Health Freak Mommy

A Whole Lot of Pandan!

Our neighbour has an entire garden filled with pandan plants, growing right on the ground. The pandan leaves are almost like wild weeds — so green, thick and incredibly luscious! 🌿

So whenever Dad needs pandan leaves for baking or cooking and our garden doesn't have enough, he often asks our neighbour for some. A few days ago, our neighbour generously gave him a whole bunch of pandan leaves.

Dad then spent practically the entire afternoon in the kitchen washing, chopping, blending and squeezing the leaves to extract the pandan juice. To do this the old-fashioned way, he blends the pandan leaves with some water, then pours the mixture into a muslin cloth and squeezes out every drop of juice. Talk about labour intensive! 😂

He then stores the pandan juice in the fridge overnight. By the next day, the water and the concentrated pandan essence separate naturally. Dad pours the pandan water into another container to use for cooking, while the concentrated pandan essence goes into the freezer. That precious green essence will eventually be used for baking cakes and making pandan kaya. 💚

Dad is 83 years old, and this is the only method he knows. But I have to admit, there is something rather satisfying about doing it the traditional way. No fancy gadgets, just pandan leaves, water, a blender, a muslin cloth and plenty of elbow grease! 😆

I also kept some of the pandan leaves to make pandan tea. Sometimes I brew them on their own, and sometimes I mix them with flowers, green tea or black tea. The aroma is absolutely wonderful, and the tea tastes terrific! 🍵🌿

And we don't waste the pandan pulp either. After Dad has squeezed out all the juice, we put the leftover pandan pulp into containers and place them in our cars and bathroom. They make everything smell so fresh and naturally fragrant. Apparently, pandan is also said to help repel cockroaches, so that's another little bonus! 😂

From one big bunch of pandan leaves, we get pandan juice, pandan essence, tea, natural air freshener — and hopefully fewer cockroaches. Now that's making good use of a gardenful of pandan! 🌿💚

Have you tried Dutch Lady x Tealive’s new packet milk? 🥛🍵

The other day, I spotted two new products in the chiller at 99 Speedmart — Dutch Lady x Tealive Signature Matcha and Dutch Lady x Tealive Signature Milk Tea.

I picked up the Matcha flavour to try. It’s RM2.60 for a 250ml pack with a cap.

My verdict? The matcha notes are nicely balanced with the milk, but it’s a little too sweet for my palate. 😅 Since I hardly ever drink packet or canned drinks or flavoured milk, I guess I’m just more sensitive to the sweetness.

I found a way to enjoy it, though — I added it to my plain yoghurt, and the tartness of the yoghurt helped balance out the sweetness. It actually worked pretty well! 😂

Next, I’m going to try the Signature Milk Tea. Let’s see if that one suits my taste buds better.

Have you tried either of these new Dutch Lady x Tealive packet milks? What did you think? 👀

Today, Dad surprised us by announcing that he wasn't cooking dinner. Instead, we were going out to eat! 😄 Mum and I couldn't have been happier because we really don't want him cooking every single day. At 83, it's tiring to be preparing meals almost daily, and he deserves a well-earned break too. And this means no post-dinner cleaning up for me, yay!

So off we went to Dad's favourite tai chow restaurant, Sam Poh in Tambun. Even though there were only three of us—and we're all incredibly small eaters—Dad still ordered three dishes: stir-fried garoupa fish slices with ginger and scallions, salted egg yolk baby French beans, and claypot tofu. Everything was delicious, but there was no way we could finish it all, so we packed the leftovers home for tomorrow. 😋

Speaking of food, my youngest daughter told me today that UM has been providing free lunches to Foundation students since the start of her programme last month, and it will continue until September. It's nothing fancy—just a rice box with rice, cucumber slices, and a packet of curry, which I think contains chicken. Interestingly, no cutlery is provided, so everyone gets to enjoy their meal the beloved Malaysian way... with their hands! 😂. Sorry no photo of her lunch box because this girl forbids me from posting her photos.

Stories, laughter and homemade yogurt

One of the things Mum and I do every day now is share stories with each other.

Mum tells me stories about her younger days, while I share with her about my life back in KL over the past 35 years. Through these conversations, I am discovering a side of Mum that I never fully knew before.

Apparently, Mum was quite a “hottie” in her younger days 😂 She was beautiful, intelligent, kind-hearted, and very well-liked by her teachers and friends. Many men admired her too — her admirers included a prominent doctor, an engineer, and today I found out that she even had an Olympic swimmer from the 1960s pursuing her and this man recently looked for her on FB and added her as friend 😄

These storytelling sessions have now become our favourite pastime after lunch and dinner. While we wash dishes and clean up the kitchen, we chat, laugh and exchange memories.

Mum told me that before I moved back to Ipoh, she hardly talked because Dad is a quiet man who doesn’t say much. She talked so little that whenever she did talk, she would sometimes cough non-stop. Now, she can talk and talk and talk… and she doesn’t cough anymore 😂

I guess laughter, companionship and having someone to share life with can be so healing.

And speaking of Mum’s love… here’s her homemade yogurt that she makes specially for me in the pressure cooker. ❤️

It is honestly the most delicious yogurt ever — made with fresh milk, a starter from my existing store-bought yogurt, coconut cream, and pure pandan juice from the pandan leaves in our garden.

