“Healthy Kitchen at Home” is the new nutrition awareness campaign by Healthy Kitchen Iloilo this year.
This is in line with Nutrition Month theme 2022 “New normal na nutrisyon, sama-samang gawan nag solusyon” (New normal nutrition, together we make a solution) as approved by National Nutrition Council Technical Committee (“NNCTC”).
Nutrition Month’s theme calls for strengthened nutrition interventions and solidarity toward nutrition improvement. It shows the significance of nutrition in building resilience while transitioning from pandemic to endemic paradigm as the country shifts towards living with the COVID-19 virus.
Healthy Kitchen Cafe hosted a health awareness campaign event last Saturday, July 23, 2022, as a way to thank Iloilo City for its support through the years. Dr. Bambi Tupas, Myka Perlas, Chef Jose, and Chef Christina discussed and presented different information on how to make your lives healthier. This event is made possible through the partnerships of The Medical City Iloilo, Lifebank, Global Shapers Iloilo Hub, JCI Iloilo Ilang Ilang, 9 and Beyond, and Cafe 9:04.
Awareness of what we eat
Dr. Marie “Bambi” Piodena-Tupas of The Medical City Iloilo is a doctor of medical nutrition and internal medicine. “Food has a direct effect on our overall health,” she discussed. There is an inextricable link between food and the human body. “Let your medicine be your food and your food be your medicine,” she added.
She shared how awareness of what we eat can effectively help with our goal of a healthier lifestyle. “Let us consider every food that we eat and each must bring a positive effect to the body,” the doctor explained. She noted it as a mindset that will drive our lifestyle one day at a time. “It is no longer that we eat because we just want to eat. But we eat because we want to help our body grow immunity before we get sick,” she implored.
How to make kombucha tea at home
“Kitchen is the heart of every home,” Myka shared. Myka Perlas is the woman behind Healthy Kitchen Cafe and delivery, Salads and Wraps, and Mamaca Frozen Yoghurt. Her efforts in building several businesses are geared toward helping every Ilonggo household achieve a healthy kitchen at home and live a healthier lifestyle ultimately.
“What we create in our own kitchen will be the quality of life we live,” she added. The quality of our overall health is translated by the food we consume. Myka shared and demonstrated the process of creating Kombucha Tea doable at home.
Kombucha is a fermented, lightly effervescent, sweetened black or green tea drink commonly consumed for its purported health benefits. It is commonly known as kombucha tea to distinguish it from the culture of bacteria and yeast. You can make your drink with added spices, fruit, or other flavorings.
Kombucha is best for promoting digestive health. It is rich in lactic acid bacteria and prebiotics, which are helpful in skin improvement, detoxification, and constipation.
Creating healthy meals in your kitchen
Chefs Jose and Christina discussed and showed how to make palatable healthy meals at home. “Healthy does not necessarily mean boring,” Chef Christina shared. There are ways to come up with healthy but visually appealing and delicious dishes. “We can always make it exciting and delicious,” she added.
“We can make a colorful and appetizing snack using mixed granola and nuts paired with yogurt,” Chef Jose explained. Creatively using healthy ingredients can “help boost our perception with eating healthy,” he furthered. As for salads at home, the chef encouraged the use of grilled chicken, tofu, or boiled egg for protein and vegetables like lettuce for fiber. “We can arrange these ingredients as a salad bowl drizzled with a choice of dressing,” Chef Jose noted.
Healthy Kitchen’s grocery helps Ilonggos achieve a healthy kitchen at home by making healthy ingredients accessible ranging from nuts, dried fruits, chia seeds, granola, frozen pasta, and lettuce to salad dressing, kombucha tea, homemade yogurt, and many more.
The event is a landmark campaign for Healthy Kitchen in its vision to change people’s mindset by serving quality and healthy dishes in a fun, flavorful, and delicious way. Visit Healthy Kitchen Cafe in Q. Abeto Street, Mandurriao. It is located within the All Things Green compound.
