Household

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, however, all opinions and insights stated are mine. I love giving gifts during the holiday season and despite budget constraints, I want to buy quality gifts that…

We almost took out a loan to build a house for ourselves last year. It wasn’t one of the wisest decisions we’ve made in our 15 years of marriage, but we thought it was the right thing to do at the time the idea was presented to us. Fortunately for us, things didn’t work out as planned and we are still here in the tiny abode that we’re renting, up on a hill, and right by one of Manila’s most progressive cities.

I honestly think that how it all turned out was for the best. Of course, at that time, Covid-19 was a distant threat, and we didn’t know that the economy was going to take a massive dip. But looking at how the world is at the moment, it’s quite a relief that we haven’t taken a loan that we would have been unable to pay.

Floored!

But along with the relief that we have not placed our children in a lifetime of debt came disappointment, embarrassment, and well…sadness.

Building a house was not in our plans at all, but when we thought we found the most plausible way to make it happen, we started working towards getting it done. We had already spoken with a loan officer, met with an architect and her engineer husband, and have already been presented with floor plans.

We thought that that was it –we were building our house, after all, there was already a small piece of property in our name and despite our initial reluctance, it felt like the right thing to do, considering that my parents are no longer young and having family living right next door to them was ideal.

But it wasn’t for us.

The most painful part was breaking the news to our kids because we had already built them up for the move. They were looking forward to it, having happily discussed with them room assignments, play areas, roof decks, and everything else.

If I am being honest, once we thought the house was going to happen, we started getting excited, too. Excited enough to tell a few close friends of our plans and my husband requesting to transfer work locations. Heck, we even talked about getting a sensor with the best accelerometer  possible in our yard to warn us of intruders, haha!

Only to fall flat on our faces.

It was all it took for me to realise that I do want a home of my own, but the hurt and the humiliation was far too heavy, that the realisation felt more like frustration, than hope.

The Couple on Instagram

Prior to our so-called “madness,” I’ve been seeing updates of a certain older couple’s (probably in their late 60’s or early 70’s) house which they were building in the South. We’ve known them for quite some time and we’ve seen how God has blessed them abundantly through the years.

They have two sons who have done well for themselves, both of whom have gotten married already.

They used to rent apartments, too, and took public transport wherever they went; but now, they own a beautiful house with all the fancy trimmings, I wouldn’t be surprised if they have a solar water heater tank in place, and  in a beautiful neighbourhood yet.

God’s favour and goodness is so evident in their lives. Their story gave me that ray of sunshine in the midst of my hurts and fears of our future. Surely there is hope for us!

Since they’re good friends, I reached out to the woman for comfort and counsel, while marvelling about their dream of a home, and she told me how God had prepared them for the pandemic. They just completed payments for the house right before the lockdown, which was such a huge blessing because two months later, they lost their main source of income.

She reminded me of the scriptures, “I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread” Psalm 37:25.

They were in a difficult place but she found the strength to give me hope.

It was just a short chat but it was a gauze that my wounded heart was needing. Perhaps the experience is my wake-up call. I’ve been sitting in my comfort zone for far too long, I shouldn’t be looking at what we have anyway, they will always be short and lacking. But I should look to the Source and know for certain my God can move mountains and calm raging seas.

Perhaps one day, when the time is perfect, just like our friends, we will finally have a home to call our own.

“Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!” Luke 12:24.

*This is a sponsored post.

I almost didn’t go. I honestly didn’t want to because of the major adjustment the family had to make to let me go on a 3-day team building trip at Puerto Del Sol with Spiralytics, a digital marketing company I write for on a freelance basis. But it was my husband who encouraged me to go and have my first ever “me time” away from my children and the family in years.

Those who know me really well understand exactly how big of a challenge this was for me…..

Puerto Del Sol when we arrived

But there are a lot of good things I would rather focus on in this blog. After all, I’m forty. When you’ve gone through so many things in your life, you learn to eliminate the juvenile and open your eyes to the blessings in every experience.

