TCM: Cooling and Heaty Foods

Since I was down with a cold for the last four days (including today), I decided to search the Internet on the kinds of foods I should eat or avoid in order to get better. Here’s some info I found which may be useful to anyone interested in what we can eat to balance the cold and hot energy effects of foods in our bodies. :)

An excerpt from benefits-of-honey.com:

“The heatiness (yang) and cooling (yin) effect of foods refer to their capacity to generate sensations – either hot or cold energy in our body… For example, tea is a cooling food; this means that it generates cold energy in our body… Hence, if you eat predominantly yin foods, your body will be capable of producing only cold energy, in contrast, eating predominantly yang foods produces hot energy. If a person suffers from cold rheumatism, eating foods with a warm or hot energy would be helpful. If a person’s acne condition deteriorates due to consumption of fried foods, it is beneficial to eat cooling foods to counter heatiness and relieve the symptoms…”

Effects of Yin & Yang Foods

Excessive heaty (yang) foods cause:
> Fever
> Constipation
> Sore throat
> Nose bleed
> Pimple outbreak
> Rashes
> Ulcers
> Indigestion

Excessive cooling (yin) foods cause:
> Weakness
> Lethargy
> Frailness
> Restlessness

General Characteristics of Yin & Yang Foods

Heaty/yang foods:
• grow under the hot sun
• are sweet
• are fatty
• are rich in sodium
• are hard, dry or spicy

Cold/yin foods:
• grow in little sunshine
• are salty
• are lean
• are rich in potassium
• are soft and wet

Types of Yin & Yang Foods

Heaty (yang) foods are warming, stimulating and energetic:
> Herbs & Spices : Cinnamon bark, cinnamon twig, cloves, nutmeg, leaf mustard, sweet basil, chives, rosemary, spearmint, tobacco, ginger, garlic, pepper.
> Fruits : Coconuts, guavas, longans, raspberries, jackfruits, durians, apricots, blackberries, blackcurrants, mangoes, peaches, cherries, mandarin oranges, grapes, grapefruit peel, dates.
> Vegetables : Red and green peppers, coriander (Chinese parsley), green onions, shallots, spring onions, leeks.
> Seeds & Nuts : Apricot seeds, chestnuts, walnuts, dillseeds, oats, wheatgerm.
> Meats & Seafood : Chicken, eel, mutton, ham, shrimp.
> Others : Brown sugar, vinegar, soybean oil, cheese (strongly yang), egg yolk, coffee, chocolate, prawn crackers, cookies.

Cooling (yin) foods are calming and nourishing:
> Herbs & Spices : Marjoram herb, peppermint, turmeric.
> Fruits : Bananas, grapefruit, persimmons, starfruit, watermelons, pears, strawberries, tangerines, pineapples, pumpkins.
> Vegetables : Bamboo shoots, sugar cane, bitter gourd, lettuces, seaweed, lotus roots, cucumbers, radishes, broccoli, cauliflowers, zuccini, tomatoes, carrots, celery, eggplant (brinjal), potatos,  spinach, watercress.
> Seeds & Nuts : Barley, corn, water chestnuts.
> Meats & Seafood : Clams, crabs, oysters, pork.
> Others : Salt, bean curd, egg white, tea, yogurt, alcohol (strongly yin).

Neutral (balanced yin and yang) foods:
> Herbs & Spices : Sage herb, rosemary, thyme.
> Fruits : Papayas, pumpkins, dates, apricots, figs, olives, raspberries, raisins, plums, apples.
> Vegetables :  Beetroots, carrots, celery, string beans, radish leaves, brussels sprouts, snow peas, taro (yam), sweet potatoes, potatoes.
> Seeds & Nuts : Corn, kidney beans, yellow soybeans, red beans, lotus fruit and seeds, sunflower seeds, brown rice, sweet rice.
> Meats & Seafood :  Beef, pork, turkey, duck, carp fish, cuttlefish, oysters, abalones.
> Others : Honey, black fungus, white fungus, milk.

