowadays.:-)

Natural Health Food - Funori (Bird's nest of the sea)

In a visit to an organic health food shop, I was recommended "Bird's Nest of The Sea" - Funori or jelly seaweed which I was told has great nutritional value.

(It expanded after an hour)

(Boiled red dates with Funori)

According to the label, its mineral content includes: calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, etc.

It is believed that the ample iron in funori is beneficial to metabolism such that fatigue does not occur so readily and its abundance in calcium can prevent steoporosis.

Its rich collagen also serves to replenish the cartilage between joints, strengthen bones, sinews and ligaments as well as lower back pains etc.

Sounds like really good stuff, so I bought a pkt to try...

I soaked half of it in water as instructed & it really expanded 5-8times :P

I tried the simplest recipe recommended:

1. Boil red dates/wolfberries with rock sugar (yellow sugar preferred and be generous with it so that the sweetness covers the funori's "fishy" smell) until fully cooked.

2. Leave to cool & add chopped funori.

3. For those who like the dessert cold, you may put it in fridge & its gelatin texture will cause it to be jelly like which I find it more tasty this way:-)

The final product looks like Bird's nest which is also likely how it gets its common name but texture is not as good. If anyone knows more ways of cooking it to make it tastier, do let me know as its original taste is rather bland & innovative ideas are required to make it tastier & popular.

Strongly encouraged to take for its nutritional value.