There's More Where My Ears Came From

at 90, my grandfather can still read without glasses. he does the laundry and the cooking for himself and my grandmother. he commutes on a regular basis, oversees the farm, takes the carabao to pasture, remembers all our birthdays, does not make excuses for not attending church regularly (he walks to church, by the way), and insists on doing the chores himself. his speech and hearing are both clear, his memory intact (probably even better than mine), his understanding and foresight sharp. he continues to earn by farming, pays his own bills, offers help instead of asking for it, freely gives to missions. he's still one of the most thoughtful, tactful and kind  people i know (not crabby and mean like others are in their old age). as far as i remember, we took him to the hospital only twice in recent years - for fever and indigestion.

lolo, thank you for my ears and forehead, but i really hope i got more from you than just the good looks.

useful note: he did wear glasses for a short time many years ago. the eye doctor told him to stop eating instant noodles and canned foods (beef loaf, corned beef, tuna, beef and beans, sardines, etc.). he did as told, and his eyesight returned to normal.

Vegetarian Food in Davao City

Perhaps one of the vegetarian’s most common challenges (here in Davao City, at least) is finding a place to eat out in. Since I first decided to become a vegetarian almost seven years ago, eating out has rarely been an option for me. When I do eat out, it’s usually Chowking for their plain fried tofu or one of the pizza places for vegetarian (not vegan) pizza. There are other places, of course, but they all mean the same thing to me: scouring the entire menu for that one dish that doesn’t have animal products in it and long interviews with the waiter about what the food’s made of or if I could have the chicken taken out of my chop suey or the shrimps from my salad, usually ending with me settling for a huge pile of plain lettuce and dressing I wouldn’t have to pay big bucks for if I just ate at home. Sometimes, even the lettuce isn’t available.

So yes, I do resent the fact that restaurant menus on this part of the planet don’t allow vegetarians like me to plan simple lunch get-togethers with friends without having to engage in a lengthy discussion about whether I will have to starve or not.

Did I sound too bitter there?

There’s actually a happy part in this blog post.  I was recently told of a small restaurant in JP Laurel Avenue that started business December of last year. The thing about this restaurant is that they serve all-vegan food. In fact, the very name of the restaurant is Vegan Hygienic Foodhaus.  I could definitely give them a list of suggestions regarding the name, but hey. A vegan place, finally.

The restaurant really is small and the menu options limited. The food isn’t exceptional, but at least they’re reasonably priced. They offer a value meal of a serving of rice along with two other dishes for Php50.00. You’d wish they included a drink with that meal, but you’ll have to order one of their fresh fruit juices priced at Php80.00 each glass. The must-try is the vegan pizza priced at Php250.00, good for two to four people. Instead of cheese, they use a nut-based (probably cashew) sauce poured over tomatoes, onions, peppers, olives, veggie meat, and a whole wheat crust. Our pizza had more sauce than the one in their picture so it was a bit messy to eat, but the pizza was generally good.

Aside from VHF, there are a few other go-to places in Davao City for the hungry vegetarian. The ambiance isn’t quite as nice, but they do serve good and affordable veg food.

There’s Kong Ai Vegetarian Centrum along Gempesaw Street, which serves a fair selection of dishes from veggies to faux meat. You can also buy faux meat for home-cooking. The products range from seafood to chicken to meat, all vegetarian. And they taste unbelievably like real animal products, too!

Within walking distance from Kong Ai is Vegelicious at Monteverde Street, which is smaller yet very similar to Kong Ai. I used to go there a lot more than I do now, but I plan to visit again soon.

Then there’s Winward, an annex of the Grand Men Seng Hotel in Pichon Street. They serve chop suey and variations of noodles. The food is actually quite good, but you’ll have to be very specific when ordering because the waitresses tend to forget you want everything meatless.

Lastly, for a really affordable vegetarian lunch, you can go to the Davao Adventist Hospital canteen. You can have a full meal for two at Php90.00, complete with a dessert of banana cue. The hospital’s a bit far from the city proper, but if you’re somewhere near, it’s just in Bangkal.

I wish there were more options for me and my people in this city. More than that, I wish people become more aware of the benefits of vegetarianism and that there’d be many, many restaurants to make things easier for them. But for now, I’m happy that I have one more place to add to my slowly growing list. It just feels good to know that in this age of Facebook timelines filled with instagrammed food, we vegetarians have not been completely forgotten.

For a listing of Vegetarian, Vegan, or Veg-friendly places near you, pay the Happy Cow a visit. 

a vegetarian option

one of the rather difficult things for vegetarians is finding food at get-togethers where everyone else would rather eat meat. it's one of the reasons why vegetarians are always encouraged to learn to cook their own food - tasty, healthy alternatives that you can bring to get-togethers or just to the office or school.

last night, i met up with friends from the company where i used to work. it was a rockstar burger party: beef burgers, meaty pasta, soda, the works. what i did was whip up my own vegetarian sandwich which was essentially identical to the burger, except for the patty.

here's a recipe that's loosely based on a much better recipe my friend originally made. i was kind of counting on her to be here when i made the sandwich, but she wasn't. so i sort of made it DIY. much thanks to my mama and to brian for helping me assemble the sandwiches.

