Since these months are my crunchtime months with the numerous events left and right, I'm in cramming mode for my Christmas shopping, actually for family and close friends. Even if I'm cramming mode, I try not to give very "general" or "a basta meron maibigay" gifts. I also try to make sure that the person I can give the gift to would like the gift, and it's something that she or he can actually use.
I have a lot of friends addicted to fitness and most of my solid core group of friends come from this group. Whenever we talk about what we would love to receive for Christmas or our birthdays, rest assured it's something we use to work a sweat or help recover after. When we get something related to our passion, we get all squeally and giggly.
I got inspired with Kate's post on gift ideas so I thought I'd post mine as well, being inspired by my fellow fitness enthusiasts. Here are examples of what to give your fitness buff friend or if you pulled out the name of your fitness enthusiast officemate in your Secret Santa, here's what to give:
Sportswear
This is by far a favorite in every list. It might as well be an article on its own.
Trust me, even if we already have a closet full of sports attire, we could never have enough. We're practically addicted to sportswear or for teachers like me, we call it our office uniforms. Give a sports bra or leggings or if you're feeling generous, an entire set to your friend and trust me, it will be in the next gym OOTD.
My Pole teacher, Kayleen doing a handspring wearing Perfect Form sports bra and leggings
Perfect Form Sportswear is a local sportswear brand whose products are at par with most of the high-end brands at a fraction of the cost. Bras start at Php780 and leggings Php 900.
Triumph recently launched a line of sports bras that give you the support you need, whatever your physical activity is while keeping quality and comfort in mind. Check out their collection at Zalora.
stretching my shoulders and chest in antigravity yoga wearing Pink Salmon sports bra
Pink Salmon clothing is another local sportswear brand that I discovered online that is now making waves in bazaars. They have a lot of cute matching bras, shorts, tops, and leggings to complete your overall look.
A photo posted by Jade Activewear (@jadeactivewear) on
If you have a sporty friend geeked out with the upcoming Star Wars film, give her a pair of Jade Activewear leggings or this cute R2D2 tank top she can wear in her next gym session or maybe during the premier of the movie. Oh, they have matching saber wrist wraps too to protect the wrists. They also have a lot of prints such as superhero, mermaid, Disney, tattoo, Harry Potter, etc.
Sportswear is a must-have favorite stocking stuffer right? Yoga mats and Yoga Towels
I chose to become a yoga teacher because I thought yoga is the perfect balance to a very active fitness level plus it's a smart and safe way to work with your body at any age. For your friend who practices yoga, check out the yoga mats and towels at Equanimity Manila. The yoga mats are light enough for the yogi who commutes while giving the cushioning he or she needs.
Class Cards
Even though we have our own personal workouts, we also want to try other forms of exercises. Check out yoga studios for their Christmas packages or gyms for trial coupons. If you have a friend wanting to try out aerial fitness, Polecats Manila is selling Unlimited Beginners Pole Class Card for Php1000.
Mason Jars
snack on the go - peach-mango parfat in a mason jar
Instead of the usual coffee mug, why not give a mason jar? It doesn't cost much plus it's super useful for smoothies, infused water, overnight oats, granola parfaits, and on-the-go salads. The wide-mouthed jar is perfect for oats and parfaits.
Don't say no to food! Check out holiday starter kits and gift packs from The Sexy Chef. Instead of sugary and fatty pastries, why not try their desserts and snacks that are great as gifts? For as low as Php400, you can get a box of very healthy brownies that taste just as good as the sinful counterpart. I'm a fan of the cookbooks (I have both in fact). It zeroes in on very easy recipes with ingredients that are locally available. A bar of dark chocolate can be good as a giveaway actually. Check out Echostore for locally-made dark chocolate that can be used as a snack or a healthy drink to warm your bellies. You may also visit weekend markets like the Salcedo Market or The Organic Market at Burgos Park for local and organic healthy food finds that are great to give as gifts. Sports Soap
Another cheap gift idea is the Sports Bar soap from GiGa that's feels good on the skin after a sweat session in the gym. It also controls perspiration, deodorizes, and cools the body down with its super yummy scent. It's pole-dance approved too! Notebooks
I found this at our pole dance classes group page and I couldn't stop oohing and ahh-ing. :) This can be used to write down the lesson plan (for teachers/coaches) or your own personal practice or lesson review. Do you have a friend going to aerial teacher training next year? Then this is a perfect gift. And yes, you got it right the illustration is very aerial inspired with aerialists being portrayed as pretty mermaids and happy beings because we are like that. All artworks are done by Jodi Anne Lorenzo and you can find more of her works in her Facebook page.
