REFLECTIONS...

One thing I realized about my diet is that eating whatever I feel like at that point of time is horrible for my health. If I kept eating at that rate, I can almost see my heart attack coming! I usually tend to eat whatever that I find in the kitchen or wherever, though if it's not that healthy I would try to eat less of it. However, I didn't really have a choice on Day 3, I guess rushing around isn't good at all. I also thought that I had a sufficient calcium intake, but I actually don't and thus I switched from drinking Milo to milk in the mornings before school, and I can switch to eating cheese sandwiches, which contain less fats and more calcium then peanut butter and nutella.

That is why I feel that the Food Intake Assessment is useful, because it shows me what I need to cut down on and what I need to eat more (eg. calcium, less sodium) in terms of my general diet. Also, it reminded me that I need to balance my meals better, by eating more vegetables and less meats. The Food Pyramid is also useful because it shows me what I need to eat in moderation, etc and I can compare my diet to it. The Energy and Nutrient Composition tool was very helpful especially in planning my one dish meal, and I will never think of claypot rice the same way for a long time...

I guess my diet isn't very healthy, because it isn't very balanced and I tend to eat whatever I feel like if I can find it, although I'll stop myself from eating too much. I don't eat enough vegetables and I eat too much meat, and sometimes too much sugar or sweet things, especially when I'm out because it's very easy to just buy a snack. This is one habit that I should break, for the sake of my health and my wallet!
However, I think that the food that I eat at home is usually quite healthy. My grandma mixes white and brown rice, which is more healthy and with more dietary fibre and vitamins. She also cooks soup most days, usually clear vegetarian soups or chicken/pork rib soups. My grandma also doesn't let us take too much of one dish, so that we will get a more balanced diet. After each meal most of the time we have fruits, such as apples, oranges, grapes, etc. I think eating fruits before each meal would be healthier, because by the end of the meal we are fuller and would eat less fruits, but this idea may not be very practical.

Claypot rice makes a good one dish meal because it is very well balanced, consisting of meat (protein), rice (carbohydrates) and veggies (dietary fibre, vitamins, minerals), especially if you cut down on the oil, fats and sodium. Another thing I like about this dish is that you can add in almost any ingredients, such as vegetables, other meats, etc.

EVALUATIONS...

Mary Lisa
Mary's diet is very very healthy! She eats a very balanced and high energy diet, which is good for her because she's a long distance runner and needs a lot of energy. She has a high sodium intake, which she can reduce by using less flavoring or natural spices. She gets enough dietary fibre from her Great Grains, which are a healthier alternative for cornflakes. I think it's good that she drinks a lot of water throughout the day, instead of sugary soft drinks.
I also like her writing style :D

Edith
I really agree with the comments that she made about my diet, I'll switch to cheese sandwiches instead! Cheese is yummy anyway... Edith should cut down on her protein intake and eat more carbohydrates, such as rice instead, and also use less flavourings in her food for a lower sodium intake. For more calcium, she could drink milk in the mornings, because I know that she usually doesn't drink it with her breakfast, or she could also eat cheese.

Fan Jin
One thing about her diet is that she has a high calcium intake! That is good, because she drinks milk, yakult or yoghurt about three times a day. They make good snacks between meals because they contain lots of calcium, and less fats than other snacks. I should learn from her, especially since I need to cut down on my snacking while increasing my calcium intake. However, I think that Fan Jin has too much protein in her diet, as each meal she tends to eat at least two types of meat, such as chicken, fish, etc. Her meals are quite well balanced though, with enough vegetables.

ONE DISH MEAL...


A one-dish meal that can be adapted would be claypot rice! The death threats it presents to us are covered in the previous post...
Claypot rice consists of steamed rice with oil, steamed chinese sausage, deep fried salted fish, mushrooms and chicken, and mixed with more oil and dark soya sauce to make it even more delicious! Some people enjoy eating the crispy burnt rice at the bottom of the claypot too.