Puerto Del Sol was a beauty

It was a six-hour bus trip which was hell for a Claustrophobic like me, but having lunch with the view of a gently rippling sea made the hours of fidgeting and shifting positions, and trying to keep yourself from throwing up on the bus worth it.

I’ve always loved the sight of coconut trees by the waters

The rooms were very comfortable. I, with two other fellow freelance writers (who are also work-at-home moms like me), was assigned the lower room of a two-storey unit. I didn’t really get to see the rest of the rooms, but ours had two comfortable medium-sized beds with two plump pillows each.

Since one of our fellow writers, our good friend Millie, wasn’t able to join us because of health problems in the family, and Van opted to sleep with her family in a room they paid for, Janice and I ended up having the room all to ourselves at night.

Unit 50, Room 1

The units had glass doors. You can pull down the curtains if you’d like more privacy, but we pulled them back whenever we would have a few minutes to hang out in the room.

The members of the staff were very nice and accommodating. They greeted you every single time and smiled even towards the end of the day and they were already tired. We weren’t the only people in the resort.

The little coffee table at the corner coffee supplies

The menu was very Filipino. We were served buffet for all our meals. I ate a lot of Pinakbet and fish. I just wish that they served us more shellfishes but they were probably more costly to include in the package, so if you want them, you order them separately.

Since my family wasn’t with me, I chose not to spend while I was there and feasted on the vegetables. There were many other types of food included in the menu like sliced meat and chicken dishes.

Our units Outdoor lounges and tables Cottages on the other side Lifeguard on duty!

The swimming pools were large enough. There were two of them for each group of units. The water wasn’t cold so it was nice to take a dip even when it was raining. I tried to do a few laps and succeeded with a couple, hahaha. I’m so out of shape, so it was a quite a miracle to complete even a lap.

The other pool different cottage

Hundred Islands, Alaminos

I’ve been to Hundred Islands before. We were newly married and one of our friends celebrated her birthday by treating a group of people, us included, to an overnight stay at one of smaller hotels in Alaminos and a tour of the islands. It’s been ten years and I didn’t mind seeing the place again.

One of the scheduled activities for the team building trip, aside from the games they’ve lined up, was a half a day tour to the Hundred Islands in Alaminos (where the yummy longganisas are!).

Alaminos was an hour trip from Puerto Del Sol and we left in good weather.

Lucap dock

Puerto Del Sol has a beach, but I wouldn’t recommend that you go swimming in it. It’s a great view and a great spot to hang out and relax, but not for swimming. You have to include Hundred Islands in your itinerary if you want to swim in the sea.

There were twenty-six of us so we took two boats. The tour package only included three islands. The tour guide asked us to add an additional Php 700 if we would like to add more islands and rent the boat for the entire day, so we can do some snorkeling and enjoy swimming in one of the islands.

Island in sight 100 Steps up

The activities you can do are climbing up a hundred steps at the Governor’s island so you can have your photo taken with the spectacular view of the islands behind you and jumping off an 8-foot cliff. There’s also a zipline where you zip down from the island to the next one. Looked fun but the line was too long.

We were also shown the crocodile and turtle-shaped islands, the bat island with a lot of sleeping bats hanging upside down the way they do when they sleep, an island with a cave and many others.

I saw the Children’s island from the distance. According to Janice, the beach in that one is the best one for kids, hence, the name.

Spiralytics at Governor’s Island clear waters of the Hundred Islands

No snorkeling happened, but we stayed on an island for a while to let the others enjoy the beach and hang out by the clear waters. We WAHMs took the time to enjoy each other’s company in one of the sheds.

Hundred Islands, Alaminos Pangasinan

The “Adventure”

On our way back, the engine of the boat we were riding on sputtered out. It would have been okay except that we could see dark clouds up ahead, warning us of strong rains coming.

We laugh about it now, but at that moment, we three mommies understood that there was a remote possibility of trouble for our group. The boat had a little roof above it, but if it rained and we’re stuck there, the boat was going to get filled with water fast.

