Enter & Win- $380 Giveaway (Open Worldwide)

This is a thanks giving giveaway of Mommy Kat and Mommy Ruby that co-sponsored by 38 other blogs.




There will be six winners of $380!!!

*2 winners of $100 each
*2 winners of 60 each and
*2 winners of 30 each

This is open worldwide as long as you have a Paypal account.

Click here to join

Hot On The Dot!

Usually during weekends, my family spends time together just strolling in the mall and dine out.  But, since the weather wasn't that cooperative and our mode of transportation needs to be fixed we decided to just order our dinner.

My son and I craved for pizza....Since he is a picky eater, he only eats pizza from Pizza Hut and the only variant he eats is the Hawaiian.  So we have no choice...

The delivery man came on time and what I noticed was the red box of the pizza which reminded me that they have this Hot on the Dot campaign.  So, I checked the pizza and it was indeed HOT!  yum! yum!

Indicator tells it's HOT when it's HOT!

Indicator goes Black when it's COLD!

And then, I noticed this small sticker in the center of the box.  My hubby explained to me that it was a temperature indicator.  When it is Hot it shows the word HOT and when it isn't it goes black.

Hmm...I am pretty much impressed with this idea and as a loyal customer I am very much assured that I get what I paid for.  With prompt delivery service and good quality food we can never go wrong with PIZZA HUT!

(Note:  This is purely my personal experience and Pizza Hut didn't pay me for this post.)

Grow Foods In The Basket

 I just want to share to you the basket hat I made for my kid for his school's Nutrition month celebration.  I made a newspaper basket and attached it on a hat then covered it with felt paper.  It was composed of Grow foods and I used a combination of recycled materials like the milk cartons, true foods like the string beans, nuts and mongo seeds and some printed materials for the meat products.  It took me two weeks to finished it but, it was all worth it because my son was one of the winners in his level.

How did you celebrated Nutrition month?

WBFC#20 The Google +1 Edition

It time again for the Weekend Blog Caravan and for this week we are liking/following our Google+1 buttons on our home pages.

So Welcome again to my food blog and I hope that you will enjoy reading my posts and see you guys around!


Here are the mechanics you have to do in case you decided to join us: (copied from http://www.onlinebizandresources.info)


1. Google Plus One our sponsors: OnlineBiz and Resources and Pinay Mommy Online. Make sure you give your plus one at the blogs homepage.
2. Make a post with our WBFC Badge to welcome all our participants.
3. Leave a comment at our participants welcome post that you have Google Plus One their blogs homepage. Remember Google Plus One the blog’s homepage and not the welcome post!!
4. Google Plus One all participants!!

Pan De Amerikana in Marikina

Many of the Marikenos are very familiar of the place called Pan de Amerikana situated at Rancho Estate Marikina City. I discovered this place because it is just a walk away from my kid school. At first, I thought that it is expensive to dine here but I was wrong because they offer good food at a very affordable price.  It is also a techie friendly place because you can surf the web for free via their free WIFI.  But be informed that they are always jam packed especially Sunday mornings.  They have no waiting area meaning they will not let you in when they are full.

Here are some photos I took during my visit.

Menu Board

the old sewing machine

Batalan

The BIG Chess Board

Add caption

They also offers Pandesal baked in a pugon at Php6.00 per piece.  Will post a picture of it soon here again.

WBFC #17

Congratulations to Zoan for being the top refferrer of the week!


As for this week, all those who will be joining this week will be counted as one entry.  And at the end of the week two participants will win $5 each!  And at the end of the month $20 and a banner ad at the sidebar will be given to one lucky participant.  Exciting!!!





So here is what you have to do: (copied from WBFC)
This week tasks:
1. Follow our sponsors The Pink Piggy and LIKE Weekend BlogFollower Caravan at Facebook (like button at the sidebar).
2. Make a welcome post for others to comment on.
3. Comment on the welcome post if you have followed. If you are already a follower, still leave a comment to know that you have visited.


