Sugarleaf Makati and Jertie’s Kitchen Tie Up for The Green Guide To Eating Right, A Healthy Food Preparation Workshop Series

In another of its signature fun, learning-filled media events, Sugarleaf Organic Market and Café Makati recently launched another healthy food preparation series dubbed The Green Guide to Eating Right workshop series running from October to February 2015 to be held at the Makati Café in MEDICard Lifestyle Center. 

Well attended by friends from the media and blogging community, attendees got a sneak preview of vegan dishes included in the four workshops.  Sugarleafer Angelo Narciso Songco emceed the event while vegan and gluten-sensitive resource speakers Jertie and Jaclyn Abergas shared their story and knowledge in healthy yet affordable and practical healthy cooking.

In tandem with Jertie's Kitchen, Sugarleaf invites all to any or all of our four exciting workshops from October to February 2015.  Each class stands on its own and builds up your stock knowledge on healthy vegan food prep.  P1500 per person per workshop. P1300 for early bird, senior citizens, students, pairs  and groups.  Attend three and get the 4th at 50% discount!  Contact Angelo on 0917 8039 055. Pay P1300 one week before each class at Sugarleaf Makati or deposit to Healthy Eats Inc. checking account  number 0012 4002 7660 (Union Bank World Center branch) to avail of early bird rate.  Please bring your deposit slip which will be collected upon registration.

18 October–Eating A Plant‐Based Diet On A Budget

We all know that we need to eat more fruits and vegetables, that’s a fact.  In this workshop, we’ll teach you five easy-to-prepare plant-based dishes that’ll incorporate more of these nutrient dense food into your existing diet.  Demo menu includes coconut fried rice, corn and tomato stew, basil pesto, minestrone, chow mein, lettuce wraps, Thai vegetable stew plus bonus recipes!

22 November–Noche Buena Vegan Feast

Eat heartily this Yuletide season without the guilt with these plant‐based versions of your favorite festive dishes!  Demo menu inludes ginataang halo-halo, paella, "chick"pea sopas, arroz Valenciana, macaroni/fruit salad, casserole and Christmas dessert!

10 January 2015–Lose Holiday Weight with Green Smoothie*

Had a little or way  too much fun during the holidays?  Don’t worry, we’re here to help you get back to your old self–or maybe even better!  Green smoothies will help you slip back into those skinny jeans without having to jump and down.

7 February 2015–Love, Chocolate

Love is in the air!  And chocolate definitely rules this month.  Let us teach you new plant-based chocolate dishes to romance your lover (or would-be lover) – mostly sweet with a savoury dish as well.

Sugarleaf and Jertie's promise another info-filled and yummy series complete with handouts, hearty samplings of at least five recipes, bonus recipes and tips.  Angelo of Sugarleaf shares “After a long hiatus, we are happy to have partnered with Jertie who shares our commitment in promoting a heathy and sustainable lifestyle.  After four separate series over the past three years, we’ll hold another four part food preparation class–not completely raw anymore as healthy can be cooked!  With the promise that all ingredients are easy to find and affordable!”

About Jertie’s Kitchen

Jertie Abergas and her sister Jaclyn have always believed great-tasting nutritious food should be accessible to anyone and everyone.  And more than that, everyone should be able to make it easily without burning a hole in your pocket.  Eating a plant‐based diet should not be any different.  Neither should it be complicated, intimidating and boring!

A lot of people hesitate to commit to a plant‐based diet because they believe it to be difficult and expensive to create.  Me and my sister Jaq want to debunk that misconception!  It can be expensive, especially if you always go for the high-end option but most of the time it’s as affordable as it can get.  In The Green Guide to Eating Right workshop series we’ll show you how affordable plant-based dishes can easily be prepared even by those who’ve never stepped into a kitchen before.  And the great thing about this workshop, you don’t need lots of fancy equipment.  You just need a toaster, a rice cooker or a pan with a stove.

When my sister Jaq became vegan, she pressured me to create vegan pastries she can eat.  I felt inspired and added it to my line-up of home-baked goodies.  Then, almost at the same time I found out I was gluten‐intolerant and tweaked my products to include gluten‐free and vegan items

Since then, me and Jaq have devoted ourselves to sharing their plant-based and gluten-free lifestyle with the people we meet and those interested.  We strongly believe people need to start taking charge of their health and not wait until it’s too late.

Aside from creating great‐tasting food, we teach health and cooking workshops and offer health coaching.  We know how difficult it is to transition and want to support other people in their own journey towards health.

