Healthy alternatives to excite you for the holidays

Rey Buñing shows his healthy food options during the holidays. | Immae Lachica

CEBU CITY, Philippines— The holidays are synonymous with food and festivities.

Because once you come and think about it Christmas is indeed a celebration, and what better way to celebrate Christ’s birth than through food.

This Christmas season let’s take a break from those fatty and oily food and try something more healthy but still— yummy.

Rey Buñing, owner of The Green Canteen in Cebu which serves nothing but the healthiest alternatives to your favorite carenderia meals, showed CDN Digital how you can turn that ordinary pancit, lumpia, and kebab into a healthier one.

Buñing, who works as an Occupational Therapist, recalled why he started to look into the healthier side of life.

“My family is really big on going out to restaurants and eating out and at some point, I figured that how unhealthy it could be,” said Buñing.

And Buñing got that unhealthy part right when he was diagnosed with having hypertension at an early age.

“It was then that I wanted to turn things around, and with the help of my friend who is a chef, I got into cooking the right meals and introduced healthier alternatives to food,” added Buñing.

And during the holidays where parties, family bondings and reunions are aplenty, he encouraged people to go and try eating the healthier way by trying out his version of holiday food using veggie meat and veggies.

But what is veggie meat?

It is a substitute for meat without the actual meat. Get it?

It is a mixture of soy protein, corn crop, seaweed and some other products that could mimic actual animal-based meat.

First is the famous lumpia. It is just like the ordinary lumpia mixed with veggie meat flakes.

Next is the famous pancit with veggie meat as the star of the show. Then Buñing prepared something not so familiar to the Filipino taste — the Vietnamese roll, which is filled with radish, bell pepper, carrots, and veggie meat.

Then comes the barbecue kebab.

“These dishes are so easy to prepare and can be done in less than an hour or maybe just an hour, with fewer expenses and fewer calories,” said Buñing.

With this, Buñing wants every Filipino family this Christmas season not only to enjoy and have fun but to also take everything in moderation.

“I encourage everyone to try out cooking healthier alternatives for the holidays, and you will be surprised by how cheap and fast it can all be done,” he said.

This Christmas season why not try and give yourself the best gift there can be, a healthier and longer life to live by choosing to eat healthy foods. /dbs