Hot hot hot...

How nice it would be to have a healthy bronzed tanned look? Mr. Robotic likes going out for lunch or a weekend swim when he gets to enjoy that brief moment of sunlight and Vitamin D instead of being cooped up in the enclosed environment all day.

The sun is way too glaring today though. Mr. Robotic was out in the sun for barely 15 minutes (without applying sunblock) and his skin turned red soon after. For those going out in open areas today, remember to put on sunblock. Over exposure to the sun is one of the primary reasons for premature aging.

Mr. Robotic came across an article lately which commented that with the different methods of improving the skin and activities that makes one's mindset younger, a person whose actual age is 40 years old can easily look and pass off as 30 instead. Hence, if you are going to be lazy in your skin care regime, you could jolly look one decade older the next time you have a gathering with your peers.

Worried? What are the other means to combat aging? For a start, choose facial products that contains Vitamin E, for its anti-oxidant elements to fight free radicals in the environment and Vitamin C, for encouraging the growth of collagen on your skin.

On such a warm day, Mr. Robotic misses the Azabu Sabo green tea ice-cream which he had just last night. Looking at the picture would help for now...

Happy Cooking 5: Sweet Potato Dessert

So Mr. Robotic has raved about the benefits of white fungus in one of his earlier post. But today, Mr. Robotic was even amazed to hear that the extremely cheap white fungus has the same nutritional value as bird's nest. Some people even went as far to term white fungus as the poor man's bird's nest. Wow!!!

Found a useful comparison between white fungus and bird's nest at Loving Life. Anyway, you know *wink* what Mr. Robotic is going to add to his soup and dessert now onwards right?

The limelight for this post though lies on sweet potatoes.

Mr. Robotic's previous few gym instructors had asked him to add sweet potatoes (protein content) into his diet to help with his bulking up (yes, Mr. Robotic wants to be at the size of Optimus Prime one day). Little did Mr. Robotic know that the sweet potato actually packs so much nutritional value.

According to nutritionists at the Centre for Science in the public interest (CSPI), the sweet potato ranks number one in nutrition among all vegetables. The rich vitamins and minerals in the sweet potato is so high that its score is doubled of the next most nutritional vegetable. Wow!!!

Apparently, the sweet potato is also a source of anti-oxidants which helps to prevent and repair damage caused by free radicals (think cancer, heart disease and accelerated aging).

So how would the combination of the sweet potato and white fungus turn out? Read on...

Sweet Potato Dessert
Completed this dessert based on Mdm. Agaration's instructions. Hence, please feel free to explore if the portions are suitable for you.

Ingredients (Serves 6 to 7):
- 20g white fungus
- 3 sweet potatoes
- 6 to 8 red dates
- 50g rock sugar
- 20 dried longans
- 1.5 litre water
- 6 pandan leaves

Directions:
1. Soak the white fungus, red dates and dried longans in cold water.
2. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut it into pieces. (Easier to cook for smaller pieces).
3. Cut the stem of the white fungus.
4. Wash pandan leaves, cut off dead edges and tie into a bundle.
5. Add all ingredients into pot and bring the water to boil.
6. After water boils, turn down to low heat and let it simmer for another 15 mins.
7. Ready to serve once the sweet potatoes are soft.

Experience:
Mr. Robotic prefers the orange sweet potato than the yellow one. Nonetheless, the sweet potatoes Mr. Robotic cooked at home is most likely to be fresher than those he had outside at dessert stores, especially in food courts. Outside vendors would usually pre-prepared the sweet potato and put it in the freezer till it is needed. The taste and nutritional value are sadly lost. And of course, you would not be able to get an abundance of ingredients if you are eating out.

Mr. Robotic feels good that he is putting something delicious and yet good for his pipes into his system. Sweet~

Happy Eating 2: Healthy Fast food?

So our familiarity with burgers, fries and fried chicken is a given since the Golden Arches and the Finger lickin' good colonel (no mention of brand names here since Mr. Robotic is not a fan) are available at almost all malls in Singapore and even creeping into the heartland areas. While the over-saturation phenonmen is a cause of concern as kids grow up thinking that such fast food are the "real" food, the saturated fat content in such fast food is even more worrying.

Lest you think that Mr. Robotic is an advocate of no fast food, Mr. Robotic do like the healthier choices, Yoshinoya and MOS burger which stems from Japan. But this post is not about these two common choices. Rather, it is about the newly arrived fast food joint - R Burger, that similarly came from the "Land of the Rising Sun".

So what's the hype with the R burger...?

R Burger prides itself to be the first hamburger café to introduce Marine Collagen in its buns. According to R Burger, "Marine collagen helps to stimulate collagen production. It encourages skin renewal, minimises muscle contractions, reduces the appearance of deep wrinkles and fine lines, and provides long-term improvement for the skin."
Therefore, it's marketing point lies in it being a healthier and alternative taste to the traditional burger.

Mr. Robotic ordered the R Burger Combo Meal which includes R Burger, Salad Stick with wasabi mayonnaise, Potato Wedges (hmm... this ain't too healthy ya?) and the Iced Black Tea.

Forgive Mr. Robotic for the poorly taken photo as he was very hungry at 8.50 pm and could not wait to start on his dinner.

The R Burger which comes with the beef patty really reminded Mr. Robotic of the Chinese's Kong Bak Bao (stewed pork wrapped with white buns) both in taste and presentation while the other items are not uncommon too with the other fast food joints. The cost of the combo meal is around $8+. Higher cost but supposely healthier choice? You be the judge.

If you are thinking of trying the R Burger, drop back at its only outlet in Singapore at ION Orchard.