Food Ad Tricks

Hi all!

Check this video out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUjz_eiIX8k

It's about how a food make up artist can make food in advertisements look good!

Explains why we dont get food like the one in the advertisements!

Fieldtrip to Hay Dairies

Goat milk! :D comes with chocolate flavour










Viewing of goats and their living conditions


Posters found at the farm for students to read up on the types of goats

virtual supermarket

hey all!

watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxoh4AKGE5M

korea has taken online grocery shopping to a whole new level!

now you can shop like in a real store when u wait for your train. and the products will be delivered to your doorstep. save time save effort!

my next phone will definitely be a smart phone cos you can do so much with smart phones.

in fact, my schoolmate's iphone got stolen last week. using another iphone, we were able to detect her phone and luckily the person who took it was still in campus. to cut the story short, she got a phone back!

need a smart phone,
amirah

Learning journey at Kin Yan Agrotech

Hello Teachers,

want to have a memorable learning journey for your students? Consider Kin Yan Agrotech farm. At there, your students will get to learn about the cultivation of mushrooms, snow pea shoots (dou miao), cactus and many other crops. What's more, you can get to buy products made from these fresh produce. You can request for some dou miao seeds to try growing some pea sprouts at home. ( I have managed to ask for some. Haha, see the picture above).

Try the cactus herbal jelly too if you are visiting the farm. :) It is nice for a hot weather.

Kin Yan Agrotech - Aloe Vera & Mushroom!

Personally, I feel that Kin Yan Agrotech is a good place for students to learn about aloe vera because some students may come across aloe vera in drinks but they may not know how it looks like or even what are benefits of consuming aloe vera. Thus, it will be an opportunity for them to learn and also understand how it grows.

Before visiting the farm, the teacher can give worksheet for students to do so that it will be a fruitful trip for them to learn about aloe vera, mushroom, etc. This activity also helps to check their understanding from the trip. If possible, students can form into groups, doing an assignment on what they have learnt from the farm that involves taking pictures and doing some write-up on a vanguard sheet.

Examples of what they can write in the assignment:

a) HEALTH BENEFITS OF ALOE VERA

- Polysaccharides strengthen immune system
- Detoxifies body
- Helps absorption from the digestive system
- Lubricates joints
- Protects cells
- Aids gaseous exchange in the lungs
- Soothes and repairs damaged / inflamed tissues
- Enhances blood circulation
- Removes toxic materials from cells (detoxification)

Aloe vera contains over 20 minerals, 22 amino acids and Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C and E which are essential to the human body.

b) From the farm, they also can learn about there are two species: Aloe Vera Barbardensis and Aloe Vera Chinensis. Ask them to differentiate between the two species and uses.

c) Students can also talk about what are the products that can make from aloe vera: aloe vera concentrate, honey aloe vera cube, etc

They also sell aloe vera drinks, aloe vera jelly with apple or passion fruit flavoured that may not be found in other places.

Kin Yan Agrotech also organise aloe vera cooking demo and educational programmes for students. It is important for teachers to call them to check the timings for these activities because they may not have it everyday.

However, I think for Kin Yan Agrotech does not have a lot of varieties for the mushroom. So I suggest to go specialized mushroom farm called Mycofarm, at 9 Seletar West Farmway 5 . The website is http://www.mycofarm.com.sg/content/contact/
They have Shittake mushroom , Oyster mushroom and Abalone mushroom that are cultured in a control environment where the temperature is kept between 15 and 20 degree Celsius and a humidity of at least 80 percent for optimum growth and thickness.


From the reviews (http://www.singaporelocaltour.com/2010/01/educational-tour-part-2-mushroon-farm.html) that I read about the farm, the guide will show the visitors around their numerous greenhouses (>20). The guide also explains about the life cycle of that particular breed of mushrooms, the type of mushroom, what kind of log are used, the temperature, the plucking methods and how the logs are broken down into nutrients rich soil, etc. According to the website, the entrance fee per person is $3.50. If your school have no budget, this can be a fruitful trip for you and your students!

Banana Attack !!!

Japanese artist Keisuke Yamada has become an Internet sensation sculpting people out of bananas using only a toothpick and spoon. Check out these photos of his new collection.

