Whole wheat seedy Crackers

Another recipe of crackers, this one is flatter and the texture is different from the parmesan cheese crackers, it is crunchy and crispy. 

This recipe is healthier because it contains neither butter nor cheese.

Ingredients
150g whole wheat flour
140g all purpose flour, additional for rolling
1/3 cup poppy seeds*
1/3 cup sesame seeds*
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp olive oil
192g water

*You can use 2/3cup sesame seeds OR poppy seeds OR other seeds!

Instructions
1. In a mixing bowl, mix flour, seeds, salt, baking powder
Then add in oil and water, mix well

2. Place the dough onto a slightly floured working surface & knead 5 times
Divide the dough into 8 portions, cover with a towel or plastic wrap
Let it rest for 15mins

3. Preheat the oven to 230°c
Line a tray with baking sheet

4. Roll out a portion to 1/8", use a pizza roller or a knife to cut the dough into small pieces, then place each piece on the tray carefully with little bit of spacing between each piece

If there is room on the tray, roll out another portion, repeat step 4

5. When the oven is ready, put the tray into the oven and bake for 12mins

Note: You can also baking one side for 6 mins, then flip & bake for another 4-6mins

6. When the crackers are ready, place them on the cooling rack
When it is completely cool, store in air-tight container for maximum 2 weeks

Enjoy!

Fried Savoy cabbage with bacon

I feel so thankful about my life in Belgium, we meet very nice people here. They are very friendly and generous!

Dark green vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, etc. are good for fighting against cancer, also cabbage contains lots of fibers

My Dutch teacher has a large garden with different vegetables and fruits, also herbs! She gave me a super big savoy cabbage, I don't know how to cook with it as I have never tried to make it.

I found a recipe, it is a British dish, simple but surprisingly delicious, even with simple seasoning. Actually it tastes like Chinese vegetables haha. 

The cabbage is sweet and soft, unlike other cabbages, my husband and I both like it ;)

Ingredients
1 savoy cabbage

4tbsp olive oil
4 cloves chopped garlic
100g bacon (I used smoked turkey)

salt & pepper

Instructions
1. Remove the dark outer leaves, cut out the thick stem
Cut the cabbage in half, then into quarters
Remove the core, chop the quarters up into smaller pieces

2. In a large pot, boil the cabbage for 10mins, be careful, not too long, because you will fry it after!

3. On a pan, heat up oil and garlic, add in bacon, fry a bit until the bacon becomes golden brown

4. Add in cabbage, salt & pepper, stir it & cover the lid
Let it cook for 10mins

Enjoy!

Chinese white fungus sweet soup for dry weather

It was so hot last week, the temperature drops very fast, it's cool this week, I feel drier too!

There is good Chinese sweet soup which can hydrate your body & skin effectively. The main ingredient of this soup is Chinese white fungus/ snow fungus - it is great to hydrate your skin!

It's mild too, so you can try to make it if you never make any Chinese sweet soup.

There are several versions that you can choose the one you want.

Ingredients
Recipe 1
1 big* Chinese white fungus (or several small)
10 dried red dates
2tsp apricot seeds (mix of bitter apricot seeds and Prunus armeniaca L. seeds)
1 apple, peeled and diced into small pieces
2 pears, peeled and diced into small pieces
6 cups water
1 rock sugar (you can add more if you want sweeter)

*After soaking into the water, it is big as your palm

You can see in the photo, left = dried white fungus, right = soaked white fungus (Thanks tastehongkong.com for the photo!)

Apricot seed/kernel 
Left: bitter apricot seeds
Right: Prunus armeniaca L. seeds (sweet)















Recipe 2
1 big Chinese white fungus (or several small)
10 dried red dates
2tsp dried goji
6 cups water
1 rock sugar (you can add more if you want sweeter)
Optional: 2 dried fig

Recipe 3
1 big Chinese white fungus (or several small)
50g dried longan meat
10 dried lotus seeds
10 dried red dates
6 cups water
1 rock sugar (you can add more if you want sweeter)

Instructions
1. Soak the fungus for 15mins or until it is soft, cut it into small pieces, remove the hard part in the middle by a scissor

2. Put all ingredients EXCEPT sugar in a pot, heat it until it boils, reduce the heat to small and cook for 1.5 - 2 hours

3. Turn off the heat and add sugar

Serve hot :)

Enjoy!

Popcorn - healthy snacks

Usually I buy popcorn in the cinema when I watch a movie, especially here in Belgium, they taste too good, I like sweet one.

