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In the past, I would shy away from vegetables due to my prominently carnivorous taste.

Then because of health reasons, I began watching my diet. And forcing myself to eat more vegetables.

Actually, veggies are yummy when they are done right.

The soup of the day was brocolli soup made of fresh brocolli. I didn’t like the sound of it but ordered it anyway. It was not bad actually.

The freshness of vegetables make all the difference. At a holiday resort in the highlands, we had steam boat buffet. The vegetables freshly picked from the surrounding farms were amazing. Even better than the token seafood served with it.

Today, I had an utterly sumptuous snack of stewed prawns and mixed seasoned vegetables. It was so tasty, I ate it up before remembering to photograph it. Oh well. Maybe next time.

Veggies are interesting. The more you eat them, the tastier they seem. Tell that to your kids

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When flu strikes, there’s nothing more comforting than curling up with a bowl of soup, chicken or otherwise.

Porridge is appealing too. As is anything with a soup base. These are easier on a sore throat than deep fried food.

soupy thick noodles and fishballs

Soup somehow restores strength. Especially soups that have been boiling for hours as the soluble nutrients from the vegetables and meat have been dissolved in it so if you really don’t feel like eating anything else, drink the soup.

If you want to lose weight, instead of fried food, go for food that has been cooked using water instead of oil. Water has no calories or any fat while oil is liquid fat.

soup made of blended vegetables

A soup that is made of blended vegetables is full and satisfying, low in fat and great for weight loss. The fiber keeps you satiated so you are less likely to snack on junk food after that.

Give it a shot. Add more soups to your diet and give your weight loss regime a boost.

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This time, I had duck salad with orange vinaigrette for dinner.

smoked duck salad

This salad was basically slices of smoked duck and peeled mandarin orange, accompanied by cashew nuts, sprinkled with wolf berries on a bed of lettuce. Orange vinaigrette completed the salad.

hearty carrot soup

I had a nice hot bowl of carrot soup to go with it and the result was a hearty healthy meal.

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Microwave cooking using herbs and fresh veggies is a delicious way to lose weight and keep it off. Food is cooked through the steam formed when the water in the food is heated up through microwaves. No oil is needed.

Today, I had chicken breast, broccoli, carrots and potatoes for lunch, cooked using the microwave oven.

I placed 100g of chicken breast in baking paper and rolled it in dried herbs. Then I chopped 1 small potato and 1 carrot. Sprinkled salt and more herbs, wrapped that up and stapled it to seal it in. Microwaved the package for 8 minutes on high heat.

Then I microwaved a cup of broccoli on high for 2 minutes and sprinkled herbs and sea salt.

For the dressing, mixed balsamic vinegar and olive oil with herbs.

Verdict : a decently filling and tasty meal that’s very healthy.

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Being on a diet doesn’t mean giving up sweets.

Nature has provided us with a wealth of desserts. There are grapes – fruit for kings.
And there are champagne grapes. The king of grapes.

These tiny grapes are the sweetest, juiciest grapes I’ve ever eaten. You can just nibble them right off the vine.

Refreshing, bursting with divinely sweet juice.. these yummy sweets make great healthy snacks too.

Did I mention they are rich in antioxidants?

You know how red wine is good for the heart. All that antiaging goodness without the dangerous alcohol is found in the skin of the grapes.

Vitamins, fiber, minerals. Who knew sweets could be such healthy snacks?

Who needs candy when you’ve got champagne grapes.

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I couldn’t believe this at first, when I read about it in Shape magazine, August 2010 issue.

A study in Diabetes Care showed that people who got 23% of their daily calories from monosaturated fat had 5 pounds less belly fat than people who ate more carbs and less fat than them.

Avocados are rich in monosaturated fat.

Wanna reduce belly fat?
Instead of mayonnaise or cheese, use avocado.

You know how fat gathers in the middle as you get older?

Switch to monosaturated fat to reverse that trend.

A word of caution though. Fat is still fat and too much of it will make you gain weight.

Everything in moderation. Half an avocado a day (115 calories 10 grams of fat) should suffice.

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I was all set to hit the gym when my buddy popped over with the magic word: O’briens?

Oh wow. Thoughts of my favourite wrap, bursting with flavour and so rich in antioxidants and omega 3 and 6 shoved all thoughts of gym out of my mind.

