Introducing Full Plate's Picks!

Great news for all you friends out there who have asked me for kitchen product recs. I finally culled through the dizzying array of offerings and made a "Full Plate's Picks" store on Amazon. All of the products in the online storefront are ones I have used consistently, are budget-friendly, include free "Super-Saver Shipping", and are processed through Amazon for peace of mind.

Those of you who have taken my cooking lessons know that I think less is more. If you’ve got ample counter space and a fridge, oven and some burners that work…you don’t need a lot of fancy equipment. But, there are a few key tools that I think every cook should have in their home kitchen. So, if you’re husband is looking to buy a Mother’s Day gift idea (to augment the macaroni necklace), you could suggest that these are gifts that just might give back!

For those looking to step up the workout between now and bathing suit season…but who can’t seem to get out of the house between morning and afternoon naps (or who's child is home sick several days in a row, achem), here are my favorite in-home workouts. No excuses now!

And, for those who need more recipes than I can give or are in the market for some pretty cookbooks to stash in your kitchen island bookshelf, here you are.

Last but not least, in time for summer travel and longer, lazier (yeah, right!) days, a couple books I have read lately (when I force myself to stay awake) inspired me to share some of my favorite reads under the store's Book Club header. (The one pictured above is a must read for all of us stay-at-home moms.)

I hope you enjoy this Full Plate Pick's storefront! (My kids thoroughly enjoyed watching TV all afternoon while I put it together.)

Everything in Africa is big

...so said one of the winners of Nestle Drumstick contest when we were all looking at South African ostrich egg,


from left: ostrich egg, emu egg, rhea egg, chicken egg.


African elephants are big, Rhinos are big, the eggs are big, the birds are big, even the male Africans'.... *cough*


*churp*


Moving on.

After landing in Cape Town along with the Nestle Drumstick group, we were swept straight into Cape Town to begin our adventurous tour.

We stopped by our first destination: Ostrich Farm!




I've been to Ostich Farm in Malaysia. And it is nothing like the ones here.

First back home, the ostrich farm is like some dodgy farm with old shacks put together, mostly mud and dirty flooring everywhere.

The birds look like they're entering mid-age crisis with balding body, few shreds of features here and there, and honestly, last I heard the ostrich there were so malnutrition-ed, they could only lay an egg every half a year.


But in South Africa, ostriches live in luxury!

Just look at the vast area they're allowed to run it for two birds!




Not to mention a 5-star view as a backdrop.

If I can wake up everyday to this view, I'd die a happy ostrich.


Before we begin, here are a few fun facts about ostriches:

A female ostrich shows remarkable ability to recognize her own eggs even when mixed in with those of other females in their communal nest.

Ostriches are so powerful that a single kick at a predator, such as a lion, could be fatal. (I should ride an ostrich in an African safari)

Ostriches stretch out their neck and lay their head on the ground to keep from being seen, hence the myth that ostriches hide in the sand.

When fully grown an ostrich has one of the most advanced immune systems known to mankind. (so they can eat anything)

Ostriches are not an endangered species; there are at least 2 million worldwide. (no one can say eating ostriches are cruel or unethical now)

Ostrich meat is a red meat and is very low in cholesterol, calories and is almost fat free. (I will eat this everyday from now on)

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain. (pea-brain, hahaha)

So what do we do in an ostrich farm?

Well...

We saw ostrich eggs.




We saw ostrich hatchling. (or the preserved one).




We saw whelps (baby ostriches).




We saw teenager ones.




And then we saw the adult ones.








Love the features. They're so pretty.




Did the infamous I-step-on-ostrich-eggs-in-South-Africa tradition.








not easy to stand on eggs with heeled boots!


Ate the eggs eventually.




Saw a naked bush-lady (female counterpart of the bush-people)



or the portrait of it


Saw some ostrich eggs merchandises.




Saw a guy "stroke" an ostrich.




Rode an ostrich myself.




Getting on one was quite difficult.





*must stroke to keep it calm*


And finally, almost got "poked" by an ostrich while taking this photo.




Never prod an ostrich.

They might be dumb, they're still bigger than you!

Some lunch ideas...

With a summer of lunch packing on the horizon, I thought Gwyneth’s latest post was worth bookmarking for some fresh ideas. None of it is rocket science, but it’s always nice to try something new when it comes to the lunch-packing routine.

Call To Me

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." -- Jeremiah 33:3, NIV

And, here is the number one reason to own an iPhone:

Hosting a major sporting event - economic gains are unlikely, but will it bring happiness?

