MILO Launches Home Court Campaign, Inspiring Parents To Help Their Kids Pursue Their Champion Journey In Sports, Even At Home

As parents continue to learn how to adjust in the new normal, they are faced with an even bigger challenge and responsibility of finding ways to keep their kids active and healthy while at home. To assist moms and dads in this hour of need, MILO has launched its Home Court campaign, providing access for parents and their kids to the resources they need to jumpstart and continue their sporting ambitions, even in the comfort of their own home. Even in these uncertain times, MILO remains committed to fueling kids’ champion journeys in sports and in life. 

Being the Home Court for kids, MILO’s newest campaign encourages parents to support their kids as their champion journeys continue even at home through online training modules, remote coaching sessions, and  creative solutions to equip parents as the new coaches of their children. 

“More than taking part in amping up their skills with online trainings, Home Court inspires moms and dads to play a more active role as coaches to their little champs,” says Nestlé Philippines Vice President Veronica Cruz. “It’s all about being fun and imaginative with them to assist their learning and growth in their respective sports, as well as keep their champion spirit strong and nurture the lifelong character-forming values that come with it such as discipline, hard work, and self-confidence.” 

Over the past few months, MILO Home Court has already launched a series of initiatives equipping parents and kids to stay active, healthy, and train like a champ. MILO Champions IG Live, for instance, featured our most prized national athletes and brand ambassadors Keifer Ravena, Alyssa Valdez, Pauline Lopez, Juan and Javi Gomez De Liaño, and Coach Rio Dela Cruz leading free workout sessions for their fans. It also introduced MILO Sports Clinics Online, a newly-introduced digital platform where kids can learn the fundamentals of basketball, volleyball, taekwondo, and gymnastics under the tutelage of professional coaches from MILO’s partner organizations—all for FREE! 

After a successful first round, MILO is now gearing up to introduce new sports to its online clinics, giving more variety and room for kids to explore what they want to pursue with arnis, badminton, karate, tennis, and football. 

Suited for kids ages 7 to 12 years old, each 60-minute session will be made available on YouTube for kids to try out in their homes for as long as 4 weeks per sport and will be done in partnership with professional coaches of MILO’s partner organizations such as Department of Education Arnis Association of the Philippines (DEAAP), Asuncion Badminton Center, Association for the Advancement of Karatedo in the Philippines (AAK), Children’s Tennis & Sports Management Inc., and coaches from FC Barçelona Barça Academy; all supported by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC). 

“After postponing MILO Summer Sports Clinics, we’re glad that there’s still a surge of interest from parents to let their kids participate in the online version,” says MILO Sports Executive Lester Castillo. “We know how important it is to keep the champion journeys going which is why we are providing ways for them to still pursue their sporting dreams at the safety and comfort of their homes. Together with our trusted partner sports organizations and our best efforts, all is made possible in equipping our future champions.” 

Access the MILO Sports Clinics Online through this playlist: 

Through MILO Home Court initiatives and with the new MILO Champion Formula that contains more milk, packed with more Champion Energy Nutrients na PROTOMALTÒ, Iron, at Vitamins B2, B3, B6, and B12, at mas sulit dahil mas pinarami na ang isang sachet at the same suggested retail price, parents and their children are given the right energy to be creative and continue their champion journeys, even at home. 

There’s still a lot to look forward to MILO Home Court, so stay tuned to the MILO Philippines Facebook page (@milophilippines) for exciting announcements and important updates: https://www.facebook.com/milo.ph/.  

WHAT MOMS LOOK FOR IN CHOOSING THE RIGHT GROWING-UP MILK FOR THEIR KIDS

Every mom’s goal is to support their kids with good health, proper growth, and mental development. It’s hard do it alone but with the right growing-up formula milk—the goal is attainable.

Wyeth Nutrition™, manufacturer of PROMIL® FOUR, partnered with the world’s biggest e-community of shoppers – the Home Tester Club (HTC) – to find out what moms look for in choosing the right growing-up milk for their kids.

