3-day Detox Plan

Eat, eat and eat. That's what I have been doing for the past few days. Not only do I feel fat, I also feel that toxins are accumulating in my body cos food nowadays aren't that healthy. Maybe I shd consider going on a detox plan.

I found this on AsiaOne Health website.

3-day detox plan By Sandra Cabot

- Jan 04, 2007 The Business Times

Avoid the following foods:

1) Alcohol 2) Sugar 3) Coffee

4) Dairy products - no cow, sheep or goat milk, or any products containing these.

5) Gluten - this is found in wheat, rye, oats, spelt and barley, and all foods containing these. Gluten is hidden in many foods, so you will need to read food labels carefully.

6) Food additives such as artificial colours, flavours, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, MSG, etc.

7) Vegetable oil that does not state cold pressed or extra virgin. Avoid all margarine, partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated vegetable oil.

8) Red meat, chicken, fish and eggs. For three days, you will obtain protein from vegetarian sources such as legumes, grains, nuts and seeds. You should also drink two litres of pure water - spring, mineral or filtered - each day. Also take one or two glasses of raw vegetable juice each day. You may include regular tea, green tea and herbal tea in your diet. Tea should be free of sugar, artificial sweeteners and dairy milk. You can use stevia or xylitol to sweeten tea.

9) Use beneficial fats such as olive oil, flaxseed oil, avocados, coconut milk and raw, unsalted nuts and seeds. You must have one raw vegetable salad each day, either for lunch or dinner. You may include sea salt in your diet; it is preferable to regular table salt. In place of dairy milk, you may use rice milk, soy milk, almond milk, quinoa milk or coconut milk.

Meal plan

Upon rising, drink two large glasses of purified water with the juice of half a lemon or lime. Fifteen minutes later eat breakfast.

Breakfast options

One bowl gluten-free muesli with non-dairy milk and a chopped pear.

One bowl rice porridge with 2 tablespoons chopped nuts sprinkled on top, with non-dairy milk and fresh berries.

Two pieces gluten-free toast with baked beans, served with a chopped apple.

Lunch options

Pasta with herbed vegetables (see recipe below), served with a small salad.

Brown rice and red lentil salad with tomatoes and cucumbers.

Sandwich using gluten-free bread, with hummus, grated carrot and sultanas.

Dinner options

Chick pea curry, served with brown rice (see recipe below)

Kidney beans with sauted spinach, served with brown rice.

Brown rice pilaf served with garden salad.

RECIPES
Pasta with herbed vegetables (serves 4)

Ingredients :

1 packet gluten free pasta

1 eggplant, peeled and chopped

1/3 cup olive oil

2 button squash, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 cup diced pumpkin

2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)

3 very ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

Sea salt & black pepper to taste

Method

Cook the pasta according to packet directions.

Saute the onion, garlic and pumpkin in olive oil for 5 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients, except the pasta; cover and simmer for 25 minutes.

Serve the vegetable mixture over warm pasta.

Chick pea curry (serves 4)
Ingredients:

1 tin chick peas

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (optional)

1 tbsp grated ginger (optional)

2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp curry powder (optional)

1 cup vegetable stock

1 Swede or turnip, cubed

2 cups cubed pumpkin

2 button squash, chopped

1 can tinned tomatoes, chopped

Method

Cook the onion, garlic and ginger in oil for 5 minutes.

Add spices and cook a further 2 minutes.

Add all the other ingredients except the squash; simmer covered for 20 minutes.

Add the squash and simmer a further 10 minutes.

Serve with brown rice and garnish with fresh coriander.

Skin clearing juice
This vegetable juice will help improve the detox abilities of your skin.
2 apricots

1 carrot

1 green apple

1 handful endive or spinach

1/2 lemon, peeled

1 handful parsley

Pass all through a juicer and drink immediately.

Who shouldn't do a detox at home?

Most people who are in relatively good health can perform a detox by themselves at home. There are some groups of people who should not do a detox without supervision - they include diabetics, people with liver or kidney disease, cancer or other serious disease. Pregnant or lactating women should not undergo a detox.

This article first appeared in The Business Times Dec 30, 2006.

Source : http://health.asiaone.com.sg/eatright/20070104_001.html

IKEA Restaurant & Cafe

Finally checked out the new IKEA in Tampines. Mega Courts and giant-size Giant are nearby, making it a mega stores shopping centre.

It has 2 levels of excessive number of car parking lots. Furnitures and stuff are found at the 3rd & 4th floor.

The restaurant is at the 4th floor.

The design and 'system' at the new IKEA restaurant is the same as the classic IKEA. Just that this is of course bigger, making it proportionate to its store size.

I had poached salmon. It comes with potatoes and broccoli (i think it is $6.50). Looks like a pretty healthy meal. :) The herb (with pepper) cream sauce tastes good as well.

2 thumbs up for these fried chicken wings ($2.60 for 2 pieces). It was still hot and crispy when served.

After a hearty meal, we continued our shopping in IKEA. The height of the shelves say it more.

Check it out yourself.

The Cathay Restaurant

2Rs and 2Js had our reunion lunch at The Cathay Restaurant, located at the 2nd floor of Cathay Building at Handy Road.

The restaurant is barely a month old. I was initially tempted to try out the food because of the discounts offered by various credit cards. You can check those out from their website.

However, we ordered a 7-course set-lunch instead, which cost $68+++ per pax. This is the cheapest amongst the set lunches they offer during this CNY period. Headache ah...

Probably due to our prior reservation, they gave us a private room - a cosy room for just the 4 of us. The table was big enough for 8 pax. There were some nostalgic photos hung on the wall and we even have a personal waitress who stations herself inside the room throughout. She sometimes stands there quietly, sometimes paces up and down in the room a little. But she was polite and cheerful. :)

The first dish was Yu-sheng, following by braised shark's fins with crab meat & roe (below). Most of the dishes were individually served.

The broth was quite thick. Quite nice except it has some fishy smell (腥味) and a little salty.

The 3rd course was braised dried oyster with lettuce and 'fa cai'. Most of us are not fans of oyster... did not quite enjoy it cos of the 腥味 as well. However, the beancurd skin which wraps the oyster tasted quite good.

4th course was pan-fried venison (deer meat) with mushroom. Looks fusion. Seems exotic since deer meat is not something we eat daily.

My portion was 'medium-rare'... so it was a little bloody. Eeks! The portion looks a little too small but actually it was just right. Anything more will make me lose my appetite.

My fav dish is the 5th dish - fried glutinous rice with chinese sausage. Haha... something close to daily food. hehe.

There were 2 dessert dishes. First is glutinuous rice ball in red date tea. The rice ball has a sesame filling which is not too sweet. I wish there were 2 instead of just 1 rice ball.

Lastly, we had golden ingots and nian-gao. The golden ingots is filled with lotus paste. Quite a novelty item.

I didn't mind the nian-gao (sprinkled with fried yam pieces on top) as well as I have not eaten it for some time already. But it was a little too sweet. :P

Would I go back there again? Yes, for the ala carte dishes. I think it will be cheaper.