You’re starving after a long day at work, but there’s nothing in the fridge. So you run to the nearest store and grab something to eat-a bag of chips, a candy bar, or a can of soda. This is what a typical afternoon is like for a lot of kids and young adults. Unfortunately, it can hardly be called healthy eating. Junk food is loaded with empty calories-calories that have no corresponding nutritional value. Basically, they make you fat but don’t make you any healthier. Before you know it, it can take its toll on your health.

If you need to munch in between meals, Filipino food is a much better way to fill up. Native snacks are a lot cheaper than store-bought foods, and they can satisfy those cravings without piling on the pounds. Here are some Filipino food recipes you can try in place of your favorite junk foods.

Junk: Burgers

Better: Spring rolls

Many parents argue that burgers aren’t all bad. After all, they’re basically a one-dish meal: you’ve got your starch, protein and vitamins in one bite. But you also get an unhealthy dose of trans fat, the leading cause of heart disease, obesity, and a host of other conditions. A lot of Filipino cooking recipes are also one-dish meals, but few of them have as much trans fat. With fresh lumpia, you can throw in your choice of meat and vegetables and control your serving portions. Cut off even more fat by going vegetarian or choosing regular flour instead of egg wrappers.

Junk: Candy bars

Better: Banana cue

The average candy bar has 300 to 500 calories; a two-piece banana cue has 250 or less. That’s because chocolate bars are loaded with high-fat ingredients such as nuts, caramel, sugar, and of course, chocolate. The sugar will give you an energy boost, but you’re not likely to burn all those calories before you’re tired again. Bananas are sweet, but its main ingredient is starch, a much better source of energy. Before eating, blot out some of the oil to further reduce the fat content.

Junk: Soft drinks

Better: Sagot’ Gulaman

A glass of soda contains the equivalent of 12 tablespoons of sugar-that’s more than you consume in one whole day! Soft drinks are a major cause of obesity in developed countries. Even diet sodas aren’t completely safe; the aspartame used in place of sugar is linked to a number of health problems, including cancer. If you need to freshen up, get a glass of sagot’ gulaman-a banana-flavored beverage with bits of gelatin and tapioca balls. It goes well with banana cue, turon, and other light Filipino recipes.

Junk: Doughnuts

Better: Puto/Kutsinta

It’s nice to have something sweet to go with your morning coffee, but there are healthy wys to get that sugar fix. Instead of those fat jelly-filled doughnuts, have a double treat of puto and kutsinta instead. These little cakes are made from rice flour, which is infinitely healthier than the white flour used in commercial breads and pastries. Because they are steamed, they retain most of their moisture, making them more filling as well. To maximize your calorie savings, skip the cheese and salted egg toppings.

Junk: Milkshakes

Better: Taho

Next to soda and beer, milkshakes are one of the unhealthiest drinks invented in our time. The combination of milk, sugar, artificial flavoring, and whipped cream topping pack a dose of fat and calories that will take three hours of exercise to burn off. Instead, help yourself to a cup of taho-a warm drink made from soft tofu, sweetened with sugar syrup and garnished with sago (tapioca balls). It’s a little heavy, but several times healthier. It’s also a lot cheaper-10 pesos will get you a large cup, while a regular milk shake can cost over 100.

Junk: Ice cream

Better: Tropical fruits

Often, when you’ve topped off a great meal with a bowl of ice cream, you find yourself craving again in less than an hour. That’s how this sweet treat works: it sends a handful of fat down your system, and makes you hungry so that you’ll want even more. It’s great at children’s parties, but on regular days, it only works up your appetite. If you’re craving an after-meal treat, grab a mango, pineapple or some other fruit instead. Mix them together to make your own Filipino desserts recipes. Fresh fruits fill you up fast, so you can curb your cravings for more than half the day.

