David Beckham Shares How He Maintains A Healthy Lifestyle
September 30, 2017
Hold Your Gasps! AIA’s Global Ambassador David Beckham was at the AIA Vitality Healthy Cookout Showdown. Six teams presented their healthier, yet tastier, renditions of a signature Singapore dish.
There was a buzz around Clifford Square as more than 1,000 were at the AIA Vitality Healthy Cookout!
The AIA Global Ambassador shared some tips on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. A tip he shared with busy professionals is to focus on incorporating the small things in their everyday life. For instance, walking is an easy way to get started. Beckham shared how he does this by walking his kids to school. He also suggested walking instead of driving out for lunch.
I am honoured to be one of the judges for the cookout, together with Leslie, Seth and Chef Woo.
Sorry fan girl mode on *SCREAAAAAAMS*
David Beckham joined us for the tasting before the the winners were announced. All the meticulously prepared dishes were delicious and it was certainly no easy feat to pick the winners. My favourite was actually the Rainbow Nasi Lemak Giant Canape, which was whipped up by Mother-and-daughter duo Cook&Style. They dazzled the judges with their creation and went on to be crowned the champions!
Here are the 6 dishes presented by the finalists. For those of you who are interested to try cooking the dishes at home, I have included recipes of my two favourite dishes from the cookout.
RAINBOW NASI LEMAK GIANT CANAPE *winner*
By Ms Jessica Lie Wan Thin and Ms Caeley Liew Cheok Kei
Nasi Lemak is loved by everyone and is essentially a plate of coconut rice served with sambal chilli and deep-fried ingredients such as juicy chicken, ikan bilis, and peanuts.
To make Nasi Lemak healthier, this talented home cook used natural blue pea flowers extract to dye the rice, used coconut oil to fry the egg, and air-fried the chicken, ikan bilis and peanuts.
Ingredients
Coconut Rice
- 15-18 dried blue pea flowers
- 3 tbsp hot water
- 2 cups jasmine rice
- 200 ml organic light coconut milk
- 3 pandan leaves tie a knot
- 3 sliced galangal
- 4 lemongrass cut into 2 sections each
- 4 shallot smashed
- 5 Indonesian bay leaves optional
- 3/4 tbsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
Fried Chicken
- 4 chicken thigh meat
- 5 shallot + 5 garlic to be pounded
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 2 tsp salt
- Pepper
- 2 tbsp corn starch
Sambal Chilli
- 15 dried chillies soaked and cut into small pieces
- 4 red chillies cut into small pieces
- 6 bird eye chillies
- 8 shallots
- 6 garlic
- 1 thumbsize belacan
Seasonings
- 100-150 g palm sugar gula melaka
- 1 tbsp salt or to taste
- Add on 1 sliced onion
Sambal Kangkung
- A bunch of kangkung wash and cut into 3 sections
- 1/4 cup chilli sambal Ingredient C
Fried Beaten Egg
- 4 eggs
Peanuts and Anchovies
- 1/2 cup peanuts and anchovies
Instructions
Coconut Rice
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Soak the dried blue pea flowers in hot water for 1-2 hours.
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The water should be bluish purple. Drain the water and set aside.
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In a small saucepan, bring the coconut milk to boil. Add salt and sugar to taste. Let it cool before cooking the rice.
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Cook the rice in the rice cooker with the cooked coconut milk and coloured water, you may want to top up a little bit of water till the water level is about 5mm above the rice.
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Put the rest of the ingredients on the rice and drizzle 1/2 tbsp of organic light coconut oil. Slice the cucumber in round shaped and set aside.
Fried Chicken
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Marinate the chicken thigh meat with all the seasonings for at least 4 hours.
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Pre-heat the Air Fryer to 180 degrees.
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Place the 4 chicken thighs into the bottom of the AirFryer cooking compartment. Cook for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Remove.
Sambal Chilli
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Blend all the sambal chilli ingredients together except the sliced onion.
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In a pan/wok, heat 1/4 cup of organic coconut oil (we need more oil as the chilli paste will absorb a lot of oil).
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Use low medium fire and stir fry the sambal chilli till its thicken a little or till the colour turns to dark red. Stir it constantly.
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Add gula melaka and salt to taste.