The football World Cup in South Africa is almost upon us and the clock is ticking down on London 2012. It's a timely moment to ask: why, when it costs a country billions of pounds to host a major international sporting event, do they bother?

The usual argument is that it's all about the legacy - the lasting economic benefit. But according to two economists, Georgios Kavetsos and Stefan Szymanski, the evidence for this simply isn't there. For example, there's research showing that the economic benefit of sports-related investment is lower than for other types of investment. And the newly-created employment opportunities associated with sport are most often low-skilled and casual. Now Kavetsos and Syzmanski have tested an alternative explanation for the political appeal of big sports events: perhaps they make the population happier.

Increasingly, governments are also choosing to invest huge quantities of public money in training athletes so as to boost their country's chances of sporting success. The usual justification is that sports success is good for a country's well being and national pride. Kavestsos and Syzmanski also tested this claim.

The researchers mined the Eurobarometer Survey series, involving 12 European nations, including the UK, between the years 1974 to 2004. Twice a year, a random selection of 1000 people per country were interviewed and one of the questions was about their life satisfaction. Kavestsos and Syzmanski looked for any changes in average life satisfaction scores in surveys that took place in the Autumn following the Olympics, Football World Cup or European Cup. Specifically, they wanted to know if a country doing better than expected in a competition had any beneficial effect on average life satisfaction and/or whether hosting a competition had any benefits (the data available meant the latter question was restricted to the hosting of football events).

There was very little evidence that performing better than expected at a sports event had any positive benefit for the average life satisfaction scores of a country's citizens. The data moved in the right direction but with one exception the effects were not statistically significant. By contrast, there was strong evidence that hosting a major international football event boosted the life satisfaction of a host nation's citizens. Good news for South Africa.

Just how large was the life satisfaction increase for a typical citizen in a host nation? Kavetsos and Syzmanski said it was pretty big: three times the size of the happiness boost associated with gaining a higher education; one and half times the happiness boost associated with getting married; and nearly large enough to offset the misery triggered by divorce.

Is there a catch? Unfortunately, yes. By one year after the event, the benefits had gone, so the effects on people's happiness were extremely short-lived (the effects of marriage on happiness, by contrast, are long-lasting). There was also no evidence of a host country's happiness being boosted in anticipation of hosting an event.

'Most politicians calculate that hosting events can only enhance their political standing,' Kavetsos and Syzmanski said. 'This makes sense if the benefits of hosting are not derived through economic gains [which the research says don't exist], but through the feelgood factor, specifically associated with being the host.'
_________________________________

Kavetsos, G., & Szymanski, S. (2010). National well-being and international sports events. Journal of Economic Psychology, 31 (2), 158-171 DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2009.11.005

Finest Expressions - Mom Business - Marketplace | urbanmoms.ca

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I stood in front World Cup Stadium 2010!

Short note: I'm flying to Langkawi tomorrow! Yay!! Westin Langkawi here I come!


I saw it!

I really saw it!

Yep. Seeing it live in my face. I was in South Africa to witness the actual World Cup Stadium 2010!




When they stopped me in front of this building, I didn't realize the significance of it until, well, until I came back from the trip.




Told you I was blur then.

We saw the old small ugly stadium next to the newly built World Cup stadium and they were halfway demolishing it when we were there. But didn't get to snap a quick shot at the old stadium.




The stadium were among of the 12 stadiums located all over South Africa. Pretty impressive, seeing that it can accommodate 69k audience compared to the old stadium which could only accommodate 18k audience.

You could imagine what it would be like when the actual FIFA World Cup day arrives.

So a note to all visitors to the World Cup this coming June....




Make sure your wines and micro-cameras are well kept hidden upon entrance.

Goose Bumps

This excerpt is from Bill Yount and worth repeating:

Worshiping God through daily obedience is perhaps our greatest challenge. Obeying God will not always give us goose bumps but will often cost us something. Have you ever obeyed the Lord and you felt like you didn't get anything out of it? Do you know why? It is because God got it all! Our life is not for us. It is all for Him. "Sacrificial" worship, perhaps Heaven's greatest attention-getter, is when we don't feel like obeying or praising the Lord but we do anyway. But when we do, God's heart skips a beat to be with us, whatever the problem.

I am pretty sure Paul and Silas didn't "feel" led to praise the Lord at midnight in prison. Their backs were against the wall as a result of their obedience in preaching the Gospel. But they had learned by experience that the midnight hour was perfect timing to worship in their perfect storm. They knew God could not resist praise and worship. His foot was bound to tap on the earth again for them, and you know the rest of the story! The jailer got the "goose bumps" as he witnessed his whole household receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior!

