On plastic water bottles

Recently I realised that my expensive Nalgene water bottles and ‘premium’ range Lock & Lock lunch box were all made of BPA-leeching polycarbonate. Many others have already blogged about unsafe food plastics and the BPA problem before (see Just Bento: What are Japanese plastic bento boxes made of? and The SIGG water bottle controversy and [...]

Food intolerance-friendly airline meals

Hello again after a long break! I have been away and will be travelling again soon so have some possibly helpful travel tips for anyone flying by Singapore Airlines.
The last time I went overseas by Cathay Pacific, I prepared an elaborate set of bento boxes to last me halfway round the globe, as I described [...]

Anti-bacterial EZ-Lock boxes for bento

Japanese bento boxes have come with anti-bacterial silver ions for some time, like these ones. This helps to prevent your food from going bad, especially in hot weather.
Now Lock n Lock’s EZ-Lock range also some with Ag+ ions. After you remove the cardboard packaging, the Ag+ boxes can be distinguished by their lids of a [...]

Epsom salt body scrub

Those of you who have read Sue Dengate’s books on food intolerances or the discussions on the Failsafe food intolerance discussion lists will have come across mention of Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) as one way of counteracting food reactions. This article explains how sulphates form a key element in a particular detoxification pathway in the [...]

Preservative-free dried fruit at Nature’s Farm

This is great — I’ve discovered an easily-accessible source of dried fruit, including my favourite, cranberries. Nature’s Farm has dozens of outlets all over Singapore, so it’s great if you need to stock up on dried fruit for baking at short notice.
I remember the days when it was one of the only places that stocked [...]

Buying Shinzi Katoh in Singapore

If your bento aesthetics lean towards zakka (such as FrankTastes), and you are hoping for Shinzi Katoh items to appear in your Christmas stocking this year, you might want to hint to your friends and family with these Singapore Shinzi Katoh shopping tips (^.^).
Maameemoo (Orchard Cineleisure, 02-09) is a tiny zakka heaven, with a selection [...]

My bento bags 3: two-layer Tzu Chi

Quite often I carry food for more than one meal and it’s a real hassle to get to the largest box (usually the main meal, lunch) at the bottom of the bag. Sometimes this involves unloading everything on top first, and going through the same process all over again to put the box back in!
After [...]

My bento bags 2: kiwi green & orange Reisenthel

The German brand, Reisenthel, is mostly known for its folding, environmentally-friendly shopping bags. Whilst browsing the colourful designs at Tangs one day, I chanced upon these small tote bags intended for young children – going by the photographs on the tags. However, they are a perfect size for bento too. I can’t seem to find [...]

Choosing insulated mugs

It being the Christmas season and with plenty of sales in the shops, you might be looking to buy an insulated mug. I just saw a newspaper ad for a Thermos warehouse sale this weekend — sorry, I can’t remember the details because I already have enough insulated mugs & flasks and don’t intend to [...]

Breakfast cereals and cold milk

Before my recent foray into breakfast cereals a couple of weeks ago, I can’t remember when was the previous time I crunched on bowl of crispy breakfast cereal in cold dairy milk. With most commercial cereals full of sugar and additives, not to mention the fact that Kelloggs cereals in Singapore are produced regionally and [...]