Coffee Elements, All Seasons, Penang

Coffee Elements is not a new face in Penang and it is still going on strong . The recent good news I heard from one of the proprietor is that Coffee Element is going to open another outlet in Kuala Lumpur, the first over there. In Penang, there are existing two outlets, one in All Seasons, Air Itam and another in Gurney Paragon, Gurney Drive.(info at the bottom)

A refreshing drink to begin with and a healthy one indeed.I couldn't help but remove some of the minty leaves to eat with my dish too. And then we had a big portion of salad. Fresh and crisp leafy vegetables coupled with cherry tomatoes and olives. Balsamic olive oil dressing is best to go with salad for me instead of the usual thousand island dressing. Thumbs up to Coffee Element for giving us the option.

Minty Mint

Rocket Salad

Honey Mustard Chicken and Chicken with Cream Mushroom are highly recommended. First of all, I liked that they serve with lots of fresh salads at the side in both the dishes. The Honey Mustard Chicken is crispy and tender on the inside. It goes well with the honey mustard sauce. The chicken thigh of the Chicken with mushroom cream is tasty to the core. And the citrus taste of the orange cubes with the salad is complementing and makes it all very whole for me.

Honey Mustard Chicken

Cream Chicken(Chicken Thigh)

Cakes are all freshly baked homemade and there are around 3 choices to choose from. I have tried quite abit of their coffee selections except the cold ones. The hot ones like latte,flavored latte and mocha and also the chocolate drinks are enjoyable. You might see more when you visit my blog's facebook page. And I usually go to Coffee Element, Gurney Paragon as its more convenient for me, but hopefully one day they will have the same food selections too in Paragon. 

Cafe Latte

So happy to have achieved this design of my mocha, I was being very careful to sip it slow. I just love looking at beautiful things in whatever form it might be. 

Mocha
I'm not a science stream student but that looks like some equations of some kind in the picture below. Can anyone tell me what does it equate to? Or am I just entirely mistaken.

 Drop by their Coffee Element Facebook for latest updates. It's a good place for gatherings and parties too.

Address: 2nd Floor, All Seasons Place, Lebuhraya Thean Teik, Ayer Itam, Penang &

                                            3rd Floor, Gurney Paragon Mall, Penang

                                                           Contact No:  012 4782693 

Clockwise Place, Georgetown, Penang

Clockwise Place is a 3 month old cosy cafe cum hostel that serves reasonable food courtesy of Ukrainian recipe. The place is vibrant with colours and with clocks, pictures,  postcards as part of their decor. 

 We were having brunch that morning and I wanted a healthier selection thus the salad. 

There is a team of Ukrainian that serves, cooks and manage this fine place. Excellent service I might add. We were served with non local sweets/chocolates at the very beginning. Love the chocolates. It is nice to be able to enjoy some Eastern European cuisine here in Penang.  Definitely suits my taste.

I enjoyed my Olivier Salad very much, with cubes of chicken,  eggs, potatoes, cucumbers, green peas and onion with their sauce. It was a perfect dish for me.

My friend's omelette was a simple yet a pleasant meal. Out of three coffee , I liked cappuccino the best especially when its still warm.

The Apple Strudel is one of their signature dish and I highly recommend it. Love the generous cream they put in as it complements the strudel with sweet, sour combination all at once. 

I'm looking forward to trying more dishes from them.  Indeed a nice hangout place that offers free wifi and no extra taxes.

Apple Strudel

Latte

Cappuccino

Clare's Mocha

Omelette set

Olivier Salad

Happy friendly team that served us that day

Penang Clockwise Facebook
75, Stewart Lane, Georgetown, Penang
04-2614235

What to eat, what to eat? A Ben’s Healthy Food Review

Today is the day for a guest blogger to grace my humble blog and may I introduce to you Edith from applesonsticks.com. She is now residing in KL and she would like to share one of her favourite eating places in KL. Being a vegan, Edith explores many vegetarian dishes and healthy choices are of utmost importance to her. Thanks Edith for your wonderful sharing.

 What to eat, what to eat? A Ben’s Healthy Food Review

 by Edith 

 Here’ the deal: you can easily find a Ben’s in almost each mall in KL; on top of that, you can also easily find healthy food on their menus, because healthy food can mean vegetarian food, and in my case, it certainly does. I love vegetarian food, especially after the bad food poisoning experiences I had while working in Malaysia. If you stick through this post, you will love it, too! One of my favorite dishes is the Portobello Mushroom Burger. It’s basically a burger as any other, but instead of a fatty fried meat patty, you get a delicious healthy mushroom patty. It’s absolutely tasty and healthy at the same time – it’s all veggies! It comes with a good dose of fries and a side salad of their tasty salad.