Homer Simpson as a banana. Yamada said: "I really enjoy seeing that I can make a simple banana come alive by sculpting away at the flesh."

Marge Simpson

Yamada also draws his inspiration from fictional characters. An impressive banana dragon.

As part of the Royal Wedding banana collection, Yamada created Prince William with the yellow fruit.


While its creative & so very pretty! I wonder how to preserve them for long hours decorative purposes...

Anyway, Enjoy Banana Watching!

goat milk

it tastes like lamb!

Kin Yan Agrotech Farm

If you think that farms are extinct in Singapore, you're wrong! Besides the goat farm and the toad farm, there's also a vegetables farm.

Situated in Lim Chu Kang Agrotechnology Park, near Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve, it is known as Kin Yan Agrotech Pte Ltd, a company engaged in agro-food related activities in Singapore. They are Singapore's largest commercial organic wheatgrass farm that produces and supplies such crops. Also found within the farm are fresh edible cactus, aloe vera, mushroom as well as roselle fruits (aka ribena). Students will also get to see the various growth stages of wheatgrass (see above) and learn about the health benefits of wheatgrass. The farm also sells interesting wheatgrass products as such wheatgrass herbal jelly. (ps: it tastes good!)

The farm visiting hours are relatively long and flexible so it is actually quite easy to organize a trip there, either during school hours or after school hours. Below are the details!

Farm Visit Hours: Mon - Fri, 9am to 5pm
Admission: Free
Address: 220 Neo Tiew Crescent, Singapore 718830
Tel: 6794-8368

What's more! There's a guided tour available. The respective personnels will bring the kids around the farm and do the necessary explanations. But be sure to book the tour early.

Activities that students will be doing/learning
1. Wheatgrass Farm tour
2. Educational trip for students
3. Life Science programme for school
4. Farm products sale
5. Products tasting session
6. Healthy Cactus Cooking Demo
7. Aloe Vera Cooking Demo
8. Healthy Wheatgrass Juicing Demo

Other services upon request
1. Setting up mini growing system for schools, corporate offices, hospitals, etc
2. Two hours hands-on wheatgrass farming activities

Learning doesn't ends in the classroom!

The Jurong Frog Farm!

If you are a teacher, and would like to bring your students out for learning journey, you might want to consider The Jurong Frog Farm. The farm is located at 56 Lim Chu Kang Lane 6 and other than frogs, this farms houses various types of fishes and crocodiles. However, I would suggest that you get the students to have their meals before the trip as this place serves only frog and crocodile meat. In my opinion, the students might not be comfortable with eating such types of meat. Also, this place sells fresh frog meat to the public at a relatively affordable price compared to those we get from restaurants. 

Students should be dressed in PE t-shirt and if possible, track pants if they wish to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes. Don't worry, this place isn't smelly at all. You can purchase the frog feed at $1 per packet and one packet is about the size of a palm. In fact, a group of 4-5 students can share a packet of the feed. There are souvenirs sold in the farm itself, but they can be quite costly. 

However, the slaughtering of frogs are not open to public. Nonetheless, the students will be able to see the transitions of the frogs in their lifecycle, from tadpole to a fully grown frog. They will also be exposed to the living conditions of the frogs. I am almost certain that the trip could be the first and last time for some of your students to get such close contact with frogs (coming from experience). Hence, it would definitely be an enriching trip for both you and your students - whether you like frogs or not (trust me). 

You may wish to visit their website for more information:

http://www.jurongfrogfarm.com.sg/main.htm 

Gribbit,
Keli

Review on Hay Dairies Farm

Hello all!

We've had a long day farm hopping.

Our first stop was Hay Dairies (the Goat Farm). Yes, the most smelly one!
Personally, I've been to that place a few times before so, there weren't any suprises for me.

Anyways, i think it is a great place to bring young children or our future students. They can get to experience the smell first hand and will then learn to appreciate their milk , readily bought from stores. The trip to the farm is a great opportunity to teach the students about processes in milk production suck as milking, homogenizing and pasteurizing.