With half the team of Spiralytics on a boat to Hundred Islands. This is the “adventure” group, haha!

Janice and I were texting our husbands, I was asking Jay to pray for us. There were islands nearby, but they are still a long swim from where we were. Besides, we would have to figure out how to climb on the rocks.

The other boat came back for us, but it was full so they can’t really do anything but speed back to the shore, get the people off the boat and come back for us.

After several minutes, the engine started running again but again stopped before we reached land. This time, the islands were far behind us and the dock was a pretty long swim ahead of us.

It also started to rain.

On a serious note

I was a little concerned because I knew not everyone in our group were strong swimmers. We weren’t handed life vests, but there were some stashed at the side of the boat which I pointed out to Janice. I guess it’s because we’re moms that it’s instinct for us to start planning far off any circumstances. Van even asked if there were sharks in the area.

I jokingly gave instructions on survival swimming, but in truth, I wasn’t kidding. I wanted to make sure that if there’s anyone who can’t swim well in the group, that they know to go on their backs and float until help comes.

Reality is that when your boat capsizes in the middle of the sea, you need to know how to save yourself somehow and not rely on others to save you. Even when they want to, they will get tired eventually and may need to let you go for a while so they can survive, too.

In fact, they may not even be able to help you as the first rule in this kind of situation is to get away from anything and anyone right away so you won’t get climbed on and pushed down the water by those who don’t know how to swim, or get tangled among the ropes or whatever attached to the sinking boat.

I may seem a little paranoid, but sell me the same argument when you’ve got three little kids waiting for you back home.

Thankfully, the engine worked again long enough to bring us to shore. Whew!

Tourism suggestion

I would suggest that to improve the tourism in the area, the local government must provide proper training for the tour guides so they have more to say about the islands than just one being the location for the shooting for Claudine Barretto’s telenovela or this other island is where Kim Chiu and fellow PBB finalists were housed for a few days.

Tourists don’t care about that, honestly. They don’t even know who these celebrities are.

For instance, explain why among the hundreds of islands in the area, the bats chose to inhabit that one particular island. Seriously, so many interesting information that need to be told.

And for pete’ s sake, please distribute the life vests!

The company of fellow WAHMies

The team building allowed us to meet and say hi to the Who’s who of Spiralytics. We also got to spend some time with those whom we work with only online like our managing editor, Gem whose effort to connect with us I appreciate, the content strategists and other members of the content team.

with Janice of therollercoasterride.com (R) and Van Salas of shedmom.com (L)

But we WAHMs mostly spent time with each other throughout the entire event. All three of us belong to the same community of WAHMs, bloggers and homeschoolers on Facebook and Janice is one of my closest friends among them, but it was nice to spend time together in person.

We missed Millie of notyourordinarymum.com, though. It would have been much more fun to have her in the boat with us, hahaha!

Recommendations on Puerto Del Sol and Hundred Islands tour

Puerto Del Sol is really nice to go to as a family. Van’s family paid Php 8,000 for one of the regular units for a three-day, two-night stay. Not bad.

I suggest that you include the Hundred Islands tour, a meal at the floating restaurant, do the cliff jumping and add the zip line in your schedule to make the most of the six-hour trips to Pangasinan and back to Manila.

I believe you can arrange for the tour with the resort.

Relay set up Morning in Puerto Del Sol

Don’t forget to pass by the Animal World on your way back, as well, because if you’re going all that way just for the swimming pool, I suggest you just go to La Traviesa in Cavite.

Or book a day tour to Camaya Resort if you want a resort with a beach. Otherwise, you’re just wasting your opportunity.

(Read: Celebrating our son’s 9th birthday at La Traviesa Hotel Resort)

(Read: Camaya Sands: The Beach and the Beautiful)

Also, make sure you’re ready to unplug. Internet access is not really very good at the resort even if you use your own unit. I was only able to check my email on the boat to Hundred Islands.

Puerto Del Sol is located in Bolinao, Pangasinan. Its list of amenities includes an outdoor jacuzzi, a pool bar and a game room.

