Resolution No. 1: Eat healthy
As the holiday binge comes to an end we see ourselves making our annual checklist of things to accomplish — usually a copy/paste version of the year before with optimism brewing that we can scratch it off this time around.
Recently, I came across the top resolutions people make every year, No. 1 being to stop smoking, while working out and eating healthy was a close second, the latter being my No. 1 for the past 20 years! With great difficulty I would avoid my deep-fried faves, my carbo-loaded pasta, my butter-rich desserts, and my much-loved four-legged proteins in exchange for steamed, boiled, and zero-condiment tolerance meals. This lasts for the next few weeks, a month being impossible, as the famous resolution becomes a mainstay for the next year but this time, though, I’m convinced that I can finally pull it off!
You see, I’m a sucker for makeovers, especially when I hear their emotional story and see their amazing before-and-after photos. For me, the ultimate makeover show is The Biggest Loser, so when the local version came on, I just couldn’t resist. That’s where I came across the amazing products of Herb’s Best, which had a stint on the show and which the contestants raved about because they couldn’t believe that what they were sinfully enjoying was actually healthy and given the thumbs-up by their trainers.
The crispy noodles squid okoy with crab roe cream, which highlighted the Amori pasta As I did my research, I found out that they have a whole line of pure, organic, healthy products, from low-carb vegetable pasta noodles called Amori made with either carrot-squash or Moringa-spinach, to Ginisa and Sinigang mixes that are all-natural and most importantly, MSG-free. They want to transform the Filipinos pantry into a “healthy pantry” with their everyday food and beverage lineup that has zero-percent trans-fat, no lye, no preservatives, and no artificial flavorings. What’s great is that they also support local farmers and are working with indigenous people, the Higaonon tribe in Butuan.
Since I started to become a fan, I luckily got invited to a special lunch at Bistro Filipino with a menu designed by chef Roland Laudico and his wife, chef Jackie, which used all of Herb’s Best products. It was so good you actually forgot it was all guilt-free and healthy. They started with chorizo ubod spring rolls with veggie noodles and pinakurat glaze, then the crispy noodles squid okoy with crab roe cream, which highlighted the Amori pasta. My favorites were the grilled chicken inasal and the sinigang soup shots with taro puree, which used the Ginisa mix and the Sinigang soup base mix without the effect of MSG and other preservatives.
Chef Jackie surprised us all with to-die-for desserts, starting with a dalandan tart topped with cashew meringue using Herb’s Best Dalandan Lite fruit drink, then the Moringa tea Opera cake that had chai Mori pure Moringa powder tea, and lastly, the hot chocolate mousse with peanut butter cream sauce using Herb’s Best Chocacao chocolate drink. I’m not a fan of peanut butter but this one was quite the exception. Honestly, that was the best healthy meal I’ve ever had and now I don’t mind eating healthy, even on my cheat days!
Stock a healthy pantry: Herb's Best has a whole line of pure, organic, healthy products, from low-carb vegetable pasta noodles called Amori to Ginisa and Sinigang mixes that are all-natural and MSG-free.
