# Food & Nutrtion



## Guest (Sep 8, 2016)

One reason I'm moving to the Philippines is that my Canada government pension, although it is tied to the yearly inflation rate, just can't keep up with rising prices, especially food that costs more and more by the month since a great deal is imported. I have to greatly limit the variety of food, so stick to the most nutritional items I can afford.

I spent more than a decade in my younger years traveling and living in various Asian countries, and one of my favorite experiences were the public markets, especially in Macau, Hong Kong and the Philippines. I am really looking forward to that again. I will be able to afford a far more nutritious and varied diet.

I currently cook with extra virgin olive oil. However, there is a huge world-wide scandal regarding that oil and there is no guarantee that what I buy is actually what the label says it is. Coconut oil is more difficult to find here and more expensive. I assume coconut oil is abundant in the Philippines and has health benefits equal to or surpassing olive oil, so I'm looking forward to that. I also only eat brown rice at home, mostly basmati imported from India. But I know there is a great variety of rices there. When I was there in the 70s I ate a lot of red rice. 

I rarely eat bread, and never white bread except for a rare junk-food burger. When I do eat bread it is usually made from sprouted wheat grains, which is more nutritious. I doubt that's available there. If given a choice between brown bread and white rice, though, I would go with the rice. White rice is delicious, though less nutritious than brown, and I would not hesitate to eat it when a guest or in restaurants.

Here are a few items I consume regularly that I wonder about concerning availability and price.

COFFEE - Canadians are the world's 3rd largest consumers by volume. I like to buy organic whole roasted beans and grind them myself as needed. Is that cheap there, and can I buy a grinder there, because my kitchen appliances here won't work on 220V? I heard recently that one of the world's largest coffee and donut shop chains, originally a Canadian company, Tim Hortons, will be opening shops in the Philippines, but I would prefer to buy from local producers if available.

NUTS - (not peanuts, which are legumes) whole raw nuts of all kinds are very expensive here in Canada, so I have had to stop buying them. But they are very nutritious and I would like to eat a handful daily if possible. I don't remember eating nuts when I lived in the Philippines in the 70s. Do nuts grow there and if so are they widely available?

QUINOA - is an extremely nutritious seed/grain that is high in protein and contains the full range of essential amino acids. I eat it almost daily, usually for lunch. Here in Canada it comes from South America. But a variety of Red Quinoa is also grown in Taiwan. Is that available in the Philippines? Or is there a similar grain in the Philippines?

WHOLE OAT GROATS - another very nutritious grain that I eat regularly for breakfast. I'm assuming it's not available there, or perhaps only in western style supermarkets. If I can't get it, I will have to change to something similar, or something completely different for breakfast. 

COCOA Powder - is very nutritious. I usually put a heaping spoonful in my oatmeal. If its available I might find another way to consume it.

I know I will probably have to give up somethings I'm used to eating, and I am more than willing to do that. I'm just curious about those items. I like to do my own shopping and cooking, and my Filipino friends whose farm house I will be renting will help me adjust to that, though they have said that their relatives living on the same farm will cook for me if I want. I will definitely get them to teach me Filipino recipes. I will also have a very large garden space all to my own to grow whatever I want, which will benefit both my nutrition and my chronic pain. Mild exercise like gardening and swimming is the best thing for that kind of pain, even better than drugs, which don't really work all that well. Gotta go, I'm getting hungry.


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## Simon1983 (Jun 6, 2016)

Hi Bullwinkle.
Here is my experience with the items you list:
Coconut oil - I have only seen refined coconut oil here. Would be interested to hear if others have found the unrefined variety.
Rice - in our local markets they sell white rice only. Brown rice can be purchased at a higher cost. But I'm sure if you look for it you will be able to find other varieties. At one point they were selling native black rice in our municipal hall.
You can get wholemeal brown bread in supermarket.
Coffee. Grown in Baguio and surrounding provinces. Most Filipinos prefer 3 in 1.
Nuts. Cashew nuts are available but expensive. Peanuts are abundant and cheap.
Quinoa. No idea what that is but there are several foods here that are healthy and abundant, which you can purchase at the market or grow in your backyard.
Oats - you can buy in supermarket but generally they are commercial or even instant oats, rather than rolled oats.
Cocoa powder. Maybe in Western supermarkets. You can grow the trees here. They fruit in 2 years.