Home Tester Club strongly advocates helping people make informed purchases by sharing real product experiences. It promotes responsible and sensible shopping through shared conversations and reviews among its members, which consists of shoppers across all ages and product categories.

Last November 2019 to January 2020, HTC conducted a survey among 335 moms (from 20-45 years old, with kids 3 to 7 years old located in Metro Manila) to compare PROMIL® FOUR with other milk brands in a ‘blind’ test and taste engagement. 

Results reveal that 9 out of 10 Home Tester Club moms would switch to PROMIL® FOUR after trial for its taste.

Rina, a mom from Makati City, shares that PROMIL® FOUR’s right amount of sweetness is what her kid loves the most. “As compared to other brands, it provides the exact amount of taste for my kid without needing to add sugar. I have tried other brands of growing-up milk and I didn’t like how they were very sweet”.

Melody, mom to Ava, echoes the concern of most moms about sugar content. “We’ve been looking for a milk formula with less sugar. From my observation, the used glass of [PROMIL® FOUR] milk didn’t attract ants. It also tastes healthier, so I decided that this is the milk that I will give my daughter.”

Maylene couldn’t be happier that Thea, her daughter, finds PROMIL® FOUR not too sweet and really has the milky taste that is just right for the taste buds of kids.

Aside from the taste, mommy respondents agree that another important factor for them in choosing the right milk is the nutrients found in the product.

Jenny shared that her daughter Sherra usually drinks a glass of milk when she gets home from school. At first, her daughter was not enthusiastic when she tasted PROMIL® FOUR. However, it changed after a few more tries, and now her daughter loves it. According to Jenny, “It’s a good transition for me because PROMIL® FOUR offers more nutrients than the other milk brand we’ve been using. We’re sticking with it from now on.”

Another mom named Carla was surprised upon discovery of the nutrient content of PROMIL® FOUR. ”Actually, it’s only now that I learned the kind of nutrients of this product. Wow, there’s a lot! I’m really going to give this milk to [my daughter] Crystal”.

PROMIL® FOUR is scientifically designed with important and essential nutrients to support a child’s proper growth and mental development to help nurture the gift.

In the PROMIL® FOURTest and Taste challenge, HTC validated the survey with actual reviews of moms who participated in the activity. The result: 9 out 10 Home Tester Club moms in Metro Manila would switch to PROMIL® FOUR after trial. 

What about you, moms? Test and taste your child’s milk to experience the difference yourself.

Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo shares her secrets in keeping Luna healthy and happy!

Quarantine stories and parenting tips straight from Mommy Juday!

The health and safety of the whole family is every parent’s number one priority especially during these unprecedented times. For our super mom, Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo, adapting to the new normal was never easy but with the help of her friends and a few experts around her, adjusting has now become a challenging yet delightful learning experience for her and her family.

Knowing the difficulties and struggles of being a mom, Mommy Juday shared some of her latest discoveries in making sure that her kids can safely grow healthy and happy while staying at home.

1. Gawing mas happy ang bawat moment na kasama si Chikiting

“Ngayong araw-araw tayong magkakasama, ito yung time for us to nurture our kids more. I-enjoy natin yung bawat moment na kasama natin sila dahil our kids really look up to us, ginagaya nila tayo. Kaya kung ano yung sabihin natin, gawin natin, pano tayo magdamit, paano tayo mag-alaga sa kanila, ibinabalik nila sa atin yun.” shared mommy Juday as she explains the value of spending as much time with her kids during the quarantine period.

Given that we’re mostly staying at home, grab every opportunity to spend as much time with your chikitings by doing the things they enjoy, their passions, and the things they’re curious about. Immerse yourself in what they like to get to know them better and help them develop their skills along the way.

2. Spark the curiosity of your chikitings and learn with them

Being at home does not mean skipping on the chance to learn, children are naturally curious and this is the opportunity for you to explore and learn new things with them. Mommy Judy Ann values her children’s education and shares that she studies with her kids. She proudly admits that she even learns a lot from them!

