7 high-calorie snacks for Singaporean New Year

Bak hwa pork, fried rice cakes, shrimp rolls, peanut cakes, waffles, pineapple tarts, and honeycomb cookies are 7 popular snacks during Tet in Singapore. You should only eat a maximum of 2-3 pieces per day.

Kong Pun Pun, a nutritionist at Healthify Me, a digital health and wellness company, points out seven high-calorie snacks that are popular during Chinese New Year in Singapore. The dishes are mainly made from starch and contain a lot of carbohydrates, which can increase blood sugar and cause rapid weight gain.

Bak kwa pork

Unlike Vietnamese shredded pork jerky, bak kwa is Chinese-style dried pork, sliced into slices. It is high in fat, sweet and salty. A 50g piece can contain 250 calories, so Kong recommends not eating more than two pieces a day.

Fried rice cake

Fried rice cakes are made from glutinous rice flour fried in oil, contain a lot of sugar and fat, and can cause blood sugar levels to spike. A 3-ounce piece of cake contains 177 calories, so don't eat more than one a day.

Shrimp cake

Two pieces of shrimp patties weighing about 43 grams can contain up to 120 calories, so do not eat more than 2-3 pieces per day.

Peanut Puff

These cookies are about the size of two fingers, made from wheat flour and rice flour, and are filled with ground peanuts, then deep-fried. They are high in fat and sugar. A piece of peanut cookie weighs only 22 grams but has 116 calories, so experts advise not to eat more than three pieces a day.

Love letter waffle

Love letter waffles have a crispy shell, made mainly from rice flour combined with coconut milk, eggs and caramelized sugar, rolled up to resemble a letter. Since a piece of about 30g contains 82 calories, you should not eat more than two pieces a day.

Pineapple tart

Pineapple tarts are high in fat and sugar. A 20g slice can contain 73 calories, so stick to no more than two a day.

Honeycomb cookies

Honeycomb cookies are made entirely of flour, fried crispy and thin. An 18g piece contains 65 calories, and you should only eat two pieces per day.

An 18g piece of honeycomb biscuit contains 65 calories, and you should only eat two pieces a day. Photo: StraitsTimes — An 18g piece of honeycomb biscuit contains 65 calories, and you should only eat two pieces a day. Photo: *StraitsTimes*

To avoid overeating during Tet, experts recommend serving snacks on plates, instead of leaving them in boxes or packages. Using smaller plates is also a way to slow down your eating.

Dr Ng Lok Pui, head of preventive care at SingHealth General Clinic, recommends choosing healthier options such as unsweetened wholegrain biscuits, unseasoned oven-roasted nuts and fresh fruit. Dr Pui says eating more protein and carbohydrates during the festive season will increase levels of serotonin, a chemical that regulates mood and sleep cycles.

“As a result, after a meal, we often feel very sleepy, or in a ‘food coma’,” said Mr Ng, adding that the body has to work harder to control the amount of carbohydrates, fats and sugars in meals like “dragon rolls”. In the long term, this will increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Ng Qing Xiang, 26, a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner at Eu Yan Sang TCM clinic, agrees, saying that walking for about 20 to 30 minutes after consuming a large meal can help lower blood sugar.

"After consuming a large amount of sugar, the workload of the hormone insulin increases a lot, increasing the risk of diabetes or making the condition worse," she said, advising to eat small but frequent meals to avoid sudden spikes in blood sugar.

According to Dr. Ng, tea can reduce blood sugar levels after eating a large amount of food. Tea contains polysaccharides, which can inhibit the enzyme that converts starch into glucose, preventing a sudden increase in blood sugar. In addition, jujube tea can aid in the digestion of fat and meat.

Doan Hung (According to StraitsTimes )

Source link