In terms of gardening, I would suggest growing as much leafy greens as you can, papaya, banana, citrus trees, native fruit trees, and keep some chickens/goats/pigs. Start small and grow what your relatives/neighbours are growing.

Different areas have different micro-climates and with the extremes in temperature you need to choose your crop wisely.
I've had success in my area with okra, eggplant, native spinach, banana, cassava, ampalaya, calamansi, cucumber, chilli.
I also have several fruit trees which are doing well.... what you plant/grow depends on the size of your lot, your micro-climate and your goals (is it for food/animal fodder/conservation/somewhere to relax/etc)
I think if you can grow/buy native foods you'll save a lot of money as well as needing less trips to the supermarket. Home cooked Filipino food can be very nutritious, if you take out the Magic Sarap (MSG), reduce the salt and ask them to use a less fatty cut of pork!


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

We grow our own cocoa, the cocoa in the market often contains fillers.


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

I live in Cavite so I buy Coffee Barako. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapeng_barako

Chuck


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Bullwinkle there's only gonna be a few spots where you will be able to find your quinoa and raw nuts and possibly the coffee beans all at the same spot, here's a link to the store that should have this stuff.

Healthy Options

Trouble is that your gonna spend more time shopping from one spot to another looking for many items. You will be able to find in every major grocery chain in the mall coffee beans, I prefer the Baroko beans from Batangas and am blessed that I'm not to far from Batangas and get these beans at a local grocery store chain, not all grocery store chains carry the same items especially the coffee beans.

Not sure if you eat bacon, that's another sore spot but you can find quality bacon and my favorite the SM Grocery bacon sold by the kilo some mini grocery store spots such as Alpha Mart carry this bacon, good luck finding this during the Christmas, New Years season best to stalk up before hand, things like Spam and corned beef also get cleared from the shelves or the variety left on the shelves isn't what you want, get used to that word out of stock so plan ahead. Ham is real depressing also, they make it local and it's dreadful, if it has a good taste, they have during the holidays, it's way overpriced and in small quantity, same with cheese.

Magic Sarap is number one for frying hamburgers and BBQ. Cooking oil that is cholesterol free, I buy Spring Cooking oil (other brands) 17.5 liter steel can for about 1500 pesos, things like this you might need to ask for they may not have them out in the shopping lanes.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

*Supply & Demand*



M.C.A. said:


> Bullwinkle there's only gonna be a few spots where you will be able to find your quinoa and raw nuts and possibly the coffee beans all at the same spot, here's a link to the store that should have this stuff.
> 
> Healthy Options
> 
> ...


Another problem at any store with any products is that what is there today will most certainly not be there and available tomorrow. If you find an item that you want or need, buy all you can right then as there is no telling if or when the store will have more in stock. Frustrating to say the least but that's just the way it is anywhere here. The same goes for any and all duty free stores.


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## pagbati (Apr 9, 2014)

*Foods Available*



Bullwinkle said:


> One reason I'm moving to the Philippines is that my Canada government pension ...


Bullwinkle, From what I’ve read of your posts, I don’t think you’ll have any difficulty in making the transition to living in the Philippines. The food aspect is an interesting one and very subjective. Does one eat to live or live to eat? Many of us fall somewhere in the middle i.e., not obsessed with food but like to eat well and as healthy as possible. Let me respond to some of your comments/ questions. 

*Public Markets*
I’ve used public markets in many parts of the world and I absolutely love them. Whether it’s the fruit and veg or fish markets, I enjoy strolling around as much for the ‘people watching’ aspect as buying food. Nor have I had any problems with bartering. Having said that, our local supermarkets are closer, cleaner, smell better and certainly more convenient. I have noticed that the older I get the less I want to barter every time I buy a bag of onions or a kg of the local fish. The end result is that we tend to do more shopping in the supermarkets. I have mixed feelings about that.

