Even on a tight budget, a mother can provide her family with nutritious meals which are a must these days to combat malnutrition.

            The important thing to remember is to eat a variety of foods everyday, says the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, as no single food can supply the nutrients the body needs.

            As a starter, serve one-dish meals often. Sinigang, bulanglang, dinengdeng, nilaga or ginisang monggo contain foods rich in protein, vitamins and minerals. For snacks, fresh fruits, fruit juices, and tubers like gabi and kamote are better choices than empty calorie foods like candies, softdrinks and chips.

            Fish, eggs, beef and chicken should also be served in the course of the week. But the budget-concious housewife will be happy to know that legumes (butong-gulay) like monggo sitaw, patani and kadyos are just as nutritious as the more expensive dishes mentioned.

            Small fishes like dilis, besides being inexpensive, are rich in protein and calcium.

            And fruits are also very important to one’s health.

            In addition, green leafy and yellow vegetables are not only nutritious but unexpensive. Examples are talbos ng kamote, kangkong, petsay, kalabasa, talbos ng alugbati at kulitis. You may even grow assured of fresh vegetables every day, helping ease the food budget.

            For men and women, nutritionists recommend fried dilis or fried eggs and rice to start the day.

            For lunch, it’s sinigang na alumahan with malunggay leaves, inihaw na tamban with fresh tomatoes, rice and fruits such as pineapple. And for the afternoon merienda, nilagang mani or saba.

            Sinigang na karne, fish rice and papaya may be served for dinner. The key to stretching peso value is to serve one-dish meals and combine several vegetables that can complement on another’s nutrient contents.

 

By: Alicia B. Reyes | Teacher III | Limay Elementary School | Limay, Bataan