make your own nutella!

yes, ever tried nutella before? i haven't as i reading the label, i'm not tempted to try. the label doesn't "read" healthy to me.

but chocolate and roasted hazelnut as a bread spread... hmm... it must be good! so make a healthy version!

through google, found this nice little recipe, good for one big ikea jam jar above.

you need

• 2 cups raw hazelnuts
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

for sugar, i used brown sugar. start off with 1/2 cup and add to taste.
for cocoa powder, i used organic raw cocoa powder, which sells cheaper than hershey's cocoa powder.
for vegetable oil, i used coconut oil.

hey, all three ingredients above is the same i used for making chocolate!  :)

the coconut flavour may be a bit strong here. sub for other less strong tasting oil if you prefer. i won't bother with olive oil either.

i didn't use any vanilla extract but added in a pinch of salt.

first you need to toast the hazelnuts. you could use an oven, ~20 minutes @180c but you could get faster results on a frying pan. use medium heat and stir once in a while. once you smell the aroma and the nuts start to brown, it's ready! (it's sooooo hard not to much a few here!)

once the hazelnuts have cooled down, put into a food processor and blend till about fine. then add in the rest of the ingredients and blend further to mix everything up. taste it, and if you need more sugar, add and blend.

that's it! to clean the blender, use a piece of bread and mop up the remainder nutella. it's good stuff, don't waste it!

remember to refrigerate to keep it.

for coffee lovers

i used to be a coffee junkie but my insomnia got so bad that i only drink probably a cup or two in a week.

however, if you want to drink coffee, do it the right way. go for a quality cuppa.

drink it black. this means no sugar, no milk, no creamer, nothing else!

just coffee and hot water of around 80-90C. or just before it boils. feel free to go above boiling point if you love bitter coffee.  :)

since 15% of malaysians are now diabetic and this figure is projected to rise, it'll do you lots of good to reduce your preference for sugar. why heck, all of us are already guilty of taking too much sugar in our food! even if you go entirely sugar free, chances are you still consume simple carbohydrates (like white bread, white rice, potatoes) and this still converts to sugar in your body. if you drink your coffee black, you will slowly but surely cut down your preference for sugar. btw, do you know that sugar is the most addictive substance in the world?

and this is the coffee i drink nowadays.  le bistro fine coffee is available at most organic shops. a huge pack of 30 sachets cost rm60 and it includes a french press, like the one pictured above. sorry i don't know how long will this free offer.

each sachet contains about 12 gms of coarsely ground coffee beans. so to make your cuppa is really easy.

boil water till almost boiling.
empty sachet contents into french press.
fill up with hot water.
few minutes later, push down the plunger and pour out your coffee.

good for about 2 medium sized cups. please don't add anything else. drink it black.
the coffee grounds can be used for compost or as a fertilizer.

i sincerely believe one should only take coffee in the morning and best avoided after noon.
 

what you are today...

 ... is a result of the people you met, the books you read, the music you listened to, the movies you watched, the conversations you had etc etc... 5 years ago.

so what will you be 5 years later is also the same thing --- the people you meet, the books you read, the music you listened to, the movies you watched etc today. in other words, your sphere of influence.

meaning that if you wonder why are you seemingly stuck at the same phase in life without making any progress, perhaps you are still doing the same thing over and over again!

so stop wasting time. develop a habit of doing something useful. follow your interests. 5 years later you can look back at all your accomplishment with pride. and if some ventures didn't work out well, well, at least you tried! and got wiser from the experience.

act now rather than figure what have you done wasting the past 5 years.

no idea who came up with the above quote but it's so true.