*Prices*
We’ve only been here a couple of years but have noticed substantial price increases for food during that period. Prices can be very seasonal too as you will soon become aware. We have three main supermarkets where we live, SM, Robinsons and Iloilo Supermart. The latter is probably the cheaper for most items. The first two are more expensive. However, the first two have a greater choice and stock items unavailable in the cheaper mart so if we want those products, we have no choice but to the purchase from there.

*Location*
We spent three months travelling around the Philippines (doing a recce) before settling here. During that time we came to learn that each city is different, they have different supermarkets and stock different items. We were happy to find products during out travels in other cities, thinking that if they are in such and such a place that we'd probably get them where we eventually decided to live. Not quite, as mentioned under prices above, cities have different supermarkets and stock different products. 

*Olive Oil –V – Coconut Oil*
As you seem to be into healthy eating, you’ll be aware that coconut oil is one of those oils where the ‘experts’ continually disagree as to whether or not it’s good or bad. Yes, it’s very high in saturated fats but these are different fats from those found in meats so I dare say that’s part of the confusion. For us, we know that it contains fatty acids, which raise both LDL (bad) and HDL (good) cholesterol. As the saturated fat is extremely high, we try to limit our intake of coconut oil. We don’t see the health benefits of switching to coconut as our main cooking oil. FYI, we use a brand of Coconut Oil called Evina and I’ve seen that in many supermarkets; it usually comes in a small 250ml bottle. Sorry I don’t recall the price but I’ll find out if you want. As you know, olive oil looses many of its beneficial properties if over heated so we try not to use it under those circumstances. Coconut oil is then better. I hear what you say about not knowing what it is that you’re buying re olive oil; I think that probably applies to many products unfortunately.

*Rice*
We have a great selection in Iloilo. I’ve tried quite a few but I’m personally not that fond of the majority. Wholegrain (brown) is readily available, as is red and black rice, all very tasty and nutritious. We prefer Basmati ourselves but as it’s not local, you have to pay a much higher price for it. It’s all down to taste; the locals wouldn’t thank you for Basmati and tend to eat the stickier, white rice.

*Bread*
Overall, we’re very disappointed in the quality of bread here. It's mainly white and much too sweet for our taste. During our travels around the Philippines, we occasionally come across a supermarket that had a German bread supplier, but these were few and far between. There was an expat in our area that used to make great German breads and sell them to expats but I think he has stopped. The locals don’t really go for wholemeal and sourdough breads etc. We now make our own. The quality of flour is not great and one has to check for weevils. A stint in the freezer tends to take care of them. In our area, wholemeal flour, bread flour and all-purpose flour are readily available. We get Rye Flour sent down from Manila but the quality is not what we would expect in Germany or UK. Canada has a great reputation for quality flour so I suspect you may be disappointed with the quality here. Still, we are able to produce decent wholemeal, sourdough and Irish wheaten breads with the available flour.

