Coconut Water Kefir!

681 days ago

Have you guys heard of this Coconut Water Kefir? It is kind of like sugar water kefir but instead of sugar and water as a medium for fermentation, we would be...

Have you guys heard of this Coconut Water Kefir? It is kind of like sugar water kefir but instead of sugar and water as a medium for fermentation, we would be using coconut water instead. And coconut water is not coconut milk. It is the “juice” from the coconut itself. Coconut milk is made from the “meat” of the coconuts which is kind of milky. Coconut milk is used in many Indian cuisine and in curries. Coconut water is used for quenching thirst by locals. And from what I read, coconut water is one of the healthiest drink you can find out there. It contains good amounts of minerals and vitamins to help your body. And now, we are going to ferment it just like milk kefir!Just think of the health benefits we get from that! As this is the first time I am making coconut water keifr, hopefully, it will turn out alright.

In Singapore, you can find coconuts everywhere. Our local supermarkets do carry coconuts, but usually young Thai coconuts, which according to experts taste better. I have to agree. Young coconuts do taste better than older ones. They are also much sweeter and contains more minerals and vitamins. In other words, they are supposed to be healthier for you. The ones you find in our supermarkets usually have their husks removed and they look smaller than what we normally expect. No problems, it is not like there is anything we can do with the coconut husks. Furthermore, they are already cut, so what you do is to “peel” off the top and drink the juice itself. Easy.

The equipment needed to make coconut water kefir. 3 young coconuts and a kefir pack. I will be using a kefir pack instead of kefir grains. From what I read, using the kefir pack will result in a better tasting coconut kefir. Furthermore, I don’t have sugary water kefir grains, only milk kefir grains. Sugary water kefir grains make better coconut water kefir than milk grains, since they have been conditioned to thrive in a sugary medium. But I will have to experiment. The next time, I will try with milk kefir grains and compare the results.

S$1.70 per coconut. Not cheap, especially when you realize that we are located in coconut region. But what to do?

Check out the nutritional information. Approximately 270g of coconut water for a 450g of coconut. That is about half.

Hahahaha, someone drilled an opening for you! All you have to do is to use a spoon and peel open the cover. Smart right? You don’t have to play with a hacksaw or a chopper or whatever, just for some coconut water. Of course, you have to be careful when choosing the coconuts. If you see that the coconut water is leaking out, avoid them. Remember, coconut water spoils easily. You don’t want to be consuming bacteria infected coconut water.

There, see how easy that was. After pouring the coconut water, you can eat the coconut meat with a spoon. They taste quite wonderful. Ahhh….life is great!

Here we have the kefir pack I bought online a while back. Note that this is not real kefir but some sort of “manufactured” kefir powder with some of the selected bacteria from actual kefir. It is not the best solution but for the time being, it will do. And unlike real kefir grain, this will not last you a lifetime, you will need to purchase new kefir packs after a few attempts. Why? Well, this is because the bacteria in the kefir packs will weaken and might eventually die or mutate.

Looks like milk powder!

I poured the coconut water from the three coconuts into this container. Of course I spilled half of them onto the sink. Hey, it is hard to get the coconut water from the coconut without a straw!

After adding the powdered kefir into the coconut water. Remember to shake the hell out of the container. You will want the powdered kefir to mix with the coconut water for even fermentation.

Another view. Let’s hope it will turn out to be a delicious drink for me to enjoy. It will take about 48-72 hrs for it to ferment. After that, you will get a tangy fizzy drink called coconut water kefir which is an elixir of health, especially in Singapore where the weather nowadays is extremely warm. I will report on the results when it is done. Can’t wait to taste this one!

Kraft Thousand Island

683 days ago

In my attempt to improve my diet, I have started to eat more raw vegetables like salads. And one thing I found out about vegetables is that if they are uncooked,...

In my attempt to improve my diet, I have started to eat more raw vegetables like salads. And one thing I found out about vegetables is that if they are uncooked, they can taste pretty bad. Not like horrible, but vegetables and herbs have this bitterness which I find extremely off-putting. Worst of all, after eating raw vegetables for a while, they all taste the same. I guess perhaps the vegetables start to numb the taste-buds and we find everything taste the same. But I am not giving up taking care of my health. So, I bought myself Thousand Island Salad dressing. No, I didn’t get those fancy Italian salad dressing but just plain old common Thousand Island. Cheap and pretty tasty. Thousand Island gives foods a nice twang but at the same time, does not over-power the vegetables like vinegar does. Oh, everyone here should have tasted Thousand Island before right?