Contact: Angelo Narciso Songco, co-owner, head of marketing, business development and media relations, Sugarleaf Organic Market and Café G-2F MEDICard Lifestyle Center, 51 Paseo de Roxas corner Senator Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati

Tel (63 2) 812 7323 Email: ansongco@yahoo.com

New World-class Surgical Training Center Opened in The Medical City

Premier health institution The Medical City (TMC) officially opens today its state-of-the-art multi-disciplinary training center that will provide surgical expertise and the ideal environment for skills acquisition for healthcare professionals.

The Center for Advanced Skills, Simulation and Training Innovation or CASSTI welcomes practicing clinicians, fellows and residents from TMC as well as from other training institutions,

Operating Room (OR) nurses and technicians, and medical students. Consultants or physicians who desire to strengthen and refine their clinical and surgical skills are likewise welcome to enroll in CASSTI’s courses. CASSTI is a collaborative initiative among TMC and key industry stakeholders who will be involved on a per course basis. The Center is headed by

Dr. Deogracias Alberto G. Reyes,

TMC surgeon and associate professor at the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health. Dr. Reyes is supported by course directors composed of specialists from the Departments of General Surgery, Colorectal Surgery, Breast Surgery, Gynecology, Head and Neck Surgery, Orthopedics, Airway Management, Intensive Care, and Stoma Care.“CASSTI is changing surgical learning by allowing trainees to learn in a controlled and safe environment. This offers physicians and trainees the ability to assess and achieve proficiency through simulation and an ideal learning environment that is pace appropriate and structured with expert supervision,” says TMC President and CEO Dr. Alfredo R.A. Bengzon.

The CASSTI infrastructure is comprised of experts backed by technology that embody the present and future of surgical and medical learning. The center’s advisory committee is composed of six directors of various TMC medical departments and international experts led by Professor Sir Alfred Cuschieri, a world-wide authority on minimal access surgery. Prof. Cuschieri is a professor of surgery at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa and Chief Scientific Advisor to the Institute for Medical Science and Technology (IMSaT), Universities of Dundee and St. Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom.

“CASSTI was brought about by the need to effect a change in medical and surgical training. The traditional Halsteadian mindset of ‘see one, do one, teach one’ is not ideal as it does not give the trainee the opportunity to achieve mastery before patient contact,” adds Dr. Reyes. The center was envisioned to address this need for change along with issues of patient safety and quality healthcare and to provide clinical and surgical skills responsive to world developments and standards of care. While minimal access surgery has become a requisite in general residency training locally, there is a gap that needs to be filled when it comes to this kind of training. In the global scene, simulation training has been integrated into general surgery training programs using inanimate models, animal phantom models, and virtual reality. The main feature of CASSTI is simulation training.

Given its track record in minimally-invasive procedures such as robot-assisted and laparoscopic surgeries, TMC is in the position to uplift the level of medical care through CASSTI. According to Dr. Reyes, surgical simulation is a mode of training which is promising and may be effective. Technical errors in the simulated environment do not have clinical consequences and do not involve morbidity or mortality. CASSTI trainings are carried out in a controlled and safe environment. A procedure can be deconstructed into its critical steps for more structured and purposeful learning. The center’s simulation environment guarantees minimization of error thus achieving a greater level of patient safety. Plus, the ability to repeat and train in the skills laboratory makes training pace appropriate, responsive to the individual’s learning aptitudes and schedule limitations. CASSTI’s facilities include endoscopic stations, virtual reality room, simulation room, teleconference capability for live surgery transmission to ASSTI and remote locations, animal laboratory, lecture rooms, video editing stations and a research room. The center makes use of equipment for simulation which includes alternative inanimate simulator box, inanimate simulator box, and virtual reality simulator.

CASSTI offers short courses that run from two to five days and post-graduate certificate courses that will run from one to three months. Plans to offer a certificate course and a Master’s Degree in Minimal Access Surgery are underway. CASSTI is located at the lower ground of The Medical City in Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City.

For the list of courses and other inquiries, you may call 988-1000 or 988-7000 ext. 6801.

About The Medical City

The Medical City is a tertiary care hospital with over 40 years of experience in hospital operation and administration. Its world-class health care complex serves some 40,000 in patients and 400,000 out-patients annually. TMC has a medical staff of over 1,000 physicians who are established experts in their various fields of specialization. This core of professionals is complemented by a 2,200-strong human resource complement, engaged in allied medical, administrative and support services. TMC is accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI), the world’s most prestigious accrediting body for international health care organizations.

