"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!

Avoiding the Flu

It seems I’m having a flu so as I’ve usually done for 3 years now, I will try to make the virus weaker by using my “Tong Bao”, an acupoint healthcare apparatus I’ve ignorantly bought from Tiens, thinking I could sell it. But when I saw how effectively it works, I just tried to learn how to practice it. I learned from the lecture of my friend, Dr. Hector De la Cruz, that the acupoint that will address influenza is the "Wind Pool", also called "Feng Chi" or "GB20", and stimulating it really gets rid of flu that is about to start.

This time, I guess the influenza is strong already, but let me see, I might still be able to make it weaker. It started with colds, so what I did was just to address my colds using the "facial rejuvenation" points so I could address a lot more instead of just the colds , and also took Tiens Zinc capsule, organic Vitamin C from Tiens Beneficial and I’ve added Tiens Cordyceps. I need to include the brand so I can justify how effective they are and because Tiens Zinc is in the form of zinc lactate which cannot be found in the market.

The procedure in using the Tong Bao is just to press its magnetic beam on one side of GB20 for 5 seconds, then with enough pressure, rotate it counterclockwise for 10 seconds (about two rotations per second), press steadily again for 5 seconds then rotate clockwise for 10 seconds. The last step should be pressing steadily for 5 seconds and the whole process may last for 1 to 3 minutes, and may be repeated after 6 to 8 hours if not yet feeling well, using the other side of GB20.

Since I could feel the strength of this flu, I’ve added one more to take in, one tablespoon of Kefir probiotic which I mixed with my juice.

I just read from about.com , a very good site to search about acupuncture or acupoints where I got the photo of GB20, that "Wind Pool" was named as such because the "wind pathogens" causing the colds tend to collect here. So it is really a good idea to cover this part of your neck with something like a scarf when it’s cold or windy outside, so that wind pathogens don’t enter here.

How to live longer

I’ve just read there are 3 personality traits that will help a person live longer and I was so glad to have read the article because I believe I have those traits. These 3 traits are organized, prudent and persistent. Being organized especially at home keeps me from being stressed. There are only 3 colors of hangers in my closet: lavender for blazers or jackets, light green for pants and the rest are black, and all hangers have rounded molds because the flat ones would belong to my husband and son. My helpers were the ones stressed with my persistence about the hangers though some of them got used to it and liked the idea. I told them that if I won’t have enough hangers for all my clothes, that would mean I already have to give away some of them. I don’t have a helper now so it is easier for me to manage my own clothes.

I had also 3 kinds of cabinets built-in at home: one in the kitchen, another beside the toilet and another inside our bedroom all with louvered door. The one in the kitchen is for different kinds of cleaning tools, beside the toilet is for detergents and other cleaners, and inside the bedroom is for shoes. That means there will never be a mix up of canned foods and soaps or cleaners at home.

One main reason for sticking to Feng Shui in my case, is to have ready general rules to follow. It has made my life a lot easier especially in deciding about the layout of pieces of furniture which I am so particular with to the point of becoming obsessed. The nice thing about letting people know I am following some Feng Shui rules is I have all the reasons to be prudent and persistent.

Those 3 traits, organized, prudent and persistent, when practiced, can become encompassing so that it would also apply to the kind of foods we eat, and the lifestyle. It would be easy to instill discipline in these areas too, and maintain the balance required for healthy living. I’m lucky to also learn about TCM which also practices the horary clock that dictates the best time to rest and eat certain foods, depending on the health status of a person.

Along with those 3 traits, not mentioned was you have to be inspired to live longer. I was ready to die due to my ovarian cyst, but I found a reason to live, and make it longer as much as I can, and that is the presence of a special child who needed someone to care for her. But because I don't want to outlive everybody, I also become persistent in reminding people to take care of their health too. Who knows, that could be a mission shared by me and Lyca, the special child.

The Horary Clock

To promote health by following the body's natural rhythm, one has the follow the Horary clock showing the peak hours each organ functions. It is also at this time that a specific organ is best treated:

11AM to 1PM - Heart

1PM to 3PM - Small Intestine

3PM to 5PM - Urinary Bladder

5PM to 7PM - Kidney

7PM to 9PM - Pericardium

9PM to 11PM - Triple Burner

11PM to 1AM - Gallbladder

1AM to 3AM - Liver

3AM to 5AM - Lung

5AM to 7AM - Large intestine

7AM to 9AM - Stomach

9AM to 11AM - Spleen

The Horary clock above shows that the Gallbladder meridian is most active from 11PM to 1AM. In addition to that, according to the law of transformation of Yin and Yang where extreme Yin produces Yang and extreme Yang produces Yin, the gallbladder is responsible for giving birth to the first Yang energy of the 24 hour cycle. This Yang energy in its infantile state is highly vulnerable. Therefore, we must protect and allow it to grow through proper sleep.