Recipe: Hot Calamansi - Honey Drink

I was feeling sick the other day and my voice got a bit scratchy. This month was like boiling our skin with intense heat that I missed some important activities in the church during the holy week. I decided to stay indoors and felt the need to do something about my cough and cracked voice. One night I decided to experiment with two cheap healing properties very much available on our kitchen cabinet - honey and calamansi.  Surprisingly, it worked wonders with my voice restored and cured my cough in just a day. Usually, when I do get a cold and cough, it last for more than a week, so I find honey and calamansi a match made in heaven! Mom got a flu after a few days and tried my recipe and she too felt the surprisingly fast healing comfort from this hot drink.

For the recipe for one small cup of water, simply add 4 calamansi (strained) and a tsp of honey into a cup of boiling water. Try this Hot Calamansi - Honey Drink when you feel sick and gloomy, it warms your body plus it tastes pretty good too! 

Kablon's Passionfruit Guyabano Calamansi Juice

Passionfruit-Guyabano-Calamansi Juice from Kablon

I discovered Kablon's fruit juices about 3 years ago after drinking one during a visit at my grandmother's house in Sultan Kudarat and have since buying a variety of the concentrated juice in aluminum packs as pasalubong. I've never eaten a passion fruit before but I love the combination of the calamansi, guyabano and passionfruit which has a sweet sour-y taste anyone will surely enjoy. A healthy drink I must say coming from the store's organic farm, it's best to drink with drops of ice! Among other products they have, I especially love their passionfruit - mangosteen concentrate.

Healthy Breakfast from Pancake House

Salmon cakes with brown rice tabbouleh

Before embarking on a 5-day incentive trip to Malaysia, our group decided to have our breakfast at the Pancake House in NAIA Terminal 3. We were given a budget of about Php200 each we can use anywhere at the Airport. Wanting to try something new and a healthier meal, I decided to order their Salmon cakes with brown rice tabbouleh, the photo on their menu reminds me of my Fish Frikadelle. Their description goes like this - crunchy salmon cakes topped with alfalfa sprouts, served on a spread of brown rice tabbouleh with dill mayo and chopped parsley priced at P185. Just right within my budget.

Roast Beef Special

Alas, it was too bland for my taste, probably because it has less salt. But I'm glad someone in the group ordered Caramel banana walnut pancakes, now that's heaven on the plate.

Recipe: Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin Soup

Sharing with you another healthy feel good recipe that's both fresh and friendly to the budget. Adding to that, preparing this homemade Pumpkin Soup dish is another way to trick your kids as well as adult meat lovers into eating vegetables that will surely win their tastebuds. A smash hit to our family, we'll definitely be cooking this soup more often.

Here's the recipe. I promise, this is oh-so delicious!

Recipe: Malunggay Iced Tea

I've written here before how to make a malunggay tea freshly handpicked from our vegetable garden. In addition, I also posted a recipe made healthier by adding malunggay powder to the dish. This time, I'll be sharing a successful experiment mom and I made (since we're all trying our best to live healthy), may I present to you our Homemade Malunggay Iced Tea.

Malunggay Iced Tea

Ingredients:

a pitcher of Malunggay Tea, refrigerated (click this post on How to Make Malunggay Tea)

10-12 kalamansi

brown sugar

honey

Simply mix all the ingredients according to your desired sweetness. Best serve with ice.

Mom and I have been trying to convince my younger brothers on drinking the hot malunggay tea but they wouldn't. After trying on this recipe and having those burst of sweet flavors and not telling them that it's actually malunggay tea, we've finally got them to drink and they actually love it! It's a cheaper and healthier substitute for those sachet packs of ready to drink iced teas. 

Recipe: Easy to Cook Ginataang Tilapia with Malunggay powder

Ginataang Tilapia is White fish cooked in creamy coconut

What makes this dish extra special is the additional malunggay powder, reason why its soup turned green. For those who are curious about the taste, don't fret because it still tastes like any other ginataang tilapia but with extra nutrients coming from the malunggay :)

High Fiber Diet: How to get those extra fibers you need

A high fiber diet is a modified balanced diet with high fiber content. This is effected by including more fruits, nuts, vegetables and whole grains in meal preparation.

High-fiber foods have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and to help to keep your digestive system healthy. Fish, milk, meat and eggs contain no fiber. Fiber can only be eaten from fruits, nuts, vegetables, cereals, whole grains and legumes. The more the food is in its natural form (unrefined), the higher is its fiber content. Processing reduces fiber content.

Fiber, the "forgotten nutrient," is also called bulk or roughage. Its helpful effects never change. It helps reduce the amount of fats and sugar in the bloodstream. It makes the elimination of waste products faster thus preventing constipation.

According to the Institute of Medicine, the recommended intake for total fiber for adults 50 years and younger is set at 38 grams for men and 25 grams for women, while for men and women over 50 it is 30 and 21 grams per day, respectively, due to decreased food consumption.

Here's how to sneak in those extra fiber into your daily diet with a minimum of effort.

Health Watch: Foods you'd be happy to let you live longer

What if food could pack on the years instead of the pounds? These life-lengthening foods will not only please the palate, but you'll age gracefully too!

Dark Chocolate
Savor two ounces with a minimum of 60 percent cocoa content each day, and your risk of cardiovascular disease dips 11 percent. See, chocolate is the world's perfect food after all!

Fish
Have three servings every week (good choices include baked trout or broiled wild salmon). Women of childbearing age and young children should stick to two servings a week and avoid large predatory fish, such as swordfish, albacore tuna, and shark. You'll cut your risk of heart disease and stroke by 14 percent.

Garlic
Add just one clove (cooked or raw) daily to pasta, salad, or a stir-fry to drop your LDL cholesterol. This can lower your risk of heart disease and stroke by 38 percent. So the next time you prepare your adobo meal, add on more garlic, it not only tastes better it also lowers your bad cholesterol and reduces hypertension.

Nuts
Sprinkle two ounces on your cereal or salad each day to reduce your LDL ("bad") cholesterol by 14 percent. Interested in pasta? Try making this Nut Pesto with Chicken recipe

Fruits and Vegetables
Eat five, 3/4 cup servings daily to lower your blood pressure, slash your risk of cancer, and lower your heart disease risk by 21 percent. Check out this carrot-pipino recipe or you may want to take a afternoon treat of fresh apple juice.

Wine
Sip a five-ounce glass each evening to cut your risk of heart disease by 32 percent. This Christmas, gift your family and friends and with some great wine, welcoming a healthy year ahead.

Lowfat Diet Food Selection Guide

In line with my previous post, "Want to Lose Weight? Follow these simple Lowfat Diet tips", here's a food selection guide sample to help jump start your diet plan. :)

Carbohydrate-rich Foods

All except restricted foods