As you spend your money at eat-all-you-can restos or on sugary drinks, have you ever wondered how these kinds of food could affect your body? In case you haven’t, July is the perfect time to think about your choices, as the country celebrates Nutrition Month.
Pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 491 or the Nutrition Act of the Philippines, July has been declared as the official Nutrition Month. The goal of this declaration is to encourage Filipinos everywhere to eat nutritious meals, reduce malnourishment and obesity, and educate people to exercise better discernment with their food choices.
If you want to live a healthier lifestyle and abandon a life defined by unhealthy eating habits, here are 15 Go, Grow, and Glow recipes for you and your family that can easily be cooked from your condo pantry. These easy and healthy food recipes are perfect for starting a healthy nutrition revolution inside your home.
Go Foods
If you’re an energetic person who’s always on the go, eating different kinds of go food is ideal for your lifestyle. They provide fuel for the body, as you engage in energetic activities such as running, playing, dancing, and working out. Examples of go foods are rice, pasta, bread, and other grains. If you’re looking to integrate more go foods in your everyday meals, here are five quick healthy recipes if you’re on-the-go for some nutritious go foods!
Chicken Pesto Pasta with Bacon Bits
Photo courtesy bytiniiiii via Pixabay
Total Preparation and Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves 4 people
Ingredients:
1/4 kilo honey-cured bacon
1/2 kilo chicken breast
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup basil pesto
250 grams pre-cooked spaghetti pasta
2 cloves minced garlic
Salt and pepper, to taste
Steps:
1. Slice the bacon into small squares. Put the pan on the stove and bring the heat to medium. Saute the bacon in the pan until it’s crispy enough, according to your liking. Once done, set the bacon aside.
2. Put the garlic on the already heated pan and cook until golden brown. Put in the chicken and sauté with the garlic.
3. When the chicken breast is cooked, add all-purpose cream, cream cheese and chicken stock into the pan.
4. Put the pesto into the mixture and let it simmer for 8 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Put the cooked pasta into the pan. Stir the pasta to distribute the sauce equally. Once the pasta has been heated through, transfer it to a plate and add as much bacon bits as you’d like.
Tuna Fried Rice
Photo courtesy by Pixabay via Pexels
Total Preparation and Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes
Serves 1-3 person
Ingredients:
2 cans (95 grams) tuna flakes in oil
1 cup cooked rice
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 onion
1/4 bell pepper
2 crushed cloves of garlic
2 calamansi
1 can mushrooms (115 g)
1 tbsp. sesame oil
Steps:
1. Cut the onion into small chunks and dice the bell pepper. Slice the mushrooms into small pieces.
2. Put a pan on the stove and bring the heat to medium. Add onions and bell pepper into the pan and stir continuously until soft.
3. Next, add the mushrooms and garlic. Keep stirring to prevent the ingredients from sticking to the pan.
4. Add the peas and stir until all the ingredients have already been heated enough.
5. Add the cooked rice into the pan and drizzle 1 tsp. soy sauce. Lastly, add tuna flakes into the pan and stir continuously.
6. Once done, squeeze the calamansi on to the fried rice. Mix and serve.
Tuna Avocado Sandwich
Photo courtesy by Lisa Fotios via Pexels
Total Preparation and Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves 1-2 persons
Ingredients:
1 tsp. sugar
2 ripe avocados
3/4 cup red onion, julienned
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 slices wheat bread, toasted
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 can (95 grams) of tuna, drained
1/2 cup parsley leaves
2 Tbsp. olives
Steps:
1. Put a saucepan on the stove and put 1/4 cup of water, onion, and apple cider vinegar inside it. Set the stove to medium heat until the water boils. After boiling, turn the stove off, wait for five minutes and drain the pan, retaining the onion.
2. Put the four slices of bread on a plate. Slice the avocados into long thin pieces, put them in a bowl to mash, and spread the mashed avocado on the four slices of bread. Sprinkle salt and pepper into the bread as well.
3. Top the bread with olives, cooked onions, parsley, then tuna. Finish off with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Vegetable Alfredo Pasta
Photo courtesy by Engin Akyurt via Pexels
Total Preparation and Cooking Time: 25 mins
Serves 4 people
Ingredients:
1 package penne pasta (4 cups)
1 can of peas (4 cups)
3 cups broccoli, chopped
3 tbsps. olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Steps:
1. Boil water in a saucepan and add the broccoli and peas. After four minutes, take both ingredients out of the saucepan. Set aside in a big bowl.
2. Cook the penne pasta in the same boiling water for 10 minutes.
3. Once the pasta is cooked, pour it into the bowl of peas and broccoli.
4. Stir the pasta and drizzle olive oil on to it. Add the parmesan cheese and finish off with a pinch of salt and pepper, to taste.
