Bars, Bars, Bars.

The past week I haven't reviewed any of the bars I've eaten, simply because I've had a grey week. So, I'm going to spam this post with 18 pictures of 8 bars I've eaten. Technically, I ate 9, but Luna S'mores was plain and boring so I'm not going to feature it.

Here goes the major spam...



Clif Nectar Cacao - Dark Chocolate Walnut
This was super indulgent! Rich dark chocolate with fragrant crunchy walnuts is a match made in heaven! The bittersweet chocolate was so good, and it's a healthy alternative to chocolate bars and chocolate brownies! I'm definitely going to bring some Clif Nectar in soon!



Clif Bar - Chocolate Chip
Chewy oaty body sprinkled with a generous amount of chocolate chips, seriously, nothing can go wrong here, unless of course you're someone who abhors chocolates. =)



Clif Mojo - Peanut Butter Pretzel
This bar was THE BOMB! Heavenly indulgently good! I absolutely love the marriage of sweet and salty. The PB chips were sweet and savoury at the same time, and the pretzels added a wonderful crunch to every bite! The other variations of Clif Mojo will definitely be present in my next shipment!



Clif Bar - Chocolate Brownie
All I remember about this bar was it being very black, very chewy, very chocolatey and very dense. Despite being so chocolate-rich, it wasn't overwhelmingly sweet which was perfect.




Clif Bar -Spiced Pumpkin Pie
Now now, this is a seasonal flavour and I'm so glad I got it. Sweet spicy pumpkin and a sweet yoghurt-y base totally made me feel it's Christmas already. =) Pear Apple Strudel, Iced Gingerbread and Cran Orange Nut Bread, all you seasonal flavours are going to be mine!



Luna - Chocolate Raspberry
First up, this bar was a visual delight. With its rich bittersweet cocoa layer covering the mild tangy crispy innards, it was such a joy to eat. However, the raspberry flavour could have been stronger though, and it would have made this bar even better than it already is.



Luna Cookies 'n Cream Delight
Again, another visual delight. Taste wise, it was how you'd expect a cookies and cream biscuit to be. Nice but not fantastically so, maybe because this is a common flavour.

I was at ION Orchard yesterday and got myself a couple of Springhill bars which I've eyed ever since ION opened a few months back.


Top: Springhill Bar - Dark Chocolate Oat Finger Biscuit
Bottom: Springhill Bar - Milk Chocolate Oat Finger Biscuit
As I had a light dinner of a Double Taste Bun (custard & chocolate cream) from Sun Moulin and a can of Diet 7-up Lemon Lime (which was freaking delicious), I was hungry when I got home so I attacked my first ever Springhill bar!



Springhill Bar - Dark Chocolate Oat Finger Biscuit
Obviously, this bar is not photo-friendly, but it was extremely and amazingly tastebud-friendly! Crumbly, bisuit-like and cake-like center encased within smooth creamy dark chocolate, absolutely divine!

Boyfriend, please try to find these babies in Australia since they originate from there and bring some home for me. Oh, and thank you in advance for offering to buy back some Go Natural bars for me! =) 20 more days!

A chance like this is hard to come by. Everything about it sounds so appealing, and I really hope I will get it.

-Keeping my fingers crossed-

Barely a month into this and I'm already so worn out. It's sapping way too much energy from me, more than what I can afford to handle.

I heard him say that with or without it, I'm still the same. So does it mean that my drastic change in mood is not attributed by those little green and white shit? I clearly remember being much happier and bubbly before starting on those devils. And... I honestly thought he was the pillar I could rely on in times like this. Maybe I was wrong.

Since I'm such a nuisance, I will keep my comments and feelings to myself from now on. Since this is MY problem, I will handle everything MYSELF. Expecting me to share so freely like I did before won't be so easy anymore. 我累了.

I had myself yet another Luna Bar today:



I got a shock when I saw how black the Luna Chocolate Peppermint Stick was. I guess I was expecting something more towards a light green bar because of the 'peppermint' word and I totally disregarded the 'chocolate'.

To be honest, this tasted very much like Luna Caramel Nut Brownie with just an additional splash of peppermint flavour. It was okay, but I prefer Clif Bar's rendition over this. The only blog-worthy thing about the bar would be this:


Look at the lovely pink spots dotted all over the under side of the bar! I have no idea what made me turn this bar over because I don't usually do that, but I'm glad I did. And although I detest pink, I must say that this was quite a pretty sight and it almost made me go "awww".

My day pretty much went downhill in the evening despite being fairly chirpy the entire day. Days like that only makes me feel more useless than I already feel. Oh well.

