7 Things You Should NEVER Feed Your Family!

Got this from Mak. And now I feel sinful! Please read through and you'll learn that some of the nicest things in the world could be dangerously deceiving. For the sake of your health and your loved ones, keep them off the dining table, lunchbox, picnic basket and most importantly your mouth folks! Err, since we're humans, you might want to start decreasing your intake and get ready to serve more healthy home cooked meals on the table.

By Jaclyn Johnson
eDiets.com Staff Writer
Updated: August 16, 2006

There will always be those fattening foods that are easy to make, easy to get, and easy to crave. You think “OK, I know this is bad but it can’t be that bad!” Think again. Here are the top seven foods you should never ever feed your family or yourself!

1. Doughnuts

It’s hard to resist the smell of a Krispy Kreme doughnut, which is why I never step foot in the store. Doughnuts are fried chock-full of sugar and white flour and loads of trans fat.

According to the Krispy Kreme website, an average 3.5 ounce sugar doughnut weighs in with about 400 calories and contains few other nutrients besides fat. These sugary treats may satisfy your craving but it won’t satisfy your hunger as most of the calories come from fat.

"Eating a lot of refined sugar contributes to blood sugar ‘swings’ or extreme fluctuations,” eDiets Chief Nutritionist Susan Burke said.

- have I ever told you that I LOOOOOOVE doughnuts?

2. Cheeseburger with fries

The age-old classic may be delicious but think twice before sinking your teeth into that Big Mac. The saturated fat found in cheese burgers has been linked to heart attacks, strokes and some types of cancer.

“In fact, fast-food portions are gargantuan, almost double the calories per meal compared to 20 years ago," Susan says. "Twenty years ago the average fast-food cheeseburger had about 300 calories. Today’s BK Whopper with cheese has 720. To burn the excess 420 calories, you’d have to run for 40 minutes. For example, in 1985 a medium French fry had 240 calories, 2.4 ounces. Today’s ‘medium’ is 6.9 ounces and 610 calories.

"This fast-food meal of cheeseburger and fries has way too many calories and fat grams, not to mention grams of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol and sodium.”

Let’s break down this meal. First, take the white-flour bun (refined carbohydrates), then add some processed cheese (saturated fat and trans fat, plus lots of additives and preservatives) and then top off with fried red meat (cholesterol and saturated fats). And let’s not forget about the condiments such as the always fattening mayonnaise.

Not sounding so appetizing anymore, huh? Oh, and let’s not forget about the infamous side dish. You cheeseburger will most likely come with a side of French fries, which is sadly the most popular vegetable dish in the U.S. Don’t kid yourself, French fries are not vegetables, they are extremely high in fat and contain a tiny amount of nutrients.

3. Fried Chicken and Chicken Nuggets

With the recent class-action lawsuit between The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and KFC, the health risks posed by fried foods are becoming more public. The CSPI is suing the food chain for their use of cooking oil containing unhealthy trans fats. The lawsuit seeks to order KFC to use other types of cooking oils and to inform customers how much trans fats KFC’s food contains.

Foods cooked in highly heated oils (most notably partially hydrogenated oil) have been known to cause cancer, weight gain and other serious health risks if ingested regularly. A 10-piece chicken McNugget from McDonald’s has 420 calories, 24 grams of fat and 1120 milligrams of sodium. One Extra Crispy Chicken Breast from KFC has around 420 calories and eight grams of saturated fat. So unless you want to super size yourself, it’s best to make a clean break with fried foods.

- no 3 & no 4 are our favorite take away/delivery menus. Thank God we rarely eat out!

4. Oscar Mayer's Lunchables

Sure they are convenient and easy, but boy are they unhealthy! These kid-marketed lunches are loaded with saturated fat and sodium. They usually contain highly processed meats and cheeses, white flour crackers and sugary treats. Lunchables get two-thirds of their calories from fat and sugar. And they provide lopsided nutrition since they contain no fruits or vegetables.

“They insidiously promote obesity by making kids think that lunch normally comes in a cellophane-wrapped box," Susan says. "Parents are promoting their children’s obesity by buying these items. They’re expensive, too. Pack a sandwich and save dollars and health.”