“Nag-aaral ako with them dahil bilang nanay kailangan mo rin i-level up ang knowledge mo sa kung ano ang ginagawa ng mga anak mo. Kasama din nila ako magresearch tungkol sa mga bagay bagay dahil minsan mas alam pa nila kung ano yung mga bago at trending kaysa sa’kin at mas natututo ako from them and with them.”

3. Gawing family bonding ang gawaing bahay

Use this time to teach your kids about household chores by slowly introducing small tasks they can do around the house. In the case of Mommy Juday, Luna enjoys helping her cook, and they even started planting their own veggies together: “Recently nagtatanim kami nina Lucho at Luna ng mga veggies na pwede naming ulamin!”

She also knows the importance of teaching her kids the skills they need to be more independent as they grow up, “We need to equip our children with basic survival skills tulad ng pagluluto, paglilinis, paglalaba, at paghuhugas ng pinggan para paglaki nila, hindi sila nakadepende sa ibang tao dahil naturuan natin sila at this early age.”

4. Panatilihing malusog at masaya ang mga chikiting with the right nutrition partner

Choose the right nutrition partner which can always provide all the nutrients that your chikitings need for them to grow happy and healthy. Mommy Judy Ann also believes that boosting our kids’ immune system will be their very first line of defense against illnesses. By providing their tummies with complete nutrients, they can be strong enough to fight off germs and viruses.

“Sa panahon ngayon, we need to look for the right milk na makakatulong sa happy at tamang paglaki ng mga bagets natin. We want them to be ready and equipped with whatever they might face diba? Kaya ako I choose only NESTOGROW® 4 for Luna talaga.”  Mommy Juday also talked about how her trusted milk brand is enriched with L COMFORTIS® which improves the absorption of nutrients in children’s tummies and no added table sugar — ensuring that your kids get the #KumpletongNutriTIYAN they need to #GrowHappy and healthy!

Mommy Judy Ann’s NESTOGROW® journey

Judy Ann and her youngest daughter Luna officially joined the NESTOGROW® family this year as the brand’s newest endorsers alongside Mommy Melai Cantiveros-Francisco and Mela. “Malaki talaga ang pasalamat ko sa NESTOGROW® at sa tiwalang ibinigay nila sa amin ni Luna. Sa totoo lang, NESTOGROW® talaga yung produktong pinagkakatiwalaan ko, especially when it comes to my children.” Working with NESTOGROW® has been such a great blessing for Judy Ann this year. It was just a perfect match from the beginning as she automatically fell in love with the brand as it helped show great improvement for Luna.

To further shine light on the importance of gut health, the newest mom and daughter duo starred in NESTOGROW’s TV commercial where Judy Ann explains to Luna na ang health ng katawan ay nagsisimula sa tiyan! 

With the release of the TVC, Mommy Judy Ann lets us in on a secret that the whole production was done right in their home with just a camera and the help of a few friends. It was a different experience being used to having a full production set, but according to her, “It was really a collaborative effort since konti lang kami and wala din kaming masyadong gamit . But it was fun working with friends and seeing Luna really happy and energetic during the shoot!” For Judy Ann, the whole experience is really something she’ll be treasuring since they were able to create something despite the challenges brought by the new normal: “This is something that will remain very memorable for Luna, and for me as well kasi we were able to rise above the challenge and adapt to change. I’m just so happy to see Luna happily doing things and adjusting to change at a very young age.”

Learn and spend time with your kids during this quarantine period by checking out NESTGROW’s latest commercial through this LINK and find out why you should definitely not forget about the importance of the tiyan!

Visit NESTOGROW® Facebook page for more updates and you can also purchase NESTOGROW® 4 on their official stores at Lazada and Shopee!

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About NESTOGROW® 4

NESTOGROW® 4 is the only growing up milk brand that contains L. Comfortis®, a probiotic that may help in your child’s digestive health and now without added sucrose. NESTOGROW® 4 is not a breastmilk substitute and is suitable for healthy children above 3 years old.

