SINGLElicious V-Date!

It’s February! Love is in the air.

 Happy couples are dating right here and there. Guys are showering their girls with flowers and chocolates. You’ll see sweet lovebirds cuddling around the corner.

What a lovely way to celebrate love and happiness for those who are in a relationship. But for a single lady just like me, there’s nothing really special about this moment. Yes, it’s good to see happy couples everywhere but Valentine’s Day marks the day of our being loveless.

Well there’s nothing new about me being single. I’ve been a damsel in distress for so long. Okay, let’s just say I’m a certified NBSB (No Boyfriend Since Birth). So what?! It’s a personal choice. Many Valentine’s Day had passed and I’ve learned not to dwell on unhappy thoughts of not having a special someone as my date.

For all I know, love comes in different forms and love month is not just for lovers and couples. Single girls can still enjoy Heart’s Day with their friends and families.

There’s no need to search for places to go and things to do this Valentine; as this season can be enjoyed even at home. You can gather your dearest friends together; you may transform your living room, squeeze in an extra chairs and tables and enjoy some casual dining in the perfect setting.

You can create an ideal atmosphere with your favorite friends. 

Add an intimate theme and prepare your favorite selection of foods like pizza and pasta. 

Also, you can set up your home theater for a romantic movie experience that your friends will all love.

With friends around you will never be alone this Valentine. This is a perfect SINGLElicious Valentine’s date idea.

*photos from google

HAPPY HEART’S DAY Foodaholics! Love…love…love! 

Shrimp Chowder Soup

Holiday season is over. Most of us have indulged ourselves with delectable traditional Christmas favorites and probably gained weight. I'm sure dieting is one of your top priority this year. (same here guys!) 

We can't deny that eating is so much fun but of course we cannot set aside the fact that we still have to be conscious with what we eat as well as with our figure especially for the ladies out there. 

Few months from now, summer is here to come. We'll all try our best to lose weight and trim down our fats as soon as possible.

If you want to take a break from festive fare, here's a delicious treat which will surely help you achieve your goal- Shrimp Chowder Soup.

*photo from google*

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 kilo shrimp, shelled

1 big can evaporated milk (370 ml)

cheese

2 tbsp. garlic

1 chopped onion

5 cups water

2 pcs. chicken cube

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

salt and pepper to taste

chopped parsley for garnish

How to cook:

Saute butter or margarine, garlic, onions and shrimp. Set aside. In a sauce pan, boil water. Add chicken cubes, cheese and potatoes. Let it boil. Add sauteed shrimps and evaporated milk. Boil for a few minutes. Season to taste. Garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

Add this recipe to your meal plan. I know it's not that easy to be slim but with proper diet and exercise, sooner or later you'll be ready to flaunt your summerrific body wearing your pretty hot pair of bikini.

Good luck Foodaholics! (✿◠‿◠)

Chicken Hawaiian

Hello, Yummy day Foodaholics! 

Happy 2012 to all of you. For the past few months I've been very busy with my new job.I've started working November last year as a lay-out artist in a local printing press in Lipa. Apparently, it took much of my time that's why I wasn't able to post anything here.

I've been working from Monday to Saturday. My main form of of relaxation up to these days is still cooking. And if I weren't busy I would probably be spending time in the kitchen.

Today, for my first blog post for the year of the water dragon, I will be sharing my Chicken Hawaiian (Pininyahang Manok) which I cooked for our dinner. 

This dish is made of sweet pineapple flavor along with milk producing a splendid taste. To be honest, I not really a big fan of pineapple, but for the love of cooking I am willing to try everything. All the needed ingredients are:

* 1 /2 kg chicken legs
* 1 can pineapple chunks, set aside the syrup
* 1 Tbsp oil
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 medium-sized onions, chopped
* 1/2 cup evaporated milk or coconut milk
* patis (fish sauce), to taste
* 1 medium size carrot, cut into pieces
* 1 medium size potato, cut into pieces
* 2 tbsp raisins

 How to cook:

1). Marinade the chicken with the pineapple syrup for a few minutes.

2). Pour the chicken with the marinade in a pot, cook until the marinade evaporates and the chicken is lightly brown. (You’re not exactly frying the chicken–you just want to seal in the juices.)

