Smile Train Partners with Glad® Philippines to Host “Glad® To Give Smiles” Family Fair to Raise Awareness and for Children with Clefts

The world’s leading cleft charity, Smile Train, and food storage and cooking solutions provider Glad® Philippines recently held the Glad®-To-Give Smiles Family Fair to help spread smiles to Filipinos this Christmas season.

The Glad®-To-Give campaign is Glad®’s global corporate social responsibility platform. This year, the Glad®-To-Give Smiles Family Fair was filled with fun activities, delicious food stations and a cooking demonstration prepared by Glad®'s Ambassador, Chef Happy Ongpauco-Tiu.

Glad is ready to give a helping hand to working moms like Happy, as we navigate the Christmas season. Prep and cook without the mess using Glad's foils, cling wraps, Cook n' Bake and ovenware for your ready to serve dishes.

 "I am very proud to be a part of this meaningful campaign this holiday. It is an honor for me to help raise funds and awareness about Smile Train’s work in the Philippines,” said Chef Happy Ongpauco-Tiu.

The program was hosted by Ms. Suzi Abrera.  Other supporters include The Medical City, Alveo Land, Beyond® Yoga, Swell Sweets Cake Lab, and Ms. Natalia Santamaria Escano, who performed with Smile Train beneficiaries during the program.  Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Smile Train’s cleft programs in the Philippines.

Approximately 5,000 new babies with clefts are born every year in the Philippines. Without access to proper cleft treatment, these babies often have difficulty eating, breathing, speaking, and ultimately thriving. Smile Train’s sustainable model empowers local medical professionals with training and resources to provide 100 percent-free, quality, comprehensive, and safe cleft care to children in need in their own communities.

For more information about Smile Train's global efforts and to make a donation, please visit smiletrain.org. To learn more about Smile Train’s programs in the Philippines, follow Smile Train on Twitter and Instagram @SmileTrainPh, and like us on Facebook at @SmileTrainPhilippines.

Learning to be a college kid’s mommy

I’m a mom of young kids, and while they drive me crazy sometimes, I tell myself that they will not be this young forever, and I should cherish every precious moment with them.

I was reminded of this again when, during one of those rare mommy me-time with friends (which, like all mommy activities always end up being about our kids), someone shared how nerve-wracking it had been for her to send off her child to college a few months ago.

She was overjoyed that her kid got into the University of the Philippines, but her daughter’s course took her to the Los Baños campus, which was a long way away from their home in Quezon City. We told her that was probably part of the plan—to move away from mommy and daddy so she could be independent. She laughed it off but admitted that was true—weren’t we all like that once?

One thing I wasn’t ready for was my friend’s admission that seeing her child so independent and capable of taking care of herself made her feel less useful as a mother. I wondered if I’d feel that way when my children are grown up.

Anyway, she told us how one time, when her daughter could not come home for the weekend because their class had an urgent project that required everyone to stay, her mommy worries surfaced: what about her allowance, her food, her clothes, etc. She had always replenished her daughter’s needs when she spent the weekend at home. My friend did not know how to send money on a weekend.

Thankfully, there was another child home, who was techie enough to teach her about GCash. Apparently, that’s what her daughter’s classmates use, too, to receive allowances from their parents. My friend immediately downloaded the app and navigated her way through its features with the help of her younger kid.

I was surprised that she had never used the app. Many of us in my mommy circle use it already to pay bills, buy prepaid load, get groceries, etc. Anyway, easily enough, she learned how to cash in at a nearby convenience store and immediately sent money to her daughter’s bank account. That simple thing of being able to attend to her daughter’s need made her feel like a valuable mommy again, she said.

Now, my friend is not only at ease with using the app for sending money, she has also discovered the convenience of using GCash’s money transfers for shopping! I think she’ll snap out of her sentimentality soon, what with the frequent buzz at the door for her shopping deliveries.

Be a Shopwise Home Wise Mom!

