Health and Nutrition Archives - Certified Foodies

Baon Ideas with Oreo and Tiger Energy Biscuits

I remember when we were still kids, our nanay wakes up really early in the morning to prepare our baon for school. Ken and I usually didn’t know what she prepared for us, and we’ll just be pleasantly surprised come recess time. I guess that’s why we always look forward to opening our lunchboxes during our breaks. She always makes sure we have something to eat that’s not just delicious, but will also energize us for the rest of our school day.

I’m sure many moms would agree that a good baon is vital during school days. I’m seeing a lot of moms getting creative with their kids’ baon nowadays. If you’re one of them, and you need a little inspiration, we’ve got a few ideas for you. We used 2 well-known products fromÂ Mondelez PhilippinesÂ for these recipes.

If this is your first time hearing about Mondelez (pronounced ‘mohn-dah-leez’, meaning ‘delicious world’), their company was formerly named Kraft Foods. The company has been around for decades and theyâ€™re behind familiar brands likeÂ Oreo cookies, Tiger Energy biscuits,Â Tang, Eden Cheese, Cheez Whiz, Cadbury, and Toblerone. If you check their website, you’ll find delightful recipes forÂ fun baon ideas for your kids.

Ken and I love putting a twist on our favorite dishes, and we did exactly that with the recipes belowÂ usingÂ Tiger Energy Biscuits and Oreo cookies, which are already good baon as is, but we thought of other creative treats you can make with them. These snacks / baon bites will surely give you a boost of energy, so it’s not just great for kids, but also fun snacks to take with you to the office or as merienda at home. Let us know once you’ve tried these recipes, okay? Enjoy! 🙂

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Shed Off Your Holiday Weight with Healthy Foodie Manila

The Christmas and New Year season is the time of year when everyone can eat all the food that they want and gain a few pounds (or even 10) without receiving judgment from family and friends. But after all these festivities, when weâ€™re back to living our regular lives, that is when the pangs of guilt and regret come to haunt us with the horrific sights of our puffy cheeks and jiggly muffin tops. We immediately subject ourselves to crazy fad diets like water therapy and fasting. But whereâ€™s the fun in that, right? What if we tell you that you can shed all that holiday weight off but still get to eat delicious food and enjoy 4 meals a day? Yes, you can, and itâ€™s with the help of Healthy Foodie Manila. 🙂

What is Healthy Foodie Manila?

Healthy Foodie Manila is one of the best diet food delivery services in the Metro that provides calorie-counted and portion-controlled meals according to their customersâ€™ specific health needs, whether it be to lose or to gain weight. Itâ€™s important to note that they can cater special kinds of diets like vegetarian, pescatarian, and paleo. You may also avail the services of their registered nutritionist / dietician for a free nutrition consultation to help you determine the type of program you can most benefit from.

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Mixploring at Jamba Juice

When Ken and I decided to add more fruits and vegetables to our diet, we swore off milk teas and looked for alternatives. Thankfully, Jamba Juice made the switch easier… and yummier too. 🙂

I love fruit smoothies and make them a lot at home too. So when we go out, like now that we’re living in Makati, Ken and I enjoy frequenting their Bonifacio High Street branch late at night after our almost weekly now Fully Booked visit. Their store in BGC is open till 1am, in case you didn’t know. 😉

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Juiceria Cleanse : Detox Your Way to a Healthier Lifestyle

When Ken and I decided to move out of our home in Malabon and live on our own, we both agreed it’s the perfect time to kick-start a healthier lifestyle by eating better at home. So when a high school batchmate asked me if we wanted to try their juice cleansing programs at Juiceria Cleanse, Ken and I immediately said yes.

Okay, we didn’t exactly say yes right away. 😀 I’ve been hearing so much about juice cleansing that I had all these doubts in my head. I am very much aware of the benefits and the nutrients you can get from juicing, but I wasn’t prepared for fasting or not eating anything at all. I might go HANGRY (y’know, all the mood swings or you get easily angry because you’re hungry 😀 ) during the 3-day program, and I might not be able to concentrate while working. Sure, I was working from home then, but it was quite an intense week since I was transitioning from online work to office girl again. Can I handle not eating anything when I’m used to eating the stress away?! 😀

Junlyn, the woman behind Juiceria Cleanse, assured me that I wouldn’t have any issues during the 3-day period. She said that they have many clients who go through their programs during workdays. To play it safe, I chose Juiceria Cleanse’s Reboot program since this allows me to eat at least one healthy meal a day. Ken, who went on a strict diet a few years ago and was determined he can take it, went for their 3-day Bootcamp program so it was all juice for him.

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Oishi Smart C+ : a Refreshing Daily Dose of Vitamin C

With the bipolar weather we’ve been experiencing lately, it’s easy to get sick, especially when you’re like Ken and I who work nights. That’s why we never fail to supplement our diets with food and drinks rich in iron and Vitamin C like fresh fruits and citrus juices. One of our recent favorites is Oishi Smart C+.

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Bohol Bee Farm : a Foodie Haven

When we planned to travel to Bohol back in 2012 for our birthdays, Ken kept on insisting that we pick Bohol Bee Farm for our accommodation. He told me nonstop about how good their food was and that I’ll love our stay there. He was 100% spot on!

What we love most about Bohol Bee Farm is they continue to stay true to what they are all about. They boast of using organic ingredients in preparing their dishes, which means no fertilizers, pesticides or anything harmful were used in their farming. Most of them are produced from their own farms, and right there at Bohol Bee Farm (read about our tour on Travelsilog -soon!). They highly support organic farming and, in turn, has given jobs to Boholanos, especially with their livelihood projects at the farm.