 If you’re going for something lighter, you can perhaps try Ben’s House Salad, their signature salad. It’s so genuine that I actually have problems with identifying the dressing! It contains salad, tomatoes, cucumbers, soybeans and nuts. It has a salty and sour dressing which was probably prepared with balsamic vinegar, but other than that, I don’t know. If you prefer to enjoy toast or bread with your salad, you might as well order the garlic bread as a snack to accompany your light salad; otherwise, for a light dinner, it works without the toast as well.

Ben’s, however, is about more than just eating. Their concept is built around the idea that eating is about building relationships, and for that they have the perfect setting. Each table is nicely set and comfortable; in addition, each table comes with a box of conversations starters and recipes. While the recipes are to take, the conversation starters should stay for others to enjoy them, too. But if you find a recipe you like, you take it and try to prepare it at home. However, if you’re on an awkward first date; bumped into an acquaintance by chance and decided to sit at the same table; or you are just out of topics, you are saved! The conversation starters are fun and can potentially reveal forgotten facts about oneself – like ‘What is your first childhood memory?’ or ‘What is the one thing you would do if nobody found out about it?’. Finding out about Ben’s and then slowly getting addicted to it has worked out just fine for me. I was battling with indigestion and food poisoning a lot before I finally realized these things:

Getting to know more about what is good to eat vs what isn’t good to eat in order to avoid tummy issues has been very useful for me; and eating vegetarian at Ben’s has definitely been a part of these changes. Kudos for Ben’s!

To know more, please click to visit the website.

Find Ben’s here (in Pavilion):
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang, Bukit Bintang,
55100 Kuala Lumpur,

Contact :+60 3-2118 8833

Disease Prevention Through Diet

Every now and then, My TastingOutLoud will have a guest post. And I'm honored to have Healthline which based in US to offer and share with us a topic which serves as a healthy reminder. We can enjoy food but let's adopt a good healthy lifestyle as well. Thanks Healthline !

Article contributed by Healthline.com 

Disease Prevention Through Diet 
     The body needs vitamins, proteins, minerals and carbohydrates to maintain the muscles, bones, nerves, organs, to produce chemicals and hormones to ensure organs function properly. There are more benefits than being fit and slim to eating a healthy diet throughout your life. It can help you with the prevention of diseases such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and heart disease.

    You can prevent health issues in the later stages of your life if you maintain a healthy lifestyle in your youth, young adulthood and middle age. Let us look at some foods that help with the prevention and management of diseases.

Osteoporosis
The bones grow until the early thirties when the maximum bone density is reached. Osteoporosis occurs when the density of the bones is lost with aging. While building up the density of the bones during your younger years you may be able to prevent osteoporosis. Some foods can aid in the prevention and offer relief from the disease.

• Oily fish, liver and dairy products have high levels of Vitamin D, which is needed for bone production. Vitamin D can also be produced with exposure to sunlight. The calcium in dairy products is good for maintaining bone health. 
• Exercise also aids in strengthening the bones. 

Heart Disease
Heart disease risk factors include poor diet and genetics. The basics of nutrition can work to prevent and manage the heart disease. The diet should have saturated fats removed and unsaturated fats used to replace them.
Some of these foods include:

• Low fat cheese 
• Skim milk 
• Lean meat.     

Total fat intake should be limited, and vegetables and fruits should be eaten often. Meat should be grilled to remove the fat. Eating foods such as salmon or mackerel that are high in omega-3 fatty acids and adding soy will lower the heart disease risk by reducing the “bad” cholesterol. Most baked goods and fried foods contain trans fats, which should be avoided. Unless you make them yourself from scratch with ingredients that are heart friendly.

Cancer 
   There is evidence that some cancers can be prevented with healthy lifestyle habits and diet. Things such as drinking excessively, being overweight and smoking are among risk the risk factors for developing a couple of types of cancer. While only drinking in moderation and giving up smoking will help, there are foods that should be avoided and foods that are rich in vitamins that should be eaten.
   A large variety of vegetables and fruits should be eaten daily, while avoiding large quantities of processed and red meat. Foods such as almonds and whole grain breads, which provide fiber to help keep your weight in its target range, can help lower your risk. Fiber, complex carbohydrates, protein and minerals are found in legumes, beans and fish. Omega 3’s are found in fish also.