When you're a busy mom, a trip to the grocery is not a chore, it's a getaway! Mommies like me enjoy walking through neatly-stacked aisles, thinking of what new dishes we can serve our families. That's why when you find that matches all your needs, from Papa Alfredo Olive Oil, Southdale Farm Butter, Sun Harvest Jam, Veneto Italian Water, Brewtime Tea, and Red Peak Australian wine and even Aquabliss, BacAttack and Vitapet at the sweetest deals, you know you've stuck gold.

This March, Shopwise and Mommy Mundo have partnered for our best grocery trip yet. Last Saturday (March 3), Shopwise HomeWise Moms' first leg happened at Shopwise Alabang. The event featured a cooking demo with Sabrina Go, author of www.sinfullysabrina.com and an empowering mom talks with Ms. Minnie Jumaquio, the mompreneur behind Snug-a-Hug. 

Sabrina Go shared new recipes; Adobo Sushi and Ube, Mango and Cheese Crepes.

Sabrina Go, www.sinfullysabrina.com

Adobo Sushi

For Japanese rice

     Rinse the Japanese rice and drain. Repeat until water runs clear.

     Cook in the rice cooker.

For Sushi Rice

     While Japanese rice is warm from the rice cooker, mix the cooked rice, sugar      and rice wine vinegar until rice cools.

For Sushi rolls

     Lay a nori wrapper on top of your bamboo mat. Get some rice and start patting it down gently on the nori wrapper, covering more than half of the wrapper, leaving a bit of space on the top part (away from you).

     Spoon some of the adobo creating a horizontal line an inch from the bottom of the rice layer.

     Take your bamboo mat from the bottom and roll like a cigar, making sure that the adobo is tucked in nice and neatly. Try to roll as tight as you can. Dampen the top sheet of your nori wrapper to seal your roll. Repeat

     Slice 1-inch thick pieces and top with garlic bits. serve with adobo sauce for dipping.

Ube, Mango and Cheese Crepes

Crepes

     In a blender, combine flour, sugar, salt, milk, eggs and butter

     Puree until mixture is smooth and bubbles form on top, about 30 seconds. Let batter sit at least 15 minutes at room temperature (or refrigerate in an airtight container, up to 1 day; whisk before using).

     Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium. Lightly coat with butter. Add 1/3 cup batter and swirl to completely cover bottom of skillet. Cook until underside of crepe is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

     Loosen edge of crepe with a rubber spatula, then with your fingertips, quickly flip. Cook 1 minute more. Slide crepe out of skillet and repeat with remaining batter. (Coat pan with butter as needed)

For Ube-Mango filling

     Whip the cold cream cheese until loosened. Add the powdered sugar and ube extract, whipping until incorporated and smooth.

     Add the heavy cream and ube jam until light and fluffy.

     Carefully fold in small cubes of cheese and diced dried mangoes. Set aside and chill.

     Place Ube-mango filling in crepes, fold,top with fresh mangoes, dust with powdered sugar and serve.

Ms. Minnie Jumaquio shared her experience juggling career and motherhood with the help of some mom-hacks she's picked up along the way.

Mark your calendar for another leg on March 10 in Shopwise Araneta Center, Chef Golda Liamzon is set to help guests level up their wise-mom skills in the kitchen, with Rochelle Rivera sharing mom-hacks that has helped her through difficult times. Prizes, raffle draws and exciting giveaways are also on the agenda. Participants just need to sit back, relax and enjoy learning together with their fellow moms. 

Where better to gain new tricks up their sleeves than in Shopwise? Many moms have made Shopwise their shopping destination of choice as it offers a wide selection of fresh goods, groceries, clothes, toys, and home accessories in a comfortable setting. Shopwise offers freshness and budget-friendly variety, the stuff wise moms are made of. And of course, no wise moms is complete without Shopwise' Loyalty card. Just head on over to the customer service to apply and get your Wise card now to enjoy amazing deals and perks! Check out their website www.shopwise.com.ph/wise-card to see more details on what exciting perks await when you become a Wise Card holder.