Diamonds In The Sky

Star light, star bright, many stars I see tonight. My trusty Canon Ixus 95 IS did no justice to these sparkling babies. I need a DSLR. Gahhh... Once again, thank you Mommy!

And I think I have found a Luna Bar that superceded Luna White Choc Macadamia!



Luna Lemon Zest had a fabulous citrusy aroma and flavour that had me on cloud 9 as I munched my way through the bar. Although this bar was rather plain with very minimal lemon bits to bite on, the flavour more than made up for it! Thankfully, it did not taste like I was eating dish washing detergent. It was really awesome and I think this has to be my favourite Luna Bar so far! I still have 6 other flavours to try, so maybe something else might take Lemon Zest's place, which I actually doubt so. We shall see!

Yesterday, Mom and I were at Suntec looking at diamonds and Mom bought me a full set of sparkling babies. She said this will be my dowry should she not be working anymore by the time I get married (if I ever will that is). So, I have a diamond ring, bracelet and earrings (made out from the excess diamonds on the bracelet after re-sizing), and tomorrow is the day I can dazzle myself blind. Thank you Mommy!

Feeling carnivorous, we met up with Dad and headed to Tony Roma's where I had my fill of meat.


Top: Original Babyback Ribs
Bottom: Carolina Honey Ribs
Must have been a while since I last ate a substantial amount of meat, no wonder I felt so deprived and desperately needed my meat fix. The Carolina Honey was a winner for me! Acks, I feel hungry just looking at the pictures. =X

The last few days have been sluggish for me, but I managed to have another 3 bars.


Top: Clif Bar Blueberry Crisp
Bottom: Clif Bar Carrot Cake
Clif Bar Blueberry Crisp did okay with a nice hint of blueberry but it didn't wow me very much. Clif Bar Carrot Cake was oddly not to my liking, but Mom had a go at the bar that I gave her and she found it good. I think I can do away with these 2 flavours, but this is not to say that they are bad, just that I've enjoyed better flavours of Clif Bar.


I absolutely adore Luna Iced Oatmeal Raisin for its generous fat raisins which burst with juices when bitten upon! This bar was yum. =)

I've been feeling horrid since I got up this morning and still feel the same as of now. So, abrupt end here.

Conquered A Monster.

A couple of days ago, Dilun needed help to shift a 7-seater MPV from Aljunied to Punggol and I was asked if I could render him my help.

I wanted to help but didn't feel I was up to it because I have not driven in 4 months, much less something so huge like an MPV. After much persuasion, I relented and went down to Aljunied after work. When I saw the monster Honda Stream, I wanted to run away!

The car was way taller than I am but width-wise it was narrower than a Camry and BMW, both of which I have handled before. Heck, I even drove an Extol van before too. Lol. So, it wasn't as scary as I thought. We ended up at Punggol alive and that is all that matters. Hahaha.

So, over the last few days, I took a break from Clif bars and ventured on to my Luna bars. The first bar I ate from my massive order was Luna Sunrise Strawberry Crumble, which I somehow forgot to take a picture of it. Nevermind, there are still 14 bars of it for me to snap away like crazy. Anyway, like most Luna bars, Strawberry Crumble was sweet and crunchy. The jam layer on top wasn't very strawberry-ish, but the yoghurt base was creamy and delicious. On the whole, the bar was good but I personally find it more suitable to be a snack/dessert bar rather than a breakfast bar.



Luna Chai Tea was very different from the usual Luna Bars that I'm so used to. The strong scent of spices intrigued me when I opened the package. The infusion of spices did wonders to the bar and it is really quite unexplainable (and it doesn't help that I don't always express myself very well). Nice as it was, I wouldn't say that I fell in love with this bar. A once in a while treat would be fine, but it doesn't leave me hankering for more once I'm done with one. Maybe a second shot at it will be a different case?



Physically, Luna Sunrise Blueberry Bliss looked very much like the Strawberry Crumble, and like SC, it didn't carry a very blueberry-ish flavour. Sweet, crunchy and again, it is much more suitable to be a snack/dessert bar.

At the rate my bars are disappearing into my stomach, it's going to take forever for them to deplete! And greedy me have already eyed more bars to be brought in. =X I shall be patient and wait till my current stash is running low first, and who knows by then I may have gotten sick of bars and moved on to another food phase.

Luna-tic!

Trigger happy, trigger happy, trigger happy!


