Cooking Made Easy and Enjoyable with Del Monte Kitchenomics

The kitchen is my kingdom.  I love to cook, there’s no doubt about it.  I did not go to a culinary school, but we grew up watching cooking shows like Del Monte Kitchenomics on TV.  Now on its 30^th year of sharing easy-to-prepare, budget-friendly, and family-approved recipes, Del Monte Kitchenomics launches another season of its cooking show.  This season brings to your TV screens the new kitchen duo of actress Carla Abellana and multi-awarded pastry chef Jackie Ang-Po.  This tandem will give you exciting new recipes from the Del Monte test kitchens.  The show, which premieres on February 19, 2014, will also feature the Most Requested Recipes of Del Monte Kitchenomics Club members.

My pantry is never without products from Del Monte – from our bottle of tomato catsup to our fruit juices and sauces.  It’s hard to pick a favorite as every single product adds its distinct flavor to the food that we eat.  Moms like me can learn new ways of using these different products from the Del Monte Kitchenomics cooking show.  You can expect that your own kitchen dilemmas as a home cook will be banished with the recipes and tips from Carla and Chef Jackie. 

Del Monte held a Blogger’s Conference on the eve of the show’s premiere episode.  I attended the Conference for my sister’s blog totteringmama.com.  I got to interact with fellow bloggers as well as hear all about this exciting new cooking show from the hosts and Del Monte executives themselves.  Del Monte’s senior product manager Susie Aquino was there to introduce the new season and to share with us what this cooking show has to offer.  The Question and Answer session that followed afterwards was short and sweet, with the panelists addressing the questions with candor and simplicity. 

There’s nothing complicated about cooking with Del Monte Kitchenomics – no special skills required, no special equipment or utensils necessary.  The recipes have been tested and rated to ensure that they can be prepared by the ordinary cook in any kitchen.  One of the great things about Kitchenomics recipes is the costing.  The test kitchen team conducts a pricing research on the ingredients used for each recipe to provide a close-enough estimate of the total cost to prepare the meal.  This is ideal for budget-conscious moms as they can conveniently work on their budget and meal plans.    

Another great thing about Kitchenomics recipes is the fact that they are healthy.  Del Monte products contain nutrients, vitamins, and minerals to ensure that your family gets the nourishment that they need.  Since the recipes are also easy to prepare, you don’t have to toil for hours in the kitchen to serve delicious healthy meals that your family will love.  This makes mealtimes more enjoyable and memorable for the entire family.  Which reminds me, it’s time to start dinner preparations.  I just have to try that Del Monte Red Sinigang that everybody at the Conference was talking about.  It’s a good thing I always have a couple of pouches of Del Monte Tomato Sauce in my pantry.

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Catch the new season of the Del Monte Kitchenomics cooking show with Chef Jackie Ang-Po and Carla Abellana on GMA Channel 7 every Wednesday and Saturday (before Eat Bulaga) and every Sunday (before Sunday All Stars).  Happy Cooking!

In the Bag: Cooking with Goodies from a Cooking Event Launch

Last week was a pleasant change from our usual days.  Most of our days are spent at home or within our neighborhood – my daughter calls our subdivision “Subdivision ni Kuya” in reference to the confines of the Big Brother House.  We were coaxed by my sister to join them in the Moulinex You Cook 3 video recipe challenge launch at the SM Prestige Lounge.  Our normal schedule was pleasantly disrupted by a trip to the mall.  We were a few minutes late on the invite time, but we still made it to the event with some time to spare to register, fool around at the photo booth, and settle down in our seats before the emcee opened the launch.  

It was a cozy gathering of writers, bloggers, and members of the mall’s exclusive club.  We listened as the microphone changed hands from the emcee, to the Moulinex and Krups brand marketing manager, to last year’s You Cook 2 winner, and to this year’s panel of judges.  It’s not a whole lot to take in.  This year’s competition is open to ladies aged 18-40 who have the passion for cooking and the personality to shine in front of the camera.  Unlike last year’s competition, only amateur cooks (cook hobbyists as the organizers termed it) are eligible to join You Cook 3.  More information about this cooking video cum cook off challenge is available at www.moulinex-youcook.com.

As the contest mechanics were being rolled out, my sister kept nudging me and was obviously excited about the prospect of preparing one of our signature dishes for a You Cook 3 video entry.  I have always been camera shy, but I am definitely confident in front of any cooking appliance.  We definitely have a lot of signature dishes in the family.  My mom raised us on “no-name” dishes that she put together with healthy ingredients sans any cookbooks.  We learned about her dishes simply by actual cooking and tasting.  I now have my own family, and with my husband’s dietary restrictions, I have also learned to get creative with “My Signature Dish” recipes.

