Sunday, December 04, 2022

Ang mahal na ng gulay grabe! Plus, 5 tipid tips

Well, doing the grocery is crazy these days. This is half a cabbage head for P95 and it's the size of my hand.


I have small hands. So that's not a lot of cabbage for that price.

Here are 4 small onions that fit in my hand. These cost almost P80. The secret of my delicious meals pa naman is lots of onion and garlic! They add that umami taste without the need for MSG. But now, kailangan i-ration ang bawang at sibuyas. 


I understand that the world is going into a recession so life is going to get harder, if it isn't already. This year's been financially tough on us because of my medical situation a few months ago. But I'm not going to lose hope. I'm just going to keep looking for a better and more stable job. Wish me luck!

Yeah, being an entrepreneur in these times is not working out for me anymore, unlike in 2012-2017, when the economy was so strong and the country had huge money reserves under the Aquino administration that buoyed us up even when we had a change of government. But now we're drowning in debt again and will continue to be dragged down into the depths if the Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF) gets approved. 

The MWF is not a new concept. Many countries have also set up a sovereign wealth fund (SWF). It's a great way to preserve the transfer of a nation's wealth from one generation to the next and to stabilize macroeconomics. But the MWF bill is frighteningly not the same. According to Businessworld, here's just one reason of many: 



Grabe, hindi pa nga resolved ang PhilHealth P15-billion corruption scandal under the Duterte administration, may nahanap na namang pagkakataon ang bagong gobyerno na nakawan tayo, this time using the pension funds, among others. Sana kilatisin talaga ng Senado ang bill na yan. But with pressure from the president himself, the bill speedily approved by Congress may be a law by next week.  

Scary. Even the president's sister said it's a bad idea.

But I'm going to trust our Senate will do a good job! Pray for them please.

Anyway, today I'll share how I cook our meals with tipid tips I learned growing up in a 10-member household that had a P100 daily budget. Syempre, this was decades ago! And yes, that was my job - feed 10 people for just P100 a day. Here are a few tips:


1. Cut your veggies finely. Not naman minced, mga tiny cubes lang. Same with meat. More mileage yan hehe

2. Cut off the fat from your pork and fry that first. And that's now your cooking oil! May instant homemade chicharon ka pa after!

3. Make masabaw na ulam. Tinola, nilaga, sinigang, ganyan. Soups go a looooong way.

4. Buy canned and frozen vegetables! Mas mura. Don't be afraid of canned and frozen produce. They are processed immediately after harvest so their goodness is preserved. And you don't have to worry about your fresh veggies rotting in case you were too busy to cook.

5. In case you do have veggies that are wilting in the ref, gawin mong vegetable soup. I like roasting them and then blitzing in the blender with chicken stock. Or just roast them and meron ka nang delicious side dish! Pwede mo rin gawing atsara. 


And here's my tomato soup recipe. But replace the canned tomatoes with fresh tomatoes roasted in the oven for 15 minutes. 

Sigh.

I'm tired of having grit and being resilient. Yes, it's an amazing quality to have. I want my kids to have these. But they also mean that life is so hard and we've had to bear it and do what we can to survive. But, honestly, in our country, life doesn't have to be hard all the time. Look at how Pasig and Iloilo are doing so well - proof that when a city is free of corruption and is transparent and accountable (no to confidential and intel funds!), the people benefit so much.  

Let's not be resilient anymore. Let's demand accountability, transparency, honesty. Let's demand that all of our taxes work for us and us alone. Let's demand that the government we elected be true public SERVANTS, serving us instead of themselves. Grabe, Pilipinas, ilang dekada na tayong ganito. Mangarap naman tayo at gumawa ng totoong pagbabago. Kakasawa na. Kakasuka na.

Good luck to us all. Don't worry about me, by the way! We're still fine. I'm just trying to be more frugal these days. Buti na lang we have family and wise investments that helped us. Still, I'm in the middle of a job search because we would like very much to be able to breathe a little. Pray for me! 

Pray for us all.  

Sunday, November 27, 2022

Blood, books, boys, and my birthday: A busy life update!