- huh? Never bought any.

5. Sugary Cereal

Not all cereals are created equally. And while your kids might beg for the latest cookie or marshmallow chocolate surprise cereals, it is a safe bet they are about as healthy as a dessert. Keywords to look out for are puffed, dyed and sweetened.

Most kids’ cereals are so highly processed they no longer look like the grains they were originally made from. A healthy alternative is oatmeal. Although, if you are buying pre-packaged oatmeal make sure to check the label and see how much sugar it contains, you might be surprised.

"A little sugar isn’t a problem but when the first ingredient on the box is sugar, then watch out," she said. "There is no fruit in Froot Loops. But the unsweetened original Cheerios or Rice Krispies are fine, and you can sweeten them naturally with blueberries and strawberries.”

- guess what's my husband and son favourite breakfast cereal?

6. Processed Meats.

What falls under the category of processed meats? Hot dogs, sausage, jerky, bacon, certain lunch meats and meats used in canned soup products. Almost all processed meats have sodium nitrite added as a preservative.

A recent study conducted at the University of Hawaii found that sodium nitrite can act as “a precursor to highly carcinogenic nitrosamines -- potent cancer-causing chemicals that accelerate the formation and growth of cancer cells throughout the body.” So eliminate these meats from your diet before they eliminate you!

- Hmmp. I don't stock up the fridge with any of those.

7. Canned soup.

Sometimes regarded as a healthy food, soups can be very deceiving. You must stay on your guard because many canned soups have high levels of trans fats, sodium and artificial preservatives such as MSG. Just one serving (which is roughly one cup) can have almost 1,000 milligrams of salt. Also, steer clear of soups that are cream-based, they can be high in calories and fat.

Susan says it is important to “read labels from back to front. Ignore the health claims, and instead focus on the ingredients and serving size. Watch out for hydrogenated fat (trans fat) and sodium. If you’re buying bread to go with you soup, the first ingredient should be whole grain -- either whole wheat, rye or other grain. If it just says ‘wheat bread,’ that doesn’t mean whole wheat.”

- what?!

'Make Your Own PlayDough' Recipe

a kg of flour
half cup of oil
10 tsp. of salt
coloured water

* I divided the mixture into different portions to put in different colours. You'll need to adjust the amount of water for a good, non-sticking dough. Try it at home with your kids and enjoy!

Credits to Ako and Bengkel Asuh Bijak JIM.

talk-about-babies [part 6]

It has been so long since t-a-b appears. Ummi has been busy writing other things ey? And maybe there's just too much to tell about my two lovely babies. I'm going to tell their story anyway, for my dearest family and friends.

For a start, let me tell you that I've been deprived of a good night sleep for more than 3 days now. I'm sleeping during the day, when the kids are finally asleep. That's about 3am-5am for the little girl and the latest 7am for the big boy. No, Fidaa' is not colicky and no, none of them are sick. It's just that somehow, for uncertain reasons I can't recall, handzalah is reluctant to go to bed at his usual 'late' sleeping time at about 11pm to 1am daily. And, Fidaa' happens to love his company that she has joined the late night party! Thanks to these little heroes, ummi has turned into a batwoman - with transformation incomplete though, am not going to wear the batsuit of course! ;)


Handzalah:

• is about to be 27months old on June 1st. He's babbling and blabbering around copying everything that gets to his ears so beware! Don't talk nonsense when you're with kids. Funny that docs say they have short-term memory when they remembers all the bad things :D. He plays football with abi nearly everyday and still love listening and dancing to the beat of the music. Any music will do but he loves songs with children's voices the most. He's even singing nowadays and he makes my heart melt!
  
