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I have just ignited my love for cooking.Ü Does anyone here agree with me when I say that cooking is therapeutic? I've been looking for recipes on the net and found good sites & tweeps to follow in Twitter recipes. I am really very excited and I hope I always find the time to make something special.

Do check these sites out, happy cooking:
   1) Diet Recipes To Go
   2) Spark People

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Labels: Cooking, It's Diet Friendly

☆ MY 10 FAVORITE MUNCHIES THAT I GOT ADDICTED TO IN 2010

1. Frozen Yogurt
   And the good ones may be found in Golden Spoon, Qoola, White What, and the newly-opened Yogi Berry in Greenbelt 1, which by the way sells the most affordable frozen yogurt.
   
   
2. Cyma's Roka Salata
   I got so addicted to this that I would have lunch dates and dinner dates with my colleagues and just have this with vino blanco, aka white wine.Ü See? Just the thought of it makes me smile.
   
   
3. Army Navy's Chicken Burrito
   I really enjoy eating this. If you want a quick lunch that's not heavy, but filling -- I say have this one. They put just the right amount of rice in their burrito, so Army Navy peeps, good job for that.
   
   
4. Banapple's Glazed Pork Tocino
   They cook and serve really good tocino, next to Via Mare's.Ü My workmates and I would usually have Banapple Wednesday's in Ayala Triangle. There was never a time that I got to finish a plate of this tocino goodie, that's how huge the serving size is.
   
   
5. Virginia Hotdog
   I looked forward to doing late afternoon errands in the supermarket for my mom because of Virginia Hotdog. They were probably introducing the product to the market and putting a stand right before the entrance of the grocery area of Robinson's Pergola here in BF was a smart move. Instead of the super duper small sized free taste, Virginia Hotdog was sold at P12/stick -- not bad at all.Ü
   
   
6. Wendy's Chicken Chunks
   When I discovered this new offering from Wendy's, I was very thankful that there was a Wendy's store in Greenbelt 1.Ü I like my Chicken Chunks with their sweet chili sauce. I'll definitely miss this when I start working in my new office.
   
   
7. Caffe Ti Amo's Pistachio & Milk Cheese Gelato
   I know gelato is not ice cream, but it's cold, sweet, and it reminds me of ice cream. I don't like cold desserts. I don't like ice cream. Weird huh? However, I gave gelato another chance when one of my friends brought us to Caffe Ti Amo in Greenbelt 5. I fell in love with the Pistacio and Milk Cheese-flavored gelatos. I would always have my gelato in their Piccolo cup because I know that I can never finish the regular-sized and bigger cups. The smallest one is enough to make me happy and give me the sugar fix that I need.
   
   
8. Hummus
   It was only in 2010 that I learned to appreciate this Mediterranean dip / spread. I feel a little bad for being a late bloomer and for not eating this earlier coz I usually got a Tatziki or the Baba Ghanoush. It was only after reading fitness & health blogs that I learned how good hummus is when a person is dieting.
   
   
9. Le Coeur de France's Wheat Bread
   For weight maintenance efforts, I've learned to love wheat bread. |
   I thought it lacked flavor at first, but eventually I got used to it. Most of the time, I would eat this with a small portion of cream cheese & hummus. It works. I highly recommend that you guys get your wheat bread from Le Coeur de France. Their breads are baked fresh everyday & they offer a BuyOne-TakeOne deal after 7PM and all day on Sundays.
   
   
10. WATER
    Need I say more? Getting rid of regular cola was easy, but diet or light soda was always a good excuse. It was not easy staying away from it, but you gotta do what you gotta do.Ü

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Labels: It's Diet Friendly, Weight Loss Efforts

Food, like a loving touch or a glimpse of divine power,
has that ability to comfort. → Norman Kolpas

That may have been a bit too literal, but it's very appropriate for Girls Talk theme today: COMFORT FOOD. "Comfort" is a pretty vague term, it can vary from one person to another, but I think we all know what it should be.

The mere mention of Comfort Food puts a smile on my face. A clear and vivid image of my favorite PHO SOUP with tons of seafood pops in my head. It's simple, believe it or not -- invigorating, delish, and most of all, healthy. How in the world could I resist that?