The methods used to prepare foods also affect the heatiness and coolness of the foods. For example, beef is considered as neutral, but if you have it deep fried or grilled, it would be considered as heaty. Methods that make food heaty may include deep frying, grilling or baking, whereas methods that do not make food heaty may include boiling, steaming or stewing. (This is what I think, haven’t found any evidence on whether it’s true.)

Now I’m a little confused because one website may have a food type in the “yang” list but another website may have it in the “yin” list or the neutral list, or a food type may appear in both the “yin” and neutral lists. So if you see a food type that is misplaced in any of the 3 lists above, feel free to comment and let me know!~ ^.^

Also, the characteristics of yin & yang food types are general characteristics and may not apply to every food type in the lists. For example, the list of “yang” food characteristics include sweet foods, and “yin” food characteristics include salty foods, however, cheese is a strongly “yang” food although it is salty.

It’s going to be difficult trying to remember which food is “yin” and which is “yang”, but I guess the best is to remember what foods are neutral, for a healthy balanced diet! :)

Cheers,
Nat ^.^

Information sources:
http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/heaty.html
http://www.prntrkmt.org/gender/yin.html
http://www.prntrkmt.org/gender/yang.html
http://www.prntrkmt.org/gender/neutral.html

Caramel Balls

This is the 4th week I’m sharing a cereal recipe in line with the Project CBB fundraising initiative for HighPoint. :) This week we have a recipe from Post Cereals:  Caramel Balls!~

Caramel Balls

Ingredients:
1) 20 caramels (substitute with 5 tbsp of honey)
2) 1 tbsp water
3) 2 cups Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal (any variety)

Method:
1) MICROWAVE caramels and water in medium microwavable bowl on HIGH until caramels are completely melted.
2) STIR in 1-1/2 cups of the cereal.
3) With hands slightly moistened with cold water, shape cereal mixture into 21 small balls, each about 1 inch in diameter.
4) CRUSH remaining 1/2 cup cereal; place in a shallow dish. Roll cereal balls in cereal until evenly coated.
5) ENJOY the treat!~

(Source:  Post Recipes)

Cheers,
Natasha ^.^

A fundraising project for HighPoint Community Services Association (HCSA), Singapore.

Project CBB Online Registration

Project CBB Online Registration :  HELP NEEDED! ^.^

As we draw close to 28 November :  Mass cereal-box bag making day, plans are underway to get sponsors to fill the cereal-box bags with goodies, kids to help make bookmarks, friends to design posters and volunteers to help make the bags. :)

Right now I need a lot more help.  You can read more about the available roles and register here: http://tiny.cc/projectcbb

I also have 2 positions open for my organising team:

1) Business Development manager – Search for and contact sponsors for potential partnerships.

2) T-shirt designer – Design a t-shirt for Project CBB that people are willing to wear for this cause (must look cool), as we are thinking of selling the t-shirts to raise funds, and all volunteers helping to sell the CBBs during the street sales (to be confirmed) will be wearing them too. B-)

Thanks guys!  Every bit of help is appreciated! :)

Cheers,
Natasha Lai ^.^

Rice sacks, anyone?

Today I was on the MRT train to Clementi and I saw these 2 Chinese migrant blue-collar (or rather, brown collar) workers. They were talking to each other and I noticed that their skin looked old and weathered under the sun. I wondered how long they’ve been working at their profession.

As I was looking at their hands, i realized that in their hands were red cloth handles that belonged to Golden Royal Dragon rice sacks, which they used to carry their belongings in, like their water bottle and other stuff. I was taken aback.

