Start the Right Day

COVER STORY

Start the day

right

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WELLNESS FOR ALL

velyn Tan isn’t just a busy mother of tthree children all under seven years u old. Her packed o schedule also sees sc her hosting events h and shows on television and elsewhere.

On contract with MediaCorp, she recently hosted FairPrice Family Cook Off, a family cooking competition, with her husband Darren Lim. Indeed, she has a full plate on her hands. But the 37-year-old boasts a flawless complexion that draws many compliments. She puts this down to a secret weapon in her beauty regimen — water.

“I really believe in the power of water,” she says. “I make sure I drink lots, given the weather in Singapore.

And I make sure my kids do the same.”

But just as important, says Evelyn, is the need to manage stress. “I don’t believe that a Super Mum exists. Most days, you’re still sane, but there will be times when you’re thrown off-balance and get ‘whacked’ right, left, centre, everywhere!”

The former Channel U news anchor takes everything in her stride. “You have to just tell yourself, this is life — accept it and move on. Sleep on it and tell yourself tomorrow is another day, with another challenge.”

when the kids know we are going out to spend some time out together.

“It helps to connect the two of us emotionally. We try to incorporate some physical activity, such as cycling or jogging beforehand, to get a little exercise before we pig out at dinner!” she says.

This spot of ‘alone time’ serves other functions for Evelyn and Darren, who handles the marketing and sales aspects of his father’s textile printing company. “We use it to plan the week ahead. We discuss the issues that came up over the past week. Talking about them helps us feel confident about the coming week.

“So if I know that Darren has a busy week coming up, I will be psychologically prepared to meet whatever challenges that are ahead.”

A wake up call

Evelyn has a busy year ahead. She intends to start homeschooling her children (Kirsten, 7; Jairus, 4; and Way, 2) and will be “maid-less” in March when the family downsizes to a smaller home. “We’re up for big changes this year,” she says. “It’s really exciting!”

“The wake-up call came recently when I asked Kirsten to pick up some things from the floor. She said: ‘Mummy, why do I have to do it? Aunty Geraldine [the helper] will come and help me do it.”

Easing up

Indeed, knowing when to ease up is the mantra she lives by. “Whenever things get a little overwhelming on the home front or at work, I will take a break from it all to spend some time getting close to nature, and exercising.

“Doing so really picks me up; I feel reinvigorated, rejuvenated and on top of the world after I jog around Bedok reservoir,” she says.

Exercise doesn’t just help Evelyn manage her stress levels. It keeps her relationship with hubby Darren — who used to be a fulltime MediaCorp artiste — on an even keel as well. “We have a ‘Papa/Mama’ night on Friday,

Jan-Mar 5

COVER STORY

Photo Evelyn Tan

“Kids grow up quickly so Darren and I want to have that window an oof time to impart positive values and attitudes to them.”

their and Darren and Evelyn with husb y d Wa Kirsten, Jairus an

kids

These changes are driven by the fact that Evelyn wants her kids to learn life skills. “With a helper around, ‘Mummy’ gets lazy and reliant, and no one learns anything. I want ‘Mummy’ to show them that we can do without a helper around the house, and that as a family we will work together as a team.

“So my children will have to live with the fact that if they don’t do their chores, no one will do it for them,” she explains.

Flying solo is a daunting step to take, but Evelyn has her husband’s support in not having a helper. “I have

his commitment that we will do this together,” she says.

Evelyn is looking forward to spending more time with her children.

“Kids grow up quickly so Darren and I want to have this window of time to impart positive values and attitudes to them.”

This includes teaching them healthy habits such as eating the right foods.

“Nowadays, we cook a lot more at home, because we want the kids to eat healthily. If Darren and I are meeting friends, we try to do it after our home-cooked meal,” says Evelyn. “I try to make sure that we don’t eat more than four meals a week outside.”

Cooking, she confesses, is proving to be a “steep learning curve” but it hasn’t stopped her from trying new recipes and finding out what works.

Here’s to an exciting new year with plenty of delicious healthy food, Evelyn! Bon appetit!

EVELYN’S OATMEAL COOKIES Evelyn likes this healthy treat from the cookbook Poppin’ Fresh Homemade Cookies. Adding pumpkin and flaxseed mean you get plenty of heart-healthy good oils and fibre, resulting in a healthy snack kids love. “All you have to do is cut down on the sugar,” advises Evelyn, though she does add a few M&M chocolate pieces so she gets her daily chocolate treat in a healthy snack.

Nutritious poppin’ fresh cookies INGREDIENTS

2 ¼ cups 1 cup 1 tsp ½ tsp 120g 2 tsp

Self-raising flour Brown sugar Baking soda Salt Butter, softened Vanilla powder (optional)

2 2 cups ½ cup

Eggs Quick-cooking oats Sunflower seeds or flaxseed which are highly nutritious

Some chocolate toppings such as M&M’s.

METHOD

1 Heat the oven to 175°C. 2 Pour the self-raising flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, butter, vanilla powder and eggs into a large bowl and beat at medium speed for about two minutes until the mixture is well-blended.

3 Stir in the oats and the sunflower seeds or flaxseed.

4 Drop the mixture onto greased cookie sheets. Use a cookie cutter to cut the cookies into the shapes you want. Leave some space between the cookies. Decorate the cookies with chocolate toppings and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

5 Remove and serve.

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WELLNESS FOR ALL

EATING WITH EVELYN Get your vitamins and minerals. “I take calcium supplements. After having three kids, I’m a bit concerned about osteoporosis.” She does have one indulgence though, and that is chocolate, especially chocolate-covered raisins. “They are good for you, because they’ve got fibre,” she jokes. “Plus there’s calcium in the milk!”

Drink lots of water. Evelyn keeps filled water bottles handy for her kids, and makes sure that they take a sip whenever she does.

Combat heatiness with cooling drinks. “I love

Avoid oily and fatty foods, especially

chocolate, so I make sure I drink ‘cooling’ remedies such as water chestnut to alleviate the ‘heatiness’ of chocolate.”

those made with ‘bad’ oils such as coconut oil and palm oil.

Eat lots of fruits. “I love fruits — raspberries, yellow kiwis, all sorts of citrus fruits. I also love durian too, I’m a true-blue Singaporean!”

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