Quarantine creativity: 19-year-old Cebu student uses soy sauce to make art

As the quarantine keeps everyone at home for their safety, many young Filipinos spend their time honing their skills and creativity, finding ways to express themselves. With all this free time on their hands, there are those who even go the extra mile when it comes to being creative.

This was certainly the case for 19-year-old communication student Thea Sophia Disabelle, from Bantayan Island, Cebu, who stirred buzz on the internet after creating art not just through traditional mediums, but also using a medium no one thinks could be used for art: soy sauce. Yes, the very same soy sauce you ordinarily see in kitchens at home.

“It all started when I poured a little amount of soy sauce into a saucer, since I needed it for my fried fish,” said Thea, who made her first soy sauce artwork back in March using Silver Swan Soy Sauce, a staple in their pantry. “After that, I paused for three seconds while staring at it—something was beautifully formed. After I had my breakfast that day, I asked myself, ‘Why not make art using soy sauce?’”

Working with soy sauce

While Thea always had access to Silver Swan Soy Sauce as it was the family’s preferred brand since her childhood, it would take her a few more months before trying to make another soy sauce artwork after her first one. This time, however, people took notice.

“I posted it on Facebook and didn’t expect to get many likes, comments and shares,” she said.
“Fortunately, it really went viral and I was so overwhelmed.”

Although Thea also creates art using more traditional mediums such as paint, pastels, and pencils, she likes the convenience that soy sauce allows, recommending it to artists who may have challenges getting art materials during the quarantine. Silver Swan Soy Sauce, made of high-quality soybeans, also provides artists a unique texture to work with, distinguishing it from the usual materials and providing a tamang-tamang timpla evento art.

“The texture looks so cool after a while,” she says. “Artists just need soy sauce, a large plate, and imagination. It’s tricky to do this kind of artwork because one wrong move, you’ll have to start all over again. It might be an ephemeral artwork but it’s worth the effort.”

Quarantine Creativity: 19-year-old Thea Sophia Disabelle only had a bottle of Silver Swan Soy Sauce, large plate, and a limitless imagination to create unique works of art.

Inspiring young Filipino creatives

As some artists find new ways to make breathtaking art during the quarantine using everyday items, Thea believes that there’s really no limit to what anyone can create as long as they keep trying. She herself wants to pursue a fine arts course and eventually turn her hobby into her life’s work.

“I encourage them to be creative and make use of their time through art,” she says. “You don’t need expensive art materials—you just have to go to your kitchen, get some stuff and make it your masterpiece. It’s just a matter of creativity, dedication and willingness to learn something new. You just have to be creative in making nothing into something. That’s how art works.”

As a token of recognition for Thea’s astounding creativity and resourcefulness, NutriAsia, makers of Silver Swan will be sending her and her family more of their products for their use—whether it’s for their food or for more of Thea’s art.

This Grade 12 artist can make awesome artworks with banana catsup

When hard times strike and traditional resources are out of reach, the most creative of us can find ingenious ways to make one-of-a-kind works of art.

This is especially true for Filipinos—and no one proves our resourcefulness and creativity more than this amazing Grade 12 artist, who didn’t need paint or pencils to create artwork. No, Vincent Dwight Paulo from Nueva Ecija uses banana catsup to draw portraits of famous personalities while staying at home during the community quarantine.

While he first started with a catsup portrait back in 2018, it was during the quarantine when he really started honing this unique art skill. “I really engaged myself in doing catsup art since school and art supplies shops were closed,” said Vincent. “I was running out of materials, so I used catsup instead.”

With creating catsup art being only a hobby for him, Vincent never thought it would become as popular as it did.

Working with catsup

Catsup was not the first medium he had used to create art, but it was the one within reach at home—which is how he ended up creating portraits of celebrities like Liza Soberano, Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla, Taylor Swift, and One Direction.