Thank you to Spiralytics and to Gem Muzones for including us in the team building event. We had fun!

Puerto Del Sol
Website: http://www.puertodelsol.com.ph/
Facebook: @puertodelsol.ph

We’re at a crossroads with our eldest son Pablo’s education. On one hand, we had acknowledged his interests and educated him using unconventional methods; on another, we live in the Philippines where accreditation…

Strapless bras are a popular pairing for outfits that would reveal over-the-shoulder bra straps. These bras can be challenging to size appropriately, and bras without features that allow for a reliable fit can…

One of my favorite bloggers community, Mommy Bloggers Philippines (MBP), have decided to do something extra special this Christmas. I received a message recently that MBP, with the help of Nutri10, have partnered with non-profit organization, Sinag Tala, to send vitamins and supplements to the kids stricken by the war in Marawi.

The war is over, as we have been told, but its ill-effects on the health of the families affected are not.

Sinag Tala has been helping out these people since the war, having sheltered hundreds of children in their playroom. Through them, MBP has been able to send Nutri10 Plus syrup, a multivitamins packed with Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF), Taurine, Lysine, Zinc and Vitamins C, A, D3 B1, DayCee Vitamin C syrup, and toys to these kids.

Personally, I think that health and nutrition is one of the most important things that we need to look into if we are to help the people of Marawi rise again. Sending them vitamins and supplements is an initiative I completely support.

In behalf of MBP, we would like to thank WERT and SinagTala Foundations founder, Kaye Koo, and her staff, for giving our community a way to reach out and help our fellow Filipinos.

To learn more about the benefits of Nutri10Plus Syrup, check through their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Nutri10Plus/

We would also like to acknowledge the mommy bloggers who participated in campaign:

Lifestylebyabby.com acigirl.com mrsenerodiaries.wordpress.com mommysmaglife.com myworldmommyanna.com aprilgarciaph.wordpress.com thebaginvestigator.com acodeza.com themommachronicles.com omiberlin.com

celerhinaaubrey.com

MaMeMiMommy.com clairesantiago.com therebelsweetheart.com erkib.blogspot.com vivamanilena.blogspot.com oneproudmomma.com touringkitty.com ericayub.com glammamomma.com paintsandquills.wordpress.com Gerilen.wordpress.com mommyqueenelizabeth.com tipidmommy.com Pinionsandplumageoflove.blogspot.com

lallysreflections.com

dyosathemomma.com mrspcuyugan.com shesthemom.com mommyrackell.com mhownai.blogspot.com madeitthroughmum.blogspot.com deliberatelymom.blogspot.com morenamom.com mytwinkletwinklestar.blogspot.com thesupermomma.com blissfulblooming.wordpress.com iwaydiaries.com entrepremom.info themermaidinstilettos.com

Therollercoasterride.com

jaymee.sajenes.com esupermommy.com shopgirljen.com raisinghunter.com

themissusv.com

livelifefullest.com justjingsjournal.com joeydragonlady.com triplejoys.com joygurtiza.com juvyann19.blogspot.com pinkheartstring.com

petitemomma.com

startermama.blogspot.com allaroundmoms.com tweenselmom.com Ontopoftheworldph.blogspot.com thekitchenmombydhess.com Lifeandloveofliz.blogspot.com Mommyladyblogs.com allaroundpinaymama.com musingsofasuzie.blogspot.com/ mrswise.tk trulyrichandblessed.com purpleplumfairy.com journeyofthevees.wordpress.com mum-writes.com mommydiaries.co migsandalaine.com whatyvonneloves.com

lifeofque.com

zaineandi.com mommyafterwork.com artofbeingamom.com joyfulmess.com kikaysikat.com sassycebuana.com thedreamermom.wordpress.com mamaneesnest.com theflowerduet.blogspot.com getbeauteous.com gracefulmusings.xyz fullyhousewifed.com nocturnalmomtalks.wordpress.com amonthestreets.com thetravellingappetite.com r0ckstarm0mma.com michiphotostory.com

nanaystrip.wordpress.com

nhengswonderland.net babyneosmama.com

rolledin2onemom.com

chicmix.net cykaniki.com Mrschubsdiary.com sayitnessie.wordpress.com

Amomsnotebook.blogspot.com

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  If there is one thing that we deem necessary in our unschooling setup, it’s for our kids to each have a mobile device they can use to access both their academic resources, online…

