Russian Salad

I think I have to say "time out!" from SOME on the list of my cancer prevention regimen, since I have an obligation to fulfill especially to the Diaz side members of my clan, which is to serve the traditional dishes of the clan. I had to temporarily remove the traditional desserts that take long to cook because of the high electricity rate, so I was left with just one traditional dish: Russian Salad.

The recipe was passed by my mother to me, so we assumed it was passed by her mother, the late Remedios Diaz-Balolong. In 1993, I saw an article in Sunday Times Magazine authored by a culinary expert, Benjie Diaz (the sister of Gloria Diaz and Mom's cousin), featuring some dishes for Christmas with recipes, and I was amused to see it included some of our traditional dishes like ham and Russian salad. I didn't bother though to check what ingredients were used in her recipes.

This is the version of my recipe with slight change from the original...

Boil the following until soft enough to be pricked with fork, cool then peel and cube:
1 kilo potatoes
1/2 kilo carrots
1 medium sized sugar beet
100 grams kidney beans (Baguio beans)
150 grams green cabbage
150 grams red cabbage
1 small breast of chicken, boil separately with salt, flake after cubing, removing any bone that may be present

Chop the following:
One small red onion
One small yellow onion
1-2 stalks celery

Mix all the above in a large bowl and add the following:
2/3 to 3/4 of the contents of a 700 ml. Miracle Whip (80% less fat)
2 tsps. pickle relish
1 can medium sized drained pineapple tidbits
3 juiced calamansi (remove the seeds), this serves as preservative
1/2 tbsp. salt

Thoroughly mix all the ingredients and get a portion on a saucer and taste whatever is lacking. Add salt only if lack of it is significant, or mix some more. The taste can change after a while, when the ingredients react with each other. Chill before serving and don't use a bowl that is too large for serving so that a fresh batch from the ref is always served.

This should be yummy! Serves 10-15 people.

Tiens Herbal Toothpaste

This is another amazing product that I should have shared a long time ago in this blog, but I didn't perhaps because I was ashamed to describe how I was helped by this product. The first time I was helped by Tiens Herbal Toothpaste was when I had a "blister" inside my mouth, more known as "singaw" in Tagalog. It was the first time my "singaw" was cured in just one day, by just brushing my teeth in the morning and evening as usual!

The second time this product helped me, I had a pimple on my face, and usually, I can't stand a pimple and would squeeze it. Instead, I applied this Tiens Herbal Toothpaste on my pimple and the next day it dried up and what could be seen was just a dot of the dried-up pimple. Looking at its ingredients, it has Tea Tree Oil, Red Algae and Wild Chrysanthemum among others. When I "googled" these three herbal ingredients, I was amazed by their benefits and understood why my pimple easily dried-up. I read that Tea Tree Oil is used to treat acne, boils and burns. I used to bake a lot in the past, one reason why the Tiens Herbal Toothpaste was an indispensable product in our house. I can't remember how many burns on my arms I've treated with the Tiens Herbal toothpaste, they were many for sure but I can't find a single scar of any burn now.

I was astonished to learn that Red Algae can control the growth of Candida Albicans and Herpes Simplex, and heal skin irritations. No wonder why some use the Tiens Herbal toothpaste on their private parts, LOL! In my case, it cured my persistent skin irritation that was very uncomfortable because it was on the inside of my thighs. I was ashamed to tell my story because during that time I had fat thighs that would easily perspire during the hot season. I'm slimmer now, so it's the best time to tell this story, haha.

What about the Wild Chrysanthemum? I just read that it can be used for toxic carbuncles, furuncles and other external applications. Wow, that means that no matter how big the acne is, the Tiens Herbal Toothpaste can help in its treatment. Wild chrysanthemum is also used to treat gingivitis or stomatitis, a good news especially to the elderly suffering from gingivitis. My late mother-in-law was so thankful that this toothpaste cured her gingivitis.

My special child's halitosis had been a "mystery" for many months, we thought it was normal since it was her age to have tooth decays and time for her temporary teeth to be replaced. But my sister who is a dentist said she couldn't say if it was caused by the tooth decays so my husband decided to just use the Tiens Herbal Toothpaste for this child. After just a few days, it was like magic that our special child's halitosis was suddenly gone. I also found out that she didn't really have significant tooth decays. Perhaps what my special child had was periodontal disease.

It goes without saying that the Tiens Herbal Toothpaste has been a big part of a comfortable life at home for us. Thank you Tiens Biotech Group, for a wonderful product!

Quick Gindara Steak

I just learned that Gindara takes time to absorb marinades so an overnight marinating is usually required for this fish. But all I had inside the ref was the gindara slices and I've planned to try to make steaks out of them so I started to experiment, and it was quicker than I thought.