Hope this helps your next Christmas shopping. Till next time!
At work, we often get served food if our work hours would extend to mealtimes. The food served are very delicious and filling but not exactly the healthiest. These include fast food meals, burgers, pizza, chips, popcorn, cupcakes, and bottles of soda and packets of instant coffee to keep the energy up and running. The classic crew meal is usually fried chicken and rice meal from fast food stalls. Imagine eating this everyday during December wedding season. We may be full but our bodies may not be getting the nutrients they need. Plus, we are exposed to refined sugars, preservatives, cholesterol, and a lot of salt, which are not very good to the body. I noticed that during those times, I would get sick towards the end of the "peak" season because I was not eating good and healthy food then yet I was working extra hard.
I started bringing my own food to shoots and work when I changed my diet after my reset diet. I discovered I felt less bloated and I was able to work properly and still have enough energy after work with no sugar crashes. I also got sick less. Cooking does take time, I admit but I think of cooking as my own "decompression" and therapy. If I know I'll be having work for several days straight, I prepare meals that can be prepared ahead of time and packed ahead and go. You notice that most of my food are recipes from my two The Sexy Chef cookbooks, but I will include also recipes I learned from my friends and online as well.
Here are some healthy baon ideas for work so you get the nutrition you need even if you're not at home. Whether you're a makeup artist like me, an athlete, or work long hours in field or office work, you may find ways on how to eat healthy as well.
Pasta and Noodles
My go-to meals are always pasta because they are easy to make and I could just throw almost anything in. For shoots or wedding gigs, I would prefer oil-based sauces instead of cream or tomato, which can spoil easily. I use whole wheat pasta instead of white pasta to make it healthier. I do a basic aglio olio base with red pepper flakes and then add veggies. If my food won't stay in my lunch bag for a long period of time before eating, I can use a light tomato-based pasta sauce. Oh, and if I would use cheese, I include my cheese in a separate container.
Cold soba noodles are very easy to prepare and they require no heat. They contain the goodness of raw vegetables as well. Prepare this the night before and pack this in containers and store in the ref. Before you head off to work, grab a container and go.
Salads
A salad on a hot day is a refreshing. Salads can be tricky since they tend to get soggy, so here's what I do: I prepare the greens ahead of time by washing them, draining them, then cut into bite-sized pieces and storing them in airtight containers in the ref. I make crabstick mango salad, which is the perfect baon for shoots. I just keep the dressing in a separate container and just pour it over my salad when I'm ready to eat. Another salad that's great is massaged kale salad. There are a lot of recipes that can be found online for this and this is a salad that can keep long without getting too soggy. Kale also loaded with antioxidants and vitamin C, which can prevent you from certain diseases.
Overnight Oats
I'm one person who never misses a proper breakfast. If my shoot is early and I have no time to actually sit down and eat breakfast and wash the dishes, I make overnight oats and store this in a mason jar. I can also make a yogurt parfait from Greek yogurt, bananas, honey, and homemade granola.
Smoothies
Another grab-and-go breakfast idea is a green smoothie, which can be a meal in itself. I can even have this in the car in sips while driving to work. A perfect breakfast smoothie is one I found from The Sexy Chef, which makes use of banana, apple, plain yogurt, coconut water, coconut sugar, rolled oats, spinach, and romaine lettuce. I top this with chia seeds and I'm good to go.
Rice and Quinoa meals
Nothing is as comforting as a rice and ulam meal. I prepeare this when I have a bit more time (and if I wake early enough). I usually combine quinoa with a good lean protein with some veggies on the side. If I have no quinoa as of the moment, I susbtitute with black rice or brown rice, which are nutritious. Here are some ideas I made:
teriyaki salmon with steamed broccoli and spinach served with black rice
quinoa with mushroom gyoza (store-bought) and teriyaki salmon
healthified Arroz A La Cubana from the Sexy Chef. Prepare the meat and brown rice pilaf ahead of time and just boil the egg (remove the egg white) and fry the saba in VCO the day itself.
