(this article is a sub article. its parent article is https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2020/10/make-filipinos-healthy-again.html)
table of contents:
I. my theories
1. olympic gymnast analogy
2. relativity and limit theory on food pleasure
3. smoking analogy
4. canary in a coal mine
5. if you love animals, eat animals
II. strategies
1. prioritize expensive protein over a car
2. no such thing as the "best diet"
3. start slow
4. avoid rigid scheduling
5. invest on staff/personnel
6. eat like a king
7. be organized and efficient
III. techniques
1. fake news?
2. the best can opener
3. how to choose a good pepper grinder
4. MSG/vetsin
IV. examples
V. recommended ted talk videos
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I. my theories
1. olympic gymnast analogy
an olympic gymnast that jumps from 15 feet won't get hurt. but an average person who jumps from 15 feet will get hurt.
the most successful person in the world, elon musk, smokes WEED. so should you smoke weed to increase your chance of success? of course not. weed lowers your IQ, but elon's IQ is abnormally too high to the point that it can be harmful to his well being. so maybe he smokes weed to lower his IQ to a more healthy level. but if your IQ is already low to begin with, smoking weed can destroy your life because you won't be able to get a job or succeed in a career that meets your standards.
gifted celebrities who think they are mocking people who are against marijuana are actually hurting average people by MISLEADING them. smoking marijuana is perfectly fine if you already have high IQ or you have special acting or singing talent such that you don't need a high IQ. but marijuana can be disastrous to an average person who needs to maintain their optimal IQ in order to meet their standards and expectations in life. it's perfectly fine to advocate for legalization of marijuana, as long as you also advocate for warning people on it's harmful effects.
similarly, just because many successful people drinking too much soda or soft drinks, it does not mean drinking soft drinks won't cause a person to become unsuccessful and unhappy in life due to LOW ENERGY or poor gut health.
2. relativity and limit theory on food pleasure
i noticed that pleasure from the taste of a certain food depends on what you ate previously. example if you eat a salty snack or sweets in the afternoon then your dinner pleasure will be less compared to if you snacked on fruits or unsalted nuts.
another theory i discovered is that the total amount of pleasure from food has a daily limit, and that limit is one super delicious meal. example, if you eat a very delicious lechon kawali for lunch, then a very delicious pochero for dinner, then the total amount of pleasure for both meals is the same as if you ate a less delicious vegetables and dried fish for lunch, then a very delicious pochero for dinner. it is as if most of the pleasure hormones were used up in the lechon kawali lunch, so there was little left for the pochero dinner. on the other hand, less pleasure hormones were used in the vegetables and dried fish lunch, leaving more pleasure hormones to be released during the pochero dinner that day.
the moral of the story is people who eat healthy enjoys the same amount of pleasure eating their food as a person who just keep eating unhealthy or junk foods. so might as well eat healthy.
3. smoking analogy
it's wrong to say, "let's go walking because it's healthy". it's better to say, "let's go walking every day because it's healthy". it's like smoking CIGARETTES. smoking one day won't have a significant effect on your health. you need to smoke every day for a long period of time for smoking to have a significant effect.
the health regiments i recommended in the main article "make filipinos healthy again" do have SHORT TERM benefits, such as better sleep, better appetite, and better energy. but the more important benefits such as lesser chance of diabetes, cancer, and heart disease are LONG TERM and difficult to prove.
similarly, the disastrous effects of smoking are long term and sometimes difficult to prove because many people get cancer even if they don't smoke. but it does not make sense to reject what i think is the holy grail of filipino health and prosperity just because the long term benefits are difficult to notice and prove. anyway, the short term benefits such as having a good sleep and having more energy are already WORTH IT.
also keep in mind that it can be difficult to stand the taste of some of my health regiments. some may even give you an upset stomach. but if you give it TIME, there is a chance your body will accept it and you may even start to like the taste in some weird way. it's similar to smoking. some smokers tell me they felt cigarettes were disgusting the first time they tried it. they even felt like vomiting.
