Summer Kitchenomics

Being a part-time teacher, summertime means no salary. As such, I have paused to take stock over my financial situation and was appalled by the fact that over half of my salary goes to food. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. Suffice it to say that everyday that I go to work, I spend about (at the minimum) Php 120.00 for meals and drinks.

Making baon is not always the easiest thing to do but I have decided that over the summer, I will try to figure out a way to make mealtimes more economical and practical. Also, I think preparing my own meals will be healthier, right?

One way I plan to do this is to experiment on quick and easy recipes that I can keep handy so when classes start up again, I will have them on hand and ready to go. I remember when I was younger, I'd grab a bunch of those Del Monte Kitchenomics recipes in the grocery by the meat or dairy sections. Most of my favorite Del Monte recipes would include pineapples and tomato sauce in the dishes. Although I dislike fresh pineapples, I seem to like it in some cooked dishes, like adobo. I haven't seen those in a while but a quick Google search led me to an upgraded version of these recipes :-) Yup, they're online! Those recipes I used to get in the past were quite helpful in teaching me how to cook, which was a good thing because my mom was never much of a cook. The online portal, on the other hand, seems like a more interactive approach compared to the past paper versions because mom's (or pretend mom's like me!) can share recipes and tips on how to make their mealtimes more affordable yet still delicious and healthy. Promos, resources, and new products can also be found in the site so this gives members a heads-up on what's out there. There are also games and articles that can help make kids aware of the importance of healthy eating.


So, come June, I hope to be more consistent in preparing meals to bring to work. Hopefully this can help cut down on my expenses and better yet, help me live up to the statement: I'm on a diet! A healthy one, that is :-)

Tea Party for Two

photo by Janine

Watching the movie Alice in Wonderland recently made me think back to the time when I was still a little girl and I'd have tea parties with my dolls and stuffed animals. Now that I'm older, my tea parties have evolved, but it still is a great way to catch up with old friends. My tea parties are now in one of the local coffee shops (yes, they do serve tea!) where I get to enjoy lots of different kinds of teas. I particularly like chai tea lattes but nothing really beats dipping tea bags or tea leaves in a pot of hot water and pouring it right out of a teapot to a little matching tea cup. I remember that when I was younger, I wanted to start collecting tea sets because of the cartoon Beauty and the Beast. Remember Mrs. Potts and Chip? They were so cute!

A popular trend nowadays are the instant green teas that come in all different flavors. It definitely is a refreshing and healthy alternative to the carbonated soda craze that was the norm for most of my growing up years. Compared to sodas, green tea is known for it's health benefits that can help lower cholesterol. It is also known to be helpful for many diseases such as cancers, diabetes, and other diseases. It can also help with weight loss.

With tea becoming a popular beverage nowadays, people are surely becoming more aware not just of the benefits of tea, but also the different kinds of teas out there. There are tea stores now where you can get an assortment of leaves and the like. These are great gift alternatives, in fact. Rather than Over the holidays, my cousin made a lot of hand painted tea chests that she gave out to our aunts. It was a big hit! I kinda wish she gave me one too. I'd fill mine up with mint teas. What about you, what's your type of tea?

Taking the Green Step Forward

Last night before catching the special screening of Alice in Wonderland, my blogger friend Earth and I had dinner at El Pollo Loco. It was the first time I had tried that restaurant and I was quite disappointed for two reasons. For one, I was expecting something different when I ordered the nachos but I ended up with something that was too fried/oily for my taste. To be fair, the soft taco I ordered was tasty, but not as good as I was hoping it would be. I think Earth liked the taco she ordered though, because when I finally arrived, she went to get another one. What disappointed me though was that almost everything we ordered came in styrofoam boxes. And take note: we ordred for dine-in.

Albeit, comparatively, I am not a very staunch advocate for the environment, but I have realized that each one of us has to take responsibility for our share of destruction to our environment. This is why I applaud restaurants that make an effort to make their carbon footprint impact less. For example, when I was in Cebu last week, the Taters store I ordered in had a big sign encouraging customers to not take too many tissues and plastic bags. Starbucks likewise has that sign posted by their tissue dispensers. 


