24hr liver and gall detox program 24小时清肠胃净肝胆排毒疗程

My hubby asked me a very intriguing question yesterday. I felt it was intriguing cos he was never one of those very health-concerned type. 'I have read some articles and got to know that most of the biscuits/ crackers sold commercially are cancer-causing. Is that true? If yes, what can we eat instead?' ... Me: Yes, true to a certain extent. Nowadays these commercially available snacks, even baked goods like bread and cakes, all contains hydrogenated fats or shortenings, flavorings, additives which are potentially accumulative in our body and can be cancer-causing in the long term. BUT *I place very heavy emphasis on the BUT, we are no saint, and we won't be able to make sure all the food we eat are 100% clean, and even though I operate an organic shop, I still do not advocate that, cos you'll become super paranoid and stressed, and .. if one day, you get cancer, you'll get sooo depressed, cos you've done so much to prevent it and yet ... ' We can only practice healthy eating and indulge in moderation.  The causes of cancer is multi-factorial. We will not be able to prevent it by just avoiding ONE type of food, cos cancer causing agents are everywhere. Just look at our best-friend, our phone, our laptop, the TV, they are one of the strongest promoter of cancer! 10 years ago, when I frequently conduct health talks when I worked in KL, I used to tell people that 1 in 4 will get cancer, and the stats continue to slowly change to 1 in 3 and so forth. I am not too sure of what the stats is like now. But personally I still continue to eat healthier, live happily and enjoy every moment with my loved ones. One thing I do practice frequently is this detox program - 24hr liver and gall detox program, to help cleanse toxins build up in my body and increase the rate that I process toxins out from my own body. I should be doing once every 6 months, but I have been quite lagged lately, so here I am doing it again, about 10 months late. 

I have been advocating and selling this detox program in my premis Just Health Sandakan for over 3 years. Personally, it has helped me maintain my metabolism, my weight and helped to achieve glowing skin, so whenever I felt that my skin gets dull and lack-lustre, I knew it's time I go onto this program. Many people have inquired and benefited tremendously from it but I have never blogged about it. I felt it's time I share about it as I go on the program. To me, the 24hr detox program starts officially on Saturday (it's only Wednesday today) that's because 3 days before the detox, we would drink a sachet of the green enzyme drink every morning to prep our body. Throughout this 3 days, we would eat a balanced diet and to make sure we do drink at least 2-3 litres of water. The 3-days prep phase is very important as the consumption of the green enzyme drink helps to remove constipated stools from our body and enable us to detoxify better during the official 'detox' day. 

WHO would benefit from this detox program: 

• Those with toxin problems, fatigue, poor immunity 
• High cholesterol, body fat, hypertension 
• Indigestion, constipation 
• Allergies 
• Skin problem, eg acne, skin allergy, eczema 
• Migraine, arthritis, joint pain 
• Hormonal imbalance 

One of my very first client back in year 2012 who did this program was someone with recurring bloating and poor skin tone. She has also been tested with a few small size gallstones in her body. She did this. Two weeks later, she came back to the shop, happily, she announced that the gallstones were gone (she did another test to check). And it was quite apparent that she has lost some weight from it, and her skin tone was glowing! She has also shown us some photos of the 'output' and there were a lot of the 'emerald green stones'  which was a sign of liver duct and gall-duct congestion and toxins build up, which explained the poor skin tone. 

28th Jan 2015, Wednesday  - Prep Day 1 

I do not start my detox program officially on Saturday 31st Jan, but 3 days prior to the program, I need to go on a less-meat and less-oil diet, plus taking a daily dose of Green enzyme to prep my body. Doing this will help me to rid off constipated stools and toxins from my system, allowing more liver and gallbladder deposits to be removed during the detox program later on. So this morning, I had meehoon for breakfast. For lunch, both my little and I had macaroni in soup. At night, I had brown rice with fish and veg for dinner. I shouldn't take any caffeine during this few days even as I prepped my body for the detox, but coffee has been such an addiction to me, I still took a few sip of coffee this morning. 

Changes or effects on my body: Not much noticed. 

Lunch: Macaroni in soup

29th Jan 2015, Thurs - Prep Day 2 

Since I'm going on a less-meat and less-oil diet this few days for the detox, I've made roasted pumpkin and tomato soup for breakfast, and angel hair pasta and mushroom with roasted pumpkin sauce for lunch. For dinner, I had little rice with chicken and veg. 

