Snack Box for Fruits & Veg Day (wk7'15)

Missy's birthday was on Valentine's day so we decided to celebrate her birthday in school on a friday.

I have totally forgotten that I still need to prepare her snack box too! So immediately after dropping Sher in school, I rushed home and see what I could prepare for her before her snack time while also trying to touch up piping the last rim of her birthday cake. The cake was baked with the help of her Godma the night before, and yes, its a strawberry shortcake.

Oh yes, back to her snack box, as you have already know, Sher loves strawberries to the infinity and beyond so naturally it has to be in the main cast of her snack box since its also her birthday celebration. And at the same time, I decided to gave her something new to try (in case not many of you know, Sher is a picky eater / fussy eater, so her fear factor food meter is really limited)

..... Edamame!!

Some cute food picks hope it entice her curiosity to try them....

Some facts about Edamame.

Edamame is commonly seen in Japanese restaurants.

They are rich in Proteins which can helps in muscles mass, Folate, vitamin K & Calcium.

Dietary fiber aids to lower the cholesterol level. Edamame contains isoflavones and saponins also know as antioxidants. These antioxidants also protect the body from the effects of harmful free radicals.

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edamame
http://www.seedguides.info/edamame/

Thanks,
Karen Lim
9843-4599

Class shutdown a day for sanitization work due to HFMD on 23-Jan'15

It's been a week since the HFMD notice was made known to the parents and the reported cases had gone up to 4. There was many suspected cases everyday and students who were on the brink of body temperature 37.5deg were monitor throughout the class, flu, runny nose, cough etc were asked to go home and rest.

Sher, were spotted with 2 spots on her tongue on 19-Jan'15 morning and after a discussion with her teacher, we decided to keep her at home for a day for observations. The teacher wanted me to get a letter of clearance from the doctor.

To be frank, I was really thinking of going to see the doctor to get the clearance letter as a proof that Missy do not have HFMD. But I stand firmed on my believe in the science to boost her immunity during this crucial period in her school. I recalled that Cactus has very high anti-inflammatory & anti-oxidant properties, so I get her 2 sachets of Millennium beverage. As amazing as you can see below, the 2 red spots were gone the next day and she's well received in school again.

http://www.eexcelasia.com/EN/Product/SV/SJTL/product19.aspx####

Unfortunately on 22-Jan'15, a student from the afternoon session came in with full blown HFMD symptom (fever, blisters on hand), the teachers immediately asked the parent to send the student home and the whole class had to be dismissed.

Hence, I received a call from Sher's teacher that the class had to be shutdown for sanitization purposes tomorrow. We also received news that there are many new cases of HFMD in our school sea as reported by one doctor. One of the classmate's Daddy also succumbed to the disease.

We truly believe we can fight this dreadful HFMD together and bring the school back to normal again.

HFMD is a viral infection and there is no medication. It depends very much on our immune systems to recover from the illnesses.

If you would like to know more on how to defend your little ones from the common diseases, do free free to contact me at 9843-4599 for a non-obligatory discussion.

Reference:
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-cactus-leaf-diet-8868.html

Thanks,
Karen Lim
9843-4599

Snack Box for Fruits & Vege Day (wk3'15)

I received a message from the teacher on this Wednesday that effective this week, every Friday is a FRUITIVEGS FRIDAYS. Meaning all the students are encouraged to prepare their snack box with fruits or vegetable to promote healthy lifestyle from young through a wholesome diet.

Last year, when Sher was in Nursery, she was given apples during snack time on every Monday which has been practiced by the school since 2012. This year, they hope to inculcating good eating habits from a young age and foster a bond with family.

Missy was really excited about the coming Friday and was telling me that she can only bring fruits and vegetables, NO Bread, NO Cakes, NO Biscuits.

Ok, here's the convo:

Missy: "I only want Strawberries !"

Being a perfect mom (well, i admit, i'm trying hard to be), I said "Let's have Broccoli too!"

Missy: "No, i only want Strawberries" (Strawberries has always been her favourite since she can talk)

K: "But its Fruits & Vege day....."

and the "NO" "BUT" was going on for a while for the night.....

Here comes Friday morning, we got a small snack box and filled up with..... Tada.... Strawberries & Broccoli !

Some facts about the reds & greens we see here.

Strawberries: has an excellent source of Vitamin C & high anti-oxidant .

Helps to counter free radical, counter inflammation

Rich in Vitamin B complex and folate

ORAC value of about 3577µmol TE per 100 grams (oxygen radical absorbance capacity, a measure of antioxidant strength)

Broccoli: Naturally rich in Vitamin C, B-complex, K

Abundance in Vitamin A, essential for good eye-sight, prevents macular degeneration of the retina.

Excellence source of Folates, which is essential for growing kids to promote cellular growth and regeneration.

ORAC value of 1632µmol TE per 100 grams.

Reference:

http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/strawberries.html

http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/broccoli.html

Thanks,
Karen Lim
9843-4599

What is Nutritional Immunology?

Nutritional Immunology or immunonutrition, is the science that studies the link between the food we eat and our immune system.

Everyone of us are born with the best doctor in the world - our immune system. By nourishing our body with the essential nutrients, we can have a healthy immune system, thereby can prevent or combat diseases like cancer, diabetes, influenza and live longer.

Such foods can help us recover faster without the use of medications when we fall ill.

Our body will also be able to perform the functions of defence, cleanse & repair more effectively.

Nutritional Immunology advocates on prevention is better than cure and focus on strengthening the immune system by consuming wholesome plant based food which is rich in Antioxidants, Phytochemicals & Polysaccharides to protect our body from the harmful effects of the free radicals, unhealthy lifestyle and diets in everyday life.

What are all these nutrients and why are they so important to us?

Antioxidants are compounds that can prevent body cell damages through oxidation and slow down aging and also anti-inflammatory agents to reduce the severity of arthritis and bronchitis.

Phytochemicals gives fruits and vegetables their colour, flavour and aroma. Phytochemicals protect these plants from sunlight and to ensure their survival, processes enormous healing properties to nourish and boost the immune system.

Polysaccharides are long chains of sugars found commonly in mushrooms, increases natural killer  (NK) cells activities by 38 to 49 times, which prevents healthy cells or benign tumours from becoming malignant.

Nutritional Immunology not only supports taking the plant food in their wholesome form, but also how the processes of plant foods like the plant species and parts, harvesting time and processing procedures, plant parts to retain its optimum quality and quantity of antioxidants, phytochemicals and polysaccharides.
Examples: ginseng berry has 4 times more immunity supporting ginsenosides as compared to the roots which we are more familiar with? Banana has more nutritious value when they are ripen on the trees rather than we picked them while they are green and get transported to our table? Grape seeds which we always discard has OPC (oligomeric procyanidins) is effective against heart and retinal diseases.

Thanks to Nutritional Immunology, we now have a better understanding of proper nourishing through plant foods, prolonging the length and quality of lives is not impossible but achievable!

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/nutritional_immunology
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/122/3_Suppl/591.full.pdf
http://hnrca.tufts.edu/research-laboratories/nutritional-immunology/
Enjoying Health & Longevity with Nutritional Immunology by Jau-Fei Chen, PhD

Thanks,
Karen Lim
9843-4599