Extras

Eye-catching studies that didn't make the final cut:

The mere sight of other people's disease symptoms causes your immune system to brace itself.

Mental disorders are brain disorders: You think?

Alcohol misuse and functional impairment in the UK Armed Forces: A population-based study.

Top-down influences on colour-flavour interactions: '...when presented with a brown drink, the majority of British participants (70%) associated that color with a “cola” flavor (and 0% with a “grape” flavor), whereas half of the Taiwanese participants (49%) associated that same color with a “grape” flavor instead (and 0% with a “cola” flavor).'

How the two hemispheres job share during dual-task conditions. [Check out the report on this study over at Not Exactly Rocket Science].

Neighborhood context and the development of aggression in boys and girls.

"You" and "I" need to talk about "us": Linguistic patterns in marital interactions.

Contemplating the future helps us pleasure delay - postponing immediate gratification in favour of a bigger reward later. [Check out the report on this study over at Frontal Cortex].

And finally ... did you know there's a journal of NeuroQuantology - covering neuroscience and quantum physics?

What Do You Seek?

"The one thing I ask of the LORD -- the thing I seek most -- is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, delighting in the LORD's perfections and meditating in his Temple. For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock. Then I will hold my head high, above my enemies who surround me. At his Tabernacle I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy, singing and praising the LORD with music. Listen to my pleading, O LORD. Be merciful and answer me! My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk with me." And my heart responds, "LORD, I am coming." -- Psalm 27:4-8

Oftentimes we go seeking .... we seek for a miracle, a gift, provision, guidance. You name it. David sought after one thing, to live in the house of the Lord all the days of his life, delighting in the Lord's perfections and meditating in his temple. Everything we need is in the house of the Lord. When we seek after Him and only Him I believe everything we need will be provided.

If a 16 year old son wanted a car that his dad could provide, he would not go out seeking after the car. He would seek after his dad! This is a great word picture of how we are to seek after our Father ... for He alone is our healer, provider, protector, and deliverer.

Arriving in South Africa

On previous post: Turns out the No S sign means No Stopping in South Africa.

One of my Facebook followers posted a link on all the South African sign posts. Haha. Genius.


Slightly less than a month ago, I was given a once in a lifetime chance to travel all the way to South Africa to experience 8 days of adventures! for free! on Singapore Airlines!

In fact, I was going along with 20 other winners from Nestle Drumstick campaign contest "Holiday for the Brave" where you eat their Drumstick ice cream, join the contest, and wait for someone to call you that you've won the greatest adventure of your life!

Till now it still feels like a dream while I'm typing this.

But going through all the photos and writing up the next few posts is going be another journey for me again down the memory lane. It felt like yesterday when I landed myself in the rainforest of KLIA airport at 8pm in the evening.




We did a transit over at Singapore Changi Airport that lasted for 4 hours before boarding a 12-13 hour flight to Cape Town, South Africa.

It's been a while since I last took Singapore Airline. So I wasted no chance in ordering the infamous Singapore Sling cocktail even when breakfast was being served.




though the glass could have looked a bit more sophisticated than a... plastic cup.


It wasn't easy to sleep on the plane, by the time 10 hours was gone, I looked like the undead rising to walk the earth again.


If you think this is bad, think about how my dark-circles look like before the photoshop.


After what felt like ages of twists and turnings on my window seat, the view of South Africa slowly seeped in below us.




Then, I wasn't all excited and crazy about it when I landed in Cape Town's airport.

Probably because it didn't hit me yet that I was in South Africa. Not sure the cause of that but feeling wasn't there.

It didn't hit me when I was posing with FIFA World Cup 2010 Mascot Zakumi (that's his name) at the airport.




It didn't hit me when Niki Cheong (the other reporter and blogger who was invited to travel with us too) crashed in to grab poor Zakumi's left nipple in an attempt for a duo cam-whore with me.




It didn't hit me when we had a group photo of "The Spirit of Adventure" banner with Nestle Drumstick's winners.




It didn't hit me when I got on the van and on the road and saw people getting into the world cup fever on fields.




It didn't even hit me when I was passing by squatters and shacks that could have stereotyped how South Africans lived.




Which by the way, is a very bad way of stereotyping South Africa. No they do not live like that, not all of them anyway. :p

(See more of South Africa in the next few posts)


And nay it didn't hit me either when I saw kids in the squatters playing under an electrical tower, aka pylon.




and again, not all South African kids play like that.

In fact, I was so blunt to the point that the fact that I was in Africa continent at all did not sink in until 24 hours later!

