How To Make Filipino Foods Healthier

In a Filipino home, the kitchen is the heart. Competent is seldom a mass that doesn’t miss eating – and we all know you really can’t declare no. With obligatory and designful consumption of delicious ensaymada, puto, and ube rolls, my paunch is joyful but my waistline is not.
Lately my nurture has been application me if I could make some of his favorite Filipino dishes healthier. My first understanding was, how can you make crispy pata healthy? As a registered dietitian and professionally trained chef, I’m constantly at struggle with myself when I cook and eat Filipino food. I demand it to be healthy, but no matter what it the urge be masarap or it won’t get eaten.
With a occasion ahead of me full of celebrations and weekday dinners, I necessity my family to know and enjoy Filipino provision, but I don’t want this to collision our long - name health. Much of the run-of-the-mill Pinoy diet is comprised of meat, fried foods, massive starches and sometimes sugars and sodium. Sling it all together with American portion sizes and you’re at risk for heart disease and diabetes – good by recital the recipes.
I’ve risen to the challenge of arbitration ways to tweak habitual recipes and staple foods to shave off calories, saturated fat, sodium, and sugar but not skimp on pungency.
Here’s a look at a few of the healthy changes we’ve prepared in our building:
The rice doorknob was a sticky where. Telling portion Asian they should eat brown rice will most oftentimes come with a height of resistance. I’ll admit – there’s fly speck fully coextensive chalky, fluffy rice that slightly sticks well-adjusted when you push it onto your dipper. At first it’s best to meet this challenge half way, mixing both brown and caucasian rice to get half your grains whole. It’s not fully the duplicate but it’s not as extreme a boss as agility to all brown rice.
After doing that for a while, we took the plunge to get our fiber intake up and keep our cholesterol in good standing by only eating brown rice at home – miss when we have arroz caldo.
Depending on what meat your lola’s recipe used, a few changes can make this a healthier dish. If making pork adobo, cull a lean cut of pork equaling pork loin; if it’s low make sure it’s skinless. No matter what the meat is make it lean. Handle the soy flavouring to a low sodium conte to help keep hypertension at bay. These shriveled switches can be prepared in bounteous of the stewed recipes from calderata to bulalo for a healthier appearance.
When it comes to afternoon snacks, we try to keep it shining and easy, pilotage away from dry goods and sweets. This is an easy fling to increase our fruit and vegetable intake for the day and we’ll often have rightful fresh produce for our merienda. Making this chicken feed keeps the calories in check and helps us increase our vitamin and fiber intake. If it’s a warmish summer day, we might make a mango shake ( peg recipe ).
Spice it up
With family from the Bicol region, we’re not shaky to spice up our dishes. Research suggests that eating hot peppers may help raise metabolism ( every dwarf bit counts ). We get our fix with a side of suka at sili with our meals.
These are honest a few of the alterations we’ve incorporated for a healthier Filipino meal. I haven’t inaugurate a way to alter the crispy pata fair-minded after all, but with our other small changes and moderation we’re able to fit it in!
Mango Shake Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup of Sof๚l Mango ( you can find this is the yogurt section of your local Asian retailer )
3 halves ripe fresh mango or frozen mango
1 cup skim milk
ฝ cup crushed ice
2 Tbsp whipped topping ( optional )
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a blender. Pulse on high speed until mixture is smooth. Pour into a glass, top with whipped topping and enjoy!
Makes 2 servings.
Nutrition breakdown per serving:
Calories: 173 calories