31 August 2012

Mutton Soup @ Albert Centre Food and Market Centre

I’m going to introduce another one of my favourites when I eat out (which frankly speaking, is quite seldom). This is also from Albert Centre Food and Market Centre. I go there very often as my work place is in the vicinity.

25 August 2012

Rendering Lard

I happened to purchase some pig fat from the butcher the other day and I was thinking what should I do with it. Hmm...

22 August 2012

Beef Stew (kinda)

So I wasn't actually planning to make stew but had wanted to make some beef stock to keep for future use instead.

15 August 2012

Paleo Bread

Remember the Oopsie Bread which I made and didn't quite like? Well, I came across another kind of "bread" which is LCHF-friendly.

13 August 2012

Butter French Beans

French beans (also known as green beans or string beans) are one of my favourite vegetables. I like the crisp and subtle sweetness of them. Best of all, they are very easy to prepare.

11 August 2012

10 August 2012

Braised Duck @ Albert Centre Market & Food Centre

This is at the hawker centre located at Queen Street, near Guan Yin Temple (四马路). It also has a wet and dry market.

09 August 2012

Broccoli Puree

Inspired by one of the folks at hwz who pureed his cauliflower, I thought I'll give it a try with broccoli.

08 August 2012

Lamb Loin Salad

As I had extra egg yolks from making the Oopsie Bread, I decided to add a little something to my dinner for that day. 

Oopsie Bread

I wasn’t much of a bread person before LCHF but I managed to stumble onto this flourless bread called Oopsie Bread. Thought it will be fun to make and also another reason to make use of my under-utilized oven.

About the Author

I grew up in a Chinese family in Singapore and naturally rice and noodles were staple items in my life. I was lucky my mother advocates healthier eating and we did not have fried food nor MSG-laden soups in our family meals and thankfully I didn’t really like fried food much. I believe most of us grew up believing anything fat is unhealthy. That includes fatty meat like kong bah (pork belly) and beef as well as butter, cheese and cream.

Well, things are about to change for you. Guess what, those fatty items I listed above are all good for you in LCHF. Yes, all of them are high in saturated fat and contrary to popular belief, saturated fat is not bad for the body.

Natural butter (not margarine, please!), cheese and cream contain natural fat and can be eaten every day. Is that good news or good news?

Frankly speaking, I’ve never touched butter and cream much throughout my life because of what I used to believe in (that butter and cream are fattening). I also avoided fatty meat and skins (pig skin, chicken skin, fish skin) like a plague because firstly, I wasn’t quite a fan of their chewy texture and secondly, I believed they were unhealthy.

I got started on LCHF because during one of the consultations with my doctor and a nutritionist, I was told to reduce my intake of carbs like white rice, noodles and bread. The nutritionist told me whenever she has a meal outside, she would at most only eat 30% of whatever carbs she got, be it rice or noodles. She never eats bread because they are mostly highly processed and made from wheat.

And so I tried to cut down on my carbs. Boy, was it tough! I remembered my first meal in which I tried to eat less noodles. I still felt sooo hungry and I looked at the plate of remaining noodles with such a bigass craving that I had a mental debate with myself whether or not I should take the plunge and finish it all. LOL. Well, I didn’t.

That was about 3 months ago.

I am now almost 100% carb free – I do not need to eat rice, noodles, bread, pasta and the likes. I only get my carbs from vegetables and meat.

Of course it wasn’t easy initially. I used to like eating rice and noodles. Do you know I didn’t like western food much and it was only because they didn’t have rice? Hahaha. But believe me, when you pass the first week, it will only get easier. You will be able to say no and look at that bowl of rice/noodles as if it is poison. To me, carbs are actually poison in disguise, considering the number of problems they bring to you.

Another type of poison in disguise is sugar. Well, I’m sure everyone knows sugar is bad for you but somehow, F&N is still a successful billion-dollar business, bubble tea shops are still sprouting all over Singapore and bakery chains are still churning out frosted doughnuts and pork floss buns.

Personally, I crave sugar more than I crave carbs. I loved my kuehs and ice cream. I also loved 100plus and I drank it most of the time when I wanted an ice-cold drink. I knew sugar is bad for me but somehow I would always tell myself, it’s okay, I’m not obese and I can still afford to eat or it’s okay, i’m only having it once in a while. LOL, the lies I used to tell myself to validate my actions.

Well, all of those foolish eating is in the past now and I am now enjoying my LCHF lifestyle. I have lost around 3 kg since I started 3 months ago and that is about 6% of my weight before. Not bad! My energy level is also higher and I feel better about myself each day. Gone are the days when I feel bloated and lethargic after a meal.

I will be posting my homemade LCHF meals as well as what I eat when I dine out. Living in Singapore, I’ve realized it isn’t easy to eat LCHF when I eat out, especially at hawker centres/coffee shops as rice and noodle dishes are aplenty everywhere. Thus, I’ve created this avenue to share my experiences and hope more of you will join me in this amazing lifestyle.