Category Archives: health

Dem bones…

I haven’t been writing a lot because I had a relapsed of an old back problem. I hurt my back again and this time, it resulted in a larger herniated disc at the L5 lumbar spine than before. It affected my S1 nerve which is now causing some knee and thigh pain if I sat down for too long.

I was on sick leave for 2 weeks and went back to work last week. It was a definitely difficult to sit down but with some exercises learnt from Tatiana, the pain is manageable. I’m seeing her again next week after the Raya holidays for a posture evaluation and then to settle on a routine that will help me cope with my back. The back is better now although the rest of my body is tired from being on steroids and painkillers for 2 weeks and now am completely off any form of medication except for my blood pressure tablet. The rest are just normal supplements.

As for bentoing, of course I’m still doing it. 🙂 Prior to this incident, I was busy eating outside with an auditor at the company so kinda went off the weight loss plan. However, I went back on it because of the back problem and now am back on track. My total weight loss to date is 22 kg and I weighed in at 84 kg. Now it’s going to be tough getting down the last 27 kg. I’m hoping to reach it maybe around the end of this year else it’s another project for next year.

Will try and get some pictures up of previous bentos that I’ve taken.

Shimeji Mushrooms + Soba Noodles : Chillyyyyyy

Trying this out for the first time : shimeji mushrooms and making a chilled soba noodle dish.

Soba Noodles with Shimeji Mushrooms

Soba noodles boiled separately. The Shimeji mushrooms were also boiled but with some soy sauce and mirin sauce with leeks added in much later just to make it soft a bit. Then mix together with chopped dill, mizuna and leek. Added in some more mirin sauce and a wee bit of soy sauce.

Turns out that shimeji mushrooms aren’t so strong in taste compared to other types of mushrooms. Which was a good thing as I don’t quite like strong flavoured shrooms too much.

Packed this as a small carbo dish for lunch usually. What you see there is enough for 3 lunches. A picture of it packed in the bento box will be put up once I grab it from my handphone. ^.^

Prawn Rice Medley

One thing I’ve learnt from Japanese cooks, is that it’s possible to eat a rice dish without having to do much frying. How? Well, easy. Just mix the ingredients together while the rice is still warm. It cuts down the oil and the frying effect.

Then again, I suppose some “food purist” will say that I chopped up the veggies too small that any benefits from fibre is lost. I like eating small bits and pieces. Anything big is so unsightly when trying to eat it gracefully. Haha!

So, I made this prawn rice “medley” (as it’s called in one of my cookbooks, the cooking style of the rice that is). Was trying to get the sharp tangy taste of the ginger out but not successful. Need to use grated ginger juice and pulp methinks.

Lunch : Prawn Rice Medley

I stir-fried the ginger, garlic and onions with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Then added in the prawns along with the Mirin sauce (1 tablespoon). After that, added in the cucumbers and celery for a quick turn around the pot. Then off the fire and mix in the rice and stir stir stir until well mix.

Lunch : Rice Medley with Prawn and Cucumber

The cucumbers were still a bit too big so next time, I’ll chop them up smaller. Also, probably will need to add in more veggies. Still not enough I think.

Anyway, when I heated it up in the microwave at the office, people were attracted by the smell. O.O

Novelty Flower Salad

Salad : Novelty Flower Salad

I saw some edible flowers in a pack at Cold Storage, Green Heights Mall, Kuching, Sarawak. So bought a pack and made a salad. This is what’s inside that salad. Certainly tasted better than what I had expected although hopefully the flowers are ok to be eaten. These flowers are grown in Genting and surprisingly, came out tasting really well. The only flowers that I recognized were pansies and chrysanthemums. The problem with flowers in salad is that they should be added in last as the petals started peeling off after mixing. Found that out the hard way.

-celery
-carrot
-tomato
-pickled pear/mango? Not sure. Stole it from my Uncle’s stash in the fridge
-edible flowers that included pansies, posies and chrysanthemum
-Dill
-Lemon juice
-Pepper
-Nutmeg powder (seems to make a lot of difference)
-Raisins