Blogs

food, Practical Advice

Weight Benefits of a Balanced Vegetarian Diet

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Photo by Maarten van den Heuvel from Pexels

When it comes to healthy weight loss, one of the secrets of success is to eat a balanced diet. Balance here means eating the right amount of nutritious food. In our fast food, take-out world, it is easy to get the quantities wrong and also miss out on the quality.

Getting back to the basics is important. Instead of snacking constantly during the day, do your best to eat three regular meals. Cook or have your food cooked using wholesome, natural ingredients, and then eat in a relaxed, mindful manner. It is not only a question of what you eat but how you eat that counts.

Photo by Polina Kovaleva from Pexels

You may be surprised to know that in France, the land of indulgent cheeses and gourmet foods, people, in general, stay slim. The reason is apparent once you go to a local outdoor market where large quantities of fresh vegetables are sold. The French prepare balanced meals and still manage to eat together more often.

So, sit down with your family and friends and eat nice meals together. If you are troubled by “demon hunger” during the day, eat a few pieces of fruit rather than a donut or any other fattening food.

While there are many fad diets (low fat, low carb, paleo etc.) that are being promoted today, it is far better if you can settle into a way of life that you can easily and happily follow for the rest of your life.

The vegetarian diet consists of fruits, vegetables, grains, and milk products. While this diet has benefits, you still have to be mindful that if you have too much all the time and do not exercise, then it can still lead to weight gain.

Substitute meat dishes with soy products, lentils, other legumes, and whole grains. You can get enough protein (especially if you also consume nuts and milk products) so you don’t have to worry about it.

You can also enjoy yourself in the process. Instead of an ice cream thick shake, blend together fruits, juice, and yogurt and make a healthy smoothie. Losing weight does not require you to suffer; it is only a question of choosing your food well and balancing your lifestyle.

If you want to lose weight in a long-term basis, you have to change your diet or your pattern of exercise or both. Try out a balanced vegetarian diet and if you find it helpful, you can stick with it for the rest of your life.

Fashion

Mix and Match: My Wedding Bustier Top

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I intentionally had my wedding gown made in separate pieces so I could create new looks even after the wedding. In this video, I show you how I’ve paired the bustier top with different items in my closet.

Look 1: Paired the bustier with my light gold pleated skirt. Can be worn for an early evening or afternoon event with simple accessories.
Look 2: Paired the bustier with my white flared pants from Zoo. I tried this with my sleeved blazer but the look didn’t work quite well because of the short hemline (short blazer hemline + my wide hips, not a good combination). I immediately replaced it with my sleeveless white blazer which is longer, as you can see in the next photos.
Look 3: Bustier, flared pants and my white sleeveless blazer. This one looked better because of the blazer’s length. Also, keeping the blazer open in the middle visually adds length as it draws the eye vertically.

Anyone else here who’s re-styled their wedding gown pieces to be worn with different articles of clothing? Would love to see how you did yours. You can tag me on Instagram: @MissIngridNieto to share your looks.

Wedding gown by Johanna Design Studio

color analysis, Image Consultancy

The Basic Color Sets You Should Have in Your Wardrobe

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Colors can affect you and others, not just visually but psychologically as well. There are certain colors that have an aesthetically pleasing effect on you and then there are those that do the opposite.

Have you ever experienced being told by your friends or colleagues that “You look extra nice today!” “You’re glowing! Are you in love?” and you wonder what it is because you know you didn’t do anything special in particular for that day? It could be that you were wearing a color that complemented your skin so well that it made it lift, making you appear healthier and brighter.

I fell in love with color dressing after learning about it in finishing school many years ago. While I’ve always been a lover of bright and intense colors, there was also a period in my life when I just resorted to simple black and white because I thought, it would be a good way to just simplify my wardrobe. Sure, having to choose between two colors won’t require much time but it is very limiting. You want to be able to play around with colors and use them to your advantage because these can help you as you carve your personal brand, it helps convey your personality visually and also exudes what you’re feeling. Remember we communicate who we are even before we get the chance to say something, so it’s important to have that memorable visual impact.

Before you go on a wild shopping spree, I recommend that you do a wardrobe and lifestyle audit first to see what you already have. This also allows you to assess where you are in your life, if your current wardrobe pieces still serve you and what basics you may be lacking that you need to prioritize. As you assess your current lifestyle and wardrobe condition, it’s important to note these basic color sets that will help you get started.

Neutrals are important because they’re the easiest to mix and match with your other color groups. You can wear the same neutral-colored bottoms and mix it up with your other colored tops and accessories. Remember, it’s not about having tons of clothes in your wardrobe. You want to be able to use and re-use all the items in your closet by creating multiple looks through clever mixing and matching.

Now you might be wondering, what part of my wardrobe should be neutrals, lights and in accent colors? As you work towards a more functional wardrobe, make sure that you have the following items in neutral colors:

  • Work slacks or chinos
  • Jeans (Dark wash, navy blue or regular blue jeans)
  • Pencil or Pleated Skirts
  • Business Coat or Blazer
  • Cardigan
  • Long-sleeved button-down shirt
  • Basic round neck or v-neck shirt
  • Basic shoes like pumps, heels, flats, loafers and casual sneakers

The items in the light color group are best worn as tops (shirts, polos, blouses) and dresses, to be combined with the neutrals and the accent colors.