I bought bottle of Kraft Thousand Island from Sheng Siong. It was like most of my purchases, on offer. Luckily I live nearby 3 local supermarkets – NTUC, Sheng Siong and Shop N Save. Quite a good location if you are into buying groceries like an aunty.

Here you have the bottle of Kraft Thousand Island dressing. Yes, it is kind of pinkish. This is due to the tomato ketchup in the Thousand Island dressing. Oh, you didn’t know that Thousand Island dressing is actually just mainly mayonnaise and tomato ketchup.

Pathetic label in the front. But this is cheap stuff as compared to the other brands at Sheng Siong, so we must forgive them.

Oh no, it is about to due. Well, I just have to finish the Thousand Island dressing fast.

Hmmm….the ingredients are soybean oil, tomato puree, vinegar, sugar, chopped pickles, salt, water, santhan gum, dried onions, critic acid, polysorbate 60, propylene glycol alginate, spice, lactic acid, mustard flour, natural flavour, oleoresin tumeric, sorbic acid and calcium disodium edta. Well, to make mayonnaise, you will primarily need oil and vinegar to get a stable emulsion. Of course, they add other spices to increase the flavour. And look at the nutritional facts. Seems like I am adding unhealthy fats to my healthy raw vegetable diet. A bit stupid, don’t you think?

I am just wondering where is this Thousand Island dressing manufactured? In the United States? Not very likely since the prices of Made in the USA products are usually very high. But I can’t find where this is manufactured anywhere on the bottle.  Weird.

SCS Cheese Slices Smokey BBQ

690 days ago

Don’t you just love cheese? Even the pathetic kind that you find in our local supermarkets. I just love them. I know that a lot of Singaporean Chinese don’t like cheese....

Don’t you just love cheese? Even the pathetic kind that you find in our local supermarkets. I just love them. I know that a lot of Singaporean Chinese don’t like cheese. Heck, there are even some who can’t even stand the smell of cheese. But I love it. I can’t get enough of cheese. Sure, the smell is a bit off putting at times, but the flavour is just so complex. It all started when I went to dine with several of my friends at this Italian restaurant. They serve the best tasting Italian (& European) cheeses and got me completely hooked. Of course the stuff I eat now taste nothing like the Italian cheese but hey, it is still cheese right? SCS is an Australian brand and if I remembered correctly when I was young, my mother used to pack bread with slices of SCS cheese. However I didn’t really care for cheese back then.

Anyway, I am here to review this SCS Cheese Slices – Smokey BBQ Flavour. No, it does not taste like any smokey BBQ I have ever tasted and the cheese itself isn’t that great. But surely we don’t expect much from cheese found in Singapore right? And again, the prices here are pretty high, so don’t get too used to eating cheese.

Ahhh…the SCS Cheese Slices – Smokey BBQ Flavour. 12 individually wrapped slices. When we were young, we were told that cheese is good for us. So most of the time, my parents would force me to eat cheese. Now that we know that cheese might not be all that good for you, I would recommend everyone to eat in moderation.

The back of the pack.

Some nutritional information for you. Oh, keep the cheese refrigerated. You won’t it to go bad right. Remembered, this is processed cheese, not real cheese. If you watched those food shows, you can see that those Europeans don’t refrigerate their cheese. This is because cheese “naturally” inhibits bacteria from forming on the surface. And if mold does form, they simply trim it off. The cheese below is still good.

The ingredients are cheese (pasteurised milk, salt, starter culture, enzyme), water, milk solids, butter (cream, water, salt), Emulsifiers, salt, natural smoke flavour, acidity regulator, preservative and colour. I really wonder why cheese manufacturers nowadays still add preservative to cheese. I know that they want to improve shelf life but adding preservatives to cheese is really unnecessary. Furthermore, eating too much preservative can be harmful to your health. Oh, this is made in Australia. 200g of cheese.

The distributors.

Here we have the actual cheese slice itself. Individually wrapped so that you can easily open one up and put on your bread or on your burger. Convenient processed cheese. But taste wise, I don’t think it can be compared to real cheese. It is good if you are in a hurry and aren’t interested in the taste but you should really go and try some great cheeses. You will not regret it!

Easiyo Lemon Yogurt Base & Culture

696 days ago

Yes, it has been a while since I did a review on Easiyo Yogurt Sachets. The reason is because I have been making yogurt the old fashion way – milk and...