• Tried teaching him the Arabic/Qur'anic alphabets with the Iqra' Opah sent us but he seems not very interested in anything but the last page. Can't expect too much from kids, they enjoy activity - that's active and interesting. Someone sent us a link to a Youtube video with kids singing the alphabets an dit was so funny. Handzalah loves it and he's been watching the Muslims kids' school series from Youtube since and Alhamdulillah now he knows a few of the alphabets already.
• We've just made ourselves a nice kilo of 'PlayDough' recently in red, yellow and green. This vege-lover boy will ask ummi to make him a 'broccoli' using the green dough other than 'nasi' (rice). Jazakillah Ako for the PlayDough recipe. She got it from Bengkel Asuh Bijak and it works well alhamdulillah. Will share it with you later inshaAllah :)
• He has his own trainer seat now for the potty. He can tell us when he needs to go, pull off his own pants and uses the toilet for the poo-poo whenever he 'has the time' or remembers. Ummi does try asking him if he needs to use it at the usual times of the day to help make the potty-training a success but he's yet to be able to tell us if he needs a wee. I did put the potty-training tips into practice to help him with it and one of them is by making him familiar with the toilet and the trainer seat, placing it on the toilet's lid everytime we take him for a wash in the bath and 'offering' him to use it.
• He calls himself his name "Handzayah" now. At last, he got it 99.9% right praise be to Allah :)
• There's one time Ummi felt unhappy and cried for sensible reasons and took the trouble to 'report' to Abi that "Ummi sedih" (Ummi is sad). Hehe, never let he sees you doing anything negative kay? Kantoi nanti! :)
  
• He lovessssss his sister though sometimes jealousy precedes and he doesn't know the limits. He's always the first to check things out hearing his sister cries. You should listen to him trying to calm her crying sister saying, "Fidaa' jangan 'ngis, abang ada ni" (Don't cry Fidaa', big brother is here). He's even very kind towards other 'babies'. Always offering a cuddle and 'looking after' role as if he's bigger and older.
• I'm not sure if he's an introvert as he's usually okay with adults but with kids his age, he has a certain 'time out' kinda thing. He'll play with them but he'll have a period where he'll do something else or find someone else - the adults I mean.
  
• His appetite has tremendously increased. Well, he needs all the energy to get him moving. He's the Jumping Bean - that's what our Health Visitor, Anne calls him because he's always jumping.
• If you love your techno-gadgets and the memories within, keep it 'far' from this little boy. He knows how to dig things only by seeing you click them once.
• His skin is greatly improving (he has eczema, if I've not mentioned it before). We've been prescribed with DoubleBase and it has done a good job keeping his skin moisturised for a longer period of time. Lesser complaints and better night sleep (if he sleeps ;))

Fidaa':

• is now 4 1/2 months old. She smiles and laughs and she has just started rolling. Her first successful attempt was yesterday when she was crying, asking her Ummi to pick her up while Ummi was busy in the kitchen. She was lying on her stomach then and I guess she can't wait any longer to get on her back.
• she loves interacting with people. She'll be making so much sound when you talk to her with cute expressions making you feel eeeeeeee geraaam! ;) She's very alert and strong according to the GP and the docs-to-be; my fellow Tafsir class students. Sarah even did a physical test ton confirm Azila's non-scientific yet observant assessment.
  
• she's still on breastmilk, fully and I don't think I'll start weaning until she's 6 months old if she doesn't show any signs of need before that.
• I think she's teething. She dribbles a lot, struggling to suck her thumbs and sometimes seem a bit unhappy though she has just finished a feed.
  
• Alhamdulillah up to this moment she doesn't have any problems with the skin except for the normal nappy rash that goes on and off.

We went to the Commons last weekend, all four of us! We used to take turns pushing Handzalah's pram or walk and chase him around but now we're both occupied with both lovely beings on their prams and Handzalah on his feet!

This is the funny alif baa taa clip from Youtube. Enjoy!

love IS BLIND.

Missing my friends. My dearest friends. For no particular reason except for a heart that still feels in a soul that's still breathing. I miss them!

---
Love is blind.
You forgive,
you forget
for love
no matter how deep is the cut.

You saw those black spots
imperfection,
the dark side
airing negative thoughts.
But love is blind,
letting them remain unnoticed
perceiving only beauty and kindness
with all your heart.

Love is blind.
No wonder there's never a mountain too high
or a jungle too wild,
no view could deceive
what a heart perceives
as love, perfection.
Devotion.
The sense of being complete.

But love, believes in eternity
where happines lies and freedom lives
hence, lovers fly to the skies
without wings, yet a heart fully determined.
And what's with those glittering wonders,
temporal splendours
when the world shall only means darkness to the eyes
of those who believe.

