We’ve all heard the age-old adage that health is wealth. If so, chances are you might have heard this too – breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Whether you’re still working from home or have started going back to the office, we could all do with a healthy start to the day. These Singapore-based granola makers have plenty of options to tempt you!

Kintry Singapore

Kintry is a Malaysian snack company which aims to create healthy snacks from scratch. Aside from artisanal treats such as Salted Egg Yolk Potato Crisps, healthy breakfast options like Pandan Gula Melaka Granola and Salted Butter Caramel Granola are on the menu. Choose from four different flavours, each available in a regular or snack pack. All of Kintry’s snacks are halal-certified. Check out their full catalogue here.

SAFRA Members enjoy 10% off all snacks with no minimum spend.

http://sg.kintry.co

The Whole Kitchen

The Whole Kitchen was founded by two Singapore-based Australians, Susan Soulard and Anne Swain, who set out on a quest to create more healthy food options. Enter The Whole Kitchen – a gluten-free bakery offering healthy bakes and toasties. What first started out as an online business has now grown into a brick-and-mortar bakery cafe in the Katong area. Their healthy granolas include varieties like Almond Oat, Cashew Cacao Grain Free and Pecan Coconut Grain Free. If you prefer baked goods, try the Gluten-Free Garlic and Rosemary Focaccia, Vegan Gluten-Free Brownie Bites, or the mouthwatering Gluten-Free Salted Chocolate Cake. Check out the catalogue here for online ordering.

https://thewholekitchen.com.sg

Dearborn

Originally planned to be supper club, Dearborn pivoted their focus into making granolas due to the circuit breaker in April 2020. Chef Christopher Kong decided to try out selling 50 jars of granola on Instagram as a start. The demand eventually snowballed, with at least 800 to 1,000 jars of granola flavours such as Double Chocolate Orange, Coconut Cranberry, and Peanut Butter Cranberry – just to name a few – sold every month. Slots for orders open online every Monday at 12 noon, so don’t miss your chance!

https://dearborn.sg/

Oatberry

Oatberry was founded in 2015 by Darren and his wife, Vanessa, as a result of Darren’s efforts to create nutritious, allergy-friendly foods to tackle his multiple allergies. Oatberry offers gluten-free granola that is baked fresh every week. A myriad of flavours are available such as Cinnamon Apple, Double Chocolate, Spiced Fruit, and many more. If you simple can’t decide which flavour to get, opt for their Oatberry Better Breakfast Box – you’ll be spoilt for choice with this option since you can choose between 3 or 6 flavours. Oatberry offers free delivery for orders $50 and above.

https://oatberry.com

The Edible Co

The Edible Co prides itself on making their food by hand and not machines. Founded in 2014 by Genevieve, The Edible Co not only offers granola, but also biscotti, cookies and nuts. The Coconut Gula Melaka Granola is one of the bestsellers and it’s not hard to see why. Other flavours include Apricot Pistachio, Espresso Nut, Maple Honey Pecan, and many more. A variety of snack bundles exist, should you feel tempted to have the best of all worlds. Browse them all here.

https://theedibleco.com

What’s your favourite breakfast granola? Share with us at magnsman@sph.com.sg! 

The post 5 Breakfast Granolas For A Healthy Start! appeared first on eNSMAN.

With all the important year-end exams such as PSLE, GCE N-, O- and A-Level examinations rolling up in these upcoming months, we’re quite sure it’s crunch time, for hunkering down, planning and cramming… for the parents (oh, and that goes for the children, too). They have to encourage (or nag), provide ample food and drink, plan out the revision regime – you know, the typical parenting stuff. But, given the current Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) measures, the kids will have to spend more time studying at home. So, if you’re a parent, then you would know there’s much more to think about this time round – specifically, how to make your home environment a more conducive one so that your exam candidate can be more productive and prep better. Don’t need to worry; here are 4 simple steps you can take to make your home a top study centre for your family’s school-goers.

Shed Some Right Light

Light matters to reading right. Too dim or dark (because of closed windows or curtains), and your kid will feel more induced to sleep and also, feel more eye strain. Too bright (think overly harsh overhead, fluorescent lighting), and their eyes will feel uncomfortable. There are a couple of fuss-free ways to make sure your child’s study area is lit well enough to optimise his or her focus. One, just let in the sunshine; open your windows to let natural lighting illuminate the space. Some studies have shown that students perform better on standardised tests in classrooms where more daylight is allowed in. Also, having fresh air circulating through the room is healthy and can help refresh your child during his or her study session.