During the recent Superbowl, there was an ad about the audi green police and it was nice to see that even these companies are trying to make an impact on changing the habits of people around the world. Even though the ad was a bit of a caricature of the Green Police, which are environment advocates and in various parts of the world, the Audi Green Police tries to help consumers make more environmentally-appropriate choices, such as whether to use paper or plastic.

The real Green Police is an environmental task force that aims to monitor citizens of New York (there is also a UK counterpart)  and their waste management habits as well as their CO2 emissions. I hope we can have something to this regard also here in Manila. I think we are a little to callous and careless about our wastes and while I do see the convenience plastic, styro and the like give us, it needs to be changed or else we will have another Typhoon Ondoy disaster in the making.

Bloggers Take on Yoshinoya

Yoshinoya, the home of the famous beef bowl, recently graciously hosted a dinner for some food loving Bloggers.

some of the foodies

photo credit: Iris Camille Mejia-Acosta of pinayads.com

I had tried Yoshinoya once for take out and it was quite a pleasant experience but since that time, I never had a chance to go back, mainly because there is no branch near my place. Suffice it to say I was really glad to have gotten the opportunity to come back and sample their menu once again. 

There are so many options to choose from! I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to try so I opted for one of the Jumbo plates, which is a bed of rice topped with their famous Gyudon Beef plus either Chicken Teriyaki, Beef Yakiniku, or Ebi Tempura. I tried the Jumbo C (P165), which is a combination of the Gyudon Beef and Tempura. 

I enjoyed the dish a lot! It was really good. Though the beef may not look like much (partly due to my not so good photography skills!) but it is really tender and tasty. I like how there is a bit of fat in the beef, but not too much that it makes it nakakaumay. 

A big hit for many of us that night was the Japanese Fried Chicken with Karaage Sauce. The yummy vinegar dip was perfect with the crispy chicken. I liked how the chicken was not oily at all, which is generally the case for many fried chicken dishes.

It was a belly-filling night for sure! I am a big Japanese restaurant fan and I love how Yoshinoya makes many of my favorites pocket-friendly AND high-quality. They definitely did not sacrifice quality for affordability.

However, for those who are watching their weight, I asked what would be the best option for a dieter. It was suggested to me that if you are on a diet, try the Chicken Teriyaki rice bowl.

It looks yummy, doesn't it? With a good mix of chicken and vegetables, the toppings are enough to fill you up.

Yoshinoya also offers Shu Mai, Yoshinoya Skewers and and several desserts. Do try the Citrus Green Tea which is simply delicious and very refreshing.

Visit Yoshinoya in the following venues:
SM Megamall Building A
Robinsons Galleria
SM North Edsa
Greenhills Carpark 2
SM Mall of Asia
Sta. Lucia East
Park Square 1

Take a Love Bite with Krispy Kreme!

This Valentine's Day take a love bite with Krispy Kreme's limited edition heart shaped doughnuts.

 Indulge in this sweet Valentine treat while enjoying the Krispy Kreme-approved movie for this love season: the romantic comedy Valentine's Day starring Oscar award winning actress Julia Roberts, heartthrobs Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Patrick Dempsey, Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift. 


Check out the new Krispy Kreme Heart Shaped doughnut with Hershey's Kisses chocolate available only from February 8 to 14. Old favorites like the New York Cheesecake, Hershey's Dark Chocolate, Hershey's Cookies and Cream, Peanut Butter & Kreme, Blueberry Cheesecake, Snickers Classic, Chocolate Custard Filled, Sugar, Caramel Kreme Crunch and Chocolate Iced with Sprinkles also come in the limited heart-shaped edition. Take home a dozen for only Php 365.00.


Krispy Kreme is located in the following malls:
Bonifacio High Street
Greenhills
SM Mall of Asia
Trinoma
SM Megamall
SM San Lazaro
Ayala Avenue
Robinsons Galleria
Gateway Mall
Glorietta 4
SM City Annex (North EDSA)
Annex 2 SM Fairview
Eastwood
Marquee Mall


log on to www.krispykreme.com.ph to get updates on your favorite treat :-)