Changes or effects on body, after having my Green enzyme drink, a couple of hours later, I started to experience headache. This is quite normal, cos I had this too the last round I did the detox. This is quite a common symptoms due to toxins being dislodged from the body. I tried not to take medication for it, and just made myself take it easy and drank more water. This round, I have also experienced body aches especially near upper back and shoulder. Went to toilet for bowel elimination twice today. Normally I go once per day. 

30th Jan 2015, Fri - Prep Day 3

Today I made banana cheese cupcakes for the little fella, so I had that with half a mug of organic walnut and sesame drink as breakfast. 

The headache from yesterday had eased but during the evening, my body was itching all over. This is another symptoms of slow body detox. I felt that this round, my symptoms are more apparent and more severe. 

31st Jan 2015, Sat, DETOX Day 1

I will be embarking on the 24hr full course detox program later on at 1pm today. So I started the day with a light breakfast of a mug of organic walnut and sesame drink with a banana. For lunch, I had about 3 small bowls of carrot and pumpkin oat and rice congee. 

1st Feb 2015, Sun, DETOX Day 2 

It's the first day of February, but to me, to my body, I have not felt so refreshed and 'light' since so long. I have gone to the toilet and 'eliminated' some toxins long stucked in my body for 3 rounds this morning, and I'm truly elated to see the amount that came out (see following photos for output), I have done this detox program twice before, but I have never gotten such good report cards before. There are a mixture of toxin categories that came out, the bright emerald color are liver and gallbladder deposits, the brownish yellow/ greenish yellow ones are the fatty substances from my body, and the dark colored ones are residues from chemicals and medications consumed. 

Changes to the body: I felt very light and my bulging tummy felt flat, never felt so flat before. Even though I'm a little tired from waking up at 6am due to the toilet call, but mentally I felt refreshed. I weighed myself after the few rounds of toilet call, I have lost 1.5kg (not as amazing, compared to my detox buddy F in KL who have lost 3kg, or my detox buddy M who lost 2kg), but weight loss isn't my main call for action for the detox. My intention is to clear off some toxins accumulated and for my skin to get better. I felt that my skin is healing slower from those pimple growth, and this prompted me for this round of detox session.

2nd Feb 2015, Monday 

I slept very well last night, and wake up feeling and looking very refreshed! In fact, when I put on my skin care and foundation in the morning, I can feel that my skin is taking the skin care and foundation very well! Wondering if this is mere psychological. LOL. I weighed myself again, knowing that some of those weight lost maybe due to water loss from the body. Actual weight loss is 1.3kg. Also lost an inch from the waist and hip. Hoooray! I gotta make sure I maintain this till CNY.

My body fat percentage has dropped from 24.8 to 22.2%! That's a whooping 2.6% drop! 

What does this program consist of: 

• Green enzyme drink sachet - enhance lymph detoxification, relieve constipation and bloatedness 
• Organic apple juice - provides natural fruit sugar for energy and pectin that will binds to toxins in our intestines so they can be effectively excreted
• Royal Joy herbal tea that is made of green tea, roselle, grapeseeds, honeysuckle which will helps provide antioxidants that boost cell vitality and remove heavy metals build up from our body 
• All nutrition meal drink that is made from apple, pineapple, lotus seeds, jobstears etc that will provide additional amount of bulk fiber to our body. It is also a meal replacement during the actual day of detox as one dinner will be skipped that night. 
• Probiotics - to be taken after detoxification, to help replenish friendly bacteria that may have gotten lost during detoxification 
• Organic lemon juice or grapefruit juice and olive oil - this is a very important combo for this detox, it is to be taken during the night of the first detox day, taking this combo helps to soften liver and gall stones thus making them easier to be flushed out

A detailed information sheet will be provided that will guide you on your consumption during the detox day. For enquiries, please do not hesitate to email me at justhealthsandakan@gmail.com 

Stir-fried organic pumpkin ramen

Every morning, I felt like I am racing with the ticking clock, to prepare his breakfast snacks (for school) and lunch in an hour and then get myself ready and him ready for school by 8am. I wasn't as disciplined as this prior to this. Before this, if I woke up late, I can just let him eat whatever that the nanny eats. But now that he isn't going to the nanny's anymore, instead he comes home after school, I gotta make sure he has his lunch prepped ahead. 

This morning, I made him stir-fried organic pumpkin ramen. He loves noodles and pastas. He eats rice, but his favorites are noodles and pastas especially when cooked soft. So I love these series of organic ramen. They turn tender, yet still maintain their texture when cooked. 