Hello, my dear Loyal Readers! I disappeared! My last post here was early October and lookie here - it's almost December! What did we miss???

Well, I missed you, that's for sure. I've always enjoyed sharing my stories here on the blog because you share your stories, too! And then I don't feel so alone. Thank you! But since I've been quiet, we haven't been talking. And I miss you all!

So let me tell you what's been up with me. I'm sharing some posts from my Instagram because I do a few life updates there. So follow me @francesampersales! But I'll do a summary here as well. 

First, some of you emailed or DM'd to ask about my literally bloody predicament in my last life update (School, Sex, Blood & Books). Thanks for asking! I'm better now. Not bleeding anymore. Huge relief considering I was bleeding profusely from August to October. What hell! I had to have a D&C so that the gynecologist can rule out scary diseases. 

Thankfully, I'm just perimenopausal. My reproductive system is okay, just acting up because I'm an old woman. What a relief! But it was a truly stressful week worrying about cancer. I switched birth control and after a few weeks adjusting to the shot, I'm sooo happy. No more blood!

Then right after I got out of the hospital, I was busy supporting my husband and the launch of his novel, The End of All Skies. It's gotten good reviews on Goodreads, Instagram #TheEndOfAllSkies, and blogs.

We're happy fellow Southeast Asians love the book. I'm hoping it also finds an audience globally. Our mythology is very different from the West, which is familiar with East Asian stories. But Filipino, Indonesian, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Thai, and the rest of the region? No. Even Moana was strange for many people in the West. We need to talk about our own stories because ours is so rich and wild and spectacular!  

Please buy a copy of Vince's novel! If you want a signed copy and a FREE copy of his first book, Children in Exile, order from me! It's P1,050 plus shipping. 

Send me an email - frances@topazhorizon.com. Now na! Thanks!

You can also get a copy from Amazon for $24.90 or download the ebook from Kindle for $13.99.

Anyway, it's not all happy news. My sons' hamsters died. It's been sad and sweet, saying good-bye to the cute critters that made the last 2 years so bearable. We thought we'd have one more year with them (tame hamsters can live up to 3 years), but apparently, their sole purpose was to keep my quarantined kids happy while the COVID-19 virus raged outside our home. And now that we're all vaccinated and better equipped to face the world, our hamsters went over the Rainbow Bridge, their task done.

Let me tell you that our hearts were so heavy the weeks we waited for the hamsters to pass away. They were old and slow, spending the days just sleeping. The kids were stressed, wondering, "Is this the day?" Finally, the dreaded days did arrive. My boys were so sad. I was sad, too, because I was the main caretaker of those hamsters! We comforted each other. And it's been 5 weeks but my youngest boy just told me as I'm blogging, "Mama, I miss Chocnut."

Gosh, we love you and miss you, Choccy and Spoody. Thanks for the joy! 

Then I turned 46!

I didn't do anything special. I was recovering from my health scare, neck-deep in homeschooling, trying to write my werewolf romance novel, looking for a job (which means no budget for any big celebrations!), and being a mom and wife. I was exhausted! 

But grateful. Always grateful. Thank you so much for the love! Maybe when I turn 47, I'll have pictures to share! 

Oh, another thing that I appreciate is I found out my blog turned up in these lists by Feedspot:

#26 in 80 Best Philippines Mom Blogs and Websites 

#32 in 100 Best Asian Mom Blogs and Websites

#22 in Top 80 Philippines Mom RSS Feed 

Thanks, Feedspot! I didn't even know I had an RSS feed. I'm kinda bewildered by this all since I was never on these lists when I was one of the top mom bloggers in the country way back from 2008 to 2016. Now that I'm hardly blogging and my stats have understandably gone down, my blog gets recognized. And on 3 lists, too!

I'm thankful. That tells me that despite the sporadic posts, I'm still writing good posts. 

That also tells me to blog again! 

I know everyone's on Tiktok now. Apparently, people don't read anymore and just want to watch people dancing and pointing to floating words while smiling and shaking their heads. But that shouldn't stop me from blogging because I'm writing for the ones who do still read. And you are my favorite people. The best kind of all - readers!

