On mixing fruits and other types of food

When I was at Yoga Thailand last summer, I often hear my colleagues and some guests saying that fruits shouldn't be mixed with other fruits or food.  Or you shouldn't mix it with milk or yoghurt. 

"But I like my muesli + yoghurt + mixed fruits breakfast!"

Living in a busy city can be very detrimental to one's healthy eating habits, especially when you don't have a yaya to prepare your meals for you.  I usually eat 3 full meals a day and as much as possible, I'd like to make sure that I get most of the nutrients from my food.  Thus, breakfast is standard and heavy.  One full bowl of muesli-fruit-yoghurt combo.

"Eat fruit alone, or leave it alone."  But if you only have three 30 minutes in a day to eat, how can you eat the recommended 5 fruits a day?  Plus, you're not supposed to mix it with other food.

Yeah, yeah, yeah... you can have one for morning snack, and another one for afternoon snack.  There are other behavioral recommendations on how to address this but I'm not about to discuss it here.

What I want to share I guess is that we should listen to our bodies.  Certain types of fruits are not good for some people according to ayurveda.  And using some common sense, some are not really good together.  Durian and mango?  Hmmnnn... no thank you.

If you feel bloated after eating fruits and yoghurt, then stop mixing them.  Listen to your body and listen carefully.

The digestive fire is strong and I'm grateful for that.  Maybe I was doing a lot of kapalabhati in my previous lives.

***

The other day, a friend was in some forum and she texted me saying that one of the speakers said that the reason why a lot of Filipinos don't eat fruits and vegetables is because it's expensive.  A lot of Filipinos are living below the poverty line and they simply cannot afford to buy fruits and vegetables.

Maybe if we teach them how to grow their own vegetables and stop patronizing processed foods, they'd be eating healthier.  A study conducted in the UK reported that access and affordability of fruits and vegetables isn't really the main issue and suggested that interventions should focus on people's motivation to eat fruits and vegetables.

Why won't Filipinos eat fruits and vegetables?  Maybe because there was so much focus on eating protein, in the form of meat, poultry, or fish, to address the problems on underweight and malnutrition.  Then it is already ingrained in the consciousness of most Filipinos that a meal should consist of kanin at ulam (rice and viand).  And that viand means meat.  Gulay (vegetables) is optional and maybe used simply as garnish.  Fruits can be eaten as a snack but never as a meal.

I don't really know.  I'm just writing my thoughts.

Anyway, have a blessed sunday everyone. 

May there be peace and healing here and everywhere.

Om.

Continuing the Palawan food adventure at...

Heavenly Desserts by Dorothy

Known for its calamansi (Philippine lemon) muffin.  I wonder if it's as good as the calamansi muffin of Real Coffee in Boracay.  Maybe even better.  I wouldn't know though because they were sold out that evening.

Eric had spaghetti with pesto...

While Bea and I shared a margherita pizza.  The crust was made of whole wheat flour and it was surprisingly good and healthy.  I had to put tomato catsup on it though as I was craving for something tangy.  I think it's Pinoy to add catsup in almost anything savory.

We all ordered yoghurt drinks.  Strawberry for Bea, blueberry for Eric, and plain yoghurt drink for me.  I hope that doesn't say something about my personality. :-p

And of course, the evening won't be complete without desserts.  The name of the place is Heavenly Desserts by Dorothy, remember?  So we had flour-less chocolate cake...

Tiramisu (doesn't look enticing but it was espresso-ey good!  I think they need to teach their staff how to plate their dessert)...

White chocolate cheesecake...

Heavenly indeed...

And tea... to cap it off.

Check out their website at

http://heavenlydesserts.multiply.com/

Honda Bay

Last day in Puerto Princesa.  Mia had been telling me to visit the Underground River National Park but it's a whole day event and I only had Saturday to visit interesting places around the city aside from restaurants and dessert places.  After the lunch at Saigon, Hudson, another colleague from the psych dept, informed us of their plans of going to Honda Bay and asked if we'd like to tag along.  And so we did.

First stop, snorkeling.

Passed by Starfish Island.  Got its name because of the abundance of sea stars.

 Second stop, the Snake Island.  

"If the Starfish Island is full of sea stars, does it mean the Snake Island is full of snakes?"

"Then why are we stopping here and staying for more than one hour?"

Apparently, it got its name not because slithering snakes rule the island but because of its shape.

Took a walk and explored the island.

On our way back, we passed by another island.  Wasn't paying attention to the names as I was exhausted from the sun, sand, and swimming... I happily dozed off.

