Friday, 27 November 2015

Salam, my lovelies!

In the last few days, I have learnt an important lesson about never taking the blessings of Allah for granted. You know the saying, "health is wealth"? 

On Monday, Girl came home with a pair of swollen eyes, cheeks and sported insect bite marks all over her back, arms and face. She was taken in to ER at PCMC and referred to Dr. Anthony James Mansul, her usual paed, on Tuesday morning.

Dr. Anthony James Mansul prescribed her with an antihistamine and cream for itch control. Instead of issuing a Medical Certificate for missing school that day, he positively wrote a fit to return to school note so she could return without further questions. She took the antihistamine syrup like a champ using a syringe, but we never used the cream because it contains a low percentage of steroid.

Girl had missed a day of school that Tuesday. The load of homework just for one day is proof of how much she learns is a day at school, a topic worthy of its own post. 

I am suffering as I type this because my gums have acted up, and 4 of my molars  on my left side are all hurting and throbbing from referred pain. Neck, left ear and entire left side of my head all pulsing and pounding. Sometimes, tears just roll down by reflex. 

Yesterday evening, The Other Half had sent me to ER at PCMC to get some pain relief/pain management/pain intervention until I see my Endodontist, Dr. Jac Lam, tomorrow. How bad was the pain to warrant a trip to ER? It was 9.5/10. If there were an epidural for teeth/gum/head/neck/ear pain, I would have signed the consent form. It was THAT bad.

The bad news is none of the painkillers are working. Celebrex, ibuprofen, Panadol all have failed me. The Diflam Throat Anti-Inflammation spray works for short relief, which is great. The pain level went down to 8/10. Who would have thought of that? Thank you, Dr. Sharmini. 

I haven't been able to chew, or swallow solid food. So, luckily for me, I love juices. La Juiceria to the stop-gap nourishment rescue at least for today. I absolutely do not need to lose any more weight! Flab control with exercise, yes. Detox, yes. Some nourishment in absence of food, YES!

I have many hours to go before the appointment tomorrow. 

The countdown till I see Dr. Jac Lam has started. I have a fever 37.4C and the pain level is at 9.5/10 again. I suspect there is something seriously wrong with my root canal from many years ago. The gums around it is very swollen and painful. Pray all will work out well, Amin!

New Kitchen Toy

Our love for zoodles and vegetables juice has led me to this recent purchase of domestic genius from House of Presentation at IPC. No John Lewis/Lakeland/BHS trip this year, remember?

Blessed with limited and compact kitchen real estate, my "problem" has been solved with my Magimix 4200XL. Juicer/smoothie maker attachment; and a separate purchase of  citrus press complete my current need.

Conventional cheese grater, juicer, fruit press, vegetables grater, Kenwood stand mixer, blender, whisk, food processor and spiraliser begone!

Let me be realistic, if there is no electricity at home, I won't be cooking anyways so off to the donation bin go my redundant kitchen appliances and tools. I bet my former cleaning lady will be cheering tomorrow.

Alright, let's keep the precious stand mixer and juicer for now as you will never know when exigencies will call for their recommission. 

As for now, the kitchen island has been cleared for this semi-permanent feature. Pretty sight!

Next up - Thermomix? Ingredients go in, magic happens then food comes out? 

Liquid 3 Vegetables

I got slightly impatient and went ahead with combining 3 vegetables into a single juice. Going to restock my kale when I go to Hock Choon (JY Fruits and Vegetables corner shop) or Village Grocers, Bangsar Village.

So far so good! The kids find this the hardest to gulp down, expectedly. In fact,  the elder and vocal one championed the rights of minor persons at home by asking for "purple juice".

Aha. 

Hampshire Mummy is trying to be a good mummy and this resolution is, of course, passed.

Beet, purple carrot and dragon fruit coming up.

P/S: Each kid took 5ml of pure juice, and my 190 ml x 2 portions worked well for my detox. Consume sparingly and please seek your doctor's opinion before embarking on any detox or juicing regiment.

Juicing

Photo of my carrot-grapefruit juice and "ancient" copy of recipe. 

There is another bottle of green juice for breakfast tomorrow, I can barely wait to down the parsley-celery instead of my usual coffee. Please do not ask me why I have been so bad to my body by feeding it coffee first thing in the morning! Sleepiness?! Of late, I cannot even swallow coffee first thing in the morning without nausea. Water, water, water please.

Next week, I move on to 3 fruits/vegetables. It is tastier with 3 so I am gleefully anticipating it. The Other Half  just hopes our juicer can survive this year,  as we are "heavy-duty" home users. 

In order to encourage Bean and The Little Girl, I plan to make them a "loyalty card" so every time they drink one of my home concoction, they will earn a stamp. The end reward after 10 juices is a slice of home-baked banana cake. It is going to be so easy for them to score because they love juices (alas, more than water!).

**Start of digression**

Time of the year for me to juice again, yes. Of course you may juice at any time of the year as you wish. It is just that I feel extra dehydrated just before fasting starts and listen to my body I must. 

I respond to that physical thirst with juicing as much as I can. Then feed my thirst for soulful renewal and rejuvenation by returning to the sacred pages of the Al-Quran.

May Allah swt grant us another Ramadhan. Amin.

**End of digression**

Are you juicing too, my lovelies? What is your favourite fruit/vegetable combination? Please do share!