Day: March 14, 2013

Motherhood Uncensored 2

On the eve of Alycia’s BM test early last week, I suddenly remembered that I had not gone through ‘Nilai Murni’ (which literally means pure values if translated directly from BM to English using Google Translate. It is all the good values that one should possess ) with her. And my cool as cucumber daughter nonchalantly told me that she did not bring her book on Nilai Murni back to do revision!! This girl can cause my blood pressure to hit sky high sometimes, especially during the exam season. So what else? It was already 6ish pm and where on earth was I going to find the notes!!?

Bless the person who invented the internet and Google Search. I hurriedly searched for notes on Tahun 4 Nilai Murni and thank God, I found them but the problem was printing them. The teacher who posted her Nilai Murni slides on the internet made it very difficult for the notes to be printed out. I spent quite a bit of time figuring out how to print the darn notes out while nagging Ms Cool As Cucumber away! As I was doing all these, this fella had the cheek to play games on my laptop!! What on earth was she thinking of, W.T.Fun!! After the notes were printed out, I forced   asked  her to memorize them — which was another round of blood vomit session with her!  I went through similar awful moments with her when I gave her Math questions which I set myself.  Lately, I’ve gone through quite a bit of hair-pulling, voice-raising and meltdown moments with this tween of mine.   Well, my only consolation is that she scored a 91/100 for her BM Pemahaman and 93/100 for her Math.    I hope I do not have to go through such distressing moments with her 4 times a year for the next 7 to 9 years!  I pray that she will buckle up and realize her mistakes and behave better!

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Healthy Granola Recipe

I love eating granola as they are made up of the nuts and seeds that I like to eat. I have tried many brands of granola but sadly, I have not found one that is not overly sweet. Most brands of granola are loaded with honey, syrup, maltose and sugar, which are all carbs, which will lead to weight gain. People think that eating granola can help with weight loss but they are not aware that they are high in carbs and calories. Before I put any food into my shopping cart, I always check the ingredients and nutritional information printed on the packing, paying special attention to how much carbs and sodium the product has.

Today as I was searching for healthy food recipes, I stumbled upon a recipe for a healthy gourmet cranberry cashew granola. The steps look pretty simple to me and I think I can get most of the ingredients from our local organic shop. What makes me bookmark a particular recipe is that the steps must be easy and the ingredients easily available. But I will tweak this recipe a little by reducing the amount of honey, reducing the dried cranberries and omitting the desiccated coconut. I will probably try out this recipe during the school holidays where the kids can rope in to help.

Ingredients You’ll Need

2 cups Healtheries Healtheries Wholegrain Rice Flakes
3 cups rolled oats
¾ cup Healtheries Bran Flakes or Healtheries Stabilised Wheatgerm
1 cup Healtheries Ground LSA (Ground Linseed, Sunflower Seed, Almond Meal)
1½ cups desiccated coconut
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup raw cashew nuts (or other nuts as preferred)
¾ cup honey
1 cup water (or apple juice)
½ cup neutral oil, e.g sunflower or canola.
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 packed cup dried cranberries (150g pkt)

Getting Into It

First Step
Preheat oven 150°C fan bake (160°C regular bake).

Second Step
In a large baking dish combine the rye flakes, rolled oats, LSA, coconut, seeds and nuts (and bran or wheatgerm if using).

Third Step
In a small saucepan heat honey and juice or water, stirring until honey is dissolved (or microwave for 1 minute). Remove from heat, add oil and vanilla.

Fourth Step
Pour liquid mix over dry ingredients, adding about one third at a time and mixing well between each addition. The final mixture will be quite wet and sticky.

Fifth Step
Spread mixture out into 2 large roasting trays and bake for 35-40 minutes or until crisp and golden brown, stirring regularly to ensure even cooking.

Sixth Step
Remove from the oven and stir in the cranberries.

Storage: Leave to cool before storing in an airtight container. Store for up to a month in a cool, dry place.
Serving Suggestions

Serve with fresh diced fruit and low fat greek yoghurt for a nutrient packed breakfast

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HEALTH FREAK MOMMY