I found that popcorn actually is a healthy alternative for the snacks :) as it is actually corn. However, people add sugar or butter in it => that becomes fat and unhealthy.

If you like crunchy texture, I will highly recommend you to make popcorn instead of eating chips!
Eating plain (sugar/salt free) is still tasty.

You can also make different flavors according to your taste - click here to discover your favorite taste :)

My observation is that you need enough oil to make the popcorn pop, more oil is better than less oil...

Ingredients
1/4 cup popcorn kernels (for 1 person)
2tsp vegetable oil/coconut oil (I'll try coconut oil next time!)

For sweet popcorn - add honey/ sugar/ chocolate... yummm
For salty popcorn - add salt & unsalted butter

Find a saucepan which is large enough to let the popcorn kernels all evenly spread at the bottom

Instructions
1. In a saucepan, heat the oil at medium/high heat
If you use coconut oil, let it melts
Note: If you want to make salty popcorn, add salt at step 1

2. When it becomes hot, add a few popcorn kernels in the pot, wait until they pop, then you can add the rest of the popcorn kernels, be sure that they lay on the bottom of the pan evenly
Cover the pan immediately

3. Let the popcorn pop (nice sound)
Shake the saucepan regularly => not to burn the popcorn at the bottom!

4. When the pop sound stops, turn off the heat
Pour the popcorn into a large bowl

5. Now you can eat:
- plain => nothing to add (the healthiest option)

- sweet => add honey/sugar directly to the bowl, stir well. 

Caramel popcorn: click here to get the recipe

Chocolate popcorn: melt chocolate in microwave (low heat) and pour into the popcorn

- salty => melt some butter (try 2tbsp and adjust the quantity next time) in the same pan that you just cooked the popcorn, when the butter is melted and becomes golden color, pour it into the popcorn and stir it, mix well

Enjoy!

Siraitia grosvenorii cool tea replaces iced tea

It's hot now in Belgium :( and we had barbecue, plus eating fried food, spicy food last week... I feel like I'm having sore throat...it's time to cool down my body a bit!

It's great that I still have some Siraitia grosvenorii at home hoho :) it's a great Chinese ingredient to "cool down" your body when you eat too much spicy food, deep fried food... or not having enough sleep...

Instead of drinking iced tea, you can make it, which is sweet, drink it for 2-3 times per day.

This is Siraitia grosvenorii, you can buy it in the Chinese supermarket

It's very simple to make - 

1. In a pot, put 1 Siraitia grosvenorii (crack it before boil) & 2 liters of water

2. Bring to boil and leave it cook at medium heat for 20mins

3. Turn off the heat, leave it covered for 10mins

Serve hot or cold, enjoy!

Kettlebell

I have 2 pairs of dumbbell at home, it is very useful for my workouts :)

Then more and more people talk about kettlebell and its benefits, I read quite a lot of articles on kettlebell, then I decide to try some new workouts.

I just bought 3 kettlebells recently, they were on sale with a pack of 3... I realize that kettlebell is safe to use and it helps better to burn calories, it is more effective for the strength training, especially deadlift :)

Here is an article of how to choose a kettlebell, click here to read it

Another article I want to share is the kettlebell exercises you can do, click here to read it

I recommend Jilian Michael's kettlebell workout, which covers most of these moves. Also, do not start with heavy weight, it is better to get correct posture then you can add more weight... to prevent any injury

Have a great weekend!

Job's Tear lemon water

I saw somebody posted on facebook about Job's Tear water, that makes me want to make some too :)
Job's Tear is healthy food in Asia, during humid period, we consume Job's Tear to "remove" humidity in the body. Also it can be used to "remove" heat in the body.


However, it is not suitable for women during their period or their pregnancy!

I usually cook Job's Tear with red bean to make sweet soup or just "water" :) this time I'll try to make with lemon, to have fresh drink :)

Another important information is that there are 2types of Job's Tear - raw and cooked. Cooked means it is fried, they look bigger than the raw ones.

You can buy Job's tear in the Chinese supermarket, be careful do not mix it up with Pearl Barley.

Ingredients
50g cooked Job's tear
50g raw Job's tear (you can use 100g raw ones if you couldn't find the cooked one)
2L water (including the soaked water)
1 lemon, sliced

optional: honey/sugar

Instructions
1. Wash Job's Tear several times, drain the water away, pour fresh water and soak it for 1 hour
Note: raw Job's Tear = soak for 1hour, cooked Job's Tear = soak for 0.5hour

2. Place the Job's Tear in a pot, pour water and boil them until the boiling point, then you can reduce the heat to low heat, cook for 1hour

3. Turn off the heat, add in sliced lemon
Serve hot or cool down to serve cold

You can keep it in the fridge for 2-3days

Enjoy!