Dessert
We all want something sweet. yet we want to keep our waistlines in check. Make small cups of chia pudding to go with your food or bake some whole meal banana cupcakes. A small cup of yogurt parfait can also be made into a dessert, like this mango matcha yogurt I made from Greek Yogurt, Matcha Powder, Mangoes, chia seeds, and organic honey.
If you have no time to cook...
If you have that day when you're pressed for time to prepare a meal for that day, here are some places where you can buy food for yourself if you want to eat healthy still. If you're used to eating healthy, you can apply the same principles as well when you eat out in choosing the food that you eat in a restaurant.
Salad Bars like Juju Eats and Salad Stop can give you access to yummy and filling salads and wraps you can have to go. Check out also their desserts and cold pressed juices.
Weekend markets like the Salcedo Saturday Market and Legazspi Sunday Market also have stalls which have healthy and delicious food. If you might be working on a Sunday in Makati, you may stop over as well at the Legazpi Sunday Market to check out the healthy raw vegan desserts by Dahon Kusina. They also have healthy vegan meals and snacks that are just as flavorful. I had a chance to have a shoot one Sunday at the Legazpi Village area so I stopped by Dahon Kusina to grab a dessert to go with my baon.
Dessert to go with my food: Homemade Vegetarian JapChae with Choco Hazelnut Pie from Dahon Kusina
Food delivery services are in nowadays, especially for busy people on-the-go. They cater to your specific dietary needs (vegan, vegetarian, ovo-lacto, pescetarian, paleo, etc) and design a food plan that you would love and deliver your meals right at your doorstep. One of our sponsors at our BDJBox Makeup Parties, V Kitchen, provides yummy and healthy vegetarian and vegan selections that do not scrimp on flavor and nutrition value without breaking the bank.
Healthy food provided by V Kitchen in our BDJBox Makeup Party Last August. Check them out in Facebook and Instagram
I'm glad that there are so many ways to get the right nutrition nowadays, from cooking your own meals to food delivery services, to alternative healthy takeout places. With today's busy schedule, there's so much more reason to eat healthy so our body gets the proper nutrition to be able to work properly. Try switching your diet for a few days and see the energy difference. You may notice that you would get sick less and you save yourself the trip to the doctor or expensive medicines and the hassle of getting sick. I admit that cooking and eating healthily takes a lot more effort than just grabbing a burger meal from the fast food joint a few cartwheels away from your office door. However, your health is the best gift you can give to yourself and your loved ones, and just as you work hard, give yourself the proper tools to be able to do so. :) Have fun eating healthy!
I wasn't very healthy when I was much younger. I took for granted being skinny and relied on my naturally fast metabolism to stay that way even though I was consuming so much processed food, fat, sodium, and refined sugars. Don't get me wrong though, I welcome a plateful of salad or a healthy dish on my plate, but since I didn't have a lot of time and I didn't know any better, I think there was a higher ratio of unhealthy to healthy food. Since I was tired all the time, I wasn't very keen into exercising, and also took it for granted. I was also smoking then. Although my proportions wouldn't show it, my skin doesn't lie about my horrible health habits.
Me in all my unhealthy glory, 2007
Sallow pasty skin with blotchiness, puffy eyes, spots, and let's not get started with the haven't-eaten-in-days waif look. I was also getting sick very often, memorizing the times I would have a cold or fever. In fact, in a few weeks after this photo was taken, I would be experiencing a cold from temperature change or allergies or what not. These were the days I was still working in an office. Being a makeup artist didn't change it either even though it was a fun job. It was a more physically demanding job and my work didn't end when I got home since I would be washing my brushes and sanitizing and organizing my equipment. Lugging all the heavy bags while commuting also needed a lot of strength. I've quit smoking at that time already, since it was a very expensive habit (not to mention it wouldn't do my body good as well). Since I didn't know what to prepare then and didn't have time to, I would have no choice but eat a lot of "crew food" which most of the time consist of fast food or pizza. Imagine doing weddings every week and eating fried chicken and rice or burger and fries. It's not very good. Because of poor nutrition in a physically demanding job, my sickness patterns were still there. I was also experiencing tummy problems as well.