Join now and meet lots of new friends around the blogosphere!  As for my new followers, WELCOME to my food blog and I hope you enjoy reading my posts!

$800 Worth of Prizes - Join Now!

Three Work at Home Moms (WAHM's) are celebrating their birthday this July.  And part of their generosity, they are giving away $800 worth of prizes in their $800 Birthday Giveaway.  I am so excited to have a chance to be one of the winners that is why I am busy creating my entries now.


You can also win this fabolous prizes from them: (copied from pinaymommyonline.com)

FIRST PRIZE – $230

$100 CASH

$90 WORTH OF GIFT CERTIFICATE FROM WAHMAHOLIC BLOG DESIGNS

$40 WORTH OF .COM DOMAIN & 1 YEAR OF FREE HOSTING FROM PINAY MOMMY ONLINE

SECOND PRIZE – $175

$80 CASH

$60 WORTH OF GIFT CERTIFICATE FROM WAHMAHOLIC BLOG DESIGNS

$35 WORTH OF .COM DOMAIN & 1 YEAR OF FREE HOSTING FROM PINAY MOMMY ONLINE

THIRD PRIZE – $140

$60 CASH

$50 WORTH OF GIFT CERTIFICATE FROM WAHMAHOLIC BLOG DESIGNS

$30 WORTH OF .COM DOMAIN & ONE YEAR OF FREE HOSTING FROM PINAY MOMMY ONLINE

5 CONSOLATION PRIZES – $45 EACH

$20 CASH + $25 WORTH OF .INFO DOMAIN & 1 YEAR HOSTING

FOR EACH OF THE FIVE (5) LUCKY WINNERS

EARLY BIRD PRIZES

1ST TO SUBMIT – $15 BLOG HEADER FROM WAHMAHOLIC BLOG DESIGNS

2ND TO SUBMIT- $10 CASH

3RD TO SUBMIT – $5 BLOG BUTTON FROM WAHMAHOLIC BLOG DESIGNS

GENEROUS CONTEST SPONSORS:

Baguio Girl · Filipina Blogger · Places and Plates · Vector Dad · Pinay Mommy Blogger · Tsinay Travels

Expressions and Thoughts · Delight My Appetite · Me, Myself and Jes · Fishy Talks · Oh Gosh Gulay · Mommy's InfoDose · Advocating Breastfeeding · The Oblepias Family Blog · Gowns and Heels · Nshima Servings · transforMAYtion · Pinay Mama · The Bloggers Journal · A Network of Entertainment · ZoWanderer · LEVYousa · {cherry} everyday · Dreamworld Traveler · Samut Sari Etsy Store · Her and History · Beauty and Fashion Diva · Mye de Leon · I Embrace Life · From Asia and Beyond · Jared's Little Corner · My Tots Exactly · Barbie Dress Up Games · Written by Mys · Hands Full of Life · The Life Encounters

A Healthier Snack For Us!

Children gets easily bored eating foods be it a viand or just a snack.  We, parents must be creative enough to entice their appetite and must ensure that they get proper nutrients.  My son is having this dilemma right now because he is tired of eating hamburger buns every morning and afternoon snack time.  Luckily, I have this cereal  in our food cabinet as his alternative merienda.  He doesn't like adding milk to it because he usually likes to eat crunchy foods.  I also partnered it with a chocolate drink and plenty water afterwards to wash out those sugar.  This cereals is also my alternative food when I am craving for something.  

Betty Crocker's Fudge Brownies

 My son always had something to eat when he wakes up from an afternoon nap.  I forgot to buy his favorite bread so we decided to bake the brownies his Tita gave to him.  He was a big fan of it so he helped me set up my things and even volunteered to mix the batter himself.  We opted to bake it on muffin pan so that it is easier to grasp and eat.  After 25 minutes of waiting, he can't contained his hunger he munched 3 pieces one after the other.  He is really a chocolate lover and has a sweet tooth like me.