Sizzling pork sisig is a very popular "pulutan" for beer. It is a bestseller among bars and restaurants because it is a perfect match for beer and any kind of drinks. This recipe originated from the province of Pampanga. In fact, the term sisig is a Kapampangan word which literally means "snacking on something sour".

The original version of sisig was prepared from parts of a pig's head (brain, snout, ears, face, etc.) chopped finely. As years went on, sisig was reinvented into a dish prepared using simple minced meat only and are mostly served on sizzling plates together with liver, chili and onion. Vinegar and calamansi are used for seasoning. If you want to heighten the flavor, you simply have to add raw egg on the dish. Aside from pork, sisig can also be prepared using chicken, tofu, bangus, tuna and chorizo.

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp butter
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 1 tbsp catsup or chili sauce
• 4 pcs onions (chopped)
• 1 kg pork face
• 1/4 kg pork brain (optional)
• fried pork skin (ground)
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 1 egg (optional) – only when serving

Cooking Procedure:

• Put the pork face in a casserole or large pan and boil until tender. Slice into small cubes.
• Put the butter in a deep skillet and sauté the onion. Then add the sliced ​​pork face and brain.
• Mix all the liquid ingredients in a mixing bowl.
• Pour in the mixture into the pan and cook for 15 minutes.
• Use a sizzling plate for serving. The egg and fried pork skin can serve as garnish and the catsup or chili for added flavor.

One of the top favorite dishes in the Philippines is the Menudo. Found in almost every occasion, this dish is a great source of nutrients. But the use of meat and oil poses some health risks. Learn more about this favorite Menudo from the Philippines.

Just like the boy band with the same name, this rich, Filipino dish is a feast for the senses. This top Philippine delicacy is a dish of diced meat and vegetable in thickened sauce. Flavored with tomatoes, finely chopped onions, and colorful bell pepper, Menudo is a relatively healthier dish than the rest of the Filipino foods.

Menudo is mainly pork, which is rich in protein and phosphorus. The secret of Menudo is in the addition of liver. Liver is rich in vitamin A, vitamin B1 or thiamine, vitamin B2 or riboflavin, folic acid, and niacin.

The dish is rich in sodium due to the use of tomato sauce. Like other Philippine dishes, it is also high in fat due to oil and meat.

As a healthier solution, choose leaner cuts of pork and try to lessen the amount of oil used to sauté the ingredients. Below is my own healthier recipe:

Ingredients: cooking oil, 50 g garlic, 750 g lean cuts of pork, 250 g liver, 200 g bell peppers (green and red for color), 100 g onions (red), 200 g potatoes, 200 g carrots, 2.5 cups tomato sauce, 4 cups soup stock, atsuete for color, black pepper and salt to taste

To cook Menudo, sauté onions then garlic in oil. Add atsuete with pork and liver and simmer until meat is tender. Add tomato sauce and soup stock and simmer until sauce thickens. Add carrots, potatoes, and bell peppers and season with salt and pepper to taste.

When planning to marry a Filipina, knowing what is the Filipino culture for weddings is an integral part of the planning process. Every culture is unique, and for Filipinos, theirs is something to respect and keep.

The Filipino wedding culture comes in several stages, the first of which is the wedding proposal, or in Filipino language, “Pagtatapat.” “Pagtatapat is when the man asks the girl to marry him. Wedding proposals, extravagant or not, are always unique to the couple, and more often than not, bring the woman to tears, not of pain of course, but of joy. The couple may then set a time and date to announce their engagement to their respective families.

After the wedding proposal comes the next stage, the “Pamanhikan”. This is the stage when the man, together with his family meets the family of the girl to discuss wedding preparations. The Pamanhikan is often done in the house of the woman, but if both parties agree, they can have it somewhere neutral, such as a cozy restaurant for instance.

The next stage is the Pa-alam. This is when the actual wedding planning takes place. Ideally, this should start at least 6 months before the “big day”. There are many things to plan for – invitations, entourage, gowns, church and reception, and many more, and a few weeks time to cram all these in may not be enough.