It's also a convenient place to have a snack or meal as tables and benches are provided. The only downside to the farm, besides the smell, is the relatively expensive cost of the goat milk sold. $2 per bottle may be a little stiff for the students. Perhaps, we could negotiate for a discount when we bring large groups of students.

Off to try the goat milk,
Amirah

New perfume can be swallowed...wow

Swallow a capsule that is metabolized by the body to create frarance emanating from within.
The strength of the resulting scent is determined by the individual's acclimatization to temperature, stress or exercise.

Would you try?

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/perfume-swallowed-emanates-skin-110506451.html

Respond to Salt Intake Study showed eight in 10 Singapore residents exceeded the recommended daily intake by more than 60 per cent

This is a comic strip published on Sunday, 16 October 2011 in The Sunday Times.

We can ponder and critic about the eating habits of Singaporeans Keli have posted previously, while at the same time, have a good laugh =D (if you have a sense of humour)

Home Economics VS Geography

1)

Home Economics- To provide students with knowledge and skills, and inculcate in them positive attitudes that will empower them to make informed food and consumer choices in their daily life.  

Geography

Develop an informed concern about the quality of the environment and the future of the human habitat, and thereby, enhance students’ sense of responsibility for the care of the Earth and its people

For HE, students evaluate to make decisions on daily choices such as reading food labels while for Geog, students learn to evaluate the effectiveness of measures taken and managemnt on real life scenarios such as earthquakes and volcanoes

2)

 For HE, is more about educating students to become informed consumers.

For geog, it looks at the interaction and relationship between students (human) and the physical environment and how both of them affects one another.

3)

HE equip students with relevant life skills for application-based learning while delivering content.

However for Geog, the teaching approach is by being conceptual, using key ideas and linking words to help students see the big picture for every topic.

4)

For HE, students get to do experiments, present and interpret findings and results to explain certain concepts such as caramelization

For geog, students get to do fieldwork for data collection and to use the data they collected to analyze and observe certain trends and patterns. Eg. Rainfall, weather and climate

5)

Assesment for HE can be in the form of coursework when work are compiled over a period of time.

For geog, assessment are usually summative such as End of year exams and common test

6)

Content given for HE are usually facts which are fixed and straightforward

For geog, students are required to visualize continuous processes for certain concepts for them to understand and be able to explain. For eg, the water cycle.

7) 

HE is usually in limited/ contained local context where students learn about food product and ingredients found in Singapore.

For geog, because Singapore has limited resources, has a lack of physical landscape and does not have natural hazards such as volcanoes, students have to look at other countries for case studies during their learning. Hence, in a more global context

Presented by Aining & Ke Li

Other Disciplines Approach and Outcome of the Curriculum - Home Economics vs Chemistry

The pictures above are the contents we've discussed during lesson. Shereen and I compare Home Economics with Chemistry in terms of its syllabus, strategies, approaches and pedagogies.

In general, Home Economics and Chemistry are very similar in their syllabus structure - consists of theory and practical aspects. But their approach of the content are very different as mentioned above.

The contents of Home Economics can be summarised in a mindmap/concept map for students to understand the whole picture of the syllabus. Although Chemistry can also be summarised in mindmap/concept map, it is usually explained in table/chart form as there are many complicated concepts which require students to understand that are more important than them understanding the big picture.

Soy sauce-flavoured cotton candy anyone?

(THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Korean condiment maker Sempio Foods Co said it would unveil its soy sauce cotton candy on Oct 2.

In Japan, ice cream and candies that use soy sauce have already been enjoyed. But it is the first time in the world that cotton candy has been made of soy sauce, the company said.

Based on the idea that saltiness adds sweetness in flavour, Sempio, best known for its soy sauce products, started research.

In order to make cotton candy, the research team enriched soy sauce then made it into powder.

-

What do you think of this? I think the japanese are addicted to soya sauce - sodium content is relatively high. On the same note, Singaporeans have exceeded the recommended sodium intake per day. Here are the facts:

SINGAPORE: A recent Health Promotion Board Salt Intake Study showed eight in 10 Singapore residents exceeded the recommended daily intake by more than 60 per cent.

The recommended daily salt intake is 5g - which is equivalent to one teaspoon.

