Eating Healthy in College: On a Budget

As you guys may already know, I’m contributing as an editor at Project Made Real.
Here’s a sneak peak on my latest post on Healthy Eating in College, on a budget!

Sneak Preview:
Today’s post marks the beginning of a five part series about Eating Healthy in College. I decided to start this series, since many people are worried about putting on the Freshmen 15, or perhaps in Singapore, the Supper 7. (Endless suppers in university are bound to have some effect)
Many of us are just starting out in university, or will be starting our lives in university soon. Even if you’ve already been through university, or you’re still in school uniform, this series can be applicable to you too!

The first post of the series will be about Eating Healthily On A Budget!

It is no doubt that eating healthily can be quite a costly affair, especially if you aren’t preparing your own food. In college, you’re pretty much always eating out or in the school canteens.
So how do you make the healthier choice, without busting your wallet?

Well, to find out more, head on over to Project Made Real for my full post!

FOODWISE: The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf VS Spinelli Coffee Company

 

 

People often flock to Coffee Bean or Starbucks or Spinelli for a quick cuppa to start their day right. Some even go there for afternoon tea, allowing that splendid slice of cake transport them away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

But how many people actually go there for their food? More importantly, how’s the standard of their food? In chain cafes like these, the food is more often than not pre-packaged, and merely heated up in the microwave or toaster oven on request.

I decided to try Grilled Chicken Sandwiches from two cafes, to compare the standards. Here’s my verdict:

Spinelli Coffee Company

At Spinelli, they call their Grilled Chicken Sandwich the Bountiful Chicken Sandwich (or something fancy like that). I was a little apprehensive before I ordered it since the sandwich looked rather stale sitting in the glass display.

Before heating my sandwich up, the barista added one or two measly slices of lettuce and probably squirted on some mayonnaise.

The bread was well toasted though, and crispy to the bite. In fact, it remained crispy right until the very end. The grilled chicken came in a generous portion, and even had the skin on it. My guess would be it was the chicken thigh. The chicken meat was a tad dry. The bread became a little soggy on the inside due to the mayonnaise and butter, but it was still flavorful. I would eat the bread on its own actually!

However, a major downside was that this cost $10.30. Just for the sandwich, no drink, no side salad. There are much better lunch sets elsewhere than this!

Beanstro/The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (Note: Beanstro is run by CBTL as well)

This was from Beanstro. It cost $10.50, just a tad more expensive than Spinelli. I was really impressed by this Grilled Chicken sandwich though. First off, the dish was nicely presented as you can see. The ciabatta was crispy, and the chicken was moist and well-marinated. The ciabatta became pretty hard after awhile, and was a chore to cut through. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this sandwich, even more than Spinelli’s since the chicken was tender and tasty. The chicken used here is skinless and doesn’t have much fats on it.

The side salad was made with fresh crisp vegetables and the sandwich was filled with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. It was good 🙂

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
On another occasion, I tried the same sandwich again, but this time at Coffee Bean, rather than it’s cafe concept, Beanstro. This, unlike the earlier sandwich, was a complete disaster.

There was way too much gravy, the bread was soft and soggy. By the time I was halfway through my meal, the bread was utter mush, and the whole dish was an oily mess. It was far from appetizing. The side salad was overdressed which made the whole dish even soggier and disgusting. This was the worst sandwich I have ever eaten.

It’s funny how the same dish can differ so much at different outlets. 
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So who does it better?

I would choose Beanstro as my first choice, but since Beanstro doesn’t have as many outlets, it may be less accessible. So if you can’t find a Beanstro near you, Spinelli would be a better bet than The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

Well, there you have it! I hope FoodWise has helped you make the wiser food choice when you dine out.

WIAW: Sweet Treats Galore

Hello friends and fellow foodies!

It’s time for… *drumroll please*… What-I-Ate-Wednesday!! Even though it’s actually Thursday in Singapore.