Yes, it has been a while since I did a review on Easiyo Yogurt Sachets. The reason is because I have been making yogurt the old fashion way – milk and a commercially available yogurt purchased from the store. The problem with this is I have to add flavours myself or I eat them plain. No, it is not bad or anything, just sometimes you just need something different. Eating plain yogurts can get real stale after a while. And what better way to get a fresh yogurt then from Easiyo? It comes with everything you need to make yogurt, just add water and let it ferment for a few hours – you get great tasting yogurt for your entire family to enjoy. And yes, it is fresh! The thing about eating yogurt, you should always ensure that you are getting the freshest yogurt. If not, you are losing out on the great benefits of “probiotics” in the yogurt. So remember when purchasing yogurt from the stores, get the one with the longest “due date”. Or even better, make one yourself. It is very very easy!

Here we have the Easiyo Yogurt Base & Culture – Lemon Flavour. I have never tried this flavour before. Why? Well, I often find it lemon flavour weird for yogurt because yogurt is already tangy. Why add something which will make the yogurt even more tangy. Anyway, this would be pretty interesting. Can’t wait to taste it!

See – it is Lemon Flavour!

We have the back of the sachet.

Hmmm…..makes 1kg of perfect yogurt every time! Billions of “live” cultures in every spoonful, including acidophilus! At least 38% of your recommended daily intake of calcium in every serving! No artificial colours or preservatives, gluten free, non GM, low Glycaemic index and halal certified. Muslims should not have any problem with this.

Here we have directions to make the yogurt. You will need the Easiyo Yogurt Maker set. I bought mine from Phoon Huat for S$36. Pretty expensive for just some plastic cups and containers. But what to do? Everything in Singapore is expensive!

This Len Light (Inventor of Easiyo) guys speaks – “The benefits of yogurt cultures depend on them being alive! As they have a limited lifetime (of days), you need to eat your yogurt freshly made. So Easiyo yogurt not only tastes great, it is the very best for you!”. Well, making your own yogurt ensures that you get the freshest yogurt, so I have to agree with him. He is smiling because of all the money he is making from selling us Easiyo scahets which probably cost us five times it is worth. Thanks.

The ingredients are pasteurised whole and skim milk solids (60%) from free range cows, sugar, flavouring, live lactic cultures like l.bulgaricus, s.thermophilus, l.acidophilus and natural colour. Nothing to spectacular in terms of ingredients. They have other varieties of yogurt sachets which cost more for “spectacular-some”.

Made in New Zealand. For that I am really glad. Lets hope the milk is also from New Zealand. You will be surprised to realize that even manufacturers in New Zealand will find sources of milk from other countries due to one reason or another.

Anyway, I will get back to you on the taste of the Lemon yogurt once it is done.

Red Sun Spirulina

697 days ago

Finally, I managed to save enough money to buy the extremely expensive Spirulina. Supposedly one of the most powerful health “food” available out there. From what I read, they claim that...

Finally, I managed to save enough money to buy the extremely expensive Spirulina. Supposedly one of the most powerful health “food” available out there. From what I read, they claim that Spirulina is a complete food with nearly all the necessary minerals and vitamins for life. Well, I am sold. But one of the things holding me back is the price. It is super expensive. For just about 250g, this Spriulina costs nearly one hundred dollars. I am not kidding you. It is that expensive.  And the price is inflated. From what I read, Spirulina is a easy to grow and easy to harvest algae. However due to it’s many potential health benefits, manufacturers have massively inflated the prices and dubbed it as a health supplement instead of a food. Thus, you will often find Spirulina in health stores. It is interesting to note that you can find Spirulina as food for fishes and the prices are actually much much cheaper. But they claim that the Spirulina meant for fish is not “clean”. What to do? Since big manufacturers control the market, you have no choice but to pay the price they set. In Singapore, it is probably even worst than in other countries. Everything in Singapore is expensive. There is no escaping it.

Anyway, 250g of Spirulina doesn’t amount to much. You are actually supposed to consume Spirulina as a food, so 250g is just enough for a few days at much. Due to cost issues, I am consuming Spirulina as a supplement. I will follow what the manufacturer have recommend.

One box, nearly a hundred bucks! The Red Sun is killing me!

Some interesting information.