Berry Almond, Chai Tea, Chocolate Peppermint Stick, Chocolate Raspberry, Cookies 'n Cream, Dulce de Leche, Iced Oatmeal Raisin, Lemon Zest, S'mores, Sunrise Blueberry Bliss, Sunrise Strawberry Crumble, Clif Mojo PB Pretzel
I'm mad happy because my Luna Bars and 1 Clif Mojo Bars are here!!! Putting all the excitement aside, I'm actually starting to worry how am I going to finish so many bars in time before they all expire!

14+1 boxes of Clif Bars, 11 (+ 5 on hand) boxes of Luna Bars, 4 boxes of Larabars, and a whole load of other random bars like Go Natural, Nature Valley, Uncle Toby, Alive and Carman's. Oh my gawd. I think I really need to give myself a good kick. ACKS!

Anyway, over the last few days, I tried another 2 flavours of Clif Bars.



Indulgent white chocolate with creamy macadamias made a very good pair, and it tasted somewhat like Luna Bar's rendition, only chewier and had lesser soy protein taste to it.




Oh my oh my! This was one heck of a scrumptious bar! Crunchy and huge pieces of walnut, generous amount of banana bits, and a handful of chocolate chips tossed together to form this delicious union. YUM!

Anyway, I saw the doctor again today and I'm annoyed that he sort of threatened to have me warded without bothering to take external factors into consideration. And it wasn't even a substantial decrease to begin with. Honestly, it's not going to be beneficial for me but detrimental instead, and I have reasoned with Dad why.

Right, I get to cast him away for the next 2 weeks, and I can dance to a happy tune in celebration of the arrival of my bars. NJ4 said I can actually pour them all out and they can form a nice bed for me. -_-"

Okay, I know posting everyday is not a norm for me, but I honestly could not resist the need to post! So what else is it that have been keeping me so hyped up other than my loot of Clif Bars?

After enjoying Maple Nut tremendously, I had pretty high expectations of the Chocolate Almond Fudge bar, but sadly, I wasn't wow-ed by it as much as Maple Nut.



This is not to say I disliked this bar. It was extremely chocolaty and dense, and the almond pieces were really generous, as can be seen in the picture with that huge nut sticking out like a sore thumb. It was good, yet somehow it just did not sit too well with me. Maybe the first time's a bummer, and the second time's a winner? I really do hope so.

Anyway, my lovely babe HuiQin came by to collect her stuffs again and like before, she put a huge smile on my face with a simple gesture, yet a very heart-warming one.


Peach Sponge Cake on French Toast (?)
The top layer was sponge cake and the bottom layer tasted like french toast to me. Soft, moist and juicy with a crunchy base. And the peach slice was an added bonus! Thank you babe, you're really a gem. =)

So, here is the thing that ended my day nicely and made me do a happy dance:



When I tore open the package, the aromatic minty-ness of the bar wafted up to my nose almost immediately, and that was a good sign. Shaking with glee, I bit into the bar and totally savoured the moist, chewy, chocolaty bar with a good kick of mint. Oh and not to forget, I was already sold by the outlook of the bar.

I let my elder brother have a bite and he exclaimed, "Whoa, not bad ah!", and Daddykins like this so much that I think he ate 1/4 to 1/3 of the bar away. He felt that this is nicer than Maple Nut, but I think they are equally awesome! Now, Kor Kor should be looking forward to eating the Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch I gave him! =)

It's nice that my family can appreciate all these yum-yums with me, and it feels good to spread the yumminess around! Next 11 flavours, here I come!

I finally gave in to temptation and sank my teeth into my first ever Clif bar! I was so ecstatic at breakfast today because I had this:



This bar was awesome! Oat-y, chewy, crunchy and subtly sweet all in one bite! The maple flavour was evident enough and the almonds and pecans gave the bar a good crunch. I'm obviously anticipating the next 13 flavours already, but that would probably take me about 2 weeks before I get to try every single one of them! YUM!

Lunch was an okay affair at Lerk Thai and there really isn't anything to rave about so a collage of pictures would be sufficient. The 7 of us shared the following array of food:


Honestly, I very much prefer Thai Express. Oh well, it doesn't matter because what happened after lunch more than made up for it! My younger brother gave me a lift to Tanglin Mall and waited for me as I darted into Brown Rice Paradise to get some stuffs.


Clif Nectar - Dark Chocolate Walnut
MaraNatha - Dark Chocolate Peanut Spread
If it wasn't because my brother was waiting for me in the car, I would have spent more time in BRP and killed my wallet.

After being out of the clubbing scene for some time, my girlfriends and I partied last night! It was also my first party after my operation, so needless to say, my alcohol intake was controlled by my oh-so-loving babes. =)

I came home and got glued to the computer the entire night and dozed off for an hour or so but got up and continued surfing around. Just as I was about to hit the sack for an afternoon nap, my doorbell rang and a man said, "Postman!" My heart skipped a beat as I suspected it was what I have been waiting for, but I did a quick Math and realised that I should only be receiving my stuff on Wednesday or so.

