Great food with fewer calories

"Malaysia is a paradise of gastronomical delights and its no surprise that one of he favourite pastimes of fellow Malaysian is to enjoy food. However, we all know that any of our favourite foods can be unhealthy due to the high oil content used during preparation, but it really can be difficult to say no when, for example, a delicious piece of fried chicken comes your way!" said Ms Soo Woon Yee, Marketing Director, Kimberly-Clark Malaysia at the introduction of their latest product.

 

I agree with her statement, we Malaysians love our food very much and why wouldn't we, it's our culture. All our meetings, whether social, informal or formal, no matter how big or small revolves around food. Food is always on the agenda and I remember having debates with my colleagues about it.

 

Even our Visit Malaysia commercials, show food as a major attraction. Unlike many countries, we have a diverse variety of food which is available 24/7, from 5 star fine dining to local street dining. You name it, we have it!

Food is everywhere! You will see it even in places you would least expect, in health fitness clubs!

It is part of our daily life because without it, we cannot function properly. It is our fuel to keep going.

 

Food is the first thing I would discuss with my friends whenever we plan for a meet-up and this has become one of the reason why many Malaysian consume more than the recommended daily calorie intake - the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization found that the average Malaysian consumes more than 2900 kcal per day**, well in excess of the recommended 2000 calories per day for adult men and 1500 for adult women.

 

But that does not mean you must become a victim to food. With a little knowledge and discipline you can take control of your food and consume food which will benefit you and not cause your harm.

 

Keeping that in mind, Scott a trusted household brand in many Malaysians' home has taken a step further to introduce a new kitchen towel, designed for superior absorbency to address one of the biggest challenge in Malaysia kitchens. Not only does it remove oil effectively on the greasiest of kitchen surfaces, it absorbs excess oil effectively from food, making it possible for consumers to enjoy great food, minus the calories, in the simplest way.

 

 

Introducing, Scott Calorie Light Premium Towel. It is made with revolutionary Fiber-Tech technology, and from 100% natural pulp in a thicker weave to support superior oil absorbency. The towel is also infused with green tree extract, an ingredient that is long known and used for fat reduction.

This towel was tested by an independent party, and found to reduce calories intake from fat by an average of 25%* just using 3 sheets of Scott Calorie Light kitchen towel to soak up the excess oil from foods like fried chicken before serving. 

Scott Calories Light towel is available at all supermarkets, hypermarkets, minimarkets and provision stores that comes in packs of 2-roll and 6-rolls. Recommended retail price for 2-rolls is RM6.20 (West Malaysia) and RM6.80 (East Malaysia) while the 6-roll is priced at RM14.90 (West Malaysia) and RM16.40 (East Malaysia).

For more information, you can call Kimberly Clark Consumer care line, 1-800-82-1188 (toll-free) weekdays 9am to 5pm.  

 

My own test

Armed with a simple kitchen and its basic amenities, I decided to conduct my own test to see how well Scott's premium towel faired against my ordinary kitchen towel.
 

Test 1: Sensory test
Its clear Scott is a winner because its thicker and softer. It tears only where it was intended and you would not end up with tiny bits and pieces even if you tear with damp hands.
 

Test 2: Absorption test
Scott was a winner once more and triumphed excellently in both my absorption test - water & oil.
 

Water
2 teaspoons of water was absorbed by Scott and the soaked towel did not crumble to pieces when I lifted it. My ordinary towel failed and let water seep through it and move onto my table.
 

Oil
This test was conducted using 2 sheets of kitchen towel and equal amounts of fried chicken strips.

The excess oil from the fried chicken spread wide on Scott's premium kitchen towel and wasn't concentrated only to places the fried chicken was placed. It was well absorbed by both sheets and didn't seep through. When compared to my ordinary kitchen towel, Scott's ability to absorb oil was far superior because the oil travelled outwards from where the fried chicken was placed.
The ordinary towel too managed to absorb oil but it was limited to where the fried chicken was placed. The oil from it did not travel like Scott's premium towel and some oil seeped through both towels, leaving a lot of oil stain on my plate. 

 

My homemade chicken fingers, used for this test.

This is a very simple and easy to prepare recipe (using ingredients which are available in your pantry). After experimenting with many types of recipe (from complicated ones to the ones that requires a lot of ingredients), I tend to make this most often. Kids love the simplicity this dish has to offer and when cut into smaller pieces you can turn this into the infamous popcorn chicken served by a famous fast food restaurant (which has a whooping 380-500 calories, per serving!), but much healthier and lighter.

Popcorn chicken

 

 

The recipe:

1 egg

1/2 lemon/lime juice

8-10 chicken strips

8-10 fortified cream crackers (or any ordinary crackers will do too)

3-4 heaping tbs flour

1 tsp cayenne pepper (add more if you like your chicken spicier)

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Salt to taste

Lime/lemon wedge and spring onions for garnish

 

Method

First, you crush the crackers by bashing it with a rolling pin. Put the crackers into a bag, cover it with a tea towel and beat to your heart's content. A good stress reliever, this exercise.

Next, massage the lime/lemon juice into chicken strips and coat each strip with the flour. Then dunk it into the egg before covering it well crushed cream crackers. Make sure you really coat it well.

Fry these chicken strip in a shallow frying pan, 3 minutes on each side or until they turn golden brown. Shake off as much excess oil as possible before putting them onto your kitchen towel lined plate.



Pictures speak a thousand words.

These pictures show my test conducted at home

Scott Calories Light vs Ordinary kitchen towel

 

Test 2: Absorption test - Water

 

Ordinary towel on the left. Scott's Calories Light towel on right

Water seeped through the ordinary towel

 

Test 2: Absorption test - Oil

using ordinary kitchen towel

 

 

Test 2: Absorption test - Oil

using Scott's Calories Light kitchen towel

 

 

Once you done draining excess oil off your fried chicken, use it to suck up the remainder oil left in your pan and discard*** properly. 

 

 

 

*Based on the reading of calories from fat (Kcal/100g), tests were conducted by third party international laboratories using 3 Scott Calories Light towels on fried chicken.

 **data from 200-2007

***flushing used oil down your sink hole is not recommended.


Disclosure: I received a sample pack of Scott Calories Light kitchen towel to share my experience using it. All opinions and ideas shared here are mine and mine alone.

For more recipes, please head over to my Recipes page

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