“I really loved catsup because it is readily available inside the house,” Vincent shared. “I really love exploring and trying other mediums just to try something new. I don’t like to stick to the conventional and typical artworks that we see.”

Vincent primarily uses UFC Banana Catsup as it is the family’s favorite catsup brand at home. “It’s always what’s in our kitchen, and we really like fried foods dipped in UFC Banana Catsup because of its tamis-anghang taste,” he said. “I don’t want to try other brands for my art because I’m already used to UFC.”

Vincent’s resourcefulness led him to their kitchen pantry, where he used a bottle of UFC Banana Catsup to create one-of-a-kind portraits that went viral on social media.

Artist Vincent Dwight Paulo received various NutriAsia products which the family can enjoy both for cooking and creating unique artwork.

Inspiring creativity in Filipinos

While Vincent wows admirers online with his amazing catsup art, his plans are a little more different, as he dreams of taking up architecture in college. He realizes that such a course could be expensive, hindering others from pursuing their passion, but with his work he wants to inspire fellow artists and creatives to be resourceful.

“Being more creative and resourceful really is my objective. Painting does not stop if you don’t have art materials,” he continued. “Alternative materials are everywhere; you just have to explore. If you could think of some other materials than those usually used in making art, that would be great.”

As a token of recognition for Vincent’s astounding creativity and resourcefulness, NutriAsia sent him and his family more of their products for their use—whether it’s for their food or for more of Vincent’s art.

 

 

Creative snacks for homeschool recess

As students prepare to take their classes online for their safety amid the pandemic, it is important to keep them fueled and motivated for school. To help boost their creativity and learning, Solane, the country’s leading LPG solutions provider, suggests smart tips for creative snacks that are perfect for study breaks:

Create fun snacks during craft-making day. Parents can bake butter cookies, cupcakes or cakes while kids decorate them with designs like the planets of the solar system or their favorite literary characters. The key is to think out of the box and prep ahead of time or during the weekend so everything is ready for a quick snack break. Doing this can help make their homeschooling experience more fun and give them something enjoyable to look forward to every week.

Have a weekly themed recess. Turn recess into an opportunity to learn something new. It can be a fun science experiment like turning milk into ice cream or it can be a short “tour around the world,” discovering different cultures through food. Serve them various cuisines as their snacks with a new country as the theme every day or every week.

Make bento boxes. Some parents struggle to make their kids eat nutritious foods. To encourage and excite the kids to eat well-balanced meals, why not make bento boxes? Utilize colorful ingredients or shape them into cute animals to make the bento box visually appetizing. Other great ideas for bento lunch sets are sushi sandwiches with sliced fruits or nori-wrapped rice sandwiches that can be made from leftovers.

Incorporate food that boost memory and concentration. Help kids get through their homeschool hours by preparing “brain food” to boost memory and concentration. Try fruit bowls or smoothies with blueberries, strawberries, kiwis and oranges. Studies show that these fruits contain vitamin C and antioxidants, which help prevent mental decline and improve communication in the brain cells, respectively. Be sure to include fatty fish like salmon, sardines, tuna, mackerel, which are rich in omega-3s for better cognition and thinking abilities.

Prepare these fun and healthy snack options suggested by Solane to help students be well and learn better. To know more, visit www.solane.com.ph.

Chicken Putchero

Puchero means stewpot. It is actually an adopted inheritance from the Spaniards that colonized the Philippines. From Puchero, we adopted and pronounced it as Putchero.

Puchero is Stewpot in Spanish

And when I hear the word Putchero, saba is the first thing that comes to mind.

Here’s my simplified Chicken Putchero Recipe:

choose large potatoes for easy frying

Peel, chopped in disk, wash and drain potatoes

Sliced Saba or Plaintain diagonally

Fry potatoes and bananas, drain excess oil and set aside.