Project 365, Day 091

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Seafood PHO
It's something that I would definitely have any time of the day. I couldn't explain why, but after having a bowl of it, I feel energized and really happy with this natural high kind of feeling. I forget about how tired I am or how awful my day was ... and that for me, is priceless :)

✽
Girls Talk is a weekly Thursday meme.
If you want to play with us, topics are posted in Niko's blog.

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Labels: Food Trip, It's Diet Friendly

Project 365, Day 017

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Healthy Meal Anytime
I hate oatmeal. I don't like its texture, but I need to eat what I should eat. The banana makes this taste a little better. You can have this for breakfast, will also do for lunch, or dinner. It's all up to you. Oatmeal is healthy. Banana is healthy. Good shite for less than 200 calories.

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Labels: Food Trip, It's Diet Friendly, Weight Loss Efforts

Project 365, Day 015

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Forced To Cook
I'm still Mom's nurse, caregiver, nanny, assistant,
errand girl, and cook, thus the veggies :)

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Labels: Food Trip, It's Diet Friendly, Weight Loss Efforts

Full of flavor, generally light with a variety of healthier options -- these always come to mind whenever I think of Vietnamese Food. But, not all my friends would want to join me for a Vietnamese meal because a lot of them are scared to try. Come on. Know what? I think it's worth going to Vietnam just for the food.Ü

I'm really a big fan of Pho; it's my constant lust. Pho is the classic Vietnamese Soup. It's a magical masterpiece of clear broth that has a lot of flavor in it accompanied with bean sprouts, coriander leaves, and a lemon wedge. I have yet to find out what they do and what else is mixed into this soup that's makes it so delish.

I'd also like to add that a visit to a Vietnamese restaurant is not complete without having Goi Cuon or Fresh Spring Rolls -- heaven wrapped in rice papers with shrimp, grilled chicken, vermicelli, julienned carrots, basil, and bean sprouts. It is usually served with Hoisin Peanut Sauce, which I think is too sweet so I prefer to have the killer Pi Sauce with my Spring Rolls. You have to try it because Goi Cuon is quite plain without it.

GOI CUON
Soul-Satisfying & Simply Good!
I have not been to Vietnam, but the best & the closest to authentic Vietnamese Food that I've tried was in this house along the main road of Greenheights Subdivision, just here in Parañaque. This is where I learned to appreciate Vietnamese Food. The wife, who happens to be Vietnamese, did all the cooking while her husband, who is Filipino was in-charge of doing PR. Basically, he loved to chit chat with their customers. Though I would love to tell all of you to visit their place, it's just too bad that they migrated to the United States with their children years ago.

BUT we do have Pho Hoa and Pho Bac here in the Philippines so I still get my Vietnamese Food fix every now and then. I'm lucky that here in The South, there is one that's just a ten-minute drive from my house. I ♥ Pho Hoa, it's always worth the trip.

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PHO HOA Alabang Town Center
T | (632) 772.3894

Labels: Food Trip, It's Diet Friendly, The Beautiful South

I’ve been told hundreds of times that exercise is good for our bodies, but to make its brilliant effects more efficient, the formula must include healthy eating as well. And even if I am on a diet, I don’t really deprive myself of food. I still eat.Ü In fact, there are days when I even prefer to eat out. It used to be a big challenge, but since I embraced this healthy lifestyle, my food choices have improved – this goes with one little problem though.. I have noticed that here in the Philippines, there are limited choices when it comes to restos that have diet-friendly offerings. So if you’re a person who likes to eat out, you have to master the art of eating the right proportions.

One place that I recommend if you’re eating out is ALMON MARINA. There’s a long menu of options to choose from and they do have a lot of good stuff that one can enjoy from the grilled goodies to sumptuous sandwiches to superb salads and savory soups. Of course, if you get the grilled stuff, try not to eat the rice. If you’re ordering soup, better if it’s not cream-based. Know what’s good for your diet.

