Trying Out Soul Kitchen

I always make it a point to try new healthy restaurants and culinary destinations in the city, so when I learned that Soul Kitchen opened in the heart of the city (was it last year?), I really wanted to try it.

I follow Soul Kitchen on Instagram and have encountered their products (juices, salads, even overnight oats) at different bazaars, but somehow, I was never able to try them.

Serendipitously, our brokerage class takes place in a venue near Soul Kitchen. However, our class starts early, and they're still closed whenever I pass by. Also, we don't have to go out for lunch because we already have lunch provided for us. But last Saturday, our morning session ended a lot earlier than expected (10 am!), so we decided to go out and take care of some errands.

We went first to Brokenshire Hospital, which is in the same compound as our venue, to set an appointment with a doctor. Then, because the doctor was out, we went to OMF Literature bookstore because I wanted to claim my membership card. As luck would have it, my card wasn't available yet. Because it was still early and lunch wasn't served yet, we proceeded to try Soul Kitchen.I really liked the ambience of the place. It is not a restaurant, just to be clear, but more of a posh takeout counter. They serve different kinds of cold-pressed juices, which they make themselves, salads, overnight oats, meat loaf, etc. The prices of the food range, I think, range from 180- 300.I wanted to try their salads and the meat loaf, but I know lunch will be served at our venue (and we do have generous servings there), so I settled for a bottle of juice to drink during class. Because they offer a lot of blends, I found it hard to decide which one to get. In the end, I followed the lady's suggestion and bought a bottle of Cleanse juice.Here are the ingredients. I liked how it tasted. You will taste the acidity of the fruits first and later, the kick of celery and spinach. It actually reminds me of the smoothies I used to make at home, only it's easier to drink with the pulp removed. It's P180, by the way, and according to the label, no preservatives were added. In fairness, I felt energized throughout the afternoon even during the dreaded siesta hour! 

PS: Sorry for the extra watermarks on my photos. I'm doing this post entirely on my phone, and I experimented with watermark apps. I didn't know the app would also watermark itself, and I'm too busy to repeat the process hee hee. 

Hearty Finds at Got Heart Community Shop

When someone says "organic," what's the first thing that comes to your mind? Ako, it's "clean and good." As a mom, I'm tasked to raise Yuri by making sure his environment is "clean and good." Aside from that, I should also make sure that what goes inside his body is also "clean and good." Unfortunately, this is harder than making sure he doesn't sit on a dirty surface.

I often think that people who live in provinces are blessed because the easy fresh and almost always organic produce. Job, for example, had been staying full-time in their province for quite some time now and I'm jealous of all the organic fruits, veggies, even meats that he gets to eat!

Fortunately for those who live in the city, Davao City in particular, we can now get our share of organic, locally-made goodies in a store called Got Heart Community Shop.

Last Monday, I mentioned that I love this store because it has three things I believe in: health (through organic food), art, and recognition of local resources. That's right; it prides itself on offering organic products made by local communities in the Philippines and mostly in Mindanao! Since I didn't bring a decent camera last Sunday, here are some photos of the shop from their Facebook page:

New Shopping Finds, Birthday Parties, and Other Stories

Yesterday was a hectic but fun Sunday! And though I didn't even expect it to be, it was a welcome change in the monotony of a WAHM's life hehe. Anyway, let's begin with the story-telling, shall we?

1. Organic Finds at Got Heart Community Shop

I barely venture out to the central part of the city now (I'm always in my comfort zone: the north), but yesterday, I really needed to go to Gaisano Mall for banking and buying stuff. I also made it a point to go inside Got Heart Community Shop.I'm going to dedicate an entire blog post for the shop, but here's a photo of my finds:

Yes, I'm going to take a better photo using an actual camera; nagmamadali lang hehe.