I wish to love and see Thee,
to walk through this destiny
in blindness of hardship and sufferings
leaving pain and bad memories remain unnoticed.

Love is blind.
Thank God, it is!

khaleel el-wafy
644am, 23/5/07
S'oton.

Library Opening

message from Hanan:

Salamo Aleikom everyone
We are glad to invite you to the grand opening of 
Southampton Medina mosque trust limited Library.
Please forward the eflyer to everyone you know
in Southampton and please try to come.

Jazakom Allaho Khayran

---

* Saturday 26 May:
10:30am to 1:00pm - girls' session (girls and women ONLY)
1:15pm to 4:30pm - boys' session (boys and men ONLY)

* Sunday 27 May:
10:30am to 4:30am - Children's session (girls of all ages, boys up to age 10 ONLY)

Everyone's invited! Try to be there inshaAllah :)

Books

Parenting Skills Based on the Qur'an and Sunnah : With Practical Examples for Various Ages

128 Pages
by Dr. Ekram Beshir; Dr. Mohamed Rida Beshir

Description:
The Beshirs, a wife/husband team, who co-authored two best-selling books on parenting Meeting the Challenge of Parenting in the West, an Islamic Perspective and Muslim Teens and Blissful Marriage: A Practical Islamic Guide have conducted very successful workshops on parenting skills for Muslim families in North America and overseas. In this book they present the workable skills that parents participating in these workshops have found most rewarding. "Very professional, well researched, and pretty lively. Where were you 16 years ago? I wish I could start all over with the knowledge I gained from your workshop." An attendee from South Africa. "It was a very joyful experience. I learned so much more than I ever expected. An amazing and thought provoking workshop." An attendee from Toronto, Canada. Dr. Ekram is a medical doctor by profession, with a background in child psychology. She is the founder and principal of Abraar full time Islamic school and Rahma School, a weekend Arabic and Islamic school, in Ottawa, Canada. She is the recipient of the Director's Citation Award of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board for the year 2000 for her contributions in the area of education from among 7000 employees in the board. She has been very active with the Muslim community in Ottawa in the areas of study circles, children and youth camps, sisters programs, and marriage counseling. She has traveled extensively to various parts of the world to present parenting workshops. She has also authored other books for teaching Arabic to Muslim children living in Non- Arabic speaking countries. Dr. Mohamed Rida Beshir is an engineer by profession, with over 25 years of experience in Da'wa work in North America. He has held various positions with MSA and ISNA on both local and national levels. He is a member of the training and development department of the Muslim American Society (MAS). He is a regular speaker in ISNA, ICNA, MSA and MAS conventions. He is actively developing and delivering training programs to various Muslim communities all over the world. He is the recipient of The Ottawa Muslim Association and the Ottawa Muslim Community Circle recognition awards for years 1993 and 1999 for his volunteer Islamic work.

source : Bazar, Islamicity

half-hearted; to Him we shall return

News: Ayong, our beloved aunt (more like a loving granny to me) has left all of us yesterday ... Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un. From Him we came, to Him we shall return.

Knowing her for three years, I look forward to every journey to my husband's hometown of Muar, simply to see her and and her big, funny cooking experts family. I guess her daughters inherited all her kitchen skills mashaALlah. She'll always greet us with a loving smile and cuddle, even mentioning 'sayangnya' everytime we arrive at her humble 'kampung' home. She was a great cook although retired from the kitchen in her old age, and her children seems to keep the good cooking tradition among them. My husband will be mentioning her delicious cooking whenever the family serves us great home cooked food at the kitchen table. Even now when we're far from home, everytime we talk about Malaysia and it's delicacies, he'll come out with something nice, home-made by Ayong and her family. One of the best would be her 'sambal', which is a must during festives like 'Eid with a special touch that makes it taste so nice you'll hardly find an equal.

One great thing I'll always remember about her, was her caring attitude towards others. In these few years, she hasn't been able to see properly due to her serious diabetic problem. I don't even know whether she had ever recognize my face but her caring heart has never seems to fail 'seeing' and feeling the people around her. Everytime we're in her company, at her home especially, she'll be asking her childen whether they've served us food and drinks and whether we've eaten properly. She'll be so concern that she'll be asking the same question a few times. She'll even sit next to us, just to 'look' at and honour her guests. A life devoted to serving her beloved flesh and blood, and the community around her, I pray that Allah will grant her peace and blessings during her short rest in al-Barzakh till the eternal Aakhirah inshaAllah.

