Sibuyas Republic

As it appears, there’s no stopping everyone in leading a healthy lifestyle. More and more creative ways of preparing healthy food are on the rise. Latest on the list? Juicing.

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Juicing fruits and vegetables is an excellent way to satisfy your daily intake requirement which is two whole fruits and three veggies per day. By juicing your fruits and veggies, you do not only offer an alternative way of serving them, but you can also mix in a set of fruits and veggies in one drink. So that’s taking in different kinds of nutrients in just one big gulp!

Warning for Diabetics

But while fruit and vegetable juices are undeniably healthy, this wonder drink may not be suitable for some people, like those who have diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. This is because juices, especially those fruit juices, have higher sugar and fructose contents. It is best that diabetics limit their intake of these kinds of drinks until they normalize their bodies’ sugar levels.

Make Use of Those Pulps

But after extracting the juice from the fruits or veggies, what do you do with those pulps? There are a lot of ways you can do with them so that they won’t be put to waste just like that. These pulps can make a healthy ingredient to muffins and cookies. Or better yet, add them into your juice itself! Most of the nutrients in fruits and veggies are on their skin and pulp, so it would be just a waste if you just throw these after extracting the juice.

Juicing is fun and easy. Who knows, this could even be good bonding activity for the family!

After sharing you the Mango Pie (which was baked), I want to share another fruit pie. However, instead of baking, I had opted to fry them in the hopes of achieving that crispier dough a la Jollibee pies

And, look what I got after deep frying the pies on a very hot oil…

Crispier and more tastier fruit pies…

Here’s the quick recipe guide:

For pie dough: Check here my easy-peasy basic pie crust recipe.

For filling: Since I have sweetened jackfruit in the fridge, I decided to make it as pie filling combined with sweetened banana (saging saba).

Procedure:

• Knead the dough, then form into whatever shape you desire. Place the filling near the center of each form dough then seal.
• Deep-fry into a very hot oil. Fry for 2-3 minutes.

Let me share you the difference between frying and baking pies. (applies also to meat pies)

Texture. I must say, the difference between baked pies and fried pies are in the texture. Frying pies will result in a more crispier dough. With baked pies, the texture will depend on how minutes the pies stay in the oven. More minutes means you’ll have a crunchier dough. While baking the pies in shorter minutes will achieve a chewy dough.

Concern for health. Naturally, frying means using oil. If you are one who’s been avoiding oils and other fats, baking pies is more the better choice.

Taste. Pies, whether baked or fried, are equally delicious. However, frying intensifies the flavor of the butter (in the dough mix) which is then mixed into the filling which makes the it more flavorful and moist.

Honestly, me and my family prefers frying the pies.

What about you? Have you tried making your own pies? It’s a great snack for the whole family.

Here goes the “langka” fruit we picked from the tree…

Much as we enjoyed eating the sweet and fresh fruit, I had to sweetened the rest so I can store them on the fridge. I just added a little sugar (refined sugar) and the julienned jackfruit and let boil for 15 minutes. It’s done…

To make our Holy Thursday afternoon quite ‘alive”, I cook some “turon” (saba bananas rolled in lumpiya wrapper) and added sweetened langka pieces into the filling. Then, deep fried.

Merienda time!

Did you know that eating jackfruit has this many health benefits?

Vitamin Content. Aside from jackfruit as a good source of Vitamin C, it also contains Vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, calcium, potassium, iron, sodium, zinc and niacin among many other nutrients.

Natural Antioxidants. Lignans, isoflavones and saponins are naturally found in jackfruit. These are said to have potent antioxidant properties.  These phytonutrients have wide ranging health benefits which can prevent cancer cells from forming in the body. These nutrients can also help lower blood cholesterol and can help combat the signs of aging.

Aid in Weight Loss. Aside from the vitamins and significant nutrients jackftuit has, it can also benefit those who are watching thie food intake. Jackfruit has a low caloric content -100 grams of jackfruit contains 94 calories only.

The easiest and cheapest recipe I have discovered. Not to mention, super healthy, too.

I was inspired to cook this when we ordered “Stir-Fry Kangkong in Garlic Sauce” at Gerry’s Grill last Christmas. Me and the husband insisted we ordered it for the kids to try. All they knew about eating kangkong is when I cooked fish sour stew. When the dish was served, the kids were hesitant at first. Seeing that there’s no meat products and there’s lots of fried garlic, they just stared blankly on the plated dish.  I had to use my popular convincing power. “Better try first before saying NO.”

It worked! They liked the kangkong dish. Even the little girl, who used to get grumpy when I would let her have veggies.

So, I cooked my own version.

This one’s super easy. I tell you.

What you need:

*2 bunches of kangkong (market bought for 5 pesos a bunch)
*3-4 cloves of garlic
*half cup oyster sauce
*ground black pepper
*salt (optional. Oyster sauce is seasoned with salt already)

Cooking procedure:

• Mince 3-4 cloves of garlic. Stir-fry in oil. Set aside half of it for garnishing.
• Add the kangkong stems and leaves. Stir-fry until the veggies turn dark green.
• Pour in desired amount of oyster sauce. Add ground black pepper.
• Mix in and that’s it.

