As far as I can remember, it was rarely for me to miss breakfast. This also applies to my family. We always have time for breakfast, either at home, in office, or getting some snacks from the food stalls on the way to work.

How necessary breakfast is? For me, it is so necessary, because if I didn’t have breakfast, I would feel something less during the day. This feeling could make me less than optimal in working. I might become somewhat lazy and slow. My hubby and children do feel the same way. That’s why we put breakfast as an important thing. Another disadvantage thing mostly in my concern was skipping breakfast could set me up for overeating later in the day. While on the other hand, a healthy and adequate morning meal, can give me energy, satisfy my apetite, and very helpful setting my steps for smart decisions all day long.

From John Hopkins Bloomberg School & Public Health’s website, I found a good article about the benefits of breakfast. Here I copy-pasted the related part of the article:

Why You Should Eat a Healthy Breakfast

• Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  Breakfast provides you with the energy and nutrients that lead to increased concentration in the classroom.
• Studies show that breakfast can be important in maintaining a healthy body weight.
• Hunger sets in long before it’s time for lunch, but because it’s not convenient to eat properly, many people who have not eaten breakfast snack on foods that are high in fat and sugar.
• People who skip breakfast are unlikely to make up their daily requirement for some vitamins and minerals that a simple breakfast would have provided.
• Breakfast provides energy for the activities during the morning and helps to prevent that mid-morning slump.

And here are some of my favourite breakfasts. I’ve taken the benefit details of each from several sources of health.

Oats contain beta-glucan, a type of fiber that’s been shown to help lower cholesterol when eaten regularly. Need another reason to dig in? Oats are also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, folate, and potassium.
Steel-cut oats, which take about 15 minutes to cook, contain more fiber than rolled oats or instant varieties, but any type of oatmeal is a healthy choice. Just avoid the flavored kinds, which can be packed with sugar. Instead, sweeten your bowl with milk and a bit of honey, and top with fruit and nuts.

Berries are superfoods because they’re so high in antioxidants without being high in calories

Strawberries are good for your ticker, too. A 2013 study found that women were less likely to have a heart attack over an 18-year period if they ate more than three servings of strawberries or blueberries per week. (Strawberries, like blueberries, are a good source of anthocyanins.)

Broccoli belongs to the cruciferous vegetable family, which includes kale, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, bok choy, cabbage, collard greens, rutabaga and turnips.

According to the USDA National Nutrient Database, one cup of chopped raw broccoli (approximately 91 grams) contains 31 calories, 0 grams of fat, 6 grams of carbohydrate (including 2 grams of sugar and 2 grams of fiber) and 3 grams of protein.

Just one cup of broccoli provides over 100% of your daily need for vitamin C and vitamin K, and is also a good source of vitamin A, folate and potassium.

Carrots: The Crunchy Powerfood. Forget about vitamin A pills. With this orange crunchy powerfood, you get vitamin A and a host of other powerful health benefitsincluding beautiful skin, cancer prevention, and anti-aging.

Mung beans is a high source of protein, fiber, antioxidants and phytonutrients. High source of nutrients including: manganese, potassium, magnesium, folate, copper, zinc and various B vitamins.

Because of their high nutrient density, mung beans are considered useful in defending against several chronic, age-related diseases, including heart diseases, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.

Eat Salads for the Fiber

Eating a high-fiber diet can help lower cholesterol levels and prevent constipation.

For years, researchers have noted a link between eating lots of fruits and vegetables and lower risks of many diseases, particularly cancer. 

Eggs are now embraced as a healthy source of protein and nutrients like vitamin D.

Kiwi. This fuzzy little fruit has about 65 milligrams of vitamin C per serving—nearly as much as an orange. It’s also rich in potassium and copper and contains more fiber per ounce than a banana, which makes it a good aid to digestion. (In one study, eating two kiwis a day for one month lessened constipation in people with irritable bowel syndrome.)

Oranges are low in calories but full of nutrients, they promote clear, healthy skin and can help to lower our risk for many diseases and conditions as part of an overall healthy and varied diet.

One medium orange (approximately 154 grams) contains 80calories, 0 grams of fat, 250 milligrams of potassium, 19 grams of carbohydrate (14 grams of sugar and 3 grams of dietary fiber) as well as 1 gram of protein.

One orange provides 130 percent of your vitamin C needs for the day, 2 percent of vitamin A needs, 6 percent of calcium and 0 percent of iron.

Grapes are high in antioxidants important for eye health such as lutein and zeaxanthin, and red grapes contain the phytochemical resveratrol in their skins, the antioxidant synonymous with wine known to lend protection from several chronic diseases and conditions. Grapes also boast the power of the flavonoids myricetin and quercetin which help the body to counter-act harmful free radical formation.

The potential health benefits of consuming grapes are numerous, with past studies associating them with prevention of cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure andconstipation.

Grapes are high in water content and good for hydration. High water-content fruits and vegetables are nutrient dense, meaning they provide a large amount of essential nutrients while containing few calories. Grapes contain 70 milliliters of fluid per cup.