4. canary in a coal mine
i realized that my inborn weak body is a blessing in disguise because i'm like a canary in the coal mine where many of my experiments will have a more IMMEDIATE and noticeable effect on my health or energy level. if i was a healthy person, it will probably take much longer for the effects to surface, which would make it impossible for me to find out if a certain food or routine is good for me or not.
if you think my blog article is just garbabe, i ENVY you because it means you are one of those who is naturally healthy, happy and energetic, despite living an UNHEALTHY LIFESTYLE of drinking, smoking, not exercising and eating unhealthy foods. even if you die from cancer, diabetes or heart disease at age 50, you are still much luckier than me. i'm just a pathetic loser who spent his entire life trying to find a remedy for his sufferings. therefore, people with inborn weak bodies like me who are suffering from a chronic illness are the ones who will most likely follow my health advise.
5. if you love animals, eat animals
in the following article, i shamelessly attempt to justify the eating of innocent and lovable animals: https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2021/07/if-you-are-an-animal-lover-eat-animals.html
II. strategies
1. prioritize expensive protein over a car
the good news is the filipino masses can AFFORD most of the important gut health regiments. the bad news is the higher quality protein such as non farmed SEAFOODS, beef, goat, and native chicken, that is important for gut health is too expensive for the filipino masses. but i'm sure protein vegetables such as batong and monggo are good enough. TOFU is ok, but it should not be a main protein source because of the hormonal effects. in my experiments, tofu does not really improve my gut health. a limited amount of farmed produce such as poultry, pork, eggs, tilapia and bangus should also be ok.
when i was a kid, healthy foods such as seafoods and vegetables were cheap so they are what poor people regularly ate while only rich people ate pork regularly. nowadays, it's the other way around. only rich people can eat seafoods while poor people regularly eat pork barbecue sold in the sidewalks. this is because ANTIBIOTICS made it cheaper to mass produce farmed animals.
in my experiments, high quality protein does have a significantly positive effect on my gut health. since gut health has a much bigger impact on a person's quality of life compared to a brand new car, you should make sure you can afford high quality protein before you buy a brand new car. for the meantime, a 5 year old or even a 10 year old TOYOTA corolla or vios allows you to already enjoy the comforts and reliability of a good car while still being able to afford the high quality protein that can have a much bigger impact on your family's health and happiness.
if status and PRESTIGE is important to you, be aware that the trend nowadays is that high quality protein is more prestigious than driving a ferrari. in cebu, a humble karinderia called lola conching is frequented by celebrities because it serves high quality protein such as native chicken and fresh seafood. in the past, rich people flout their mercedes benz and BMW. nowadays, they flout their giant tuna on the table.
2. no such thing as the "best diet"
i learned from a ted talk by prof. eran segal that a diet that works for you may not work for someone. it's different for each person. my gut health regiments should just be a STARTING POINT. but whenever you get allergies, a slight upset stomach, or have a loose bowel, experiment to find out the cause and avoid it.
just LISTEN to your body. what is healthy for most may be bad for you. example, sambag (sinigang) gives me an upset stomach.
however, if something is very healthy, try to give it some TIME even if your body is not accepting it well. example, peanuts gave me itchy throat in the beginning, but now it's like i'm addicted to it. bugas mais or corn rice used to upset my stomach, but after a month of eating it every day, it became perfect for me.
sometimes, QUANTITY matters. example, drinking buko juice every day may be good for most people. but i only drink buko juice twice a week because i get a migraine if i drink it every day.
3. start slow
always start slow when starting a regiment. example, with the GARLIC regiment, start with 1/4 clove. then increase by 1/4 clove each week until you reach 1 clove. with the MALUNGGAY regiment, start with just 1/4 of a handful then slowly increase it.
4. avoid rigid scheduling
when it comes to designing your meal plan or deciding what to eat that day, just go with the flow. be FLEXIBLE especially if your life activities and food cravings vary a lot like mine. i usually do a round robin around my long list of choices for each type of meal or snack. but sometimes i eat the same thing for successive days.
example my snack for the past 3 days was quaker oats and CAIMITO (star apple) just because shiny large violet caimito used to be one of my faves during my fruit tree climbing childhood. not only violet caimito was rare, the tree is dangerously tall and the branches are deceptively brittle. so it easily breaks (unlike guava and chicos). i can't make a kuhit long enough and light enough. long aluminum poles used to be ultra expensive. nowadays, my faves are raining on me from heaven because i have the money to just buy them. also, caimito season is short (january to march) and it's about to end.
if i happen to drive by a NANGKA (jackfruit) stand, i buy one and use it instead of banana for my malunggay-sauerkraut regiment. but notice it's an opportunistic diversion rather than scheduled.