The accent colors add zest to an outfit that may look bland, lack interest or too safe. Depending on your lifestyle and profession, it is best to keep accent colors as focal pieces to maintain an elegant chic look. However, if you’re going for a bold look that speaks volumes, playing with color intensities can convey your creativity and adventurous style.

If you want to delve deeper into the world of color dressing, check out my video playlist on Youtube where I tackle different topics on image and color analysis.

food

Plant-Based Recipe: Chickpea and Tofu Sisig | INGRID NIETO Cooks

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Sisig is a Filipino dish that is commonly served as pulutan (a dish best eaten with alcoholic drinks) or as a side dish with lots of rice. The traditional sisig is made of minced pork ears, face and the belly, and is usually cooked with chicken liver, lots of onion, garlic and chopped siling haba (long green pepper).

For this plant-based version, I simply replaced the pork and chicken parts with chickpea and tofu, skipped the egg and mayonnaise while maintaining the rest of the ingredients.

Ingredients:

  • 1 big can of chickpeas
  • 1 palm-sized block of tofu (diced)
  • 1 garlic head (minced)
  • 1 medium onion (chopped)
  • 4-5 pieces Red chili
  • 3 pieces Siling haba
  • Ginger (thumb size, minced)
  • 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
  • 1/2 cup Vinegar
  • 1/4 cup Calamansi juice

How to Prepare and Cook:

  1. Drain the water from the can of chickpeas and set aside.
  2. Dice the tofu block and pan-fry until brown and crisp. You can also air-fry the tofu for a healthier, less-oily alternative. Slice the tofu into 1/2 inch pieces, lay them on your air fryer tray and dice them once done. Set aside.
  3. Saute onion, garlic and ginger in a pan or pot until the ginger becomes tender and the onions translucent.
  4. Mix in the fried tofu and chickpeas, cook and stir for 5-7 minutes.
  5. Add in the red and green chilis and mix.
  6. Pour the calamansi and soy sauce mixture. Coat everything in the pan/pot.
  7. Pour the vinegar and mix it in well for a few minutes until all the ingredients are coated with the soy sauce, calamansi and vinegar.
  8. Add salt and pepper to taste. You can use vegan mayo if available.
  9. Although I didn’t include it in the video, we’ve also tried replacing the egg with a mixture of cornstarch, water and salt. You can pour in half a cup of that mix (the consistency has to be similar to beaten egg) and stir in with the ingredients until it gives you that light scrambled “egg-like” appearance.

I’d love to hear if you get to try this at home! Tag me in your Instagram or Facebook photo: @MissIngridNieto Enjoy cooking and eating!

Image Consultancy

What Makes Up Your Personal Brand? | INGRID NIETO Vlogs

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Though it’s been a buzz word for a few years now, there are many elements that contribute to one’s #PersonalBrand​

In this video, I enumerate and expound on these things that we ought to be mindful of like habits, our communication style and character, to name a few. Personal branding is not just all about the surface or appearance, it covers your totality as a person. Watch the video, take down notes and learn!

events, Events Host, Host, Hosting, Video Blog

High10 to 51Talk the 10th Anniversary Kick-Off | Ingrid Nieto HOSTS

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2021 marks the 10th anniversary of 51Talk, the company I have been with for over a year. In March this year, the anniversary kick-off and strategic conference was held in Beijing, China where our leaders recounted the company’s humble beginnings, talked about the milestones, wins, risks and things they did that made 51Talk what it is today–the leading online English education platform with over 30,000 Filipino teachers with 250,000 young Chinese learners.

Here in the Philippines, we started our local hurrah for the 10th year through a virtual event on our Youtube channel. My colleague Shin and I were tapped to host the kick-off along with the platform’s talented teacher-influencers.

There’s definitely more to look forward to this 2021 as we hold more celebratory events in honor of our 10th year. 51Talk was featured heavily in the news last year as more and more individuals sought an alternative livelihood source that is safe, sustainable and can be done from home. While working from home became widely accepted last year due to the pandemic, 51Talk online English teachers have been teaching and earning from home way before #WorkFromHome and #OnlineClasses became the norm.

51Talk is always looking for teachers to join the platform. If you are a college graduate of any course, willing to learn and teach young learners, have up-to-spec computer equipment and a sturdy, wired internet connection, then you might want to look into this opportunity. You can check out the full qualifications and requirements, as well as the application process by visiting our website: www.51talk.ph.

Events Host, Host, Hosting

Hosting Sun Life Sun Talks featuring Inigo Pascual

IngridNieto.Com

I had the wonderful privilege of hosting this short virtual talk show for Sun Life Philippines. Inigo Pascual is one of Sun Life’s young brand ambassadors who talked about his spending and saving lifestyle, as well as the Adulting Starter Pack. Sun Life aims to make financial management and life insurance less intimidating, specially for the younger ones, to encourage them to start good money habits and make the most of the time they have to build wealth.