TIP: Do not add water to this recipe as kangkong tends to give off its own moisture as you cook.

This is my kids’ new favorite veggie dish. I’m a happy mom. Why?

Kangkong dish is cheap. Less than 50 pesos for this dish?

This kangkong recipe is super easy. In less than 15 minutes (including preparation) I am done cooking!

This dish is uber healthy. Kangkong has the most affordable sources of vitamins and minerals -Calcium, Magnesium, Niacin, Iron, Zinc, Folate, Vitamins A and C, Thiamine, Riboflavin, and packed with dietary fiber.

Add this one in your regular cooking.

Holidays are here again. I wonder how much tolerance should I possessed so as not to go astray and go wayward on my eating habits. With eating habits, I can be lax with my intake. As I always find a good deal of reasoning for the constant bingeing. I am gonna have my exercise after eating or engage into a favao wellness, perhaps. An old exercise of mine. Please tell me there are others who are doing the same thing. So that I will be less guilty

Please can anyone tell me how hard it is getting away from food especially when there are so many events this coming holiday season -corporate parties, family reunions, school reunions, and many more family togetherness. How can we avoid eating more especially this holiday season?

Watch out for the grocery items.

As a budget conscious buyer, we are always on the look out for anything on sale. Remember, it’s when holiday season when most grocery shops try to “lure” consumers to buy items really not necessary yet are very tempting. It’s because these businesses knew that at every holidays or events, families and friends are overflowing with parties. And, at parties, our table “should be” overflowing with foods. We tend to buy items that are easily prepared yet we forget how they are laden with sugars and salts. Something that are unhealthy. And, so we are complaining of weight gains during the holidays?

Let’s review our grocery lists, plan head-on what to cook and stick to what are on the lists. Buy what is necessary and those that promotes better health.

Holidays are made for drinking.

What are holidays without wines? People stocked up on drinks, some are too pricey, it can overshoot our budget yet people do not mind, reasoning that holidays just comes not very so often. And, yet we are complaining of weight gains during the holidays?

We can always have wines. But, try to be a smart buyer. Read labels. We maybe looking the best tasting wine with less alcohol content out in the shops. Remember, too, that these are the types that are high in sugars and other flavors that may induce weight gain. So, the next time we shop for bottle of holiday wines, choose the ones with lesser flavors.

Same with sodas, why not opt for natural fruit juices, for these are the kind of drinks where health is promoted.

Yes, holidays are made for merrymaking and it all goes down to eating and drinking. But, do not try to let loose on bad habits. That we can always exercise after the bingeing. We can always enjoy the merriment the holidays can bring. Just be smart on the foods and drinks we picked.

How about you, what were your plans to avoid the holiday “fats”?

This is a sponsored post however, all the points and views are my own.

Instead of buying canned pineapple juice, I decided to hoard in few kilos of dalandan fruits which sells for 20 pesos in the public market.

And what do you know, they’re as sweet as those store-bought fruit drinks yet in a natural way. More importantly, they come fresh and cheaper, too.

 Way cheaper. Yet healthier. Much healthier.

No need to add sugar. And no food coloring, too. What you see in the pitcher is its true dalandan color.

The kids like it with lots of cubed ice. Perfect for that rising afternoon temperature.

TIP OF THE DAY:

You can buy few more kilos of in-season fruits for they come cheaper than other fruits. In the case of these citrus fruits, you can juiced them out and store the juice in the freezer for say a week.

Fruits have always been known as a healthy snack. More people nowadays are even opting for these precious foods as their regular diet, taking over unhealthy ones which are full of bad carbohydrates, fats and calories.

But nowadays, people does not only enjoy fruits as foods, but also as drinks! Thanks to innovations in food technology, it has now become easy to include the flavors of your favorite fruits in different beverages, like wine.

Fruit-flavored wines have caught the attention of wine connoiseurs, or the people who have developed a special appreciation for wines. Many varieties of these wines are now available in the market.

One of the most loved fruit flavor is the White Zinfandel. These are specially-grown berries of Spain which really render wine a distinct taste. Other popular flavors include Manischewitz blackberry, kosher, and popular fruits such as cherry, apple and watermelon.

Some people ask if there are health benefits of this type of wines. The answer is an outstanding Yes! Just like any other wines, fruit-flavored wines are good for the heart and also a good source of the antioxidant called resveratrol. These healthy chemicals help the body the combat the activities of free radicals which damage body cells. But then again, moderate consumption of wine should be taken considerably in keeping health at its best.

Due to the increasing popularity of weight loss programs, food industries are creating newer foods that could promote weight loss. Foods that are equally tasting yet yields better health is invading the grocery shelves. And, more people are patronizing these product innovations.