Spinach Rice
Photo courtesy by jacqueline howell via Pexels
Total Preparation and Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves 1 person
Ingredients:
2 tbsps. olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cups spinach
1/4 tsp. pepper
3/4 water
1/2 cup cooked rice
1 tbsp. dried basil leaves
Steps:
1. Put a saucepan on the stove and bring to medium heat. Saute the onion until soft. Put the water, salt and pepper, and basil into the pan; stir and wait to boil.
2. Add the rice and spinach into the pan and stir.
3. Cover the pan for one minute then turn off the stove. Let rice rest for 10 minutes.
4. Stir the rice and serve.
Glow Foods
Glow foods are also known as beauty foods because they enhance one’s skin, eyes, and hair. But, in fact, glow foods are known to do that because they provide people with minerals and vitamins that make the body healthy and fit. This food group includes fruits and vegetables which improve the different systems in the body. So, if you’re looking for a diet that is not only good for your body but also good for your hair and skin, here are five quick and healthy recipes that you can do at home.
Vegetable Salad
Photo courtesy by silviarita via Pixabay
Total Preparation and Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Serves 1 person
Ingredients:
1 tsp. basil, chopped
1 tsp. parsley, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks green onions, minced
5 radishes, chopped
1 small jicama (singkamas), peeled and julienned
5 lettuce leaves
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ½ tbsps. calamansi
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 ½ tsp. water
Steps:
1. Tear the lettuce into bite-size pieces. Add lettuce, cucumber, pepper, onion, tomato, radish, and singkamas in a large bowl.
2. Drizzle the calamansi juice, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar into a small bowl. Add the salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, and basil into a small bowl and stir.
3. Pour the mixture from the small bowl into the large bowl of salad; mix together.
4. For the leftover salad, put a paper towel above the salad. Cover the bowl with plastic. The towel prevents the vegetables from becoming too moist inside the refrigerator.
Ensalada Verde
Photo courtesy by Pixabay via Pexels
Total Preparation and Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Serves 1-4 person
Ingredients:
1 head of lettuce
12 cherry tomatoes
1 onion
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Salt, to taste
Steps:
1. Tear the lettuce into bite-size pieces; put in a large salad bowl.
2. Slice the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces.
3. Cut the onion into thin slices.
4. Put the tomatoes and onion on to the lettuce.
5. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil and vinegar; pour this dressing over the salad. Finish off with salt, to taste.
6. For the leftover salad, cover it with a paper towel, then cover the bowl with a tight plastic wrap. The towel prevents the vegetables from getting too moist inside the refrigerator, keeping the salad fresh and crisp.
Vegetable Omelet
Photo courtesy by Caio Resende via Pexels
Total Preparation and Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves 1-2 people
Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 tbsp. milk
2 tbsp. butter
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup grated cheese
Steps:
1. Put a medium-sized skillet on the stove and bring the heat to medium. Melt the butter in the skillet. Add the bell pepper and onion into the skillet and cook for 5 minutes until both ingredients have softened.
2. Crack the eggs into a bowl; add milk, salt, and pepper. Beat the eggs with a fork.
3. Once the vegetables have cooked, remove from the pan and pour it into a bowl. Sprinkle salt; set the vegetable aside.
In the same skillet, melt the remaining butter over medium heat. Spread the butter on the skillet. Once the butter has completely melted, pour the eggs and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Use a spatula to check the edges of the omelet. Scoop up the edges of the omelet and let the remaining egg mixture run towards the edges of the pan to cook.
5. Add the cheese into the center of the omelet, along with the vegetable mixture. Gently fold one end of the omelet to cover the vegetables.
6. Cook for two minutes until the cheese has melted. Once the omelet has cooked, slide out of the pan and onto a plate.
Kangkong in Oyster Sauce
Total Preparation and Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes
Serves 3 people
Ingredients:
2 tbsps. cooking oil
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
3/4 cup beef stock
3 tbsp. toasted garlic
3 tbsp. oyster sauce
1 bunch of kangkong
Steps:
1. Pick the kangkong leaves from the stalks. Slice the stalks into medium-sized pieces; set aside.
2. Mix the oyster sauce, beef stock, and cornstarch in a bowl.
3. Put a pan on the stove, set to medium heat; pour cooking oil into the pan.
4. Once the oil is hot, put in the sliced kangkong stalks and cook for two minutes.
5. Pour the cornstarch, stock, and oyster sauce mixture into the pan together with the toasted garlic. Wait for the sauce to become more concentrated.
6. After a minute, add the kangkong leaves and cook for another minute or two.
7. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
8. Once the kangkong has been heated through, transfer to a bowl and serve.
Tomato Avocado Salad
Photo courtesy by zuzyusa via Pixabay
Total Preparation and Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Serves 1 person
Ingredients:
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, sliced
1 cucumber, sliced
1 avocado, diced
1 stalk cilantro, chopped
2 tbsps. olive oil
2 tbsps. calamansi juice
Steps:
1. Put the tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, cilantro, and onion in a large bowl.
2. Pour the olive oil and calamansi juice into the bowl. Stir the salad to combine.
3. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, to taste.
