Book Review by Berita Harian

My book ‘Fitness Food Made Simple’ was reviewed by Berita Harian in its Saturday paper over the weekend. The interview, which was done two weeks ago, took place at Coffee Bean in Sunway Pyramid i.e. during my family vacation there. Not only that, I also managed to squeeze in a photo-shooting session for a workout poster during the stay. It was all done in the ‘relaxing’ way and I enjoyed it very much. Now, I wish I could do this for the rest of my life, full time .

The journalist, Fairuz, was very enthusiastic about the book and I thanked him for that. He’s such a professional person to work with, and we had great time sharing stories. I specifically mentioned during the interview that healthy cuisine is all about moderation. Moderation should be in the ingredients, but not in the  flavor.  This book contains recipes of a wide range of dishes to suit a healthy lifestyle whilst satisfying our appetite for great-tasting dishes. Hope you enjoy the article (hey kash, I wore your autism tee!).

 

 

Mudah dan ringkas

Oleh Fairuz Zaidan

Buku masakan berasaskan kecergasan bimbing gaya hidup sihat SESUAI dengan gaya hidup moden yang serba pantas dan ringkas, idea penyediaan makanan juga harus ringkas dan praktikal untuk keperluan seharian.

Namun, apakah bentuk sajian sihat yang boleh dihasilkan dalam tempoh kurang daripada 10 minit? Semua ini tidak mustahil melalui panduan yang diperturunkan buku resipi Fitness Food Made Simple, sekali gus membantu anda menyediakan makanan berkhasiat secara mudah dan ringkas.

Penulis buku ini, Ian Yusof, berkata buku resipi kecergasan itu antara lain menyediakan panduan penyediaan makanan berkhasiat seringkas mungkin serta menekankan aspek kesihatan untuk keseimbangan tubuh badan.

Beliau berkata, adalah penting untuk meneliti kandungan pemakanan yang diambil bagi mengelak kesan jangka panjang pada tubuh badan. Ditambah lagi dengan pelbagai kandungan perisa makanan diragui, adalah lebih baik menyediakan sendiri resipi yang sihat untuk dimakan.

“Tidak semua resipi sukar untuk dibuat kerana pada zaman sekarang ini semuanya harus ringkas dan mudah. Namun, saya cuba mempelbagaikan resipi dengan mempraktikkan elemen kesihatan dalam penyediaan resipi masakan ringkas.

“Inilah yang terkandung dalam buku resipi Fitness Food Made Simple,” katanya kepada XY – Ikon Lelaki. Menyentuh mengenai idea penghasilan buku resipi itu, Ian berkata, beliau sering diminta untuk memberi pelbagai tip pemakanan sepanjang terbabit dalam dunia kecergasan. Dengan pengalaman menyediakan menu berasaskan makanan sihat, sajian berkhasiat menurutnya, amat mudah dihasilkan.

Berbeza dengan buku resipi biasa, resepi yang disyorkan dalam Fitness Food Made Simple seberapa mungkin mengelak pengambilan garam, gula dan serbuk perisa. Sebaliknya, Ian mengolah resipi baru yang lebih praktikal dan berkhasiat dari sudut kesihatan.

“Memanglah kalau berkait rapat dengan kesihatan, semuanya menjadi hambar termasuk makanan. Tetapi, apa yang saya buat ialah mempelbagaikan resipi baru yang boleh dipraktik secara mudah dan yang penting, ia tetap menyelerakan.

“Malah, sesetengah resipi itu cukup mudah dihasilkan dalam tempoh lima minit. Bukankah mudah untuk menyediakan menu sihat andai kita tahu cara yang betul,” katanya yang juga seorang jurutera sivil dan jurulatih kecergasan peribadi sambilan.

Mengulas lanjut mengenai buku resipi Fitness Food Made Simple, Ian berkata, lebih 40 resipi berkhasiat dan ringkas disediakan di mana ia dikategorikan kepada beberapa bahagian seperti menu sajian ala barat, aneka nasi dan sup, minuman, roti serta pencuci mulut.

Kata Ian, tabiat pemakanan tidak seharusnya disekat namun harus arif dalam soal penyediaan makanan untuk memastikan tahap kesihatan dijaga.

“Tidak mahulah nanti pelbagai masalah yang timbul apabila tua kerana tidak menjaga pemakanan. Sebab itu, dalam asyik kita bersenam, harus juga seimbangkan dengan pemakanan yang diambil. Bukan saja kadar gula dan garam pengambilan lemak, sumber berminyak juga harus diambil kira,” katanya.

Tunggu apa lagi, buku masakan Fitness Food Made Simple sesuai dipraktikkan sebagai gaya hidup baru untuk menjaga pemakanan. Harga pasaran buku ini ialah RM69.90 dan boleh didapati esklusif di MPH Mid Valley.