3). When done, set aside the chicken on one side of the pot.

4). Add the oil, saute garlic and onions then mix together with the lightly browned chicken and cook for about a minute.

5). Add the pineapple chunks then pour the evaporated milk. Cover and bring to a simmer. (If you are using coconut milk, do not cover, otherwise it will curdle).

6). By the time the chicken is done, the sauce would be rather thick and creamy, stir then season with fish sauce. Add the raisins.

7). Simmer again for 2 minutes then turn-off the heat.

Finally, my dish is done and plated for our dinner.Specifically, I liked the milky and pineapple sweet-sour taste of this dish. Its flavor enhanced the rich and meaty taste of the chicken. I did not heard any word of complaint from anyone in my family. Appreciative smiles appeared on their faces. It's another job well done!

High Fiber Diet

One of the basic human necessities is food-- to live without it is impossible! We all eat to live and not live to eat. Therefore, it very important for us to eat the right food that will provide our body all the essential nutrients required to be fit and healthy.

Fiber is vitally important to our health and well-being, it saves us from various health hazards. 

"Chemically fiber is cellulose. It is a sticky component present in foods that is important for passing out roughage. When we eat foods, especially plant foods, a large part of them is undigested. This part is the cellulose or fiber. Being sticky, it can stick the other undigested matter left behind as byproducts of digestion and take them out of the body. That is the reason fiber is so important. It can remove undigested matter from the human body quite effectively and leave the digestive system quite clean." -commonsensehealth.com 

According to www.thedietclub.com, it is certain that fiber foods need to be part of our daily diet. There are various benefits that these foods provide us apart from the fact that they can keep our digestive system cleaner. Here are some of their uses:

• The fiber foods can provide our body with a significant supply of energy. 1 gram of pure fiber can provide our body with 4 calories of energy. This is the main energy that is needed for our sustenance.
• Fiber is essential because it can help in the regulation of the fat metabolism in the body.
• It has an important role to play in the gastrointestinal function.
• One of the chief functions of fiber is a little-understood physiological action known as protein sparing. Basically, it means that a proper amount of carbohydrates is essential in the body otherwise the body will burn down protein molecules for its supply of energy. With fiber in the body, energy is derived from it and proteins are spared for their chief function of body building and tissue building.

Eating high fiber foods makes it easy for us to digest our food intakes. It also helps us reduce the risk of constipation, diverticulosis, hemorrhoids, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, obesity, colon cancer, diabetes and heart disease. 

For great health, you need 30 to 40 daily grams from fiber rich foods. To look and feel our very best,  we have to choose wisely from healthy high fiber foods list and eat a high fiber diet of the healthiest fiber rich foods.

HIGH FIBER FOODS LIST with TOTAL FIBER GRAMS (g)

Fresh & Dried Fruit	Serving Size	Fiber (g)
Apples with skin	1 medium	5.0
Apricot	3 medium	1.0
Apricots, dried	4 pieces	2.9
Banana	1 medium	3.9
Blueberries	1 cup	4.2
Cantaloupe, cubes	1 cup	1.3
Figs, dried	2 medium	3.7
Grapefruit	1/2 medium	3.1
Orange, navel	1 medium	3.4
Peach	1 medium	2.0
Peaches, dried	3 pieces	3.2
Pear	1 medium	5.1
Plum	1 medium	1.1
Raisins	1.5 oz box	1.6
Raspberries	1 cup	6.4
Strawberries	1 cup	4.4

Grains, Beans, Nuts & Seeds	Serving Size	Fiber (g)
Almonds	1 oz	4.2
Black beans, cooked	1 cup	13.9
Bran cereal	1 cup	19.9
Bread, whole wheat	1 slice	2.0
Brown rice, dry	1 cup	7.9
Cashews	1 oz	1.0
Flax seeds	3 Tbsp.	6.9
Garbanzo beans, cooked	1 cup	5.8
Kidney beans, cooked	1 cup	11.6
Lentils, red cooked	1 cup	13.6
Lima beans, cooked	1 cup	8.6
Oats, rolled dry	1 cup	12.0
Quinoa (seeds) dry	1/4 cup	6.2
Quinoa, cooked	1 cup	8.4
Pasta, whole wheat	1 cup	6.3
Peanuts	1 oz	2.3
Pistachio nuts	1 oz	3.1
Pumpkin seeds	1/4 cup	4.1
Soybeans, cooked	1 cup	8.6
Sunflower seeds	1/4 cup	3.0
Walnuts	1 oz	3.1