I'm glad pole happened a few months after that so I was introduced to a fitness routine that I would grow to love. I was also prescribed a diet by a nutritionist I worked with having seen my eating habits and analyzed why I was getting sick and made me notice that I was in fact, consuming a lot of sugar, which may take a toll on my body when I get older. Pole opened me to other forms of fitness and I became more conscious of how and what I was eating as well. It eventually opening the door for me to become a yoga teacher. I also got exposed to a lot of people who encourage to eat clean. Social media nowadays helps because I see a lot of hashtags and Instagram accounts promoting good food and nutrition and even sharing very easy DIY recipes. I made transitions from full vegetarian to pescetarian and then went back to consuming meat for training purposes. When I got sick last February, my body did a reset so I had to go back to a cleaner eating pattern for a time then incorporate my regular food on occasion, just so I stay a bit "normal". I also strictly went off alcohol around that time (it was bad for my flexibility anyway). I started preparing meals at home as opposed to dinners out which saved me a lot of money, making the extra effort of waking up early to cook worth it, for not having a bloated feeling and the urge to throw up.
I did find myself though getting into a food rut having to eat the same kind of food all the time. It was either salmon or tuna, steamed broccoli or spinach and quinoa or brown/black rice three times a day varying it with salad, soup, pasta, or oatmeal. It was good for my body, but I'm somehow running out of ideas. I would Google recipes online but since most of these recipes are made by chefs from another country, some of the ingredients were not readily available or are expensive here.
The Sexy Chef isn't new to me and I've heard about them years ago and they are popular among many celebrities in maintaining a sexy figure for their job. The Sexy Chef is a healthy food delivery service owned by sisters Rachel Alejandro and Barni Alejandro- Rennebeck. Rachel is an actress and a singer and Barni is a chef. They both eat healthy and both love good food. They also have trim waistlines and a healthy glow in their skin even without a lot of makeup. Years ago, they launched a cookbook which shares yummy and healthy recipes that you can make yourself.
I bought their second book, Eat Clean Love a few days ago and I have been cooking their recipes at home.
If you look at my Instagram, my #bambikittycooks hashtag photos of my recipes are very diverse, from the very sinful truffled eggs benedict to a very healthy massaged kale salad. I still do not have a specific diet to follow but I like eating real food, as much as possible. I actually prefer making my own food than buying it, save for salads, which I have outside, when it's easy to have them fresh, Eat Clean, Love has recipes to make real food that's as real as it can get - avoiding a lot of processed and canned and a lot of chemicals. It doesn't scrimp on flavor though and a lot of nutrients. I'm glad I got a cookbook in front of me because it makes me focus on my meal planning more. Plus points too on being a local cookbook. I prefer actually buying local cookbooks than imported ones because they give ingredients that are readily available here in Manila. Most of the ingredients can be found in the market or your local grocery. You'll find a few ones being sold in health food stores, but nothing too rare or exotic.
The first meal I made, Shrimp and Quinoa fried "rice" is packed with color and nutrients. At first, I had to get used to the fact that it needed a bit more saltiness, but I guess that's the point anyway, to take in less sodium. A squeeze of lemon does the flavor trick quite nicely.
Breakfast should never be skipped. It's a very old saying and it holds true. I apply this rule up to now. I must have my breakfast, and the shortcut that is brunch does not count. My breakfast is filling but not to the point that I would have a hard time getting up. Without breakfast, I get migraines, feel dizzy, and sometimes I don't get to function properly. It gives me enough fuel for my workout I love the breakfast selection because the recipes are very easy and it's fast. Perfect for those who need to rush for work in the morning.
Mashed avocado with feta cheese and olives is packed with so much flavor - a mix of tart, salty, creamy, and a hint of spice from the red pepper flakes. I had this with my green smoothie (yes that's actually green smoothie) that taste like chocolate shake. The smoothie can be introduced to children and they wouldn't know it's got romaine lettuce and spinach leaves.