Tiada alasan lagi untuk mengelak daripada memasak sendiri di rumah!

INFO: Petua kesihatan Ramadan

Elak

• Makanan berlemak dan bergoreng.
• Makanan yang mengandungi terlalu banyak gula.
• Makan terlampau banyak terutama pada waktu sahur.

Digalakkan

• Karbohidrat kompleks ketika bersahur kerana ia kekal dalam perut lebih lama dan tidak cepat lapar.
• Pisang ialah sumber yang bagus untuk kalium, magnesium dan karbohidrat.

Minum

• Sebanyak mungkin air atau jus antara berbuka puasa dan tidur supaya badan dapat menukar tahap bendalir dalam masa yang ditetapkan.

Well readers, you can also get an autographed copy from this website by e-mailing me the details of yourself, your mailing address, your contact no. Additional postage fee of RM5.00 will be charged for express delivery within Malaysia. Thx & rgds – Partner, in food & fitness.

 

organising 101

Last weekend, quite miraculously, I had nothing scheduled to pull me away from home. After a good night sleep, I had a vigorous workout with my new expatriate client in Setia Alam. Feeling energized, I decided to tackle a couple of cleaning and organizing projects in the kitchen pantry . It’s amazing how much stuff one can accumulate. After going through closets and shelves, I got busy and made some labels. I am a big fan of label makers and post-it notes to keep things neat and organized. When those projects were done, I drove into Sri Petaling town to get some more stationery. Believe it or not, days like this are fun for me.

 

p/s – Next project is the home office and the storage area!

a bundle of joy …

This morning, at 9.01am, my sweetie pie Lil gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Weighing at 2.8kg, he comes into this world with a pair of big eyes, a flaring nose and thick hair. Here’s a peek at our Baby Aaryan (persian for Full of Strength …  ..). Both the mommy and my super lil munchkin are doing great. My other munchkin is very excited too receiving a real-life baby ‘doll’ for her playhouse.

of family matters and DNS

If you think that adventure racing is simply bulldozing into nature, you are absolutely right wrong. An adventure racer must prepare a whole lot of equipment prior to the race. Yesterday was the Skill Test and Equipment Check, where all the racers must complete all the required race skills testing plus ensure that all the equipment is as per requirement. It is meant for the racers to demonstrate to the race organizers that we have the skills to keep ourself (and other people) safe on the technical sections of the race. Failing to do so, the team will not be allowed onto the race course.

These are the things that are COMPULSORY Equipment per Participant of Eco X-Capade Team Category:

• Climbing harness with CE or UIAA certification (certified for rock climbing purposes).
• Two locking carabiners (May be autolock or screw gate)
• One abseil device: Figure of eight or Omega Pacific SBG II. No ATC or Petzl Huit allowed.
• Two slings (minimum 60cm long)
• Water container good to contain minimum 2 liters of hydration liquid.
• One (1) Mountain Bicycle in good condition. Road bikes, time trial bikes, cyclo-cross and tandem bikes are not permitted
• One (1) Biking or climbing Helmet per participant
• One (1) Headlamp or torch per participant.
• One (1) pair of full-fingered Gloves suitable for abseiling
• Footwear – running shoes/ cross trainer/ trail shoes (toe revealing shoes are not permitted)
• Waterproof map case for race passport and instructions

 

Well, in trying to live up to the name of “macambagus” (no lah, actually cheramiche’s sons are not well), we arrived at the skill test session VERY late where the race briefing was already on-going and the skill testing stations were already closed. Gulped!!

Organisers were kind enough to open up the skill tests for macambagus and one other team. There were 4 testing stations altogether;

• Mandatory and First aid equipment
• Kayak skills – ability to recover from a capsized kayak and climb back into the boat
• Abseil station  – show ability to abseil with usage of prussic.
• Rock Climbing and Belaying

Since it was already late, we completed the abseil station only. I was having problem the first round, but passed the second attempt. It was really CRUCIAL  for us to know how to do it  confidently, as part of the race course would bring us to a 30m abseil at Damai!

So, how did we DNS (Did Not Start)? By the time we reached home, wifey, being at 37 weeks pregnant was already experiencing  pain, in fact, she’s already on MC for past one week (although doc’s anticipated her due date as 23 July). I also received a text mesage from Cheramiche that his sons are still not well, and needs him to be around. In fact, he just texted me and said that he was up all nite to take care of his youngest son. As the race could be a whole day affair, plus we could be in deep woods where there’s no coverage, we decided to pull out, for the love and care of a family is life’s greatest blessing. It can be the greatest adventure of a life too.

FAMILY FIRST …. (although deep down, I wanted to do it so much …).