The Pa-alam stage is perhaps the most stressful part of the Filipino Culture for Weddings, and so if they’re planning a big wedding, the future bride and groom may choose to hire the services of a wedding planner to get things started and organized for them. Planning a wedding can be a very overwhelming experience, especially when the wedding involves two cultures, and a wedding planner makes less stressful for the couple, allowing them time to focus on welcoming their new life together. But of course, should the couple choose to do things their own way, they can always do so.

Filipino weddings are usually grandiose  in the sense that the wedding ceremony is conducted in a church where there is a long line of entourage composed of dozens of principal sponsors some of whom are unknown to the couple but which apparently are public figures, maid of matron of honor, groom’s men, bride’s maid, junior bride’s maids, and the flower girls.  After all have settled in their respective seats, the bride walks down the aisle in a long gown, with (or without) her father beside her.

The mass then starts, and within the mass, the exchange of vows. After the mass, a pictorial takes place inside the church itself.  The pictorial usually takes very long – sometimes as long as 30 minutes to one hour! But the guests don’t seem to mind as they will have their chance with the bride and groom towards the end of the pictorial, anyway.

The reception comes next. Some couples choose to have their wedding reception at home where the guests can be more comfortable and they can save a little more money, but others would much rather have their reception done more privately, such as in hotel or garden settings.

You might think that understanding what is the Filipino culture for weddings is no longer important these days, but that is not true at all because Filipinos, even modern Filipinos, still value the Filipino culture a lot.

Rhetorical devices are often used to make any written or spoken discourse more persuasing, more appealing, and more effective. The lack of it may not entice the readers or listeners to consider and think about the ideas and concepts presented to them, thus acquiring little amount of integrity to be able to persuade. Insufficient use of rhetorical devices may also cause the piece to be too bland to be appealing, all the more intriguing. Like spices added to the food, they perk up the taste and give a different kind and feel of eating experience. Enough amount of usage of these devices enables one to be more effective in conveying the message he wants to convey in a more persuasive and artistic manner.

Several rhetorical devices are found in this essay written by Carlos P. Romulo, a Filipino Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and president of the fourth General Assembly of the United Nations. The rhetorical devices used are not explicitly versed, they are even almost just suggested, but they can still be identified despite of those and they can still cast the impact that makes the essay remarkable despite of the simplicity.

The opening sentences already present anadiplosis, wherein a word at the end of one phrase in this case is repeated at the beginning of another.

“Suddenly there was a deep silence… a silence that was the prelude to a glorious event.”

This rhetorical device somewhat creates a feel of suspense executed in an almost poetic manner. We could only imagine the lines being spoken as a prologue to a years-long running play. This seems to be the feel that anadiplosis presents as how it is used it the essay.

Polysyndeton, or the insertion of conjunctions before each word in a list, is also identified, although not explicitly used as well.

“Thick cumulus masses gathered and shifted and blended in never-ending succession… “

We would sometimes observe young children speaking in a manner identical to the function of the said device. This gives off a somewhat light tone to the text since it appears to be child-like, and a sense of genuity since it sounds like it is spoken live.

There were also several instances where a sudden break in a sentence’s grammatical structure, or anacoluthon, was used. The way it was presented seems to vividly present the setting more and not a completely different shift in idea.

“And the enveloping silence was so thick – it was almost audible.”

It tends to give more emphasis to the phrase after the break, doing the job of describing the scene effectively with the use of only a few words,

The next line also possesses the same rhetorical device, only this time the ‘break in grammatical structure’ presents another device, the anaphora, wherein one or more words is repeated at the head of consecutive phrases, clauses, or sentences, and in this case, words.

“In a moment, we saw a silver pole – so tall, so bright, so magnificent.”

The next rhetorical devices found were also anaphora, and this time, they’re between sentences, and again, it was not explicitly used, but nonetheless identifiable. It also presents this sense of emotional build up as the author dug the depths of his sentimentality.

