Smoothie x Eat your avocados

This morning, I woke up craving for some avocados, aka the superfood.

I loveeeeeee avocados even though it's heavy in calories and full of fats (read: healthy fats)! These little greenies are high in fiber, sodium & cholesterol free and rich in healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. It aids in weight gain and it's the secret to healthy heart, brilliant brain and eagle eyes ;)

You can read more about Avocados' health benefits here, here or here. 

I used to order avocado smoothie from fruit juice stall but I reckon all the health benefits be gone after they added all the gula melaka and evaporated milk. I simply blend them myself now :)

I wanted to make some avo-eggy toast but we ran out of bread at home!!!! :( I was lazy to go out and get. Normally, I'll eat them as a fruit itself but I woke up and wanted something hearty. Decided to Google for some smoothie recipes and tadah, avocado-kiwi and almond milk goody for me.

& here's my first time trying almond milk. I love it except it's so expensive, costs me 6bucks!

Jack says my real food, healthier lifestyle gonna costs us a bomb in the future. haha.

Ingredients:

• I cup of almond milk
• 1 avocado
• 1 kiwi
• 4-5 pieces of ice
• Maple Syrup (if you want it sweet)

Blend, and enjoy!

I omitted maple syrup since I was on my "I quit added sugar" 2 weeks challenge. It has a little sweetness since I added kiwi :)

A little update on my IQS journey:
The past 5 days has been easier than I thought, maybe because I allowed myself some fruits and few pieces of my 85% chocolate bar so it wasn't that bad! Other than that, I wasn't really craving for anything sugary... except ytd!!! I was famished before lunch, and my colleague offered me a mouth of this goodie from Bali. I ate without knowing it was chocolate in flavour and after I bite a mouth of it, I was like omgg, what is this thing so sweet?! hahhah

Now my brother is back with my subway lunch (im still craving for bread!)

Have a great Saturday ahead ;)
 

I Quit added sugar challenge - 18th November to 1st December

I realized there ain't much health nutrition related blogs in Singapore and I happened to chance upon Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar few days ago.

After browsing through her website for a long while, I was pretty loss for words at the amount of sugar we're taking in daily - be it added, converted or natural. Even though I don't drink coke or put sugar in my coffee, maybe just a few mouthful of chocolates here and there with some fruits and honey, a conservative day would actually see me consume about 30 teaspoon of sugars!! & that's horrifying!

Inspired by Sarah's 8 weeks IQS program, starting tomorrow to 1st December, I've decided to take a challenge and do a 2 weeks (instead of 8 weeks, for a start) no added sugar challenge. I believe it'll be a great start to reduce my consumption of sugar and also for the better of my health. 

I'll also try to get back to meal prep for work lunch at least twice this week. Talking about it, I'm craving for some cold cha soba!!! I'm a jap food addict hehe. And also aim to get 7 hours rest a day.

I'm not sure there'd be a lapse because I'm a (convert) sugar addict! :/ I know two weeks wouldn't be that tough. Furthermore, I'll be allowing myself 2 servings of fruits a day (the program doesn't allow!) so I guess it wouldn't be that bad. 

Check her website out if you're interested ;)

/morning before 7am class face in my first lululemon energy top!

New "no added sugar" week, here we go! 

Replace fear of the unknown with curiosity

'Before or After work class?'

If 9 months ago you ask me to wake up at 530am for a 7am workout, I'd probably stare right into you, tell you I am not that insane and my bed is more important than anything else.

9 months later today, let me take back my words! cause I can't tell you how much I would love to incorporate one or two morning classes a week before my work because every bit of class re-energizes my body and freshen up my mind for the day.

JUST LIKE... the happiest place on earth :)

#throwbacktohk

I began this morning ritual while I was doing my 30 days hot yoga journey. I still remembered how excited I was for the first class! I do feel lethargic at times for subsequent classes and wanted more sleep but would pulled myself up eventually. Morning classes always makes me feels centered and relaxed, getting me ready for a chirpy, productive, healthy day ahead.

After work classes are great too because it takes away stress and strain from the body and mind. What I liked most about is the feelin' of being free after a sweatout and hot bathe, getting all ready for a sweet good night sleep.

BUT. for people like us who holds a day job, there are just times where... what you want to do after a long day of work in front of the computer screen is to go home and rest, or have a good dinner with your family. I remembered not going home for dinner for the first two weeks of my journey. Not only I spent more money dining out, I also feel bad for staying out late and long everyday. 

So I always ensure a balance of morning and evening classes and here's what I do to prepare before my morning classes: 

1. PLAN AHEAD

I always make a point to check out the schedule and scan through the teachers planned for class.Because waking up at 535am can be every bit agonizing, I'll choose a class that I feel like doing and the teacher I want to practice with. These little factors could make a huge difference. An energetic teacher who starts your day, makes your day! 

2. SLEEP EARLY

"Sleep early, sleep early"! This is what I have been reminding myself for so many times. Sleep is very important for my long day ahead and lack of sleep leads to so many other bad factors. Trying to tuck myself earlier to bed before morning class is something I'm still tackling with. While I do try my best to get 7 hours of eye shut, there are always times I ended up not. But I would tell you sleep is key to body restoration and we should never forgo any bit.