Checking out my goodie bag from the event, I decided to cook my Chicken Parmigiana with Shitake Marinara as a post-birthday treat for my husband.  The Clara Ole tomato sauce and pasta sauce were used for my homemade marinara sauce.  This is a dish that is simple enough for my 11-year old to prepare on her own – she loves taking charge of the breading station.  It just takes a few minutes to put everything together once the marinara sauce is done.  Reducing the sauce and letting the flavors mingle for a while is the longest part of the cooking process.  Served over spaghetti noodles or penne noodles, this is a complete dish that is both hearty and healthy at the same time.  

I am not a professional cook, but I do cook with love and passion.  When my daughter’s classmates give her compliments and ask about food from our kitchen, I always tell her that there is only one secret – the food that comes from our kitchen are always prepared with unlimited amounts of love.

Know more about the Moulinex You Cook 3 Video Recipe Challenge at at www.moulinex-youcook.com or like the Moulinex Facebook page www.facebook.com/MoulinexPH  for more updates.

In Perfect Shape

I admit. I am not as slim and svelte as I was about a decade ago. This is not something I am proud of nor am willing to accept as something I have to live with for the rest of my life. The flame of hope still burns deep within me – my heart, my mind, and my body, that one day I will once again fit into my little red dress without much squirming and struggling. Getting to be that perfect shape again is a goal that has not been stricken off my list of life goals just yet. While I am so concerned about losing weight and getting back in shape, it is regretful that I seem to have forgotten what we have been taught in school and at home about taking care of our bodies and staying healthy. In between getting on and off fad diets, I have unconsciously deprived myself of food or eaten the wrong kinds of food. I have even gone to the extent of modifying certain fad diets to the extreme in hopes that I would see better results faster. And yes, even when I am really not a hefty eater, I have considered more drastic means to get thinner like bariatric surgery -- if only I could afford it and did not feel that there are more important things to spend my money on. Just as most experts would tell you, this yo-yo dieting simply resulted in more weight gain after successful fad dieting. Now, after losing my gallbladder to a laparoscopic cholecystectomy – which was supposedly aggravated by my wanton dieting, it is quite clear that being in perfect shape is not simply an outward physical state. Being in perfect shape is being healthy in heart, mind, and body.
To get in perfect shape, here are three important things that you should do first:

1. Be thankful. Everyone knows that wallowing in self-pity or in feelings of misery leads to emotional eating. Binge eating is most often turned to by people who need to find comfort or solace. They might experience some amount of satisfaction from their consumption of high carbohydrates and sugars, but in the end, all they have succeeded in doing is to overwork their systems and to pack on unnecessary fat and sugar into their bodies, leading them to feel even more sluggish. Instead of wallowing in self-disapproval, think about all the things in your life that you should be thankful for. You might just surprise yourself when you come up with a long list of things to be grateful for – all this far outweighs everything else that distresses you.

2. Love yourself. No one can love you more than yourself. When you love yourself, you will not do anything that could be harmful to you. Loving yourself means accepting yourself in any size, shape, or color you might be. Loving yourself means keeping yourself in a healthy state that you could be more than proud of. Loving yourself means not letting public judgment to sway you into doing things you should not do. Loving yourself means being happy with who you are, inside and out.

3. Switch to a healthy lifestyle. There is a natural high that comes from living healthy. When you eat the right kinds of food, exercise regularly, and have enough rest, you get a natural glow that comes from a truly rejuvenated body not at all starved of any of the nutrients it needs. Eating healthy is all about making the right food choices in the right portions. Making sure that your body is not nutritionally deprived will allow its metabolic processes to work optimally. Regular exercise is also another enjoyable way to stay in shape. Find a physical activity that you enjoy – either by yourself or with your friends, and commit to engage in it regularly. Before you know it, you will not only feel great about your body, your body will also look good. Do not forget to give your body at least 8 hours of rest everyday to allow it to repair and recharge itself.