In a medium heat pan,

Sauteed minced onion and garlic

Add sliced chicken and cooked until browned

Add a little fish sauce

Add a cup of water

Add tomato paste *if you are using tomato sauce you can skip the water or just add a little bit

Simmer until sauce thickens

Seasoned with salt and pepper

Put fried potatoes and bananas

Stir gently and simmer for a minute or until the fried potatoes and bananas are completely covered in sauce and is hot.

Serve with hot steaming rice.

Japanese Odeng/Korean Eomuk/Fish Cake Bar with Homemade Pangnyeomjang Dipping Sauce

Odeng/Eomuk

Meat:

Grind fish fillet, clean headless squid and/or deveined headless shrimp

Chop some bell peppers (green and red to make it colorful)

Add salt and pepper

Set aside

On a separate bowl,

Add egg white

Pan frying powder (I used crispy fry fish from Ajinomoto)

cornstarch

breadcrumbs

minced spring onion

pepper

Combine the grinded meat and the batter completely

Roll into a stick or sheet

Fry in medium high heat.

Photo by hitesh choudhary on Pexels.com

Fish Cake Soup

Boil 1 liter of water for 20 minutes with kelp, spring onion and anchovies (guts removed)

Strain the ingredients

Add soy sauce and salt to taste

Put Odeng and other street food (crabsticks, squid balls, etc) on the soup and boil for another 3-5 minutes.

Served with Pangnyeomjang Sauce.

Pangnyeomjang dipping sauce

Soy sauce

Minced garlic

Green chili

Minced spring onion

Sugar

Paprika powder

Sesame oil

Sesame seeds

Cookie Jar

Wala pang quarantine, I try to embrace minimalism na while I continue in hoarding “useable” knowledge as I find joy, excitement and insatiable thirst in learning and relearning. Aside from trying to read voraciously (maraming time ngayong lockdown, kids becoming independent means more me-time and audiobooks are a lifesaver, too), self-researching on things that tinkers the mind or questions what is normal or standard, and learning new languages, now I’m into indulging myself to yet another passion – cooking in the kitchen.

Photo by Ksenia Chernaya on Pexels.com

To keep steer away from sad spells and depression, I’m always in a hunt to find self-improvement, and yet, the room is still vast. Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? (Job 38:33a)

Mababaw para sa iba, but malaking achievement na para sa akin ang makapuno ng cookie jar with my handmade artisan chocolate chip cookies. Naks!
Kamusta naman kayo, ano na ang naimprove niyo? May new discoveries ba, passion, home projects na natuloy, procrastinated works na natapos na or new skills?

 

Tuna Pie

Homemade Tuna Pie (Vitamin Enriched ECQ edition)

I made 40 pieces from 180grams ng tuna flakes in oil and 120grams of mayonnaise in 2 bread loaves (kahit ako nagulat)

Actually, maliit kasi yung bread loaf na available and nag overload kami ng harvest so marami akong spring onions ang ginayat ko for this.

Prepare the ff:

*bread

Cut the bread to remove sides

Flatten using a rolling pin

*Breadcrumbs

Use the sides and the end parts of the loaf to make homemade breadcrumbs

*Cheese

Cut in small sizes, that will fit the bread

*Eggwash

For this batch, I used 4 beaten eggs. You can just beat one first, and add if necessary.

*Fillings

Ingredients for fillings:

Tuna flakes in vegetable oil, drained and minced

3 pieces small onions, minced

Spring onions, minced

Mix together in a bowl. Add salt and pepper according to taste.

Ipalaman sa bread. Cheese muna, then yung tuna fillings.

Seal the edges with fork.

Isawsaw sa eggwash bago tabunan ng breadcrumbs.

Shake off excess breadcrumbs before frying in medium heat.

Tips:

Kapag may nalaglag na breadcrumbs sa oil, alisin or igilid para iwas mukhang sunog.

Mas ok kung unahin gawin ang fillings bago iflatten ang bread para hindi tumigas at mapunit kapag finold na.

Add chili flakes or minced red chili in the filling to make it spicy tuna pie.