To counter the over-consumption of salt, a Finest Food Programme has been launched to encourage companies to develop healthier salt and other functional food.

The programme is put together by the Health Promotion Board, SPRING Singapore and Singapore Food Manufacturers' Association.

The aim is to reduce the proportion of those exceeding the salt recommendation by 30 per cent - to six in 10 - by 2015.

"We need to give people healthier food options. It's particularly important in Singapore as six in ten people eat out at least four times a week," said Dr Amy Khor, Minister of State for Health.

As such, the Health Promotion Board is working with industry partners to develop a "healthier salt".

"The reason why the salt is unhealthy is because it contains sodium. Now, with this healthier salt, we replace sodium with potassium....this blended salt is good, as due to its reduced sodium, it lowers the risk of hypertension," said Ang Hak Seng, CEO of the Health Promotion Board.

The healthier salt will contain 65 per cent sodium as opposed to 98 per cent in normal salt.

It will also be 40 per cent cheaper than imported healthy salt, and will hit the shelves by next April.

The Finest Food Programme will also harness food science expertise from the polytechnics to test-bed healthier food products.

Several reformulation projects are already underway.

Local food manufacturer Ha Li Fa recently developed their popular BoBo fish balls and fish cakes to have a lower salt content.

Some of these products will be promoted for use in hawker centres.

The survey also revealed that most of the salt in the local diet comes from table salt and sauces. Of this, almost two-thirds are consumed outside the home.

Meanwhile, processed food such as fish cakes, breads and noodles are estimated to contribute another 37 per cent of the population's salt intake.

- CNA/cc

I think we better start watching what we eat since we spend so much time outside/in school. Clearly, we know the side effects of having too much salt in one's diet. Not only do we have 
to watch the sugar, we need to take note of the salt too! Healthy eating starts today!


PS: THINK OF THE AMOUNT OF SEAWEED WE ATE IN CLASS TODAY!!!!! 

Student-centric, Values-driven Education

Hello All,

Subject: Opening Address by Education Minister @ Workplan Seminar

During his opening address, Mr Heng addressed the need to:

-develop students holistically, in all aspects - moral, cognitive, physical, social and aesthetic.

- cater to the diverse needs of Singaporeans and allow all to progress in life

To prepare students for an increasingly technologically-driven world, he calls for a student-centric, values-driven education.

To achieve Student-Centric, Values-Driven Education, three broad areas will be focused on:

a. Student-centric Education: Enabling All Students to Succeed

b. School-based, Teacher-led Excellence: Empowering Schools and Educators to Do the Best for Each Student

c. Working with Parents and the Community: Enhancing Partnerships

Values and character development should be the core of our education system as:

-We need personal values to enable each of us to have the confidence and self awareness, and the grit and determination to succeed.

- We need moral values, such as respect, responsibility, care and appreciation towards others, to guide each of us to be a socially responsible person. In particular, for our multi-racial, multi-cultural society, a sense of shared values and respect allows us to appreciate and celebrate our diversity, so that we stay cohesive and harmonious.

As for values and character development, I think that this concept was piloted at Hougang Secondary School. When I was there during my practicum, the principal was very adamant about character building. During one of the discussions over lunch that I had with fellow NIE trainees, one of them shared that it is important to correct the character, behavior and discipline of students first before striving for academic excellence. Only with positive attitudes, will students be ready and willing to learn.

The move towards a values-driven education system is exciting quite refreshing in the Singapore’s education system as it has been too academically-driven. However, the implementation or changes that will be made to the system is still questionable for me, because, in the same speech, Mr Heng addressed the need to preserve rigour and high standards of Singapore’s education system. Hence, it seems to me that the education system still will continue to be demanding and stressful for students and teachers.

Oh well… we’ll just have to wait and experience it for ourselves when we go out to teach J

All the best! Haha!

For the full speech, you can go to this website:

http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2011/09/22/work-plan-seminar-2011.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+singapore-education%2Fspeeches+%28Speeches%29

To focus on values - Mr Heng Swee Keat

http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2011/09/22/work-plan-seminar-2011.php

Hi all, i have provided the link to the speech by Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Education, at the Ministry of Education (MOE) Work Plan Seminar. I think all teachers or teachers-to-be should take a look at what was mentioned in the speech so that we know where we should be working towards or at least where the education system is heading to. Basically, he calls for a more holistic, student-centric education system which is very relevant to what we have been looking at in our course.