Anyway, I've always been curious about this shop not only because I'm friends with the lovely manager (hihi) but also because it stands for many things I believe in: natural materials, health, art (real art), and local resources. If you noticed, I often feature some local finds like Kablon Farms jam,  Cacao de Davao, and Real Laundry Detergent. So imagine my delight to see these brands - and more - in the shop!

Photo: http://www.gotheartfoundation.org/

2. Dencio's Kamayan

Another reason why I wanted to go to Gaisano Mall that Sunday was because my dad and I wanted to eat at the newly opened Dencio's Kamayan (right beside Manang's Chicken). Filipino food is always our go-too comfort food, and it doesn't get any better than inihaw and barbecue (at least for us hehe). We got a "mini boodle fight," my own term because I forgot the name haha, which had grilled pork, chicken, chicken liver, baked mussels, and crunchy kangkong. It costs around 780 yata without rice and drinks. Sulit because there's so many food!

Sorry, I only had my phone with me, and I couldn't take a decent photo because Yuri was being malikot.

As for me, I ate a lot even if I was supposed to be on a diet because I haven't eaten pork for so long! Yuri also ate a lot! The best part here is the service: everyone in the staff is warm and bibo and courteous, and they almost always ask us if we need something even before we call them. Kudos to whoever trained the team!

3. I want to do the whole OOTD thing again.

But I'm fat and have no new clothes!

Meetup with Friends + Abreeza Organic Fair

Hi, it's throwback Thursday!

Hehe actually that's just my excuse for writing a post that should have been written, like, 2 weeks ago. Oh well what's new?

So a couple of weeks ago, my long-distance best friend, Teena, came home from Manila. The funny part was that she only spent hours here in Davao City. She arrived early in the morning and she had to leave by afternoon. Nakakaloka!

George and I, of course, tried to fit ourselves into her packed schedule. But since George has work (and I do not? I have work, too! Hehe), what happened is that George and I (and Yuri and my sister) had lunch first and Teena and I met later after George had gone back to her office.

When Teena finally arrived, I just finished off my lunch - and okay my sister's lunch, too - and we tried to explore the Organic Fair happening in Abreeza that day.

You might probably remember how I had tried to score locally made chocolates weeks prior but failed.

Fortunately, they were in Abreeza that day. Yay!

Here are some photos Teena took that day:

Yuri, me, and "Ninan Tina"

Fun and Frugal Finds for March

How did it get to be April already?

Ang bilis ng panahon. It seems like it was just yesterday when I was shopping for Christmas gifts; now, I'm shopping for Yuri's summer gear!

Uh-oh, I should be saving money pala. There are so much I need to buy - a new laptop battery, things for the new house - that some stuff I really want to buy for Yuri would have to take the backburner. It's a good thing, though, that I get my shopping fix from good ole' grocery shopping. Here are my finds for the month of March:

1. Bob's Red Mill 5-Grain Hot Cereal

Ever since I found out that instant oats are virtually junk food din pala - well, not really, but they're processed - I've been on the lookout for rolled oats of good quality. I picked this up at Gaisano Mall because I'm familiar with the brand; I see it at health stores.

The grains are really whole and unprocessed, plus what I like about it is that aside from oats, it contains 4 more grains like flax seed.

Price: P125

2. Dane's Peanut Butter

Any momma who doesn't know how to properly bake but wants to whip up snacks and desserts needs three things in her pantry: oats, bananas, and peanut butter. I honestly always have these stuff. I don't buy imported peanut butter though. I like local ones better because I like their taste better (I prefer oily peanut butter hehe), they're usually cheaper, and they usually have no added chemicals and preservatives.

I usually just buy peanut butter from bakeries, but it's more convenient to buy them at the grocery. Enter Dane's Peanut Butter which is made in Davao City and only has three ingredients: peanuts, sugar, and butter!

Price: Around P65

3. MagicTime Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm here talking about buying stuff with no preservatives and added sugar when I suddenly include cookies. Well, in my defense, they were supposed to be my potty-training bribes for Yuri (which didn't work). They're also buy 1-take 1 (again haha!), and they're reaaally yummy.