A photo posted by Bambi De la Cruz 🐱🐯 (@bambikitty) on
For those with some time, brown rice champorado can be made for rainy day weekends. I find traditional champorado too sweet for my taste, or probably because all I see are those made from mixes. This one is made from scratch - with brown rice, low-fat milk, cocoa powder, and coconut sugar made mellow with cinnamon and swirled with coconut milk.
I'm a sucker for pasta and these two pasta recipes are great for lunch or dinner. It took me quite a while to get used to whole wheat pasta but there's hardly any difference when the sauce is mixed in.
had this for a nice, light dinner with a mug of warm calamansi juice and honey
The cashew cream sauce makes no difference with heavy cream in terms of texture and creaminess except the former doesn't make me run to the bathroom in minutes. Plus, the yummy smell of basil lingered when I made this pasta last night.
I don't eat munggo at all and I hate munggo with a passion but I am open to consuming lentils, This lentil bolognese pasta is a good and filling dinner or lunch that I can take as baon whenever I would have a shoot, instead of eating pizza or hamburgers.
There's so much more food in the recipe book and there's even a section to make healthy food for children. Fruits and veggies come in all forms - not just a salad but in desserts and main dishes. Each recipe that I made does not scrimp on flavor, texture, and aesthetic value, so going healthy doesn't necessarily mean eating bland food, mush, or strictly raw greens. There's beef, chicken, seafood, and pork. There's wholewheat bread, pasta, and coconut sugar, There's sweet, salty, spicy, tangy, and savory. There are healthified versions of popular favorites. The best part too is that ingredients can be sourced locally. I can go to the mall and I can find every ingredient in the book there. There are so many creative ways to add nutrients to the diet. I found ways to incorporate vegetables in my diet aside from salads, soups, and juicing. Since I can't take a lot of dairy, I needed to find other source of calcium other than supplements. This book shows me that there are a lot of other calcium sources other than milk such as soy milk, chia seeds, spinach, etc.
It's also a great gift for someone you know who would love to go DIY on healthy food at home. In fact, I purchased another one as a birthday gift for my friend Jinky, who loves to eat and eat healthy as much as I do.
photo from Jinky's Facebook account
Just like me, Jinky is a makeup artist who does pole dancing. She's also a Zumba teacher and group exercise instructor. I know she would love this book because the recipes would be giving us the right nutrition to fuel our bodies for our work and would complement our healthy lifestyle in our own practice as well being fitness instructors. The recipes are fun to make and even be great to share for friends and family, even for those who have never tried to eat clean before.
I chose to eat healthy not because I need to walk the talk, being a yoga instructor and a pole dancer. I learned the hard way that I need to make this lifestyle change, and I'm glad I was able to arrest it before things got too late. This book supplemented my need for more healthy recipes that are easy to do and at the same time have ingredients that are easily available at our local groceries and markets. This book will not guarantee you the abs of a pole champion in a month, If you're already into the whole health lifestyle, this can give you more recipes to add to your menu to supplement your needs. If you're just starting to learn how to cook, get this too. What better way than to start cooking food that is right for your body, right?
Looking back at my 2007 unhealthy picture, compare that with more recent photos of mine, older but with a much better lifestyle.
with Dr, Kit, a few weeks after Yin Yoga Teacher Training
taken last Monday at Sonya's Garden. If I did this pose years ago, I would've injured myself. Yay for #flexifirst goals.
I still indulge on pizza, steak, popcorn, fries, and cake, but I have this once in a while, and at a lesser fraction than my healthier real food choices. I no longer go to all-you-can-eat buffets and I haven't noticed it but I haven't had white rice for like weeks now. Maybe it's my body telling me that I don't need them anymore. Ten years of kicking the habit, I haven't missed cigarettes one bit. My flexibility and hydration has been better in just months after detoxifying alcohol in my system. Although red wine may be good for the heart, there are so much better heart-healthy sources like oatmeal and fruits. My skin looks and feels much better than my 2007 skin. And my energy channels are much better now. With five years in adapting a healthier lifestyle, and the healthy habits picking up more as the years go by. The Sexy Chef cookbook added more recipes to my database of healthy food that included recipes for people on-the-go, so we get a balanced diet no matter what your lifestyle is.
