Dieting versus Meal Replacement for healthy lifestyle | Good Morning Multigrain Beverages Review

Having a strong family history of type 2 diabetes mellitus, I am beginning to adopt healthy lifestyle. Besides ditching the lift, (yes I take stairs to 8th floor, multiple times in a day), I pay attention to what I eat, most of the time but restricting carbohydrate, adding on vegetables, fruits and lean meat or seafood. Soon I'll need to start my single life in KL with long hours in the traffic, so I figure out I better eat on the go! This is called Meal Replacement or Diet Shake. Find out more here on WebMD.

Good Morning Multigrain Beverages has a great range of meal replacement options. I have tried the following options.

1. GSure
2. Pea Protein
3. V 18 Grains

These Good Morning Multigrain Beverages are based on  18 Multigrains with 5 colours

1. Red- Red Quinoa, Red Bean and Red Rice
2. Black- Black Sesame, Black Bean, Chia Seed and almond
3. Green - Mung Bean, Green Peas, Lentils
4. Brown- Flaxseed, Lotus Seed, Buckwheat
5. Orange- Corn, Millet, Soy Bean, Brown Rice, Garbanzo Bean

It's very important to take rainbow coloured phytonutrients as each provides specific nutrients and protects us against certain ailments. Details on this article at Harvard Health Publishing Site.

Red: Rich in carotenoid lycopene, a potent scavenger of gene-damaging free radicals that seems to protect against prostate cancer as well as heart and lung disease.

Green: These foods are rich in cancer cell-blocking chemicals like sulforaphane, isocyanate and indoles.

Orange and yellow: Provide beta cryptothanxin, which may help prevent heart disease

White and brown:  This contains allicin, which has anti-tumor properties. Other foods in this group contain antioxidant flavonoids like quercetin and kaempferol.

Besides that, these 3 beverages are lactose free, vegan friendly, gluten free with no added sugar. The Multigrains used are also non GMOs. The high soluble fiber content helps to ameliorate digestive and constipation issues.

Good Morning Global Sdn Bhd is documented in the Malaysian Book of Records as the biggest multigrain based product company. Their products go through strict quality control as set out by ISO22000, HACCP, GMP and MESTI. Therefore the ingredients used are also of premium quality and safe for consumption of the whole family.

Below are the other special features:

V18 Grains

This is now fortified with ginger and prebiotic inulin which is food for healthy bacteria in the gut.  Besides the fragrant taste of multigrain, the ginger gave a spicy kick which is surprisingly pleasant and not too overpowering with powerful anti-inflammatory properties.

GSure

This provides complete nutrition and is suitable for people who need to build muscle bulk and prevent muscle loss because it contains CaHMG. Muscle loss is common with ageing and impacts negatively in the ability to perform self care. This is called sarcopenia. Lutein helps to improve vision. Omega 3&6 are great for cardiovascular health. Read more about sarcopenia on WebMD.

Pea Protein

Good Morning Pea Protein is so a complete nutrition fortified by essential and non-essential (meaning we may not need to take it from our daily diet because our bodies are able to make them) vitamins, minerals and amino acids. Remember I just talked about sarcopenia? This can actually start as early in our 30s. Especially for those who are obesed, the body is made of fat and not muscles-- aptly called sarcopenic obesity. You can imagine how difficult it is to get these people moving and regain the muscle bulk. This is when Pea Protein can help as meal replacement to lose weight yet building muscles.

What does Dr Yingzangel think?

I would love to follow the suku suku separuh healthy eating dietary needs 3 times a day. But it's simply mission impossible. Working full-time means most we dine out for lunch most weekdays. It can be a real chore to grab a nutritious and well balanced diet in Malaysia while eating out when char kuay teow and nasi lemak are some of the calorie loaded staples for many.

Good Morning beverages offer great and affordable options for supplementing and replacing our meals with quick and nutritious shakes. Most importantly, they taste really good (naturally sweetened with no added refined sugar!) Perfect for me who doesn't have the time to grab healthy lunches.

To know more, remember to visit their sites. Good Morning Global Sdn Bhd is having their 12th anniversary sales at the moment. Hurry up and get yours!

