6 Reasons Why Snacking on Peanuts Can Be Beneficial to Your Health

Peanuts have been declared a superfood for good reason. They’re full of vitamins and minerals contained in a tidy little package that’s easy to pop when you’re feeling the urge for a quick snack between meals. But did you know that snacking on them also comes with some added benefits? Below are some of the major benefits of regularly consuming peanuts and peanut-derived products:

Peanuts are good for you!

Peanuts Can Help You Lose Weight 
They’re chock-full of fiber and protein, which keeps you feeling full and sated for longer. As such, they’re an excellent way to manage the hunger pangs that have you reaching for chips or sweets. They also increase your metabolic rate as well as help stabilize your blood sugar. If snacking on peanuts whole doesn’t happen to be your thing, you can get all the benefits without any of the chewing by drinking a glass of milked peanuts or getting them from another source, such as peanut flour or peanut butter.

Peanuts Are a Great Source of Biotin
Biotin is a water soluble vitamin which can help convert certain nutrients you absorb through food into energy. It also helps keep your hair, skin, and nails healthy and strong. Research also suggests that getting enough biotin is vital for pregnant women, in order to reduce the risk of congenital birth defects in the fetus.

Peanut-derived products are heart-healthy, too.

Peanuts Are a Heart-Healthy Food
Peanuts are rich in monounsaturated fats, which have been known to lower your risk towards cardiovascular ailments. These monounsaturated fats help clear the arteries and keep your blood flowing strong and healthy. In a study conducted in 2017, it was found that regular consumption of peanuts led to a 15% reduction in the risk for coronary heart disease in a sample size of 200,000 participants.

Peanuts Are Rich in Antioxidants
Antioxidants are molecules that combat free radicals, which cause cellular damage. Excessive free radicals have been linked to cancer, which means that getting your antioxidants in is essential to reducing your risk towards certain cancers. Peanuts contain many of the same powerful antioxidants present in red wine, notably resveratrol. You don’t have to pop peanuts on the daily to boost your resveratrol intake, either—you can drink peanuts in the form of all-natural milked nuts, just as you would with wine.

Peanut Bars, anyone?
Photo credit: Betty Crocker.

Peanuts Are Nutrient-Rich Powerhouses
Niacin, folate, thiamin, and riboflavin are only a few of the nutrients you can get from a serving of peanuts. They’re also rich in vitamins B6 and E, pantothenic acid and choline, as well as essential minerals such as magnesium and potassium, among others. Niacin and vitamin E in particular are nutrients that help protect you from Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline due to advanced age.

Peanuts Can Lower Your Risk of Developing Gallstones
Gallstones are small, hard, crystalline masses that form in the gallbladder or bile ducts as abnormalities. Certain individuals are at a higher risk for it: women, those who are obese or overweight, people aged 40 and up. An unhealthy diet composed mainly of refined carbohydrates and calories can also increase your risk of developing gallstones. Consuming at least one serving of peanuts per day can lower your risk of them forming by up to 25%.

So the next time you have an urge to snack on chips or other types of junk food, you might want to consider eating a handful of peanuts instead. Aside from being a tasty treat that can stave off those hunger pangs, the health benefits that they bring are a much appreciated bonus that no one can deny.

Foodie Goodie | Ginataang Bilo-Bilo (Sticky Rice Balls in Coconut Milk).

Whenever my Mom Squad (aka my mommy friends at my son's school) and I are not busy doing house chores or working on our kids' academic requirements, we're either shopping at the nearest mall or eating at some restaurant or coffee shop. And since we love to eat, we also love to cook!

Yesterday, while waiting for the kids' afternoon classes to finish, we made Ginataang Bilo-bilo (otherwise known as Sticky Rice Balls in Coconut Milk), because we've been craving for it for the longest time. Sure, we could have just saved by time and effort by buying cooked bilo-bilo at the food stalls in the public market, but that takes the fun out of rolling your own rice balls! It's a fun activity, apparently, especially when you're doing it with friends. It's like being a kid and playing with Play-Doh all over again, haha!