10mins workouts to keep you fit during Christmas time

Eat a lot during Christmas time? Do not worry! Try one of these 10mins workouts :)
Click here

Be fit always!
Merry Christmas :)

Enjoy!

Keep fit is a life-long challenge

I read an article on the best advice to lose weight, I think I would say it is to keep fit, not only losing weight, and to keep your body stronger.

Click here to read it.

My advice is - Make your workout routine! Keep it up, Believe that you CAN do it and ENJOY doing it!

Enjoy!

Keep fit - tips to overcome this long term battle

 Last time I talked about my experience - how I get my body fit and strong, and how I benefit through exercise and my life changes. This time I am going to emphasize how to keep fit in long term.

When I was young I wanted to lose weight, so I just eat less and exercise. When I get thin, I still tried to eat less but I stopped exercising. So I got fatter and I felt frustrated, finally I got back to the original shape again. Later I didn't realize that I didn't have correct motives and I had wrong concept of keeping fit. 


Keep fit is long term battle, you need to bear in mind the following points:

1. To have correct motivation
It is NOT ONLY to lose weight, to get perfect body shape. It is all about having a HEALTHY body, to make you feel stronger, to conquer the diseases. 

2. ONLY eat less won't help you to keep fit in long term

Eat less can help you to lose weight and get slimmer, but can you eat less for your whole life? When you have meals with friends in the restaurant, can you not to eat or can you not to be tempted to eat as much as your friends? 

Actually eating less at some point will make you feel stressful, because when you eat a bit more than usual, you will worry that you will gain weight and you will regret. 
In fact, under stressful state, you will eat more and you wouldn't notice.

3. Exercise & training
Exercise & training is important to lose calories and helps to improve your metabolism. When you consume food, you are inputing energy and fat in your body, so you need to consume the energy and fat in your body through exercise & daily activities. Otherwise it will accumulate in your body i.e. calories and you become fat.

What do you have in mind about exercise? running, swimming, cycling? these are cardio exercise (= aerobic exercise), which can help you to burn fat. However, once you stop doing cardio exercise, which means you stop burning fat, even you are eating less, you will gain weight.

So what can you do? You need both cardio exercise and muscle training. When you decrease the fat portion in your body, at the same time you need to increase your muscle portion. If your body contains more muscle than fat, you will have less chance to lose your fit body shape.

4. To have healthy life style

Healthy life style means to eat healthily, sleep early and wake up early, have social activities (meeting friends, hobbies). It can keep you happy and relax, leads to positive physical and psychological effects.

Right time & right food.
Consume healthy food means have balance meal. Really balance meal - carbohydrates, protein, fiber, fat. LESS sugar and salt. I'm eating rice, pasta, meat, vegetables, fruits, desserts... I also eat snacks, ice-cream...(YES!! read it again) but I eat less snacks and desserts (e.g. once per week), to avoid taking in too much salt & sugar.

Do NOT eat too late, try to eat early everyday. Your stomach needs time to digest food before you go to bed.

5. Do NOT expect you can become fit in only few weeks or a month

You might see a lot of stars can lose weight in only few weeks, but you do not know what cost they paid. They might take medication, or not to eat and do a lot of exercises... It is NOT healthy to lose weight within short period, your body is under shocked when you lose weight too vigorously.

Do not expect to have great changes within short time - your motivation is important here (see point 1). You want a healthy fit body! Even though you do not see your body shape changes in short time, do not feel frustrated, because you can see changes in long term. You will look healthier and more energetic when you change your life style and exercise yourself.

6. Do NOT set too high objective

If you want to lose 10kg within 1 month - I can tell you it is IMPOSSIBLE! Just like I'm asking you to drive like an experienced driver after 2 hours of lesson.

Set reasonable & achievable objectives. For example, as a beginner, set your objective as exercise twice per week, eat dessert & snacks only during weekend...
Also, try to stick to your objectives, you can make little exception if it is necessary. It can keep your psychological state healthier, you will have less chance to give up.

When you can achieve the objectives and when you feel more comfortable, you can set higher objectives. Then you can adapt the changes little by little, it is easier to maintain and achieve your objectives in this way.

I hope after reading this article, you will start paying attention to your health and start this long term battle together!

Exercise benefits your life - my experience to share (real case)!

