“Train your taste to trim your waist.”
Dina dela Paz-Stalder’s motto seemed to be the farthest thing on her mind as she served pork chops with mushrooms and spinach salad with shrimp and quail eggs at her restaurant, DS Cafe. The dishes were delicious – nowhere near the usual bland meals that have become synonymous with dieting and healthy eating.
“I used to be overweight. And then it hit me: it’s the kind of food we eat that makes us less healthy. Now, I eat everything – even lechon – as long as I eat in moderation. I no longer take maintenance medicine for high blood,” said the consummate beauty expert.
“I love cooking and the food I serve here is also food that I enjoy. Our dishes adhere to specific calorie counts that include healthy amounts of vegetables, protein and healthy carbohydrates so diners can make informed choices,” said Stalder, who is the only Filipina coach of Canada’s Ideal Protein Weight Loss Program.
The cafe also now serves organic healthy juices competitively priced at P150 to P200 per bottle. “Our juices only have a 12-hour shelf-life because we do not use preservatives. That way, you are assured of drinking only the freshest and healthiest in every bottle,” she added.
Stalder also began sourcing brown rice from Sagada. “In our own little way, we are able to help our upland farmers while helping our clients eat healthier, too.”
DS Cafe is actually an offshoot of the Diana Stalder Face, Body and Skin Care Center as part of Stalder’s holistic approach to beauty.
“Someone who values healthy diet supplementation is also better equipped to address various skin issues. Combining both skin treatments and healthy eating means more positive results,” she said.
Back in the 1990s, Stalder began mixing her first batch of beauty potions, which she preferred to call “compoundings,” in a stainless steel pot that came all the way from England, and which she she has kept until today.
Her first beauty center, which was then named Dermaline Facial Center, was established in 1996. She later changed the brand name in 2004 to reflect her daughter’s, Diana Stalder. The younger Stalder has followed her mother’s footsteps, too, and is now a registered pharmacist and aesthetician.
Diana Stalder provides a whole range of beauty services from basic care to anti-acne, anti-aging, whitening and other medical procedures, to high quality and luxurious treatments. These include the Nacar Treatment plus Blanc White, a combination of two powerful brands for fast and effective whitening and anti-aging; Caviar Luxury Facial treatment plus dS Anti-Aging Kit which is an excellent way to get rid of wrinkles and sagging skin; the Instalift Luxury Facial which is a non-invasive alternative to facial surgery that combines Rgnerin Mask RT4 Retinol with Vitamin C to stimulate cell regeneration; and the ultra-luxe Skin Sensations treatment with Casmara Gold Mask 2080, which contains 24k gold dust and seaweed extract to tighten the face and neckline while providing deep moisturization.
New healthy recipes at DS Cafe
Spinach Salad with Shrimp and Quail Eggs
Ingredients:
1 kg shrimp, cooked and shelled
12 pcs quail eggs, hard-boiled and sliced
6 cups spinach leaves
2 cups radicchio, sliced
1 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
sea salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
For the dressing, dissolve the mustard, sea salt, and pepper in vinegar and add the olive oil, slowly mixing well. Place spinach in salad bowl, add salad dressing, mix and plate. Add radicchio. Top with shrimp and sliced eggs.
Per serving:
391 calories; 17g fats; 51g proteins; and 5g carbohydrates
Pork Chops with Mushrooms
Ingredients:
¾ kg pork chops, about 4 pieces
8 cups mushrooms, chopped
1 tsp dill leaf
4 packets Ideal Protein Mushroom Soup prepared
1 tsp olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
Remove all fat from pork. Sauté seasoned pork and set aside. In same pan, sauté mushrooms. Add dill leaf. Put half mushrooms in a baking dish, add pork chops and top with other half of mushrooms. Coat with mushroom soup. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until the chops are cooked.
Per serving:
399 calories; 19g fats; 47g proteins; 9g carbohydrates