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Apr 20

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Hindy, the Eco Nerd

I am amazed at the effort that Gippy and Hindy undergo to make sure they use environment friendly products. Here is what Hindy shared with the family…and maybe many of us can learn and get some tips form her….

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actually i’ve always been kind of an eco-nerd since 1st year high school but then the green movement wasn’t really progressing here, then i got into other things like (clothes, boys — some boys!, movies, etc.), then we moved to the states and got caught up with school and work stuff naman. my passion got re-ignited when we enrolled lucas at the Acacia Waldorf school. couple that with anouck’s daignosis, and we had the most compelling reason.

it is sad that most people need a reason — as if our general well-being and the environment’s health weren’t enough to get us started. we have all just created a society of consumption and convenience — and worse for us filipinos, most of what we do depends on foreign products/ideas. we need to get back to basics — in food, in education, in entertainment, in lifestyle. every single person benefits from these changes — our children, ourselves, our community, our farmers, our artists, our scientists, our country, our entire world. it is the responsible thing to do, the smart thing to do, the right thing to do. but what stops us? ignorance (is that really an excuse anymore? with all the available information out there?), fear maybe, discouragement perhaps? i think for those who are below the poverty line, they have no choice — they think merely of survival. but for the “educated” people, what stop us is a kind of laziness (for lack of a better word) or candid refusal to allow any “inconvenience” upon ourselves. this is what we’re used to, what we know, what we are comfortable with and heck, it feels good and makes our lives “easier”. but it is shortsighted. we don’t see the damage it will do to our bodies, to our air, to our oceans, to each other. it’s time we think as a communities, not just families; as one planet, not just as a country — where everyone is responsible , not just the government or doctors or ceo’s.

i am not claiming to know everything. the problem with being a proponent of these things is some people tend to challenge your ideals — maybe because they feel guilty or threatened. but that’s not my intention. i only discuss it when asked. and i’m far from being hardcore about it. i mean. gosh, you should meet some of the parents at the school — they even make their own cooking oil! and have no yayas and turn off the lights at home by 8PM. ha ha! i’m a long way from there.

We get our free-range native chicken, eggs, milk, yogurt at Salcedo Market — all local, even the yogurt.

We just add raw honey or pure maple syrup and any fruit + nuts we want on the yogurt.

Non-GMO Soy milk is from Rustan’s.

We make our own juice from organic fruits. ( Using a Matstone Juicer – this juicer keeps the nutrients of the fruits and vegetables – available at Rustan’s )

But there’s a great guy at Salcedo who has really good fresh juices and fresh green iced tea.

Rice, veggies and fruit we get from Rustan’s, Salcedo or at School.

As for our cleaning products: laundry detergent is Victoria soap (a local, award-winning detergent that is chemical-free and environmentally safe) made from coconuts.

We no longer use bleach or fabric softener. We only use baking soda and vinegar to clean most household surfaces.

And also Bioneem, a safe and eco-friendly cleaning liquid made with citronella oil among other things — sold at Salcedo.

We also changed most of our toiletries to safer, chemical-free alternatives. There’s this great new local company called Z.E.N. sold at Rustans Supermarket. They make great soaps, body butters, insect repellants, shampoos, massage oils …super cheap! This also helps Organic stuff be more accessible to more people, not just those with a lot of loot.

Salcedo promotes cloth bags. And Rustan’s now has the “green” shopping bag. (Eco Trivia: the world uses up about 1 million plastic bags a day. And these things don’t disintegrate.)

Sounds like a lot to deal with but it’s only the beginning that’s hard. It’s like second nature to us already. But I have to admit, there’s still more we can do — like save more water at home, make composte, wear clothes with organic fiber (ha ha!!) and blah-blah-blah. One step at a time. No need to get overwhelmed. We just kept reminding ourselves about the WHY’s and WHAT FOR’s.

Just keep in mind the following to get you going:

1) No preservatives or chemicals in your food, household cleaning products, toiletries. Stay informed. Be smart about the stuff you spend your money on.