I think we have made the right choice Have a great Sunday, folks!!

header blunder

Did you notice that I’ve changed this website header from a pornstar image (as Kash claimed it) to a mtbiker’s leg ? And it took me one %$#$%# year to do it. Truth it, I am neither a WordPress expert nor a Photoshop expert. The celebrity trainer Kevin Zahri helped me out to upload the header image last time, and left me clueless after that.

Few nights back, my new business partner, AHJ, passed me some new designs and  I took the initiative to upload it. Thanks to “Wordpress for Dummies”, I successfully made the changes  at 2am!

He’s also in the midst of coming up with a more interactive Corporate Athhletes’ website, complete with a forum and link to an online payment. This new header is just a temporary one, so bear with me.  At least now, I know Nadia a.k.a Tolldoll is not afraid to open my website during office hours anymore … heheheh

Come and see some of other ‘rejected’ headers. (of course, the ‘mother’ of all macambagus is the last one ….. simply hate it!…hehehhe). Have a good weekend, folks!

 

p/s – Wifey loves the old header. She said it looked ‘catchy’.

lunch with Azean Irdawaty

Last Sunday, I was invited for a cooking plus makan2 session with celebrity Azean Irdawaty at her house in Bandar Utama. Kak Yan as she is fondly known in the film industry, is a veteran actress. I love her  and I love her acting.  This multiple award-winning actress has played many roles – the naughty Datin, the suffering HIV-positive patient and, the guardian of a mythical tiger in Waris Jari Hantu. She is definitely the best actress around.

Using a Noxxa Pressure Cooker, she cooked for us a complete lunch within minutes – beef rendang and mutton soup in just less than 20 minutes and  beriyani rice  well under 7 minutes.  I am so impressed with her cooking skills, and the food taste super delicious! Wifey and I really enjoyed her food. With so little time taken to prepare the meals, she could entertain and mingle with the guests longer. Now, that’s Entertaining 101.

p/s – As most of us are aware, Kak Yan was diagnosed with stage three cancer in June 2007. I’m so very happy and grateful to see her well and strong now. Alhamdullilah.

signing books at Mohsin

Last Sunday, right after a stretching session by dear friend MsJewelz at Kiara Park, friends and I went to Mohsin Restaurant at TTDI for our Tribute TT to Sundowners.  As always, I really enjoy meeting friends, especialy those who share the same passion.  It was also the venue for my unofficial book signing. Thank you so much to those who have bought my books. I really hope they love the recipes, and enjoy preparing these healthy meals. There are very easy to prepare recipes.

This book is different from a normal cookbook. I substituted many common unhealthy ingredients in the recipes. This is one of the recipes, extremely simple and worth the try;

p/s – Friends blogged about the event too. Do visit their blogs;

Kash : http://run-kooky-run.blogspot.com/2010/06/hearty-week.html

Yimster : http://yimster.blogspot.com/2010/06/stretch-it-babe.html

Syah : http://iamsyah.blogspot.com/2010/06/time-by-original-bell-ross.html

Diket : http://wcr1414.blogspot.com/

meeting medic experts

Few weeks back, I had the privilege to meet several medical professionals for some light snack. I brought along Enaikay with me (we are the only two runners in the group ). The doctors who turned up were Dr. Adeeb, one of the country’s most-trusted heart-surgeons, and a renowned and experienced Consultant / Sports Physician; Dr Aston from Dr. Aston Sports Clinic. Dr. Aston is also the competition doctor for Jelajah Malaysia 2010, Kapas-Marang Swimathon, Powerman etc. Together with Syukran, a certified wellness consultant, we had great time discussing in great length several topics relating to injuries and heart complications relating to running.

We were there for a mission … jeng jeng jeng . Enaikay and I are organizing a special event for you guys. Hopefully if everything works out right, the event will take place in July. We will blog about it once we have it firmed up.

One of the topics that we discussed in great length was whether our body is made for running. No thanks to an article in the newspaper recently that discourage people from running as it claims that our body is not designed to run.

But many thanks to a report by famous biological anthropologist; Dr. Dan Lieberman that claimed otherwise. He said as homo-sapiens, we are born to run. Some top features that enable us to excel at running are:

A head with a fairly flat face and small nose — which shifts the center of mass of our head back so it’s easier to balance.

A preference for mouth breathing rather than nasal breathing at greater running intensities. While we don’t pant in the manner of many four-legged animals, mouth breathing helps us dissipate heat and offers less resistance and a greater rate of airflow than nasal breathing.

Reduced body hair (fur) and extensive sweat glands that help us dissipate the heat generated by our contracting muscles and thus maintain a stable body temperature. The ability to sweat from our scalp, forehead and face may help cool blood before it reaches our brain.

Wide shoulders that rotate independently of our head and neck, allowing our arms to freely swing while our head aims forward. Wide shoulders also help with balance and stabilization.

Short and light forearms that reduce the energy required to maintain our elbows in a flexed position during running.

A large gluteus maximus (butt muscle) that enhances stabilization of our trunk. This muscle is barely used for walking, but it is used extensively during running and keeps us from falling forward onto our faces.

Large joint surfaces relative to our body mass in most of our lower limb joints (sacroiliac, hip and knee) — which help dissipate impact forces.

Long tendons and ligaments in our legs and feet that act like springs to store and release mechanical energy, thus reducing the metabolic cost of running. These include the Achilles tendon, the iliotibial tract and the peroneus longus muscle.

Arches in our feet that absorb impact and serve as springs.

Compact, rigid feet and short toes that allow efficient use of our feet to push off from the ground during running. It’s easy for us to take these amazing anatomical structures for granted.

The next time you find yourself lacking motivation to head out the door for a jog or struggling through a run, give thanks to your ancestors. Channel your inner homo-erectus, embrace your big strong glutes, hold your head high and relish the astounding evidence that we are born to be endurance runners — and you may find yourself gliding along filled with gratitude.

meeting chef laura calder

Few weeks back, I was given an opportunity to meet up with the alluring and very sexy AFC host of French Food at Home; Laura Calder. Laura’s culinary expertise has led her to host more than 70 episodes of French Food at Home, with two seasons shown exclusively on the Asian Food Channel (AFC) Astro CH703. She has also written food articles in several publications, including Vogue Entertaining and Travel, Gourmet Magazine, Gastronomica, The Times of London, The Los Angeles Times, The Wine Journal, and Flare magazine.

Following university studies in Canada and the UK, Laura studied cooking at Dubrulle Culinary Institute in Vancouver and L’Ecole de Cuisine LaVarenne in Burgundy. She also undertook wine studies in France and California.   After a decade in France, she’s now based in Canada.

When thinking of French cuisine and cooking, many things come to mind – elegance and exquisiteness. In that session with Laura, she taught us basic French cooking techniques and prepared 3 simple and extremely delicious and ‘elegant’ recipes; Asparagus served with Orange Sauce and Shallots, Steak au Poivre (Pepper Steak) with Potato Gratin and heavenly Apple Cream Tart.

 

p/s – I’ve been very grateful that there’re now demand for my cooking demo and fitness & health talks by companies/individuals. This is new, and of course, least expected. It wasn’t even in my wildest dream to share my passion for nutrition, health & fitness with bigger audience. I’m still learning myself and that was the main reason why I attended this session with Laura Calder. I wanted to learn the presentation techniques of celeb chefs (more than learning the cooking techniques itself … hehehe) in preparing myself for my next demo show for a company mid next month.  There are also few more events lining up, and I’m just so excited to have  it accomplish one step at a time.

 

take home chef

Besides being a Personal Fitness Trainer, I am also a Personal Fitness Chef – a certification that I took earlier last year to gain more knowledge in healthy food preparation/cooking. This way I am able to provide a complete package to my clients, both from the fitness side as well as the nutrition and food part.

In Malaysia, it’s a bit tricky to find good and healthy food out there. Even when there are (or claimed to be one), food labeled to be low in fat normally will be high in sodium, and what’s low in sugar will be high in fat. I don’t blame the food makers as their main aim is to come up with delicious and tasty food so that consumers will buy their products over and over again. But the truth is, there are so many hidden and artery-clogging ingredients in the food that can be harmful to the consumers.

I wanted to take control over the ingredients in my food and that was the reason why I took up this certification. Basically, if you cook yourself, not only you’ll save up a lot of money from buying those fat&sweet-laden food, but you can come up with lots of interesting recipes on your own.

I created Fitness Kitchen (the F&B arm of Corporate Athletes) last year and since then, has caught the media’s attention where I’ve been invited to talk and even cook in studio by Astro, appeared on newspaper giving tips on nutrition and healthy eating, and later being offered to write my own book (see below for the latest development).  Fitness Kitchen’s other programs were also in demand too, especially Personal Health Lifestyle Program where the client gets to spend a day with me for meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking. I’ll even go through the basic eating habits, eating out strategies etc. Best of all, I will prepare wholesome food for the client to eat in a week!

A client of mine requested for the program last few weekends, and she agreed to allow me to document it for blogging purposes. So, if you guys are thinking how I become way too busy over the weekend, well here’s the reason ;

Towards the end of the program (4hrs), I’ve helped her to prepare 14 dishes altogether, among others; chicken stew, vegetarian pasta, puddings, jam, teriyaki fish, cream of mushroom etc. Indeed, it was a fun day of cooking, talking and eating.

 

Latest Update on Fitness Food Made Simple book

 

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