I looked at my own bag that I was carrying and imagined it was a rice sack; my imagination was not successful at all. I couldn’t see myself carrying rice sacks around or using them as tote bags. -_-”

I realize how fortunate and blessed I am, I have so much yet I long for more when sometimes what I need more is to learn to be contented with what I have.

each time i eat rice now, i’ll make it a point to be thankful for what i have. :)

Banana Nut Crunch Ice-cream Dessert

For this week’s Project CBB cereal recipe, we have Banana Nut Crunch Ice-cream Dessert! :) Easy to make and fuss-free! Enjoy! ^.^

Ingredients
1) 2 1/2 cups of Banana Nut Crunch from Post Cereal
2) 1/2 cup of melted butter
3) 1 cup of finely shredded coconut
4) 1 cup of brown sugar
5) 4 cups (1 litre) of vanilla ice cream (softened)

Directions
1) Mix ingredients 1 to 4 and spread half of the cereal mixture in a 9-inch square pan.
2) Add the softened vanilla ice cream.
3) Cover with the remainder of the cereal mixture.
4) Put the prepared dessert in the freezer until ready to serve.
5) Cut into 3 x 1 inch bars.

Source:  Recipe adapted from Cooks.com

Cheers,
Natasha Lai ^.^

A fundraising project for HighPoint Community Services Association (HCSA), Singapore.

God, if You’re so perfect, why let people suffer?

I was chatting with a friend on MSN sometime ago, and he posed me these questions. These are really interesting questions so I thought I’d share them with you. Feel free to ask your own questions in the comments section too. :) I’ll try my best to answer them (when I have the time), but if I can’t answer them I’ll find out for you.. even if it means I’ll have to wait till I get to heaven before i ask Him.

Cheers,
Natasha ^.^

Overview:
1) he must be a busy man… still have to answer prayers on every sunday….isnt it a off day even for Him?
2) so asking for pocket money is also a kind of communication? how pple know he like this kind of communication? he like to get recgonition? why he likes pple to listen to him all the time?
3) then wad abt those suffering from illness and pain?
4) yar and send pple he love to hell to be burned and tortured?
5) thats unfair. why god create a different situation for them?
6) Come on, god is perfect. god is perfect and super wad. not being able to make things fair is incompetent to a perfect god.
7) it looks the same to me that pple refer to a man-written book to god’s words
8) yeah, power of marketing of Christianity is damn good.

My Friend’s Questions About God

1. he must be a busy man… still have to answer prayers on every sunday….isnt it a off day even for Him?

My Ans: I duno how to ans ur qn “still have to answer prayers on every sunday….isnt it a off day even for Him?” but I do know that He values the relationship He has with each of His people. Sunday is a time of rest from work to just enjoy his presence and after all, answering prayers isn’t work to Him… just like communication is natural to us.

 2. so asking for pocket money is also a kind of communication? how pple know he like this kind of communication? he like to get recgonition? why he likes pple to listen to him all the time?

My Ans: well…. from what i know about God, He wants us to depend on Him and trust in Him to provide for our needs.  however, as much as God wants us to depend on Him, He isnt keen on spoiling us too. 

It’s a two-way thing, as all relationships should be, He likes us to listen to Him because He knows what’s best for us (after all, He created us, and He knows exactly what we like or dislike, and what we can do or cannot do), and he also likes to listen to us, that is why we pray. He wants us to go to Him whether we are happy or sad, whether we are in trouble or whether we have a request.

 3. then wad abt those suffering from illness and pain? 

My Ans: He loves those ppl suffering from illness and pain too. Afterall, suffering and pain was brought about by Adam and Eve’s foolish decision to disobey God. By disobeying God, they sinned, and that separated Mankind from God. He still loved them, but could not be with them.

4. yar and send pple he love to hell to be burned and tortured?

My Ans: we dont understand everything He does. then we judge Him and say He is not good. but thats biased towards what we know about God. how can we understand everything of what He thinks? just because those ppl are suffering, doesnt mean He doesnt love them. their stuations are different.

Because God is holy, He cannot exist with people that are unholy. And we are all sinners, sin separates us from God. That is why people who cannot go to heaven to be with God because of their unholiness and sin, go to hell. But God provided a way for all sinners to be reconciled to Him so we can all be with Him in heaven. He sent Jesus to die for us and take away our sin. It is symbolic of the sacrifice that the Israelites had to make using sheep and bulls in the olden times in order to atone for their sins.

