Hazy Daze Quick Oat Porridge

Today's a holiday in Sg-land and I made effort to get up especially early to get myself some exercise. Then I checked the air pollution readings and went back to bed.

Yes, it's really that bad.
Air quality had been "Very Unhealthy" since this morning. Schools will be closed for tomorrow so our kids and teachers won't be made to suffocate in class.

What a waste of a brilliant holiday today. Everyone's hiding at home. McDonald's and KFC aren't even delivering today (which is, of course, the right thing to do to protect their riders).

On a day like this, I'm not even keen to go to the kitchen to cook a proper meal - my kitchen happens to be sheltered but open-air, and exposed to the elements.

But a Poserpup can't starve on a day like this, can she? Food is King. I'm not gonna stay home hangry.

Easy recipe for a day indoors: Instant oatmeal porridge.
- 2 cups instant oat
- 1 egg
- 1 cubed chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons fried ikan bilis
- 1 tablespoon chopped spring onion
- 2.5 to 3 cups hot water

Nagalot loves ikan bilis and she always keeps a jar on standby in the fridge. These are either store bought ready to eat kind, or sometimes she gets the dried ones and fries them herself.

I have this box of chopped spring onions that were leftovers from my last major cook-off. I washed and dried them, then chopped and stored them in the freezer. Quite a convenient trick to make boring instant food a little more colourful and appetizing.

Also, we ALWAYS have cubed stock at home, it's like an obsession. Definitely these can't beat the home made ones but, well, we want an easy meal on a day like this don't we?

These are the only cheats we'll use in the recipe.

To prepare the oat porridge,
1) Freshly boil a jug of water and add to a large bowl. I'm using the electric kettle kind that you find in hotel rooms. The size gives just about the water we need. The water needs to be really really hot.

2) Dissolve cubed stock in hot water.

3) Crack the egg, and add in slowly to the bowl of hot water while stirring the hot water in a circular motion. I like to go for the 'egg drop soup' type of egg texture.

4) Add the instant oats and stir to avoid clumps.

5) When the liquid is mostly absorbed by the oats and the oats become a creamy texture, the porridge is almost done. Top the porridge with the fried ikan bilis and spring onion.

6) Pour just a little more hot water over the spring onions (mine was from the freezer so I need to make sure they thaw out and are slightly blanched).

7) Adjust the texture to your liking, adding a little more hot water if need be. Add meat or veg if you happen to have them in your fridge. I happened to have bought some mini peppers 2 days back. I popped them into the air fryer on max heat for 10mins and when the outside was blackened and soft, I peeled off the skin and added them to my porridge.

And voila! Enjoy your slightly nutritious, hazy day instant meal!

<3

Polly Wants a Cracker

But she's already had one too many.

It's the 3rd day of the Lunar New Year and I'm already suffering the symptoms of over-consumption of new year snacks. Even if I ignored the calories, the amount of trans-fat and carcinogens I'm taking into my body over the last week would cause my downfall within the next five to ten years. All this eating, coupled with a bout of dry weather is making me dehydrated all the time, bringing the onset of a sore throat and a couple of mouth ulcers.

Bad, bad, greedy Polly.

Time to start on my detox tomorrow. No doubt its not scientifically proven to work but I think it will make me feel a bit better about myself. :)

❤

Doggie-Bag It: Body wash product review - Silk Bath vs Johnson & Johnson's

I don't usually do product reviews - think this is my first. I think the main reason is that I don't like to play the baddie and slam a product for being inadequate. 

However triggered by a rash eruption due to sensitive skin, I really am inspired to do this post today, with my target audience being people with sensitive skin and living in humid climate.

Silk Bath in Rosehip and Peach extract by SilkPro

Description: On a recent mass running event the participants were given a goodie bag with various types of trial-sized products. Included within was a sample sized 300ml Silk Bath body wash in flavour of rose hip and peach. It is enriched with Silk Crystals to supposedly moisturize and protect your skin against harmful UV rays. The liquid is yellow and has observable glittery silky looking precipitate.

Smell: On first use, I took a whiff of the body wash and found the smell to be... awful. I am a 'smell girl' and smells mean a lot to me. I used this Silk Bath concoction, and with each wash, increasingly found it smelling like cheap perfume. The scent of this liquid has an alcohol-like property and is so intense that when I wash my ears I find myself choking. 

Rinse and after: The rinse-off is easy and my skin doesn't feel oily and icky after rinsing. However I don't feel moisturized as well. I think the after-feel was just.. alright. 

Lasting Moisture Body Wash by Johnson & Johnson 

Description: Made by one the most popular baby product brands, Johnson's body wash seemed like a good replacement for Shokobutsu body washes that I previously used when my skin was not irritable like it is now. I coincidentally decided to pick up this from the shelf at a convenience store on one of my chalet stay-over events. Sample/travel size packaging holds 200ml. The fluid is a milky white colour.