“Beneath it we fought the epic battles of Bataan and Corregidor. Beneath it we felt that this was not a mere patch of tropical soil… “

The lines from the essay to follow also present anaphora, although it also suggests amplification, or an expansion of detail to clarify a point.

“This was a piece of America. This was American Democracy. This was the last outpost of freedom in the Pacific.”

Another piece of anacoluthon was presented, and again, it was more of like a more definite description of the moment.

“At this point the two flags met on the way – one going up, the other coming down.”

Anaphora was next used in a paragraph in the essay.

“This was the voice that sustained us through the long, unequal fight. This was the promise that now found consummate realization and fulfilment. It was worth the sterling valor and the unspeakable sacrifice. It was worth the blood, sweat, tears, and treasure that any nation could offer upon the altar of immaculate liberty”.

The next rhetorical device breaks the chain of the of those previously often used, as it now presents metanoia, or the qualification of a statement to either diminish or strengthen its tone, as in this case below (strengthen).

“Guns – big guns of the Army – began to bark not in accents of defiance but in salvos of applause.”

Those last parts of the line could also pass as an antithesis, or the contrast within parallel phrases, as in “… bark not in accents of defiance but in salvos of applause”.

The following line presents anacoluthon and anadiplosis, and we can also add anaphora to top that up. It could be viewed as a combination of these three rhetorical devices.

“And the rain blended with our tears – tears of joy, of gratitude, and of pride in supreme accomplishment.”

The next would be another case of anacoluthon, and it is also like the previous others, which describes the definite object it is aiming at.

“Above us flew for the first time and over this embattled land, alone, happy, and unperturbed amidst the sweeping gales and whipping rain – the Flag of the Philippines.”

Finally, the essay ends in a striking epizeuxis, also called palilogia, which is a mere repetition of words, intending to leave a lasting impression on the reader, and also reflects the author’s intensified hopes.

“GOD! May it stay there ever, ever, ever, ever.”

The most prominent rhetorical devices present in the essay are anacoluthon and anaphora, both presented five times. The main feel of the text is about the intense emotion of attaining freedom, and these most prominent rhetorical devices used somehow reflect the author’s emotional state – genuinely grateful, intensely hopeful.

Most of the time, leftover fried fish will no longer taste good when taken a day after it is cooked. But I don’t like to throw away food, especially when I think of the multitude of people around the world who have nothing to eat. (Bless my little heart.) So almost always, I end up cooking sarciado the next day so the fried fish will still become inviting.

But this recipe is not exclusive for leftover fish only. You can even have newly fried fish to add more flavor to an ordinary dish. The word sarciado simply means cooking or braising with sautéed tomatoes. And here’s a tip that I want to share: use tomatoes which are very ripe. And you can also speed up your cooking by mashing the tomatoes being cooked in oil.

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo fish
• Salt and pepper (to taste)
• Cooking oil for frying
• 3 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1/2 cup onions (finely chopped)
• 1 1/2 cup ripe tomatoes (finely chopped)
• 2 tbsp green onions (finely sliced)

Cooking Procedure:

• Clean fish and rub with salt and pepper. Set aside for an hour and drain well.
• In a frying pan, heat enough oil to cover fish. Fry whole fish over medium heat until it is light brown. Do not overcook. Place on a serving platter.
• Saute garlic in 3 tablespoons cooking oil until light brown. Add onions and cook until transparent.
• Add tomatoes and continue cooking over low heat, covered. Stir occasionally until the mixture is the consistency of catsup. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Remove sauce from heat and pour over fish. Garnish with green onions.

When outsourcing to the Philippines, one of the first things you should look for in your Filipino employees is their English skills. We’re not just talking about whether or not they can speak passable English. We’re talking about overall English comprehension, meaning can they speak, read, and write in English and do they understand what they’re saying, reading, and writing.