2) Limit plastic and other non-biodegradables

3) Buy true organic items, not commercial organic.

4) Buy local products and produce that are in-season.

5) Avoid canned or packaged products (like if you love bacon, buy from your local butcher shop and marinate/cure it yourself, not the processed stuff from the supermarket)

6) Avoid refined sugar, table salt, hydrogenated oils. — to start.

7) Reduce dependence on pharmaceuticals

Other products being used……..

Hindy makes their butter by boiling and melting regular butter until the fat and residue float to the surface. Then strain it and the clear liquid that is left is what is frozen in a tupperware. The end product is purified butter.

Some small appliances they use: Food dehydrator- they make dried fruits ( as snacks ) with this

vita-mix hi-speed blender, moulinex steamer for fish, veggies, dumplings

yogurt maker using hormone-free/free-range milk

For extra extra precaution to avoid all sorts of metals in our system, they use Vision ( brown glassware). According to Hindy, it is not the easiest thing to fry with, better for stews or soups. For frying food, they use cast iron, or stainless.

Le Creuset cast iron cookware

Vision glass cookware

fruit and vegetable juice extractor, oxygenator to clean veggies, fish, poultry, meats

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Apr 18

0

It begins with One.

By Heart2Heart | Green, What's New at Starbucks? | One Comment

Starbucks is the BEST!

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Apr 18

0

Summer Sunday Lunch

By Heart2Heart | Foodie, Summer | 4 Comments

Every Sunday, we take turns hosting the de Jesus Sunday lunch. It was our turn to host and I was panicking because my cook was on leave. It was so timely that my Mom came to the rescue and decided to host the lunch at her place without me asking. Whew! I am so lucky I have my Mom! And as usual, Mom is ready for summer with her floral theme!

Even the household staff had floral aprons to wear!

The de Jesus family was not complete but we were able to invite Tita Isabel, Beno and Isa to join us who are really part of the family anyway.

We had our main course outside in the garden in the middle of the summer heat….

Then dessert indoors…. Thanks to Isa for bringing all the fresh fruits and her home made Tiramisu and Ice Box cake. Yummy!! We will be inviting you more often!!! 🙂

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Apr 17

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Dimpy’s Special Chocolate Caramel Filled Cupcake!

By Heart2Heart | Hearty Deals, Yummy! | 9 Comments

THE BEST CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE EVER! I normally eat only the icing on cupcakes because cupcake cakes are usually dry and simply just cake. But this one, I ate everything!!

Is it a mini chocolate cake? A decadent chocolate cake? or just a SUPER SUPER MOIST CUPCAKE WITH CARAMEL FLOWING out of it??? YUUUUMMMMMY!!!

From Dimpy Camara, the famous maker of the Frozen Brazo de Mercedez.

This is not part of their list and not advertised, so you need to specify it as Dimpy only makes it for friends and now for friends of Heart2Heart. Not a secret anymore 🙂

P 300.00 for 12 pcs.

You need to specify CARAMEL FILLED because they sell also extra caramel sauce on the side.

Make sure you order this when you pick up your Frozen brazo!!!

Lemon Torte P 700.00

Strawberry Shortcake P 700.00

Lenguas de Gato P 150.00

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Apr 17

0

More from Working Stiff

By Heart2Heart | Entertainment | No Comments

Catch Working Stiff on

April 18, 9 pm, at Magnet Cafe, High Street in Fort Bonifacio

Previous entries: Working Stiff December 22, 2007

Working Stiff October 5, 2007

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Apr 16

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Gourmet Salts and More Secret Spices

By Heart2Heart | What's New at Rustan's, Yummy! | 3 Comments

I go crazy whenever I pass by the SPICES section at Rustan’s. I wish I could buy all the kinds of spices that I see there.

And even more exciting were these gourmet salts from Artisan Salt Co. which I saw at Le Gourmet.

And right upstairs from the supermarket at the 4th floor Rustan’s Home is a whole section on bottles and grinders for spices!!!!!