I knew then that I was in BLOODY South Africa when I was submerged in freezing cold water and came face to face with a great white shark!




The things I need to go through to knock some senses into me.




Readers! Welcome to South Africa!!

How to nap

Even naps as short as ten minutes have been shown to provide psychological benefits in terms of reduced fatigue and improved concentration (pdf). But would-be nappers face some strategic decisions, most obviously - does it matter whether I nap in my chair or ought I try to find somewhere to lie down? And then ... if remaining seated, is it okay to lean forwards and rest my head on a desk?

When it comes to napping while leaning back in a chair or car seat, past research has shown that the further you can lean back, the better, at least in terms of subjective fatigue and reaction times. Now Dayong Zhao and colleagues have addressed the leaning forward issue, comparing lying-down napping and leaning-forward napping, and they've found that the former is the most effective, but that the leaning-forward variety still has clear benefits compared with no nap at all.

Thirty undergrads, all regular nappers, had electrodes attached to their heads before lunch. Then they performed an 'oddball' auditory task in which they had to listen to a string of tones and listen out for the occasional one of a different pitch. Next they had lunch before splitting into three groups: one group enjoyed a twenty minute nap lying down; another enjoyed a twenty-minute nap leaning forwards onto a desk (plus pillow for comfort); the final group just spent the same time sitting quietly.

After this, all the participants performed a repeat of the oddball task whilst having their brainwaves recorded via electroencephalography. Zhao's team were particularly interested in the size and delay of the P300 - a brainwave measure of cognitive alertness.

Participants in both of the napping conditions showed benefits compared with their peers who'd been denied a nap. The nappers, leaning and lying, reported being in a better mood and feeling less sleepy and they performed better at the oddball task. When it came to the brainwave recordings, however, the leaning-forward nappers, unlike the lying-down nappers, showed no difference from the control group. Uniquely, the lying-down nappers showed an increased P300 amplitude, perhaps indicating increased cortical arousal on their part.

The message it seems is clear. A post-luncheon nap is beneficial to your mental functioning even if you're forced to rest your head on your desk. However, if you can find somewhere to lie down properly, then do, because the benefits of the nap will be that much greater.
_________________________________

Zhao, D., Zhang, Q., Fu, M., Tang, Y., & Zhao, Y. (2010). Effects of physical positions on sleep architectures and post-nap functions among habitual nappers. Biological Psychology, 83 (3), 207-213 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2009.12.008

No Shit Sign?

What does this sign say?

I spotted this South Africa and has been curious of its meaning. Does anyone know?





There's an S on it. A slash across it means NO. So.... No Shitting?






What? *acts innocent*


South Africa posts next!

My Beauty Secret - Collagen

*update* this is not an advertorial

A few people have asked and emailed me after reading my previous post on me drinking collagen.

Questions like:

"Does this work?"

"Let me know if this works, I'm tempted to buy."

"Which brand is better? I saw brand xx and xx selling in xxx places".


So I decided to share my so called... beauty secret. *cough*
To answer all questions at once.

I'm drinking this brand called Fabula - CollagenMax.




I've been drinking it since November 2009. But like most people in the beginning, I don't drink it very often like it suggested (once every 3 days) because these beauty drinks are really expensive! RM158 per box which can last me for a month.

But then as vanity striked (birthday approaching then *more coughing*), I started drinking more frequently mid-January onwards. About the time I came back from Europe.

It's very soon when I finished my second box.




I know these sort of things don't just show overnight or in a short period of time. So I kept at it, for a while more. Thinking to myself see how this goes.

By the third month of drinking, people started commenting on my skin.

According to them (and I shit you not), my skin (face) started to glow.

Not in a crazy alien sort of way of course. But in a healthy glow. I was really looking.... good.

No more puffy eyes, dark circles were mostly gone, I don't always look like I'm dragged out of bed all the time (believe me, sleeping the way I do at odd hours, I do look like I'm half-dead most of the time) and not sure if this is the effect of the collagen or just pure stress...

But I was losing weight. Gradually.

I credit the effect to half stress and half collagen. (Stress that were coming from certain people who don't think I can afford a trip to South Africa, which btw, it was sponsored. *stick tongue out*)

So I got hold of more of the products.




By that, I meant I ordered one year supply of it.

:D







If this goes well, I will be drinking this every month throughout the year religiously for the rest of my life. Yes it might stretch a bit on my wallet but hey, it's worth it! See it as an investment on my skin. And I have never found a better investment than these!






And by the way, I actually have another secret too.

Hehe..

Will share it next time.