Hmmm…..Spirulina is a species of blue-green algae found to exist on earth for billions of years. It survives best in extremely alkaline and pollution-free environment. It has a long history of being a safe and natural food for human consumption. Hahaha, they even admitted it. Yet they are charging extraordinary prices for it and making it unsuitable as a food source for human consumption! Japan Food Analysis Centre certified that Spirulina high value food, which contains without heavy metal and Coliform Bacteria. It is sfae and no side effect for long term consumption. Japan Health Food Association (JHFA), they recognized Spirulina as daily food. In 1981, Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations (FAO) recognized Spirulina as a ideal food of the 2000′s. Well, if they are going to charge so much for Spirulina, at the least they can write proper English, don’t you agree?

Red Sun Japan Spirulina is cultivated under the strictest manufacturing conditions in a pollution free environment, using the latest Japanese technology. The manufacturing process is subjected to multi tests at every stage, to ensure it contains all the natural qualities. Red Sun Japan Spirulina is the pure and natural food that suitable for all ages. They recommends consumers to take 10-15 tablets daily and if necessary, increase the dosage. Yes, take with water. Spirulina can be consumed anytime with meals, before meals or between.

Hmmm….5 tablets of Spirulina contain 2.7mcg of Vitamin B12, which exceeds the recommended daily allowance for Vitamin B12 under the Singapore Food regulation. Have there been cases of Vitamin B12 poisoning? In my option, it should not be a problem, since I am sure that people have consumed Spirulina for ages without any side effects from Vitamin B12 “overdose”. If you worry, just take slightly less.

The aluminum foil containing all the tablets!

The tablets are green! I follow what is recommended - 10 tablets per day in the mornings. I might be increasing the amount to 15 by next month. And I will then need to find another cheaper source of Spirulina. Damn Red Sun!

Spirulina – the world’s most concentrated & healthiest superfood! The scientific name of Spirulina is Arthrospira Platensis. It has a long history of being a safe and nutritious food for human consumption and over 30 years of intense safety testing. This microalgae which is blue-green in colour is able to absorb great amount of energy from the sun to produce highly valued bioavailable nutrients for their growth and reproduction. Spirulina is the first photosynthetic life form that evolved successfully for 3.6 billion years ago and still surviving today in our modern time. It contains all the necessary nutrients for life and also supports higher life forms by producing oxygen in our atmosphere.

If you want to read more about Spirulina, look above. Tons of information. But of course, take everything with a pinch of salt, the authors are attempting to sell their product which is Spirulina.

Hmmm….Spirulina – the superfood for Health.  A power for vitality & longevity. It is high in beta carotene, 10 times more concentrated than carrots to support your body’s defenses. It is a rich source of easy-to-digest vegetable protein, free from fat and cholesterol of animal origin. Contains all the essential amino acids and has only a few calories. Contains valuable fatty acids that is vital to good health including Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) that is in mother’s milk which helps develop babies mental and vision development. Grown-ups are very deprived of GLA in this modern society. Spirulina is the only orther whole food with GLA. It is a source of natural iron. Iron is an important element to build a strong body system. Often found deficient in women and children. It is also high in bioavailable magnesium and trace minerals. Furthermore, it has one of the highest source of Vitamin B12 and B complex – that are so important for healthy nerves and tissue, especially for vegetarians.

Yes, Spirulina helps to strengthens the immune system, supports cardiovascular function & healthy cholesterol, improves gastrointestinal and digestive health, enhance natural body cleansing and detoxification as well as reduce major illness risk and increase antioxidant protection.

Some nutritional information for you to digest!

Even more nutritional information for you to digest.

Ahhhh…..tons of nutritional information for you to go through.

Okay, I have come to the end of this little review. Come back again in 3 months and I will tell you how the Spirulina is helping my health. See you next time!

Tomei Roasted Chestnuts

702 days ago

Time for yet another snack review. This time it is the Tomei Roasted Chestnuts. Never heard of it? Well, same here. I just happened to chance upon it when I was...

Time for yet another snack review. This time it is the Tomei Roasted Chestnuts. Never heard of it? Well, same here. I just happened to chance upon it when I was browsing at my local supermarket the other day. As you guys might know by now, I have never been a fan of nuts. Although recent studies and research have shown that nuts are indeed healthy snacks, I never quite enjoyed nuts. Yes, a little peanuts here and there but that is about it. I seldom specifically go out to purchase nuts as food or even as a snack. But with increasing evidence that nuts have a multitude of health benefits, why not start trying them out?