"In 2009, MOE launched the 21st Century Competencies Framework. These competencies are harder to teach and their outcomes even harder to measure, but we must do it. At the heart of what you know as the “Swiss Roll” is values. But just as important, are the competencies we want our children to exhibit.

Many of you have asked for support to be more student-centric, to see to the total development of the person rather than to build up just the academics. You also want to see a more collegial and collaborative environment among schools. And you want to know how we can bring parents and the community with us. Our schools and teachers will need time and space, to engage in the more demanding type of educating – values and 21st century competencies.

For this Work Plan Seminar, I want to focus on two key emphases for our next stage of development. We want to make our education system even more student-centric, and sharpen our focus in holistic education – centred on values and character development. We could call this Student-Centric, Values-Driven education. Another way of putting it, value in our learners and learning values... "

Mr Heng also mentioned about how to make schools themselves models of 21st Century Competencies in creativity, innovation and collaboration. He expects networks of schools as centres of innovation in delivering student-centric education and see that schools are already coming together to find solutions to common issues, especially at the cluster and zonal level.

"In 2008, St Hilda’s Secondary, Temasek Secondary and Xinmin Secondary, who had similar student profiles, saw a common challenge in imparting thinking skills. They came together and implemented a thinking skills curriculum over a larger student base. Today, all three schools have continued with the programme and are now looking at further collaboration and sharing. We want to encourage more of such efforts."

I think it is more effective to have schools pooling resources together and promote learning among teachers. I am glad that for a start, Mr Heng Swee Keat and his team are gathering feedbacks from parents,teachers and students to review on the current education system. Read more on the speech to learn about the initiatives he will be rolling out :)

Easy Way to Incorporate 21st Century Competencies

Hello! Enjoying Recess? :)

I saw this article on Yahoo about the History of Kachang Puteh and thought that it would be interesting to adapt the idea and use it in our future lesson plans.

For example we could set assignments on history of foods in colonial Singapore or pre-independent Singapore. It can be in the form of holiday assignment where we can combine some of our 21st century competencies skills such as (1) being a self directed learner through researching and using ICT skills, (2) being an confident person by presenting their findings, (3) being a concerned citizen by investigating our culture (its a form of social awareness!) and perhaps even interviewing the older generation like grandparents which can also foster relationship bonding.

As teachers, we will need to come up with a list of traditional foods or alternatively allow the students to choose their own food. Then get ourselves familiarize with the background of the food.

And BRAVO! Almost all skills are incorporated! :)

Read http://sg.entertainment.yahoo.com/news/a-tough-nut-to-crack--.html for more information on the history of kachang puteh. Save a copy if you need cos its not easy to find!

Respond to meatless monday

Hi :) i found this article on US meat industy's response to meatless monday. Meatless monday is similar to VeggieThursday in Singapore. Honestly, I've tried VeggieThursday. I won't say that i've failed terribly but i think i've cut down on meat intake after trying VeggieThursday. Sometimes i choose to have my veggiedays on other days or i don't take meat for one meal or half day. You can be flexible and start small.
Back to the article, i've read about how business people are profit-driven and conveniently ignre the fact that there are also other non-meat protein sources. Basically, the article stated that

“Meat/animal protein is the one area that the consumers are not overeating.” Unfortunately, if schools promote this to students, students may buy in and they don’t understand the nutritional consequences if they are not including protein in the diet.

“We need farmers and ranchers to celebrate that animal protein is an important part of diet and provide information to their local schools and universities about the need for protein in the diet and making informed choices, not just buying into it because it sounds good or popular and trendy,”

Lastly, i post this article to highlight the point that we need to be careful and to discern what people post on the Internet. There are many misinformation out there and we cannot just buy what they wrote. Make sure we check on the sources and what we know about the topic. For me, i know that meat-free diet definitely has health and environment benefits. We can always obtain protein from plant sources as long as we manage our diet well.

http://www.cattlenetwork.com/bovine-vet/industry-news/Respond-to-Meatless-Mondays-129460288.html?ref=288

Feeling bored? Do some baking!!