It has been ages since my last WIAW post. This is only my third WIAW post actually, so I’m still pretty new to this whole game. My fellow Singaporean bloggers have yet to hop on the bandwagon. Hopefully, my fellow healthy foodies like Grace and Sheryl will give WIAW a go sometime?

My eats may seem pretty foreign to those of you who don’t live in Singapore, but take it as a mini food tour of sorts of things we have on offer here!

Breakfast:
Instagram is quite big these days, so I decided to buy freshly made yam cream swiss rolls from Qianhan who sells her bakes on instagram (@qianhanny). They were sold in sets of two rolls, so cake ended up on my breakfast table. I mean, I’ve got to eat it while its fresh right?

They were filled with a lovely yam cream, not too sweet thankfully, which had some chunks of yam. The swissroll was topped with dessicated coconut and chocolate shavings too. Mmm, I love dessicated coconut.

Of course, cake isn’t enough for breakfast, so I gobbled down 3 apricots for dessert after dessert. As if I’m not already sweet enough. These apricots were so sweet and juicy.

I’m not sure if apricots look like this overseas, but these were pretty small, about half the size of a nectarine in fact! Nonetheless, I really enjoyed them.

Lunch:
I tried to get some greens in at lunch. A commendable effort I must say! I ordered the Grilled Vegetables and Brie Sandwich on Soft Country Bread from Gastronomia da Paolo at Cluny Court. I’ve reviewed them here recently.

Mickey D’s were pretty nearby so I decided to give in to my super sweet tooth today. I had a vanilla cone. Don’t you just love swirly vanilla cones? They are my favorite type of ice cream. I would choose swirly vanilla cones over high end gelato any day. It must have been my lucky day cause those swirls are lookin’ good.

Dinner:
I’m Chinese, and I’m proud of it. Even though my verbal proficiency, and literacy skills for Chinese isn’t great, I’m Asian, and I’ll always go back to my roots. So… on the table for dinner is NOODLES!

I went to a local eatery, aptly named EAT. I ordered the Fishball Tang Hoon Noodles in Soup (right) while my friend had Laksa. If I were to translate it to something foreigners would understand, I would say that I ordered ‘Balls of Fishpaste with Glass noodles in Clear Soup’… something along those lines.

The dish on the left is Laksa, which is a spicy coconut-milk gravy poured over thick rice noodles.
I also ordered a side dish of fried beancurd/firm tofu to share. It was good, although the fact that it was fried probably ruined the virtuous aspect of beancurd.

Well, there you have it! These are my eats for today… Ah yes, I always forget to take a photo of my snacks though, but you can use your imagination and throw in an apple, an orange and a banana since those are pretty much what I snack on all day.

Here are some questions because questions are fun for everyone:

What’s your favorite Chinese dish?

How do you cook your tofu?

Would you prefer cheap (but oh-so-good) swirly vanilla cones or quality gelato?

Real Food: The name speaks for itself.

I finally got a chance to try Real Food today, during a meet up with my fellow instagrammers and bloggers, Sophia and Serene for lunch at the Killiney outlet.

Ladies who lunch 🙂

I thought the meetup may be awkward, since I’ve never met strangers before, and this girl is one awkward butterfly. But luckily we warmed up to each other pretty fast! Yay for fellow foodies who don’t judge when I take food photos. Its so rare to find fellow teenagers in Singapore who are into a healthy lifestyle in the long run, not those silly fad diets. Their commitment to healthy living and veganism (serene) is commendable! I feel so motivated to put in more time and effort in making my own meals look presentable enough to be shared on Instagram. I mean, Sophia is only 14 but she’s already a kitchen whiz, and Serene is amazing with her dedication to Veganism, and she’s even trying out raw food. It takes a lot of time and planning to create their masterpieces. Do check out their blogs!

With 5 outlets around Singapore, Real Food has been making a name for itself as a healthy eatery. They offer a wide variety of food, with many vegan-friendly options as well. Although its a vegetarian eatery, the food still tastes good, so you won’t even miss the meat!

