Culinary Adventure at Newton Food Centre

This past week, Simply Nutrition hosted its first culinary adventure at Newton Food Centre with a very nice group of ladies.  The ladies varied from the relatively new to Singapore to the more experienced, but all enjoyed trying a variety of new foods and left lunch full of food and knowledge.

The menu included: BBQ stingray, laksa, duck rice and noodles, carrot cake, popiah, chendol, and tau sar piah.

There is still a few spaces left for the next adventure on May 23rd.  Contact Simply Nutrition at info@simplynutrition.com.sg or call 8298 8456.

Challenging Yourself

Now we are two months into the new year, how are you doing on your new years resolutions?  New Years resolutions often are safe and realistic, but if you are struggling with your safe resolutions, maybe an adjustment to something a little more challenging is just what you need?

For some, just the experience of living abroad may be a sufficient challenge, but for others, living abroad may be the perfect time to challenge yourself a little more.  Try new things, adjust your lifestyle, what better time to turn your life upside down when it is completely shuffled anyways?

If you are looking for inspiration, why not go cheer racers on this month in one of the various activities.  This weekend is the biggest bicycle race of the year in Singapore which takes place down by the F1 building - Friday night and Sunday morning will be the adult races.  Mid-month, there is the Aviva Half Ironman, which is a challenging race in and around East Coast Park.  I know of at least one person who was inspired by the athletes in the Aviva last year, who has picked up triathlons since.

Exercising and getting healthy are at the top of the resolution list.  You CAN do it, and there is enough time in the day if you fit in workouts if you want.  You may be surprised that working out and eating healthier will actually give you more energy and blow a fresh breath of air into a monotonous life.  Go on, give it a try and let me know how it goes.  

Pleasant surprise

One of the benefits of living abroad is for the travel opportunities.  That being said, everyone has ideas of places they want to visit and for many, this is prioritized as the length of stay abroad is often unknown or a set period of time.  You always want to get to your top places, which can vary depending on the time of year and often can shuffle after hearing stories from your friends of their recent trips.

I recently had the pleasure of going to see the Taj Mahal.  I say pleasure, and no, I'm not being sarcastic, at least not now.  If you asked me prior to my trip, I was not very excited for it.  It is not that I don't like visiting new places, but I was intimidated by India and it definitely was not high on my wish list.  I have always believed that everything happens for a reason, and this definitely was proof to continue to live by that saying.

Tandoor kitchen

The Taj Mahal was breathtaking.  It ranks among my favorite places that I have been.  I was also pleasantly surprised by the variety of Indian foods that I tried.  No, I did not try any street food, and was extremely cautious with everything I put in my mouth - I stuck to the hotels for every meal, except one was eaten at a high quality restaurant.  Looking back, it does seem that we tend to stick to more or less the same dishes when we go to Indian food, so now I know a few more dishes and can branch out a little more when we go out.

Chillies at the whole sale spice market, Old Delhi

In the end, it is a good reminder to start off the new year, to try new things, even if they are beyond your comfort zone.  Who knows, you may be pleasantly surprised.

New Year's Resolution

Many people start off the year with at least one New Year's resolution.  On many people's list, there usually is a "get healthy" or "eat healthier" or "lose weight" or some activity goal.  Sound familiar?  What is your goal for this year?

A new year is a great time to turn over a new leaf and start a new activity or slightly alter your habits.  To help you stay motivated to reach your goal, make sure it is quantifiable.  Give yourself a specific amount of weight you want to lose, or a distance/time you want to reach if you have an activity goal.

If your goal is to eat healthier, make sure you have a way to measure or rate yourself on how you are doing.  Make small gradual changes instead of drastic changes so you do not feel like you are depriving yourself of foods.  It may help to make an appointment with a dietitian to get you started.

Some ideas for healthy breakfast foods:
http://www.ivillage.com/14-breakfast-foods-fight-cold/3-b-313108#313408