Be Grateful Everyday

There are a lot of things that each of us should be thankful for. Yet, most of the things that often consume us for most of our waking hours, and sometimes even through our slumber, are those that cause us much worry and distress. I am guilty of this, I admit. It is just too difficult to shrug off things that negatively impact things that we consider important in our lives – and this could span a whole range of concerns. We think about everything from big things like ensuring family security to little things like the weather or the traffic. And sometimes, we even fuss about things that should not be fussed about. As easy as it is to be negative, we have to exert some effort to see the other side of the coin so to speak and think positive. Positive thinking is not being complacent. It does not mean merely accepting what is dealt to you without so much as a slight resistance – no you do not sit back and languorously enjoy a cup of tea at your front porch while your collection bills are stuffing your mailbox full. Positive thinking has a lot to do with not letting the negatives bear down on you and hamper you from doing things as you should. Thinking positively allows you to get on with your life and do something to turn that negative into positive.

A little gratefulness goes a long way in keeping such a positive state of mind. When things seem hopeless, feel grateful for the life that you still have and everything else you have left to still get you going. You might be nearing bankruptcy but at least you are still alive and physically capable of doing something about your condition. Get off your hindside and find out what you can do to alleviate your situation. You might find that things will be harder and more challenging. But, if you keep on moving, there is no way that you cannot get out of your predicament. Sooner rather than later, you will find that you have hurdled the challenge and are able to enjoy some liberties again. Ridding your mind of the negatives and replacing them with gratefulness allows you to have more room in there to think about moving forward and overcoming each and every challenge that comes your way.

When you feel like you are so tired about battling life’s trials, take a deep breath and practice gratefulness. Acknowledge your trials and then think about all the other things you have to be grateful for in your life. For the depressed and desolate, it would really be hard to stir feelings of thankfulness. It would perhaps take some intervention for this to happen. For most people, however, there really is nothing difficult about giving way to gratefulness. When you are truly grateful, it is not difficult to mobilize yourself and continue living in spite of. “Life is like a box of chocolates” as Forrest Gump said. “You’ll never know what you are going to get.” Yet, it is always an overwhelmingly heartwarming feeling that overcomes anyone who receives a beautifully packaged box of chocolates. The act of consuming each one, whatever it might be, is often equally pleasurable. Be grateful for life and everything it brings, ready for all the pleasures, both expected and unexpected, along the way.

Coming Out Into The Open

I suddenly feel so naked. Writing online has always made me feel exposed. That is why I have kept my writing private for quite some time. There is, however, a certain feeling of liberation to being able to write about what is on my mind whenever and wherever I want, without fear of judgement or condemnation. I am coming out in the open to speak my mind... to sort out my thoughts... to bare my soul. With my heart thumping yet with my fingers firm in their resolve to immortalize my words, I write my very first public blog.

Passion for life. That's what this site is all about. It's all about how we live our lives and all that comes with it. That's virtually everything and anything under the sky. In this site, I will endeavor to share with you information and personal insights about things we consider important in this world. Important. Important is a relative thing. What might be important to me might not really be important to you.

Life is a myriad of important things. The air that we breathe, the food we eat, the things we buy, the people we love, the things we do, the dreams we have. These are all important things in our lives. These are things that we all consider important (albeit in different levels) in our lives. There is only one way with which to look at these things. There is only one way to live our lives -- with passion. It is only by living life with passion can we truly say that we have lived a full life.

In an ideal world, you would say, it is indeed possible live life with passion at all times. Just how does one continue to look at life with the same zest when everything seems to be taking a plunge? The answer is still passion. Our passion for life will have the essential ingredients of faith, hope, resilience, and determination. Passion is what will get us through whatever challenges we may face... it is what will lift us up high through our successes.

Living life with passion means looking to a future that is always better than today. Although it may not always be, just thinking about tomorrow bringing brighter days is enough to keep us going. As we go through each day, believing in a better future and determined in pursuing our dreams, passion burns inside each one of us leaving no room for thoughts other than the positive. Faith and hope keeps this passion burning no matter what.

I have had my share of rough roads. Perhaps the roughest of roads for me would be times of emotional distraught. I would admit that passion is quite a hard concept to grasp during these times in my life when everything seems drab and hopeless. But there is no such thing as hopeless, I have learned. Every day we are dealt is for a reason. Every bad thing that happens to us has a corresponding positive thing to happen at some point in the future -- quid pro quo so to speak. As I traverse these rough roads, I wince and cringe but I remain steadfast and determined to see some smooth sailing ahead of me. No slowing down to wallow in pain... just moving on with passion.

As I go through the ups and downs of life, I invite you to share this passion with me and keep it burning. I invite you to join me in my journey through life, nudging each other from time to time to swap ideas or to giggle about whatever trivialities life might throw our way. Let's live life with passion!