5. invest on staff/personnel
in the philippines, it doesn't cost much to hire and train a cook and a driver such that your meal or regiment will magically appear in front of you whenever and wherever you want as if you are bill gates. because of heavy traffic in cebu, i train a MOTORCYCLE errand youth instead of a driver.
i have rich friends who own very expensive cars but they often settle for unhealthy meals because they don't have the time to prepare or follow their desired healthy diet. people tend to PRIORITIZE material things over the quality of their food. there are comforts in life that really do make a difference such as air conditioning your bedroom. of course an air conditioned and reliable car is better than riding a jeepney, but a 10 year old toyota car can already give you that. beyond that, most material things that eat up your budget are just psychological, while food is concrete and physical pleasure because health is the biggest factor when it comes to quality of life.
the key to the perfect taste is the AMOUNT of SALT/soy sauce. each person have their own taste so this can only be achieved through trial and error. example the first time my cook cooked kaldereta, i did not like it. i tried to analyze it and suspected it was too salty. the cook said he put 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 sachet (100 ml) of soy sauce. i told him next time, don't put salt and just put 50 ml (1/4 sachet) of soy sauce. it was perfect.
so before you fire your cook, find out first if it's the amount of salt that's wrong. or find out what they are doing wrong and TRAIN them to do it the right way. it always makes me laugh when someone complains about their staff for doing something the wrong way or being unsanitary. the complain should be that your staff doesn't follow your instructions or is a slow learner. there is a reason why they are working for you and not for bill gates. oh well, maybe i'm just fortunate to undergo leadership training in silicon valley.
6. eat like a king
the following article shows that you really don't need a staff to follow your health regiment: https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2019/03/eat-like-a-king.html
7. be organized and efficient
being organized and efficient is a hidden factor that affects your health. because if you are not organized and efficient, your health regiments will be too TIME consuming and COMPLICATED which causes you to give up. this is why i strangely give efficiency tips in my health articles.
i cook in BULK the meat and vegetable dishes that take a long time to cook. i then freeze the left overs in uniform transparent food containers. you can buy these containers (microwave/freezer safe) in any grocery store for around P10 each. the advantage of a transparent container is that you don't need to label them. you can easily identify them by the color of the food even when they are frozen.
(antibiotic free goat kaldereta)
even vegetables like utan bisaya continue to taste awesome after you freeze it and reheat it. i noticed that as long as the ingredients are FRESH before you cook it, freezing it after it's cooked does not really decrease the quality significantly. my house is now like a restaurant where i just pick from a menu of choices in the freezer.
what do i do when GUYABANO is almost out of season? i freeze it. buying in bulk and freezing guyabano also assures steady availability anytime i want it. getting the meat out can take skill. sometimes, it's easy to rip the meat out with spoon and fork. if it's stuck to the skin, just slice it out with a sharp knife. frozen guyabano is my healthy ice candy.
the key to a robust system is good DOCUMENTATION. i usually print out the detailed step by step instructions of recurring and complicated tasks in the native dialect for my helpers.
III. techniques
1. fake news?
the internet is riddled with FAKE news and false articles. i will give tips on how to identify and spot phony philosophizing, moral panics, and self-interested crusades a mile away. how to navigate the endless slurry of bullshit firehosed at our faces in the so-called information age.
first, check the SOURCE. if the website is a mainstream institution such as webmd, abs-cbn, gma, cnn, fox news, john hopkins, etc ... then it should be safe to trust their factual statements. however, their opinions and interpretations of the facts may be questionable, because it's possible they have a hidden agenda.
if so MANY other mainstream sources with opposing agendas are saying the same thing, then it should be safe to trust the statement as correct. plus, if you can't find any information that CONTRADICTS the statement, then it should further increase the probability that it is correct. all my gut health recommendations have been confirmed and validated by many mainstream sources and there are no articles that contradict them.