This is very important because the English comprehension skills of your Filipino staff will affect your professional relationship with them. Will they be able to understand the instructions you give them? Will they be able to read between the lines when you give them comments, compliments or criticisms about their work?

And if you plan to hire Filipinos for customer service, you’d want to make sure that they have great English skills. How they’ll interact with your clients would reflect on you and your business.

So how will you know if this person that you want to hire has good English skills? One good tip I learned from someone I know in the Philippines is to ask the applicant whether they grew up watching Sesame Street or “Batibot”.

What’s “Batibot?” “Batibot” is basically the Filipino version of Sesame Street. In fact, it was also produced by the Children’s Television Workshop. It’s a good kid’s show, but it’s not the answer you’d want to hear if you’re looking for staff that has good English skills.

In general, Filipinos who grew up watching Sesame Street speak and write better English. They also understand English better. That’s because they were exposed to English early on and what they learned from that show tends to stick.

“Batibot”, on the other hand, is a Filipino show that focuses more on teaching the Filipino language. Based on my experience, those who grew up watching Batibot may have decent English skills, but not good or excellent.

Of course, there are exceptions to this rule and you shouldn’t base that person’s English skills on what show he or she watched while growing up. This tip isn’t meant to replace interviews or writing assignments to test your applicant’s qualifications. And if you Filipino applicant has read this article, he or she would probably know how to answer this question.

I tested this theory personally when I asked this question to Filipinos I know and have worked with what show they watched while they were growing up. The ones who’s English isn’t so great grew up watching “Batibot”. Those who spoke great English watched Sesame Street.

Again, this question is not an end-all decision maker. You still have to use your own judgment on who you should hire and use other methods to test their skills. But, it’s still a good question to ask.

Additional note: Make sure to ask whether they watched the American Sesame Street or the translated/ “tagalized” Sesame Street. If they watched the translated version, the entire show will be in Filipino and kinda defeats the purpose.

Suman Moron originated from Leyte, an island in the Visayas. It is a popular Filipino dessert served during fiestas and other special occasions. Luckily, I don’t have to wait for any special celebrations to taste this delicacy because these are commonly sold outside the church during Sundays.

This recipe makes about 30 pieces of Suman Moron 4-inches long each.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups glutinous rice flour
• 6 cups ordinary rice flour
• 2 kilos grated coconut meat
• 1 big can evaporated milk
• ½ kilo white (refined) granulated sugar
• 1 kilo muscovado sugar
• 30 chocolate tableya, melted with 1/4 cup water
• 1 bar cheddar cheese (julienned)
• 1 cup chopped peanuts
• 1 small bottle vanilla extract
• 8 cups boiling water
• about 30 pieces banana leaves, cut into rectangles (8″x10″)

Cooking Instructions:

• In a basin, place the grated coconut meat and pour boiling water. Set aside. (Note: 8 cups of canned coconut milk can be used as alternative.)
• Mix the 2 types of flour well until thoroughly incorporated. Divide the flour mixture equally into two parts.
• Squeeze the grated meat when the coconut mixture is already cool enough to handle. Use a fine strainer to separate the coconut milk. Divide the coconut milk equally into two parts.
• In a thick-bottomed pan, place ½ of the flour mixture and pour in one part coconut milk, muscovado sugar, melted chocolate, vanilla extract and peanuts. Mix well and place over medium heat. Keep on stirring while cooking the mixture. At first, uneven lumps will form. But as you keep stirring, the mixture will even out as it thickens. Turn off the heat when oil starts to come out. Set aside to cool.
• To the second half of flour mixture, add the remaining coconut milk. Then pour about half of the white sugar and the evaporated milk. Mix thoroughly. Place in a separate pan and cook over medium heat while stirring continuously. Remove from the heat when the mixture is thickened. Set aside to cool.
• Pass the banana leaves over the heat to make them supple. Then use the squeezed-dry coconut meat over the leaves.
• Take a heaping tablespoonful of the first mixture (chocolate) and place on the banana leaf wrapper. Sprinkle a little cheese on it before rolling, with the banana leaf covering the mixture. Therefore, you hands won’t be touching the mixture being rolled.
• Take another heaping tablespoonful of the second mixture (milk) and do the same process.
• Place the two cylinders (milk and chocolate) and roll to form a thicker cylinder with the two colors fused together.
• Roll the banana leaf to wrap tightly and tie a string at both ends to secure.
• Repeat the process until all of the two mixtures have been wrapped.
• Steam for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Let cool before serving.