*Coffee*
Again, very subjective. Some people are content with the 3 in 1 which I’m afraid isn’t quite our ‘cup of tea’. Some people tend to go all strange when you tell them how much you’re willing to spend on a decent espresso machine, grinder or even the coffee beans for that matter, implying that you must be some sort of coffee bore or snob. We all develop our taste buds over the years and are subjected to different experiences so it’s hardly surprising that we differ so much when it comes to coffee. If you’re a serious coffee drinker then you’ll appreciate that it’s as important to spend a substantial amount on a decent grinder as it is on the actual espresso machine. We’ve struggled to find decent coffee beans here, so as much as we dislike some of the business practices of the larger, well known, high street coffee corporations, we still prefer their coffee beans so we tend to buy most of our beans from there. It is expensive though, ranging from 1,500 to 1,900 per kg. We also have access to a very local brand, which is quite different and only costs 625 per kg. However, variety is the spice of life so we wouldn’t want to be drinking the cheaper version every day. As Bidrod and MCA have recommended Barako Coffee Beans, I’ll keep an eye out for that as I’d like to give it a try; always good to have things recommended. Importing coffee into the Ph is illegal by the way. I have no idea if you use a $20 spice grinder or a specialised coffee grinder, which range in price up to $1,600 and more. Suffice to say, there are very few shops selling the latter in the Philippines. Rather than get embroiled on the forum in a no-win situation debate over what coffee, grinder or espresso machine is best, if you want to know more about what we use, feel free to PM me. If you have a decent grinder and espresso machine that you already own, bring it with you or have it sent over, as quality machines are expensive and few and far between here. I’ll let others comment on the voltage aspect, as that’s not my field.

*Nuts*
We eat raw, unsalted nuts on a regular basis. They are readily available where we live. No so in all cities. Cashews are grown locally. We saw our first cashew tree in Guimaras last year, quite remarkable and worth googling. Here’s a list of some prices. In some cases, I’ve quoted a price range; this indicates the different prices I’ve found between supermarkets. All prices are in PHP per kilogram.
Cashews 600, walnuts 520-980, almonds 440-870, macadamia 1,390, pecan 1,430, pistachios 1,900. Remember that cashews are also high in saturated fats (19.8%) and should therefore only be eaten in small quantities.

*Quinoa*
I think we’ve seen this in some supermarkets but can’t be sure. It certainly wouldn’t be a common item in most supermarkets. I'll keep an eye out for it and let you know.

*Whole Oat Groats*
An Australian brand by the name of Australian Harvest supply many supermarkets here. We’ve found good wholemeal jumbo oats and oat bran under that brand. Just recently, our local supermarket had a range of the well-known Bob’s Red Mill products. We were able to buy a superb muesli, a 10-grain cereal, and steel cut oats, which we call pinhead in Ireland. The 10-grain was P250 for a 1.41kg pack and the steel cut oats was P255 for a 1.53kg pack. I do not have the price of the Australian Harvest products to hand but can get them if you want. Check the websites of both companies for info re organic.

*Cocoa Powder*
Readily available where we live. As Gary D mentioned, there are a lot of products containing fillers. There are also a lot that contain sugar. We use what we regard to be a decent brand called Bensdorp, which does not contain sugar nor fillers to my knowledge. Cost: P380 per kg. Natural (NP) | Bensdorp

I hope that’s given you a little insight into some of the products you enquired about. As has been said by other members, you get to know which products are always available and those which should be purchased in bulk when seen and stored at home. That’s partly the reason that we find having 2 large fridges very useful. By buying in bulk when available and storing items in the fridge that would normally survive on the shelf in Europe, we find the benefits outweigh the cost in terms of electricity usage for the extra fridge. Like anywhere, there are pros and cons and the food situation here is no different. If you can incorporate as much of the local food into your diet, especially the fruit and veg, you’ll be able to keep your costs down. It’s foreign items, especially dairy products such as cheeses, milk, butter, yogurt etc. that will push up your grocery bill. However, whilst cooking with the local ingredients is all well and good, if you can’t treat yourself to some of your favourite western foods as well, what’s the point of living or being here?

Once you get over here, if you ever venture down this way, feel free to call in for a coffee. As I said above, if you require more information about some of the items mentioned, you can always PM me.


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## Guest (Sep 9, 2016)

*thanks for feedback*

Thanks for all the good suggestions everyone. 

Regarding coffee, I also read that Batangas has good stuff, so that's good news. Coffee is my "addiction", so I'm happy to know I will be able to get my "fix", ha!

Regarding Supply & Demand, I already am used to stocking up, at least a month's supply of most things, because I live in a fairly remote part of the west coast of Canada. Sometimes winter storms mean I can't into town for shopping. I know I'll have to deal with typhoons, but at least it won't be freezing cold like here.