For yoga, healing, detox retreat in Palawan, visit Bahay Kalipay.

OM

Kamarikutan Kafe and Galeri

Photos I took of the Kamarikutan Kafe and Galeri in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.  

As I mentioned in the previous post, I just saw the sign when we were on our way back to the hotel after lunch at Saigon.  

 I think we were meant to be there because it rained the whole afternoon and we did nothing but enjoy a cup of coffee and had the whole place to ourselves.  We just finished lunch so we didn't get to try their vegetarian meals. They had a vegetarian section in their menu and it looked interesting.  I didn't take note of what dishes they had though.

 They had free wifi so Bea was able to go online and did some work while Eric listened to his mp3 player, and I stared at the ceiling.

 They also had a pond with several humongous koi.

It was a nice afternoon except for the mosquitoes that feasted on us.  And only when I came back to Manila did I learn that it used to be that people who visit Palawan were required to take malaria pills or shots.  Good luck to me.

Read more about the cafe on Palawanboard.

Om

Saigon Restaurant Palawan

I didn't really had a plan other than attend the conference so I was simply happy tagging along my colleagues from Psych dept wherever they want to go.  We went to this place for lunch last Friday.

When I looked at the menu, there are 3 things that I could order - french bread with scrambled eggs, spicy tofu, and mixed vegetables.  I wanted to try the Vietnamese stir fry noodles but when I asked the waitress if she could ask the cook to make it vegetarian, she simply replied, "wala pong lasa yun (it will be tasteless.)"  Many Filipinos, I believe, think that in order for the food to be come tasty, it has to have some meat or seafood in it.  I think we lost the art of using fresh herbs and spices to flavor the food. 

So I ordered their spicy tofu, rice, and mixed vegetables.  I had to ask if they cook the mixed veggies with meat and the waitress said, yes, but it can be substituted with tofu.  Couldn't it be the same for the noodles?  I didn't argue anymore as I was already starving.

Interestingly, the spicy tofu and the mixed veggies were very tasty.  Maybe they used pork fat or beef oil in it, hahaha.  Nah. My taste buds is highly discriminating so I know if there's meat in my food.  It tasted clean and sattvic. 

On our way back, I saw the sign "Kamarikutan Kape at Galeri."  I thought it was an interesting place so I asked Eric and Bea if they wanted to check it out.  Will post photos of that place tomorrow.

Om.

A tribute...

Last week, I sent an sms to my father asking, "Given a choice, would you rather be idealistic or practical?"

He texted back, "Rizal died for his ideals and became a hero, would you become one?"

I'm not as brilliant as Rizal so I don't think I'll die by firing squad.

Stillpoint Manila

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OM

KaLui Restaurant in Palawan

Another lovely evening with friends from the Psych department.  

Went to KaLui Restaurant and ordered their vegetarian plate, and wheat grass in coco juice.

I didn't bring my camera with me but I borrowed Jay's to take a photo of my meal.  I'll post it next time.

The presentation was lovely and the taste was interestingly good.  There was crispy fried eggplant with teriyaki sauce, mashed kamote (sweet potato) topped with spicy guacamole, okra+squash+string beans with coconut cream sauce, and shredded raddish with tomato salsa.  I was happy and really enjoyed my dinner.

Check out their menu at 

http://www.kaluirestaurant.com/menus

***

Successfully presented our paper, “Pampapayat, Para Lumakas, To Be Healthy”: Exploring Filipino Motives For Exercise, at the 47th National Convention of the Psychological Association of the Philippines.  Next step is to prep the paper for possible publication in the Philippine Journal of Psychology.

OM

Ima's Gulay Bar in Palawan

100% Vegetarian Restaurant

Visit their website at

http://www.imas-vegetarian-restaurant.com/

***

Had a lovely dinner here with research group mates.

OM

Why Filipino men need to do yoga?

 ...because 29.1% of Filipino men are hypertensive.

... because Filipino men have high triglyceride and cholesterol (the bad kind) levels. 

... because more Filipino men still drink and smoke a lot.

... because only 10.9% engages in leisure-related physical activity.

Source: 7th National Nutrition Survey, 2008

Photos courtesy of Metrolifestyle Health and Fitness Center Davao.

More Pinoy men discover yoga

Last friday, it was 2 men to 2 women.

Yesterday at the 4:00pm class, the ratio was 8:7 (men:women) then at the 7:00pm workshop it was 3:2.

This afternoon, it was 4:4.

And those didn't include the teacher and the assistant.