Vegetables	Serving Size	Fiber (g)
Avocado (fruit)	1 medium	11.8
Beets, cooked	1 cup	2.8
Beet greens	1 cup	4.2
Bok choy, cooked	1 cup	2.8
Broccoli, cooked	1 cup	4.5
Brussels sprouts, cooked	1 cup	3.6
Cabbage, cooked	1 cup	4.2
Carrot	1 medium	2.6
Carrot, cooked	1 cup	5.2
Cauliflower, cooked	1 cup	3.4
Cole slaw	1 cup	4.0
Collard greens, cooked	1 cup	2.6
Corn, sweet	1 cup	4.6
Green beans	1 cup	4.0
Celery	1 stalk	1.1
Kale, cooked	1 cup	7.2
Onions, raw	1 cup	2.9
Peas, cooked	1 cup	8.8
Peppers, sweet	1 cup	2.6
Pop corn, air-popped	3 cups	3.6
Potato, baked w/ skin	1 medium	4.8
Spinach, cooked	1 cup	4.3
Summer squash, cooked	1 cup	2.5
Sweet potato, cooked	1 medium	4.9
Swiss chard, cooked	1 cup	3.7
Tomato	1 medium	1.0
Winter squash, cooked	1 cup	6.2
Zucchini, cooked	1 cup	2.6

Quantitatively, fiber must constitute the main bulk of our diet. All green leafy vegetables and most fruits are good sources of fiber. Hence, foods such as salads, soups and fruit dishes should form an essential role in the diet. For people who cannot manage to eat such foods, there are fiber supplements now readily available in the market. However, any fiber supplement cannot be preferred over natural foods. The main thing is that proper motivation is needed for a person to stick with any kind of diet, and fibers are no exception.

Let's start to live healthy Foodaholics! :)

Source:
http://commonsensehealth.com/Diet-and-Nutrition/List_of_High_Fiber_Foods.shtml
http://www.thedietclub.com/nutrition/fiber/?camp=EDHL&keywords=fiber+food&referrer=Yahoo&group=fiber+food&keyword=high+fiber+food+chart

*photos from yahoo image search

Milky and Creamy Pork Sinigang

With food prices going up these days, budgeting has become even tougher for families. There are times when we end up giving up some items on our grocery list just to save some money for other important expenses. But it doesn't mean that we have to sacrifice the good nutrition that our family needs to have. 

To help you out, I have here a dish packed with healthy goodness but is light on the pocket. My personal number one favorite-- Pork Sinigang!

This is my very own special version of Pork Sinigang because this one is milky and creamy. It has the usual fruity-sour taste with the perfect thickness of the soup base.

 Ingredients

 1 Pork

8 pcs Tamarind (Sampaloc) or 1 pack Sinigang Mix with Taro

1 big Onion (diced) 

3 big tomatoes (quartered) 

2 pieces Radish (sliced) 

1 bundle Sitaw (Strringbeans) 
2 eggplant (sliced)
4 gabi (sliced)

1 bundle Kangkong 

4 okra

8-10 cups ricewash or water 

2 tbsp. vegetable oil 
1 small can evaporated milk

Salt or Patis (fish sauce)
 

Cooking Instructions:

1. Put some oil in a casserole, sauté onion and tomatoes.

2. Bring water to a boil.

3. Add the pork, and simmer until the pork is tender. 

4. Add the gabi and let it cook until it softens.

5. Add the the vegetables (string beans, radish, okra, eggplant).

6. Put in 1 small can evaporated milk. Simmer for 3 minutes.

7. Add the Sinigang mix or tamarind.

8. Season with salt and fish sauce if your not yet satisfied with the taste.

9. Lower the heat, then put the kangkong leaves.

10. Serve hot.

This special recipe will surely suit your budget even though it has many ingredients mainly because it is a complete meal-- it has meat, soup and veggies all in one delicious meal.

My favorite dish forever! C'mon! Try it Foodaholics! (｡♥‿♥｡)