He loves the taste of Betty Crocker's products particularly this brownie mix.  So, I give this product 5 baskets for the taste and will definitely bake this again in the near future.  

Food for Thought:
         To ensure the high quality of baked products, it is best that you use ingredients that are off high quality as well.

Free Meal at Max's Restaurant

Max's Restaurant is again giving its fans a great treat that is good to share for 4 persons. It is their Summer Takeout Treat that includes 1 regular whole Max's fried chicken, 1 regular Pancit Canton, 1 Max's Giant Halo Halo and 4 rice. All you have to do is like their fan page on Facebook, download the promo picture, post it on their wall and tag 4 of your friends. That is so simple!!!! Hurry up because the treat will only last until May 16, 2011 at exactly 12 Noon.

I have already joined so good luck to all of us!


Oh! I totally forgot...If you are heading your way to Antipolo, they recently opened their newest branch there at SM City Masinag.  They are located at the Lower Ground Floor Brgy. Mayamot, Marcos Hi-way, Masinag Antipolo City.

Sbarro's Spaghetti with Chicken Parmigiana

I was inspired when Whitney, the winner of the Master Chef America, cooked a chicken breast in seven minutes. That is why I am always looking for chicken dishes that might satisfy my palate. So, when we had a dinner last Saturday at Sbarro, I quickly ordered the Spaghetti (in tomato sauce) with Chicken Parmigiana. I know the taste of their spaghetti already but, I am yet to find out the Chicken Parmigiana. I will be biased in rating the spaghetti because I am a certified pasta lover more so, in tomato sauce. It certainly have my 100% approval, likewise the chicken, it doesn't have something special to look forward to. It was like a plain chicken with the tomato sauce, I didn't taste the Mozzarella or Parmesan cheese that is supposed to be there.  What I do like though was the bread as its partner sidings.  It was served hot, chewy and can fill up a hungry tummy in just one serving.  I partnered my meal with a Lemonade that tasted just right.


I will definitely dine again here since they have a more friendly and attentive and smart staffs ( even the dining manager assisted us ).  The ambiance is good, well lit and very relaxing with a good ventilation.  My family agreed that our experience here was much better than what we had at the Pizza Hut Bistro at Eastwood City.  The dining experience was worth our money and we finished our meal with all smile and a full tummy.   

So here is my verdict:

Taste -                 4 baskets

Price -                  5 baskets 

Presentation -   5 baskets

Serving -             5 baskets

Average Check - Php 200 per pax
Website: http://www.sbarro.ph

WBFC #1 for my Food Blog

Wow! I haven't been blogging for a week now because of the Holy Week and me being sick. But, I am fine now and hopefully I will regain my enthusiasm in updating my blogs again. I am surprised when I am browsing to see that WBFC is back again. In this light, I am welcoming all of you that will be following this food blog of mine and I can assure you that I will do the same :-).

Here are the mechanics of Weekend Blog Follower Caravan: (copied from OnlineBiz and Resources)

1. Make sure you follow our hosts: OnlineBiz and Resources and Pinay Mommy Online.
2. Every Saturday, you make a post to welcome your new followers with any of the badges above. Submit the LINK of your post to our weekly post.
3. Once added visit other players’ post and leave a comment telling them that you have followed them from the Weekend Blog Follower Caravan. Then don’t forget to place the link of your blog to where you wanted to be followed back.

Food Trip Friday #1: My Cupcakes

I am so excited because I am joining the FoodTripFriday!!! I have been seeing this meme from my other blogger friends but can't join because I haven't got a food blog yet. But, now I managed to create one and I hope I can excite your palate every week as I will try my best to capture the best food I will laid eyes on.

This was the chocolate cupcake I baked for my godson's 3rd birthday.  

