Treasure Jar

I have always wanted to make Cake Pops but I was apprehensive because I didn’t want to bake a cake only to crumble it to make these Cake Pops. So when the opportunity to join “Sarap maging kid with Inipit” or  #NoLimitWithInipit Contest was sponsored by Nuffnang, I decided to join using Inipit’s Custard Cake Sandwich as my cake base.

To make the Cake Pops healthier, I used Dried Figs and a local brand of all-natural and not so sweet peanut butter to hold the crumbled cake together instead of the usual shortening or jam or even chocolate-based spread. For the melted chocolate, I used semi-sweet chocolate. Maybe next time I will use dark chocolate instead to lessen the sweetness in the recipe. My children absolutely loved it but said it was a tad sweet for them. They are not used to eating too sweet and too salty food that’s why.

Anyway…

Ingredients:

• 5 pcs Custard flavor Inipit
• 5 pcs Dried Figs
• 1/3 cup local brand all-natural peanut butter
• 1/2 pack of semi-sweet baking chocolate
• rainbow candy sprinkles

Procedure:

Crumble the custard inipit until almost powdery in consistency.

Put the figs in a food processor and mix till it has a pasty consistency.

Add the peanut and the figs to the crumbled custard Inipit.

Make small balls and freeze for an hour or two.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave using 1 minute/medium heat cycles. After every minute, get the microwaveable container and mix the chocolate. Repeat till all the chocolate pieces are melted and smooth.

Get the frozen choco-nut balls and insert a straw halfway in each of the balls.

Use a spoon to drip melted chocolate on the frozen choco-nut balls. Turn the straw around so that the excess chocolate will drip back in the bowl.

Sprinkle with rainbow candy sprinklers.

Put the Choco-Nut Cake Pops on a stand like a styro to dry. I used a baking bowl, put some clean and unused table rags inside, covered with an elastic plastic cover and inserted the straws through the plastic cover.

Presenting the No-Bake Choco-Nut Cake Pops with Inipit Custard Cake Sandwich as the base cake. I was able to make 13 No-Bake Choco-Nut Cake Pops. So easy to make!

Tags: #NoLimitWithInipit, Inipit Custard Cake Sandwich

Filipinos tend to put their health and personal well-being as their least priority. One of the reasons why this happens is because they can’t afford to pay for appropriate treatments and medications. The budget for paying these medications and proper health care services are usually reserved for buying food, paying for tuition fees and purchasing the basic family needs for their day-to-day lives.

RiteMED recognizes every Filipino’s right to proper healthcare, and has been providing the country with quality and affordable medicines for over a decade. This is a pharmaceutical brand that understands the importance of a healthy nation. RiteMed continues its commitment of giving everyone access to excellent medical care through medicines that even those who do not have much to spend can easily afford, without the quality of the products being less than superior.

With RiteMed, Filipinos now has an inexpensive alternative to branded medicines without a trace of a doubt that what they are choosing is what’s best for them and their loved ones.

Alberto Manlapit, RiteMED head of Business Strategy Development says that “When the patients takes that pill, we want them to feel confident, to assure them that that pill deserves their trust,”. Always looking out for every Filipino’s well-being by doing the following:

• the company keeps its drug manufacturing processes at par with international standards, providing everyone a sound promise that choosing RiteMed is choosing smart;
• that affordable doesn’t equal inferior;
• and that getting substandard and counterfeit medicines is one less thing to worry about.

This year, in its efforts to further communicate to the public the availability of its affordable and high-quality products, the brand has adopted a grassroots program—the RiteMED Ating Alameds.

RiteMED Ating Alameds is designed to inform and educate the Filipinos on their right to proper healthcare,. The program involves visits to major public markets nationwide where RiteMED conducts games in which participants are tasked to memorize the generic names of the medicines they usually buy. This activity is a fun memory game that effectively gets people to remember to ask their doctors or pharmacists for more affordable options with the simple question, “May RiteMED ba nito?” when they’re buying medicines.

The following are the places that RiteMEDS Ating Alameds has visited:

• Mega Q-Mart and Farmers Market in Quezon City
• Pasig Mega Public Market
• Alabang Public Market
• Marikina Public Market
• Pritil public market
• other markets in Luzon provinces and cities like Pampanga, Pangasinan, Baguio, Ilocos Norte & Sur, Isabela, Cavite and Laguna

RiteMED Ating Alameds is set to visit more public markets soon in the Southern Luzon & Bicol regions, Visayas and Mindanao.

As part of the program, RiteMED will also be visiting remote areas in the Philippines in the coming months, to provide free consultation and treatment to Filipinos, especially the poor communities.

Ating AlaMEDS, which started this April and will run throughout the rest of the year, is a great way to let people know that even when they don’t have much to spare, their health doesn’t have to take the backseat to their other needs.

RiteMED cares and looks after every Filipino’s health, and by carrying out their mission of encouraging consumers to learn about the array of choices that are provided to them by the company, they help greatly in building a healthier Philippines.

Tags: RiteMED Ating Alameds

Aspiring teen chefs, 13 years old and up will be taught how to cook and bake dishes from around the world as Culinary Trip Around the World at The Maya Kitchen offers a four-day hands-on classes. The classes will be on May 26 to May 29, 2015.

Class fee is P7,000 and this include the ingredients for four days, apron, toque and a certificate.

Culinary instructor Sabrina Daez will show American Blockbusters on Day 1 like Chili Dogs, Cheesy Bacon Fries, Crunchy Coleslaw, Doughnuts and Stuffed Cookies.

It’s Filipino Fusion on Day 2 with Beef and Mushroom Salpicao, Garlic Lemon Rice, Banofee Pie Turon, Calamansi Bars and Coconut Macaroons.