another good indicator is to figure out if the source, website, or company has a vested SELF INTEREST or can make money if more people believe what they are saying. example, i'm not selling anything so there is no reason why you should not trust me. i may earn money if my youtube channel has more views, but i will only get more views if what i'm advocating for really works or helps lots of people.
and just because most people believes in something, that does not mean it's true. example, lots of people, including doctors, take MULTIVITAMINS. but pretty much all reliable sources say that multivitamins are not a ticket to optimal health. in fact, evidence that they improve health for most people is inconsistent. in some cases, they may even cause harm. so if you have a nutrient deficiency, it's best to supplement with that specific nutrient.
a common logical flaw that most people commit is believing that because B followed A, then A is the CAUSE of B. my mom believes a certain mangagaw tea can cure dengue because everyone she knows who had dengue and drank mangagaw tea got cured. but the mortality rate of dengue is less than 1%. that means even if those dengue patients drank urine instead of mangagaw tea, there is a very high chance they would have all recovered. it's better to just listen to the doctors and experts who says that there is no science to prove that mangagaw tea can help with dengue.
another common logical flaw is when you only look at the number of success and you ignore the number of attempts or failures. the formula for PROBABILITY of success is (number of success)/(number of attempts). a common tactic with network marketing is to tell you all those who succeeded, but they don't tell you how many members lost money. another example is when stock traders boasts their correct calls, that does not really mean anything unless they also tell you their number of wrong calls. in order for a health related claim to be true or a medicine to be proven effective, it needs to undergo long and complicated CLINICAL TRIALS or scientific studies.
however, not everything we do in life has to be logical or scientifically proven. example, believing in God is not considered scientific. but for many people, going to church and practicing their faith makes them happy. if something makes you happy, as long as it does not harm anyone, just do it.
2. the best can opener
the seemingly LITTLE and mundane HASSLES can discourage you from strictly following a regiment. all can openers in the stores are intentionally designed to break every month so you will keep buying them.
the following photo is a very simple can opener that NEVER BREAKS but may take a little PRACTICE to use. and once you get the hang of it, it's actually quick and easy to use. however, you can only buy it online or in the wet market.
3. how to choose a good pepper grinder
a poor quality pepper grinder can be very irritating. you will need to constantly declog it with a tooth brush. luckily, i figured out how to choose a good pepper grinder: https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2021/08/how-to-choose-good-pepper-grinder.html)
4. MSG/vetsin
one of my imaginary followers asked why i recommend foods containing MSG in my supposedly healthy diet. first of all, it's the AMOUNT that matters. example, water is very healthy, but if you drink 5 gallons in 1 day you will die. just like it's ok to put a small amount of salt in your food, it should be ok to eat a super food camote with a small amount of chichirya as chaser for pleasure and nostalgia.
second of all, health is not the only objective in life. pleasure and enjoyment is also an objective. there is no use living life if you don't ENJOY it.
my third reason is that there is no SCIENCE that proves msg is really bad for you. as i said it's just like salt where if you take too much, it will be harmful. only those allergic to msg should avoid it, just like people who are allergic to peanuts should avoid peanuts.
second of all, health is not the only objective in life. pleasure and enjoyment is also an objective. there is no use living life if you don't ENJOY it.
my third reason is that there is no SCIENCE that proves msg is really bad for you. as i said it's just like salt where if you take too much, it will be harmful. only those allergic to msg should avoid it, just like people who are allergic to peanuts should avoid peanuts.
i've read articles from reputable sites like the guardian and rappler that the origin of the bad REPUTATION of msg really has to do with xenophobia or racism against asians.
according to my tito yogin, msg is one of the 5 basic tastes in the JAPANESE culture. and japanese people are the healthiest people in the world. so it proves that msg isn't that bad if taken in small amounts.