One such product is the yogurt. Yogurt has always been a popular food as it is rich in protein, calcium and other elemental nutrients needed for better body functioning. But the more important reason of its popularity is its being more highly nutritious than the milk itself. Particularly for those people who are lactose intolerant. Their bodies can better tolerate yogurt than milk. Because of this, more people are choosing yogurt than any other dairy products.

There are diverse food recipes one can do with a yogurt. It can be eaten as plain or mix in with other fruits. Some cuisines added yogurt to make the taste more appealing. More than these, because of its lesser fat content, it’s a favorite among people who are promoting a healthy diet.

These are great reasons why there is a boom in frozen yogurt business. Promoting health nowadays with food in the market can be intimidating. The taste and the quality of the foods suffer that in the end, the product fails. With the versatility of yogurt, it is now considered as staple to diet advocates because of the many benefits one can get out of it.

Because of the growing demand for yogurt, there are more franchise opportunities offering free trial on frozen yogurt machine for those who are interested to invest in this kind of business enterprise. The frozen yogurt machines are vital in making healthy and variation of yogurts.

If one is interested, one can check out donper america for these types of machines. With the popularity of yogurt, it’s a no-brainer that it shall be profitable.

How often do you cook at home?

In an era where fastfood and restaurants have gotten very popular, more people are eating less and less at their homes.  Busy lifestyle and the intimidating preparation in cooking had been the excuse for eating out in restaurants. No cause for worries though. As dining out can really give convenience. And, as for health reasons, there are restaurants that are offering healthier menus. So better check out for those.

But, as in my family’s case, we try to eat more at home. Dinners and weekends are where there’s much traffic in our kitchen. The kids are always eager to know what’s cooking in the kitchen, and they are always happy to help out. I always believed that aside from promoting healthy relationship among family members, cooking and dining at home promotes healthier lives.

one of our family events: cooking and having the best of fun

Here are few benefits of home cooking.

Dining out versus home cooking.

Dining out in restaurants may be all-too convenient. Who doesn’t need convenience in our everyday busy lives? But, then again, think about what we pay for the price of that convenience. Because when eating out, we have these tendencies to order more foods. Temptations are high particularly when we get to see those mouth-watering foods displayed on the food menu. And, what does this means? More calories, more fat, more sodium. All have potential effects on our weight that will might cause problems with out health. While, when we try to cook at home, we are in control of all the ingredients we incorporate into every meals. We control the taste. Hence, it’s a better way to control what can be good or bad to our health.

Home cooking is learning.

By cooking at home, we get to personally picked the ingredients at the grocery stores. This is by far the most important aspect in home cooking, we get to educate ourselves starting from choosing the items to cook. Starting out from the meat. Through reading the labels, we can differentiate meats and discover which of those that are in the frozen that really yields protein and not fats. While at the canned goods or bottled food items, we can discover that processed foods are all but sugar and sodium. And, at the fresh produce, it will always be interesting to discover the many benefits we can derive at those fruits and vegetables. We may all know that they are rich in vitamins and minerals. Knowing and learning more about the role of every plant chemical -its role in the overall functioning of the body, in their ability to build resistance against diseases, and its role as a whole body cleanse to keep toxins out of our bodies.

Foster family relationship.

Cooking at home can be intimidating at times. But once every thing is planned out -the shopping list, the menu planning, and more importantly, the involvement of everybody in the family- cooking and dining at home can be a great experience. Not only can it foster lasting family relationship but it can have great effects in promoting family health.

This is a sponsored post for Xango, however, all the points and views are my own.

I caught up a televison advertisement of how to make scrambled eggs fluffier. The ad recommends adding mayonnaise into the beaten eggs. While we love some mayonnaise here in the house, I do not add mayo to either omelettes nor to scrambled eggs. No more additional fat

In some cases, I can add milk. You can really achieved a fluffier and more textured scrambled eggs/omelletes by adding milk. It’s a tried and tested recipe tip.

I shrugged out the idea of mayonnaise when I get to cook scrambled eggs this morning. I missed out on the milk also, because I wanted to add more vegetables into it – I wanted the flavors of the veggies to come out- and see for myself if I can achieve fluffier result.

Got me some of these..

3 eggs

tomatoes, bell pepper, celery, onions (obviously missing out on the photo^_^)

salt and pepper to taste

In a non-stick pan, add few drops of oil. Saute the bell pepper first. Just to squeezed out its flavor. I just so love the flavors of bell peppers. After a minute, add in the rest of the veggies. Saute for one more minute then add the eggs. No need to beat the eggs. Just drop the eggs onto the pan. Stir few times. This will help the eggs to break and mix in thoroughly with the veggies. Do not overcook. Two minutes is okay. The heat of the sauteed veggies will eventually helped cooked the eggs. Overcooking will make the eggs lose its liquid thus, it becomes a dry egg dish.

 Done…

Fluffier? I do not know how other define fluffier eggs. But, this one definitely is. And, because of the veggies -the egg dish is more textured and flavorful.

Healthy? Be the judge.