Almon Marina's Tuna Melt Sandwich WITHOUT Cheese.Ü
The other day, feeling the need to recover from my long run, I had this instant craving for a sandwich. For me, when I’m not on a diet, it has always been and always will be Almon Marina’s Sydney Special. However, I think I am having this kind of beef withdrawal so I opted to go for something that had tuna it, please see picture above. It may look a bit bland because I had a lot of the sandwich elements taken out. Yup, you can do that when you’re at Almon Marina and they’re more than willing to do all these extra stuff so kudos to them for good customer service. I specifically asked that the crust/edge be removed. I also asked them NOT to put mayo, Dill sauce, and Thousand Island dressing.

There you go – a good snack sans the guilt.
So what’s next? I dunno. I have to find another diet-friendly resto.

Labels: Food Trip, It's Diet Friendly, Weight Loss Efforts

For the last 3 months, most of my entries have been about my little weight loss journey. I have been so happy when my doctors finally gave that go-signal to finally get on a diet and workout.Ü I know I've been a good girl despite necessary Cheat Days and my one Ultimate Cheat Week. Come on, you can't really expect me to be on a hard core diet AND not drink while on the beach + not have Longa Burger while in Boracay, right? That's just insane! I lost count of the number of days, but I'll work on that and figure it out again.

Since the last week of March, I've been loyal to this particular product and it's been helping me big time. I tried to have oats several times, but I really cannot stand its taste. I had to look for an alternative and I'm happy to have found one.

The road to losing weight is never easy. In my case, I have to cut down on my calorie-intake while increasing the number of calories that I burn. It's a challenge to stay within my calorie restriction that's why I am so happy with one of my diet buddies, NESVITA Cereal Milk Drink. Nope, I am not getting paid for this - I just absolutely love it and I think it's great that Nestle came up with this product. I love it because:

It's low in carbs.

It makes me feel full.

I think it was created to fit into my caloric needs.

It also has nutritional value.

It is very convenient because it's easy to prepare and I can have it anytime.

I can have it hot. I can have it cold.

And the best part is, it comes in something chocolate-y.Ü

I used to have it for breakfast during my first two weeks of dieting. I stopped it for a while because I was experimenting on the stuff that I was eating. Last week, it's officially back in my meal plan. I noticed that I had more significant weight loss when I was having Nesvita. Galing diba?

Labels: Food Trip, It's Diet Friendly, Weight Loss Efforts

I think I am starting to get addicted to it, Healthy Shabu-Shabu in Alabang Town Center may be my new drug.Ü A dining experience indeed! This is the second time I ate at the ATC branch, and the fourth time to eat Shabu-Shabu. My first Shabu-Shabu experience was in Tong Yang in Jupiter.. second time was at High Street.. third and fourth were both here in ATC. I was there earlier and I just have to say that this has gotten to be the best so far.Ü My "cooking" just got better! I know I was pretty successful with my Mixed Seafood Set. For the first time, I must have done it the right way!

We arrived there 7-ish and the place was already packed. We were lucky to still get seats. We kinda forgot that it is graduation season. Nevertheless, I am happy that we have such a good Hot Pot place in The South. I like eating here because it is fun. It gives everyone something to do while waiting for the food; everyone is very hands on. I still love the little extras that are to be mixed with the basic dipping sauce. I went crazy over the minced garlic and chopped red & green chilis. The broth was tasty, but tonight I wanted to thrill my taste buds - had an extra serving of the chili. So... that PLUS FRESH SEAFOODS + veggies + simmering savory broth = PERFECT!

It's all gratifying and always a leisurely dinner. I always want to take my time when I eat. I hate being rushed. My Mixed Seafood Set had all the assortment and it was a great plate. Shabu-Shabu isn't just delicious food, it's also HEALTHY. I remember giving most of the noodles on my plate to Tarts. He is my "food exterminator". He always helps me finish my plate.


I was so full after dinner, but it was not the weighed down kind of full. I didn't finish my food, I couldn't. The set per person tends to get the job done. In my case, I could only do half, or not. I did eat all the seafood, but I was not able to chow down the tractor of veggies that was given to me.

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Healthy Shabu-Shabu | Alabang Town Center
+632.8506633
+632.8506976

Labels: Food Trip, It's Diet Friendly, The Beautiful South, Weight Loss Efforts