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  Our first stop on our Bicol family adventure was the Cagsawa Ruins in Daraga, Albay. We took the Peñafrancia Regular Skybus from Cubao for Php 1,800 per head, which was en route to…

ALS or DepEd’s Alternative Learning System has been sort of a buzz in the homeschooling community for a while now, most particularly among independent homeschooling families. We could not determine whether it’s an option for our family or not because I’ve not found anyone who could actually explain what it is not until last Saturday, February 29, when I attended a seminar hosted by MyHill-ALS, a project initiative of Don Bosco Parish Makati, where the project proponent, Eliza Cornejo, opened our minds about ALS.

To many of us, we think of ALS as just a short remedial program for the Out-of-School Youth and adult learners who did not have the chance to complete their Grade School and High School education due to certain circumstances.

Image Source: Chang Duong on Unsplash

While there is a semblance of truth in this concept because of how it has been implemented for years in our country, ALS is so much more than that. It is, in fact, an alternative for many families who want to pursue the non-traditional, unconventional path in educating their children. Hello Independent and Unschooling families!

The Alternative Learning System in much more accepted in other countries. In the USA, for instance, there have been several existing ALS programs running for years.

(READ: Sending our Teen to High School at Abot Tala Self-Directed Learning Centre)

ALS and the 21st Century Learner

Ms. Cornejo acknowledges that the current educational system no longer works for the 21st Century Learner. She even mentioned unschooling advocate, Ken Robinson  whose TedTalk she recommends for all of us to watch.  She explained that the current formal school system has been created during the 18th century, which makes it outdated.

I totally agree. In fact, when men were sent to war in those times and the factories were emptied of workers, the universal school system was conceived to train those who were left behind to work in these factories. They were trained to have the same skills set for the same purpose. There’s actually a video that circulated in social media that explained this.

But we’re no longer in the industrial era, but in the age of digital information. Times now require a different set of skills, capabilities and knowledge, and a different mindset and approach in education.

Ms. Eliza Cornejo (4th from right) and the families who wanted to know more about ALS.

What is ALS?

In my understanding, the Alternative Learning System (ALS) gears towards functional learning because the goal of ALS is to prepare learners to become “functional in society” — which means there’s more emphasis on real life application.

The ALS Curriculum framework we were shown had 6 learning strands namely, Communication (English) and Communication (Filipino), Scientific Literacy and Critical Thinking, Mathematical & Problem Solving Skills, Life and Career Skills, Understanding the Self & Society, and Digital Literacy. All modules have both English and Filipino versions with a few that do not have the translations in Filipino or in English.

According to Ms. Cornejo, majority of the modules can be completed in 10 months – if a student works on them at the recommended 4 hours a day at 5x a week schedule. As soon as the student has mastered the concepts in the modules, he is ready to take the ALS examination called the ALS A&E program. A&E stands for Accreditation and Equivalency.

There are two ALS A&E tests given every year: 6th grade and Junior High School examinations.

A learner must be 12 years old on the date of examination for Elementary while for the Junior High exam, the learner must be at least 16 years old.

What MyHill-ALS did was to use the ALS curriculum and modules for independent homeschoolers as their means of semi-structured learning for as early as three years before the prescribed minimum exam age.

Once the learners pass the ALS A&E exams, they will be issued a certificate of rating (COR) which is the official Form 137 and can be used to apply to formal schools.

However, Ms. Cornejo shared with us that there have been undocumented cases where some learners were content with the skills and functional literacy they acquired from the program and chose not to pursue the A&E exam or enter the formal school system anymore. They did not pursue university education and instead gone on to put up businesses. Thanks to the Life & Career skills strand that taught them entrepreneurship in their ALS modules!