No added sugar, full of natural goodness, with the lovely fragrance of pandan and creamy coconut.

My Tea Of The Day is a beautiful blend of chrysanthemum buds, osmanthus flowers, blue pea flowers from our garden, red dates, and goji berries, all gently simmered in my new glass kettle.

Dried flowers, herbs, red dates, and goji berries taste so much better when they're briefly boiled rather than simply steeped in hot water. Simmering brings out more of their natural sweetness, aroma, colour, and flavour, making every cup much more satisfying.

I love this kettle. Once the tea is ready, I just press the Keep Warm function, and it keeps my tea at a perfect 40°C, so I can enjoy warm tea throughout the day without having to reheat it. There are 20 functions in dual language (English & Chinese) to choose from on the panel.

As someone who drinks tea every single day, this has easily become one of the best kitchen investments I've made.

If you're a fellow tea lover, I highly recommend it. I bought mine from this Shopee seller 👉https://s.shopee.com.my/Lm8mEnU9G

Breakfast and TOTD ☕🌿

My breakfast today is mum’s microwaved low-carb cake, 2 half-boiled eggs, half an avocado, a handful of walnuts, groundnuts and almonds, plus some pressure-cooked chickpeas. It’s a wholesome low-carb, high-protein and high-fiber meal that keeps me full without snacking in between meals 💪

Mum’s low-carb mug cakes are my favorite. She makes it with coconut or almond flour, extra virgin coconut oil, a little honey, sugar-free cacao powder, milk, a pinch of salt and baking powder. Simple ingredients, but super yummeh! 😋

My Tea of the Day (TOTD) is a liver-loving tea with dandelion roots, jasmine buds, rose buds and red dates — a fragrant and comforting herbal blend to enjoy with my breakfast. 🌸🍵

Back in KL, Saturdays and Sundays were usually our eat-out days with the girls and their dad. Here in Ipoh, life is much simpler and slower-paced. We mostly enjoy home-cooked meals and only head out to restaurants or cafes when my brothers or daughters come back to visit, or when relatives and friends drop by. ❤️

Different seasons of life bring different kinds of joy. Sometimes, happiness is found not in fancy meals outside, but in a simple breakfast prepared with love at home. 😊

My 25-Year Journey with PCOS, Insulin Resistance & Hope

I was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic O***y Syndrome) in 2001 when I was 28 years old.

What prompted me to see a gynaecologist was how suddenly everything changed. My weight shot up from 42kg to 47kg in just one month, I started getting acne on my chin, and my periods came only a few times a year. I just knew something wasn't right.

After an ultrasound scan, my gynaecologist diagnosed me with PCOS. It came as a real shock.

Looking back, I suspect years of work stress and unhealthy late-night meals may have played a part. At that time, I was working as a PA to a prominent Dato', and my job was incredibly stressful.

Being the health geek that I am 😄, I spent countless hours reading and researching everything I could about PCOS. Instead of relying solely on medication, I decided to make major lifestyle changes. I adopted a very low-carb diet and exercised consistently every single day, come rain or shine.

One important thing I learned is that PCOS is commonly associated with insulin resistance, which increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

True enough, despite eating very little sugary food, exercising regularly and following a low-carb diet for years, my HbA1c was still 6.0 when I had my blood test in February 2026.

Since moving back to Ipoh, I've cleaned up my diet even more. I've eliminated about 95% of junk food, including chips, ice creams, biscuits and ultra-processed foods (UPFs). The remaining 5%? Well... life is too short to completely give up the occasional slice of cake, ais kacang, or my favourite kuih! 😊

I also believe that my chronic insomnia, brought on by perimenopause, is one of the biggest reasons why my HbA1c has remained stubbornly at 6.0. Unfortunately, even taking magnesium bisglycinate hasn't made much difference to my sleep.

This year, I've added several new habits to help improve my insulin sensitivity:

Strength training
Zumba
Daily brisk walking
Taking apple cider vinegar + lemon juice after meals
Eating protein and fibre before carbohydrates
Continuing my habit of not sitting down immediately after meals (OCD me mop the floor and clean the kitchen after every meal)
Cutting back even further on carbohydrates, including bread

My next blood test is in September, and I'm really curious to see whether all these lifestyle changes have made a difference.

I'm hopeful that my HbA1c will improve, but at the same time, I'm trying to stay realistic because quality sleep continues to be the one piece of the puzzle that I haven't been able to fix.

Until then, I'll keep doing what I can—eating low-carb meals, practising intermittent fasting whenever possible, staying active, and hoping that one day, I'll finally enjoy a full night's sleep.

As for strength training and my daily brisk walks... I know they'll remain my faithful companions for the rest of my life. 💪❤️

PSA to those who are 60 and above.

https://says.com/my/lifestyle/benefits-free-services-senior-citizen-malaysians-enjoy-60?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=fbstatus&utm_campaign=metastatus&fbclid=IwY2xjawTXrjBwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMURuTnZFN3ZFMkNtN3dKYktzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeILLvw7RBwhzUW7cQrXCnkyxB7DEoU73PfECzWFVtMFhliuA2ioS5dcpEsBY_aem_vJTg88WKIb79OeFW3NRkcw

11 Benefits And Free Services Malaysians Can Enjoy After Turning 60 Did you know senior citizens can get free transport to hospitals and clinics?