Musings at the Therapeutic Kitchen

Growing up in a family that prepares every ingredient from scratch, one cannot help but get infused with the idea that foods should be wholesome, natural and seasoned with love and abour.
I vividly remember pounding pandan leaves and squeezing them with bare hands to obtain the juices for my aunt to bake a pandan cake; grating tapioca and coconut for hours for my grandma to make tapioca cake; and tearing badly while cutting a big tray of onions, and then mincing them together with carrots, chestnuts and pork for my dad to make ngor hiang.
These were the much feared ‘apprentice jobs’ that most children in our family are tasked to do. And all these expereinces made me come to appreciate and understand the essence of real cooking.  The care and attention that goes into every step of bringing out the best of different food ingredients that make up the distinctive taste of a dish. No machine, no fancy seasonings, no off-the-shelf ingredients, no shortcuts – only real, fresh foods and simply love .  

Fast forward a few decades; it is no wonder that this passion in wholesome foods and holistic living lands me in Dietetics and eventually a clinical dietitian. My training and practice as a dietitian grounded my passion in cooking with science and evidence-based healthy eating.  And now with a lovely child and a gourmet husband on board, the need to provide healthy and yet delectable foods drives me to experiment and create new recipes for the family.

To me, a meal is more than a means to feed my family. It is a way of showing love, of nurturing mind and body, an opportunity of being mindfully present in myself in the whole process of cooking, and a tribute to my family tradition of living a real, authentic life.  

I believe the essence of healthy living is merely being present, to live simply, to love excessively, and to consume thoughtfully. It is this same life principle that drives me to invite you to share my labour of love, and passion in providing a slice of simplicity in the form of my humble homemade products.

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Hwee Mei