Choose Wellness...

Choose Nestle!

Ha. This is not an advertisement. They just play a big part.

Last Saturday, while doing my weekend groceries - a Nestle Wellness representative asked me if I wanted to have a free nutritional analysis. I knew there's a "selling" part, but what the heck - it wasn't everyday that you get to talk to a nutritionist. They took my BP, my height, my weight, and (augh) my waistline (which I haven't even checked since, well, 2008 - basta kasya pa, isusuot ko). She computed for my body mass index (BMI) and ideal weight-for-height.

I am overweight (though the nutritionist told me it didn't show, thank God) ... I won't reveal my real weight, but let's just say my ideal weight should be betweeen 110-134 lbs. I told her I "just gave birth" , but at the back of my mind I knew that I should stop using that as an excuse because Tonyo is now 5 months old!

I was also told to increase my calcium intake (insert "try Nesvita lowfat milk" here) since I am 28 years old already (read: getting old) and just gave birth. She said milk in my coffee counts, hehe. I also have to lose x number of inches from my waistline in order to be taken out of the high-health risk category (there's a science to that, of course). I need to moderate my food intake and eat more healthy stuff. I need exercise. Brisk walking should be enough (but I badly want to try the Spa's Barre 3, ang mahal lang :oP!!! hello, I need a health and wellness buddy!)



She gave me some reference materials, a tape measure (!!! which is color-coded, tells you when you are dangerously large !!! ) , calorie converter, and a small monthly weight tracker.

Sigh. I feel so sad when I look at them- but inspired as well. Today, I am sick again (Sam even took me to the E.R last night. BTW, we didn't like St Luke's Global's service. That's another story) - and I know I have to get my health back on track. I stopped taking some of my food supplements when I got pregnant, and even if I get back on them again -- I know I still have to change my health and lifestyle habits. I don't smoke or drink -- but I think my late nights doing my hobbies are not healthy as well. Boo.

I don't have a diet plan in mind right now, I'll figure that out through tiny adjustments day-by-day. Goodluck to me on my path to wellness!!!

P.S. -- I know their evaluation is not fake and that they are not trying to sell me stuff. Sam got tested as well and got normal everything. Mag - Navy SEAL na lang kaya ako????

Yayas in Scrubs?

Tonyo's 6th month is fast approaching. And it is our unwritten goal to start actively searching for his yaya ("Yaya" is Filipino for nanny) by his 6th month. I am actually dreading facing the yaya issue because I have heard so many stuff from my mommy friends. One such issue is about the daily wear of yayas -- the younger ones are prone to love skimpy, sexy wear. Inappropriate!

One alternative is to have yayas wear fashion scrubs . Gone are the days of the drab gray or green medical uniforms - They now come in all colors with cute designs. When Tonyo was in the NICU, Sam and I were able to wear pink and blue Mickey Mouse scrubs. Fun :-) They probably did this to get that "hospital-sick" stigma one gets when one sees dark scrub suits.

I have encountered a few yayas wearing healthcare uniforms - also gone are the days of frilly blue and white aprons for yayas ala-"Dutch maid") and they look really clean, presentable, and professional. Almost as if you have a professional nurse for a yaya.

The downside: I don't think real nurses nowadays are happy with this new "yaya in scrubs" trend !

brought to you by your friends at http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/

Hot Valentine Date

Yep, we were "Alfa" and "Sammy" for the day..

Feb 12, 2011

It was an accidental cab ride that made me discover the special Valentines coffee course being offered by the Philippine Coffee and Barista Academy (PCBA). At that time, I was still clueless about what to give LTJG for V-day.. so after checking his schedule, I decided to sign us up! (I was so surprised when I got an enthusiastic yes!

Poizone de Amore (Love Potion) is a whole day "fun" workshop (I say fun because, one shouldn't expect to be an expert barista after the session..) for couples on coffee and beverage mixing. We love coffee, but are not coffee connoisieurs - LTJG and I are perfectly happy just tasting that coffee taste - be it from a sachet or from an expensive coffee shop if we want to indulge. We wanted to take our passion to the next level :-) Both of us are not big alcohol drinkers, so we bond over coffee and are more interested in espresso than cocktails.

The workshop was from 9-4pm. We learned about the different ways of coffee preparation (from manual drips, the coffee press, the mocha cup to fancy automatic machines that cost as much as a brand new car), how to distinguish a good cup from a bad cup, the right kind of grind for different filters, etc etc! . I've never had so much coffee in my life! I actually stopped counting after I sampled my 6th kind of drink.

Banana latte


Coffee from a manual drip brewer


Coffee from a coffee press


Espresso from a mocha pot


Mocha "frappuccino" (I put that in quotes because Frap is a brand by Starbucks. It's coffee blended with milk and ice)


Strawberry Banana Smoothie (yep we made non-coffee drinks as well)


Espresso from a coffee capsule


Almond rocha iced latte


Cappuccino ( trivia: a good cappuccino has fine, firm froth - test this by balancing a spoon on the froth.. it shouldn't fall through!)




Choco-orange "frappuccino"(which I commented that it might be better hot, so Mike, our instructor also made me ... a Choco-orange hot latte)

Green Mango smoothie (to cleanse our palate)

Blackforest "frappuccino" - super great, I won't reveal the recipe

Then, we were given the freedom to mix our own "Love Potion" :-)

After trying out three mixtures, we found our signature mix, which we called "RASPBERRY KISS" - we were asked to demonstrate the mix infront of the class. I won't reveal this recipe, either. But like I said during the demo, "It has to be made with lots of love and drank with pouty lips!"

Our potion won! (We were only one of two couples who attended, BUT STILL!) We got Php1000 worth of spa GCs, a box of Toblerone Krispy Kremes, a bag of vanilla smoothie mix, and a bottle of caramel syrup! Our Php3000 registration fee was worth it :-)

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE...

The night after the workshop, as the caffeine slowly drained out of our system and we recalled the unique and pleasurable experience we had during the workshop, LTJG decided to give me his V-day gift.

Sweet delight, he gave me my very own espresso machine ! Hah! And he bought it last January, when we had no clue that we were going to do our coffee workshop :-)

Little did I know that we could practice what we learned at home :-) Yay! Thanks so much LTJG! (I'm having trouble uploading photos, so next time na lang muna! )

Interested to learn more about your coffee? Email phil.barista@yahoo.com !!!