How To Make Filipino Foods Healthier

How To Make Filipino Foods Healthier

In a Filipino home, the kitchen is the heart. There is hardly a collection that doesn’t desire eating – and we all know you really can’t declare no. With obligatory and voluntary consumption of delicious ensaymada, puto, and ube rolls, my tummy is happy but my waistline is not.
Lately my keep has been supplication me if I could make some of his favorite Filipino dishes healthier. My first thought was, how can you make crispy pata healthy? As a registered dietitian and professionally trained chef, I’m constantly at combat with myself when I cook and eat Filipino food. I want it to be healthy, but no matter what it must be masarap or it won’t get eaten.
With a stretch ahead of me full of celebrations and weekday dinners, I want my family to know and enjoy Filipino cuisine, but I don’t want this to impact our long - term health. Much of the ordinary Pinoy diet is comprised of meat, fried foods, heavy starches and sometimes sugars and sodium. Hurl it all together with American portion sizes and you’re at risk for heart disease and diabetes – just by rendering the recipes.
I’ve risen to the challenge of compromise ways to tweak ordinary recipes and staple foods to shave off calories, saturated fat, sodium, and sugar but not skimp on guts.
Here’s a observation at a few of the healthy changes we’ve made in our kennel:
The rice boss was a sticky post. Telling any Asian they should eat brown rice will most often come with a alp of resistance. I’ll admit – there’s nonexistence wholly like hoary, fluffy rice that slightly sticks together when you push it onto your dipper. At first it’s best to meet this challenge half way, mixing both brown and light rice to get half your grains whole. It’s not wholly the equivalent but it’s not as desperate a handle as game 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 – eliminate 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, choose a lean cut of pork parallel pork loin; if it’s chicken make indisputable it’s skinless. No matter what the meat is make it lean. Boss the soy sauce to a low sodium old saw to help keep hypertension at bay. These little switches can be made in many of the stewed recipes from calderata to bulalo for a healthier profile.
When it comes to afternoon snacks, we try to keep it light and easy, semanship away from baked goods and sweets. This is an easy opportunity to increase our fruit and vegetable intake for the day and we’ll often have just fresh produce for our merienda. Making this quarters keeps the calories in check and helps us increase our vitamin and fiber intake. If it’s a pleasant summer day, we might make a mango shake ( see recipe ).
Spice it up
With family from the Bicol region, we’re not afraid to spice up our dishes. Research suggests that eating hot peppers may help elevate metabolism ( every little bit counts ). We get our fix with a side of suka at sili with our meals.
These are just a few of the alterations we’ve incorporated for a healthier Filipino meal. I haven’t erect a way to alter the crispy pata just yet, but with our other small changes and reasoning 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 warped ice
2 Tbsp whipped topping ( optional )
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a blender. Pace on high speed until brew is smooth. Rain into a glass, top with whipped topping and enjoy!
Makes 2 servings.
Nutrition breakdown per live:
Calories: 173 calories