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Lastly add sliced onion and mix it for a couple of minutes.
Sambal Kangkung
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Heat 1 tbsp of organic coconut oil and stir fry the kangkung with the chilli sambal. Dish up.
Fried Beaten Egg
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Heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a pan and use a round egg mould ring to cook the egg till the below is slightly brown (Fry the egg one by one)
Peanuts and Anchovies
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Use Air-fryer to roast the 1/2 Peanuts and 1/2 Anchovies till it browns or cooked.
Assembly
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Use a round cookie cutter to create the stack.
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First, compress the coconut rice to form the base. Add a layer of sliced cucumber, followed by sambal kangkung. Next, add the fried beaten egg, followed by the air-fried chicken, and a layer of sambal chilli. Last but not least, add the roasted anchovies and peanuts.
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Serve immediately and enjoy!
SATAY-FACTORY
By Ms Yoan Jenneth and Mr Anthony Lau Chong Huat
As an AIA financial consultant, Jenneth knows the importance of health. She re-invented the dish with the hopes of retaining the taste of a local favourite dish that is also a much healthier option. In her satay recipe, she used chicken breast. For the sauce, she added superfoods like walnuts and almonds to make it even more nutty and nutritious.
In addition, she made her own avocado dip to complement the satay. Instead of only using white rice for the nasi impit, the husband-and-wife team chose to use a mix of brown and white rice.
Ingredients
Chicken satay
- 500 gram chicken breast
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 large shallot
- 3 centimetres of Galangal
- 3 stalks of Lemongrass
- 3 centimetres of Young ginger
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 60 gram Gula malacca
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 Lime pressed for juice
- 1 tsp of fish sauce
- 1 tbsp of Sweetened dark soya sauce for BBQ optional
Peanut sauce
- 200 gram ground roasted peanuts cholesterol free 75 gram Walnuts
- 75 gramAlmonds
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 large shallot
- 6 Dried Chilli
- 3 centimetres Galangal
- 3 pieces Chilli padi optional
- 60 gram palm sugar Gula malacca
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 lime pressed juice
- 2 tbsp Coconut oil
- 1 cup Water
Avocado Dip
- 1/2 avocado
- 1 lime juice pressed
- 2 tbsp plain yoghurt
- Pinch salt and black pepper
Nasi Impit (lontong)
- 1/2 cup white rice
- 1/2 cup Brown rice
- Pinch of salt
- 3-4 Pandan leaves
- 1 Bay leaves
- 1 lemongrass
- 2 cups of Water
Garnish
- 1 large cucumber cut
- 1 large Tomato cut
- 1 large shallot cut
- 1 Green Apple cut
- Coriander leaves
- Banana leaves (wash and cut preferred shape)
Instructions
Chicken satay
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1.Put all the marinated ingredients into blender, blend into a paste
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2. Cut chicken breast into cubes
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3. Marinade chicken breast with the paste in a bowl or keep them inside Ziplock bag for 30 minutes to 1 hour (you can keep it overnight as well)
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4. After marinating, thread the chicken breast into skewers one piece at a time.
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5. Make an 'S' movement when you insert the chicken into the wooden skewers.
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6. Then, heat up grill plate and you can grill the chicken satay until it turns brown and looks yummy.
Peanut sauce
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1. Grind peanuts, walnuts and almonds coarsely (toasted in a pan without oil)
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2. Grind and blend all the rest of the ingredients for the peanut sauce.
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3. Heat up coconut oil in a pan, pour in the paste and stir until it smells fragrance, add in all the grounded toasted nuts, pour in water and stir until it boils and thickens. Set aside.
Nasi Impit (lontong)
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1. Wash the white and brown rice
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2. Add in pinch of salt
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3. Make a knot for Pandan leaves
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4. Add in water, Bay leaves and lemongrass into the rice cooker and cook it with slightly more water than normal cooking rice.
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5. After the rice is cooked, compress the rice into a baking tray covered with plastic, let it cool for 2-3 hours or (you can keep it in refrigerator overnight if you wish to prepare it earlier) and cut it into preferred shape.
Avocado dip
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1.Blend the avocado, lime juice and yoghurt into a smooth paste.