During the past few weeks, I was struggling if I should write this post or not, because I don't want people think that I want to show off, but what conquers me is that I want YOU to benefit my life lesson.

About me:
I am not at all a sportive person (those who know me they know I do NO sport). I don't like sports class, I don't enjoy it because it is too hard for me, I thought I couldn't do it. Sports exams (these sit up, push up...) are painful memories...

How I start exercising:
One day my friend Cathy asked me to run together, I found that I could run! (It was the 1st run in my life outside PE class at school). I couldn't believe I did it But I DID! So I asked her to run with me several times haha! I want to keep healthy because I'm getting 30's!

Then I found a star using Jilian Michaels' workout (it is circuit training), I searched on youtube and found it, so I start working on it since then (you can click on the link).
I like doing workout at home because I can do whenever I want (whether sunny day or rainy day), and I don't want to be tanned...

How much exercise I do each week:
You may wonder how much exercise I do each week to keep fit.
I used this same workout for 3 days per week, because between 2 workouts I rest 1 day. ie I did this workout on every Monday/Wednesday/Friday.

I know it is hard sometimes you have things to do, or sometimes you just feel tired, lazy... but each time I prioritize my workout.
Whenever you struggle to do exercise, just ask yourself: Why can you spare 45mins with your friends/TV/shopping, but you can't spare 45mins for the workout? What do you want from doing these workout?
During this period you need to stay strong, it is a long-term battle!

Note: for girls - during period, if you don't feel capable to do the workout, you can either do ligher exercise or just stop it. Do not bring yourself to danger!

Results:
Since 6 months, people around saw my physical changes, I was getting fitter.

This is the photo that I took last week = June 2014 (I start doing exercise since July 2013)

Yet what I found after doing exercise, apart from having better body shape, my life benefits also -
I can stay focus and I can be more discipline on my daily work, bible study, managing my time, practising violin etc. I rarely find excuses in order not to do anything, I kick away my laziness (Satan rarely wins hehe).

I want to bring out a few benefits through exercise -

1. nothing is impossible if you work on it (of course God helps me a lot during this period), how much you paid = how much you gain (it works with healthy meal)

2. healthy physically can also be mentally & spiritually

3. discipline yourself through exercise can help you to discipline & improve in other aspects (work, relationships, spiritual life)

4. when you fix a target/goal, you will stay focus/firm to achieve it 

4. For girls who has tummy pain during her period, regular exercise can help to reduce/remove the pain (I said byebye to pain!).

5. For Christians, you will thank God who give you a healthy body and strength to finish the exercise each time. He will help you to overcome the temptations of Satan in your everyday life.

My workouts NOW:
I don't stick to one workout anymore, instead I work on several workouts and I run. (I will share these workouts with you next time)
Now I ENJOY doing exercise, it becomes my part of my life.

PS. Important to read:
1. Exercise is not the ONLY factor to keep you fit, it has to work with what you eat & your life style (e.g. sleep early)
2. "age" can't be neglected, the older you are, the slower the metabolism. => for example, a 70years old lady can't expect to have the same effect as a 20years old girl
3. What you should bear in mind is that the reason to do exercise is have a healthy body, not only a "thin" body

Please feel free to ask me any question. :) I'll be happy to share what I know.

I hope after reading this post, you feel encouraged and from now on, exercise yourself - physically, mentally and spiritually!

Importance of breakfast

I know many people know about the importance of breakfast... but still I want to share it with you all...

Breakfast is really very important to start a new day. We need energy for whole day activity. 

No matter how busy how rush you are, you must eat your breakfast!
You cannot skip it! 

Some people want to keep fit so they skip it, which is WRONG!
This can damage your body!

Usually I make my own breakfast, which means I bake cakes, bread, pancakes....



My breakfast consist of the following elements:
- Warm water
- Fruit, mainly kiwi
- Bread/cake
- Tea (preferably green tea)
- Dairy product like yogurt, milk etc.










It is the best to start with drinking a cup of warm water, I always put lemon juice inside. Lemon is good for your skin and for health (of course! with vitamin C haha)

Also, it is very important to eat a fruit like kiwi which is rich in vitamin C.

Bread/ cake can provide carbohydrates, protein...
I avoid putting butter on the bread, I will put honey or home-made jam directly on the bread.

Tea is not a must but I prefer drinking something hot, especially green tea is good because it can help to avoid cancer.

Dairy product - some people say they are good, some say not good. I think we can never 100% avoid bad food right? just as we all have some cancer cells in our body! So eat it reasonably, the rest will leave it to God :)