I fled out of my bedroom and down the stairs with a quickened heart rate, and I was greeted with my long awaited baby!


Clif Bars Orgy Galore!!!

Banana Nut Bread, Blueberry Crisp, Carrot Cake, Chocolate Almond Fudge, Chocolate Brownie, Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch, Cool Mint Chocolate, Crunchy PB, Maple Nut, Oatmeal Raisin Walnut, Peanut Toffee Buzz, Spiced Pumpkin Pie & White Chocolate Macadamia
Yup, my 14 boxes of Clif Bars have arrived! 14 different flavours in 14 pretty boxes! And now I'm wondering if all this is just a dream since I haven't really slept last night and I could very well be dreaming about this entire scenario!

So if this is reality, it means that my 11 flavours of Luna Bars + 1 flavour of Clif Mojo should reach me by Monday or Tuesday at the latest. I CANNOT WAIT! =D

So, I was good and followed Soo's meal plan to bring Ensure Life into my diet, but I'm guilty to say I was not entirely good. =X

Yesterday was not the first time I tried EL. I bought a small tin of the chocolate flavour some time back when I was into the whole milkshake phase. Chocolate EL had this oily after taste which left me nauseous and sick, so no, I doubt I'll try it again. Vanilla is the way to go! And when this large tin of vanilla depletes, I'll be going for strawberry.

Ok, so the appropriate serving is supposed to be 6 scoops but I tried out with 4 scoops first and it was already madly thick and sweet! So, sad to say, I just went ahead with 4 scoops. And honestly, if I don't get killed by the lack of nutrients, I'll definitely die of diabetes. LOL! To make things worse, my 2nd serving never happened.

I have downed my first serving (or 2/3 serving rather) for today, and I shall see if I can manage the next one later on. Daddykins said that I should really try to stick to the 2 servings a day, even though each serving isn't really a proper one. And try I shall!

And I'm MAD HAPPY TODAY! Because package #2 of my bars have reached the courier and payment is made. So anytime from next Monday onwards I'll be expecting 2 hugeass boxes of Clif and Luna bars! YUMMY!

Met the dietitian for the first time today and I must admit that I am extremely surprised at her flexibility as opposed to what I thought. Basically, I'm allowed to maintain my 3 hourly feedings (where my tummy is an automatic alarm clock), with my current intake tweaked just a little bit. All I have to do is to substitute 2 of the intakes with 1 serving of Ensure Life each.

Because I don't consume enough fluids daily, the introduction of EL is to ensure that I take in more fluids than usual, as well as adding sufficient vitamins, minerals and calcium to my diet. Sounds easy, but for someone who really dislikes drinking a lot, it's pretty stressful. But I promised to try.

The only consolation for now, is that I get to substitute 2 intakes with EL instead of adding EL on top of it. And, she didn't meddle with my portions (yet). Oh, I got tasked with homework! To think of 10 snacks that I can incorporate into my meals for variety, because she's not willing to let me just have energy bars most of the time. She initially wanted to limit me to 1 bar per day but when my Dad told her about my massive incoming stock, she allowed me to have 2 instead, haha!

Actually, I snack a lot and it varies, just that when she asked for examples, I was unable to recall off-hand because the snacks I have are always changing. Hence, the homework (which is done).

Appointments after appointments, I'm going to get fired! TSK!

Today, Mom and I did a little bit of Mother-Daughter bonding through a very meaningful activity.

We went down to Kovan CC to help out in making snowskin mooncakes for the elderly of various nursing/old folks' homes. I had balls of fun because I felt like I was playing with plasticine/play doh, which brings back wonderful childhood memories!


Organiser

Professionals at work.
It is a pity we weren't taught how to make the snow skin from scratch because in order to speed things up, there were professionals from a baking school who made the mooncake skin and all we had to do was roll the fillings into the skin.


Colourful snowskin ready to be used!

Mom & I.
And for entertainment, we had someone who sang "live" for us!


Anyway, the target was to make 6000 mooncakes which was expected to last till 4pm, but by 12 noon, not only did all of us meet the target, we exceeded it by about 700 pieces at the last count. And this was excluding those that we were still making! So we were told to finish up whatever we had on our tables and we were done! I reckon that the excess could have easily amounted to another 2000 pieces or so.

What really ticked me off was that I actually forgot to take pictures of the mooncakes after they were prettily made! TSK! Must have been the coldness that put me into a partial hibernation mode until I forgot.