Hi people, next week is our recess week. If you are feeling bored or want to do something for leisure, try this -making a Princess doll cake. It will be a birthday present to impress your friend.
Watch this video on how to make the Princess doll cake: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwqaF8f3VW0

8 Biggest Red Flag Words on Packaged Foods

Be aware...
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/8-biggest-red-flag-words-on-packaged-foods-2555692/

I find this article quite interesting so I decided to share it here.
Many food producers hire lawyers that help them craft words to get you to buy their products while toeing the line of legality.
Here are the common package proclamations that you should look out for:

1. Health claims (The most common!)
Could a probiotic straw give immunity protection to a child? Are Cheerios a substitute for cholesterol-lowering drugs? The FDA doesn't think so. Foods are not authorized to treat diseases. Be suspicious of any food label that claims to be the next wonder drug.

2. Flavored
Both natural and artificial flavors are actually made in laboratories. But natural flavorings are isolated from a natural source, whereas artificial flavorings are not. However, natural flavors are not necessarily healthier than artificial. According to Scientific American, the natural flavor of coconut is not from an actual coconut, as one might expect, but from the bark of a tree in Malaysia. The process of extracting the bark kills the tree and drives up the price of the product when an artificial flavoring could be made more cheaply and more safely in a laboratory.

3. Drink and cocktail
The FDA requires that the amount of juice be labeled on a package when it claims to contain juice. The words drink and cocktail should have you checking the label for percentages and hidden sugars. But beware: even a product labeled 100 percent juice could be a mixture of cheaper juices, like apple juice and white grape juice.

4. Pure
100 percent pure products such as orange juice can be doctored with flavor packs for aroma and taste similar to those used by perfume companies. By now we all know about the use of flavor packs added back to fresh-squeezed orange juice like Tropicana and Minute Maid.

5. Nectar (NOT COMPLETELY JUICE!)
The word nectar sounds Garden of Eden pure, but according to the FDA it's just a fancy name for "not completely juice." The FDA writes: "The term 'nectar' is generally accepted as the common or usual name in the U.S. and in international trade for a diluted juice beverage that contains fruit juice or puree, water, and may contain sweeteners." The ingredient list of Kern's, a popular brand of peach nectar, contains high fructose corn syrup before peach puree.

6. Fat free
PAM cooking spray and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray are fat free if used in the super miniscule and near impossible serving sizes recommended. PAM must be sprayed for ¼ of a second and the small I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray bottle contains over 1,000 servings! Even then it's not fat free it's just below the amount that the FDA requires to be identified on labels.

7. Sugar free (So common in many products!)
This designation means free of sucrose not other sugar alcohols that carry calories from carbohydrates but are not technically sugar. Sugar alcohols are not calorie free. They contain 1.5-3 calories per gram versus 4 calories per gram for sugar. Also, certain sugar alcohols can cause digestion issues.

8. Trademarks
Dannon yogurt is the only company allowed to use the bacteria in yogurt called bifidus regularis because the company created its own strain of a common yogurt bacterial strain and trademarked the name. Lactobacillus acidophilus thrives in all yogurts with active cultures. Although Activa is promoted as assisting in digestion and elimination, all yogurts, and some cheeses, with this bacteria will do the same thing.

Be a smart consumer!

NEEDS vs WANTS video

hey girls! this is a short video of needs vs wants!
can use it next time when you're introducing the topic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el40d2gyWaI

15 surprising ways to reduce cholesterol!

I saw this on Yahoo! News about ways to improve cholesterol level!
Total there are 15 ways, but i only listed 9 ways. The rest you can explore in this website: http://health.yahoo.net/experts/menshealth/top-15-ways-improve-your-cholesterol

Do some self-directed learning!=)

1. Eat more nuts.
E.g. almonds, pecans, walnuts, pistachios
As long as it is not thumbs up or farmers' peanuts!

2. Exercising for 20 minutes a day increases your HDL by 2.5 points. according to research.
E.g. climb the stairs will be a good way instead of taking lift

3. Drink cranberry juice

4. Eat grapefruit

5. People who eat six or more small meals a day have 5 percent lower LDL cholesterol levels than those who eat one or two large meals. That's enough to shrink your risk of heart disease by 10 to 20 percent.

