Mommy Pehpot, Author at Mommy Pehpot

Practical Cooking Tip: Vegetable Blanching

Blanching is a cooking process where in you submerge a food substance, mostly veggies and fruits, in boiling water for a few minutes then placed under cold running water to stop the cooking process. Why you should practice blanching? Because it is a tried and tested time saver! Maniwala kayo sa akin mga inay!

Akalain mong 3 minutes lang may guinisang gulay na kame. Chopsuey can be done in less than 10 minutes! Promise talaga, this technique is a life saver. This is a must if you are yayaless like me and have mouthssss to feed!

How to properly blanch vegetables? Is there a guide in blanching? Ilang minutes ba dapat?

How long should I blanch? Minutes always depends on the thickness or size of the veggies. Broccoli florets (around 1 1/5 inch diameter) is usually blanched for 3 minutes. Smaller veggies are blanched for lesses time. Thinly sliced vegetables such as carrots are blanched really fast. Yung tipong ilublob mo lang yung veggies sa boiling water then running water na. Always use a strainer, a must have in the kitchen yung medyo malaki na strainer.

Can I reuse the boiling? I do but for veggies that are peeled only. Say, I will use it for carrots, then cauliflower, then broccoli.

Can I blanch all kinds of vegetables? Here are the list of veggies that we tried:

sigarilyas (because that’s my fave!!) We usually blanch 1 kilos of sigariylas
sitaw and it goes well with almost anything! Adobong sitaw, sinigang na baboy, guinisang ampalaya, pakbet, guinisang kalabasa, the sitaw possibility is endless!
Kalabasa
Sayote, it should be super quick too! Madali sya matunaw
Patola, I tried pero natunaw na sya agad haha
Puso ng saging, OK din but nangingitim sya so I would not reco
Siling panigang. Favorite ng nanay ko mag blanch ng siling panigang, mahal daw kase eh. So pag nagmura na, buy sya mga 1 kg then blanch nya.
Kangkong and talbos ng kamote, super quick lang dapat
Baguio beans, also super quick lalo na if sliced na
Potato medyo matagal, 8-10 min
Labanos we also tried, dapat sobrang bilis lang

Yan ang naalala ko so far but basically, we blanch veggies based on recipe. So if we have plans to cook chopsuey, will blanched all ingredients then sama sama na sila sa ziplock.

Another advantage if blanching is mas maganda yung kulay ng gulay, mas matingkad sya and I do not know why. As to nutrient loss, yes merong loss, but hello, at least hindi sanity mo na loss because with blanching, hindi ka na maloloka sa pag aasikaso ng lutuin.

You will need at least half the day to blanch a 2 week vegetables menu. Isang paguran lang but hayahay na buong linggo di ba. Try mo din and tell me how it went for you.

4 Tips To Selecting An Adult Day Care

Adult day care centers are designed to offer companionship and care services to senior adults who are in need of supervision. There are several centers for adult day care in Marietta. These facilities ensure that elders are given the freedom to enjoy the day with fun and engaging activities. Adult day care centers are great for encouraging social interaction whenever no one at home is around to attend to them. You don’t want your grandma to die of boredom whenever her caregiver goes on a break!

If you’re looking into an adult day care center that’s perfect for someone you know, you’re in the right place. Whether it’s your mother, grandmother, or aunt, we’ve got you covered. We all want the best for our loved ones. This article will cover 4 tips to selecting the best adult day care for your needs. Let’s go!

1. Consider the location
The location of the day care is a vital factor in deciding which facility to entrust your loved one to. Of course you want a place that is accessible, secure, safe, and is up to standards. A day care does not offer residency so you may have pick up and drop off the patient every now and then. Choose a place that’s close to either your home or your office so that it’s easier to transport your loved one.

2. Check out the services offered
While some senior citizens don’t require special attention, there are others who need specialized care. These are people who have certain conditions that need a more personalized approach. We’re talking about those suffering from Alzheimer’s, incontinence, memory loss, and behavioral problems, to name a few. If your loved one will be needing medical care, it’s best to let the facility know about it. Some centers focus primarily on social engagement. And there are some that provide professional medical care.

3. Look at the variety of activities in their schedule
An adult day care is not simply a place where you can leave your grandma while you work or while the caregiver is away. It’s so much more than that. They’re designed to keep them active by engaging them in several social activities.

When looking for an adult day care facility, check out the variety of activities they have on the calendar. An active day care is great for your loved one. Check their schedule of activities. There should be a variety of individualized programs and group activities for everyone. Look for something you think your grandmother would like. Are there art classes? Cooking classes? Music performances? Aerobic exercises? Relaxation techniques? These social activities are executed to ensure their patients are engaged on a holistic level.