And they have this Bella Cucina line of pasta, crackers, dips, sauces and aromatic salts!! Beautiful packaging!

Previous Entry: Secret Recipe June 29, 2007

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Apr 16

0

Earth Defenders

By Heart2Heart | Arts and Culture, For kids, Green | No Comments

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Apr 15

0

by Luigi Borromeo

By Heart2Heart | Celebrations, Homes and Interiors | No Comments

We have not been to Newton and Michelle’s house in a long time – only because they live quite far from us. But it was so nice to visit again their beautiful home. It is nine years old but has been maintained very well.

Newton’s abode….TV room, bar and party room 🙂
This is the newest part of the house and is now my favorite part of the house. This used to be garden but they added this living room and put a pond with koi. Nice!

Garden by John Abul

The pool being shared with Newton’s family compound

Friends that came over to celebrate Newton’s birthday…

The balete tree in front of their house…wow!!!

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Apr 14

0

Cafe Mediterannean

By Heart2Heart | Foodie, What's New at Power Plant Mall | No Comments

One of our favorite restaurants! We just love kebabs! The Powerplant location is the best – it is convenient, located beside Rustan’s Supermarket and a cozy ambience.

Thanks Rins for joining me for lunch. we always order the same thing, so I made Rina try the kebabs. These are the Grilled Chicken and Grilled Beef kebabs which you can have with either pita bread, rice or couscous.

Make sure to eat it with the garlic sauce ( white sauce ) which comes in a squeeze bottle on your table. with french fries?? Yup! If you want to put it inside the shawarma you will be making with the pita bread or just have it on the side. Do not forget the garlic sauce again to dip the fries into together with the catsup!

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Apr 13

0

Ahon Foundation and Pathways Scholarship Programme

By Heart2Heart | Giving Back | No Comments

From my cousin, Ana

allow me to share a spring cleaning idea through which you can also help the less fortunate. most of us lament the state of the philippine education system. one of the reasons being that there is such poor access to quality books. my very generous, socially minded cousin martin recently introduced me to the acts of hope for the nation (ahon) foundation. ahon has set a goal of collection one million books for donation to public elementary schools, particularly those in depressed areas. the books need not be new at all. ahon will take almost any type of book, new or old.(they should be intact, of course.) it can even arrange pick-up of your donations. thus, if you are cleaning up around the house, you might want to consider ahon as a beneficiary for your no longer needed reading materials.for those of you who have children, this might be a good pre-summer activity to make the shelves clear for summer reading. maybe the free shelves are needed for the psp or the wii? 🙂 🙂 🙂

from some other kind-hearted friends abroad, i got the idea that since so many of them shop very energetically whilst here, they arrive in manila with extra suitcases filled with toys, books and clothes to donate when they arrive. they then go back home with the same luggage filled with all their finds. ahon also has an adopt a library and a scholarship programme through “pathways”, a related organization. more details on the scholarship programme below. for those who are in the position to share even more, “pathways” is a most worthy endeavour.

if you would like to contact ahon, its contact details are as follows:

3rd floor, topy’s place, industria corner economia streets bagumbayan 1100 quezon city, metro manila phone: (02) 683-0262, local 106 or 109 email: ahonfoundation@gmail.com blog site: www.ahonfoundation.blogspot.com donating old books is such an easy way to share. if you are interested in learning about the pathways scholarship programme, these are the contact details:

contact person: solvie nubla

phone: (02) 426-6001, locals 4048 and 4049

e-mail: info.pathways@gmail.com

website: http://www.pathwaysphilippines.org

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Recent Posts

Hindy, the Eco Nerd

It begins with One.

Summer Sunday Lunch

Dimpy’s Special Chocolate Caramel Filled Cupcake!

More from Working Stiff

Gourmet Salts and More Secret Spices

Earth Defenders

by Luigi Borromeo

Cafe Mediterannean

Ahon Foundation and Pathways Scholarship Programme

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