Creating pleasurable meals and snacks for the kids can sometimes be a challenge. Â For one, they tend to love meat more than vegetables. Â Also, when at home, they are inclined to finish their school homework first that gathering them to eat together seem impossible. Â Funny that sometimes, too, they do not want to eat just because the food does not look appealing. Â Be that as it may, it is still important that children develop a positive attitude toward food. Â And to make it happen, moms or cooks of the house should make each dish tempting. Â Again, that becomes our challenge.
Momi Berlin would love to share with you a few proven techniques to make each mealtime a pleasant experience.
5 Tips to make mealtime Sarsaya
Grow vegetables and herbs at home
We started to grow some vegetables and herbs at home.  This makes my boys excited to harvest them when I ask them to.  We have calamansi for our pancit and even morning juice.  We got some bell pepper for our pininyahang manok or chopsuey.  We also started growing our own eggplant for our morning tortang talong dish.  Growing vegetables at our front yard encourages my boys to appreciate them more.  They are also swayed to eat a variety of dish with those produce as ingredients. It thrills them as well to take at least a few bite of squash, for instance, if they helped to plant or harvest them.
Engage kids in meal preparation
I have noticed that my boys tend to wolf down the food they helped prepare or create. Â They could do small tasks in the kitchen like mixing the sauce or measuring the ingredients. Â Sometimes, I ask them to cut off the knobby ends of the string beans or wash the vegetables for me. Â This not only makes them knowledgeable about food preparation but also boost their self-confidence.
Make meal time pleasant
Eating as a family makes a lot of difference.  It fosters warmth, love, and security.  It becomes a venue to throw on jokes and even exchange stories about school, work, or simply anything under the sun.  It creates connection and a sense of belongingness.  Sharing food in a calm and pleasant manner makes each member of the family enjoy his food more.
Vibrant colors and shapes affect the senses
Children are children.  Though they claim to be grown ups already, they are still attracted to colorful meals.  A bowl of vibrant chicken pastel could make a difference.  The orange carrots, red and green bell pepper, green sayote, and yellowish potato entice the kids to finish the dish enthusiastically.  Often, they would even taste an unknown vegetable just because of its unusual cut or shape.
Flavorful dish always win
Make mealtime sarsaya
Children eat what they like.  Often, they despise bitter tastes.  To enhance the flavor of most dishes I cook, I rely on my secret ingredient – oyster sauce.  It makes me my stir fries salty and sweet, just perfect for my kids to enjoy and ask for a second serving.  Because of its thick, syrupy texture, oyster sauce makes my chicken and pork adobo a favorite among the boys.  Oyster sauce clings well to any dish that each meat or vegetable oozes with truly satisfying taste.
The flavorful difference of cooking with Sarsaya Oyster Sauce
Very timely that my favorite seasoning brand recently launched its newest product, Sarsaya Oyster Sauce. Â Sarsaya Oyster Sauce is concentrated from real oysters, complete with seasonings to provide a delicious blend of savory, sweet, and salty taste to any dish. Very unique to the brand is its taste that perfectly suits the Filipino’s preference. Â It clings well to any dish and adds that delectable and authentic oyster flavor that enhances simple dishes.
Make mealtime sarsaya
During the launch, Chef Mac Rodrigo made a live cooking demonstration.  He prepared Filipino favorites Ginisarsayang Kangkong with Tokwa and his own recipe Thai Style Stir Fried Chicken.  He used Sarsaya Oyster Sauce for both dishes.  And truly, the richness of this latest product turned even ordinary dishes extra special and flavorful.  It is for this reason that Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation (APC) chose Coco Martin as Sarsaya Oyster Sauce endorser.  He is determined yet modest in the face of success – the same qualities that espouse APC.  That despite being one of the most sought-after actors nowadays, Coco Martin remains humble.  The quality his grandmother taught him, the same way that the latter taught him how to appreciate cooking.
Make mealtime sarsaya
Make mealtime sarsaya| Together with Sarsaya Oyster sauce endorser Coco Martin are (from left) Momi Berlin and her little man plus  Madz of Mommy n’ More and her cute princess.
I attended the press launch of the Sarsaya Oyster Sauce with my little one. Â We got to bring home sample goodies from Ajinomoto. Â I tried the Sarsaya Oyster Sauce this morning as I cook Bistek Tagalog for my boys. Â Honestly, I love the improved taste of my Bistek Tagalog. Â And I am confident that as my kids eat their lunch at the school, they would taste the difference. Â Surely as well, they would request for the same dish come dinner. Â That for me is making their mealtime experience pleasant. Â Thanks, Sarsaya Oyster Sauce.
I can relate on it as that is what we are doing also at home. I love harvesting veggies from our backyard. It makes us feel more secure on what we eat because we know that it does not have any chemicals on it. It is also better to eat with family than eating alone.
It is a great idea to grow vegetables and herbs at home. It is a greater idea to involve the kids in planting and nurturing these. I always felt like eating food cooked from self-grown vegetables, it was always an unusual high here. And yes kids do go a lot on visual appeal. Do not babies try to chew on colourful and visually attractive objects. So too for food as we grow up,
I couldn’t agree more. It sure is a struggle for parents when it comes to meal time. Glad that you have found an awesome way to engage them in eating on time. I’ll surely consider the ones I haven’t tried yet like the food preparing making it appealing on their eyes and yes, let them help too. I haven’t heard of this Sarsaya Oyster Sauce yet but it’s interesting, huh. I’ll take a look at the grocery maybe later today if it’s available already.
I don’t know that brand or that sauce, but I love the idea that you involve the children in cooking. That is so important nowadays. Isn’t it a shame to see whole families living on processed food and fast food? