Jackie Miao

Jacky Cheung's Jazz Album, released on 29th January 2010

Cantonese superstar Jacky Cheung (張學友), one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Hong Kong’s vibrant entertainment industry has selected to use a song my friend and schoolmate Roger Wang wrote as part of his new jazz album entitled Private Corner (Released: 29 Jan 2010).

Roger composed ‘Love Scale’ for Double Take’s debut album, which was released in 2003 with Mia Palencia taking the vocals for the original English version. Seven years later, the track has been rendered in Cantonese to ‘十二個音’ and is finally having its moment of glory in the international scene.

It just blows my mind to think of the idolatry of Jacky Cheung in school, Roger’s lone madness with the guitar and the hundreds of times we’ve heard wannabes at karaoke bars yelp Jacky’s songs…

The fact that the ‘God of Songs’ is now singing a tune written by Roger is amazing and unbelievable! I bet Roger is pinching himself now; he shares how it happened on his blog. I’m beaming with pride for him. Congratulations Roger… you deserve it!

Check out 十二個音 (Love Scale) here:-

According to Wikipedia:-

The glycemic index, glycaemic index, or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion and release glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI; carbohydrates that break down more slowly, releasing glucose more gradually into the bloodstream, have a low GI.

The New York Times Bestseller by the World's Leading Authorities on the Glycemic Index

After spending the last three posts sharing the recipes of what I made and ate for my Low-GI experiment, I realized it is impossible to make all my meals at home or lavish at that. The Low-GI diet is just a matter of knowing what to embrace and avoid and I’ll try to introduce some of the concepts to you throughout my experiment this week.

Breakfast 8:00am – 9:00am

I had an Anjou pear with an orange sprinkled with lime juice and cinnamon powder. At first, the sweetness of the fruits seemed counter-intuitive, but the point of my experiment is to eat foods that are published to have a low G.I. effect even if it seemed counter-intuitive. I also made 2 eggs, had 2 slices of flaxseed bread with a bit of rocket and cherry tomatoes, and a few ounces of the leftover bean salad I made the day before.

How I Felt for the Morning

With 5 hours sleep again, I was feeling tired before breakfast. After breakfast though, I felt really energetic. It was as if I had been given an energy drink. Again, I think it may have been the sugar rush from the fruits but the surprising thing was that I didn’t get a sugar crash and my energy levels were good. My heart rate was steady, I didn’t feel sleepy and it kept me full until 1:00pm.

Lunch 1:30pm

For lunch, I just took some of the leftover brown rice from the night before and put 50% vegetables and 50% rice and stir-fried it with a little bit of canola oil. Knowing that brown rice has a medium GI but high GL (Glycemic Load), I made sure I didn’t have too much of it. The effects of carbohydrates on your blood sugar is not only determined by the type of carbohydrate you consume, but the amount as well. That’s what the GL measures and so I had a medium-sized plate of it.

Snack 3:30pm

I kind of faded a little about an hour after lunch and nodded off once. I’m wondering if I should have thrown in some protein into the rice to bring down the GL even more. I wasn’t hungry by this time but I definitely had that moment when I felt the blood left my head and rushed to my stomach. I’ve read that adding some slow-releasing beans will regulate insulin levels so I snacked on 2 spoonfuls of leftover bean salad. I also had a cup of freshly made ginger juice with a teaspoon of Kamahi raw honey and cinnamon. After that snack, I got my energy back without any of the dozing off sugar crash.

Dinner 7:30pm

The snack from 4 hours ago sustained and maintained my energy levels. By dinner time, I had some of the rice I made in the afternoon with half a plate of green vegetables, and some pork bones and lotus root soup. This time my meal had some meat and a lot more vegetables.

Snack 11:00pm

Didn’t feel hungry so there was no need to snack on anything solid. I didn’t get the sluggish feeling from dinner like I did momentarily after lunch, and I think it is because of the added protein and increased fiber in the meal. I had another cup of ginger tea with honey and cinnamon to help with digestion and went to bed right about midnight.

Summary of Day 2

The brown rice meal without protein actually made me nod off. The Fresh Ginger Tea with Kamahi Honey and Cinnamon was really good. It was spicy and I could feel it helped with my digestion…

A few months ago I began reading the New York Times bestseller The New Glucose Revolution: The Authoritative Guide to the Glycemic Index and found some of the concepts surprising. This week I’m logging everything I eat to see whether or not it makes a positive difference to go low-GI!

8:40pm -  Even though I still felt full at dinner time, I knew that skipping dinner would be a bad idea so I made Pla Nung Baan Rai for dindin and got my maid to stir-fry cucumber shoots and broccoli with a little garlic and salt.

THAI COUNTRY-STYLE STEAMED BLACK COD

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized fillet of Black Cod
• 6 fresh shitake mushrooms, julienned
• 1 small tomato, sliced
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp rice wine (sake or huang jiu)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 2 stalks lemongrass, sliced into rings
• 3 fresh kaffir lime leaves, sliced finely
• 1/4 cup sliced shallots
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
• 2 red chillies, cored, seeds removed and sliced (you can use bird chillies if you want the heat)
• 1 tbsp slivered ginger root
• 1/2 a lime, sliced thinly

METHOD

1. Place the cleaned fish on a non-metal heat-proof dish separately.
2. Whisk the liquid ingredients in a bowl evenly and season with salt and white pepper.
3. Pour the liquid mixture onto all other flavoring ingredients, mix well and place on top of fish.
4. Finally, steam the fish at high heat for 15 minutes.
5. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with steamed brown rice.

Nutritional Value: The cold-water black cod is high in omega-3 fatty acids and the rest of the herbs, spices and vegetables are high in vitamins, minerals and much more. As will fresh whole foods the nutritional value is high.

Taste verdict: It tasted good but it wasn’t hot enough. I used a base recipe from an ethnic Thai cookbook and left the basil out, but I regret not using bird chillies.

Summary of Day 1

All these recommended portions from the many books and internet articles are preposterously generous. I am so stuffed, there’s too much food, I feel like it’s going to shoot out of my ears! Whoever told us to get our 5-a-day (some think you should get 7 portions a day) of fruit and vege is insane and deserves to be locked up in the Priory. Along with the proteins, fats and small amounts of wholegrain carbs, it’s simply too much bulk to stuff into a gut on an everyday basis. I am surprised how the measly amount of bean salad and that dense sandwich kept me full right up till dinner, something that would have been impossible with your regular humongous plate of Asian noodles or white rice with side dishes.

How I’m Feeling Right Now

9:23pm - Earlier on I mentioned I was surviving on 5 hours of sleep. Truth be told, for the whole day I felt really wired. The kind of feeling I get when I’ve had one too many cups of coffee minus the heart palpitations. Maybe it’s the enzymes from the raw foods in the morning, maybe it’s the slow-releasing properties of low-GI foods. I feel exhausted but my body is fully alert. The food fuel has been overextending my body while my brain is telling me it should be resting. Does that make sense? I’ll check in again tomorrow morning…

A few months ago I began reading the New York Times bestseller The New Glucose Revolution: The Authoritative Guide to the Glycemic Index and found some of the concepts surprising. Did you know that Jasmine rice causes a spike in your blood sugar levels faster than sugar itself? This week I’m logging everything I eat to see whether or not it makes a positive difference to go low-GI!

1:30pm – I was quickly fading at about 12:30pm so promptly made two things for lunch. The first was my own version of a Mexican black bean salad a la superfoods-style!

ENSALADA FRIJOLES NEGROS

Makes: 5 servings

Ingredients

• 250 grams boiled black beans (GI 30)
• 1 onion, chopped roughly (GI 0)
• 6 organic cherry tomatoes, sliced (GI 0)
• 4 tablespoons of whole corn kernels (GI 46)
• 1/2 a red bell pepper (GI 0)

Salad Dressing

• A bunch of cilantro leaves, chopped (GI 0)
• 1 tsp N.Z. Kamahi Raw Honey (GI 33)
• 3 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (GI 0)
• Juice of 2 fresh limes
• Salt and pepper to taste (GI 0)

METHOD

Whisk the dressing ingredients in a small bowl using a fork and pour over the salad. Mix well, chill for 30 mins and serve.

Nutritional Value: Black beans are an anti-inflammatory, high protein, fibrous superfood which is a good source of magnesium, phosphorus, thiamin, manganese, molybdenum and anti-oxidant flavonoids.

Taste verdict: Yummy. What I like most about my version is the lower fat content so I don’t feel nauseous when I have more than a few spoonfuls. Beans can be very heavy but my version lifts and doesn’t weigh down which some recipes tend to do especially if they have avocado in there. It has a tangy zest from the lime and there’s a beautiful floral hint from the Kamahi raw honey.

Next up is the main for lunch…

TUNA, ROCKET & CHEESE SANDWICH

For my main meal, I made a Tuna-Rocket Sandwich using toasted Mestemacher Natural Flaxseed Bread, which is a type of German sourbread that uses wholegrain. Like blue cheese, this wheat-free ‘low-GI’ dense-bread is an acquired taste and may not sit well the first few times. Now I simply prefer this to regular bread since I’ve grown to love the nutty taste. This is an extremely healthy bread with no artificial additives, and releases energy in a sustained manner which doesn’t cause my heart rate to jump like white bread.

Ingredients

• 2 slices of Natural Flax Seed Bread, toasted (Low GI)
• A bunch of rocket/arugula leaves (GI 0)
• Shaved padano cheese (GI o)
• 1/3 can of tuna in water
• 2 tablespoons of fat-free unsweetened yogurt (GI 0)
• Sea salt and black pepper to taste (GI 0)

Nutritional value: Super-nutritious tuna is high in protein, and the flaxseed bread is high in omega-3. Good all-around profile.

Taste verdict: The peppery rocket and cheese go beautifully! I love using yogurt as a substitute for mayonnaise because you get that creamy feel without all that fat. Makes me think that the only time mayonnaise should be used is in the form of aioli… when I’m eating Poisson!

3:15pm – Instant energy after lunch and I still feel stuffed and energetic after 3 hours. I hope this is going to last me until 7 or 8pm tonight. Until then!

A few months ago I began reading the New York Times bestseller The New Glucose Revolution: The Authoritative Guide to the Glycemic Index and found some of the concepts surprising. Did you know that Jasmine rice causes a spike in your blood sugar levels faster than sugar itself? This week I’m logging everything I eat to see whether or not it makes a positive difference to go low-GI!

Wednesday, 3rd Feb 2010

8:30am – For breakfast, I made a delicious fruit salad.

STRAWBERRY-ANJOU FRUIT SALAD

Ingredients

• An Anjou Pear – GI 38 (low)
• 6 strawberries – GI 25 (low)
• Juice of 1 lime – GI 0 (none)
• A bunch of chopped mint leaves – GI 0 (none)
• Cinnamon Powder – GI 5 (low)

Nutritional Value: High in fiber, vitamins, antioxidants and other essential minerals.

Taste rating: So yummy it’s worth evangelizing. Why didn’t I do this earlier?

Cinnamon powder is said to be great at regulating blood sugar levels so I used it to offset some of the effects of fructose from the Anjou pear. The acidity in lime juice also helps regulate insulin levels.

10:30am – After consuming the fruit salad, I felt a burst of energy. Initially I thought that it was probably the sugar rush (which will inevitably cause a sugar crash later) but here I am 2 hours later and the crash never came. My energy levels are still high, I don’t feel sleepy even though I’ve only had 5 hours of sleep and my heart rate remained stable throughout. Surprisingly I still feel full. Feeling great so far…

11:30am – Stomach began to growl. Had a handful of mixed nuts which include almonds, brazil, peanuts and cashews (GI 14-22 – low).

12:30pm – Feeling unsettled… don’t feel hungry but a little anxious. I guess it’s lunch time and wait till you see what I’m having for lunch!

Note: I’m also drinking 2 liters of water, taking fish oils and calcium supplements on a daily basis.