Soy Bread Pudding

So with the help from my boyfriend who just came back from Sabah, together we baked bread pudding for Jenna's 17th Birthday surprise! - hope she liked it ;)

Ingredients:
- 7 slices Gardenia Butterscotch bread
- 2 eggs (I used free-range)
- 2 cups Soy milk
- 2 tbs unrefined sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla essence
- 1 tsp Cinnamon powder
- Mixed dry fruits (dried oranges, raisins, cherries, etc)
- Sunflower kernels

Firstly, cut/tear the bread into smaller pieces then toast them for about 5-7 minutes making sure the bread slices do not over brown. In a bowl, beat 2 eggs and pour in 2 glasses of soy milk. Mix in the sugar and cinnamon powder until an even mix is achieved. After removing the toast from the oven/toaster, place them into a baking tray together with the dry fruits and sunflower seeds. Pour in the egg mixture earlier on evenly. Bake at 160~170 degree Celsius for 35~45 minutes.

This is definitely a tongue pleaser! Neither too sweet or too bland and so easy to make. Best served with custard / maple syrup whipped cream, or simply eat it on its own! :)

Everyday Environmentalist: Ask where your food comes from

Asking where your food comes from is one of the ways you can make positive environmental changes in your life.

Did you know?

1) Buying local, organic food reduces your carbon footprint. Less carbon is burnt to transport fruits & vegetables from local farms than from overseas.

2) Organic food minimizes pollution runoff into our ecosystem.

So before you buy your fruits and vegetables, remember to ask:
where does this come from?

Homemade Cinnamon Protein Bar

Those who are looking to shed off some fat and tone up your bodies, here's an ideal recipe that will definitely help you in the process. This homemade recipe is perfect for a yummy breakfast or even a mid-morning snack! Not only can you save a large amount of money, you can also control what you want in the recipe by making your very own personalized healthy and nutritious protein bar!

Ingredients (makes about 3 protein bars):
- 10 tbs Quaker quick cook oats / Rolled oats
- 4 tbs whey protein powder (I used Herbalife)
- 2 egg whites (I used free-range eggs)
- 1 tbs Cinnamon powder
- Brown sugar / Maple syrup (personal preference)
- 1 tsp Vanilla essence

First of all, stir together all the dry ingredients in a bowl while preheating the oven to 160C. Beat the egg whites together with the Vanilla essence before folding it into the bowl of dry ingredients. Stir the ingredients together to get an even blend. Lastly lay the mixture nicely in a baking tray and pop the tray in the oven. Bake till crispy brown on the edges (roughly 15-20 minutes). After bake, remove tray from the oven and allow to cool before cutting into even rectangles. Keep the protein bars in an air-tight container before freezing.



Feel free to play around with your ingredients! You can try adding in other stuff like nuts, seeds, peanut butter, yogurt or even fruit jam for a fruity bar. These protein bars are simply yummy and so easy to make. Try yours today! =)

[Dip] Basil Yogurt & Spicy Salsa

Happy Merdeka!

What a wonderful way of celebrating this quiet public holiday - a bunch of us gathered at Jenna's house to watch the Twilight Saga series. When there are movie marathons, there are chips. And when there are chips, there has to be dips! So with Jenna's last minute request, I went through my fridge to see what I could come up with...

Basil Yogurt Dip

Ingredients:
- 8 oz sugar-free Natural Yogurt
- sweet Basil leaves, chopped
- Garlic, chopped
- 1 tsp Lemon juice
- Salt to taste

Simply mix in the Basil and chopped garlic together in a bowl. Fold in the yogurt and mix thoroughly until the leaves are evenly seen. Add in the lemon juice and salt then stir. Decorate with some basil stem. Voila! Simple and delicious!

Spicy Salsa Dip

Ingredients:
- 2 regular red Tomatoes
- 5 yellow Cherry Tomatoes
- 2 Chili Padi's
- 3 Garlic cloves
- 1 Shallot
- 2 stalks Thyme leaves
- 2 tsp Lemon juice

Simply chop everything into small cubes and place them into a food blender (other than the yellow cherry tomatoes). Do not blend for too long because you wouldn't want to be getting Salsa juice in the end. Finally stir in the finely diced yellow cherry tomatoes. Garnish with some Thyme.

The Basil yogurt dip is pretty quick 'n easy. On top of that, it had to yummylicious for two bowls of it to be finished off in such a short period of time compared to the salsa. Just in case you were wondering, yes, I do eat yogurt. In fact, I like yogurt very much. I don't drink milk for health reasons, I never really liked milk anyway, but I don't mind yogurt and other products which contain traces of milk. Like cheese, I don't mind eating it, just not too much of it. So I suppose only the Salsa dip would be suitable for the pure vegans.

Have fun chippin' and dippin'!

Friends For Motion proudly presents

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Traditional Yin & Yang Sambal

To all the chili fans out there, this would be perfect for your daily chili tooth gratification!
Not only is the spiciness up to expectation, but it also makes a healthy dip considering its non-processed. All ingredients are fresh and preservative free!

Ingredients for Green sambal:
- Green chili padi
- Ginger
- 1/2 juice from Lemon
- dash of Salt

Ingredients for Red sambal:
- Red chili padi
- fresh Turmeric
- 1 Shallot

Yes it is that simple! Simply blend all the ingredients together in a food processor =) if you fancy a heavier taste, go ahead and add in some chopped garlic & herbs. You can even use the sambal as a cooking ingredient, like how I used it to stir-fry "Sambal Petai with Kampung Eggs" - this is for the demi-vegans who do not mind free-range eggs:

Be warned that just a little bit of the chili will drive you bonkers, it really is SPICY!

Papaya Smoothie

Sorry about the big "gap" in between! I just got back from Sarawak for work and I foresee myself traveling a lot in the coming month. However, I do hope to be able to update this site as often as I can, so keep reading! =)

Due to the busy schedule, I haven't had a lot of time to experiment new recipes, but here is a simple papaya smoothie made with soy instead of milk, the recipe is very simple (makes 2 glasses)



- 1 glass drinking water
- Ice cubes (personal preference)
- 1/2 newly riped Papaya
- 2 tbs Soya Milk powder

Simply blend everything together following the sequence above! I recommend the ingredients be blended for at least 1 1/2 minutes to prevent any papaya chunks and to achieve a smooth and creamy texture. Simply filling & nutritious! Makes a perfect mid-afternoon snack, especially when your sweet tooth is itching =P like mine. I have gained a lot of weight after all the heavy 3 meals a day and kek lapis from Sarawak, so I am saying no to sweet food for a while and substituting my junkies with other healthy options.

Next attempt -yogurt! Which is also my temporary craze =) no promises but shall try my best