Friday, September 9, 2011


Through this PT, I really learnt more about my diet and food composition! Since young, everyone has been talking about the food pyramid and how it affects us. However, the food pyramid is only one way of judging how healthy one's diet is. For example, the food pyramid states that we need at least 5 to 7 servings of rice or alternatives, mainly suppliers of carbohydrates. However, how much is a serving is subjective and as I have learnt, this may not be true for certain people. For example, a child would need more protein and calcium for their bones and body to be stronger, but perhaps an athlete would need more carbohydrates and protein, because that would help boost his performance when he is doing rigorous exercise.

I think that the tools I used for the PT were very useful, because it gave a more accurate reading on what and how much of everything I am consuming on average, which is more accurate than using the food pyramid. Also, it is more specific because it lists out things such as the amount of sodium, carbohydrates and dietary fibres I consume. It would help me to improve my diet because it tells me specifically which types of components I should cut down on and which to increase. So from now on, I know that I have to cut down on the salt intake and on salty food and eat more fruits and vegetables. ^^

I think overall, I eat rather healthily, just not enough. xD The percentages shown state that though I am obtaining sufficient amounts of energy I require daily, I am lacking slightly in the fats content. :P Though I don't really intend to increase in that. The calculations are not accurate, because of the estimations in portion sizes and also, the options are SEVERELY limited, so I only picked those that were closest to the item I ate. :P

Besides eating habits, it is also very important to have a healthy lifestyle! We must have sufficient exercise and must not drink, smoke and have sufficient sleep! (So cut down on late nights spent on PTs and AAs! ><)

Comments! :)

Hey Desiree! ^^
I think your blog is very detailed and organised. For example, you even gave a guideline on how much is 1 serving according to the food pyramid! :D Also, the table you constructed for your daily diet is very impressive! :O It shows precisely what you ate and what constitutes the final values you get from using the online tools! (:

However, it seems like you are lacking (severely) in calcium! (that's probably why you are so...small) You need to get more calcium! Perhaps drink a glass of milk everyday? (: Also, I seem to notice that a lot of food you eat is fried or uses larger amounts of oil, so I guess that's why you have a higher fat percentage in your average meal than what is recommended. xD I guess the first step would be to cut down on food that uses a lot of oil? Like the potato cutlets, though they are really nice to eat! xD

(p.s. your font is a bit hard to read and the text is a bit small :P)

Comments! :)

Hi Shu Ying! :D
Your blog is very very detailed! I like the way you use the tools, because you have really listed everything down neatly and the information you show is really useful in showing us the food type! (You even count the amount of calories each type of food you eat ><) The organisation is also very good, because everything is put very nicely together in tables. (: Oh, and nice use of visual tools like pictures! :D They help to capture attention and for readers to visualise what you are talking about. xD

On the other hand, I think that its kind of unhealthy to skip lunch (day 3, was it?), but sometimes it is inevitable, especially if we have to go to school, right? ): Still, perhaps you could have squeezed in a sandwich? Or maybe a fruit or two. Like apples. Then not only will you be able to get at least 1 serving of fruit, but you won't have to go through the rest of the day with an empty stomach xD

Overall, I think you eat quite healthily! :D Which is why you look healthy in school too! xD So in the future, don't skip lunch, kay? (:

Comments! :)

Hi Geeps!
You eat too little! Why don't you eat dinner? That's really unhealthy you know! >< Haha, but in general, I think you need more carbohydrates, calcium and dietary fibre. I think that at this age, it is important for us to take sufficient amounts of all these, because it will help us to grow and stay healthy! (:

The diet you listed out seems to be almost absent of vegetables! Perhaps you are not a large vegetable fan, but I think it is quite important that you eat some. If not on its own, perhaps in the form of soup? (eg. mushroom, minestrone etc.) Or fresh juice? Such as carrot juice? :)

Also, your energy intake is quite low, so it probably means you need more carbohydrates. Perhaps in the morning, for breakfast, have bread instead of cookies? From your blog URL, I can tell it would be quite sad to change this habit, but it might benefit you to eat more bread. Or more food in general. ><

On a side note, I like your background, it's so colourful! xD And the way you comment after your posts show that you have really thought through the information presented to you! :D

Thursday, September 8, 2011

A Recommended (healthy) Dish! (:

I found this on a website, and I thought that it would improve my diet! (:

Vegetable Lasagna

How to cook it!
  1. Prepare Tomato-Basil Sauce.
  2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add carrots; cook and stir 4 minutes. Add zucchini; cook and stir 8 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add spinach; cook and stir 1 minute or until spinach is wilted. Stir in salt and pepper.
  3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat egg in medium bowl. Stir in ricotta cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
  4. Spread 1 cup Tomato-Basil Sauce in bottom of 13X9-inch baking pan; top with 4 uncooked lasagna noodles. Spoon 1/3 of ricotta cheese mixture over noodles; carefully spread with spatula.
  5. Spoon 1/3 of vegetable mixture over cheese. Top with 1 cup Tomato-Basil Sauce. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup each mozzarella and Monterey Jack cheeses. Repeat layers 2 times beginning with noodles and ending with mozzarella and Monterey Jack cheeses. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.
  6. Carefully pour water around sides of pan. Cover pan tightly with foil.
  7. Bake lasagna 1 hour or until bubbly. Uncover. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes. Cut into squares. Garnish, if desired.
According to the website, this dish's dietary exchange includes:
Meat: 2
Starch: 1
Vegetables: 4

This will improve my diet, because I have very low amounts of dietary fibres. ): Also, it provides starch, which I am also lacking slightly of. So this is one dish I can try! :D

This is a photo!
Vegetable Lasagna Photo

Cited from
(Go check it out! There are also many other recipes for healthy dishes!)

The Food Pyramid

This is the food pyramid! :D It shows us the number of servings that we should consume of different types of food. Also, the placement shows which types of food we should consume more (carbohydrates, fruits & vegetables) than others (fats, oils, sugar and salt).

This is an analysis of what I ate and the number of servings!
Day 1:
Fats, Oils, Sugar & Salt: 2 (I'm not sure if they are servings, though)
Meat & Alternatives: 3
Fruit & Vegetables: 1 & 4
Rice & Alternatives: 3

Day 2:
Meat & Alternatives: 5
Fruit & Vegetables: 1 & 1
Rice & Alternatives: 2

Day 3:
Fats, Oils, Sugar & Salt: 1 (I'm not sure if they are servings, though)
Meat & Alternatives: 2
Fruit & Vegetables: 3 & 1
Rice & Alternatives: 3

Oh dear, it seems like I am not exactly eating the most healthy diet according to the food pyramid. D:

(P.S. The food pyramid was taken from this website

Results! (Cont.)

The results show that I have consumed too much sodium, which means my salt intake is WAAY higher than what is healthy for my body. It means I have to avoid eating food with too much salt ><

On the other hand, the amount of cholesterol, fats, carbohydrate, energy and dietary fibre is below what is recommended. My first step will probably be eating more vegetables, though I thought I ate a reasonable amount of vegetable anyway. As for the carbohydrate, I guess I will eat more bread and biscuits. As for the rest, um...consume more fats? It sounds very unhealthy and weird to need more fats....

Anyway, according to the table of the percentage of energy intake, I actually reached the recommended range for the total amount of carbohydrates and protein. I am just veeery slightly short of reaching the recommended range for the total percentage of energy intake from the total amount of fats. Fats are important for the body, so I guess I have to find a way to increase the amount of fats I consume very slightly. :/