Here's the instant recipe:

1 tsp. sesame oil for every one tbsp. of light soy sauce for "instant marinating" (good for 5 to 6 gindara slices)
2 cloves garlic for every slice of gindara, chopped
1 tsp. oyster sauce per side of gindara slice
Salt and pepper

After the gindara slices are completely thawed, lightly sprinkle salt and pepper on each side of the gindara slices. In a pan using low heat, pour one tsp. of sesame oil and 1 tbsp. of light soy sauce, and add the gindara slice. Simmer for 30 seconds per side without increasing the heat. This process takes the place of marinating the fish and precooking it. Set aside the simmered slice. Repeat for the remaining gindara slices.

Saute the chopped garlic using the remaining oil on the pan (this will include the oil extracted from the gindara while simmering), for about one minute, no need to brown, and retain the same low heat. Set aside the cooked garlic.

Without removing the oil left on the pan, pour one tsp. of oyster sauce on the pan and simmer each side of the gindara slice again for 30 to 45 seconds (spread 1 tsp of oyster sauce on the exposed side of the slice while cooking the other side). Turn over and while the other side is cooking, top the cooked exposed side with cooked garlic. Place on a platter and serve.

Note: The regular soy sauce is saltier than the light soy sauce so it is not advisable to use it as substitute. DP (Datu Puti) Premium Lite Soy Sauce is usually available in the Philippine supermarkets.

"Pinakbet" without meat

"Pinakbet" is a favorite dish of the Ilocanos of the Philippines, but is usually cooked with "bagnet" a deep-fried part of pork. For those who are health conscious however, they would omit the meat, but what an expensive omission because "bagnet" is expensive. So why not just omit the meat in the recipe? That's what I did, and here's my recipe, based on the photo shown:

1 tbsp. olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic
1 small red onion
6 large or 10 medium ripe tomatoes
2 tbsps. mackerel sauce ("Bagoong Balayan")
1 cup of sliced squash, around 1/4 inch thick
1 medium sized eggpplant, sliced as big as the thumb
2 medium sized organic bitter gourd (like the smaller one in the photo or just one bigger size), sliced as big as the thumb



Slice the garlic, onion and tomatoes for sauteing. Use low heat (400 W) which will take a little longer to saute if you're using olive oil for a healthier option, and use the same heat throughout your cooking.

Saute the garlic, followed by onions and then the tomatoes. Simmer until the sauce of the tomatoes come out. Transfer to a pot with cover then add the "Bagoong Balayan". Add the squash, cook for a few minutes then add the bitter gourd (ampalaya). Simmer for a few minutes then shake the covered pot up and down with your thumbs pressing tightly on the cover to avoid spilling of the contents. Simmer for a few more minutes then add the eggplant and simmer for another few minutes. You may shake the pot again or if the bitter gourd is almost cooked, just mix with a spoon to at least half cook the eggplant. Remove from heat and leave the pot covered to completely cook the eggplant if preferred that way.

Anti-pyretic fruit juice

I am down with flu and this reminds me to make an anti-pyretic juice which is so simple using a juicer. Just with one whole apple and one whole pear and you have a juice that will vanish your fever. Always drink the juice right after preparing it. Refrigeration will only reduce the nutrients of the juice due to oxidation. Using a slow juicer will also prevent oxidation of nutrients.

Versatile Vege-wash

I've wanted to talk about this versatile product a long time ago, but doing it now could be the best time since we've been using this product for a long time already. I'm talking about the Natura Vege-wash of Tiens. We have recommended this product to friends and relatives because it does more than just washing vegetables.

We also use this mild Natura Vege-wash to shampoo our hair, and I highly recommend this to people who are prohibited to use products with chemicals, or those afflicted with cancer. For the bottles of infants that are made of plastic, washing with this Natura Vege-wash can be done instead of sterilizing in boiling water which can only destroy the plastic.

With the lifestyle change I have just started, this Natura Vege-wash will be an indispensible part of the change. I have to ensure that the vegetables I am juicing are free from pesticides so I soak fruits and vegetables for 15 minutes before juicing. The used water with vege-wash may be used as fertilizer for the plants, but don't include plants that are already flowering or you might create a mutant like I accidentally did last year with my morgana plant, though its blooming flower became a very beautiful mutant flower! (The second photo shows the mutant flower, its flowerets were doubled!).

Convincing people to eat the right foods

Convincing people especially your loved ones to eat the right kinds of food to be healthy is not an easy task. They are amused with the warnings or information you provide them as if they are serious to change their choice of foods. But they just couldn't forget their favorite snacks, sweets and anything that is appetizing.

I am guilty about that too because there is one favorite of the Filipinos that I swore not to snub forever, and that's the "lechon", though I get to taste some only once within 6 months to one year. So I guess I can be forgiven.