I'm feeling half-hearted now, thinking about my dearest family at home, so far away from reach. But life, needs to go on and the mission, although with a lot of struggle, needs to be accomplished InshaAllah. I pray, and I pray, and hoping for your prayers, that this little mission will be accomplished in time and we'll be back home soon InshaAllah. Isn't it a tradition of travellers, parting from friends and families,? Lillah, fillah InshaAllah ... terimalah ya Allah.

To those whom sent us their heartiest condolence and joined the funeral prayer (ghaib) last night, may Allah reward your kindness - Jazakumullah Khayral Jazaa'. Every soul shall have a taste of death (Quran - 3:185), have we been preparing ourselves for it?

Ayong, we'll miss you...

Virginia Tech and Anizah Othman, the world we're living in

I could not recall knowing Ustazah Anizah during my campus years although we were in the same university (and she's about my age). But my heartiest condolence goes to her family and friends. In a noble quest of educating the society, in a remote area where most young teachers and government officers would like to avoid, this tragedy would be another dark memory not only for those related to the victim but for all of us. When such stories became public through the news, the world - where's sanity and senses live - has never failed to respond with utmost concern and sympathy.

When the 23-year old student of Virginia Tech gunned down 32 of his fellow mates and staffs what did he have in mind? What would possibly trigger such rage ending with the boy shooting himself? I wonder. The moment the news of the killings reached his parents, family and friends what do they think about? Did sadness and questions overwhelmed them and made the thoughts unknown and unjustified? I wonder. And I wonder how those related to the victims feel when such precious lives can't be brought back though the world's empathy didn't fail to declare their sympathy.

And again, as a parent I wonder how worried one could be of their offsprings and loved ones when the world has been composing such horrifying histories. Both Anizah and Virginia Tech had different stories and background but shared the same feelings and concerns from the public. I can't imagine a father sending her teenage child to school in the morning only to comprehend the fact that later in the afternoon he or she had been murdered by a deviant colleague who has been present and around all the while. It won't be easy for a mother to accept the reality that her beloved child has been killed on the way to her friend's house when she's been expecting a ritual call, assuring everything's fine and well. You observe your child daily and you loved them ever since you knew they exist only to believe that they left you forever in the most impossible manner that you could think of. I pray that Allah shall give us patience and strength in enduring the loss of our loved ones, always.

Discussing such issues, I'm wondering about the future of our children and generation. What will it be? Young people are indulged in deadly, massive killings. Weapons are being traded on the streets. Policemen 'permitting' a public institution to continue its activities when a killer is walking throughout its amenities. An educated woman being strangled to death with reasons and exact account of the tragedy remains a mystery. People crossing the boundaries of sanity and humanity.

The public might forget these stories in a month or two unless another hit the news wal'iyazubillah. But should we, parents and people who claimed empathy towards the good of the community stay in the state of negligence and forgetfulness of our duty to help the society heal, to promote healthy ideas and means in handling such issues that triggered loads of data and analysis from experts and authorities. What could we do, should we do?

Think! Because it starts from you!

In Malaysia or Virginia, we feel.
Let's think and let's act, let us all heal!

Allahumma ... guide us and protect us from such calamity.

Coconut Delight

I’ve been trying on some recipes these few weeks, as if i’ve got nothing to do ;). From the previously successful ‘kuih ketayap’ to the challenging currypuff ;), I even ventured into making ‘cendol’ which erm has ye to reach a happy ending. Isk, I did that for my anniversary using all ‘means’ and it end up in the dustbin! Allahumma yassir. Nevertheless, I knew what went wrong if I’m about to try it again.

Been ‘thinking’ of Coconut Candy (Candy Kelapa) lately. I remembered having them most of the time in the fridge - made by Mama herself but she can’t recall the recipe now it has been so long since she last made them. Anyway, when I was making ‘inti kelapa’ for ‘kuih ketayap’ last time, I noticed a recipe at the back of East End’s Desiccated Coconut pack - Coconut Delight. I thought it’ll be great to try, even if it won’t equal the Malay Coconut Candy, I should at least feel delighted by its taste … well, the name says so ey?