4. How are the staff?
The staffing ratio is an important factor in choosing an adult day care as well. You don’t want your loved one neglected. There are state standards that should be followed when it comes to operating senior facilities. Make sure to check if they’re compliant as well. When you visit a place, observe how the staff behaves with the elders. See how the accommodating the administrating office is when addressing your concerns. You want to make sure your loved one is left in good hands and nice people.

Best Cleanser For My Active Toddler: BabyFlo Soap-Free Bath

Our little boy is getting more playful as the day goes by. Since our “porch” was made into reality, we have been spending hours on this area of our house:

Though I envisioned it to be pinterest worthy porch, it turned out even better. It became our tambayan and Baby Marius playground. Sometimes he’s inside the playhouse pretending to be a store owner. He gets all the stones he can from our mini garden and “sells” it as burger or doughnuts. He used his bike to transport all his goodies. And you can tell that his produce are all natural because he use his bare hands to get it haha. Most of the times, he’s with his ate playing (rolling) at the slide. He gets dirty really fast! And because of that, we need to bath him more than 2x a day na.

And he loves taking a bath, obvious naman di ba? Ako lang may ayaw. Feeling ko lang, too much taking a bath or exposure to cleanser is not good for baby’s skin.

A recent cleanser discovery, put my mind at ease. It’s a mild and gentle cleanser for all skin types, specially for sensitive skin. It’s not that Marius have sensitive skin but since he needs to take a bath more frequent, his skin needs all the love it can get from a cleanser.

What we have been using lately? Babyflo Soap-Free Bath

Initial reaction upon first use: Ay walang bula hahaha. Can it really do its job as a cleanser? Ay walang amoy! Bakit ganun haha

Bakit walang bula? Because it is soap free. Bakit walang amoy? It has no fragrance because all the possible components that could irritate baby’s skin delicate and sensitive skin is removed. All left are the ingredients that is safe for babies and effectively cleans the baby.

So how can I say that it is doing its job as a cleanser? It’s a clear sign that Marius skin is smooth and is not prone to itch. Parang sa face yan, when a cleanser is not doing its job, mas prone sa kati or pimples.

That’s a common misconception no? Presence of bubbles means better cleaning? Not all because for Soap-free cleaners, no bubbles, no fragrance, no problem.

So kahit 3x a day maligo si Marius, no problem sa skin dryness with Babyflo Soap-Free Bath because it’s gentle and won’t strip off the natural moisture of his skin.

What I like about Babyflo Soap-Free Bath:

Marius can use it as much as he wants because it’s a mild cleanser and won’t irritate his skin
It is fragrant free (the daddy does not like fragrant cleansers)
It comes in a 500 ml pump and refill. I prefer using cleanser in a pump because I can use just one hand to get the product, while my other hand is trying to prevent Marius from taking a bath by himself hahaha
It’s relatively cheap but the packaging looks expensive. I love the contrast of white and blue and even the prints on the product. The 200 ml Babyflo Soap-Free Bath along with Babyflo Shampoo is I think one of the perfect gift that you can give as a baptismal gift.

Babyflo Soap Free Bath price range from Babyflo Facebook Page. Ang mura di ba? And comes in smaller bottles too. Oh di ba, hindi kailangan mahal ang pagmamahal.

Babyflo Soap-Free Bath

Babyflo Soap-Free Bath is available in Mercury Drug stores and supermarkets nationwide.

What I don’t like: It’s not top to toe wash, but we can always use Babyflo shampoo so it’s not an issue.

Bath time is really one of his favorite activity and since I no longer worry about skin dryness with Babyflo Soap-Free Bath, we can now both enjoy this activity.

Babyflo’s campaign, “Let Love Flow with Babyflo,” supports and encourages bonding between parents and babies; love that flows in a rewarding cycle of bonding and discovery. Kumbaga, it’s a family affair, that’s why they have the Arellano family as Babyflo’s first family endorsers.

Babyflo Soap-Free Bath was launched in 2015 and is distributed by PHILUSA Corporation (country’s leading distributor of quality consumer products such as cotton buds and cotton).

Babyflo is one of the trusted brands of Millenial Moms (and Xenials too, eherm) for baby needs (Source : Kantar World Panel, Nov 2016). Babyflo is also partnering with doctors, currently Babyflo Med Reps are covering covering 900 pediatricians in over 148 hospitals, clinics and health centers in Metro Manila.

Aside from Babyflo Soap-Free Bath, Babyflo bath product range includes:

Babyflo Oatmeal Bath
Babyflo Shampoo
Babyflo Baby Powder
Babyflo Cologne
Babyflo Gentle Buds (the only buds we know)
Babyflo Babywipes (which is a good quality wipes, makapal sya promise)
Babyflo Petroleum Jelly

All these Babyflo products are available in Mercury Drugstores and all leading supermarkets nationwide. For prices of Babyflo products, check Babyflo Facebook Page.