Two, opt for a desk lamp that is flexible and utilises cooler white to natural daylight bulb lighting so that glare, reflections and shadows are minimised and there’s ample task lighting for reading, writing or typing so that your fidgety student can avoid eyestrain and remain focused. Lifestyle gifts and home décor store, Klosh, offers a range of 3M task lighting table lamps that are suited for your night owl’s evening study sessions. Pick from a kid-friendly 3M LED Polarizing Task Light K1610 ($149, in black or white) that weighs just 750 grams; the 3M Cappello LED Polarizing K1710 ($259, in light Mint or light pink) that comes with a cute character remote control switch; or a top-of-the-line 3M LED Polarizing Task Light P1709 ($329, in black or white) with a 7-level LED brightness adjustment feature, that you can also use to brighten your own workspace at home.

The 3M range of lamps are available at Klosh, multiple locations, www.klosh.online; www.facebook.com/kloshsingapore; www.instagram.com/kloshsg

BONUS: SAFRA members get to enjoy 10% sitewide and 15% off Singapore Collection products at Klosh. Click here and here, respectively, for more information.

Fun Can Make Or Break, Break Time

Make their break time fun, or at least one that they can look forward to. The last thing you should do is to turn them into free helpers by having them carry out a household activity like folding and putting away dry laundry – you might like doing these kinds of activities because you think you can spend some productive quality time time together with your loved one and have an extra pair of helping hands. But your kid might just regard them as unrewarding chores. If they do happen to find joy in helping you perform tasks such as watering the plants or cleaning the car, then by all means, let them. Lucky them, lucky you.

Regardless, do discuss and settle on what kind of break time they would like to have. It could be playing on their handheld device or with the family pet, WhatsApping their bestie, or even just snacking on their fave titbits and chilling out on the sofa. You get to know them better, what motivates them and even have a measure of parental control over their preferred activity, while they are kept happy and motivated to keep on trucking. It’s a win-win.

Feed Them Snacks

When it comes down to the grind, brain food’s important– literally, and not just the information that your kid needs to cram into their noggins. Reward them with some snacks for all their hard work – the healthy kind that helps keep up their energy and stamina, for their grey cells to function as they should, and of course, to make sure their physical health and well-being are taken care of properly. Choice and moderation is key (no binge eating and no skipping of proper meals for snack time); a small serving of fruits (bananas are tasty and a great source of energy) or a couple of slices of whole grain breads (higher in nutrients, vitamins and fibre content than white bread) should be enough for their break time or whenever they feel peckish while studying.

Granola’s also a good source of iron, zinc, magnesium, vitamins E and B, and fibre, that typically contains a mixture of oats, nuts, seeds and dried fruit. Try any of Kintry’s four flavourful halal-certified artisanal granola snack packs: Pandan Gula Melaka, Chocolate Hazelnut, Salted Butter Caramel or Honey Quinoa (without nuts). All are handmade from scratch, available in 60g ($3.30) and 200g ($8.90) packs to share together with loved ones, and are totally delish when served with some healthy yoghurt or milk, or even with ice cream if you feel kiddo deserves that extra nice-y, icy treat. Just watch out for the sugar; you don’t want too much for health’s sake, or risk your kid going on a sugar high.

The yummy granola snacks are available at Kintry Singapore, sg.kintry.co; facebook.com/kintrysingapore; instagram.com/kintrysingapore

BONUS: SAFRA members enjoy 10% off sitewide with a minimum spend of $50 and 10% off Halal-certified snacks with no minimum spend at Kintry Singapore. Click here and here, respectively, for more information.

Featured image: Shutterstock

The post 4 Easy Ways To Help Your Kid Revise Better At Home appeared first on eNSMAN.

Amidst all the rising stress, frustrations and worries these days – no thanks to the pandemic – we all need a little more love just to feel better. But, with social distancing and restricted gathering guidelines, we can’t all be there for everyone and at every occasion to give them a much needed hug. Here’s a solution: delectable snacks and bakes. Even if we can’t shower them with some TLC physically, we can buy them some toothsome munchies to make their day, well, sweeter.

Pick your faves from this list featuring a healthy breads bakery, a new-old school confectionery and a “Mum-made-well” snacks biz, for your takeaway or online delivery gifts for your most favoured people. And, while you’re at it, you might as well order some for yourself – don’t forget, you, too, are important and deserve all the extra love and all of the delish treats that you so desire.

Look out for Part 2 of this feature, where we cover more yummy goodies, including some icy desserts.

Duke Bakery’s healthy baked goods

Everyone into wholesome breads know of Duke Bakery. After all, the chain’s known for its large-sized loaves made with Japanese and European baking techniques using high quality ingredients with its 3 “Lows” in mind (low sugar, low fat and low calories). And, its breads, indeed, make for healthy eats; Black Goji Precious Green, Chinese Wolfberry, Cranberry Quinoa and 10-Multi Grain Toast are but some of its more popular and beloved fruit- and seed-filled ones.

