Eating Right with Food Tastings Cooking Demo Class

It was a rainy Sunday afternoon yet hundreds of Pinoy foodies headed over at Eastwood Mall to learn recipes, tips and strategies in cooking healthy meals.

Following Nanay's release from the hospital with a long list of maintenance meds and food to avoid, plus the fact that nearly everyone in the family is diabetic with developing complications, one might think I'm stuck eating boring food.

It was another wake up call for me. I have to make a conscious effort to decide what goes into my body, remind myself to be more physically active and, hopefully, replace our meals with minimal sugar, salt, and fat content without sacrificing taste.

A free cooking demo class called "Food Tastings" focusing on "Deliciously Healthy" meals couldn't have come at a better time for me. Food Tastings is a year-long celebration for FOOD magazine's 20th anniversary. The session was loaded with eight different dishes prepared by five top chefs / culinary experts in the metro.

Fitness trainer and owner of Fit Burger, Anthony Macaraeg, kicked off the event with healthy burgers: Breakfast Burger and Fit Burger.

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Fit Burger and Breakfast Burger #fitburgerinc #FoodMagazine #Foodtastings #healthyeats #eastwoodfoodartistry :) #seewhatotherscantsee #zenfoneselfie #geekykitch

A photo posted by Dems (@demsangeles) on Sep 13, 2015 at 12:30am PDT

Next up, chef Deejay Santos prepared a Mediterranean Chicken and Couscous dish featuring Tefal Pure Red Wok and Pan.

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Chef Deejay Santos' Mediterranean Chicken and Couscous :) #FoodMagazine #Foodtastings #eastwoodfoodartistry #TefalPH #healthyeats #seewhatotherscantsee #zenfoneselfie #geekykitch A photo posted by Dems (@demsangeles) on Sep 13, 2015 at 1:00am PDT

Chef Matthew Bates of Early Bird Breakfast Club shared some tips on how to poach eggs while cooking his Poached Salmon Aioli. He also showed how to do a Breakfast Sausage Tart.

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Poached Salmon Aioli by Chef Matthew Bates :) #FoodMagazine #FoodTastings #eastwoodfoodartistry #heartbeats #geekykitch #seewhatotherscantsee #ZenfoneSelfie

A photo posted by Dems (@demsangeles) on Sep 13, 2015 at 1:30am PDT

Chef Matthew Bates' Breakfast Sausage Tart :) #FoodMagazine #Foodtastings #eastwoodfoodartistry #healthyeats #geekykitch #seewhatotherscantsee A photo posted by Dems (@demsangeles) on Sep 13, 2015 at 2:05am PDT

Chef Nancy Dizon-Edralin of ICE Culinary Sapporo taught us how to cook Seafood Sotanghon with Black Ink. As an added bonus she also demonstrated how to whip up Mango Graham Cashew Cream Parfait.

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Seafood Sotanghon with Black Ink by Chef Nancy Dizon-Edralin :) #FoodMagazine #FoodTastings #eastwoodfoodartistry #healthyeats #seafood #geekykitch #seewhatotherscantsee A photo posted by Dems (@demsangeles) on Sep 13, 2015 at 2:42am PDT

Last but not the least is my favorite Pad Thai Salad and the Mushroom and Kale Paella using locally-sourced, natural ingredients presented by Green Pasture's Chef Robby Goco.

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Pad Thai Salad a.k.a Eastwood Salad by Chef Robby Goco of Green Pastures :) #FoodMagazine #FoodTastings #eastwoodfoodartistry #healthyeats #paleo #glutenfree #vegan #padthai #geekykitch #seewhatotherscantsee

A photo posted by Dems (@demsangeles) on Sep 13, 2015 at 3:53am PDT

I was able to taste all except for Breakfast Burger and the Mushroom and Kale Paella, but I have no doubts that it's equally good. I love how events like this educate people. The chefs explain the nutritional value or origin of a particular ingredient and share their best practice tricks in the kitchen. It also changes the perspective about healthy food - it can be tasty and colorful and fun to prepare!

Don't worry guys, I will share all the recipes on separate posts so you can try it out for yourselves. Aside from poaching which I need to practice on, each dish is easy to prepare and doesn't take too much time :)

FOOD magazine editor-in-chief Nana Ozaeta shared that the next FOOD tastings leg will feature how to make desserts in November. Perfect for the yuletide season!

Food Magazine is available in all major newsstands nationwide. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Can't find your favorite magazine? Head over to www.abs-cbnstore.com for ABS-CBN Publishing, Inc.'s magazine titles.