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2. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper to enhance the taste
Vegan Roti Jala with Vegan Coconut Curry
By Ms Analiza Bte Mokhtar and Ms Nur Anatasha Binte Abdullah
The mother-and-daughter team chose to do a vegan version of Roti Jala and Coconut Curry, as Roti Jala is a dish that can be consumed at any time of the day. Instead of using chicken, they substituted it with six different types of fresh vegetables to make the dish colourful and nutritious.
Hokkien Mee
By Mr Mo Kang Chun and Mr Mo Kang Fei
The brothers wanted to prepare a dish that is simple. With a huge love for noodles, they chose to prepare Hokkien Mee. They want to keep it simple and healthy, so they omitted traditionally-used ingredients such as squid, pork belly and pork lard, and replaced them with chicken instead.
Botonic Laksa
By Ms Ong Sze Yin and Mr Lee Wai Sung Wilson
As a nursing mother of two lovely girls, an infant and a toddler, Sze Yin wants to ensure that every recipe is nutritious and nourishing. Her laksa recipe is a big hit amongst her family members. She made fish broth for those who prefer lighter-tasting food, before adding her homemade rempah.
Chilli Crab
By Mr Low Wee Sun Wilson and Ms Wu Huiyun
The Low family loves Chilli Crab, but hates not being able to finish the gravy without feeling guilty. Thus, they took this opportunity to create a healthier version of Chilli Crab. The duo opted to make their own chilli and tomato pastes from scratch and relied on the caramelisation of fresh tomatoes and red bell peppers instead of using sugar. They also locked in the flavour of the crab by steaming it, instead of blanching it with oil, before adding the steamed crab juices to the gravy.
My Healthy Chicken Laksa
Healthy eating can be tough. But if you spend some time cooking a healthy meal for your loved ones, it can be very rewarding. I prepared a healthier version of laksa by replacing coconut cream with evaporated milk, and added poached chicken breast and white mushrooms. It’s easy to add healthier substitutions to your favourite recipes.
Ingredients
- 450 g thick rice vermicelli
- 3 cups evaporated milk
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 200 g chicken breast poached
- 2 eggs
- 4 dried beancurd tau pok
- a packet of white button mushrooms
- some laksa leaves
Laksa Paste
- 4 dried red chilies soaked and remove seeds
- 1 piece galangal thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3 shallots
- 2 lemongrass stalks tough outer layers removed, cut into small pieces
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons balachan
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
Instructions
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Place all the ingredients, except oil, in a food processor.
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Add oil and continue blending until it becomes a fine paste.
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Place noodles into a bowl and cover with boiling water. Stand for 15 minutes. Drain.
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Heat oil in a saucepan. Cook laksa paste till it becomes fragrant. Stir through evaporated milk.
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Add in taupok and let it boil for 5 minutes.
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Divide noodles into 4 bowls bowls. Top with soup and garnish with chicken breast, mushrooms and laksa leaves.
About AIA Vitality
Besides healthy eating, exercise is important as well. Recently, I signed up for Piloxing class and I am loving it as my exercise kakis are a bundle of joy. During one of the sessions, one of them jio-ed us to Starbucks as she got a $5 e-voucher after completing the AIA Vitality Weekly Challenge. That’s when I learnt about the AIA Vitality app.
AIA Singapore is the first and only insurer to pay members as they get healthier with the launch of AIA Vitality. The programme works with individuals to make real change to their health. This is done by keeping individuals motivated by adding up the benefits of every healthy choice they make, no matter how small.
AIA Vitality saves you money with cashback and discounts as you get healthier. You can enjoy up to S$120 Annual Cashback, and discounts from gym memberships, airfares to health screening packages. Plus, enjoy free additional coverage or get up to 15% premium discount as you get healthier, giving you more motivation to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
For the AIA Vitality Weekly Challenge, all you have to do is to start getting active to earn vitality points. When you have earned 250 AIA Vitality Points via running, walking or clocking a workout, you earn $5 worth of Rewards. Imagine getting discounts off your Uber ride, a free drink at Starbucks or even a Cold Storage voucher just by doing workout! Such great deals! So #WhatsYourWhy to live longer, healthier, better lives? Find out about David Beckham’s why here – http://whatsyourwhy.aia.com