Let's try to use this statement since there is truth to it anyway: there are foods that can make you age easily, and one of them is wheat! Therefore, if you want to take away 10 years or more from your looks, stop eating wheat bread or anything made of wheat. Food made of refined flour is also a no-no since they convert easily to sugar. That seems easy to follow because people are more curios to know if there is truth to that than to complain. You can replace your breakfast made of wheat or refined flour with soft boiled eggs and apples. Oatmeal may also be eaten once in a while but not everyday.

If you were convinced, I will be posting more tips in this blog about the right kinds of food to eat to look young and remain healthy.

Plan Ahead

I've wanted to post tips about business from a research I am still about to start, until I accidentally saw one of my favorite pocket books by John Maxwell. One of the topics in this book is about planning and I thought this is very relevant to business since the first thing that should be done to start or sustain a business is to plan, and planning ahead is a best practice. Here are John Maxwell's tips in planning ahead:

1. Predetermine a course of action. You'll never reach your goals until you discover the vehicle and direction needed to get you there. Just as road signs and mileage markers are indicators of progress made toward a geographical goal, so is the need for preplanned activity to help each person arrive successfully in all areas of life.

2. Lay out your goals.

3. Adjust your priorities. Once your goals are set, there will be some rearranging of your priorities. Well-defined goals very quickly expose activities that are hindering progress toward certain objectives. Too often people tend to major on minors and to minor on majors.

4. Notify your personnel. Any great endeavor will take energy. People will supply energy. It's very important to communicate and receive positive feedback from those who are needed to help you reach the goal. Those who are informed and have positive feedback will help carry the ball toward the goal.

5. Allow time for acceptance. Any new idea takes time before it can be fully endorsed. Proper presentation of ideas allows time for questions and considerations.

6. Head into action. After sufficient time is given to adopt new ideas, get going! Remember - nothing will ever be accomplished if you wait for everyone's approval or for the plan to be perfect.

7. Expect problems. No plan eliminates problems. Excellent planning will remove some obstacles, but not all of them.

8. Always point to the success of an endeavor. This is a great motivational tool when building for tomorrow. Sure, there will be mistakes and fumbles, but don't worry - someone will always be around.

9. Daily review your planning. The longer the projection, the greater the variation. Check daily to make sure you're still on target. If not, make the needed adjustments, and continue on toward success. A quick review is important to help us plan ahead.

After typing on this post what I thought are important details to share from John Maxwell's book, I don't feel like pursuing my research because it seems everything I need at the moment are already here. This is the second time this book, "Think On These Things" has helped me unexpectedly. The first time was even one of those events in my life I've considered miracles. Who knows, what this post can do or the outcome of my task later based on this, can be another miracle!

Acupoint to quit smoking

As long as you know what acupoint to use to stop smoking, you can use several tools or gadgets to stimulate it, so a smoker will soon quit smoking.

Aside from acupuncture needles, there are needleless acupuncture gadgets now available like the "Acupoint Treasure or Tong Bao" of Tiens.

The acupoint is called "Tim Mee" and is approximately one inch on top of the base of the "hole" formed near your wrist in line with the thumb, when you spread your thumb away from the other fingers. To those who are familiar with acupoints, "Tim Mee" is between the "hole" mentioned earlier and LU7 acupoint which is at the tip of the index finger of the other hand when base of two thumbs are crossed against each other in between the thumb and index finger.


Please watch the video to help you locate it and use any available tool including your thumb, just rotate on the point counterclockwise or clockwise then the opposite direction, with equal number of rotations done. Do this every time there is a craving to smoke.

Anti-aging Meals

Anti-aging meals can be very basic because we can get them simply by just cooking with water! Why is that?

Because "Advanced Glycation End products" or AGE's are formed when cooking food at high temperatures without water or liquids such as frying. These AGE's cause the sugars in the food to bind with the proteins or fats. AGE's promote aging in the body, and start many chronic diseases. They are one of the biggest factors leading to diabetes, heart disease and many others.

So cook in water, or cook with water! Though I've never poached an egg because I prefer to eat soft-boiled eggs, I never miss putting 1 teaspoon of water for every one egg whenever I cook omelets or plain scrambled eggs.

There is a long list of what AGE's can cause, but I guess anyone would prefer to cook in water from now on than have a wrinkly and sagging skin, or have damaged pancreas that causes diabetes, or damaged blood vessels that will lead to the buildup of plaque and cause heart disease.

Well, I can't help but list the other effects of AGE's like neurofibril tangles in the brain causing Alzeimer's disease, severe memory loss and dementia, and also cause damage to the nerves causing peripheral neuropathy and deafness, and attack the tiny blood vessels in the eyes which can lead to blindness.

When it comes to vegetables though, there is of course a better way than cooking in water: eat them raw!