Regarding meat, while I'm not a vegetarian, I rarely eat meat, mostly small bits of pork to flavour stir fry, etc. But I will eat meat when its served to me when I'm someone's guest, and sometimes a rare hamburger as a treat. When I was there before I would eat anything, including cooked pig's blood. I eat fish daily, sometimes twice a day, and frequently beans and tofu, so I should be okay with protein. Believe it or not, although I live on Canada's west coast where there is a thriving fishing industry, seafood here is very expensive, so I mostly eat canned fish or frozen fish when its cheap enough. Canned is good because the cooked bones are a great source of calcium. Only the large city of Vancouver has anything like a public market, which is very expensive. So I'm really looking forward to all the great seafood I will be able to eat there.

I would like to eat a good quality greek yoghurt (no sugar, additives) for its health benefits, but I have a feeling that won't be available. I like to eat fermented foods, such as yoghurt and saurerkraut, and for the last two years I've been making my own Korean kimchee, which I eat daily with dinner. I think I could probably get all the ingredients there: chinese cabbage, long white radish, green onions, garlic, ginger, fish sauce and a special red chili powder that I buy from a Korean market here, but is produced in China.

Regarding gardening, I intend to grow a lot of green veggies and maybe can grow most of those ingredients for kimchee. And I'm very excited to be able to grow fruit, which is harder to do where I live unless you already have establish fruit trees that take years to mature, although I do have access to a variety of berries. I like all the suggestions about what to grow, and my Filipino friends will be able to advise what's best for their micro-climate. I know all about micro-climates. I live in a valley that has its own climate that varies quite a bit from other towns on the other side of the mountain. Good news about growing cocoa, because I've read news about a world-wide shortage, but I'll have to learn how to process it.

It looks like the Healthy Options store is not in Mindoro, but my friends live and work in Manila, and often come to Mindoro on weekends and stay in their city house there. They will probably be able to buy hard to find things for me. 

I just found some info on pili nuts. I never ate them when I lived there decades ago, but maybe that will be an option for me if other nuts are too expensive.

Regarding red rice, my memories are a bit mixed up, but it was probably in Baguio where I bought and ate that. I also traveled north of there and saw the amazing world famous rice terraces. I just can't remember if I saw the Cordilleras or the Banaue rice terraces. The Baguio public market was amazing, some of the largest veggies, such as carrots, that I've ever seen. Because of the cooler climate there is probably some things available there not found in the lowlands. 

All this good feedback is helping me prepare mentally for my new life.


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## Guest (Sep 9, 2016)

mabrouk said:


> I hope that’s given you a little insight into some of the products you enquired about. ...
> 
> Once you get over here, if you ever venture down this way, feel free to call in for a coffee. As I said above, if you require more information about some of the items mentioned, you can always PM me.


Mabrouk, I saw your post only after I posted my most recent comment. Wow! Such excellent, specific advice. Very helpful. Yes, I'll keep you in mind if I have more questions. Thanks so much.

And to everyone else, I welcome anymore feedback.


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## JRB__NW (Apr 8, 2015)

Not much to add to all that really detailed and great advice. Hard to find good leafy green vegetables like Kale or Spinach where we are. Second the advice on Barako coffee - its excellent, and I also avail myself of the Bob's Red Mill cereals.. there's a pretty good selection at the high end markets or S&R, including whole oats and 10 grain.. I eat one or the other just about every morning. Same situation with the brown rice as that's mostly what I eat. My GF gave up white rice and lost her belly fat, lol. It's amazing how the Filipinos love their white rice. The fruit is awesome here, especially mango, papaya and the delicious small bananas.. however no stone fruits or berries available.. for obvious reasons. I can't eat a North American GMO banana anymore. Apples are available and good. Probably come from Australia.