I have sooo many stories. Plus, some of you suggested topics or sent questions about my life and marriage so there - more stuff to blog about! So I'll get to that.

Hey, thank you for sticking around. There are so many other blogs and vlogs and social media accounts to follow, yet here you are. Thanks for caring. It means the world to me. You mean the world to me! I love you all! 

Monday, October 10, 2022

Review: Omogs Women's Probiotic supplement (for weight loss?!)

A few months ago on my Instagram Stories, I talked about losing 7 lbs without diet and exercise and that the only thing I changed was I started taking probiotics and prebiotics. Probiotics for weight loss? That wasn't my intention but in my case, it happened!

OMOGS Women's Probiotic Prebiotic supplements

My Instagram followers filled my DMs asking what my supplement was but I didn't want to share the specific product because I took these probiotics for my gut health, NOT to lose weight. My worry was if the effect wasn't the same for other people, they'd get mad at me. But people keep asking until now. I want to trust you all that you're smart enough not to assume we have the same bodies and so the effects will never be exactly the same. 

So I'm going to blog about how probiotics can aid weight loss and then I'll do a review of the supplement I took. Then shop link after!


Why I Started Taking Probiotics

For the past 2 years or so, I've been really gassy and bloated. Like, a week before my period, my tummy would be stretched out and I looked 7 months pregnant. The gas could've been caused by my birth control, my endometriosis, or my perimenopausal hormones. Or all of the aforementioned!


Menopause and Bloating: What's the Connection?:

What to Know About Endo Belly:

The only thing I can change in the equation is my birth control. Endometriosis is an incurable condition while menopause is just something I'll have to deal with for a decade. So since I can't get rid of the last two conditions, I can help manage their effects on my gut. I tried eating more veggies and quitting coffee and acidic food and drinks, but still the bloat was really bad.

So I tried probiotics and prebiotics. I figured that probiotics may help manage my bloat but I might as well see if it can help me shed a few pounds, too. I researched the bacteria strains that were best for gut health and found this very helpful article: How Probiotics Can Help You Lose Weight and Belly Fat. Please read it!

I chose OMOGS Women's Probiotic Prebiotic supplements specifically because the article mentioned these strains as the most beneficial to weight loss: Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus amylovorus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus sakei, Lactobacillus gasseri, and Bifidobacterium. 
 

Here's my review:

I take 2 flat tablets every night. I figured I'd want my tummy to be kinda empty so all those good bacteria can really get into my gut. I have no scientific evidence to support my theory, okay? I just think this. Keep the bottle away from kids, by the way. The tablets taste sweet! They're like candy.

I was constipated for the first 3 days. Then my tummy flattened out after 2 weeks because I wasn't gassy anymore. Like, I wasn't burping and farting anymore! 

I didn't feel hungry also so while I didn't diet, I noticed I didn't feel the need to eat a lot either. I didn't have trouble sleeping anymore either. After 5 weeks, my weight went from 138 lbs to 131 lbs. and my waistline went from 36 inches to 30 inches. I'm so happy! 

Obviously, I now need to go on a healthy diet and fitness regimen to help things along and also to be, well, healthy. I have to build muscle now and improve my strength, for example. But so far, I'm happy with the changes in my body. Here's what I look like now:


Again, I started taking probiotics for my gut health, NOT to lose weight so I was reluctant to share my find because your weight may be caused by other factors. But if you want to improve your gut health, too, I highly recommend OMOGS. And I hope you also get the same effects.

I hope you liked my super long review of OMOGS Women's Probiotic Prebiotic supplements. I really wanted to explain why I chose it. First, for gut health but happily, the probiotics helped with weight loss, too. 

I will say it's always best to consult your doctor. I asked my gynecologist friend. Why a gyne? Because I suspected my huge belly was caused by my endometriosis and perimenopause. Thankfully, she gave me the go signal so please ask your doctor because I want to reiterate that our bodies are very different! What's good for mine may be different from what's good for yours.


That's my affiliate link, by the way. If you'll try OMOGS, I hope you use my link!

Good luck, ladies! Let me know how it goes.