3. Pack everything the night before 

I packed my work outfit, bag and workout clothes before I sleep! Every morning, all I take is only 15 minutes to get ready. Brush teeth, get some light breakfast, spread my PB bread for post workout, get changed and leave the house :) if I don't prepare the night before, I'd probably be late already and I dislike being late for class!
There was once this week I left the house, tapped into the train and realised I left something out, I ended up returning home and had to miss the class, what a bum.

Do you prefer a morning or evening class?

Brunch x Strangers' Reunion

The last time I visited strangers' was last year when they were still new and small. Finally made a trip down again with my dear friends, this time to their expanded space & menu. It was pretty crowded and we had to wait for a good 15-20 minutes before we got our table.

I used to do weekly brunch when I was schooling & have much lesser privileges now after working. So glad to spend a full Saturday eating, catching up, and shopping, especially after my morning yoga class with Leah Kim!! :)

Scrambled eggs on olive bread & sauteed mushrooms and Iced Soy Latte for me!

J ended work late so it was brunch between the 3 of us before he came to find us

Not a fan of fries. I can't taste the difference between the normal & truffle fries anywayyyy!

Strangers' Reunion
33/35/37 
Kampong Bahru Road

Am off to nurse my aching legs from my first 21km Great Eastern Run this morning :(
Have a great week ahead xx

Baking x Homemade Granola

I love it when it rains on Sunday noon when I'm home. Singapore is so humid throughout the year and raining is a nice break. This is random & baking was exactly what I did last cosy rainy weekends. Snacking on nuts & dried fruits is one of my favourite things to do. I always carry a handful of them with me in my bag. My favourite kind is definitely walnuts and almonds. The rest of tiny seeds follows behind hehe.

Ingredients:

• A handful of mixed nuts (I used walnut, almond, pumpkin, sunflower, seseame seeds)
• A handful of dried raisins and cranberries.
• 1/3 cup of rolled oats
• Maple Syrup
• Olive oil
• Apple sauce

Steps:

• Mix all dry ingredients together. 
• Mix all wet ingredients together.
• Pour the wet ingredient into the dry ones and mix evenly. You can add in more maple syrup if it's dry. 
• After done, put into the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes! Make sure you take a look every 15 minutes.

My dear friend & boyfriend who was lucky to have a try said it was good, Yay!
I've finished and time for 2nd batch someday :)

Shape Run 2013 x Nicoll Highway

People who knew me would probably know that I used to be an advocate of running. And to be honest, I haven't been running for one of my longest time. I have pretty much stopped running ever since I got so hooked on yoga. Finally last Sunday, my first 10KM with Shape Singapore came. Was pretty reluctant to wake up so early on a weekend morning but Cheryl and I still managed to go for the run. The race was supposed to take place somewhere in July but because of the bad haze, it was postponed for 3 months.

 

I was pretty glad to achieve a timing of 1 hour and 3 minutes despite not training. Because we were late and almost couldn't make it through, I skipped the warm up and ended up with limping thighs for the next 2-3 days. I had extremely hard time moving around because I was aching crazily.

Before & after run!

It was still a good run afterall. This 10km would be my first and last training practice for my next upcoming Great Eastern half-marathon. I hope I would be able to make it within 2 hours 45 minutes? It sounds kinda bad timing but I supposed I can probably only do a non-stop 10km and would be stroll-jog-stroll-jog afterwhich. I would really want to have the Adidas finisher tee!

Hot Journey x Leap of faith

your mind is everything, what you think you become

I've been meaning to write a post on my completion of 30 days hot journey & here goes. Right from the start, I was pretty determined to complete my challenge and 3 days ago, my last morning 7am class came. This journey has left a huge attachment on me and waking up on Thursday morning, I felt as though something was missing, I needed my mat! I've began to love yoga even more, the people around me, the teachers and every beads of sweat. I miss pasting color dots against my name.

Through the journey, here's what I felt taught my most:

1. Planning ahead

Scheduling yoga classes ahead of time has became part of my routine. I always plan 3-5 days in advance. If I'm expecting to be hanging out after work, I had to double up on weekends / do morning classes. Carrying yoga gears around with me to work has also began to become a norm & these will continue even for now :)

2. Waking up at 535am 

Not that I can do that daily! I never thought I can get myself out of the bed this early to get moving on the mat. After sometime, I kinda enjoy taking the train at wee hours with lesser crowd (now im hating the 8am crowd), bathing at 8am after some morning sweat out, grabbing my cup of coffee & bread for breakfast and then slowly settling down at my office hot desk to kick start my days. Most days like this, I do feel more cheerful and energized!

3. Dualities: Struggling and going beyond

It's OK to be struggling. When life gives you lemon, you make lemonade out of it right? :) Not all days you feel good. Some days you just want to get it over and done. But someday you get all hyped up and just go beyond, beyond your body capabilities. 

4. Eating habits 

After a good yoga practice, all you want to do restore your body healthily. It's so funny how this fixes your eating habits. You find yourself craving for healthier food, not junk, not processed. Why would you want to inject fries & coke right into your body? At least not right after class! But with that say, I've also been overspending.. on food! because I've been eating out so much more. It's time to work on more home prep food!

5. The value of support
I read Tara's value of support post few days back and today, I realized the importance of it. In my 3rd practice, I was pretty tired and drained. At full locust pose, I was struggling to lift my whole body up when suddenly my dear friend beside me held my hands and we both went higher up together. When we support we are connected.

If you have the opportunity, I'd encourage you to take a 30 days class. You'll find in it so much joy and love for yoga. Join me with this now! :)