I tried the Dumpling Soup ($7.00), and added Brown Rice Vermicelli ($1.50) 

Everyone raves about their dumplings, which are made with more than 10 ingredients, and are vegan! I was skeptical at first, since most veggie dumplings I’ve eaten don’t taste very good. After all, the main component of dumplings is the meat filling, no?

Well, I was impressed with Real Food’s take on Vegan Dumplings. These were so tasty, it would easily please the palate of meat-eaters. The medley of ingredients provided a nice combination of flavours and textures, similar to that of meat. The mushrooms, in particular, added to the meaty taste and texture.

As for the broth, it was very flavorful as well, even though meat wasn’t used to boil the stock. I liked how they cut the carrots nicely… it shows that they bother about presentation. It’s always a plus when food looks good and tastes good. The bok choy was normal, you can’t exactly cook bok choy spectacularly anyway.

The brown rice vermicelli was nicely cooked. Not too wiry unlike some bee hoon. It tasted the same as normal vermicelli to me, so it was a good way to get some whole grains into my meal. They were extremely generous with the noodles though, I couldn’t finish it.

On a side note, before I end off this short post, I don’t post edited photos on my blog, since it gives you readers a false idea of what to expect form the food. I try to capture the food as it is served, so you will know what to expect when you’re there. Rather than make the food look extremely picturesque, only for you to be disappointed in reality. I’m not being lazy, I would rather provide an honest review, then post beautiful photos. Editing photos does make a huge difference! (Compare the two photos of the same bowl above)

In closing, I will be back to Real Food, to try their other healthy items, and perhaps their breakfast menu as well. A suggestion to the frugal foodies, you don’t have to buy their alkaline water ($0.50 a glass), because it tastes just like normal water. For those with lots of moolah, you could try a drink, or order a side dish instead if you really wanted to spend some money 😛

Rating: 7/10 (+1 for health factor)

WIAW: (Southeast) Asian style

With so many of my favorite food&fitness blogs joining Jenn in the What I Ate Wednesday fun, I thought I’d give it a shot. Maybe I’ll bring the fun to Singapore! An Asian WIAW… now, THAT will be interesting.

So here goes!

Breakfast:

I don’t usually eat tarts for breakfast… but since my mother made the effort to buy them specially for me, I thought why not sweeten my day with a Mixed Fruit Tart from Delifrance for breakfast?

Of course, as I always do, I had fruits alongside breakfast. Today, it was a nice bowl of strawberries. I love berries, but they are always so expensive in Singapore, so I do cherish every occasion that I get to eat berries of any form!

Lunch:

I was feeling rather ‘snacky’ today, so I decided to go with the flow and make myself a snacky sort of lunch! I started off with 2 pieces of Wasa Fibre Crispbread topped with Wild Garden Hummus, with a side of cherry tomatoes. So simple, and so delicious! I’m definitely loving the hummus.

If you want to go get some Wasa crackers or hummus, here’s what they look like:

Now, on to part 2 of lunch…

Next up, was a small bowl of cereal with one Weetbix, and some Familia Swiss c.m cereal and multigrain cheerios thrown in for good measure. Cereal for lunch anytime 😛

Finally, I ended off with my favorite snack, Leo’s potato and cheese crackers. If you aren’t from Singapore, you probably would not have heard of this… even Singaporeans may not remember this childhood snack, since they are extremely hard to find.

Tea:
No matter how busy I am, I always make it a point to sit down for tea break. Its just something I’ve done since young.

Today’s tea was Cherry flavored Greek Yogurt by Fruyo. (Parent brand: Fage) It was really rich and creamy, with a nice tart flavor from the cherries.

Dinner:

Well, I haven’t had dinner yet, but here’s what dinner will probably look like tonight…
It’s most likely going to be Japanese, but I haven’t decided if I’m having noodles or rice.

This is a Teriyaki Chicken Bento from UmiSushi at Holland Village. Its a nice, simple grab and go meal if you don’t have time to cook.