But, would a bakery selling such healthy dough offer more creations made of the sweeter stuff? Let’s list some out: Chocolate Bun, Chocolate and Blue Mt. Coffee bread, Taiwanese Pineapple Tart, Traditional Butter Cookies, a range of flavoured Japanese scones and even cakes such as Handmade Almond Banana Cake, Handmade Black Forest (that actually contains alcohol) and Fraisier Entremet (a cake made of strawberry, mix berries compote, vanilla sponge and vanilla diplomat cream). So the answer’s a big and resounding, “Yes”. Drop by any of its bakeries found isle-wide or visit its e-store to see just how big of a sweetmeats range Duke Bakery has.

Duke Bakery, multiple locations, www.dukebakery.sg; www.facebook.com/dukebakery; www.instagram.com/dukebakery.sg

BONUS: SAFRA members enjoy 50% off a pack of Duke Slice (Chocolate/Garlic/Sugar/Croutons) with any item purchased in a single receipt and 5% off regular-priced items at Duke Bakery. Click here and here, respectively, for more information.   

Old Seng Choong’s mindblowing chiffon cakes, cookies and more

The greatest of good food can bridge generations; Old Seng Choong is a brand name you can trust that will please both the elderly folks in your fam and the new gen peeps in your socials. Old Seng Choong is an homage by top SG baker Daniel Tay to his father’s Seng Choong Confectionery that was established in 1965 (it closed in 1996), with the current biz being a bona fide modern-day success – no surprise, given Tay’s blessed with both traditional baking know-how and creative-mad skills. It’s evident in the baked goods available: Goreng Pisang, Hae Bee Hiam and Laksa cookies; Coconut Blue Pea Flower, Black Sugar Lava and Jeju Yuzu chiffon cakes; Lychee Martini, Taro and Yuzu swiss rolls; Black Pearl and Tiramisu cakes; and Pear, Cherry and Lemon Tarts. There are loads more exciting fusion-flavoured confections to try – you and the loved one that you are buying it for just need to have an open mind, an adventurous palate and a willingness to share between yourselves (these treats can be absolutely moreish, we kid you not).

Old Seng Choong, multiple locations, www.oldsengchoong.com; www.facebook.com/oldsengchoong; www.instagram.com/oldsengchoong

BONUS: SAFRA members enjoy 50% off 2nd chiffon cake and cookies and 15% off all cookies at Old Seng Choong. Click here and here, respectively, for more information.

Kintry Singapore’s home-style granolas, cookies and chips

Mum knows best, ya? At least for former stay-home-mother and current F&B Mum-preneur, Michelle Chai, she does. Chai knows all about coming up with healthy home-made bites and making a successful business out of selling them; she started her Malaysian brand Kintry in 2017. Fast-forward to today and the former pop-up market, small-batch biz has expanded to be sold in physical brick & mortar supermarkets. But, if you want to peruse its smallish but delish selection of snacks, it’s best to visit the brand at its SG online website and store.

For granola packs, there’s Pandan Gula Melaka, Salted Butter Caramel, Honey Quinoa (made without nuts) or Chocolate Hazelnut to choose from; for its cookies, there are two flavours, Oat Cookies with Chocolate Chips and Macadamia White Chocolate; and there’s the one and only Salted Egg Yolk Potato Crisps for its chips. The best things about them? They come in mini or regular packs (so you can control portions for snacking) that feature relatable and totes adorbs illustrations and the products are all Halal-certified by JAKIM Malaysia.

Kintry Singapore, sg.kintry.co; www.facebook.com/kintrysingapore; www.instagram.com/kintrysingapore

BONUS: SAFRA members enjoy 10% off sitewide with a minimum spend of $50 and 10% off Halal-certified snacks with no minimum spend at Kintry Singapore. Click here and here, respectively, for more information.

EXTRA BONUS: Extra Sweet SAFRA Voucher Deals

Want more value-laden options to tickle your and your loved ones’ taste buds? Try checking out the SAFRA weekly vouchers specials at treats.safra.sg. For the whole month of July, there are $5.60 promotional vouchers that you can get that are especially useful for purchasing a sweet (or savoury) treat. Here’s the list for your easy-peasy reading:

Week 1 (from 1 July)
$5.60 for $10 worth of Four Leaves vouchers
Week 2 (from 8 July)
$5.60 for $10 worth of Polar Puffs & Cakes vouchers
Week 3 (from 15 July)
$5.60 for $10 worth of Bengawan Solo vouchers
Week 4 (from 22 July)
$5.60 for $10 worth of Sheng Siong vouchers
Week 5 (from 29 Jul)
$5.60 for $10 worth of Old Chang Kee vouchers

It’s a limited-time offer with limited sets for sale, so get clicking here stat!

The post Sweet Treats For Your Sweet Hearts (Part 1) appeared first on eNSMAN.