Sorry for the long delayed post! The holidays were keeping me busy. I had to catch up on work and I had to Christmas shop in preparation for my trip back to my hometown, Davao City. Anyway, I'm back with a fabulous holiday tip from my mother. It enabled us to have a unique, enjoyable, healthy, and frugal Christmas and New Year celebrations.
With all the parties we had to attend this season you probably noticed that in most of them the food served would often include beef, pork or chicken. And these meat dishes would be the highlight of the party. Same thing with the Noche Buena or Media Noche celebrations. Well, last year, my family got tired of it. Nasuya kami, in Tagalog, or Gibidli, in Bisaya. We felt tired of eating pretty much the same thing every party and my mom can't bear the thought of eating the same thing for Noche Buena. So we decided to have a seafood theme for Noche Buena that year. My mom was surprised at how much easier it was to shop for seafood at that time, (since most were in the meat section) and how much cheaper it was compared to the usual fare. Needless to say, we had fun in our Noche Buena because we were able to eat something different, plus it was healthier. We had baked tahong, 3 kinds of seaweed salad, and grilled bangus. This year, we had a veggie theme, (mostly veggie, because we still had fish). On the menu was rellenong bangus, grilled tilapia wrapped in banana leaves, Chinese veggie stir-fry, pancit canton, and fresh fruits dipped in whipped cream (no, not fruit salad, we didn't mix it with the cream). We all were able to eat well, PLUS, I hardly gained any weight during the holidays.
If your family isn't very traditional, why not try a meatless holiday. It has all the indulgences, without the cost or weight gain.
With all the parties we had to attend this season you probably noticed that in most of them the food served would often include beef, pork or chicken. And these meat dishes would be the highlight of the party. Same thing with the Noche Buena or Media Noche celebrations. Well, last year, my family got tired of it. Nasuya kami, in Tagalog, or Gibidli, in Bisaya. We felt tired of eating pretty much the same thing every party and my mom can't bear the thought of eating the same thing for Noche Buena. So we decided to have a seafood theme for Noche Buena that year. My mom was surprised at how much easier it was to shop for seafood at that time, (since most were in the meat section) and how much cheaper it was compared to the usual fare. Needless to say, we had fun in our Noche Buena because we were able to eat something different, plus it was healthier. We had baked tahong, 3 kinds of seaweed salad, and grilled bangus. This year, we had a veggie theme, (mostly veggie, because we still had fish). On the menu was rellenong bangus, grilled tilapia wrapped in banana leaves, Chinese veggie stir-fry, pancit canton, and fresh fruits dipped in whipped cream (no, not fruit salad, we didn't mix it with the cream). We all were able to eat well, PLUS, I hardly gained any weight during the holidays.
If your family isn't very traditional, why not try a meatless holiday. It has all the indulgences, without the cost or weight gain.
