SOURCE: The Philippine Star – Entertainment Section – Funfare, January 19, 2008
“Come with an empty stomach.” That was the reminder from Cheloy Ignacio (former Muhlach) when she invited Bulletin’s Cris Belen, Tempo’s Nestor Cuartero and me to her condo unit sofhewhere in Ortigas Center to make us taste what she called “raw and living food” which, she said, healed her of some ailments without resorting to medicines.
“The right food is also a form of medicine,” smiled Cheloy. “As they say, you are what you eat.” She just came back 14 pounds lighter from the US where she studied “a raw food diet” which she now wants other people to benefit from.
“It works for me and I think it will work on other people, too,” assured Cheloy who has since stayed away from sugar (that’s why she has sold the rights to the Quickmelt Ensaymada which is a hit not only among locals but also those abroad, sold at airports as a perfect pasalubong), salt and oil. “I woke up one morning feeling aches and pains all over. My blood pressure was going above normal and so was my blood sugar. I was suffering from acid reflux. In short, I wasn’t feeling comfortable with myself.”
Now a “Certified Raw Food Chef,” Cheloy was serving us a “raw and living food” dinner, prepared only with blenders. First, she offered us her Green Smoothie drink as appetizer. Hmmmm. Delicious! (Recipe: Two to three cups baby spinach, two or more cups fresh lemon, one to two cups coconut milk, one-half cup almond milk, one cup orange-juice and one to two cups bananas. Blend to smooth.)
Cheloy was a sight to behold, dressed casually in light-green shorts and light-green sleeveless top, looking like a chic chef in glasses, as she and her two helpers blended more recipes which we gorged on with gusto (Nestor asked for another glass of Green Smoothie) while, between bites, we browsed through the pages of the Living on Live Food (100% Raw Protocol) literature Cheloy furnished us as “guide.”
The benefits of eating a raw and living food diet are too many to mention. The diet has helped many people feel better when nothing else works.
Many people have healed themselves of diseases and ailments such as diabetes, fibromyalgia, back pain, neck and joint pain, – asthma, high-blood pressure, high cholesterol, . hypogtycemia, colitis, diverticiditis, Candida, ‘. arthritis, serious allergies, depression, anxiety, mood swings, heartburn, gas pains, ‘. bloating, skin diseases, obesity, chronic ‘. fatigue, cancers, etc.
“By eating raw and living food,” continued Cheloy (who first broke into the showbiz scene as one of the Ginebra Super Angels in the late ’70s, a few years before she married Alex Muhlach), “you will also start not only to feel lighter and better but also to look younger and more beautiful.”
Yes, Cheloy glows; she’s the best advertisement of the “The Raw Food Diet” for which she has began conducting classes right at her condo unit, with each session limited to only 10 students each time. The dinner that Monday night wasn’t just for us to sample the diet but also to demonstrate how the class is conducted — you know, with Cheloy doing the blending and the serving while at the same time expounding on the benefits of the diet to which, she again stressed, “I owe the ‘new, healthier me.'”
Giving up cooked food and switching to a raw and living food diet has helped many people feel well for the first time in their lives. One of the most amazing things is haw quickly this can happen. Feeling healthier, losing weight and healing your body doesn’t take years or months or even weeks on this diet. You will notice changes within days. Wlien you eat a raw and living food diet, you are feeding your body and your cells live foods filled urith vitamins, minerals, enzymes and other life-giving substances that cooking destroys. Ttiere are many factors why raw foods improve health but enzymes and acid alkaline balance are probably the two most important ones.
One after the other, Cheloy served us more samples as she proceeded with her “lecture” — Mock Salmon (“Perfect for parties, can be used for nori rolls, salad, stuffed tomatoes, collard, lettuce wraps, crackers, stuffed bell peppers, romaine lettuce, etc.) Cheloy’s Raw Asian Salad, Stuffed Portabella Mushroom Caps, and Fettuccini Alfredo (“Made from raw vegetable and not from fettuccini, with thin slices of red bell pepper, onion or whatever strokes your fancy”).
To cap the lecture-cum-dinner, Cheloy served us glasses of fresh tomato juice.
You guessed it: We went to Cheloy’s place with, as “ordered,” empty stomachs and we left with full ones, stuffed with healthy food minus the usual worry about putting on calories.