Since they were also planting their own herbs and vegetables, you can taste the freshness of the ingredients. And the food wasn’t just healthful, but quite good too.

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Sugarleaf Organic Market and Cafe : Haven for Health Buffs

For us who grew up enjoying savory dishes and sweet desserts, the mere mention of healthful food gives us this impression of bland, sacrificial eating. And we think this is normal since our brains and bodies were mostly programmed to relish anything with salt or sugar. However, through this blog and our desire to be healthier, we’ve started to go out of our ways to discover more nourishing yet flavorful food, and we found one of the must-go places for health buffs: Sugarleaf Organic Market and Cafe.

We were invited for lunch in SugarleafÂ at their Medicard Lifestyle Center branch in Makati. It was the first time we felt genuinely excited to learn more about how to eat well… and smarter. 🙂 That nutritious lunch forever changed our perceptions of what healthful food tastes like. Thanks to Angelo “Jello” Narciso Songco, co-owner of Sugarleaf, who shared with us his passion for healthful eating.

We are well aware that by just changing your diet, you can drastically improve your health. Food can be medicine, or our poison. But, we’re not here to preach about health since we love bacon, desserts and chocolates. 😀 We just want to share this with you so you know your options. 🙂

When it comes to healthful food, we usually think we have to compromise flavor – this has been instilled in us, not just here in the Philippines, but everywhere in the world. We have this impression that only food products and dishes that have actual sugar, pork fats / oils, and salt can be tasty. We have learned over the years that there are other more healthful alternatives.

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Boosting Your Brain Power with Food

I remember back in my senior year in high school, a few months before I was scheduled to take the UPCAT (entrance exam), I noticed my mother buying bananas and vegetables more often, feeding me peanuts and forcing me to eat tuna (I wasn’t into fish when I was younger). She told me all about their benefits to my brain and they should help me while I review and study for the UPCAT (not that I needed help, really 😀 ).

I’m no expert nor did we consult any nutrionist or scientist to back up her claims, but throughout the years, I learned she was right. There are many foods out there that have been proven to boost brain power, but their effects are not immediate. So, if you’re looking to improve your mental health, you might want to change your diet now to include some of the best brain food items out there.

There’s broccoli. They’re supposed to be something kids hate, but we actually loved it even when we were younger. Every time we’re in Baguio, expect us to come back to Manila with kilos of broccoli to enjoy at home.

Berries (blueberries, grapes, strawberries, raspberries, etc) are known to have high levels of flavonoids which can help with dealing with stress too.

Nuts are good sources of Vitamin E that help slow down cognitive decline. I know peanuts help promote good memory. Same with egg yolks. 🙂

Even with all these healthy and nutritious food, you have to remember that though they can help you, if you don’t get enough sleep or rest, don’t expect that much improvement. Your brain needs rest from working, with all the processing, analyzing, deducting and even daydreaming it does. Take it from me. I used to be very good at memorizing things, especially numbers. But, after years of suffering from insomnia and not sleeping enough, I’ve noticed how forgetful I’ve been. With my recent lifestyle change, I’m gradually seeing positive changes, especially now that I’m eating healthier at home, including these brain foods I listed above.

What’s your favorite brain food? Let me know at the comments section. 🙂

Oh, I passed the UPCAT with flying colors, by the way. 😉

A Sweet Start to My Day, Thanks to Splenda

I work full time at night and one of the many things I enjoy is a cup (or two) of coffee to perk me up so I can fulfill all my tasks more efficiently. Since I work online and I’m in front of the computer for 7-8 hours straight, even with my current routine of exercising 30-45 minutes per day before my shift, I know I have to control my calorie and carbohydrate intake because I don’t get to move as often as other people who work in an actual office and commute on a daily basis.

I used to like my coffee black and bitter, but lately, I see myself adding at least a tablespoon of sugar to a regular cup of coffee, and about 2-3 teaspoons when I opt for the 3-in-1 blends. If you add that up in a week, that’s a lot of sugar, which is not good for my low calorie, less carbohydrate diet (I’m trying to eat healthier at home).

Thankfully, there’s Splenda No Calorie Sweetener. The content of each packet of Splenda is equivalent to 2 teaspoons of sugar, but it has none of the calories. On the box, there’s a conversion chart that should guide you. Yes, you read that right. The good thing about using Splenda is it sweetens my coffee without the calories and carbohydrates I usually get from sugar, making me enjoy my cup of coffee, even twice a day, with less guilt. 😉

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Vegetarian Delights at Bliss Cafe in Baguio

I cannot imagine myself ever becoming a vegetarian. I love meat. Just the sight of a thick, succulent slab of beef roasting on the grill makes me salivate like a rabid dog. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean vegetarian dishes have no place in our table. In fact, they are very welcome, especially when they’re as delicious and flavourful as the ones we had at Bliss Cafe located in Hotel Elizabeth, Baguio City.

Bliss Cafe, the brainchild of Jim Ward and his wife Chef Shanti, has finally found its third and, hopefully, permanent home in Hotel Elizabeth.

In a corner of the hotel’s main lobby stands a door that opens to a small restaurant. Design pieces from various countries and cultures are perfectly placed into a controlled chaos, giving an atmosphere of being laid-back, peaceful, and eccentrically artistic. Jim informed us that the design of the restaurant changes every six weeks to provide different designers and artists a venue to feature their works. That’s pretty cool in our book. 🙂

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