The trial was successful and I should say it tastes just like coconut candy but the texture is a bit soft and moist. There’s a ‘missing’ taste an dI don’t know what. For now, this is the recipe copied from the pack. Help yourselves folks!

COCONUT DELIGHT

200ml/7 fl oz milk

50g/2 oz East End margarine

375g/13 0z sugar

350g/12 oz East End Desiccated Coconut

1 teaspoon ground East End Green Cardamoms

Lightly grease a medium size shalow baking pan or sheet. In a large saucepan, bring the milk and margarine to the boil over a medium heat. Stir in the sugar, desiccated coconut and cardamom, stirring constantly for 6-8 minutes until the coconut becomes thick and glazed. Remove from the heat and pour into the baking pan. Cool, cut into squares and serve.

* I didn’t use all East End’s products except for the desiccated coconut. In fact, I used butter instead of margarine and exchange ground cardamoms with vanilla essence because I simply know abuhandzalah and the little boy won’t like it. Any other ideas?

dua mimpi

Kelmarin aku bermimpi
suria bersinar cemerlang
di lorong sunyi ini,
burung-burung menyanyikan lagu riang
dan bayu lembut berbisik;
bahagia telah datang,
bahagia sudah menjelang.

Tetapi semalam,
mimpi indah jadi ngeri;
langit memuntahkan petir
dan awan gemawan hitam
dikejar pekik angin
ribut dan kabut,
lorong sunyi jadi gelap
hujungnya jalan mati.

Apakah?
Aku tak mengerti.
Keliru makin bingung,
benarkah hujan panas
bisa menemukan pelangi?

Tinggal harap pada Kau yang sudi.
Dengarkan,
jangan tinggal aku sendiri.
Leraikan,
usah yakinku berbelah bagi.
Tuhan,
biar kutahu erti isyarat-Mu
dan hati ...
ittaqi, ittaqi!

khaleel el-wafy
0024am 060507, rumah kecil Furzedown Road

Today

Time really flies, and life has changed so much, but alhamdulillah for everything, I'm always smiling. Fidaa' wakes up with a smile, Handzalah wakes up with a cry. But ummi and abi will laugh at both entertainers who start our days with joy. It's three years together now and I'm all grateful for everything I have and do not.

Alhamdulillah for this ni'mah, alhamdulillah for this love. The journey is still far and there's a lot to learn too.
A lot to improve and bitter moments to chew. But may Allah give us courage, wisdom and strength for we only love because of You. Never feel weak or unimportant, never grieve for our shortcomings for there's space for lessons and improvement. Never say never to the challenges ahead as I'm always here with you, for you. To walk those challenging steps, through times good and bad. Just don't look back until we reach His hubb! Uhibbukfillah. Salam ulangtahun dan terima kasih,
pada semua, untuk segala-galanya.

that day in January 2007 ...

I receive a note from beloved father. And how I wish, I could hug him and tell him
"I LOVE YOU FOREVER!"

This is Papa. I glanced at the photo of my grandson. How I feel to be with him in times of need. Eyes of marbles and lips with amplified meanings, looking with anxieties......my goodness tears on my cheeks, remembering those good old days taking him for a stroll to far away places. Complacent in his buggy unaware of the journey, whether it is cold, hot or windy. Soccer is his favourite and he knows where and when to get started. He is a left footer and dribles like a six footer. When the day gets dark it is time to get back. Once again he is in the driver's seat. Home we go through the Commons and the uncommon, sometimes breaking the speed limit of FURZEDOWN ROAD and passing the NO ENTRY ROAD. Passerbyes with curiosity will have all the smiles, looking at this cutie already in his dreams of the far away places and his Chaffeur of Minangkabau origin. Alhamdulillah, home at last, waiting with garlands of curry aroma are his Opaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah and Umi. Unfortunately.... he is still in his dreams .

To Nurin Mazaya, we are proud of you as a wife and mother. Keep it up. We love you and HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

18th January 2007