4. Serve and enjoy.
Grow Foods
Going to the gym and running a marathon will help you get the beach body that you want. However, what will really help you achieve your fitspiration is eating the right type of food and maintaining a balanced diet consisting of a variety of foods. With grow foods, you make your goals achievable since this kind of food that strengthens and develops your bones. Meat, beans, and dairy are examples of Grow foods. Integrate more Grow foods in your diet with these five recipes, to get you started.
Smoked Salmon Wrap
Total Preparation and Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves 1 person
Ingredients:
1 8-inch low-carb tortilla wrap
56 grams smoked salmon
2 tsp. low-fat cream cheese
35 grams red onion, julienned
1 cup arugula
1 tsp. basil
Pinch of pepper, to taste
Steps:
1. Warm the tortilla wrap in a microwave oven for 30 seconds.
2. Spread cream cheese, pepper, and basil on the tortilla.
3. Add salmon, arugula, and onion on to the tortilla. Wrap the filling and serve.
Tasty Grilled Chicken
Photo courtesy via Pxhere
Total Preparation and Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves 1 person
Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 red bell pepper, sliced into small chunks
1 zucchini, julienne-sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced into small chunks
Italian-style dressing ingredients:
6 tbsps. olive oil
2 tbsps. white wine vinegar
2 tbsps. parsley, chopped
1 tbsp. calamansi
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. dried basil, crushed
¼ tsp. dried red pepper, crushed
Pinch of dried oregano
Steps:
1. Combine all the ingredients for the Italian dressing inside a small bowl. Stir continuously to blend all the flavors.
2. Put the chicken breasts in a ziplock bag and add 1 cup of Italian dressing inside. Marinade for 8 minutes. For the leftover Italian dressing, cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate.
3. Slice the bell peppers into big chunks together with the Zucchini and put them in the bag. Put both ingredients in another ziplock bag; pour the leftover dressing inside the bag.
4. Prepare the grill and bring to medium heat. Place the marinated chicken and the coated vegetables on the grill and cook.
5. Once cooked, put on a plate and serve.
Pork Adobo Recipe
Total Preparation and Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves 6-8 people
Ingredients:
1 kg. pork, minced
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp. of pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red onion, sliced
4 pieces of bay leaves
1/2 cup pork broth
2 tsp. white vinegar
Steps:
1. Put the pan on the stove and set to medium heat. Sauté garlic and onion until the garlic has turned brown and the onion has softened.
2. Add the pork into the pan; season with salt and pepper.
3. Pour the water into the pan and let it simmer until the pork softens.
4. Once the meat becomes tender, pour the soy sauce into the pan together with the bay leaves and the vinegar.
5. Let the pork simmer for another five minutes, to absorb the flavor.
6. Once cooked, pour the adobo into a big bowl and serve.
Chicken Curry
Photo courtesy via Pxhere
Total Preparation and Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves 5 people
Ingredients:
1-kilo chicken wings and legs
1 red onion, sliced
8 cloves garlic minced
2 inches ginger minced
1 stalk lemongrass
1 pack of curry powder
1/2 kilo potatoes, sliced
1/4 carrots, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 cup of water
Salt and pepper, to taste
Steps:
1. Put the pan on the stove and set to medium heat. Sauté the garlic and onion until heated through. Add the chicken on to the pan together; season with salt and pepper then stir.
2. Pour water into the pan and let simmer for 10 minutes.
3. While the water is simmering, prepare another frying pan to deep fry the potatoes and carrots. Deep-fry carrots and potatoes then pour into the pan containing the chicken.
4. Put both the green and red bell peppers in the pan; cook for another five minutes.
5. Once cooked, transfer the chicken curry to a large bowl and serve this healthy chicken meal.
Beef Steak Tagalog
Total Preparation and Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Serves 4-5 people
Ingredients:
1 kg. beef, thinly sliced
5 pieces calamansi
1 ½ cup of soy sauce
½ tbsp. black pepper
5 cloves garlic
3 red onion, sliced into rings
3 cups of water
2 tbsps. vegetable oil
Steps:
1. Pour the soy sauce and squeeze the calamansi into one big bowl. Add the salt, pepper, and vegetable oil and mix. Marinade the beef in this mixture for 10 minutes.
2. Put the pan on the stove and bring to medium heat. Sauté the garlic until golden brown. Put the beef in the pan and stir.
3. Pour the sauce used in marinating the beef into the pan. Let it simmer for 10 minutes until the beef has become tender.
4. Once the meat is almost cooked, add the onions and stir. Make sure that the sauce has thickened.
5. Transfer the beef steak on to a large bowl and serve.
Being healthy is not only something that will make your body happy. It is also something that nurtures the entire family to become more peaceful and closer to one another. When the home aspires to be the healthiest it can be, it transcends outside the house and affects the whole community.
There is no other way to celebrate Nutrition Month by cooking with the family. While there are so many temptations that are popping up in malls in our neighborhood, we should not let it ruin our diet. Here’s to a new beginning that won’t only make your body happy but your tastebuds and tummy as well.
