Increase your Vitality through Au Natural Healthy Eating
Keeping healthy and providing nutritious meals for the kids has been something that I’ve been focusing on this year. As the main caregiver for the kids it is very important that they get the the proper nutrition required for their age group.
This year I’ve embarked on revamping the family diet and maintaining everyone in the pink of health. In bid to carry out this resolution that I made ,I took part in AIA’s Bento Making Challenge in March as part of the AIA Vitality Challenge.
I wanted to prove to myself and the kids that is is possible to create a Bento which is both tasty and visually appealing and one that meets their required daily calorie intake.
*Note that the calorie range for a moderately active 4-8 yr old is between 1,400-1,600 as stated in WebMD.
- The kids and me on stage
Taking note of the daily calorie intake, although important, is not the only think to take note of when planning a child’s daily diet. It is also important to ensure that the child gets a well balanced diet with appropriate portions of food from the various food groups.

I have been reading up a lot about different types of foods, portion sizing and it’s effect on kids. What a child eat will certainly affect their growth and nutrient. To ensure that they grow up healthy I have radically changed the amount of each type of food group that we eat from.
As you can see from the chart above in our family we focus on giving lots of fresh/ half-cooked vegetables to the kids with a wide array of fruits as snacks or as part of the salad which we serve. I did not add rice, wheat /grain products in the chart as I feel that they are optional at meal times. For each portion of meat that we eat it is balanced out with two portions of vegetables and we only eat until we feel full and not more.

The bento I made for the AIA Bento Making Challenge
Based on our eating habits I created a bento based on what Doggie boy would fancy eating. I bore in mind what he loves eating and chose the fruits and vegetables that he would like.
I packed the bento with – cheese, ham, rice, carrot, carrot, egg, beetroot, lettuce, golden kiwi, dragonfruit and strawberries. I designed a “Secret Garden” with the fruits and vegetables and added a mushroom house to give it a house with the garden look.
The side view of the bento
Even though I only got a consolation prize in the AIA Bento Challenge it was a fun learning experience for me as I got to experiment with different types of food and learned more about the varieties of foods available.

Tiger girl out supermarket shopping with me
While preparing for the Bento Challenge Tiger girl and I popped by Cold storage to pick up the groceries that we needed. I believe in using the freshest produce and minimal processed foods as I do not want the kids to consume items laced with MSG, artificial colorings or additives as these would be harmful to their health and well being in the long run.

Buying blueberries at the Supermarket You can see the V on the digital price tag above.
Since joining the AIA Vitality program I learned a lot about keeping healthy and get rewarded by doing so.
As part of the AIA Vitality Program there are HealthyFood™ Benefit which you can activity before you start your grocery shopping.
You could
– Complete the AIA Vitality Health Review online via their website and get 5% cashback on HealthyFood™
-Complete the AIA Vitality Health Check at selected Guardian Pharmacies and get up to 15% cashback on HealthyFood™
These cashbacks are in the form of Cold Storage Vouchers which can be printed out and used during the next time you go grocery shopping.
Besides getting up to 15% cash back, you also get to accumulate up to 400 AIA Vitality Points on your HealthyFood purchases each month.
*10 AIA Vitality Points is given for every $4 spent on
HealthyFood™

Another healthy food option with the AIA Vitality tag
It is possible to make healthier choice while shopping. You just have to look out for the “V” in the HealthyFood™ tag on the shelf price tags. There are hundred over items to choose from at Cold Storage.
Some of the items are even clearly labelled with the AIA vitality white tag as shown above.

Photo supplied by AIA- “V” marked out on an eletronic tag
If you can’t spot the white tags you just need to look out for the “V” on the electronic tag as highlighted in the picture above.