To make it healthier:
1. Use canola or sunflower oil in this dish, as it is lower in saturated fats and trans fats. Also, use less oil.
2. Remove skin from the chicken, for less fats.
3. Use less dark soya sauce, or none at all to flavour the rice, for less sodium. For more flavouring, use natural spices such as ginger.
4. Leave out the deep fried salted fish from the dish, for less sodium. Perhaps ikan bilis might be a good replacement (though I don't know how it'll taste!)
5. Add more mushrooms and vegetables to the dish for more dietary fibre and vitamins.
6. Cook the dish in a rice cooker instead so that the rice at the bottom won't burn. Burnt rice is unhealthy because of carcinogens.

ANALYSIS OF MY DIET...

Food Intake Assessment
Click on the image for a bigger image.
I knew that these few days I was eating unhealthily, but I didn't know that it would be this serious! I'm eating too much meat and fats, and the food that I consumed also has way too much cholesterol, probably due to saturated fats! However, I did not get enough calcium and dietary fibre, so I should drink more milk and eat more vegetables. I also really need to cut down on my sodium intake! If I keep eating this way, I think I will get really fat, and die of a heart attack soon! I really should eat more balanced meals, cut down on snacks between meals and eat less outside of the house as they usually contain more seasonings (thus the sodium) and saturated fats.

Healthy Diet Pyramid
I think that I should cut down on meats and eggs, and I should replace it with more fruits instead. Although I do eat fruits after most meals, I am not eating enough fruits, and maybe I should eat less and fill up on fruits. I obviously also don't eat enough vegetables, unless they're my favourites. If there are other types of vegetables for dinner, I would usually only take a few stalks. When I am eating outside, I would not choose dishes with a lot of veggies. I don't consume enough calcium, though usually on school days I'll drink milk or Milo for breakfast. However, as milk has a higher calcium content than Milo, it is a healthier alternative. I also consume too much fats and oils, such as the fried rice on Day 1 and the buttery french toast. I should also cut down on my sweet intake, especially when I am out of the house!

Energy and Nutrient Composition
Claypot rice is really really unhealthy! I knew it wasn't the best choice for a meal, though I didn't know that it was so unhealthy... This is why i think the Energy and Nutrient Composition tool is quite useful, because it gives us specific details about a dish so that we'll be so traumatized we'll stay far far away from it in the future! Claypot rice contains excessive fats, cholesterol, and WAY too much sodium, and too little dietary fibre as well. Oh no I can feel my arteries clogging up...

DAY THREE...

10am - 1 Subway chocolate chip cookie


12pm - 1 Subway white chocolate macadamia cookie
2pm - 1 chocolate chip cookie, 1 cup of champagne grape red tea with pearls
7pm - 3 small bowls of claypot chicken rice, 3 stalks of kailan, 1 cup of iced lemon tea


My diet today is really unhealthy! Between rushing to piano lesson and church, I did not have time to get a proper breakfast or lunch, and by dinnertime I was really really hungry so I ate more than usual.

DAY TWO...

10.30am - 1 slice of french toast
12.45pm - 1/2 bowl of rice, 2 sausages, 1/2 cupful of cabbage

7pm - 1 bowl of soup noodles with pork and egg, 1 cup of iced peach tea, 1 piece of french toast with honey and butter.


DAY ONE...

10.30am - 1 peanut butter and nutella sandwich (2 slices of bread), 300ml of low fat milk


1.20pm - 1 1/2 bowls of fried rice (it was too yummy to resist!), 1/2 cupful of kang kong with belachan (they're my fav veg :D), 1 bowl of watercress soup, 300ml of sprite + orangina mixed.

2.30pm - 3 Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies, 5 grapes
4.20pm - 1 small bowl of fried rice (leftover from lunch)
5pm - 1/2 bowl of rice (white and brown rice mixed), 3 pieces of black chicken, 1 bowl of 黑鸡汤, 1 cupful of kang kong with chili, 2 slices of orange

9pm - 1 Roti Mum coffee bun

I usually don't eat that much!! I hope D: Time to go jogging...

hi! this is my cooking PT blog, where i'll be posting about all the yummy stuff i eat :D mmm. anyway the food will only come in when i finally get off my lazy butt and decide to start ohwell :D