Ginataang Bilo-bilo

Ingredients:
2 cups glutinous rice flour
2 tablespoons rice flour
3/4 cup warm water
6 cups coconut milk (gata)
1 cup sugar
1 cup ripe jackfruit (langka), shredded
3 cups sweet potato (kamote), cubed
1 cup taro root (gabi), cubed
1 1/2 cup plantain (saba), sliced
2 cups mini tapioca (sago), cooked
1 1/2 cup coconut cream
1 pandan leaf (optional)

Procedure:
1. Make the glutinous rice balls: Combine glutinous rice flour and rice flour. Add warm water and knead to form a dough. Take ½ tablespoon dough and roll in your palms to form a ball. Place on a plate. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Set aside.

Bilo-bilo (sticky rice balls).

2. Boil 3 cups water, coconut milk, sugar, pandan leaf, and jackfruit in a pot over medium heat. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Jackfruit (langka).

3. Add sweet potatoes, taro, purple yam, and saba. Simmer until tender. Add glutinous rice balls and tapioca pearls. Simmer for 5 to 8 minutes.

Sweet potatoes (kamote) and taro root (gabi).

Plantain (saba).

4. Add coconut cream and simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve hot.

Project Bilo-bilo is complete!

This snack is actually quite versatile as you can also serve it cold, straight from the fridge. :)

Foodie Goodie | Eat, Drink, and Crave Healthy!

Constant food cravings are normal during the early stages of pregnancy. When I was pregnant with my son, my food cravings varied from the 'normal' ones such as chicken cordon bleu, tamarind candies, and siomai drizzled with lots of calamansi; to the more 'outlandish' food combinations such as green mangoes and mayonnaise, and carbonara with salted egg. Crazy, right?

Occasionally, I would crave for junk food like potato chips and the like. However, I do not want to risk my then-unborn baby's health just so I could satisfy my desire for overly salty, fatty, unhealthy food.

Fast-forward to 2017. If I were pregnant now and craving for junk food, I'd probably grab a bag of Crave Healthy and eat to my heart's desires.

Crave Healthy!

Crave Healthy is the first snack product in the Philippines that is specifically designed for the pregnant woman by doctors and nutritionists.

It’s nutritious because it contains essential nutrients – Folic Acid, Iron, and Calcium that are critical for both the mom and her growing baby. It also has reduced salt and just the right amount of calories that give the pregnant woman that extra energy she needs daily.

It’s delicious because it tastes just like any regular snack. Crave Healthy is currently available in Sweet Corn flavor and does not have any aftertaste of nutrient fortifications. It helps support the nutritional needs of pregnant women and their developing fetus. A healthy way to satisfy hunger and food cravings of pregnant women!

A pack of Crave is worth Php 25.00 at 30 grams each. It’s available online at www.cravehealthysnacks.com, select Med Express branches, and select Robinsons Supermarket outlets.

Similarly, there's also a milk product especially formulated for women.
Women like us, who are always on the go, seek to strike a balance between work, household duties, and personal time to be able to enjoy life to the fullest. That is why we need to stay fit and attractive, to look good and feel good whenever you can. We have unique needs that only us women would truly understand.

Introducing Athena, the milk especially formulated to meet our special nutritional needs.

Athena - milk for women.

It is high in calcium, which is essential for optimum bone health. It is also a source of Vitamins D and K, Magnesium and Phosphorus – nutrients to help maintain strong bones. However, it is low in fat so you can enjoy this beverage without the risk of high caloric intake.

In addition, this milk is also a great source of anti-oxidants such as Vitamins A & E and Zinc to help maintain healthy skin and promote optimum immune function.

Choco flavor.

Athena comes in two flavors – Milk (180 grams – Php 130.00; 400 grams – Php 273.00) and Choco (180 grams – Php 130.00). It’s available online at www.athena.com.ph and in-store at Mercury Drugstore, Watsons, and Southstar.

Spotlight | Yummi Pouch.