6. Eat oatmeal cookies.

7. Take the Concord. University of California researchers found that compounds in Concord grapes help slow the formation of artery-clogging LDL cholesterol. The grapes also lower blood pressure by an average of 6 points if you drink just 12 ounces of their juice a day.

8. Be a part-time vegetarian.
be a vegetarian once a week! haha, trying very hard to switch. But yet to find a nice vegetarian stall.

9. Switch to Dark Chocolate!

Mango Sago with Pomelo

( Image taken from http://julian.li/food/)

Hi all, some of you may like the mango dessert so i think i should share the recipe here. Actually you can find this dessert at a few Hong Kong cafes but they may be too sweet with watery consistency where they add a lot of sugar syrup. However, if you prepare the dessert at home, you can have it at a better quality ( eg. it can be richer), customize sweetness level and at lower cost. And also, I think it is a delicious and refreshing dessert which you can prepare for parties and gatherings!



Mango Sago with Pomelo ( serves 15)

Ingredients
4 large ripe mangoes, peeled and pitted
2 small ripe mangoes, cut into small cubes for toppings)
1 sweet pomelo, peeled and sac loosen
300 ml of mango juice(I used Marigold Peelfresh brand)
1 packet (200g) of QQ balls ( from Sheng Siong) or approx 100g of sago
2 tablespoons of sugar syrup
2 tablespoons of UHT whipping cream


Method
You may replace the colourful QQ balls with sago.

1) Put sago pearls into a pot of boiling water. Stir and cook until transparent. Pour cooked sago pearls into a sieve. Rinse under running water and drain.

2) Now, place mangoes and mango juice into blender. Blend ingredients into purée form. Add in the whipping cream to give it a smooth consistency.

3) Pour the mango mixture into a large bowl. Add in sugar syrup to the purée until the sweetness is just right. Add in the loosen pomelo sac and QQ balls. Then, fold the ingredients to mix well.

4) Top mango cubes and serve chilled.

Tips:Make sure mangoes and pomelo are ripe and sweet if not it will become too sour.
You may add in shaved ice to the dessert so that it is not too sweet and it is even more refreshing.

WARNING: 1000 Calorie Mooncake !?!

The Mid Autumn Festival falls on 12th Sept this year.

Every year, during this period of time, hotels and restaurants, cafeterias, bakeries and literally almost the entire food industry is out to make quick and big money. The mooncake industry is a lucrative business. It was reported that merchants make at least 400% profit through the sales of mooncakes.

While the food industries make big buck, here's a tip to ensure that your waist line don't make a big buck too!


SAD BUT TRUE FACTS:

• A lotus seed paste mooncake contains 716 calories
• A lotus seed paste mooncake with one salted egg yolk has 790 calories
• If it has two salted egg yolks, that's 890 calories
• If it has four salted egg yolks, you're looking at 975 calories.

* The average recommended daily intake of calories is 2,500 for men and 2,000 for women, so eating an entire mooncake could take up almost half your daily quota.

Mooncakes are high in calories due to the high sugar and fat content.
A lotus seed paste mooncake with two salted egg yolks contains the equivalent number of calories found in 45 teaspoons of sugar. Its total fat content of 55g is equivalent to 11 teaspoons of oil.

So the strategy is:

1. Have just a quarter piece per day as a dessert or snack.

2. Cut the mooncake into eighths instead of quarters, so you can enjoy more varieties.

Then, eat it slowly and savour it.

3. As always, eating in moderation is key.

Lastly, DON'T BUY SO MANY BOXES OF MOONCAKES! :) Anyway, mooncakes are not cheap!

Breakfast: the smart way to start the day

I know there are people who must start their day with a good meal but I am not someone who can wake up early to prepare breakfast everyday. However, after reading this article i am convinced that by having breakfast everyday, you can work like an Energizer bunny for the rest the day. Read more to find out why and the article also suggest what kind of food to have to boost your energy. You can even overcome stress by eating right!