IV. examples
a small piece of CAMOTE (sweet potato) is a very healthy snack. i actually have my staff prepare the camote before bedtime and i just keep it by my bedside (in a food container to keep insects away). the reason is sometimes, i wake up in the middle of the night very hungry and thirsty especially if i had intense physical activity the previous day. taking a small bite from the camote and a sip of water is enough to sooth me so i can continue to sleep comfortably. i tried banana but it's not as good in soothing my midnight tummy discomfort.
for efficiency, i have my helper boil around 4 DAYS worth of camote and refrigerate them. when i'm in the US or ukraine where i don't have a staff, i lazily cook camote by MICROWAVING it for 7 minutes instead of boiling it.
camote is not that delicious. but i'm not really compromising food pleasure because camote will only make my next meals taste better (RELATIVITY and limit THEORY in food pleasure). for me, eating camote is like breathing air. air is not delicious but why do you keep on breathing?
i usually PAIR camote with my raw peanuts. you can also pair it with your favorite chichirya such as chicharon, chippy, doritos, tortilla chips, timbura or salted green peas. camote is just like rice. nobody likes to eat rice by itself but everyone loves rice with their favorite dish.
this is what camote looks like after i microwave it for 7 minutes. instead of peeling it, i just scoop it with a spoon. in the US, i pair it with TORTILLA chips. notice i wrap the spoon in paper napkin so the zip bag won't look yucky. this is my golfing and snowboarding baon in the US.
most people drink coffee or tea. but i usually eat camote with GINGER broth. i have my staff slice up some ginger and boil it. for efficiency, i have my staff make me a thermos full that lasts me 3 mornings and i just reheat a cup in the microwave. it helps with my allergies.
oatmeal or quaker oats is suppose to be a superfood. but for some reason, oatmeal was making me weak. turns out it was the sugar or honey that was the culprit, not the oatmeal. so i started eating OATMEAL (no sugar) with my favorite sweet fruits such as mango, caimito, chico, banana, melon, papaya, duryan, nangka, marang, atis, etc ... sometimes, i mix avocado slices to pump up the nutrition. avocado is very nutrient dense. i usually do a ROUND ROBIN on these choices (that are in season).
before, i thought it's difficult to PICK a good avocado because i always ended up with ones that are spoiled. turns out it's actually easy. just pick the hardest ones and let it ripe at home. it's ready to eat when it's 90% hard or it dents around 1 mm down when your press it. don't wait for it to get too soft. i think the reason why my avocados used to spoil is because i picked the ones that were already ripe and soft, which means it's been bruised a lot by other customers pressing on it to check it's ripeness. it's like a mango. notice that if mango falls on the ground, the bruised area will taste sour after a day.
i also discovered ripe avocado can last 1 week in the FRIDGE. this significantly cuts down my system overhead. life is short. seemingly small and mundane things can add up to big chunks of time i would rather spend on more meaningful and enjoyable things. note that it should already be ripe when you put avocado in the fridge because it will get ruined if you try to let it ripe inside the fridge.
for EFFICIENCY, i always keep a standard measuring cup (1/4 cup) in the INSTANT oatmeal jar. i also train my staff how to efficiently cook my oatmeal:
- put 1/4 cup of oatmeal in a coffee mug
- add 1/4 cup of water 3 times (total 3/4 cup)
- microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds
- let it cool in the fridge for 5 minutes (because i like to eat it when it has gelled a bit)
if you can't afford the fancier and expensive fruits, it's still very healthy to just stick with the cheaper fuits such as banana and papaya. oatmeal is a very CHEAP superfood. so if you are really falling on hard times or you earn minimum wage in the philippines, eat 2 servings of oatmeal and just sweeten it with 1-2 teaspoons of brown sugar.
the US and ukraine have their own line up of fruits that are alright such as PEACHES, blueberries and cherries, but missing my favorite tropical fruits is what always saddens me when i live abroad. it also saddens me eating the awful GMO bananas abroad but i still eat them because i have to "eat the rainbow" and there are not many choices available.
my favorite BANANA in the philippines is saging bangan, which saddly is also beginning to be rare. lakatan is ok. at least it's much better than the ones abroad. the perfect bananas are the thinner ones with sharp or square edges (less round) and is riddled with tiny black dots (not black spots). the inside is dark yellow instead of the normal light yellow, and it has a cotton like texture.
many fruits also go well with raw peanuts.