Picture supplied by AIA The “V” tag on a non-electronic tag
Here is the “V” tag again on a normal tag for milk in the Diary section.
Just remember to present your AIA Vitality card to the cashier upon check out when you pay for your groceries!!
For Local/Singapore based Dominique’s Desk Readers
We are giving away 5 X $20 Choice Vouchers
Fill in the rafflecopter below for a chance to win a voucher.
Good luck!!
Disclaimer: I’m participating in a campaign by AIA . All opinions are 100% my own. Existing Terms and Conditions as set by the respective company and / or supporting partners apply. Do visit AIAVitality.com.sg for the comprehensive details of this product . All information is correct at time of post. AIA reserves all rights to discontinue or amend existing clauses without prior notice, and its sole discretion. Please do your own research if you are considering to purchase the product as your opinions may differ from mine.
In no event shall Dominique’s Desk be held liable or responsible for disputes arising between AIA and any parties. Neither shall I be liable for any indirect, consequential, incidental, special or punitive damages or losses of any kind.
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April 23, 2014 @ 12:38 pm
The answer is “V”.
Tinkene@gmail.com
April 23, 2014 @ 3:37 pm
YES!! I found a kaki who thinks that rice is optional. I always receive a weird look when I tell others I don’t take rice. They always ask me where do you get your carbo? Is rice the only food that provide carbo? Besies, I don’t do labor job. Do I need a lot of carbo?
April 23, 2014 @ 3:50 pm
eating healthy will results to good and longer life! cheers for change! 🙂
April 23, 2014 @ 4:22 pm
How interesting! 🙂 Have you heard of the blood type diet? It’s also the basis of the expensive Cohen diet where you pay them 50k to get your blood analyzed and your diet customized accordingly. From some readings, I learned that some healthy foods can be fatal to blood types when it comes to strength building and weight gain. For me, for example, I can eat a lot of dairy without getting fat but tomatoes can make me fat. It’s really a very strange thing. Tomatoes are supposedly healthy in general but not for my blood type. It kind of contradicts the usual food pyramid concept. But I still subscribe to the food pyramid on most things, except for those food that was considered not good for my blood type. 🙂 I’ll check this AIA vitality challenge. I was previously looking at Sexy Chef, also dealing with calorie control. 🙂
April 23, 2014 @ 4:34 pm
Heleyna,
yes I have heard about the blood group(type) diet but that too is quite questionable..together with the many other diets that are around. For me I’m focusing mainly on giving the kids and myself a revamp of our daily intake of foods to provide them with the necessary nutrients which they require to be healthy. It’s interesting to know that Tomatoes make your fat.. but good that you figured that out so you can avoid it.
April 23, 2014 @ 4:40 pm
I still eat tomatoes especially with salad! haha. But I limit it because it’s in my head already that it’s bad for my type. 🙂 Super nice though. I just remembered it when I read this post. 🙂 Your kids are quite lucky. I was eating junk foods as a kid and I got too sickly in college. T_T Now I am reversing some of it and hope that my future kids can be healthier. 🙂
April 23, 2014 @ 6:13 pm
It’s V!
April 23, 2014 @ 8:05 pm
Ans: V
Karis
hellokaris@yahoo.com.sg
April 23, 2014 @ 10:59 pm
It nice to know what your kids are eating that is why I love to cook for my family. 🙂 I love your bento box, Sis:)
April 24, 2014 @ 12:49 pm
Oh how I wish I could join this giveaway. Eating healthy is kind of a challenge for me because I really do love fast food, sweets and carbs. But I know that healthy changes will really make a difference, so I try my best to adjust. I know that it will do my whole family good to eat better.
April 25, 2014 @ 9:06 am
The answer is V..for vitality lah!
Ed
mailmummyed (a) gmail.com
April 25, 2014 @ 11:05 am
The alphabet V is the answer.
Name: Amie
Email: amycpj@gmail.com
April 25, 2014 @ 11:32 am
Oh, bento! I started getting interested with making bentos last year, I just love how healthy and appealing it looks. When my son starts school, I hope I would be able to prepare nice and healthy packed bento for him that he can bring to school. 🙂