Marshmallows

The trouble with instant hot chocolate: the marshmallows are too few and tiny.

Whenever I feel too lazy to make my own hot cocoa (with equal parts sugar and cocoa powder along with milk and water), I break out that instant pack of liquid goodness(Nestle or Swiss Miss). Whenever I get one with Marshmallows, I feel sad when I see those tiny little things that melt too quickly in my cup.

Thus, I like having a few colored marshmallows on hand.



These are the perfect size for me: small enough to fit in my mouth on a sip, but large enough not to melt completely after a minute. Having a little color in my cup also cheers me up.


I do not recommend snacking on marshmallows, but for hot chocolate? Marshmallows are perfect.

Hungry? Have a yoghurt parfait!

Thinking about honey makes me hungry. Actually, I i just get hungry a lot. So I made something that can be called a yoghurt parfait, but with just one fruit. It actually looks more like a breakfast cereal, except using apples (because an apple a day keeps the doctor away!).

Slice half (or a whole) an apple in a bowl. Now since I had honey on hand, I drizzled a teaspoon of it on top of the apple, but you don't actually need it (like I needed it with papaya).



Then load with yoghurt. It looks just like cereal! This yoghurt was made with full cream milk, so it's a lot sweeter than the lower calorie alternatives.



Enjoy!

Review: Bench Fix Professional Molding Clay: Clay Doh

Sachets! You gotta love 'em. While some countries prefer Jumbo sizes, the trend in the Philippines is the use ofsachets: aside from being convenient, they are cheaper (in the absolute sense-which is a necessity in a third world country where people may not be able to splurge for a larger version). If you manage your product well, you can actually make your sachet last for more than one session. Like samples, which these are sometimes, they are excellent for people who don't want to commit to a product. I don't use hairsprays/gels/waxes often (sometimes, I barely even brush my hair!), so I'd rather have these little things than a jar of something I will barely use.

Anway, this is a single sachet of the stuff. 4 grams worth of product, for I forgot how much. It describes itself as having a 5/5 hold and 1/5 shine (in the bench range of hair products). The thing on my finger isn't dirt, it's a bit of the clay :)



I used that bit on my finger tip to coat the top of my fringe. As you can see, it seems shiny and white close up, but it doesn't look like that in real life, it's just the light reflecting off the product.

On a sidenote, I am that hirsute! (at least facially :|)



Why I prefer hair wax:

Pros
-doesn't give that greasy look that pomades give
-easy to wash off
-doesn't give a wet look like gel does
-doesn't dry my hair out (like gel)

I use this to tame my hair and hold curls. I don't want wet/greasy hair! Since I don't use it for extreme styles (which gels are better for), I have no problem with the hold.

Why I prefer this wax:
-hold is good
-non-shiny
-smells good (I don't like the smell of hair gels in general)

I admit that I don't try the other popular brand here (Gatsby) because I find the ads too masculine looking. lol. So I can't compare it with other waxes (just with other hair products in general, so maybe this shouldn't be a "review" but a comparison of the 3- wax, gel, pomade? I'm not gonna change it. Maybe talk about it if somebody asks).

A little product goes a long way, but with my current hair, I can use up a sachet in one go.

Add something sweet

I'm on a honey mask kick right now.

I've been plagued with acne since my recent allergic reaction. In an attempt to stop it, I used tretinoin on my face nightly. It made my face sting since I usually use it only 2x or 3x a week, but I persevered. Unfortunately, I think I had a bad reaction to formalin or something under the mask I was using (maybe due to the heat or poor circulation); my mouth region started to burn! It was mildly painful, so I washed it off and added some moisturizer as soon as possible.

Now, I'm using "natural methods" to heal my face. Right now, that means honey and calamansi (a citrus fruit; family Rutaceae- the local, cheaper version of lemons/limes) with more of the former than the latter.

I like to drink tea while waiting for the proper time to remove my mask (20 mins or so, some people leave honey masks overnight). I've been using honey as a sweetener (which I do sometimes) because I get too lazy to get the sugar. There is definitely a taste difference between white sugar, brown sugar and honey; you can prefer each type for different foods. However, I was wondering which one was healthier. Everyone keeps saying use honey instead of sugar, because it's sweeter and it's natural/good for you (actually because it has a lower glycemic index), but should you really?

Note: I used 21 grams because it's what's relevant to me (as I'm comparing it with the honey I have which says 21 grams is 1 tablespoon; 21 grams is around 6 teaspoons, 15 grams is around 1 tablespoon ). Stats from wikipedia

21 grams Granulated sugar:
-81.27 calories
-nutrients higher than 10% suggested daily values: none
-glycemic index: 64*

21 grams Brown sugar:
-79.17 calories
-nutrients higher than 10% suggested daily values: Iron (15%)
-glycemic index: 64*

21 grams Honey (21 grams):
-63.84 calories
-nutrients higher than 10% suggested daily values: none
-glycemic index: 31-78 (from wikipedia), 30 for raw honey*

*from fitsugar.com "Glycemic Index: Where Do Sweeteners Form?" at 10/14/11 - not mine :)

Wikipedia says that brown sugar, being denser though, packs more sugar than white, so unless you have scales at home, you might be consuming more brown sugar than you think! An added benefit of honey: you can't make a "heaping" tablespoon out of it.

If my honey actually scores a 30 on the GI, then honey is the way to go. However, for small quantities (for instance, in my tea- milk tea too), I think I'd prefer using brown sugar, thank you. Why?

1 tablespoon brown sugar has less calories than 1 tablespoon honey, and since I don't usually eat carbs during my study time, the glycemic load isn't that much.

Using honey is less convenient than using sugar (since honey is runny/messy) and I end up with too much honey in the spoon and less in my tea, and thus end up putting even more honey.

I don't have a container to share it in for tea with others :)

I'm just lazy that way.

Edit: according to this other source (nutritiondata.com, "Glycemic Index) which gives honey a GI of 55, sugar has a GL of 8 while honey has 9.