In lieu of Makeup Monday, I'm posting this long overdue review of the Yummi Pouch, which came in the mail a few weeks ago. I had issues claiming it at the post office because of the Registry Notice (the card which you present upon claiming your mail) that somehow never made it to my address. Anyhow, with that over and done with, and the parcel finally in my hands, let's now move forward to review.

Yummi Pouches in the classic 6 oz size.

The Yummi Pouch is the brainchild of Andy and Katie, a married couple based in Issaquah, Washington. Inspired by their daughter, they designed Yummi Pouches to help parents meet their children's fundamental need of good nutrition while making the feeding process simple, eco-friendly, and cost-effective. Their vision is to provide moms and dads with a simple container to fill with delicious homemade blended snacks.

Rinse, refill, reuse.

There are four key features to these reusable pouches.
1) Freezer-friendly.
2) Dishwasher-friendly, and very easy to clean, too.
3) Child-friendly, as they're BPA-free and phthalate-free.
4) Made with high-quality, recyclable materials that allow you to use the products over and over again.

If you're using the Yummi Pouch to store milk or baby food in the fridge,
you can write down the contents and the date of storage at the back of the pouch.
First in, first out rule, you know! :)

Yummi Pouches are easy to use. Simply open the zipper seal found at the top, fill it in, reseal. That's it.
If you're storing smoothies, you can pour the contents directly from the blender. For pureed food, you can easily spoon the contents into the pouch.

Zipper seal.

The bottom gusset expands, allowing you to store 6 ounces of food or drinks.

Bottom gusset. Pouch stands upright when filled.

Contents (e.g. liquids, purees) are dispensed through the spout on the side. The caps have locking tabs which lock them in place.

Spout + cap.

Young ones can be fed directly from the Yummi Pouch, as seen below. Moms with toddlers, you gotta love this!

Photo credit: Yummi Pouch

As for me, I use the Yummi Pouch for my son's snacks (cookies, bread sticks, pretzels and the like), which he brings to school.

Yummi Pouch kid!

The Yummi Pouch comes in different sizes (mine is the Classic 6 oz), and they have different designs, too.

Yummi Pouch sizes.

One thing, though. They're not available in the Philippines and I reckon they're not available at major supermarkets in the US. You can, however, purchase them online via the Yummi Pouch store or through their registered resellers. They offer free shipping within the US for orders over $30, and yes, they have international shipping, too.

Overall, I find the Yummi Pouch a very useful product. It's safe for kids, it's handy and convenient, and can be used for storing so many things aside from baby food. They're reusable and chemical-free, so even if you're paying $14.99 (around Php 680) for a set of 6, I do believe you are getting your money's worth.

Purchasing your own Yummi Pouch? 
Use the promo code PARTY4YP to get 10% off your purchase at the Yummi Pouch Store!
Like Yummi Pouch on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter, too! :)

Wordless Wednesday #49 | Healthy Eating.

Surviving without rice! :)

Great Ideas for Veggie BBQ Dishes.

Who doesn't love barbecues? They are one of my absolute favorite things about the summer - but I must admit, the first time we had some vegetarians round for an alfresco feast, I did get a bit stuck on what to cook. Fortunately, I soon realized that there are loads of vegetarian dishes that are perfect for barbecuing - a fair few of which I enjoy more than the traditional beef burger and sausage!

Even though there are so many veggie options, I think a lot of meat eaters do struggle when it comes to vegetarian barbecues. Last time we cracked out our Weber BBQ, we managed to cook up a meat-free storm; so, in case you're in need of a few ideas ahead of summer, I've put together my list of favorite veggie BBQ dishes below. Enjoy!

Veggie skewers
Veggie skewers are so easy to make and, considering just how simple they are, they taste fantastic. One thing I would say before you start, though, is to remember to drizzle the veggies you're using with oil or, even better, marinate them for around half an hour - otherwise, it's difficult to get them soft.

Personally, I love simple skewers that combine peppers, courgettes and onion. However, for that little something extra, halloumi is always a sure-fire winner! For a particularly yummy treat, go for a combination of just halloumi and courgette.

The magic here is in the marinade - soak both the cheese and veg in a mix of olive oil, mint and lemon for about 30 minutes, before skewering and barbecuing for about eight minutes (four on each side).