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is an old Welsh proverb.

Apples are extremely rich in important antioxidants, flavanoids, and dietary fiber.

The phytonutrients and antioxidants in apples may help reduce the risk of developing cancer, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease.

“There has never been a sadness that can’t be cured by breakfast food” ~ Ron Swanson

Serpong, 20th September 2015, 22.32 – updated on 13th December 2015, 12.42

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Last week I’ve visited the office where I work during the period of 1986 – 2001. The main purpose was handing-in my daughter’s wedding invitation for my boss and the other two colleagues. Yes, he remains my boss, never be an ex-boss.

There are not much change on the office situation, but quite a lot of new faces that I did not know before.

I spent about three and a half hours there, mostly time had a talk with my boss. We talked about many things, from the matters that I used to take care of until the issues that I have ever heard a glance as well as the latest ones that I didn’t know yet. I enjoyed the moment, it was not like a secretary talk to her boss or otherwise, talks was flowing smoothly and relaxed like between friends. Family was one of the most cheerful topics, besides the achievements and the dreams that were to be realized. In several occasions I have also asked for his suggestion and opinion on the matters pertaining to small businesses like the one I run currently, and preferences on advanced educational plan for my children.

In short, our talks turn from one to another topics and then back to the previous one…it’s a pretty long list.

It was almost 4 pm when I said that I need to go home, after having taken three hours more of his time. Happy I am to hear that he was arranging no appointment with others that day, as he accepted mine… hahha…*feeling a bit flattered

Before stepping out of the building, he still had time to briefly show me the newly renovated showroom and a newly converted small meeting room, and then ensured that he and his wife will be attending my daughter’s wedding reception.

In general, it was a light talks between two persons who had once work together, but the truth is, I can enjoy every single topic, hopefully there was also some good things for him.

Speaking honestly, he was not a so very, very special person to me. He is the owner of a group of companies with pretty much employee of all levels. Besides the policies that make his employees feel good, he, like all bosses, also has demands which maybe a little difficult to be carried out by several people. In some cases, I have also ever dissented with him. But in fact, by experiencing such situations that is somewhat not easy, he implicitly gave me chances to learn a lot of good things; how to handle people with different mindset, how to keep holding my opinions and values in good way, how to convey an argument in good manner. In another chance, he let me making an inaccurate decision of which I regretted a while then, but the next moment I learned what is an accurate decision truly meant.

Sometimes he was acted somewhat uncompromising, just in the next days I understood that he was in a bit difficult circumstance that would not be beneficial to be shared to me, here I learned how to understand people and the need to stay away from others personal problems.

He had a few times, not often, asked me to assist addressing his family matters, and I was happy doing it as I got the useful knowledge and experience.

One important thing that makes me feel more than comfortable working for him is that we have a same religion. I am not a very religious person, but being in the same faith path with persons whom I work with is a precious joy for me.

So, plentiful thanks to you, my boss 😀

“A good boss is one who makes his men think they have more ability than they have, so they consistently do better work than they thought they could” ~ Charles E. Wilson

Serpong, 08th September 2015, 16.56

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For some people cleaning up house would waste their working hours, meanwhile for me, to work in an untidy house may cause my works is less than optimal. It’s better for me to take some 2-3 hours to clean the rooms and do the daily works before I sit working on my job. Being in a clean house, I feel comfort and can be more focused doing my works. When my house is clean and stuffs is stored neatly in its place, I can complete my works one by one, faster. There is a sense of calm that I couldn’t feel when my mind was still thinking about bedrooms that are still unmade, bathroom that is not yet dry and clean, kitchen that is still a mess, or that I haven’t yet take care of plants.

Tidy room tidy mind

The tidy rooms with things organized, make me easy to find the goods I need. Put the goods back to its place right after using them, is one of the must-to-obey-rules in my house. Some other rules are: never leave the bedroom before making the bed, do not let many clothes hanging, do not eat in the bedroom, avoid the crumbs to fall onto the floor, always clean up the stove and kitchen after cooking, never ever put the towel –before or after using it- on the place it is not supposed to be, do not wait until tomorrow morning to put the shoes and sandals back in the shoe rack.

Looks like too many rules in my house, but as we have been taking it as a habit, we do not feel weighed down doing it. Instead, we do feel homey being at home.

I have been applying the ways of living clean since I was a teenager when I lived with my parent. After getting married and live in our own house, I asked my husband to accompany me creating a clean pleasant home. Of course, it didn’t instantly work bang-up, but it didn’t take a long time either. Then, when two lovely girls coming enliven our lives, we teached them how to make us feeling homey in our dwelling. The result is quite got me excited, among their friends, they are known as tidy and orderly persons, just exactly their mama 😀

“My home is a happy place to be. I bless everyone who enters, myself included. Pleasant experiences fill every room.” ~ Louise Hay

Serpong, 30th August 2015, 00.54

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