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## Guest (Sep 9, 2016)

JRB__NW said:


> Not much to add to all that really detailed and great advice. Hard to find good leafy green vegetables like Kale or Spinach where we are. Second the advice on Barako coffee - its excellent, and I also avail myself of the Bob's Red Mill cereals.. there's a pretty good selection at the high end markets or S&R, including whole oats and 10 grain.. I eat one or the other just about every morning. Same situation with the brown rice as that's mostly what I eat. My GF gave up white rice and lost her belly fat, lol. It's amazing how the Filipinos love their white rice. The fruit is awesome here, especially mango, papaya and the delicious small bananas.. however no stone fruits or berries available.. for obvious reasons. I can't eat a North American GMO banana anymore. Apples are available and good. Probably come from Australia.


More good news. Although here Bob's Red Mill cereals are a bit more expensive than some other brands, the fact I can get it there is excellent news. As for apples, which I eat daily, I thought I might have to give those up. I remember back in the 70s when I was there, imported apples came from Canada once a year and were a real treat, though quite expensive. It was kind of like when I was a kid, we would get Japanese mandarin oranges at Christmas time, a very special treat. They used to be imported in small wooden boxes, back in the days when forests were being clear-cut for stupid things like that. I only buy organic bananas here. As for leafy greens, Simon1983 suggested to me to grow those myself. Maybe not kale or spinach, though, which need cooler weather. Here on Canada's west coast where the climate is milder, kale and other cruciferous vegetables are about the only things I can grow over winter.


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## Simon1983 (Jun 6, 2016)

The green leafy vegetables I grow are alubgati (malabar spinach), sweet potato (they eat the leaves here), kang kong (water spinach) gabi (taro). We also eat the leaves from ampalaya (bitter melon), flower of squash, banana blossom.

I've not seen kale here but if you research the nutritional benefits of the native/local vegetables here, I'm sure you can maintain a healthy diet.

Also, in my experience, the local markets are much cheaper than the supermarkets, especially for vegetables. Meat and poultry seems to be about the same, but fish is probably cheaper in the 'wet market'.


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## Guest (Sep 9, 2016)

Simon1983 said:


> The green leafy vegetables I grow are alubgati (malabar spinach), sweet potato (they eat the leaves here), kang kong (water spinach) gabi (taro). We also eat the leaves from ampalaya (bitter melon), flower of squash, banana blossom.
> 
> I've not seen kale here but if you research the nutritional benefits of the native/local vegetables here, I'm sure you can maintain a healthy diet.
> 
> Also, in my experience, the local markets are much cheaper than the supermarkets, especially for vegetables. Meat and poultry seems to be about the same, but fish is probably cheaper in the 'wet market'.


I'm pretty sure any kind of green leafy vegetable is nutritious. I think kang kong is what I saw being harvested in the Marakina River, when I lived in a nearby gated community there. It grew in huge thick patches in the river, but the internet tells me it can be grown in soil too.

Do you grow Chayote? Apparently that has lots of health benefits that I will take advantage of and the leaves can be eaten too.

I'll probably do most of my shopping for veggies and fish, etc, in the public market, but some items I want might only be available in supermarkets.


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## Simon1983 (Jun 6, 2016)

We don't grow Chayote here. We live in the flat planes of Pangasinan and it's really hot here. We can grow basically all the ingredients that are in pinakbet....

We buy Chayote quite often but it comes from Baguio. I'm not sure if it's grown in other parts of the country.

Yes Kang Kong is mostly grown in riverbanks but there is an upland variety that can be grown in soil. The leaves are smaller but I find it tastier. Mine got eaten by my goat though!

We do most of our daily food shopping in the market but once or twice a week we'll go to supermarket to buy toileteries, washing powder and other branded items. Whilst we're there I normally buy the 'double dead' chicken - used to be 99peso a kilo, but it's now 125 - 140, which is not much cheaper than the market price.