You might be wondering what your child will do before he starts with the ALS modules for elementary, and my answer to this is – sky’s the limit! You are free to independently homeschool your child – teaching him the the 3R’s (Reading, Writing and Arithmetic), discussing Literature or History any way you want to, and explore Science in million ways together, or go through the Bible together. That’s just me and my thoughts.

Homeschool Veteran, Michelle Padrelanan, sharing her testimony on her kids who were helped by the ALS program. Her eldest graduated Magna Cum Laude in College. Dale Padrelanan giving us some sound financial education.

Don Bosco MyHill Online – ALS

Traditionally, ALS students attend weekend or night classes at a learning center while going through the modules, but MyHill-ALS online makes it possible for students to work on their modules at home or wherever they are.

MyHill-ALS, an initiative of Don Bosco Parish Makati, was a brainchild of Eliza Cornejo who is an indie-homeschooling parent herself. Besides indie homeschoolers who can benefit from online ALS, Eliza realized after three years of prototyping that there are other learner demographics that have benefited from the MyHill-ALS program like adult learners who are working, learners with sickness or disabilities, learners from far flung areas, and others. Another major benefit of bringing ALS online is that it addresses the preliminary need for the new sixth learning strand of the ALS curriculum which is Digital Literacy.

ELiza homeschooled two of her three children. She fully understands the plight of families who prefer to educate their children in ways outside the traditional school structure and those who want to provide their children a good education but cannot afford to pay for providers.

Eliza stresses that education is a basic right of every child so it must be FREE.

Besides, the ALS program, just like education in public formal school, is supposed to be offered for free. 

However, donations of any amount from anyone is very much welcome. These donations may very well help in the maintenance of MyHill-ALS so they can continue in their advocacy in bringing ALS to people in barangays, churches, communities, and organizations.

MyHill – ALS Online is the brainchild of Eliza Cornejo

France, one of the ALS students at MyHill – ALS Online

Clarifications regarding MyHill-ALS Online

To enrol, you just need to submit a copy of the student’s birth certificate and 6 ID-sized photos. Enrolment is open all-year-round.

If your child used to be enrolled in a formal school or a formal school homeschool provider in the past, you need to request for them to unlist him so he can be registered under DepEd ALS Program. Ms. Cornejo said that if the former school requests for a formal letter from MyHill-ALS in order to implement this, they can provide it.

When a learner is successfully registered under the DepEd ALS Program through DepEd’s national database called the Learners Information System or LIS, then the learner will be assigned with an LRN or Learner’s Resource Number. If for some reason the registration is not successful due to a lot of possible reasons, then the learner cannot have an assigned LRN and is therefore categorized “by the formal education structure” as OSY or out-of-school youth. Independent Homeschoolers almost always automatically fall under the OSY category – but that’s just technicality. You must be confident in the quality of education you are providing your child.

Besides, you can supplement your child’s education with other materials if you feel that there’s a need to do so to prepare him for his future plans. Ms. Cornejo, herself, will be hands on in assisting families, should there be a need to supplement in preparation for the student’s preferred education track.

All modules are downloadable online. You have to download them, print them, and organise them for your homeschooling at your personal expense. Ms. Cornejo however encourages that the learners work on their modules using the software tools to help them jumpstart their digital literacy learning.

A parent must be willing to supervise her child while he works on his modules. They are designed almost like PACES – they’re easy to understand and you must set monthly goals for your homeschooling. MyHill-ALS requires that a parent or guardian must be willing to oversee the learner, and help him accomplish his set goals.

While MyHill-ALS allows students to study at home, the ALS examinations have to be taken in the premises of a public school that each school division of the Department of Education has assigned.  If you register with MyHill-ALS you will have to take the ALS A&E exam in the assigned venue in Makati because MyHill-ALS is registered under the DepEd School Division Office of Makati.