Maybe I’ll make some teriyaki chicken, with brown rice onigiri, and some steamed vegetables.

Or have a nice bowl of chicken somen in pumpkin soup, and a side of tofu topped with radishes.

I never thought that doing a WIAW would be so eye-opening! Haha, I never really realised how carbohydrate based most Asian diets are. And, it looks like vegetables will have to make more regular occurrences :O

Well. this concludes my first WIAW, and I definitely had fun doing it! I sure hope you had as much fun reading it 🙂

BREAKFAST SERIES: Egg-in-a-basket

Your mum was right, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, no doubt about that. It doesn’t matter if you are a student, an office worker, or a young kid, as long as you are alive and kicking, you should eat breakfast. Well, try to at least. It boosts your metabolism, it gives you energy for the day, and simply starts your day right.

I’m here to help you start eating breakfast regularly, so that you can enjoy the numerous benefits of breakfast. So without further ado, let’s welcome the launch of the BREAKFAST SERIES, with a fun and easy recipe…

Presenting, Egg-in-a-basket! (Pardon the lack of interesting names, I simply could not think of anything appetizing to name this.. Eyeball toast sounds far from appealing, although it does resemble an eyeball :P)

Egg-in-a-basket

Serves one

You’ll need:

2 slices of bread

1 egg

Ham & Cheese

Butter

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees.

2. Take two slices of bread and butter each slice on one side.

3. Cut a hole in one of the bread slices (this will be the top slice)

4. Lay the cheese and ham on the bottom slice, then cover with top slice.

5. Crack an egg into the hole.

6.Bake in the preheated oven for 13 mins.
(The egg may look wobby and uncooked for most part of the baking, but don’t worry! It will turn out runny and delicious when 13 minutes is up)

Switch things up!
To healthify this recipe: use avocado instead of butter.
For a more flavorful substitute: Use pesto to spread instead of butter.
Mix ins to replace ham&cheese: Add mushrooms, peppers, bacon, anything you like!
(Don’t overstack the bottom layer though, or your egg may spill over)

HEALTHY IN A HURRY: Pesto Pasta and Garlic Roasted Carrots

Starving? Now, wait just a minute before you reach out for that pack of crisps or that bar of chocolate. This delicious recipe comes together in mere minutes, and the only cooking you’ll be doing is boiling the pasta. So put all that processed junk food down, and whip up something that your body will thank you for.

Pesto Pasta and Garlic Roasted Carrots

Here’s what you’ll need:

For the pesto pasta

1 serving of cooked pasta

1 tbsp of pesto (more or less to your liking)

Garlic powder

Parmesan Cheese

For the garlic roasted carrots

Garlic powder

1 carrot (sliced into carrot coins)

Ground basil

Olive oil

 

Instructions:

For the pesto pasta

1) Put the cooked pasta and pesto in a heated pan and give it a good ol’ stir

2) Sprinkle some garlic powder and parmesan cheese for extra flavor.

3) Plate it, and dig in 🙂

For the garlic roasted carrots

1) Steam the carrot ‘coins’ for about 10 minutes

2) Pat dry the carrots, and coat in olive oil, basil and garlic powder

3) Roast the carrots in a small toaster oven for about 5-10 minutes

-Serve the carrots along with the pesto pasta, and top with more parmesan cheese (if you like).

 

Switch things up!

-Feel free to add other toppings like cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach etc.

NOW DIG IN TO YOUR HEALTHY AND SCRUMPDILLYUMPTIOUS MEAL.

What’s best about this recipe is that you can just tweak it to suit your tastes (notice how I didn’t give specific measurements?) That’s what cooking is about! Experimenting with flavors that you love.

The sharpness of the cheese and garlic pairs perfectly with the crunchy carrots and al dente pasta, is a sure fire way to get your taste buds tingling.

Hope you enjoy this meal as much as I did.

HEALTHY IN A HURRY: Apple pie yogurt

Healthy in a hurry marks a new series on Foogo!