Photo credit: Cookapalooza

Alternative burgers
Even budding chefs that normally take the time to make their own meat burgers usually just grab some shop-bought alternatives for the vegetarians. Making tasty veggie burgers at home though is really simple - especially if you have a food processor.

Put 250 g of grated carrot in a food processor, alongside a can of chickpeas, a chopped onion, a dash of cumin and an egg - and then blitz. When this has turned into a paste, turn it out into a bowl. Next, fry 500 g of grated carrot in a little oil until tender.

You can then add this to the paste with around 100 g of breadcrumbs (preferably wholemeal), the grated zest of one lemon and a few tablespoons of sesame seeds. This should give you enough mix for six burgers. Chill them until you're ready to fire up the Weber BBQ, then cook for around five minutes on each side. Delicious!

Yummy side dishes
No BBQ is complete without a decent selection of side dishes. Technically, the ideas I'm about to give you aren't actually cooked on the BBQ, but since most side dishes usually aren't anyway, I don't feel too guilty!

One of the simplest and tastiest options, I think is cutting either a few sweet potatoes or a butternut squash into cubes (usually around 2 sq cm) and roasting in a hot oven for between 40 minutes and an hour. Sorry about the wide timeframe, but the result can vary so much from oven to oven - particularly if your cubes are different sizes! To check if they're done, poke them with a fork to see if they're soft inside.

I'd also recommend a couscous dish - this is so much more exciting than a standard salad, and there's a lot you can do with it. Personally, I like roasting loads of veg (usually peppers, courgette, red onion and some cherry tomatoes) and adding it to couscous flavoured with vegetable stock, parsley and balsamic vinegar.

By the way, if you're in need of a new BBQ or maybe just some extra accessories, you can find pretty much everything you need here. Happy barbecuing!

Do you know any good veggie BBQ recipes? If so, share them with fellow foodies by leaving a comment below.

Foodie Goodie | MoguMogu.

If you're following me on Instagram (and I do hope you are *grins*), then perhaps you've seen some of the Mogu Mogu photos that I've posted as of late.

You see, I'm currently on a fitness frenzy (or at least, I try) and I made a resolve to stop drinking cola, soda, and the like. The Cherry Coke that used to fill my fridge's chiller has now been replaced by Mogu Mogu - juice drink with nata de coco bits inside. And in case you didn't know, nata de coco is rich in fiber, low in fat, and has zero cholesterol content.

Mogu Mogu originated from Bangkok, Thailand and is now widely available in supermarkets and convenience stores throughout the country. With seven flavors to choose from (Coconut, Lychee, Mango, Orange, Grape, Pineapple, and my all-time favorite Strawberry), Mogu Mogu makes snack time even more fun!

Which flavor is your favorite? Have you chewed on Mogu Mogu today?
Like Mogu Mogu on Facebook (they post the cutest and most adorable photos) and follow them on Twitter!

And no, this is not a sponsored post. It's just that Mogu Mogu is so good, that it deserves a spot on my blog. Oh, and stay tuned for the surprise that I've been hinting about for the past few weeks. It's almost time to Take Control! :)

Sunday Shuttering | Guavas and Oranges.

I was supposed to be working on a review of Innisfree's Jeju Volcanic Pore Clay Mask, but my neurons don't seem to be working at the moment. You see, the little man and I have been under the weather lately - he's got cough and colds, while I'm down with the sniffles.

Right now, we're both under medication, drinking lots of water, and packing up on Vitamin C as much as we can.

Yue loves oranges - which is good, because he gets just the more than enough Vitamin C that his body needs. A medium-sized orange contains 70mg Vitamin C, while the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of Vitamin C for Yue's age is 25mg per day.

On the other hand, women my age are recommended to consume at least 75mg of Vitamin C daily.

Guavas are the richest source of Vitamin C, as it boasts of 188mg per half cup. That's more than twice of a thirty-year-old woman's RDA!

I'm munching on these guava slices as I write, and I do hope for my sniffles to go away real soon.
There's too much to do at home, and I really hate it when I'm down with the sickness like this.