DURIAN is not only seasonal and very expensive, you also need to be lucky. it's a hit or miss at the grocery. the trick is to not expect anything and just be happy if you happen to stumble upon a good durian that day. whenever you are doing groceries and you see durians, just ask the grocer in charge if there are any ripe ones and request to peel one for you. they would try to pick the best one, weigh it and tell you the price. then they would go to a secret room to peel it. then around 10 minutes later they would come out with your durian nicely packaged. the DARKER the YELLOW color, the better. the durian in the photo below was a very lucky day for me. if it's pale or color white, you can reject it and they will just put it on display for any ignorant novice who might come along.
don't feel guilty REJECTING it if it turns out to be a bad one (pale or white color). in fact, sometimes it's the grocer who will recommend you to reject it. that's why i only buy durian at the grocery, which are usually owned by multi-chain conglomerates or public companies. if i buy from a poor vendor at the fruit stand, i will feel guilty if i don't buy it after the vendor peels it and it turns out to be not good. even if the vendor recommends me not to buy it because it's not good, i will still buy it because i feel sorry for the vendor. the good news is usually, the durian will crack when it's ripe. if the crack is big enough you can see the color of the meat inside and know whether to buy it or not.
i did an experiment and found out that FREEZING durian does not degrade its quality significantly. therefore, i buy in bulk and freeze them so that i can still eat durian long after the season is over.
if you are not gluten intolerant, toasted wheat bread and cream cheese is also a good snack.
in the US and ukraine, i substitute raw peanuts with roasted ALMONDS. sometimes, i pair almonds with tortilla chips and salsa/avocado dips. when i'm living alone in the US and i have a flu, these are my savior that provides me good calories when i can't get out of bed to buy or prepare food (unlike ukraine and philippines where i have lots of helpers to buy and cook any food i want).
another convenient and quick to prepare healthy snack that i eat in the US is canned del monte CORN kernels paired with tortilla chips. just drain the water from the can, put in in a bowl and microwave it for 1 minute. i enjoy it with my tortilla fave - mission rounds.
in cebu, i have my motorbike errand helper buy BUKO juice twice a week in one of those buko carts that are stationed in around the streets. sometimes, i buy it myself because i enjoy watching the skillful way they hack up the coconut. bring your own containers for sanitary purposes. i recommend a wide mouth snap lock container so it's quicker and easier to pour the buko juice. i usually freeze it and take it with me when i play a round of golf so it will remain ice cold until the 18th hole. whenever i eat in the mall, i usually buy buko juice at a thirsty stall afterwards.
for some reason, i can't stand the taste of bottled water. maybe it's the lack of minerals. i prefer the filtered TAP WATER. i use the very sturdy cranberry or grape juice bottle as my water bottle. i freeze it so it stays ice cold in my bag when i play golf, go rubber boating or do property management errands. i also keep it in a small ice bucket by my bedside so i always have cold water within an arm's reach at night.
i usually buy grape or CRANBERRY juice once a month because they are rich in polyphenols (prebiotic). a lot of these imported berry juices contain added sugars so be sure to check the label.
i also pair ice cold water with a fruit rich in vitamin C - guava, rambutan, lumboy, sineguelas, guyabano, lanzones, tambis, santol, pineapple, buongon, melon, mangostein, grapes, apple, orange, etc ..
during lunch, i load up on VEGETABLES. i understand these dishes fall under "acquired taste". fortunately for me, my mom trained our taste buds to love these healthy dishes. i love these dishes even if i never allow my cook to put msg in any of the dishes (the msg present in the soy sauce is enough for me). if you don't like these dishes, try adding scrambled eggs.
if you are on a budget, here are healthy but delicious dishes you can try the following: 1) mongo (mung bean) soup with minced pork, 2) utan bisaya paired with buwad 3) adobo batong (string beans) with minced pork, 4) stir fried taugi with minced pork (the aroma of stir fried bean sprouts gives me childhood memories of my family eating in a japanese restaurant where the food is cooked on your table similar to benihana), 5) stir fried cabbage with minced pork, 6) red kidney beans with ground black pepper and spaghetti meat sauce 7) adobong alugbati (spinach) with minced pork (suppose to be kangkong but i don't like the thought of many kangkong being grown in dirty canals) 8) tortang talong (eggplant omelet) 9) ampalaya with eggs paired with buwad
if pork is too expensive for you, most of theses dishes still taste good without pork. batong and cabbage can taste good with BAGOONG (hipon).
in ukraine and the US, i substitute mongo with split PEA soup, which is usually available at the fresh deli section of the groceries ready to eat.
