Danderma's Blog, page 65

LoFat Vegetarian Diet – Day 28 and Last!

And day 28 has finally arrived! On the last day of my LoFat Vegetarian Diet Menu trial I received a breakfast of jam and butter saj with fruit skewers, low fat laban (buttermilk), and coffee.

Lunch was, again, a thai white beans and vegetables stew with rice with a curried rice and chickpea mango salad.

This time the thai style white beans stew was quite spicy which I didn’t enjoy for it makes my stomach hurt eventually.

The curried rice, chickpea, and mango salad was weird, but good weird. Depending on your palate you might like it and you may not but its worth trying out.

Dessert was a berry cheesecake. Much better than the chocolate cheesecake I received a few days back. Its still good enough for a diet cheesecake.

Dinner was a baked potato with sour cream and sweet corn with potato leek soup. The soup was fine. Light and warming.

The baked potato was also nice and quite warming. However it was so tiny! If I’m to eat a baked potato at home this would be a quarter of its size! Oh well, its diet potato after all.

And with the baked potato my four weeks trial of LoFat’s vegetarian diet is complete. It was a good change and a way to re-organize my eating habits by sticking to three meals at certain timings per day and not losing it between meals and eating whatever is available in front of me. Since I don’t have a cook at home, it was a great thing not having to worry about meals and it gave me time to do more things in my life given that the food was taken care of. I also liked the push it gave me to post again on daily basis and try and take better  pictures each day.

As for the weight loss? Well, I have a pair of trousers that didn’t zip up properly before the diet but now they do zip up nicely and fit me much, much better. However, when I stood on the scales I didn’t lose that much weight. Between 3-4 kilos but that was what I had expected from the beginning.

I’d like to thank LoFat for extending the offer for me to try their vegetarian meals. I hope I had given them and my readers an honest feedback and good enough coverage. I also hope I’ve benefitted at least one of my readers, it would be more than enough for me

To learn more about LoFat’s diet menu plans you can call them 22250650 on ,check their website (link), like their facebook page (link), follow them on Twitter (@LoFatGroup), or instagram (@LoFatGroup).

Azraq’s Ice Cream Bonbons from Scoop a Cone

Kuwait is hit with the Gulf Cup Football Tournament fever these days. Many businesses are showing their support to the Azraq -the blue one, blue being the colour of the Kuwaiti team’s uniform- by producing limited edition blue merchandise. A knock came on my door yesterday with a white cooler box from Scoop a Cone came baring one of the Azraq supporting products.

Inside the cooler box were a dozen mini ice cream cones, or bonbons, in a vibrant shade of royal blue. Very cute indeed!

I think I took over a hundred pictures of the little blue Azraq bonbons!

Each bonbon cone came with four little dots on top of the blue dome. The dots are in red, black, white, and green! Just like the Kuwaiti flag colours.

The bonbons come in two flavours: vanilla and chocolate. The ones we’ve tried were all vanilla flavoured ones though and they were extremely good and just the right size for a little nibble.

Somehow the little bonbons formation reminded me of football players for some reasons. Or maybe that’s the football spirit talking.

Very fun little blue Smurf like treats to have around while watching the next football match.

Thank you Scoop a Cone for sending the Azraq bonbons my way. For more information and to order the bonbons you can call Scoop a Cone on 23930607, check their website (link), check their facebook page (link), or follow them on instagram (@Scoop-a-cone).

 

 

LoFat Vegetarian Diet – Day 27

Breakfast was vegetable fatayer with fruit skewers, low fat laban (buttermilk), and white tea. The vegetable fatayer was OK and filled with peas in a 7amsa like mix. A good change if you are bored from the cheese, labna, or zaatar options for breakfast.

Lunch was a white bean and vegetables stew with rice and stuffed vine leaves.

The vine leaves were a bit on the dry side but were a fulfilment to a dieting craving I’ve been having for a while.

The  white bean stew with rice was one of the nicest stews I’ve tried in LoFat. Very warm for this winter weather.

Dessert was the very good orange brownie I’ve tried before that LoFat must start selling in co-ops! So soft, so creamy, so delicious.

Dinner was a vegetable quesadilla with creamy cheddar and vegetables soup.

The soup was nice and surprisingly light considering it was a cheddar cheese soup.

The quesadilla was nice too like the last time I had it.

Day 27 is over and was made by the orange brownie and the vine leaves. Only one more day to go! Almost there

To learn more about LoFat’s diet menu plans you can call them 22250650 on ,check their website (link), like their facebook page (link), follow them on Twitter (@LoFatGroup), or instagram (@LoFatGroup).

 

Book Review: The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue

The first book I’ve chosen to read for 2013 is “The Sealed Letter” by Emma Donoghue, the author of “Room”. This is the third book I’ve read that’s written by Emma and my second favorite so far.