Obviously, MyHill-ALS is rooted in the Catholic Faith because of its founders, but they do not discriminate against students belonging to different religious denominations. Everyone is welcome to enroll.

MyHill-ALS will soon be hosting a “hopefully free” training program for ALS Teachers open to individuals, groups or organizations who wish to volunteer to MyHill-ALS or pay the good forward by setting up ALS learning centers themselves. The training includes not only ALS Teacher Training but also the other foundations of 21st Century Learning namely Brain-based learning and Design Thinking.  Ms. Cornejo reiterated that since the ALS program is primarily intended to help those in need, it must not be used for personal profit.

MyHill Online – ALS

2nd floor Multi-purpose building,
St. John Bosco Parish Compound,
Arnaiz Avenue cor Amorsolo compound,
Makati City
Official Facebook Account: https://www.facebook.com/myhillals

(Note: Some of the details in the original post had been corrected by Eliza Cornejo, who also included additional information for homeschoolers to better understand ALS and Don Bosco’s MyHill -ALS Online)

If someone told me back in my youth that I would desire being a full time housewife and mother, the career-obsessed me would have laughed, “IMPOSSIBLE!!!” This morning, I’m nursing three glorious, new…

We all woke up sick today. Our 5-year old had it since the other day and our 6-year old started coughing on our way home from the South last night. Our eldest also has the sniffles. My husband and I got it worse though, because we’re the ones who actually caught the bug full force. In fact, it took my husbandy the whole day to get up from the bed to get his ass to his production meeting in the afternoon.

Anyway, we just got our orders of organic veggies and meat from The Green Grocer and I was excited to start cooking them as I didn’t want to waste them, especially the leafy ones, starting with Kale.

I’ve tried Kale in a store-bought green smoothie before and I may have had it when we ate at restos before, but I’ve not really bought Kale from the supermarket to use for cooking at home. I had to google for recipes that I can do with what stocks we have at home and I found one from myrecipes.com.

I wasn’t able to follow the recipe to a T because there were a few items that I didn’t have in my shelves such as the red pepper. The soup was a success, though, and I call it that because I got all my three young kids to finish their servings. I can’t say they raved about it, but them eating every single veggie in their bowls is good enough for me.

This is an easy recipe to do but unlike the other recipes in my blog, this will take you a bit longer to accomplish if you decide to make chicken stock of your own like I did. But a chicken cube will do as well.

Ingredients:

25g Chicken, shredded 1 chopped Onion 2 diagonally cut carrots Salt Pepper Olive oil 1/4 C chopped Oregano 5 cloves of Garlic Thyme (fresh is better, but the McCormick dried ones are fine) 1 small can of Garbanzos or Chickpeas (drain) 2 C of chopped Kale 1 tsp Soy Sauce

Chicken Stock.

How to make Chicken Stock:

In a pot, boil your chicken in 4 cups of water. Add half the carrots, half the onion, a dash of pepper, oregano, 2 cloves of garlic, and thyme. I only boiled mine for an hour and a half, although the original recipe calls for 3 hours.  Set aside.

I boiled my chicken before shredding it.

How to cook:

1. In medium heat, put oil in the pot. 2. Put the rest of the onions, garlic, and carrots and stir for a few seconds. Don’t let it burn.

3. Pour in the chicken stock and let it simmer.

Note: In the original recipe, it says to let the stock pass through a sieve. I just made sure that my stock soup was clear and clean. I also did not take out the thyme and the other ingredients I added to make the stock soup.

4. Add in the chickpeas, then the Kale. Continue to simmer, occasionally stirring the soup. 5. Put a dash of salt and add the light soy sauce. ( I didn’t have light soy sauce, so I just used the regular one) 6. Bring to a boil.

7. Serve!

You don’t have to follow my proportions as is. That’s the fun in cooking, you can actually weigh your ingredients as you go. The measurement I provided is just a rough guide. You can change it up and add as your gut compels you, hehe.

So go ahead and enjoy your soup. Let me know how it goes for you.