BULINAW turns bitter with time. so in cebu, i buy in taboan market instead of the groceries. to ensure i get the new arrivals from bantayan, make sure the bulinaw is light colored and medium sized. if it's dark or too big, the taste is bitter. if it's too small, the cooking oil would dominate most of the taste. if you buy in bulk, have them vacuum pack it in separate 1/4 kilo packs instead of 1 big pack so they stay fresh longer. for efficiency, i cut out a plastic water bottle according to the amount of bulinaw i like to have per serving so my staff will never cook too much or too little.
it's easy to undercook and overcook bulinaw. the optimal COOKING TIME varies depending on the amount of heat and amount of oil relative to the amount of bulinaw. just do some experiments. once you get it right, document everything and train your staff. the sweet spot is when it's a little crunchy, but it does not yet taste burnt.
aside from bulinaw, i also like buwad nukus, budburon and danggit.
kidney BEANS in spaghetti sauce is a very healthy but surprisingly delicious viand that i like to eat with rice. for efficiency, cook the spaghetti sauce in bulk and store in single serve containers in the freezer so you can whip up a nice healthy meal anytime. pasta sauce is also good in place of spaghetti sauce.
i always grind BLACK PEPPER kernels and a pinch of tumeric into my red kidney beans/spaghetti sauce snack.
when i'm in the US or ukraine, i substitute utan bisaya (sikwa, kalabasa, okra, alugbati) with these VEGGIES: 1) steamed kale, 2) boiled broccoli, 3) raw spinach or 4) celery and carrots. i dip them in ranch dressing. another one of my tricks is to eat them like i eat chips and salsa. instead of pouring the ranch dressing on the veggie, i dip the veggie on the dressing before every bite. this way i can control the exact amount of dressing i want on every bite. my favorite ranch dressing is "hidden valley". for my carbo, i pair the veggies with either potato salad from the grocery deli or boiled potatoes sprinkled with salt and pepper. sometimes when i'm lazy, i microwave the small red potatoes (5 minutes) instead of boiling them.
by the way, i learned in one of the ted talks that BROCOLLI CAN COUNTER THE BAD EFFECTS OF SMOKING.
after dinner, i eat 1 spoon of SAUERKRAUT for my probiotics. kimchi is also good. but for some reason spicy food gives me disurya. in the US and ukraine where my food choices are limited, i eat probiotic rich greek yogurt and kefir just to diversify my calorie intake.
by the way, i learned in one of the ted talks that the advantages of MILK is just a MYTH.
once a week i feast on kinhason (aninikad) or CLAM soup. the broth of super fresh seashell never fails to blow my mind. i pair it with galunggong fish or crabs. make sure to train your motorbike errand personnel how to smell the kinhason or clam. it's actually simple - if it smells good, it's fresh. if it smells bad, it's not fresh. sometimes, the vendors cheat and mix the bad shells with live ones that are moving to trick you into thinking the whole bunch is fresh. the only way to tell is smell them.
my other choices of non-farmed FISH are anduhaw, lapu lapu, parrot fish and kitong. i usually fry them and pair them with guso or lato with raw onions. raw onion is a prebiotic loaded with inulin and pectin that keeps the friendly bacteria in your gut happy and healthy. for efficiency, i have my staff prepare guso good for one week (1/4 kilo - P25) and keep it in the fridge. make sure to pour out the excess vinegar before storing it in the fridge so it remains crunchy. then, whenever you want to eat guso, that's when you add more vinegar. the trick with lato is to remove the stems because it's the stems that causes the irritating texture. another trick with lato is to just eat about 5 strips to complement the fish and onions. lato and guso are also good prebiotics.