From what I read, Chestnuts contains no cholesterol and very little fat. They also contain a good amount of Vitamin C as well as Iron and Potassium. Other than that, you have to do a little more hard reading. It seems to me that Chinese really enjoy consuming Chestnuts. You can see small stalls selling roasted chestnuts near the bus stops and interchanges. They do smell wonderful when they are roasted.

Tomei Premium Grade Roasted Chestnuts. Look – Premium Grade!

Another view. It comes in an aluminum foil, keeping everything fresh.

Wow, 100% natural, no preservative, no coloring and no seasoning. Which means that if the Chestnuts taste bad, you will know that the Chestnuts themselves are bad.

Peeled & ready to eat! Of course, such snacks should be made as convenient as possible. One of the main reasons people buy such products is due to its convenience. If not, they can just go down stairs to buy the freshly roasted stuff.

The back of the pack.

Tomei Chestnuts are carefully selected from the best source of TianJin, China. Using the traditional way to peel off the skin, then roasted and packed with modern machinery. Providing the freshest and tastiest chestnuts for your total enjoyment. Ready for consumption any time, any place. The Chestnuts are nitrogen pack for freshness and you should consume immediately once opened. No peeling required, hence there is no wastage. No time wasted before consuming. Its so convenient, ready to eat. Wuhahahah, I love the English. Anyway, the ingredients are just 1st grade chestnuts. Anyway, this is manufactured in China, obviously.

Sorry about the blurred photo. This is the nutrition facts for the Tomei Roasted Chestnuts.

In my opinion, this taste pretty decent. It could be that I hardly even eaten chestnuts in my life. Semi-sweet taste and surprisingly mild in flavour. And they have this sweet sticky feel to it which I feel is quite nice. But since I have nothing to compare it with…..

Nestle Bliss Low Fat Guava Yogurt Drink

703 days ago

Well guys, I am back! Finally came back from my reservist (that is 2 weeks of my life wasted) and will be continuing to do some more reviews. This time, it...

Well guys, I am back! Finally came back from my reservist (that is 2 weeks of my life wasted) and will be continuing to do some more reviews. This time, it is the Nestle Bliss Low Fat Yogurt Drink – Guava flavoured! I have to admit, I used to hate yogurt drinks since they are just to “sticky” for me. I am not talking about Yakult or Vitagen, but real yogurt drinks – aka diluted yogurt. These felt a little weird to me as well. But as I continued to consume them, I find that after a while, they do taste quite decent. Maybe they just need a little getting used to. I had always felt that yogurt was meant for eating. And the new flavours really help a lot on my little conversion. Furthermore, they are now readily available in our local supermarkets.

I have reviewed the Cucumber Lime flavoured yogurt drink from Nestle previously. Now this is the Guava flavoured one. As with the Cucumber Lime yogurt drink, this is still quite interesting. Although I would not say that the Guava drink is better, but it is quite close. Thumbs up for Nestle to come up with unique flavours. I think we are all bored with Strawberry or Blueberry flavoured yogurts already. Come up people, we need more variety!

Here we have the Nestle Bliss Low Fat Guava Flavoured Yogurt Drink!

Yes, this is “low-fat“. The “low-fat” label sells, so manufacturers have to make low fat yogurts/yogurt drinks. For me I think that low fat milk is more harmful than full cream milk. Health conscious people will have to read up more on what is really “low fat” milk. This low fat craze has to stop. It is hurting our health.

Some nutritional information for you. Nothing too impressive.

Ahh….the ingredients are Guava Juice Concentrate, sugar, milk solids, Inulin, Fructose, Stabiliser, Citric Acid and Mixed Live Cultures (l.acidophilus, Bifidobacterium and s.thermophilus).  Again, nothing too special about the ingredients. I was hoping for more variety of lactic cultures (probiotic) to boost our health, but that would be probably out of Nestle’s league. Anyway, at the very least, they have l.acidophilus culture in the drink. This is manufactured in Malaysia. Yes, it weighs 700g but I guess the majority is just water? Interesting enough, the ingredients list does not state “water”. Hmmm……

Same thing – Inulin is prebiotic, which are non-digestible stuff, providing stimulation for the probiotic cultures in the yogurt drink. In other words, they are good for the lactic cultures.

Anyway, I hope that you have enjoyed my little review. If you have not tried yogurt drinks before, perhaps it is a good time to do so. Nestle do have a nice selection of flavours for you to choose from. I really like the cucumber lime one.