    Foods that contain vitamins and minerals that the body needs in order for the organs to function properly can help the immune system to fight disease. Healthy foods to add to the diet include:

• Avocados 
• Almonds 
• Eggs 
• Dark Chocolate 
• Legumes such as beans 
• Olive oil 
• Whole grain 

Controlling your weight through proper diet will help to prevent obesity, which is a contributing factor for heart disease and several other diseases. Exercise also does the body a lot of good! 

Tammy Mahan has worked as a nurse for 20 years. She enjoys writing about medical/health articles and often shares her content on Healthline


Twitter: @healthline.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/healthlinenetworks

O'Briens Irish Sandwich, Penang

I discovered something better than Subway, though no offence to Subway who serves healthy meals each day. My personal preference for fast sandwich buy goes out to O'Briens Irish Sandwich. 

It is situated opposite Queensbay Mall, along the shop lots at the ground floor. Cosy, quaint little place for  healthy eaters to grab their favourite sandwich. I took a look at the menu on the board and wanted to order everything to try. It all look so enticing somehow.  Well, I'm sure to visit again. You can stay up to date by liking My Tasting Outloud Facebook

Click to view some of the menu

They have a variety of sauces and condiments and you can choose croissants if you do not want bread. There are other pastries to add on as well.

Turkey wrap

Time for my coffee, ahh...irish cream coffee! Oh divine, a small one sufficed though they also sell big one for RM8.50. Love it!

Irish Cream Coffee - RM7.50

Carrot and Orange Booster - Rm9.50

Click for a bigger view of the pies and cakes.

Soon there will be OBrien's membership  offered to customer. As of my last visit, it has not been launched yet. So stay tune!

Todays Special: Healthy Meal Plans by Carolyn Knight

Today Tasting Out Loud will take a different route, a road less travelled by food bloggers/hunters. I am glad to feature a guest blogger who shares with us her creative ideas on eating healthy meals. As much as all of us love to eat, we do need to take care of our body. Deprivation is not the way, but ,making good choices at the right time will help us enjoy our days longer. There is a time to enjoy your favourite foods in so many places while other times we need to take things into our own hands. I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. Thanks Carolyn! ~ Sue

Healthy Meal Plans for the Foodie Turned Health Freak

by Carolyn Knight

If you want to live a healthier, longer life, you’d better start eating nutritious foods and staying away from foods with tons of fat. But every time you go on a diet you long for those delicious meals, those glorious platters, those rich flavors. Guess what? You don’t have to deprive your choosy palate of its favorite foods. With healthy meal plans you outline every week, you can continue having nutritious and delicious meals regularly. 

Lots of means are available in order for you to create healthy yet appetizing meals; being a chef or having plenty of time is not a requirement. Follow these steps to assembling easy, quick, and nutrient-rich meals.

1.    Achieve Balanced Meals

When you prepare meals, make sure that you include a variety of foods such as grains, fruits, veggies, dairy, and protein. Even though you adore steak and fries, you should not eat such meals excessively. Just 2-3 oz. of steak is a sufficient amount to maintain energy and healthy, caloric intake. And what about the fries? Lots of fats, I’d say. You are much better off ditching fatty fries with whole grain pasta, instead. For a side dish, try opting for some green beans, enhanced with parsley, shallots, clove garlic, bit of salt, couple drops of olive oil, and ground black pepper.

2.   Know the Correct Food Portions

If you hear your stomach growl when you spy someone eating your favorite cheesecake, you shouldn’t simply watch enviously, depriving yourself of your craving. Why not indulge, within reason? You can always just cut your serving size in half, thereby minimizing the amount of calories. Try also taking little bites because, according to American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, chewing food slowly will also lessen your intake of food.

There are predetermined, healthy portion sizes for every food group. Keeping to these can help you control your food intake and balance your meals more correctly.

3.   Get in the Kitchen

There are plenty of folks who subscribe to the phrase “Eat to lose weight.” However, many people are now thinking that a more apt way to lose weight is to simply get i the kitchen. And why not? It makes sense. When you do the preparation of the meal yourself, you will be in a better position to make certain that everything you put the meal is proportional and healthy. You can also avoid excess oil, butter and fats are kept out.

If it is part of your family tradition to eat dinner out on the weekend, maybe it’s time to modify your former habits. Dining in is less costly and healthier! To make old dishes interesting, add new colors and flavors into the mix. Experiment with spices, seasonings, vegetables, and fruits. The deep purple eggplant is the key ingredient in this tempting eggplant parmigiana and there’s also the Halibut Veracruz for your avocado. These recipes are not only simple, they are quick to make and would surely make your family’s mouth water.       

So, ready to start cooking healthy? Just follow these uncomplicated healthy meal plans and you’ll soon be eating healthy, while still enjoying your love of good food.