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/breakfast-the-smart-way-to-start-the-day-2200095.html

randome name generator

hey girls!

check out this tool.

http://classtools.net/education-games-php/fruit_machine/

you can use it in lessons to randomly pick students to answer your questions or clean up the food lab mwahahahaha!

p.s. i like the fruit machine feature. its exciting! the sounds a bit like wheel of fortune!

The Truth behind Diet Soda

With regards to Lixuan's posting on "Vitamin Water Deception", there are also drinks which are claimed to be healthy but actually not the case. One example would be diet soda, which is said to save calories and lose weight. In a research published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, it indicated that while it is true that substituting a soda with artificial sweeteners for a sugary, high calories beverage can help lower calories intake, but there is no evidence that it helps one to lose weight in the long term.
In fact, 2 recent studies at the American Diabetes Association's (ADA) Scientific Sessions have linked drinking diet soda to weight gain and that artificial sweeteners in them could potential Type 2 diabetics. The study found out that aspartame- a calorie-free sweetener used in some diet sodas raised blood sugar levels in diabetics-prone mice.
In addition, a director of the Optimal Weight for Life Program at Children's Hospital at Boston believed that artificial sweetener in diet drinks stimulate our taste receptors for sweeteners, confuse the body's ability to determine calorie content based on sweetness and could cause one to increase hunger and food intake, resulting in weight gain.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-dolgoff-md/diet-soda-health_b_893625.html?ref=mostpopular
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39543011/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/t/dieting-why-you-should-ditch-diet-soda/

Here are some points for all to ponder on?
1)On diet, so drinking diet soda? Do you want to continue drinking?
2) Does posting calories really change how people eat? As teachers, we teach our students healthy eating, how to read food labels and make better informed food choices. But will they really notice the calories content of the food before or when they purchase it? Or would they rather not know?
Which of the categories you belong to?

Classroom without walls

Hi HE teachers-to-be! I was talking to my friend about teaching, curriculum planning etc and i just want to jot some thoughts and share with you guys.
After the first few sessions on FCS curriculum,my takeaway is that teachers are called to be designers who plan lessons to fit into framework. We would set lesson objectives/aim but at the end the day we must assess the students whether they can apply what they have learnt. To me, i think we might fall into the trap that we become too focused on only trying to fit our lessons into the framework and forget to create relevance to our teaching for meaningful learning. So as i was thinking about how i want my classroom/lesson to be like in future, i thought i want a classroom without walls.
What do i mean by that? I hope learning can take place beyond the physical boundaries of a classroom. For example, if i'm teaching about poultry and different parts of chicken, i want to bring students to the supermarket to learn how to buy ingredients to cook a dish. In this way, they are not limited to just looking at pictures and at the same time they learn how to be an informed consumer too when it comes to grocery shopping.
So as i present my classroom without walls, i know there are limitations too but do you think i can match my teaching to the frameworks we have learnt about?

Artifical Meat in 6 months away, Hamburger in a Year, Says Scientists

Seriously, they are making a hamburger in a lab!
In the latest artifical meat experiment, scientists have grown synthetic sausages using pig cells fed by horse serum. It said that the color of meat was white as it lack of blood and does not look appetizing (I mean, in the first place the word synthetic sausage already turns me off!)

Why are they doing this?
THey claim that synthetic meat is the solution for feeding the world 9 billion 2050 without destroying the planet.
Answering the food shortage problem!

I think I won't eat synthetic meat at all even if the world really comes to an end.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/01/artificial-meat-6-months_n_945767.html

Is Morning Coffee Kick "All in the Mind"?

A recent UK study shows that the hit you get from your cup of coffee is all in your mind and the same lift can be given by a decaf!

Results showed that the genuine coffee drinkers showed improved performance on a color test but performed poorly on mental ability test whereas the decaf drinkers, who wrongly thought they drank caffeinated coffee, performed much better in both the color and reaction time tests. Thus, researchers believe the coffee "fix" is all in the minds of the coffee lovers.

I think it also depends on the individuals. Drinking coffee in the morning especially for 8:30am class really keeps me awake!

What's your take?


http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/208007/20110903/coffee-caffeine-coffee-fix-all-in-the-mind-university-of-east-london.htm