Smell: I honestly have tried and liked various Johnson's body washes and this Lasting Moisture series was my favourite. It smells something similar to baby wipes and is relaxing to my nerves. The smell is gentle and pleasant. 

Rinse and after: The rinse-off is easy and similar to the Silk Bath one, my skin also doesn't feel icky after rinsing. The difference here is that my skin feels moisturized and protected. I feel - NiCe. The gentle, pleasant smell is rather long lasting and remains for several hours after showering too.

***

All-in-all, with these two washes being priced similarly, I feel the Johnson's body washes are a better deal. For myself at the least, it is a good substitute for expensive pharmaceutical washes - brands like Cetaphil and Dermaveen, and does not leave an oily after feel. 

I also tried the Johnson's pH5.5 body washes in Original, Almond and Honey flavours and find their texture to be similar to the Lasting Moisture one. Though Johnson may sell its body washes as having different properties, they feel the same to me! All of the Johnson's washes managed to soothe my irritable skin and keep me smelling nice. Think the main noticeable difference is the fragrance.

Just.. I won't recommend you to buy Silk Bath!

Currently when washing, my approach is to use Johnson & Johnson's body washes up to the ears, and Cetaphil or Dermaveen for the face (depending on which is on sale!). It works well for me - for someone with sensitive skin. So I'm happy! If like me, you are seeking a combination of washes for your sensitive skin, hope you are able to benefit from this combination like I did!

Sweet dreams!

♥

You know when you have insufficient sleep you age quicker and your health is at jeopardy?


..........




kthxbyegoodnight


p.s. I hate Mondays.

♥

I am not dead.

I am back to say that I am not dead, and neither did I give up on my little sacred space of infinite self-reflection. I've just recovered from a busy period at work, so now I'm starting to let loose and reflect on the rights and the wrongs, the birds and the bees. Hmm, that didn't sound right.

Nevertheless, I'd like to share with you on what I've learnt.

I'd learnt that, if.. u binge on Indian cuisine at a celebratory meal after a busy period, u will generally get sick, and can get very sick all rather suddenly. I'm telling you this from first-hand experience so yáll better believe it. Resultingly i didn't enjoy my weekend as I was nursing a headache, a really sore throat and a nose that was partially runny and partially blocked.

The horrors of a partially runny/blocked nose - I couldn't decide whether to blow it or not. The first option would leave me with an even worse headache, and the latter would leave me with... well, a very messy face. I had to go to bed with 2 tissues rolled up and stuck into each nostril.

Well I wouldn't want to bore you with the details.

So all in all, if u had a long 3 weeks with lots of OT done, please do your health a favour and eat food that is easily digestable, non-spicy and less oily. Lest you wanna end up like moi, la dee da.

O'yes, happy 1st of February, everyone!

Good nite!!

♥

Shower YOUR HEAD!!

Now, there's one thing that I reaaaaaaaaally cannot tolerate, and that is..

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A Lousy Shower Head!!

The shower head in the photo already very good. Ya' know wat kinda shower head I have? It's really terrible.. It's.. It's.. It's.. so weak I can't even wash the shampoo out from my hair properly! Showering becomes a tedious and lengthy process, and I have to spend more than twice the time required for a normal shower. Every morning I walk out of the house looking like this!

Egad.

You know, how important it is for folks like you and me, me and you, to take a good shower? Showering is so beneficial, so essential, so faaaaaaabulous! And it's good for your body too!

Quoting EarthClinic:

Cold showers have the following positive effects:
1) Brings blood to the capillaries, therefore increasing circulation throughout the body.
2) Cleans the circulatory system.
3) Reduces blood pressure on internal organs.
4) Provides flushing for the organs and provides a new supply of blood.
5) Strengthens the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems.
6) Contracts the muscles to eliminate toxins and poisonous wastes.
7) Strengthens the mucous membranes, which help resist hay fever, allergies, colds, coughs.

I guess (1) and (2) are related points, a result from the skin's capillaries expanding and constricting. (3) and (4) sound a bit exaggerated. For the remaining points I dun really understand them, and I dunno if they are true or not, but I think they're cool.

However for ladies, EarthClinic also warns that:

"Cold showers should not be taken during a women's time of menstruation. A woman needs extra rest and gentleness during her menses.

"A lukewarm shower is recommended. Generally speaking, hot showers are not good as they tend to depress the various physiological systems of the body."

So, ya.

Shower, y'all!

I'm saving up for this baby, this is where I want to sanitize myself.

And I'm gonna replace that shower head, with this exciting 'un! It's supposed to have fabulous massage functions.

In the meanwhile.. I'm gonna go try and fix my shower head. Irks.

♥