Keri

Actually her name is Christine Anne. 

It's only me who calls her Keri. Today is her first day at her small school, a Day Care center. Upon arriving home she was excitedly bubbling her recent adventures in her new environment. 

These shots I took, with my n70, is for her new ID.

                          Of course, this is a no no for an ID picture.

                     No, she has no candy in her mouth. She just won't smile.

                               Still stingy with her smile.

                      With a jacket on to hide her home shirt.

                               Still no smile

                                          Hmmmm....

                                 One!

                                Two!

Gotcha!

Finally the last shot, with her cutest smile.

How To Make Malunggay Capsule

There are a lot of ways on how to make Malunggay capsule. It is so easy and anyone can make it at home. 

This was how I made my own capsule.

After cleaning the leaves with water, I air dried it this way for two to three days. Before hanging the leaves, I scrutinized each leaves for any remaining sticky dirt or cobwebs. I also removed the yellow leaves. As days go by, dried leaves curls and some fell from the stems. I carefully separated the leaves and the stems.

I roasted the leaves in a big pan for about 4-5 minutes for sanitation purposes.

 Roasted leaves becomes crispy that makes it great to be powdered.

 

Not all leaves can be powdered with a blender. The remaining I placed inside an ice wrapper and powdered it using a mortar and a pestle.

Powdered Malunggay ready for packing. 

Empty gelatin capsules are available in leading drugstores. Malunggay capsules are normally packed in #0 capsule. I purposely packed it in #1 which is smaller so that small kids can easily swallow it.

In capsuling, proper hygiene must be observed. It is recommended to sanitize hands with alcohol, making sure under nails are clean and wear mask while packing. You can wear a hair net if you can.

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Some facts about Malunggay

Fresh Leaves                                                   Dried Leaves

Gram for gram, fresh leaves contain about

 4 times the Vitamin A of Carrots                     10 times the Vitamin A of Carrots

  7 times the Vitamin C of Oranges                   1/2 the Vitamin C of Oranges

4 times the Calcium of milk                         17 times the Calcium of milk

3 times the Potassium of Bananas                    15 times the Potassium of Bananas

3/4 the Iron of Spinach                           25 times the Iron of Spinach

3 times the Protein of Yugort                   9  times the Protein of Yogurt

Source: treesforlife.org

 Moringa leaves could practically wipe out malnutrition on our planet.

Experts agree that the long-term solution to malnutrition is the use of foods rich in the essential nutrients often lacking in people's diets. Modern scientific research is proving that Moringa leaves are one of the richest sources of such nutrients. Even small amounts of the leaves could protect thousands of people from suffering and death.

People in several countries have found that Moringa leaves are quite acceptable to taste, especially when added to common food.

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Please help in spreading this information. Let us help each other in fighting malnutrition thru Malunggay. Some just doesn't know what they are throwing away when they cut Moringa tree. 

To read more about Moringa Oleifera click here.

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Related Links :  Moringa Benefits, Health Benefits of Lemongrass , Health Benefits of Guyabano,

                                Gynura Procumbens, 

Rice Field

   

It's rainy season. Farmers are getting ready for planting.

A farmer with the help of his carabao tilled this filed making it ready for planting

This field is yet to be tilled and made ready for planting.

 I was in front of the house of my cousin and took this picture. But this is not my cousin's rice field.
I remember when I was small, I was so eager to plant and clean the rice field like my aunts and uncles were doing. But when I got the chance, I realized I can't do it yet. I was still small for the job.
Even today, I would think it is easy to hold the rope and guide the carabao in tilling the land, but it was so difficult. I just can't do it.



 

Jackfruit

A sweet tasting, mouth watering jackfruit. 

It is known with a lot of names in other countries. 

In the Philippines it is popularly called as Langka or Nangka. 

One of my favorite fruit.

 A friend surprisingly gave this to me one day.  I took this remembrance before devouring them.

The jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus or A. heterophylla) is a species of tree in the Artocarpus genus of the mulberry family. It is native to parts of Southern and Southeast Asia. It is the national fruit of Bangladesh, (locally called Kathal). The jackfruit tree is believed to be indigenous to the southwestern rain forests of India. It is widely cultivated in the tropical regions of Indian subcontinent, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia. Jackfruit is also found in East Africa e.g. in Uganda and Mauritius, as well as throughout Brazil and Carribean nations like Jamaica. It is well suited to tropical lowlands. Its fruit is the largest tree-born fruit. Globally common, fruit reach 80 pounds (36 kg) in weight and up to 36 inches (90 cm) long and 20 inches (50 cm) in diameter.

The flesh of the jackfruit is starchy, fibrous and is a source of dietary fiber. The flavour is similar to a tart banana. Varieties of jackfruit are distinguished according to the characteristics of the fruits' flesh.

Outside of its countries of origin, fresh jackfruit can be found at Asian food markets especially in Philippines. It is also extensively cultivated in the Brazilian coastal region, where it is sold in local markets. It is available canned in sugar syrup, or frozen. Dried jackfruit chips are produced by various manufacturers. In northern Australia, jackfruit can be found at outdoor produce markets during the dry season. Outside of countries where it is grown, jackfruit can be obtained year-round both canned or dried. It has a ripening season in Asia of late Spring to late Summer.

Cattleya Flower

An officemate brought this one kind to office one day. I was captivated by its beauty. I felt lucky to be able to hold it and smell it and yes, take a close up pix.

A one kind among the hundred species

Cattleya 

  a genus of 113 species of orchids from Costa Rica to tropical South America.

 

They are widely known for their large, showy flowers, and were used extensively in hybridization for the cut-flower trade until quite recently. This genus and the numerous hybrids come close, through their beauty, to the idealized picture we have of the orchids. The flowers of the hybrids can vary in size from 5 cm to 15 cm or more. They occur in all colors except true blue and black.

The typical flower has three rather narrow sepals and three usually broader petals : two petals are similar to each other, and the third is the quite different conspicuous lip, featuring various markings and specks and an often frilly margin. At the base, the margins are folded into a tube. Each flower stalk originates from a pseudobulb. The number of flowers varies; it can be just one or two, or sometimes up to ten.

 

Sunset

I went on tree planting last weekend. 

We were on our way home when I noticed this one happening in the sky.

 The setting sun hidden by the clouds.

A sad view. 

Same feeling as when something is ending, someone is leaving.

Just like the sunset.

But no!

Sunset gives a promise.

A promise of a new morning, a new beginning,

A new hope.

.

Basiao Beach

  

Is there still a virgin beach these days? 

There is! Well, that's what people call the place before.

But not anymore. So much has been done to make the place no longer look like a virgin beach.

It is now popular as Basiao Beach. People from the neighboring provinces like Iloilo and Kalibo come to enjoy the cool and white sanded beach especially during summer.

The name was taken from the name of the place itself. 
Found in the Municipality of Ivisan, Capiz, Philippines.

I visited the place again with my siblings, cousins, nephews, nieces and friends a few weeks ago.

We used to come here when I was in high school with my friends and classmates. 

The roads were not as good as this.

This road used to have holes and not as plain as this. We would always ride a tricycle. PUJ were very rare. Now its only few.. *:-)

It was difficult to climb this road before. We have to get out of our tricycle and push it up.

Mini resorts sprung out from the place which offers for rent small cottages, comfort rooms and also small boats.

Small cottages for rent ranges from P100 to P200

.

This rocky part of the beach has lots of unforgettable moments. This was where were hang out and had so much fun.

The water was just right when we arrived. Although the time was not really nice. The sun was already higher. But since we came there to swim, we ignored the sun and got ourselves ready for the sun burn

Obviously we had a few poses before getting wet.

It is advisable to come here with your own transportation. If not, you have to do just like this. Wait for an hour or more for the PUJ to pass by.

We didn't waste our time waiting. Obviously, we had a lots of fun  in the middle of the road.

Hey! We didn't get crazy waiting. We were just making crazy poses. Obviously my cousin didn't catch the best pose here.

I nearly got it!

Yeheyy!! I finally got it!!!

Thank God! We didn't wait for more than an hour.
A friend of my cousin with their own jeepney passed by and offered to give us a ride.