Good Morning estore
Instagram: @goodmorningglobal @goodmorning18grains 

Healthy Mung Bean Korean Pancakes

Besides dessert, do u know that mung beans are also great for savoury dishes?

INGREDIENTS

For the Pancakes:

½ cup mung beans

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

½ cup (75g) rice flour

1 cup of chopped chives (scallions and leeks are good, too)

1 cup of corn

a couple Tablespoons oil for pan-frying (I used sunflower)

For the Dipping Sauce:

3 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

¾ teaspoon sugar

¾ teaspoon gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes) or ½ teaspoon common red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

Soak mung beans in warm water for at least two hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

Drain the mung beans and add just enough water to cover and boil until soft.

Mix the pancake ingredients using food processor.

Heat a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat for about a minute then add 2 teaspoons oil to the pan. 

Place 1 Tablespoon of the pancake batter in the center.

Swirl the pan gently to redistribute the oil and cook the pancakes until the edges look browned.

Flip and cook the other side.

Repeat into batter is finished.

Make the dipping sauce by mixing all the ingredients together. 

Enjoy! Serve with the pancakes while they are still hot.

NOTES

-This recipe makes about 20 mini pancakes.

Soy Bean Bread

We love to make fresh soy milk at home. But what to do with the leftover bean paste? Sometimes we add some rice flour and deep fry the dough made into small balls. But making them into bread loaves is probably much healthier.

Ingredients

Cooked Soy Bean Paste (wet)220g

High protein flour 250g

Instant yeast 2 tsp

Sugar 2 tbsp

Salt 1/2 tsp

Sunflower oil 15g

Place the ingredients in that order into the bread pan. Be careful to separate yeast from sugar and liquid.

Choose option 1 basic bread, light crust and 500g loaf. Start the bread machine. I love my Kenwood BM250.

Make sure the dough is well mixed when the machine beeps

Tada-- warm bread after 3.5 hours!

Lazy Keto Semolina Cake

Semolina is flour made of durum wheat which is commonly used to make pasta as it is high in gluten and protein content. Read more about semolina here.

Ingredients

110g melted unsalted butter

3 eggs

Suji - 1 cup (roasted)

Coconut- 1 cup (desiccated )

Oats- 1/4 cup

Yogurt- 1/2 cup

Milk- 1/2 cup 

Baking powder- 2 tsp

Dates- 8-10 pieces

Almonds -8-10 for garnishing

Cinnamon- 1 tsp

Roast suji.

Roast Oats for 2-3 mins.

Boil pitted dates with milk. Cool aside.

Whisk eggs with butter.

Whisk yoghurt.

Blend everything for 1min.

The batter should be just quite thick.

Pour the batter in a greased baking pan.

Refrigerate the batter for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven for 10 mins at 180 degrees.

After half an hour, take out the batter and cut into shapes and place chopped almonds on each piece.

Bake the cake at 180 degrees for 30 mins.

If done, let the baking pan stay in the oven for 10 mins.

Let the cake cool down completely.  It's best eaten while warm.

Low Sugar Low Fat Baked Cassava Cake

I love posting recipes without too many descriptions. Let's get on to it!

Ingredients

1egg

0.5kg frozen peeled tapioca (cassava)

2.5 tablespoons tapioca flour 

1 tablespoon sunflower oil (extra for greasing)

25g caster sugar + 25g erythritol

260ml Ayam Brand super light coconut milk 

¼ teaspoon salt

5 fresh or frozen pandan leaves

Dessicated coconut

Instructions

Blend Pandan leaves with coconut milk. Sieve and set aside.

Peel and grate tapioca using food processor.

Remove any tough roots that may be present after shredding.

Using a large bowl, combine the tapioca, tapioca flour, extra virgin olive oil, sugar, egg, salt and pandan leave mixture, mix and stir thoroughly. 

Let the mixture infuse for about 30 minutes.

Grease a non-stick 8 inch square cake pan and pour the cake mixture into the pan.

Sprinkle dessicated coconut on top of the cake.

Preheat fan-forced oven to 160C.

Bake in the preheated oven for 80 minutes or until the top of the cake browns.

Remove from oven and let the cake cool completely before slicing with a greased knife.

