Struggling.

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I’ve hit an all time low again. My weight loss progress isn’t working out all too well, I’m now 84kgs, and I guess I’m not okay.

Problem: Every time I think about my weight, I grab the nearest snack and eat it all. Worse still, it’s usually a bag of crisps or biscuits.
Solution: Don’t buy them. Don’t eat them.

It sounds so easy, but it is not for me. I keep giving myself excuses, like “Oh, but it’s exam time and so you need more food to concentrate”. And then I buy all that bad stuff and the cycle goes on and on again.

Problem: I drink too much Coca-Cola
Solution: Home blended fruit juice
Problem with solution: Massive sugar intake ( ~500g in less than a month )

No idea what to do with that.

I had a dilemma a few weeks ago of whether to go back or not during summer because going back would be pointless since I’d just lie down in bed for more than 16 hours a day… which is completely opposite of what I should do! I’ve discussed it with my sister and I’ve decided to go back and:

  • Get a work internship for at least 2 weeks
  • Get a teaching internship for another 2.
  • Get a part time job at a tuition school (if my parents allow me)
  • Sign up for the gym, get a personal trainer and work out at least 3 times a week or join those fitness classes
  • Go for a jog at least once a week at Tasek
  • Keep to this plan

I’m feeling so uncertain at the moment, it’s crazy. Well, on the bright side, my visa is ready and I can’t wait to go to Morocco next week!

Chicken Congee Recipe

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Congee keeps you full despite being mainly water based. As you can see from the recipe, only 1 cup of rice is used. 1 cup of rice is 2 meals, but by making it into congee, it’s for up to 5 meals. The taste is far better than rice, and if you’re a student like me, you buy Sainsbury’s basics Long Grain rice, which tastes absolutely horrible on its own. I usually add chicken stock to add flavour to it, but this is another alternative way of cooking rice.

It saves you both time and money. After cooking the congee, if you have extras, just pop it in the fridge and consume it within 4 days. Just heat the amount you need for your meal and you’re done!

During my trip to Singapore, I was on a plain congee diet because I could not eat proteins (I had a horrible case of urticaria). I roughly know what tastes are in the porridge, and this recipe is based on my experiments. It serves about 5 people, feel free to try it.

Ingredients

  • 1 (rice cooker) cup uncooked long grain rice
  • 400g Chicken Breast, cut into slices
  • Ginger, cut finely into strips
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 Scallion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon pre-fried Shallots
  • 1 teaspoon pre-fried garlic
  • ½ Salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoon Light Soya Sauce
  • ½ teaspoon Dark Soya Sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Ground White Pepper
  • 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (optional)

Method

  1. Add the chicken breast, 2 cups of water and ginger and bring to boil.
  2. Once the chicken is cooked, add in the rice and remaining water.
  3. Turn to low heat to simmer for about 30 minutes with the lid on (or longer, depending on how watery you’d like it to be).
  4. Add the garlic, light and dark soya sauce, pepper and salt.
  5. Simmer for another 30 minutes.
  6. Stir in sesame oil( and shaoxing wine).
  7. Garnish with scallion and shallots and serve.

Oh and this is the most optional step. If you want to add an egg, do that before step 5. Don’t beat or stir it, just leave it to boil.

Enjoy your congee :D

Not ready

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I am dreading my first ever exam in university. Not good.

I’ve been trying to study, but the best times to do so are at 11pm when the damn corridor is quiet. I’m sick of hearing them play football all the time. I’m so tempted to call the Resident Tutor / Security because I cannot concentrate. Ugh.

And I’m homesick too. I’ve been cooking a lot of home food to compensate though. Green bean soup, black bean soup, congee, you name it. And my finances don’t look too amazing at the moment. I owe money and I have a little over 300 in my savings. But hey, I’m going to Morocco and I’ve paid for *most of* my trip! But then again I’ll have to pay more when I spend on necessities / buy things there. I’ve also got a blender.

On a side note, I do REGRET ordering a printer from Jessops. My order hasn’t been shipped yet and I did not see that it would take 28 working days to arrive because it is a backorder. And I need to print my notes for exams goddamnit! And the cost of printing in the library is ridiculously high and so hell no am I going to use that. I’ll just study off the computer and pray really hard that it goes in my head.

I do not intend to sleep until 4am. So that I can wake up at 2pm, get ready for exams and then cry.