Price: P115

4. Heaven Diapers

Yuri only wears diapers at night now, but it's still essential to use ones that are of high-quality but affordable. I've read about Heaven Diapers in different blogs recently so I was curious to give it a try.

Well, it's a great thing that I did because aside from being affordable, it's also very soft, absorbent, and non-leaky. I also like that it's thin and not bulging on Yuri's slim build!

Price: Around P190

5. Real Laundry Detergent

I already ran out of my HHN Tough Love laundry detergent and, save for a sample they gave me last week, I have no natural detergent yet. It's a good thing that I visited Abreeza's Organic Fair (must make a post soon!) and saw this product in one of the stalls.

If you noticed, I really like buying locally-made products or products that are made in Davao or in Mindanao. This detergent is made in Pantukan, Compostela Valley, and the great thing about it is that it only has three ingredients: coconut oil, alkali solution, and herbal essence.

Price: Only P100! I should have bought more huhu

6. Citronella Spray

Fun and Frugal Finds for February

I didn't realize it was March already when I blogged last Saturday! Oh well, I think February is used to this kind of comment. So what are my discoveries for this month (mostly from the grocery) that wouldn't burn holes in your pockets?

Soyfresh Soya Milk

Bought: Gaisano Mall
Price: Around P65 for 1 Liter

Story: Some of you know that I'm unabashedly giving Yuri fresh milk (we can't all be super parents); however, I immediately stopped it when I found out cow's milk is a mean phlegm former. So I switched.

I was really looking for almond milk because I also heard soy milk contains a lot of hormones. However, when I saw the Blue Diamond brand, Almond Breeze, nanghina ako. Around P120 for only 350 ml (not even half of a liter). Err, hormones it is!

(PS: I'm planning to buy cashews to make my own cashew milk.)

Verdict: Delicious! It's not as rich as cow's milk, but it does create a nice impression of chocolate. Even Nina, Yuri's ka-age friend, liked it!

SansFluo toothpaste

Bought: Gaisano Mall
Price: P90

Story: Wala lang, kailangan lang ni Yuri ng new toothpaste. I want to try another brand and this is the most affordable option that time.

Verdict: We're still waiting for our Tiny Fangs toothpaste to run out, and we haven't used it yet.

Breakfast Choice Cereals

Bought: Gaisano Mall
Price: Crispy Rice around P65, Oat Rounds around P80 - both buy 1 take 1!

Story: I'm a sucker for buy 1-take1, and when I saw that the cereal I used to buy was on promo, I didn't hesitate. I also got two other boxes for the price of one!

Verdict: I like both cereals because they're not sweet. Yuri snacks on the Oat Rounds as is (no milk), while I like making homemade rice crispies from the rice cereal.

Good Sense Strawberry Yogurt Pretzels

Bought: Gaisano Mall
Price: P110 - buy 1 take 1!

Story: I was looking for alternative snacks for Yuri because Sky Flakes, despite its yumminess, is simply not healthy. I stumbled upon this first on the regular-priced rack but, luckily, I found some on promo. Thank you, Lord! And did I tell you I'm a sucker for buy 1-take 1?

Verdict: Wow, yummy! The strawberry yogurt coating is not so sweet; it's just the right blend of sweet and tangy. Yuri eats a lot of these in one sitting, but it's okay because they don't have much sugar.

Kablon Farms Pineapple Jam

Bought: SM Lanang Premier grocery
Price: Around P65

Story: I was also looking for homegrown organic products and learned about Kablon Farms. Situated in South Cotabato, they manufacture products straight from the local farms. I love local farms in Mindanao because, more often than not, their products are organic. So next time, before you consider imported products from Healthy Options, support local first!

Verdict: Forget about commercial, sugar-laden jams. This is simply fruit in a bottle. The organic pineapple is crushed and, I think, no artificial syrup has been added so it's basically just pineapple. Yummy and refreshing!

Del Monte Fruit Snack