Ever had a friendship you cherished end up abruptly? Ever wished for friend who had done you wrong to come back and mend everything, to resume where you stopped last and have the good old days back? That’s what happened to Emily ‘Fido’ Faithful on one summer day in Victorian London when her long-lost friend Helen Cordington returned to her life. Fido, a women’s right activist during a time where women were oppressed by society, was happy to have her friend back in her life. Little did she know that it will lead to a scandal that lands her in court, putting everything she held dear at stake, threatened by a sealed letter with unknown contents.

The amazing thing about the story is that the characters are real, the court case is real, and the sealed letter actually does exist! Emma Donoghue based her story on these characters and filled in the blanks with her writing and fiction. Its intriguing indeed and if there is something I didn’t like about it, it’s that the emphasis on the sealed letter, which happens to be the name of the book, comes very late in the story and could have used some more attention. At one point I almost forgot all about the book’s name and the fact that there should be a sealed letter somewhere. Also, parts with the court dealings and law jargons were a bit boring but then the story does indeed revolve around the case so you’d still want to read through.

This book is not for everyone though. Its for history lovers who’d love to open a window on the past and see how people were living, thinking, and gettin by back then. Women’s right did come a long way since the 1850′s indeed but the fight doesn’t seem to be over still, not by a long shot. This book is definietly going on my shelf.

LoFat Vegetarian Diet – Day 26

On day 26 of LoFat’s vegetarian diet breakfast was Zaatar fatayer with fruit skewers, low fat laban (buttermilk), and coffee.

Lunch was wheat flour spaghetti with artichoke with beetroot, orange, and feta salad.

The spaghetti with artichokes was very good. Even though I’m not a very big fan or artichokes.

The beetroot, orange, and feta salad was nice and sour-sweet. I like the idea of oranges with beetroot.

Dessert was chocolate muffin with white tea. The chocolate muffin was nice, I wish it was available for breakfast though, it would have been very nice with a cup of black coffee.

Dinner was chickpea chowder with rustic tomato and basil soup.

The soup was fine as always, but the chickpea choweder looked very runny and quite tasteless. I’d rather eat hummus or plain chickpeas instead of the chowder which came with baby food consistency.

Day 26 is gone, 2 more days to go!

To learn more about LoFat’s diet menu plans you can call them 22250650 on ,check their website (link), like their facebook page (link), follow them on Twitter (@LoFatGroup), or instagram (@LoFatGroup).

Bianco Latte’s Tiramisu

I was contacted by the owner of a new home business in Kuwait, Bianco Latte, who wanted me to try their Tiramisu and yesterday she sent me a box to review. Tiramisu is one of these easy to make but tricky to get taste-wise desserts and they still need to make more of an appearance around Kuwait.

The Bianco Latte Tiramisus arrived in a big white box witha handle and a little plastic window on top to peek through. Inside was a dozen mini Tiramisu cups, 6 of which are topped with raspberries.

The Tiramisu portion is just perfect. Usually when we make Tiramisu at home its in a big dish that takes a lot of people to polish off but in this case a portion is more than enough.

Taste wise? It was very nice. I had my friends taste it and they said it was very light and fluffly. Two of my friends said they tasted a sour note in the fluffy cream as if it was made with a hint of sour cream in the mix.  Personally me and my husband liked the one with the raspberry, it added a nice touch to the over all cream and coffee mix.

Thank you Bianco Latte for sending the Tiramisus my way. Wish you the best of luck.

Bianco Latte offer their tiramisus in a dozen small cups or in a big family sized dish. To order from Bianco Latte you can contact them on 99814767 or follow their instagram account (@Bianco_Latte_Q8).

LoFat Vegetarian Diet – Day 25

Day 25 started with a breakfast of a falafel sandwich with fruit skewers, low fat laban (buttermilk), and coffee.

Lunch was farfalle pasta with beans and carrots with a side of tabboula salad.

  The pasta as usual was good with generous portions.

The tabboula was nice and fresh, something green for a change.

Dessert was a chocolate cheesecake with white tea. The cheesecake was a bit on the sour side and the chocolate topping was very liquidy. It was OK but I’ve had better desserts from LoFat.

Dinner was potato wraps with creamy tomato and coconut soup.

The potato wraps were nice. A different dinner thing for a change.

The tomato and coconut soup was OK. Not very coconuty but the texture is a tad heavier than other tomato soups.

Day 25 is gone, 3 more days to go!

To learn more about LoFat’s diet menu plans you can call them 22250650 on ,check their website (link), like their facebook page (link), follow them on Twitter (@LoFatGroup), or instagram (@LoFatGroup).