Food for Thought:

If the recipe requires an ounce of chocolate and you suddenly run out of stock, you can easily substitute it with 3 tablespoons of cocoa plus a tablespoon of fat.

Jollibee Breakfast Meal

Our baby boy is always a fan of McDonald that is why when my hubby and I decided to try Jollibee's breakfast one Saturday morning we had a hard time convincing my son.  And after all the bribing and long talk, he finally agreed.  For our breakfast we had the Hotdog with Rice meal for my hubby and son and Corned beef with Rice for me. 

I love the taste and texture of their corned beef ever since because it is very Filipino style.  There are strands of beef which you can chew and is juicy too which really appeals to my taste.  On the other hand, my kiddo and hubby's hotdog meal is just like any other hotdog meal we can make at home.  By the way, this meal usually is paired with a sinangag (garlic fried rice) but we opted to have it plain since we aren't much of a fan of it.  Nevertheless, a meal shared by a complete family is all the matters regardless what the food is or how much the food cost.

Food for Thought: *Cured meats are the ones that are treated by a curing agent or solution and one of the examples of which is the corned beef.

**Having breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it gives us the energy to think well and to do all the tasks we have to accomplish on a day to day basis.

Green Tea For Me!

Once upon a time, I never liked the taste of (hot) tea.  Whatever the flavor is still it doesn't excite me.  I am always a coffee drinker.  When I am stressed out, I drink coffee; when I have to study hard, I drink coffee; when I want to just sit back and relax, I drink coffee.  It's my life...It was my life...


I stood in front of the mirror and I don't like what I saw.  The image wasn't me at all and it was quite depressing. With all the bulges that wanted to come out from my shirt I told myself that it was really time to love myself again.  Many times I ignored my hubby when he asked me that I should loose weight for my own sake.  I am stubborn and even reached to the point of eating all that I like.  But, not right now....I want to change....I really want to change this time....


I took the first step of changing my diet, what I eat everyday.  Breakfast and lunch I eat minimal rice and for dinner I opted to eat oat meal instead.  I also increased my physical activity by jogging 4-5 times a week doing 5-6 rounds on the oval of sports center.  Of course, as my body is getting used to running the 5-6 rounds will increase and I am targeting 10 rounds per session.  And to help me burn all my fats is drinking green tea 3-4 times a day.  In the morning, mid-morning, mid-afternoon and before I go to bed.  What I observed by drinking green tea is that I sweat easily and for me that is a good sign that indeed, little by little the fats in my body are converted into energy.  I never took note of my weight when I started this regimen but  I can say that I am beginning to feel good about myself.  I think this will be all for now and I will keep you posted here on my quest to good health.


It is not bad after all of wanting to loose weight to be fit and to feel good about oneself.

Food for Thought:
        Tea comes from the young leaves of the plant, Thea Sinesis.  Tea is available in various forms like Black, Green, Oolong, Instant and Jasmine tea.
       Green Tea leaves in particular are steamed to destroy enzymes and prevent fermentation that produces a pale gold, clear sparkling tea.

Chocolates!

Yes! I am one of those chocolate addict...when I was younger though...But right now, I seldom get to taste of its sweetness.  But last Sunday, I eyed on this Cadbury Chocolate Mousse Bar on the stand in a department store.  I could not resist it so I asked hubby to buy it for me.  We went home and before I went to sleep I grabbed a few bites (4 squares) of it just to satisfy my cravings.  Too bad when I woke up the next morning, my throat hurt so much...And then I thought of what my MIL always tells my baby that if we eat chocolate especially at night we have to drink lots of water or gargle before we go to sleep or we might end up having a sore throat.  And she is right!  Until now, I am suffering from sore throat, cough and colds, with dizziness on the side.  Because of that I didn't get the chance to do my usual stuff online.  But, what can I do? I love chocolates....I just so love them....(and that 4 squares were the first and last I tasted them..my hubby forbid me to eat more..huhuhu...may be next time when I am well :-) )

Food for Thought:
        Chocolates come from ground roasted seeds of a fleshy fruit called Theobroma Cacao.  It has various forms depending on the kind of processing it undergoes like Cocoa, Bitter Chocolate, Breakfast Cocoa, Sweet Cocoa, Sweet Milk Cocoa and Instant Cocoa.