in ukraine, i sub lato and guso with CAVIAR. in the US, my fish lineup is simply canned sardines. experts say canning technology has improved such that it is now ok to eat canned sardines every day. in ukraine, i eat canned shprot. i only eat canned salmon and tuna once a month because of the mercury.
about 4 times a week i go out to eat. in cebu, i do a round robing on the following: 1) squid (grilled/adobo) 2) shrimps 3) native chicken (grilled or tinola), 4) goat kaldereta, 5) pochero, 6) pork lechon/kawali/ belly/bbq/liempo/crispy pata 7) sashimi 8) mexican (tacos, burritos ...), 9) vietnamese pho. if you are not gluten intolerant, you can add 10) dimsum, 11) italian (pizza, spaghetti, etc ...), and 12) ramen.
in the US, i cook steak (t-bone, new york or rib-eye) once a week, i don't use oil. i just sprinkle this badass and put it on the grill pan (4 minutes each side).
avoid PLANT BASED MEAT because they are believed to contain ingredients that are harmful.
here are my RESTAURANT recommendations in CEBU: red lizard, house of lechon, lola conching, lola eats, phat pho, moon cafe, lantaw and nonki,
i recommend nonki because in my experience, it consistently has red tuna SASHIMI while the others sometimes only have salmon sashimi.
when eating sashimi, i spread the WASABI on my sashimi like spreading peanut butter on a bread. then i dip the sashimi on the soy sauce. this way i get to control the amount of wasabi i want in every bite. i prefer lots of wasabi because horse radish is good for my sinus. however, you should limit your tuna or salmon intake to just twice a month because they contain dangerous levels of mercury.
if you are the cowboy type and don't mind eating with your hands wrapped in plastic gloves, try sugbu mercado in IT park. i love the SHRIMP and scallop stall and NATIVE CHICKEN tinola stall. (i'm probably the only one in the entire world who inverts the gloves if i'm not sure where it's been or the person giving me the gloves has clean hands)
when we go to the beach, we stop by AA barbeque on the way home (dinner). our favorites on the menu are crispy pata and kinilaw.
notice i'm avoiding FARMED fish. examples are cream dory (pangasius/catfish), tilapia and bangus. i think they are ok to eat once in a while. below is a photo of me enjoying kinilaw cream dory in the mall and grilled cream dory at AA bbq. if i was in the US or switzerland, i wouldn't be worried eating cream dory because i trust the food inspectors in those countries, even if the cream dory comes from the mekong river of vietnam. but in the philippines, i'll probably just limit eating cream dory to once a month just in case it has harmful levels of antibiotics. i also trust that eating a spoon of sauerkraut everyday will counter the effects of antibiotics ruining my gut microbiota.
if you want to know what kwek-kwek looks like, here it is (but remember it contains gluten):
during a long FLIGHT, i starve to death because the rations are not enough for me. luckily i discovered that potato salad, almonds, turkey slices(oven roasted), tortilla chips and avocado dip are very convenient to bring with me on the plane and they fill me up pretty well. plus, they are GLUTEN FREE. i know it's not normal to just grab a thick stack of these turkey slices and shove it in your mouth because they are suppose to be for sandwiches. but this is called "thinking outside the box inside the airplane".
V. recommended ted talk videos
How the food you eat affects your gut | Shilpa Ravella - https://youtu.be/1sISguPDlhY
Your Gut Microbiome: The Most Important Organ You’ve Never Heard Of | Erika Ebbel Angle - https://youtu.be/B9RruLkAUm8
Probiotics Benefits + Myths | Improve Gut Health | Doctor Mike - https://youtu.be/scDmziIwUEY
Food for thought: How your belly controls your brain | Ruairi Robertson - https://youtu.be/awtmTJW9ic8
Eating Your Way to Happiness | Ocean Robbins - https://youtu.be/s47uAMakba0
Sleep is your superpower | Matt Walker - https://youtu.be/5MuIMqhT8DM
Why Roger Federer Sleeps Twelve Hours a Day | With Neuroscientist Matthew Walker - https://youtu.be/JW_F8HyGS68
(for more of my knowledge bombs, click the "ian's knowledge bombs" banner at the top of this article and choose any article in the table of contents that piques your interest)
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