I am not a chef but I do cook some Filipino dishes. The kids especially like the soup based dishes like sinigang, tinola, nilaga... those are easy to cut the calories. I find that our food can also have high levels of sodium. I have replaced toyo to a low sodium version when I make adobo. No one can taste the difference. The only thing I can suggest to make something lower calorie is to eliminate the skin and fat on the meats and to add more vegetables or replace the meat with vegetables. Last year for Lent I gave up meat and replaced with seafood and tofu. The soup based dishes with seafood / tofu weren't bad at all.

The last time we were in the Philippines we would have eggs every morning and the eggs would be floating in cooking oil as they cooked. Eew! :{ I wonder is there spray oil available to buy there. I don't think we can transport spray oil in our baggage.

Oh yeah, RICE! Cut it out! Give it up baby!!! or try brown rice. I haven't been able to make that move yet to brown rice, it has an acquired taste. It has a nutty flavor and if not prepared correctly can be pretty bad compared to white sticky rice. I have reduced my rice to 1/2 cup to cup every other day. If I changed to brown rice, my family would think I was trying to starve them.

I cook my own foods pero to be honest I don't know how to cook Filipino dishes except pritong itlog, pritong tilapia, tapsilog, corned beef silog, basically puro prito lang ang alam ko pero gusto ko din matuto yung mga basic Filipino dishes. When it comes to Kare-kare aminin ko ang gusto ko yung ox tripe (goto) pero masarap din ang veggie kare-kare. Try mo yun using kare-kare mix pero easy on the peanut butter. Don't eliminate peanut butter because the fats in it are healthy fats pero as usual watch out the portions. Sinabi lang sa akin yan ng officemate ko. For afritada, you can take off the skin from the chicken before you cook it & add more veggies. I don't really like pork so wala akong idea about it but I suggest you go easy on that as well.

One thing in common is go easy on cooking oil, as much as possible try put only 15grams (1 tbsp) of cooking oil in the pan. I notice na karamihan sa atin marami maglagay ng mantika.

Thinking seriously of doing the VEGETARIAN KARE-KARE you mentioned above. Has anyone done this?

how can a filipino take rice out of their diet? talagang crassy haha...

how can a filipino take rice out of their diet? talagang crassy haha...

Not only Filipinos but all Asians & even some Mexicans (yes my Dad couldn't live without rice too) & Puertoricans couldn't imagine living without rice but its all psychological but you guys can do it. Its like switching from coke to water. Its very difficult at first but once you get used to it, you won't be even thinking about that. I normally eat rice during breakfast (I'm a heavy breakfast eater) or dinner after my weight lifting session but not in every meal. The only reason that I eat rice is because I need it for my muscles since we used up our carbs & protein during heavy weight lifting session. Even at my heaviest weight, I don't eat rice 3x a day & sometimes no rice for the whole day. If you're really craving for carbs, fruits and veggies (ex. mashed cauliflower in exchange of rice) are great alternatives.

Oh & not to mention that rice is more calorie dense than fruits & veggies (1 cup of rice = 200 calories vs. 1 cup of spinach = approx. 30 calories) so its a great addition to your diet when you are trying to build muscle & you need to go on a calorie surplus or eating at least 200 more calories above your maintenance but not if you are trying to lose weight in a calorie deficit. In that case, its advisable to cut down on rice if you really can't help not eating it.

I've often eaten kare kare with just the vegetables, and left the oxtail to the side. Not sure how the broth would taste if cooked it without it.

bump

since I started my diet, I kinda gave up Filipino food and rice. Hirap kumain pag di ikaw nagluto, di mo alam kung ano laman! Haha So I'll try cooking my own! Can't wait! I've missed adobo and tinola!!!

Where has this topic been all my life? :-) I have a passion for food but Filipino food and diet does not always go together. Try this modified recipe and let me know what you think.

http://foodipino.com/2012/01/09/healthy-tuna-sisig/

Where has this topic been all my life? :-) I have a passion for food but Filipino food and diet does not always go together. Try this modified recipe and let me know what you think.

http://foodipino.com/2012/01/09/healthy-tuna-sisig/

Kailangan ba fresh na tuna ang gamitin? Or pwede yung canned tuna?

...I have a passion for food but Filipino food and diet does not always go together. Try this modified recipe and let me know what you think. http://foodipino.com/2012/01/09/healthy-tuna-sisig/

Hello from Chicago I2rSANTOS! Thanks for the link above. Do you have more? Please post.

I know there are some of our dishes (like lechon or crispy pata) that are hard to eat the way it was meant to be eaten (fat on), but I still try to enjoy these but have to trim off the fat and throw it away :laugh: !

Your wish is my command.com :-) I haven't tried this myself so if you do make it, please post results!
http://www.printfriendly.com/print/v2?url=http://foodipino.com/2012/03/21/fish-pochero/