Here's a simple recipe for the stir-fried pumpkin ramen (serves two to three) I always make extra for my own lunch 

*Organic pumpkin ramen
*Black bean soy sauce (thick) as seasoning 
*2-3 cloves garlic, minced
*Shredded vege like carrot, taugeh, onioin etc 
*1-2 eggs
*Salt
*Meat eg chicken, pork etc

1. Boil noodle in a pot of boiling water until tender.
2. In a wok, heat up 2tbsp grapeseed oil. Stir in garlic and sliced vege. Stir-fry until aromatic.
3. Stir in meat and stir fry till brown and cooked through.
4. Stir in boiled ramen. Season with black bean soy sauce (thick) and salt. Push the fried ramen to side of wok. Break in 1-2 eggs. Gently fry. Combine with ramen and veg.

The other breakfast snacks that I've prepared for him for school was a simple roast sweet potato. They are easy to make and delicious eat. So easy, I forgot about them. Gotta thanks my buddy Fei Tseh for sharing with me what she prepared for her little girl H. I peel the sweet potatoes, cut them into long chunks, place on roasting or baking pan, drizzle with organic grapeseed oil, season with salt. Preheat oven to 180degC and roast for about 15-20min. 

Steamed pandan milk cupcakes

Happy New Year peeps! 

I haven't blogged for so long. Been busy. Vacation. Work trip. Busy in shop. Little one started going to playschool. Etc etc. Anyways, despite all these, I managed to kick my own butt to make some nice treats for the little fella. The hubby has been away for a few days so it was just the lil' fella and I during the weekend. He has been behaving so well, I got surprised. I realized that he's especially well-behaved when there's not many of us around. When the grandparent, the aunties and uncles are around, his mischievous side reveals. 

I made these steamed pandan milk cupcakes for our Sunday treats. It smells so good. I plucked those pandan leaves from my garden and blitzed them with milk, was intending to make pandan chiffon cake w/ them, but was disappointed to realize I haven't got cornflour at home to make the cake flour required to make chiffon cakes. Oh, by the way, if you have not known, to make cake flour from all purpose flour, here's how you can do it - to make 1 cup of cake flour, just take 1 cup of all purpose flour, take away 2 tablespoon of all purpose flour, replace with 2 tablespoon of corn flour. Cake flour renders a soft and cotton-y texture to the chiffon cake. I have tried making chiffon with all purpose flour. Failed terribly. The cake rose nicely, but it collapsed when I sliced them, and wasnt as soft as the ones baked with cake flour. So I randomly picked a recipe for pandan steamed cakes from google and found this, which to my surprise, it tastes good! It was a surprise to me, cos when preparing it, I felt that the batter was a little on the thick side, almost like the texture of creamy peanut butter, yet it turn out quite soft and crumbly. I had some extra left over, so I kept them in the fridge. The next day, I steamed them for another 5 min and had them for breakfast. Tastes as good! 

Recipe adapted from Peng's Kitchen

This recipe yields 8-9 cupcakes 

• 2 eggs, medium size 
• 100g sugar (I used 80g brown sugar) 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 60g corn oil (I used virgin coconut oil) 
• 100g pandan milk (taken from the pandan milk I have made from blending together 8 pandan leaves and 200g fresh milk)
• 200g all purpose flour, sifted 
• 2tsp double action baking powder (I omitted the baking soda, and used 2.5tsp baking powder) 
• 1/2 tsp baking soda  

Method 

1. Using an electric whisk, beat eggs, sugar, salt and oil until thick and frothy. 
2. Beat in pandan milk till combine. 
3. Sift in flour, baking powder and fold till smooth batter is formed. 
4. Fill up cupcake liner till 3/4 full. 
5. Steam for about 12min. 

I was supposed to blog about my trips. But there was so many backlog on the trips to update, I get lazy when I think about it. Anyways, here's one of my favorite photo from my trip to Taiwan with the little one. Here's my babywearing little J with my I-angel hipseat carrier (model name: Josh). 

  

First visit to fun fair

So there was a fun fair in town, kinda like a temporarily put up mini theme park with rides and games booth. We pass by it every morning I send the lil' fella to his nanny's. He's been telling us, let's go there and have a 'walk walk'. I've been telling him, yea yea.. we will go there, one day. But deep down inside, I felt reluctant to bring him there, cos it's a temporarily made up fun fair, how flimsy are the rides and frames gonna be? Oh well, we had to go cos we still have to fulfill our promises. So we thought, we will just bring him for a walk-around. 