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## pagbati (Apr 9, 2014)

*Yogurt - making your own*



Bullwinkle said:


> Thanks for all the good suggestions everyone. I would like to eat a good quality greek yoghurt (no sugar, additives) for its health benefits, but I have a feeling that won't be available. I like to eat fermented foods, such as yoghurt and saurerkraut, and for the last two years I've been making my own Korean kimchee, which I eat daily with dinner. I think I could probably get all the ingredients there: chinese cabbage, long white radish, green onions, garlic, ginger, fish sauce and a special red chili powder that I buy from a Korean market here, but is produced in China. All this good feedback is helping me prepare mentally for my new life.


Bullwinkle, there’s more chance of getting good Greek yogurt in places like Manila than out in the provinces but wherever you get it, it's ridiculously expensive. The only live yogurt available where we live is a brand called Nestle. A 125g tub costs about P33 and it also comes in 500g tubs; it doesn't taste very good though and certainly not worth the price. It’s therefore a case of ‘needs must’ for us so that’s another of those products that we now make ourselves. One of the 125g tubs can be used as a 'starter'. I looked around for a decent, affordable yogurt maker and couldn’t find one so I found another use for my heat back pad; it’s a great base for making yogurt. Here’s a link to the heat pad similar to what I use. https://www.amazon.com/Sunbeam-756-...tTechnology/dp/B00006IV4N/ref=zg_bs_3763871_1

It’s the very basic model costing about USD$10. If you want to start making your own yogurt and don’t want to fork out for a yogurt maker, you may want to consider bringing over one of those cheap heat pads from Canada. I never made yogurt before coming here and now I make a batch every 7-10 days; it really isn’t difficult as long as you keep everything clean and stick to the specified temperatures. You therefore need a decent thermometer. The Thermapen variety is one of the best in the market, but expensive. Still, if you’re into making your own bread, jam and yogurt etc., it’s one of those ‘one-off’ purchases that should last you a long time and well worth the expense. There are other cheaper versions on the market that would suffice; if not, here’s the link to Thermapen. Thermapen thermometers from ETI - Welcome - Thermapen

We know the health benefits of eating fermented foods but haven’t got into making our own yet. Re Kimchee, apart from green onions, which is a new one to me as we usually only see red or yellow here, all the other ingredients you mention are readily available. Just had another thought on that and you may be referring to spring onions or scallions which are available. If you want to go down the route of making your own yogurt and need some advice in due course, you can PM me; no need to bore other members who have little or no interest in these matters.


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## pagbati (Apr 9, 2014)

*Food & Nutrition*



Bullwinkle said:


> Here are a few items I consume regularly that I wonder about concerning availability and price.


Bulwinkle, A brief update on costs relating to some of the products you enquired about earlier.
•	Australian Harvest Jumbo Oats – P115 per 1.2kg packet
•	Australian Harvest Oat Bran – P105 per 500g packet
•	Evina Coconut Virgin Oil – P144 per 250ml bottle
•	Black Rice – P100 per kg packet


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## BGCExpat (Oct 26, 2015)

Quinoa, nuts, dried fruits, and oats/muesli are all available at S&R for about the same price as in North America. Greek yogurt is available there too but it's expensive - Phils is not a 'dairy' culture so most fresh milk products are expensive...


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## kahuna (Apr 16, 2012)

mabrouk said:


> *Bread*
> Overall, we’re very disappointed in the quality of bread here. It's mainly white and much too sweet for our taste. During our travels around the Philippines, we occasionally come across a supermarket that had a German bread supplier, but these were few and far between. There was an expat in our area that used to make great German breads and sell them to expats but I think he has stopped. The locals don’t really go for wholemeal and sourdough breads etc. We now make our own. The quality of flour is not great and one has to check for weevils. A stint in the freezer tends to take care of them. In our area, wholemeal flour, bread flour and all-purpose flour are readily available. We get Rye Flour sent down from Manila but the quality is not what we would expect in Germany or UK. Canada has a great reputation for quality flour so I suspect you may be disappointed with the quality here. Still, we are able to produce decent wholemeal, sourdough and Irish wheaten breads with the available flour.


Where do you get rye flour from exactly? I'll be moving to the Philippines soon and need to make my own sourdough bread as there is no such available.


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