I’ll be posting quick ideas/recipes for you to put together a healthy snack in a matter of minutes. If you’re like me and feel like you’re going to die of hunger when you are waiting for your food to cook, you’ll be grateful for this series 🙂 Easy, healthy and delicious, you don’t compromise on taste or nutrition!

Starting us off, we have Apple Pie Yogurt.

I was inspired to make this the day after I fixed braces, cause it hurt to eat everything. Well, it barely requires any “making” per say, more of pouring stuff together. It comes together in less than a minute, depending on how fast you can move.

Apple Pie Yogurt:

1) Pour some plain yogurt into a small bowl, about 2/3 cup.

2) Add 1/2 cup applesauce.

3) Sprinkle with a dash of cinnamon.

4) Stir it all together, and there you have it, delicious, healthy and braces-friendly apple pie (yogurt) for one!

Enjoy 🙂

 

Healthy, wealthy and wise

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With so many foodies on the rise, and with Singapore’s great love for anything tasty, I felt it was important to address the issue on health.

I’m not here to tell you what to eat, or to tell you to go on a healthy diet. I’m advocating a healthy lifestyle. Something to adopt for life, not like fad diets. Everyone is different, so do what suits you, 3 meals and 2 snacks, 6 small meals, just 3 big meals.. just so long its healthy, keep it up!

Today’s post was made to encourage you to add healthy changes to your lifestyle, one of which is cutting down on eating out, which I myself, and many foodies, are guilty of doing in our quests to find the best food in Singapore.

Usually, to make food taste good, restaurants add loads of sugar, salt, cream, oil and the like to give our meals that oomph! In our quests for delicious food, it is important to strike a balance between health and indulging in gastronomical delights. 

In fact, I’ve just thought of something! “Just because you don’t count calories, doesn’t mean that your calories don’t count.” -MoodieFoodie 

Calorie counting is troublesome, especially with our local food since it is hard to find nutrition facts for food cooked by different hawkers, or in restaurants. But making sure your calories come from nutritious choices would be helpful in maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle. And so, we ought to enjoy our minimum of five servings of fruits and vegetables even if we are eating out. This may prove to be a challenge, but your body will thank you for it. In fact, if you are someone who likes to eat a lot, healthy eating may be even better for you, since you can eat more for the same amount of calories, and loads more nutrition.

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Its great to enjoy ourselves, eating rich chomp worthy food with our family and friends, but we should eat at least one home cooked meal a day. Eating at home is healthier, and it also provides time for family bonding. Contrariwise, eating out is not only expensive, but its also not great for our waistlines since the food is often made of empty calories. Furthermore, we tend to eat more when we eat out since portion sizes are completely out of whack in restaurants. This isn’t their fault, after all, they want to make the consumers happy, and more is often deemed as better. This is, of course, a generalization since there have been a growing number of restaurants that promote healthy, natural cooking. For some, cooking a meal is too much work, well, even putting together a nutritious sandwich would be a healthy choice. 

(Please don’t eat processed food at home either, if you think its better than eating out, all that preservatives, and chemicals that you can’t pronounce aren’t good for your body!)

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I am no different from all you food lovers out there. I love my desserts, hawker delights, high class restaurant food.. everything! But moderation is key. 

By striking a balance, we can live longer, and enjoy our food for an even longer period of time. After all, when we eat healthy, it isn’t as if we are skimping on the taste, since healthy food does taste good too!

Of course, adding some exercise to the equation doesn’t hurt either. Just a short walk after a meal would improve digestion, and would help you to shed some weight in the long run. 

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It isn’t that hard, right?

So go ahead, make some changes and start living a healthier lifestyle, before its too late. Its cheaper to live healthier, than to pay for your medical bills!

Here’s a quote to motivate you,

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” -George Bernard Shaw

Seize the day, my friends! Make a change today. Any change, even if its small, is better than no change at all.

Stay healthy, wealthy and wise 🙂