Ahhh... seeing these photos, you'll know we didn't just go in for a walk-around. He went onto the rides, alone. I wasn't too sure how my hubby felt, my heart was pumping fast cos for G sake, there were no height restrictions sort of rules and there wasn't any safety belt on the rides (Okay, for I have allowed him to go onto the rides, I shouldn't be complaining at all.. but .. just saying..). With his height, I doubt he would be allowed to go on. Oh well.. he loved it! It was heart-warming seeing the beam and grin on his little face. I hoped there was fear in him (cos that was his first ride, even though it wasn't a fast spinning one, but it did felt fast to me.. and knowing there was fear in him would make ME felt much better cos there was surely fear in me, worrying that he would stand up half way, wanting to be let out...) .. ah .. but again, maybe I was wrong. He held onto the rail obediently throughout the ride and was seen enjoying every second every moment of his entire ride. He even let go one of his hands half way through the ride, and the worrisome me had to remind him to place his hands back onto the rail. Bless him. 

Twas just a short visit. But it surely was a good one for him. We bought him an helium balloon on way back. He held on tight to the balloon even when going to bed. So the spiderman balloon was floating right next to my pillow at night. Nice!  

Last night, I also found out that my gym acquaintance from back then when I was in KL, Eileen Khoo has passed away at the tender age of 37. I hadn't got the chance to know her properly but she was a lovely and bubbly lass. I'm glad that she now doesn't need to suffer anymore. Eileen babe, rest in peace. 

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then the entire life to forget them. You'll always be in our memmory, dear Eileen. 

Breadmaker black sesame hee pan (kikaku)

My clients are getting sick of just baking bread with their Donlim breadmaker. So they are asking if I can come up with more recipes, other than bread. Yesterday, I made soft and fluffy banana and walnut cake with it. This morning I made these Hakka delicacies with the breadmaker. I kneaded the dough and let it proof in the breadmaker, then steamed them in the steamer. The lil' fella loved them. He had about 2-3 of them. I had 3 myself. We love the chewiness but at the same time, also fluffy, especially when warm. 

This is a sponge dough recipe. It requires additional steps of preparation. I have made some simple dough method, but I felt that the texture of the kikaku is quite dense, so I have always prefer those made with this sponge dough. You can refer to those easier ones if you felt that this recipe is a little too cumbersome for you. Here's the link for the easier straight dough recipe. 

Sponge dough: 

• 1tsp active dry yeast 
• 200g all purpose flour
• 150g black sesame drink / pandan juice (if making a pandan heepan) 

Combine all ingredients. Cover and proof overnight at room temperature. 

Main dough: 

• 100g all purpose flour (I have used 85g all purpose flour + 15g cornflour) 
• 150g glutinous rice flour 
• 125g water / pandan juice (if making a pandan heepan) 
• 125g sugar (I've replaced with 75g brown sugar) 
• 1/2 tsp active dry yeast 
• Some oil for rubbing on palms when moulding the hee pan later on. 

1. Place all ingredients, including the sponge dough into the breadpan. Select mode no. 6 for knead (和面）。 Press Start 启动/停止。Let it knead for 10minutes. Press Stop 启动/停止。 
2. Select mode no. 8 for Proof (发酵）。 Adjust TIME 时间 to 01:00 (1 hour). 
3. After an hour, bring dough out of breadpan. Punch out trapped air. Shape into 50g ball and place on a steam paper or banana leaf. Press to flatten. 
4. Let proof for another 15min. Steam on medium heat for 10min. 

中文翻译

面种: 

• 1tsp 酵母 
• 200g 普通面粉
• 150g 黑芝麻奶 

在一个碗内将以上材料混合。盖上保险纸 ， 放在室内室温发酵过夜。 

主面团：

• 100g　普通面粉 （我用85g 普通面粉 + 15g 生粉) 
• 150g 糯米粉
• 125g 水
• 125g 糖 (我只用了75g 黄糖) 
• 1/2 tsp 酵母 
• 油　（整形的时候抹在手板上用）　

1. 将所有材料，包括面种，放入面包桶内。启动菜单 6  和面。 和面 10分钟，按停止。　 
2. 启动菜单 8  (发酵）。 调整时间为１小时。　按启动／停止。　 
3. 一小时之后，　将面团取出。敲打以将空气敲走。　将面团分成50克的小圆形，　放在香蕉叶上压扁。　
4. 发酵15分钟. 中火蒸10分钟。　 

Buttery cornflake cookies

It's my son's second day at preschool today. Tell me if you're like me. I have a feeling I'm the one more excited than him. I wake up early to prepare two special treats for him to bring to preschool. Well, not that he's not excited. He loves being in school. Everytime asked, he told me, school is fun! (oh well, I shall keep track and we'll see how long he'll think school is actually fun!). After he got home from his preschool, he has been singing all day long! I asked him, do you wanna go to school tomorrow? He said YES! So I guess it's only fair to say we are both equally excited about him going to school. 

