To cook or not to cook

This year, I've not cooked a proper meal during Ramadhan.

But it all changed yesterday. Well sort of. :) Leaving for a break in two days, I realised I still have some vege leftover from a 'previously planned meal'.  So I decided to make mixed vege. Halfway through I decided to make 'mui fun' (savory rice in thick sauce, sauce which is like that of the cantonese fried kueh teow), so I added a tiny portion of rice. Oh my!! the portion of vege was huge, and now with rice, it became bigger, although i only added very little. Then came the egg to thicken the sauce and it just 'went out of proportion'. I just didn't expect it to be so much!! Though it was just vege essentially. :)

But I was happy I cooked. At least i didn't throw away good vege and I ate what I liked most. Vege!

I still have some salad left. Maybe tonight will be salad with stir fried vege (again!)?

And I 'found' by chance the salad dressing which I once tasted in a Japanese restaurant and liked. I didn't know what it was so I didn't bother looking for it. But when I was looking for mustard 'spread' but in whole grains and Tesco didn't have, I decided to browse a little and saw this 'sesame dressing'. My oh my!! I was so happy when I tasted it and discovered it was the salad dressing which I actually loved!

So now it has become my staple, instead of that whole grain mustard. Into my vege sandwich!!

Planking

Planking has been around for very long - as a form of exercise for core strengthening. But not too long ago, it becamse a fad for a while.

So few months back, I wanted to build core strength. I started some plank exercises. But me being me, after short stints, I will give up. More so, if it is done at home, where suddenly i just feel like planking, the moment I break into sweat, I decide if its worth it to continue or not :P

So far, I've only managed 1min x 3 or 1.5min at one go. Nothing more. And if it is at home, sometimes, I get 'weights' on me!! Yes, kiddos will just plonk onto my back thinking its a 'horsey' ride :)

Moving forward approximately 2 + months, with no consistent planking exercise, just other core exercises, today I decided to test myself and I managed a 3 min plank with no problems at all!!
WOW! I was surprised!

Now, there is hope for a 5 min plank in the near future. Or maybe I need to get a good run before I plank?

Let's try it and see. I guess those core workouts with TRX did help afterall!

Fasting and Workouts

It’s the fasting month and I have managed to squeeze in workouts during the day, and enjoying it. What amazes me is that my normal weekend long run, which after each loop, under non-fasting circumstances, I will have to take a gulp of water. If I don’t by the end of the 2^nd loop, I’ll be feeling really really really ‘dry-in-the-mouth’; but last weekend, when I did that long run again, I managed 4 loops without any drink. Amazing!! Let’s see if this weekend is the same!

We’re allowed to finish work 1 hr earlier. So sometimes I head straight to the gym for an hour. Other times, I’ll use that ‘lunch hour’ at the gym, and go home ‘normal hours’. Hahahaha

And why the ‘dedication’? It feels good to be back to the gym! But it is sad that I don’t get to spend as much time there as I used to. Feels ‘not enough’ but what to do, commitments have changed. So 30-45mins per session is good enough. Keep the longer runs for weekends.

The main drive now is that I have signed up for a full marathon, with killing slopes. YES! 42km, but scenic run through the villages of Langat area. Not a race, so says the organizer, so I’ll take it easy. Just to see how I ‘suffer’ with much less training, compared to 6 years ago. I’m not hoping for another 4:40, but anything less than 6 hrs is an achievement, considering the elevation of the route. Let’s see what happens come September 9^th J

Sahur

So, what sahur (the last  meal in the morning before the dawn prayers during the fasting month) have been like so far?

Last year, my favourite food was roti jala with any curry....and that was it. This year, it's home-made sandwich...wholemeal bread with tomatoes, avocado slices, a slice of smoked chicken and mustard grain as the spread. Other days, there could be egg and a slice of cheese. Depending on what i hada while breaking fast the night before, the cheese and egg are optional :)

ANd I am amazed at how this kept me going the whole day!