The Medical City is located along Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City. For more information about The Medical City and its services, call (+632) 988-1000 or (+632) 988-7000 or email at mail@themedicalcity.com, or visit www.themedicalcity.com.

URATEX My Home Event With Team Kramer

The family who sleeps and takes a good sleep is happier, healthier, and does more bonding activities.  Uratex, the leader in foam manufacturing in the Philippines and the designer and producer of premium mattresses, emphasizes this point in its My Home Event slated last September 04, 2014 at SM Megamall.  During the occasion, Uratex also introduced Team Kramer as their newest brand ambassadors.

In partnership with SM Home, SM Store, and SM Megamall, Uratex showcased its newest and elegant and comfortable beds, their different kinds, and how they service the needs of each family member. A quality good night's sleep on one of Uratex’s mattresses or its variations can help dad become more motivated, mom more energetic, and the kids less stressed and yet still enthused and excited about life.

Sleep is essential for all peoples, regardless of age, and a good rest is vital especially for a family. 

1.       Dad and mom need to be productive for their workplaces and nurturing to their kids.

2.           The children, meanwhile, have to deal with school challenges, peer pressure, changes in perspective, and their own emotional and inner growth.

3.       Their older brothers and sisters who are working will have to confront work deadlines, demanding bosses, and romantic relationships where they have to give more of themselves.

Sometimes, every family member just might find himself or herself hard-pressed to keep up with the challenges they are facing.  An average of six to eight hours a day is the requirement, according to physicians and other medical experts.  Now, if each family member were not to get his required rest that night, tensions just might arise within the family, inadvertently causing them to get on each other’s nerves.

 Sometimes, every family member just might find himself or herself hard-pressed to keep up with the challenges they are facing.  An average of six to eight hours a day is the requirement, according to physicians and other medical experts.  Now, if each family member were not to get his required rest that night, tensions just might arise within the family, inadvertently causing them to get on each other’s nerves.

 Uratex Philippines, which has grown immensely in 46 years from a modest company to the foam leader in the country, has always kept the family’s welfare in mind. Perhaps being a family-owned company is one of the reasons behind this.

Another is the company’s constant research and development who sees to it that all its clients receive the excellent foam that they deserve and enjoy the quality sleep that they need.

 A big king-size bed is ideal for the family.  While helping to ensure the intimate bond between the father and mother, it can on occasions transform to become the ‘happy healthy playground’ of the kids.  Stories can be read, the events of the days can be recapped, or a favorite DVD marathon with a late midnight snack can bring the family even closer together. 

Uninterrupted sleep and quality foam that can provide rest to the body is part of the service that Uratex provides, thanks to its passion for excellence that characterizes its products. Innovations such as the “Quali-5 Cellular Technology” make sure that the Uratex foams produced by the company are of high and world-class quality.  The Quali-5 Cellular Technology shows the company's strong adherence to quality; its quality assurance through its ISO-9001 certified facilities; world-class equipment; superior formulation and process engineering technology; and usage of best raw materials.

The Airlite is best for family members who want a cooler sleeping environment. The more flexible and portable sofa beds are recommended for those who prefer a little more me-time, watching their videos or chatting with friends and colleagues while lying down on their leisure time.

  Sofa beds also come in handy when visitors visit the home; these guests can stretch out on the sofa beds, enjoying meals and the conversation.

Dad and Mom enjoy their own special ‘couple time’ with the Hamptons Collection, with its trademark plush comfort that encourages a more leisurely demeanor, can help create a more romantic mood in private. The Hamptons Collection comes in five models: Royale, Prestige, Mystique, Premiere, Elite.

 Regardless of the model they choose, each family member can find the Uratex mattress that fits him or her – and with it, enjoy a luxurious sleep that will recharge them the next day and probably add a rosier outlook.

Uratex’s other products help induce this high-quality of sleep for the customers. Uratex pillows have different types, sizes and functions that will suit your need and preferences to help you achieve a great sleep. Meanwhile, the hyper-soft mattress enhancer adds that extra comfort to every bed, enhancing the relaxation for each family member who uses it, inviting him or her to unwind by sleeping in a cradling position.  Mattress and pillow protectors help keep the mattress and pillow clean and fresh.

Uratex is always sensitive to the needs of its customers and alert to provide the personalized kind of sleep solution that they need.  This is one reason why it has been winning the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands awards the past six consecutive years. Winners like Uratex are chosen based on their trustworthiness and credibility, quality, value, understanding of customer needs, innovation, and corporate social responsibility.