Join Lea and Be a Souperstar :-)

Being a teacher, one thing my kids' parents always ask me is how to get their kids to have better eating habits.Often times, they complain about how they can't get their kids to finish their food or to eat healthier food options. They also talk about how difficult it is to get kids to eat something other than fried chicken, chicken nuggets or hotdogs.

My answer has always been the same: there are three steps to good eating habits.  These are setting a routine, firmly and consistently observing this routine and being creative with what you give them. For example, getting kids to eat vegetables can be a challenge. Rather than giving them the veggies as they are, incorporate it into other dishes, such as adding shredded carrots to burger patties. Also, kids love soup on their rice, so they can definitely use this to their advantage. This is made even simpler with one of the most widely known and long-trusted soups, Knorr.

However, coming up with new and interesting recipes on a daily basis can be difficult for busy moms and homemakers. In comes Lea, who describes herself as a "domesticated Carrie". As the Souperstar of the blogosphere, she shares here experiences of trying to juggle everything a busy mom has to deal with on an everyday basis in her blog. She also shares different soup recipes in her blog. Her recipes are not only about soups, but also about how you can use the different Knorr soups in various recipes that kids will surely love.

Join Lea Souperstar in her continued quest to be the best mom she can be :-)



 

Homemade Tofu Burgers

Because I've been trying to diet (yes, totoo na!) I tried out tofu burgers because I've been craving for the real thing in a major way! But because I am determined to lose weight, I compromised.

I must say, these burgers taste better than they look, and seem for that matter.

Before making this, I Googled various recipes for it but I ended up just making one up along the way :-) This is my recipe. However, since it was an experiment, I didn't really measure stuff.

1/2 a block of tofu (the firm type. if you're using the small squares, two of those would suffice, I suppose :-)
a handful of oyster mushrooms, diced
1 slice of bread, chopped into small pieces
1 egg
5 cloves garlic, crushed
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
1. Crumble the tofu in a large bowl.
2. Add in your garlic, mushrooms, and bread.
3. Mix well. Add in the egg until incorporated well. Season as you desire.
4. The mixture appears a little wet, but it holds when shaped into a patty (not as nicely as a meat patty though)
5. Fry in olive oil (regular oil will suffice).

That's it :-) Even Bubba enjoyed sharing my burger. When I share regular fried tofu with him he spits it out, but this he liked.

Some other recipes called for breadcrumbs instead of the bread that I used, and some added onions to it, but since I've been too lazy to go to the grocery, I ran out of onions!

An alternative I plan to try in the future is making it a Turkey Tofu Burger. Yum!

Happiness is a great bowl of tom yum!

After swearing off food events for the past three months in my quest to be a Fat Girl No More, I broke my fast for a Taste of Thailand at the Marriott Manila last night. And boy, was it a wonderful break!

My tummy is still reeling from all the sumptuous food I sampled!

As I told Chef Thanathorn Krobsuay, Thai cuisine is by far my most favorite in the whole world. In fact, it was even what I wrote about in the Yummy contest last year. When I saw the dishes in front of me, I immediately went into "takaw" mode, but I quelled that by taking photos first.

Initially, I was a bit disappointed because I did not see my favorite dish on the table, Tom Yum Goong. Well, apparently I was wrong because it was there! The reason why I thought it wasn't there was because I was looking for the signature red broth of tom yum, but what they had was the white one (which I understand is made of coconut milk). As soon as I tasted it though, I was in heaven. Yes, happiness indeed.

There were also a host of other Thai dishes on the menu:

And for dessert:

For a Thai food lover like me, I would have to say that The Flavors of Thailand buffet at tha Marriott Hotel Manila is by far the closest I've been to Thailand while in Manila. The buffet  is available for lunch and dinner daily at Php 1,350 (Php 675 for children). Sunday Brunch runs at Php 1,650.

Besides the authentic Thai spread, diners can also enjoy a wide array of other very delicious dishes. From fabulous appetizers to indulgent desserts, an evening at the Marriott Manila will definitely be a belly-filling experience!

For more larger, more detailed and higher resolution photos, check out my Flickr page :-)