Yesterday, I prepared him pasta with minced chicken in creamy pumpkin sauce, and a pot of yogurt. Food like that may be messy, and I do wonder what the other parents prep for their kids. Anyways, I shall make something that's easier and less messy to eat today, ie buttery cornflake cookies (a recipe shared by a mommy from Healthy Food for My Baby facebook group) and banana muffin with chocolate chips and cinnamon streusel, recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction's blog. Both are delicious and very moorish!! When the cookies were just done, I have been munching on them, and I shouldn't cos they would give me sore throat but they are too delicious!! (Note: They are a little soft and chewy when fresh out of the oven, after about 15 to 20min when cooled down, they will turn crispy). For the muffin's recipe, please refer here. 

Here's the recipe for the buttery cornflake cookies, recipe shared by Yvonne Woi from Healthy Food for My Baby facebook group. 

This recipe yielded about 30 cookies

• 125g unsalted butter, chopped and softened to room temperature
• 60g brown sugar 
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla essence 
• 1 1/4 cup self raising flour (or replaced with all purpose flour plus 2tsp baking powder) 
• 1tbsp milk
• 1 1/2 cup cornflakes, lightly crushed 
• 1/2 cup craisins/ raisins/ chocolate chips (I omitted these)

1. Preheat oven to 175deg C. 
2. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Sift in flour. Add in milk and combine the dough. 
3. Add in crushed cornflakes. 
4. Line baking tray with parchment paper. Scoop the dough using a teaspoon, roll into balls, flatten very lightly with folk or finger (just very lightly, in face, if you want your cookies to be thick-ish, you wont even need to flatten it). 
5. Bake for about 15min or until cookies turn golden brown. 
6. Leave to cool. 

Banana muffin with choco chips and cinnamon streusel

It's my son's second day at preschool today. Tell me if you're like me. I have a feeling I'm the one more excited than him. I wake up early to prepare two special treats for him to bring to preschool. Well, not that he's not excited. He loves being in school. Everytime asked, he told me, school is fun! (oh well, I shall keep track and we'll see how long he'll think school is actually fun!). After he got home from his preschool, he has been singing all day long! I asked him, do you wanna go to school tomorrow? He said YES! So I guess it's only fair to say we are both equally excited about him going to school. 

Yesterday, I prepared him pasta with minced chicken in creamy pumpkin sauce, and a pot of yogurt. Food like that may be messy, and I do wonder what the other parents prep for their kids. Anyways, I shall make something that's easier and less messy to eat today, ie buttery cornflake cookies (a recipe shared by a mommy from Healthy Food for My Baby facebook group) and banana muffin with chocolate chips and cinnamon streusel, recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction's blog. Both are delicious and very moorish!! When the cookies were just done, I have been munching on them, and I shouldn't cos they would give me sore throat but they are too delicious!! (Note: They are a little soft and chewy when fresh out of the oven, after about 15 to 20min when cooled down, they will turn crispy). For the cookies' recipe, please refer here. 

Here's the recipe for the banana muffin with chocolate chips and cinnamon streusel

This recipe yielded about 8-9 muffins 

Muffin

• 1.5 cups all purpose flour 
• 1.5 tsp baking powder (I omitted the baking soda from the original recipe) 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar 
• 50g butter, softened to room temperature, chopped
• 40g grapeseed oil 
• 1 large egg
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed 
• 3tbsp plain yogurt / milk

Streusel topping (You may opt out the topping, but I felt that the topping makes it extra yummy!) 

• 1tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/4 cup dark muscovado sugar
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 185deg C. 
2. Make the streusel first by combining all ingredients in a bowl. Set aside. 
3. In another bowl, sift in flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 
4. In another bowl, beat together sugar, chopped butter, oil and egg until fluffy. Beat in mashed banana and yogurt. Sift in dry ingredients until everything is just combined. Do not overmix. 
5. Fill muffin liner with about 3/4 full batter. Top with streusel topping.
6. Bake muffins for 10min at 185deg C. Lower temperature to 175deg and bake for another 10min.