But as for us, now that Jesus has died for us to make us holy, we dont have to sacrifice sheep and bulls to atone for our sin anymore. All we have to do is accept that Jesus died to cleanse us of our sin and make us holy, we just have to believe in Jesus and the salvation He has brought us. :)

5. thats unfair. why god create a different situation for them?

My Ans: if u study law, you’ll know that life is not fair. even with law that’s supposed to bring justice to all ppl, it is still not fair. People who have money and influence may win court cases even if they break the law. But God says that He is the Defender of the poor, the righteous and those unable to fend for themselves.

Yes, we are all born into different families, countries and we all have different life chances. But think about it. If everyone were in the same situation, we might as well all be robots or clones. You realise that alot of circumstances we are in are results of our own decisions. God did not make us to be robots, he gave us the freedom of choice. It may not be fair to those born in 3^rd world countries or into broken families, but everything that happens, happens for a purpose.

Would we know compassion if we dont see people in worse situations than we are in? Would we know joy if we never experienced sadness? Would we know contentment if we never experienced lack? By seeing the plight of others and extending our arms to reach out and help them, we are growing in character and personal development. That is why living life is so meaningful, otherwise it would be meaningless and purposeless. :)

6. Come on, god is perfect. god is perfect and super wad. not being able to make things fair is incompetent to a perfect god.

My Ans: does that mean all situations must be perfect? Is perfection really all that we live for? And how do you define fairness? What’s fair to you may not be fair to another person. All humans are biased. Whose judgement do you want to follow? Which point of view do you want to take? :)

7. it looks the same to me that pple refer to a man-written book to god’s words

My Ans: Well, how can you be so sure that the Bible isn’t God’s word? Yes it was written by men.. many different men from different times in history, yet the story line brings across the same message. Many testimonies and accounts of the things that happened, but ONE MESSAGE. That we all sinned (beginning with Adam and Eve), Sin separated us from God, God sent Jesus to take away the sin so that we can be with God again, just like in the beginning. Why Jesus? Because He is the only one that is free of sin.

8. yeah, power of marketing of Christianity is damn good.

My Ans: haha, u mean evangelism? There must be something good that convinces people to believe in Jesus over so many years right? Even if we tried to use “marketing” to “sell” Christianity, if the core “product” is lousy, sooner or later people will find out that it’s not genuine and will reject it.  In this age now, people are more educated, more informed, they wont just follow a religion just because their parents tell them to.

You just have to experience God for yourself to know. If you dont want to give yourself a chance to believe in Jesus, you’re denying yourself an opportunity to be saved from this depraved world.

I agree that even Christians are still not perfect, in fact some who claim they are Christians behave worse than non-Christians (in general). Sad to say, this may be a stumbling block to people who dont know about God or Christianity. Being a real Christian isn’t about how often you go to church, how many ministries you serve in, how many holy words you use in prayer or how many times you read through the entire Bible. It’s really all about a relationship with God as His children, as His creation, as His friend.

Doing all those religious stuff facilitates our spiritual growth and knowledge of God, but those should not be the focus of our Christianity, God should be the focus of our Christianity.  Those who call themselves Christians but who do not have a real relationship with God or live in a way glorifying & pleasing to God, aren’t real Christians at all.

-end of part 1-

Hot Apples With Oat Topping

Week 2 – Another Cereal Recipe for Project CBB in support of HighPoint Community Services Association:

Hot Apples With Oat Topping
( Makes 4 servings)

INGREDIENTS:
Hot Apples
4 tart apples
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Oat Topping
1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
2 tsp. oil
1 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS
To Make The Apples:
1. Peel and core the apples, then cut into small chunks.
2. Place in a 9-inch glass pie plate and toss with cinnamon, stirring well.
3. Cover with vented plastic wrap and microwave on high for 6 minutes, or until the apples are tender.
4. Let stand for 5 minutes.