Too lazy to cook pasta already....haha

maybe by next week I'll be sick of sandwich, then I'll do pasta :)

Secretly thanking God my kids are still young and I don't have to think of what to cook in the morning for them for sahur. :)

It's Ramadhan again!

Ooh Boy! It's been ages since I blogged. Talk about busy and not having compatible hardware as excuses :P

Neway, time flies and half of 2012 has gone by. Alot of challenges have came and gone and it has been an ardous journey, seriously.

Now, I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly of things and have learnt how to take it in a stride and know when to move along and when to take it to heart. Life's journey has been such.

And guess what? After 4 years, the gym bug has bitten me again. Yeah, the kedukut me has 'invested' in the gym 5 floors below my office....in view that I have a 42km marathon 3 weeks after Raya and with no time in the morning or evening to run or do anything anymore. I'm liking it....I go during lunch for a 40min workout. I go for a 20min sprint after work, during Ramadhan if am rushing back. I go for classes sometimes and well, though am not yet doing 5 days a week like before, but yes, it's been good so far :)

One week of fasting gone....suffered a 'detox' session 2 days' ago because I decided to have 'lemondade' at 9pm....hahaha

And now, typing this at 610am,  am contemplating a run. Contemplate cos earlier, as i was sahur-ring....both kids had their milk and suddenly had dirroehea...wonder what happened, butI think all is well and they're now ok...

so, Good morning and  have a great SUnday!

Five-Finger shoe

The very popular brand, 'Vibram' is actually quite expensive. Beyond my budget for just a running shoe to 'try out'. So when I chanced upon a cheaper version, I grabbed the opportunity and got hubby to buy too.

So when I first wore it window shopping, no difference. When I wore it more than half a day of on-off walking, I felt my calf ache the next day (I was pre-warned, actually). And then when I wore it for a short run, my calf hurt again.

So after a lapse of 2-3 weeks of inactivity, I decided to go for a run...more than 10km. And in my mind, the 5-finger has minimal cushioning (it promotes barefoot running), so I took my regular Ascis to have better cushioning. Boy, I was in for a surprise. Post run, immediately my knees had a achy feeling. I was worried. Is arthritis setting in? I iced both my knees and applied topical gel.

And the next day I was worried if I should take the 5-finger out. But finally I did. This time, it was 4km longer than the previous and guess what?? I didn't even suffer on my knee. (I had blister la, but that is nt relevant, cos I wasn't wearing socks) So I'm going to get myself a 5-finger socks and see what I can do this weekend!

It's highly recommended for those of you with knee problem...I'm not saying its a cure, but it has worked for me (and another friend, which I later found out).

Now, should I invest in a VFF? (Vibram Five Finger)

Air Fryer

I was told of a 'air fryer' and when I went to scout around, the only available is Philips' and it costs more than RM1k. So I didn't think much about it.

I wanted to get a fryer, knowing how much my kids liked fried stuff and I'm not a fan of frying - unhealthy and I don't like the clean-up :P

So when I chanced upon an air- fryer in one of those discount sites, I pounced on it. RM300, and I didn't think twice. So after about 2 weeks from the online purchase, I got the item (sorry no photos - forgot). I was esctatic. I offered to fry nuggets for the kids and they coincidentally wanted to eat that night. And 6 pcs of nuggets was prepared without any mess and tasted real good. Crisp and brown outer, but succulent insides. If i used the mini toaster-oven, I'd have the outer layers burnt. So I was happy with the results.

Then yesterday, I wanted to really fry something. Not something pre-prepared. I bought marinated chicken to fry. AND I was really happy with what I saw and ate. The chicken was crisp on the outer and succulent on the inside. Seriously! And I didn't have to stand over a hot stove, but I could bathe the kids, dress them and do alot more things.

So, what's next? I'm attempting fried oyster mushrooms!

Yippee!!