Goin' Bananas | Sabanana Chips Giveaway (Open WW)!

Love bananas?

Then here's a snack I'm sure you'll go crazy about!

Sabanana Chips!

Made from saba (Candaba) bananas, these paper-thin chips are packed with flavor, with just the right crunch! And since bananas are loaded with potassium, and lots of other vitamins and minerals, you get a dose of all these nutrients each time you open a bag of Sabanana Chips!

Thanks to Villa Socorro Agri-Eco Farms, I'm giving away a sackful of these healthy treats for the May Buffet event! Inside the sack are:

2 100g Sabanana Chips in Sweet Original Flavor

2 30g Sabanana Chips in Sweet Original Flavor

2 30g Sabanana Chips in Roasted Garlic Flavor

2 30g Sabanana Chips in Smoky BBQ Flavor

Enter via the Rafflecopter form to bring home these goodies for you and your family to enjoy!
This event will take place from May 1st at 12:01am EST through May 15th at 11:59pm EST. 
Open WORLDWIDE!

Spotlight | Sabanana Chips.

When I discovered Sabanana Chips a few weeks ago through a friend who sells them at their family-owned school, I knew right then and there that this was the product I want need for my upcoming food giveaway. After all, I'm all for green living and healthy eating, and what snack could be better than this?

Sabanana Chips in Sweet Original Flavor.

Paper-thin, bursting with flavor, with just the right crunch. They're packed in heat-sealed, stand-up pouches, complete with nutrition facts and product information. From there I found the Sabanana Chips website and sent an inquiry, asking if they would be interested in a product feature and giveaway sponsorship.

The response came right away, and Mr. Raymund Aaron (the brand's General Manager) was more than happy to provide the prizes for my giveaway. I had the chance to personally meet him over the weekend, as he drove all the way to San Pablo just to give me these. (Sorry, no photo opp. I was doing the laundry that day and I looked like crap, lol.)

A bayong (woven sack) brimming with bags of Sabanana Chips!

These mouth-watering chips are of the 'saba' variety (Cardaba banana) and are grown and produced at the Villa Socorro Agri-Eco Village and Farm Resort in Pagsanjan, Laguna. When ready for picking, the bananas are harvested, peeled, sliced thinly and then cooked via the “kawa sa pugon” (think huge cooking pan on a wood-fired oven) method all in the same day to ensure freshness.


They come in three flavors, too.

The classic goodness of the Sweet Original flavor.

The tangy Smoky BBQ flavor.

And the Roasted Garlic flavor, which my brother and I can't seem to get enough of.

Although Sabanana Chips are not available in groceries or supermarkets, there are lots of outlets all over Metro Manila and Laguna that carry the Sabanana brand. The Sweet Original flavor comes in 30g and 100g packs and are sold at Php 11 and Php 32, respectively. The Smoky BBQ and Roasted Garlic are available in 30g packs only.

And I really don't mind if my son mindlessly munches on these chips each time he watches the telly. Because these are not junk food! They're healthy food! Very, very healthy food! Compared to an apple, a banana has

• 5x more vitamin A and iron
• 4x more protein
• 3x more phosphorus
• 2x more carbohydrates
• 2x more of other vitamins and minerals
• loaded with potassium

And it combats a number of known illnesses, too!

I know most of the moms out there are smiling as they read this. Now let's turn that smile into a wide grin.
The winner of my May Buffet Giveaway will get a sack filled with all three flavors of Sabanana Chips, for FREE! Plus, I'm opening this giveaway worldwide so that my international readers can also have a taste of healthy, Philippine-made goodness!

The May Buffet goes live on May 1, 12MN EST and will run until May 15, 12MN EST. See you back here in a few hours, then! :)

For Sabanana Chips orders and inquiries, you may contact:

Villa Socorro Farm Healthy Chips, Inc.
B64 Victoria St., Magallanes Village, Makati City
Tel. No. 028526484 Fax No. 028516002
Mobile No. 09177140508
Email villasocorrofarm@yahoo.com


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