To Make The Oat Topping:
1. Place the oats in another 9-inch glass pie plate.
2. Drizzle with maple syrup, oil and vanilla. Mix well. Microwave on high for 1 minute.
3. Stir well. Repeat the microwaving for 3 or 4 times, or until the oats are crisp and very lightly browned but not burned.
4. Sprinkle over the apples.
5. Enjoy! :)

Nutritional Analysis Per Serving: Calories, 308; Fiber, 6g; Cholesterol, 0mg; Sodium, 5mg; Percent calories from fat, 12%.
(Source: The FoodReference Website)

Cheers,
Natasha Lai ^.^

Week 1 receipe: Cranberry Shortbread Bars

Calls for Action – Natural disasters on the rise

Global – Support the  Survivors of Typhoon Morakot (Taiwan) >> Get 10,000 fans on Facebook before the 1st of October and NT$100,000 will be donated to the disaster relief efforts in Taiwan. http://www.facebook.com/GIVE.sg

Singapore – MissMandyy Lyn will be holding a meetup in the west to collect the clothes and donations for the Manila (Philippines) flood victims. Collection point will be at Commonwealth station on 3 October, this Saturday, 4.30pm. Pls text her at 9726-2045 to let her know what you’ll be bringing. Thank you everyone for your willingness to help! =)

Cranberry Shortbread Bars

In line with Project Cereal-box Bag (Project CBB) which I initiated on Facebook, I will be sharing a cereal recipe on my blog every week. :)

What we hope to achieve through this project is to:

1) Raise funds for HighPoint Community Services Association, and
2) Encourage people to conserve our environment by recycling empty cereal boxes.

Why cereal boxes?

1) Cereal makes a healthy breakfast for you and your family or a great snack on-the-go
2) Cereal boxes are made of cardboard – they are biodegradable and hence are environmentally friendly

What you can do to help:  A.C.T. on it!  ^.^

1. ACCUMULATE empty cereal boxes – Drop off your empty cereal boxes at HighPoint premises at No. 1, Lorong 23 Geylang, Singapore 388352.

2. COMMIT your time – Sign up as a volunteer to help make and/or facilitate in the making of these cereal-box paper bags. (Last wk of Nov 09 / first wk of Dec 09)

3. TELL your friends – Spread the word, invite them to this event! We need all the cereal boxes and help we can get! :))

The Recipe:  Cranberry Shortbread Bars
Prep time: 20 mins
Total time: 65 mins

Ingredients
1-1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter or margarine
1 egg
1/3 cup maple-flavored or pancake syrup
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 cups Post Selects Cranberry Almond Crunch Cereal

Directions

1) PREHEAT oven to 375°F.
2) MIX flour and granulated sugar in medium bowl. Cut in 1/2 cup cold butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3) PRESS firmly onto bottom of greased 9-inch square baking pan.
4) BAKE 20 mins or until very lightly browned.
5) MIX egg, syrup, brown sugar, 1 tbsp melted butter and the vanilla until well blended.
6) STIR in cereal gently. Spread evenly onto warm crust.
7) BAKE 20 to 25 mins or until topping is firm around edges but slightly soft in center.
8) COOL completely. Cut into 20 bars. Store leftover bars in tightly covered container at room temperature.

(Source:  Post Recipes) 

I hope you enjoy working on this recipe and savouring the cranberry shortbread bars! :oP

Cheers,
Natasha Lai ^.^

Other materials we need for Project CBB (Donations & loans are welcome):
- Scissors
- Wide clear tape
- Long rulers (abt 40cm)
- Pens/fine markers
- Hole punchers
- Ribbons
- Penknives

“2 weeks of my life”

Today I was in the car on the way to church, my brother Sean sat next to me and his friend, Jiang Wei, was with us.

Jiang Wei asked Sean why he was working so hard for the Polytechnic Forum when it wasn’t going to be used as his Residential Project for NYAA (National Youth Achievement Award).

Sean replied, “If I’m going to do it for two weeks of my life, I might as well do it well.”

WOW. Such wisdom from the lips of my (little baby) brother.. And I agree.

How many of us actually do our best at work, at school or at home (doing the housework)? And these things we definitely do far more than just 2 weeks of our lives.

I learnt a new thing today – give your 100% in whatever you choose to do. Leave no room for regret.

Natasha ^.^