Healthy Christmas dining - The Christmas Noche Buena need not be the epitome of unhealthy dining in an already calorie-overloaded season

Source: bworldonline.com
By C. E. Sarte

OrganicPortal NewsRoom

This is according to Sugarleaf, a one-stop shop of healthy food items-cum-health restaurant, which held a class last Monday to present alternative ways to prepare a healthier Noche Buena feast.

"[The] Christmas season, first and foremost, is a time people gather around good food. We’re not telling people not to serve lechon (whole roast pig) and other decadent dishes, but to integrate healthy foods by incorporating and not necessarily replacing [them]," explained Angelo Narciso Songco, Sugarleaf’s dynamic marketing and business development head.

In his opinion, a typical Noche Buena meal is not at all on the healthy side.

To counter this, he suggested adding more organic fruits and vegetables to the spread, "because you want to make sure you’re getting the nutrients and not something else." He observed that holiday dining usually consists of meat dish after meat dish, a chicken dish, the occasional fish, then dessert. "It’s something to really ponder about."

Another thing he pointed out is that organic produce is not limited to fruits and vegetables but also includes chicken, pork, beef and fish. "They’re fed naturally with no artificial hormones," he explained.

"Aside from consuming unhealthy foods, people also tend to overeat over the holidays. One should always control their portions, organic or not," he said.

For post-Christmas eating, Mr. Songco suggested increasing one’s fiber intake to clear away what remains in the system after the holiday binge. The simplest way is to eat raw vegetables and green salads.

He added that "a person can feel a bit unsatisfied just by eating greens but by incorporating it as an appetizer or snack, even in the Christmas season, [can be] beneficial if one is looking to flush out and detoxify."

One naturally detoxifying vegetable, he pointed out, is malunggay (moringa), which cleanses the blood and colon. If one prefers to do a colon cleanse, chia seeds mixed with juice, oatmeal, or cereal will do the trick.

At the cooking class, Asha Anahata Peri, a Bali-certified professional educator, presented dishes that used organic fruits and vegetables, tiny amounts of natural sweeteners, and other interesting ingredients like kefir (a fermented milk drink), goji berries, squash flowers and chia seeds -- which was said to be eaten by Aztec warriors.

The dishes she prepared -- spiced sunlight lassi, "beet those greens rainbow salad," pumpkin seed dressing, coconut ginger curry pasta, squash flowers with red cheese, "holiday salad pizza," candied cumin walnuts, herb cheese spread, and choco tahini energy balls -- required no cooking and are perfect for those on a low glycemic and raw food diet.

Both she and Mr. Songco also talked about the "super food group" (which includes the goji berry, cacao, guyabano, durian, among others) and the proper way of choosing organic fruits and vegetables.

"When you say ‘organic,’ by definition it involves taking out certain things usually done in conventionally grown produce -- [the use of] pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and hormones that make the plants grow faster, yield more fruits, and grow in seasons it’s not supposed to," noted Mr. Songco.

"Organic [farming] takes away all these things and lets Mother Nature take its course and let the plant grow how it’s suppose to grow, or only use natural methods of pest control and improving plant growth."

However, growing organic fruits and vegetables is labor-intensive and yields less produce which makes them more expensive than commercially available ones.

"The price point, by default, is more expensive by 70% to 100%. The price is doubled and, for some [items], times three even." But he noted that people don’t normally eat kilos and kilos of vegetables, and that choosing to eat organic is an investment in health.

"Eat healthy now, avoid getting sick later."

He also noted that when more people consume more organic products, it encourages farmers to plant more organic products. "The demand will go up and the cost will eventually go down."

Organic produce are available at Sugarleaf outlets.

Sugarleaf is located at the Health Cube Building, 226 Wilson St., San Juan, and MEDICard Lifestyle Center Bldg., Paseo de Roxas corner Buendia. For inquiries and reservations, call 385-0387

Tip: OrganicPortal USA - Organic Meat

OrganicPortal NewsRoom

23.12.2011

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