The Sandwich Guy

Living a healthy life is the "IN" thing nowadays and The Sandwich Guy is never far from this concept.  Serving fresh and healthy sandwiches which uses whole wealth bread along with organic ingredients.  I had the chance to have a taste of their sandwich when we visited their branch on The Block (SM North Edsa).

The Place:  Their branch is a small, well lit and clean space which make use of white and orange as their color motif.  The menu board is a bit small but it is enough to help you decide what will you go for.  They also have flyers situated on their counter top which is a big help also in choosing your meal.  particularly love their tables and couches because it is comfy suited if you want to take a rest after a long walk in the mall.  

The Food:  Since I am half full when we got there, we just ordered one sandwich which my hubby and I shared. Our first choice was the Country Tuna but it was unavailable so we opted to have the HBTL or the ham, bacon, tomato and lettuce sandwich.  I loved the idea of eating a sandwich which is made from a whole wheat bread.  On the other hand, I'm not that satisfied with the mayo they used because it was too sweet for my taste.  Over all my food experience was good.  By the way, the size of their sandwiches is big enough for two. 



The Price:  The menu is composed of sandwiches, pasta, salad, potatoes and drinks.  They have 15 varieties of sandwiches to choose from which have a price range of Php55-130.  As for the pasta you can choose from their 5 dishes at Php70-85 each.   Their potato offerings and salad costs Php 85 and for every add on to the salad there is an additional fee to be paid.  As for their drinks you can buy it at Php20-35 depending on your choice.  





My Verdict:

• Overall experience - 4 stars
• Price - 5 stars
• Food - 4 stars
• Ambiance - 4 stars
• Crew - 4 stars 

Average Check: Php 165/person

Food for Thought:      The Sandwich Guy uses whole wheat bread for their sandwiches.  Wheat comes from the family of cereals and grains along with rice, corn, millet, rye, oats and triticale.       The word cereal is from the word "CERES" the Roman Goddess of harvest and grains.

The Food We Eat

What is Food?
       There are lots of definitions written about food.  But, it is simply a matter eaten by man to give life and energy to his body.


What makes food interesting?
       There are many cuisines made by different countries and chefs or even home makers.  But, have you thought what do these food have to make it stand out from the rest?  There are many factors affecting us on how we perceived one food to another.
        First, is its visual presentation.  The visual presentation of food is comprised by the size, shape, volume, texture and its color.  This is considered as one of the most important factor a food must have specially the one served in restaurants.  It can or cannot stimulate our appetite by just mere looking at it.  This is also plays a vital role to moms who have children that are picky eaters.  Experimenting on how the food will be served can help them make to try it out.
        Second factor is the sense of smell.  A very good aroma equals good meal and vice versa.  Our nose is associated with our taste buds thus, what our nose smells our taste buds can somewhat tell the flavors on it too.
        Third would be the chemical component the food has.  The basic tastes are sour, salty, sweet, bitter and umami which was added just recently.  Just to share:


                   Sour taste can be determined on the side of the tongue.
                   Salty taste can be determined on the side and the tip of the tongue.
                   Sweet taste is concentrated at the tip of the tongue.
                   Bitter taste is at the back of the tongue.

         Fourth factor would be the feel of the food inside our mouth or what we call the tactile sensation.

         Fifth is the flavor of the food.  This is considered as the sixth sense in evaluating a food.  It is the combination of the taste, odor, mouth feel, and the sound of the food.


        We all love food and eating them gives us so much experience and comfort.  But, do bear in mind that a good food always has the above factors.  Cook the food with your heart and you will never go wrong.