Day 3 features Mexican Mash-Up with Flour Tortillas, Beef Soft Tacos, Dry and Wet Salsa, Cinnamon Churros and Triple-C Mousse Cake.

It’s off to Italy on Day 4 Classy Italian Café fare like Baked Ziti, Creamy Spinach Dip with Homemade Breadsticks, Slow-Cooked Tomato Sauce, Brownie Brittle and Red Velvet Cheesecake.

For more information on this and on other course offerings, log on to www.themayakitchen.com, e-mail The Maya Kitchen at contactus@themayakitchen.com

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Visit The Maya Kitchen Culinary Center every Tuesday to Saturday on the 8/F Liberty Building, 835 A. Arnaiz Avenue (Pasay Road), Makati City or call 892-1185 / 892-5011 local 108 / Mobile No. +63947 835 2290.

Tags: Culinary Trip Around the World at The Maya Kitchen, The Maya Kitchen

Bagdasarian Productions’ brand new series ALVINNN!!! and The Chipmunks premiered yesterday, Friday, May 8 7.30pm (PH) on Nickelodeon.

Alvin and the Chipmunks are back on Nickelodeon in the all-new CG-animated series “ALVINNN!!!! And the Chipmunks”. This premiere marked the return of the franchise to television after 20 years. It is also the return of the duo Janice Karman and Ross Bagdasarian, who were both behind the original 1980s animated series and three blockbuster feature films.

ALVINNN!!! and The Chipmunks follows the friendship of Alvin, Simon, Theodore and The Chipettes as they face growing up and learning new life lessons.

Each episode will feature an original song produced by Bagdasarian. In the half-hour series premiere, Alvin is back in school but is not thrilled about it, that is, until he sees the new Principal and develops a crush. This episode is entitled “Principal Interest.”

In “Talking Teddy” episode, Theodore’s new talking-teddy bear is driving Alvin and Simon nuts. The two decide to rewire the bear to follow their instructions.

• After the premiere, new episodes of ALVINNN!!! and The Chipmunks will air weekends from Saturday, May 16 11am (PH) on Nickelodeon.

• Season one of the series will feature 52 x 11 minute episodes and is created by Janice Karman and produced by Bagdasarian Productions and OuiDO! Productions.

Alvin and The Chipmunks is a classic, global property that was created by Ross Bagdasarian Sr. in 1958. Considered to be one of the most successful kids brands in the world, Alvin and The Chipmunks has secured a loyal fan-base and garnered more than 50 million+ viewers in over 150 countries and five Emmy award nominations.

Tags: Alvin and the Chipmunks, Alvin and the Chipmunks on Nickelodeon, Janice Karman, Ross Bagdasarian

The Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2015 in Manila happened as a Screening Party at the Resorts World Manila last March 30.

Here is another one of my Instagram posts as I waited for the Screening Party to start.

The Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2015 Screening Party in Manila was awesome! Resorts World Manila was filled with excited, happy and energized kids (and parents too!).

There were photo booths, toy stores set up on the cinema lobby, loot bags, Nick character mascots and fun games with great prizes before the screening which further made the children all the more excited and happy. In between awards or during commercial breaks, there were also games played.

SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star as well as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and other characters came out to entertain the audience and allow the children to have their photos taken with them.

The Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards show aired on the Nickelodeon channel and highlighted the best names in TV, movie, music, sports and other categories. The children who were at the Screening Party watched the awards on a simultaneous broadcast on the big screen. They also received a VIN treatment: Very Important Nickster 😀

The Nickelodoen Kids’ Choice Awards 2015 was hosted by Nick Jonas who serenaded the crowd at the beginning of the show. The KCAs 2015 was star-studded, featuring remarkable performances from Iggy Azalea and Jennifer Hudson and teen sensation 5 Seconds of Summer. Celebrities also made a special appearance, much to the delight of the audience. Some of this year’s winners, as voted by Nickelodeon viewers, included “Hunger Games” star Liam Hemsworth, Emma Stone for “The Amazing Spiderman” and Angelina Jolie who claimed Favourite Villain for “Maleficent.”

Our very own Teen King Daniel Padilla was nominated as Favourite Asian Act, and although he didn’t quite swipe the orange blimp, he did win the Slime-A-Star award, beating nominees from Brazil, the United Kingdom, Latin America, and New Zealand.

The Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2015 Screening Party, presented by Toy Kingdom and co-sponsored by Kinder Joy, Shopkins, and Swift Mighty Meaty Hotdog, Nickelodeon’s cable partner CignalTV and venue partner Resorts World Manila, was nothing less than epic.

I’m sure the kids couldn’t wait for next year’s slime season, coz if 2015 was any indication, they’re in for an even bigger treat in the years to come!

Tags: KCAs 2015, Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2015

I am not one to put creamer in my coffee. Having tried Krem-Top in our brewed coffee is a welcome treat for me. Krem-Top is a non-dairy coffee creamer that gives all the rich taste which best complements your coffee. Relish the creaminess and savour the wonderful aroma which will make your coffee experience more enjoyable.

Krem-Top is a perfect partner with a hot cuppa for a breakfast of fried rice, bacon and sausage. Yum!

Incidentally, Krem-Top has an ongoing campaign called Change for the Better.

I used Krem-Top in one of the homemade gifts I gave away last Christmas and here was what it looked like:

From bottom to top:

1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups powdered chocolate milk
1 cup Krem-Top non-dairy creamer
1/3 cup coffee
1/2t cinnamon
1/2t nutmeg

Instructions: shake the container until all of the ingredients are incorporated. OR pour the ingredients in a clean bowl, stir till everything has been mixed. Transfer back in the container.

Use two heaping tablespoons to make a cup of hot creamy coffee.

Tags: Krem-Top, Krem-Top coffee creamer, Krem-Top non-dairy creamer