LoFat Vegetarian Diet – Day 24

 

Breakfast was a plain croissant with fruit skewers, low fat laban (buttermilk), and black coffee. Nothing quite new there. For lunch I got a wheat flour Spaghetti with mushroom & carrots with a beetroot and aubergine salad.

The spaghetti was really good. I enjoyed it very much but there was too much oil residue in the bowl after I was done.

The salad was nice as well. The aubergine were mashed raheb style which I like.

For dessert I had a pistachio cake with white tea.

The pistachio cake was fine. Bite sized and moist. Not a big fan of pistachios myself but if you are you will like it.

For dinner I received a spinach and cheese parcel with a celery and potato soup.

The spinach and cheese parcel was interesting and tasted good.

The celery and potato soup was fine. Warm and fulfilling.

Day 24 is done, 4 more days to go!

To learn more about LoFat’s diet menu plans you can call them 22250650 on ,check their website (link), like their facebook page (link), follow them on Twitter (@LoFatGroup), or instagram (@LoFatGroup).

A Lost Kitten’s Happy Ending

Yesterday afternoon I woke up late. It was a Saturday and my husband was out running errands. I was thinking about my lazy Saturday and my breakfast when I heard my husband call out to me”Come, come see the baby cat outside!”.

I ran outside, expecting to see one of the stray neighbourhood cats had given birth to a few kittens. What I found instead is a distraught little black kitten mewing beside my car tires, she was scared, looking at us with those lovely pale eyes in fear and wonder, yet quite squirmy.

The kitten sat for a while silently beside our neighbours cars, then suddenly bolted to an open land filled with rubble and rubbish next to our apartment building, leaving behind a little souvenir of cat litter by the neighbours car! Then she stood between the rubble, looking away and ignoring us so we left her a little bit of milk in a plastic container and hid from her sight while I posted her picture on instagram.

After I posted her picture on instagram I returned to find her gulping down the milk we put out for her like there’s no tomorrow. She was starving, the poor thing. I went inside to get her more milk, came back to find her trying to chew on an old and quite hard piece of burger bun. I presented her with the milk again, but she ignored us completely and continued trying to eat the bun.

Meanwhile on instagram, one of my instagram followers mentioned a friend of hers, Dalal Al-Rushaid who works with K’s Path animal rescue. She asked me to send the location of the kitten to K’s Path hotline and I did. I wasn’t at home when Dalal arrived a while later and looked around for the cat, couldn’t find her, waited a while, left, then came back and the next time around she did find the little munchkin. Dalal told me the kitten had bitten her -she had gloves on, thank god- and that she was feral and scared but was now safe and sound. She sent me her picture too.

The little kitten will be sent to K’s Path shelter this morning and after passing a few evaluations and tests she might be put up for adoption! She’s very cute and beautiful with intelligent eyes shining through her black fur. I wonder where did she come from and what kind of human had the heart to throw her out into the street. No one deserves to be given a home then be thrown out, let alone a little helpless kitten. I wish someone does indeed adopt her. I would have, except my husband is highly allergic to kittens and they make me sick

Thank you K’s Path and Dalal for rescuing the little kitten and giving her a new home. She won’t have to suffer anymore. There are some people who run over stray cats for fun, then there are others who spend their Saturday afternoons between the rubble and garbage trying to rescue a helpless little kitten. My god bless your soul dear Dalal and thank you very much again. I’ll take this situation as a sign that this year is going to turn out to be a very good one indeed.

If you find a helpless animal in need you can contact K’s Path hotline on 67001622 and they will come to the animals rescue. Also, if you are thinking of accomidating a pet and giving him/her a nice warm home, you may want to adopt one of the adorable cats or dogs they have in their shelter. Their pictures on Instagram simply melts  your heart. For more information you can check K’s Path wesbite (link), follow them on Twitter (@KsPathQ8) or Instagram (@KsPathQ8).

LoFat Vegetarian Diet – Day 23

Day 23 started with a breakfast of cheese croissant, fruit skewers, low fat laban (buttermilk), and coffee.

Lunch was mushroom & spinach pasta with mexican avocado cocktail salad.

The pasta, as always, was good and fulfilling.

The salad was very tasty even though there were like 4 tiny avocado pieces.

Dessert was Kunafa with caramel. Though it didn’t taste much like a kunafa, more like a creamy caramel pudding with a few vermicelli and pistachio pieces on top. But it was very tasty and very creamy. I loved i.

Dinner was Vegetable and Halloum sandwich with brocolli cheese soup.

The vegetable and grilled halloumi sandwich was very good.

The broccoli and cheese soup was tasty for a change, compared to last night inedible Chinese soup.

Day 23 was made happy with the delicious Kunafa! 5 more days to go.

To learn more about LoFat’s diet menu plans you can call them 22250650 on ,check their website (link), like their facebook page (link), follow them on Twitter (@LoFatGroup), or instagram (@LoFatGroup).