Ingredients:
whole wheat loaf bread
bell pepper, sliced thinly
onion rings
cucumber, sliced
lettuce
tomatoes, sliced the way they're sliced for burgers
vegetarian tapa
honey
oil, for frying the tapa

Procedure:
Cut the tapa into slices the size of your wheat bread. There's an option to first dip it in batter to make it crunchier and to add flavor. Assemble the sandwich.

Assembly:
place one or two slices of the tapa over a slice of wheat bread. pour a bit of honey over it. Put on another slice of bread. layer the vegetables. top with a third slice of bread. voila!

i'm not really a cook, so you'll notice this recipe is kind of loose. you just place as much of the ingredients as suits your taste. some people like more onions, some don't. make the sandwich meatier by adding tapa in the layer with the vegetables. you could also use other meat substitutes instead of tapa: veggie burger for example, or vegetable patties. banana flowers would make a good alternative, i think. or monggo.

you can also dress up the entire thing with ketchup or mustard or both. i like it plain.

so there you have it - a vegetarian delight so easy to prepare even i could do it. :)

-o-

juice diet experience (day 3)

it's our last day!!!! :) yeah, i know it's supposed to be a four-day no-solid-food diet. but mama and i changed our minds yesterday afternoon.

this morning was pretty normal. mama had pains in her abdomen. i didn't. it almost seems like the whole thing wouldn't have any lasting effects on me. but the attitude that i've always taken since before this diet is that even if i don't get any stones (gallstones, liver stones, etc) out, a fast is generally good for anyone and fresh juices would benefit the health a whole lot because of all the readily-available nutrients.

the thing with diets like this is that this isn't supposed to be taken as a one-time cure-all. nature's manner of healing has always been slower because it doesn't just eliminate the symptoms of sickness, it BUILDS health.

(this post was made yesterday. it was supposed to be longer. but my blog went crazy, i couldn't save a copy, only this part was saved.)

-o-

juice diet experience (day 2)

yey! i made it to the second day without being too hungry. :D

i've been posting about getting a natural cleanse here and here.

i woke up this morning wondering why i wasn't hungry. my last juice was 8:30 last night and it was kalamansi (Philippine lemon).


6:00 am  - i was trying to finish my epsom salt solution. so far, it's the most difficult to take in. epsom salt isn't salty, but bitter. not really very bitter, which is why i find myself surprised that it's difficult for me to finish even a glass of the solution. and i have to drink four glasses each morning. 


7:19 am  - the fluids i've been drinking are doing their thing in my tummy. i can feel it. ;-)

9:51 am   - kind of hungry.

meanwhile, what results am i actually expecting? well, there's weight loss, pimples (toxins being eliminated through the skin), green pebble-like stuff in my stool.

10:57 am  - finished my carrot juice in two gulps. i can smell freshly-made bread. binangkal, dough rolled in sesame seeds, then deep-fried instead of baked. smells good. grrrr.


(this Davao flood is bothering me :(  floods this huge in Davao are few and faaaar in between.)

12:57 pm  - just had cucumber juice. trips to the toilet are now much more frequent. what comes out is basically just dark brown liquid. well, what can we expect. mama and i are both hungry; my sister's been teasing. but we just try to laugh it off. i promised myself some mangoes when this is all over. something to look forward to. 


in other news, i'm thinking now of the displaced families in davao. the properties and even lives lost, the missing people. the lines of the song come to mind, "oh we fast but we know we can eat the next day." i'm thankful for the blessing of being able to do this juice diet, and still thinking of ways to extend help to fellow Dabawenyos.


around 5:00 pm - mama and i have decided to change a couple of things about this diet we're in. three things, actually. one, we're drinking olive both tonight and tomorrow night. two, we're reducing the number of days to four instead of five. we realized that our friends who've done a cleanse did theirs for only four days and we don't remember why we decided for five. :D and three, we're no longer limited to one glass of whatever fruit/vegetable juice is scheduled. that third one's mandatory... according to my grrrowling tummy. ;D


9:00 pm  - olive oil time. based on friends' experiences, it's the worst part of this diet. you have to drink half a glass to 3/4 of a glass of olive oil. as a consolation, you can opt to mix in 1/4 glass pure lemon juice. my friend (who did a cleanse last week) said the lemon doesn't help much because the oil only floats above it. he advised to have a sliced lemon ready to wash away the taste. but mama and i discovered a better strategy. prepare the lemon juice but don't mix it in just yet. measure out your half glass of oil. just as you're about to drink it, pour in the lemon juice as quickly as possible and drink the mixture immediately. don't put your glass down until you've swallowed the entire mixture. this way, you're not giving the oil enough time to separate from the lemon. no sweat. :)

quick bit of health info: extra virgin (or cold-pressed) olive oil is one of the healthiest oils if used in salads but should never be used for cooking.

it's good night for now. see you tomorrow. :)

-o-