We found a cozy spot at o’briens. I like the ambience. It’s a conducive place for hanging out an chatting with pals.

There, I got my favourite make your own sandwich. In my case it’s a wrap. Less carbo, less flour to dilute the taste. Mine was smoked salmon, sun dried tomatos, avocado and olives. Tangy, salty, sweet and tasty to the extreme.

Nutrient wise, its got omega in the salmon, vitamins a,c and e in the avocado and lycopene in tomatos. With olives that are rich in good lipid and vitamin e to boot.

Actually it’s the taste I love. The talk about nutrients is to justify the price.

That went beautifully with a cup of hot chocolate topped with a marshmallow.

My pal had her vgetarian sandwich with humus.

The company’s cool. We ate our fave sandwiches and had that girl talk that keeps us sane. These are the little pleasures in life I look forward to during the week. Beats hitting the treadmill solo each day.

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When you think of boiled food, does the word bland come to mind?

I beg to differ. Boiled food can be delicious. It all depends on the soup stock you boil it in and how the food is prepared before boiling it.

On a cold rainy day, a meal of steamboat with the family is bliss.

Basically, a good soup stock is prepared ahead of time as the base. Typically, pork bones and chicken bones are boiled in water for an entire day to prepare the soup base.

Fish and meat are seasoned in advance. Vegetables are cut to convenient slices ahead of time.

Then everyone gathers around the pot of boiling soup with ladles of meat or vegetables or tofu to cook their favourite food in the boiling stock, savouring the food au naturale.

By the end of the meal, that pot of boiling water becomes a very tasty soup by itself.

You know what, steamboat is a very healthy meal.

Instead of deep frying or stir frying the food, cooking it in oil aka fat, food in this traditional chinese meal is cooked by boiling it in water. No soaking up of fat during the cooking process. Insteas, you get lots of nutrients in a tasty, satisfying meal.

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At first glance, Cedele looked like an ordinary sandwich bar. The ambience is cosy. A great place to hang out with friends, but nothing so special that warrants that almost cult-like draw.

Soup. Yeah. Steak. So what? Cakes. Yawn.

Pumpkin soup’s comfort food?

You’ve got to be kidding.

I skipped the soup.. until I got a whiff of the soup my pals ordered.

Pumpkin soup smelled so delectable it had to be my imagination.

When I caught a whiff of the chicken vegetable soup, I couldn’t stop salivating. So to avoid embarassing myself, I ordered a bowl.

You know those home cooked soup boiled for an entire day to create that rich, wholesome base?

My chicken soup was like that. Only better. Not only was the soup so full of rich flavour, the veggies and chicken were tasty and tender too. Cooked to perfection. And that was just the beginning.

We had free flow of bread to go with the soup. Not just plain bread but raisin walnut bread that’s soft and yummy.

Then came the steak. Oh what a steak. A rib eye steak grilled to perfection. I like mine medium well and that’s what I got. A tender steak that melted in my mouth. Seasoned with herbs. Covered with a generous pile of mushrooms. Beneath was an incredibly tasty bed of potato or pumpkin?

While other steak houses require gravy to make the steak tasty, this juicy steak didn’t need any help.

That had to be the best steak I’ve eaten in my life.

Memories of that sumptious steak still haunt me. I felt like I was in heaven. ok. so I didn’t do a Harry met Sally dining scene but it was kind of close.

Oh and did I mention the delicately flavoured salad that came with it?
Instead of creamy dressing, this had a light tangy dressing that’s vinegar based and wholesome.

Actually, the entire meal was wholesome. and yummy. Real comfort food that’s so healthy I just couldn’t believe it.

I associate comfort food with ice cream, chocolates and potato chips but this seriously thrashes all that. Today’s lunch at Cedele came up tops.

To top off the meal, my pals and I shared a banana expresso cake, one of cedele’s specialties I’d imagine. It had a light-as-air sponge base, a coating of chocolate that was neither to thick not too then and a creamy banana center that hit the right spot. There was a generous layer of crunchy.. were those oats? I don’t believe it.

After my Cedele experience, to this junk food fanatic, the phrase wholesome comfort food is no longer an oxymoron.

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