I guess the key to motivating men to do yoga is to highlight strength and challenge, rather than flexibility and aesthetics.  Of course, sometimes you'd get students who are really sincere about the spiritual aspect but most of those who come to yoga nowadays are really participating because of extrinsic reasons such as health, fitness, and stress reduction... at least that's what the studies have been showing.  The spiritual component only comes in when the student has been practicing for a while.

One of the participants said that life in Davao is becoming fast and traffic is becoming heavy which adds to stress.  Yoga is something that can help Davaoenos to cope with these changes.

Davao is actually a perfect place for yoga retreats because you can either do it near the mountain or by the beach.  Samal island is just 30 minutes away from the City and the mountain resorts in Malagos about 60 minutes away.

And with the Ayala Mall opening in the middle of 2011, life in Davao will surely change.

Maybe it's time to move home.  A wishful thinking, of course... at least for now.

Baby steps to a vegetarian diet

Earlier this week, I saw the word "vegetarian" in the pile of new books while I was looking for a reference on statistics at the CHK library.

"May I see that book, please?" I asked the librarian.

"Have the College acquired this?"  Suppliers leave a number of books for the faculty to review on a regular basis and the librarian will make the purchase order once the faculty give their recommendation.

"Yes."

"Oh, that's great.  That will be on my to-read list.  I'll postpone borrowing that until the end of this semester."

I quickly browsed through the pages and found this box on page 11, "Steps for an easy transition to a vegetarian diet."

Allow me to share with you those steps.  Below the text box, the Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group, a group under the American Dietetic Association was cited as the source of those suggestions.

• Take stock your current diet or look at your what you eat on a regular basis.  What do you eat for breakfast, lunch, snack, or dinner?  What's inside your fridge?  The first step is to be come aware of what you eat.
• Add more vegetarian meals by revising favorite recipes that are meat based.   My first yoga teacher, Sandy, is not a big fan of fake meat. Eating fake meat is simply "cheating" and may not really teach a person how to eat proper wholesome foods.  I guess instead of substituting the meat with a fake one, use a fresh alternative instead, like tofu or tempeh.  Another way to recreate the meat based dish into a vegetable dish.  For Filipinos who love their sinigang, sometimes the focus is on the meat.  So instead, add more veggies and highlight the greens instead.
• Expand your options by finding new recipes and trying different products from the store. Have you tried pasta with roasted vegetables?   Or pasta with green vegetables and nuts?  These are healthy and delicious recipes which is a good alternative to the Pinoy ultimate favorite - spaghetti with meat sauce.
• Make a list of vegetarian meals that you can eat away from home.  Crackers and cheese, Chinese vegetarian fresh lumpia, vegetable bibimbap, fresh fruits, Cheese-pesto-sandwich.  
• Eliminate meat at breakfast. Although Jessica wrote a very informative article that yoghurt+muesli+fruit for breakfast might not be for you, this easy to prepare breakfast is packed with nutrients that can help you start your day right.  Except of course if you're lactose-intolerant.  I have several books on Ayurveda but I'm not really applying it yet to my diet because I have to address my hunger first.  And with the workload and communiting stress that I experience here in Manila, I don't have the time and the resources to be too picky about what I eat.  I am an ovo-lacto-vegetarian and in my present situation, that's the best way I could go.  I never felt healthier though.  So for a typical mobile Pinoy who wants rice for breakfast, how about garlic rice, fried egg, tofu, and steamed kangkong sans the alamang?
• Take stock of your menu once again.  Do your meals include a variety of grains, legumes, soy, vegetables, and fruits?  Yes.  Do you eat 5 different fruits and vegetables day?  I don't or atleast not very aware that I should have 5 different produce.  Do you eat 6-11 servings of primary whole grains with little processing a day?  Hmnn... 6... yes... I think.  For more information on nutritional guidelines for vegetarians, visit the Vegetarian Diet.

My usual diet is here.  Hope this helps.

Cheers.

Yoga in Davao

Join me this weekend at Metrolifestyle Fitness Center and Spa.

August 6, Friday @ 7:45pm

August 7, Saturday @ 7:00pm

August 8, Sunday @ 4:00pm.

For more details, please visit the Metrolifestyle Davao event page here.

OM

The des(s)ert is calling me back

Photo credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halva

King Abdullah sending 100 tons of dates

*** 

Two things I miss in Saudi Arabia - halva and dates

A good friend brought me 1 kg of regular halva with pistachio and 1 kg of chocolate halva.

Will try to remember to bring some to class to share with YM students.

***

Ramadan will start on August 11 (When-is, 2010).

OM