Lazy Keto Bread Machine Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

1 eggs add milk until 95ml liquid 

113g mashed pumpkin

144g bread flour

48g wholemeal flour

48g coconut flour

1 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

500g loaf 

Use preset 3 wholemeal, light crust. Be sure to add the ingredients in according to the listed sequence. 

Be careful to separate yeast from all liquid and sugar in the beginning. 

Tips for using coconut flour

If you are adding coconut flour to a gluten-free flour blend or substituting it for flour in a regular recipe,  substitute coconut flour for up to 20% of that blend. The liquid and/or fat combination needs to be increased by about 20% (fat preserves the long term moisture of the final baked product). 

Coconut flour typically call for a lot of eggs. Every 1/4 cup (30.8g) coconut flour typically requires one egg for both moisture and structure.

When storing coconut flour, it’s best to keep it airtight and refrigerated since coconut flour absorbs moisture.

Kuantan Highrise Investment | Kuantan Waterfront Resort City Tour

Highrise is becoming a popular option in Kuantan City. Unlike other major capital cities in Malaysia, Kuantan is surprisingly laid back without traffic congestion. The city also maintains its old fashioned charm boasting many beaches including Teluk Cempedak, Bukit Pelindung and parks like Taman Gelora. When we first heard of Kuantan Waterfront Resort City, we were intrigued. It's a comprehensive resort city concept that encompasses 3 decades of developmental plan.

Swiss-Bel Hotel and Imperium Residence are their pilot projects. The soft launch was just in February 2020. However, we only managed to visit recently after the Movement Control Order as they were closed until May 2020.

Swiss-Bel Hotel and Imperium Residence Kuantan

Jalan Kampung Tanjung Lumpur, 

Perkampungan Tanjung Lumpur, 26060 Balok, Pahang 

https://g.co/kgs/S9H2Jr

Swiss-Bel Hotel Kuantan IG

Kuantan Waterfront Resort City IG

Imperium Residence Kuantan IG

Featuring 27 floors and 712 units, Swiss-Bel Hotel and Imperium Residence are two impressive high-rise in Kuantan City just across the river in the area called Tanjung Lumpur. The area is guarded and gated but the multilevel parking is free at the moment. Most of the relating project will be built on reclaimed land including a shopping center, a hospital, a theme park etc.

Overlooking the South China Sea, the scenery is spectacular with Tembeling Resort in view. 

Level 5 is where the gymnasium, playroom, outdoor playground, outdoor jacuzzi and the swimming pool complex is located. The reason why I said it's the swimming pool complex because there are multiple levels/types of pools featuring a river shaped pool, an infinity pool and a children pool which is also a mini water theme park. Warning! It can be extremely difficult to drag the children from the area. It took us 1.5hours. Lol.

We had the chance to view both the studio unit as well as the family unit with 2 bedrooms. Each type is also divided into city view versus ocean view. It's a completely different experience to see Kuantan so high up. A luxurious existence indeed.

For foodies like us, all day dining options like Swiss Cafe offer classic Malaysian and Western food choices with a breathtaking Seaview. 

Our lunch date- fish& chips, seafood penne, lemon cream seabass with a refreshing PAM (pineapple, apple and mint juice without sugar). Taste was great, ingredients were fresh but portion was on the small side and we hoped there was more variety on the menu.

3pm onwards there's also high tea set for 2 if you feel peckish. Our set had fried breaded chicken breasts, blackcurrant jelly, peanut butter brownies  , scones with cream and strawberry jam. Also a huge pot of hot coffee and fresh fruits. The set was enough to feed 2 adults and 2 children if you are not too hungry. We preferred a stronger coffee though.

The opposite restaurant, called THERE restaurant,  is a fairly good Western/Italian restaurant. Dinner was served-- braised duck leg, braised lamb leg, seafood bouillabaisse, spaghetti carbonara, grilled chicken chop. 

Night view of the area.

If u feel adventurous, there's also activities like paddle boat, cruise, horse riding and mirror in the sky photo taking. 

For those interested to have a look, please do contact Imperium Residence to redeem a tour of the property as well as a complimentary high tea set. We had a very enjoyable afternoon and the area is definitely great for families with young children like us to hang out.