Kilawin is always mistaken for raw fish cooked using vinegar only. That is a common misconception. For those people who need to know the difference, raw fish in vinegar is kinilaw while pork and liver cooked using vinegar is kilawin. Kilawin is a dish that originates from Pampanga, one of the provinces in Luzon.

Kilawin is not only good for ordinary meals but it is also highly favored during sessions of beer drinking. The tangy taste is a perfect beer match and my male cousins say it helps keep drunkenness away. But of course, they just say it to tease me and it is their way of sweet-talking me into preparing the recipe for them.

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups pig liver (sliced)
• 2 cups pork (sliced and boiled until tender)
• 1½ tsp black pepper
• 4 tbsp lard
• 6 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 regular sized onion (sliced)
• ½ cup native vinegar
• ½ cup broth (from boiled pork)
• Salt (to taste)

Cooking Procedure:

• Soak liver in vinegar, salt and pepper for 5 minutes.
• Sauté the garlic in lard until light brown. Add the onion and continue cooking until the onion is well cooked.
• Add the liver which is already sliced and stir the mixture constantly for about 3 minutes and press the pieces of liver with the back of a wooden spoon so the juice will be extracted while frying.
• Add the pork, stirring in the same manner and cook for about 2 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add vinegar diluted with the water. Simmer for at least 3 minutes.
• Serve and enjoy.

For people who like mixed meat dishes, this concoction is something that you should try. Lang-lang is a flavorful dish that will surely please any palate.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 kilo lean pork
• 1/4 kilo shrimp
• 1 small chicken
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 cup fresh peas
• 1/2 cups mushrooms
• 1 cup sotanghon
• 1 small onion (chopped fine)
• 1 egg (beaten lightly)
• 1 tbsp flour
• cooking oil
• patis (fish sauce)
• wrappers
• salt and pepper (to taste)

Cooking Instructions:

• Grind or chop pork fine. Peel and devein shrimps, set aside â…” chop the rest to fine bits. In a small saucepan, cook chicken in water enough to cover the meat.
• In separate bowls, soak the sotanghon and mushrooms in water. Pound heads of shrimp and extract juice. Prepare wrappers.
• Sauté onion, add chopped shrimp, salt and pepper. Set aside to cool then wrap by teaspoonfuls in wrappers.
• Mix chopped pork, egg, flour, salt and pepper. Form into balls. Cut chicken meat into small pieces.
• Sauté chopped garlic in a little cooking oil until brown. Add shrimps and cook until they turn pink. Add juice (from shrimp heads) and allow to simmer for a 2-3 minutes. Add chicken pieces and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Drop the meat balls one by one. Add wrapped shrimp mixture, mushrooms and sotanghon. Season with patis and pepper. When done, add the fresh peas and remove from the heat.

How to make the wrappers:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 egg yolk
• a little water
• a pinch of salt

Preparation:

• Sift flour well. Place in a small bowl or deep plate. Place egg yolk and a pinch of salt in the center of flour. Mix ingredients using a fork, adding just a little water if needed, until a stiff dough is formed. Knead dough until smooth and elastic. Cover and set aside until for 20 minutes. Roll out dough as thin as possible and divide into small squares about 3×3 inches. Fill each with a teaspoonful of shrimp mixture. Moisten edges with water, fold one corner over and press edges together.