I'm a full-time mummy

I had earlier confessed that one of my 2013 resolutions (I rarely made them in my life so when I made it for this year, I'm trying to stick by it!) is to learn to cook for the family and also shared a recipe I tried out, the Szechuan Vegetable soup. For this post, I am sharing my second soup recipe which is taught by my dear hubby (yes! You read it right!) and one of my favorite soup since my childhood which my late mum used to make, the Lotus Root Soup!

I remembered I used to love putting this soup in my plate of rice and just plain eat my rice and drink the soup as it is. Oh, that and lots of peanuts of course! Used to fight with my elder brother for as many peanuts as we could find in the soup hahahah...

Ingredients:

1. Lotus root (skinned and sliced - thickness depends on your preferance)
2. Dried scallops (optional)
3. Ground peanuts (boiled and removed skins after) (optional)
4. Salted/preserved vegetable (called 'Tai Thou Choi' in Cantonese)
5. Pork bones (boiled for about few minutes)
6. Red dates (big sized about 12-14 pieces, deseeded)
7. Soup beans (it looks like Pinto beans) (optional)

Methods:
* Clean the pork by blanching in boiling water for few minutes, then drain off the water.
* Rinsed lotus roots, red dates and soup beans.
* Boiled ground nuts for a few seconds and remove the skin layer (my own preferance to have white smooth peanuts).
* Add all ingredients into slow cooker, add enough water to cover the ingredients with about an inch more.
* Put on high for half hour, before switching to low settings for about 6-7 hours.
(Note: If you use gas stove to boil this soup, you can simmer for 1 or more hours until the pork is tender.

Picture below with ingredients just before adding hot water into slow cooker.

Outcome:

Hubby said he likes how the soup turns out muddy looking as I told him I preferred clear looking soup similar to the one my late mum used to make. Hubby also commented that I need to reduce some more water because I'm using slow cooker instead of gas stove to boil this soup (I actually put in a lot of water, almost about 80% full in the slow cooker).

Nevertheless, hubby whacked 3 big bowls of the soup and Ben had a bowl of the soup the next day when I made noodle soup with it so I guess it's good, just need to reduce water next time. Overall, I'm very happy with this attempt!

To view my other recipes, feel free to hop over to my Recipe Library page for more info!

I received a total of 4 handmade soaps from Claire Organics for my review and this post will be touching on the first 2 that I tried: Guinness with Raw Honey and Mulberry Yogurt soaps. Here goes the first part of my review for Claire Organics soap:

Description from the product page:
"Guinness with raw honey - signature product - unscented: Gentle care for baby eczema, soothing for sensitive skin.
Guinness Stout made with hops and barley which are both extremely gentle and wonderful to use from head to toe. Barley contains minerals that preserve the skins elasticity and protect it from free radical damage. Hops have a relaxing effect on the body, are skin soothing and have natural anti-septic, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Brewer’s yeast kills the bacteria associated with acne.

Mulberry Yogurt Soap - Whitening, Anti-Aging
Fresh from our organic home garden, Mulberry is a great whitening agent that naturally diminishing dark spots and remove blemishes. Their rich source of anti-aging antioxidants effectively fights off wrinkles and tightening opened pores. Mulberry makes a great facial bar for glowing, flawless skin."

I would like to apologise for the lack of pictures taken on this post because I got really excited in trying out handmade soaps and did not snap much pictures before I use it. Whoooopss...

# 1 : Guinness with Raw Honey (Signature product)

The first time I tried out this soap, I was wondering to myself this soap smells a bit alcohol-ish but I couldn't make out what type of alcohol it is as I'm not a person who drinks any alcohol. I found out later that this soap contains Guinness Stout with added raw honey.

Upon using it for about 1 week, I feel my skin smoother and I also use it a few times on my girl who had a mild rash on her tummy during that time. The soap did not leave any irritating sensation on her skin and I also noticed her rash is less reddish and less sore after bathing my girl.

I do however do not like that the soap crumbles easily and upon giving back my feedback to the sponsor, I learned that handmade soaps also tend to 'melt' a little faster than commercial soaps because of the more moisturising oil used in the soaps. Now that explains this phenomena as I do tend to leave my soap wet after shower hehehehe...

# 2 : Mulberry Yogurt

Ooo... I love this soap! In fact, I use it sooooo slowly and with gentle care, trying to conserve and preserve the soap as long as possible! I can feel that my skin is gently covered and lathered with the smooth yogurt texture and I also noticed that my skin is not as dry as it used to be. Love this! I would totally recommend this soap!

You can browse for more handmade soaps at Claire Organic's Facebook page.

Yes, yes, we are all waiting for this glorious moment!

3 lucky winners will EACH get to win a bar of Claire Organics handmade soap!

Giveaway opens for Malaysians only! Just read below for the giveaway terms and entry form, OK?

To enter the giveaway, kindly read and follow the instructions as stated in the Rafflecopter form below.

• You can enter either via login through your Facebook account OR just key in your name and your valid email address. 
• Please also leave your valid email address in the post comment so that I can contact you if you win this giveaway.
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I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the products in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.

If you are stuck for things to do it can often be a great idea to check out the local attractions which are available to you, depending on the age of your child you have an array of opportunities awaiting such as museums, theme parks, exhibitions and aquariums. However the problem with this tends to be the ever increasing costs of everything involved in a day out from the entrance fee to the cost of the snacks and souvenirs.

When planning a day out check out the events schedule of the attraction, you may find many child friendly activities available which are free of charge and give you the opportunity to fill your day with even more fun experiences. A museum for instance may not seem suitable for the very young children but lots do run lots of child friendly activities such as arts and crafts afternoons so everyone can get involved.

Admission fees will probably be your main expense and getting discounts on the tickets is one of the most popular ways the thrifty look to save money. Booking in advance or printing off coupons can result in a discount of up to 20% and for the larger groups these discounts can soon add up.

Lots of attractions offer free admissions to young children so this might help sway your decision when choosing between two different attractions. In addition there are some attractions that offer completely free admission for everyone!

Lunch and snacks at visitor attractions can also often be very expensive, so why not plan in advance and take your own food, drink and snacks. Plan ahead and bake your own homemade cookies to take with you. Theme parks and zoos for instance have lots of picnic areas where you can sit down and eat your own food.

These are easy steps which can quickly add up to big potential savings that can be made.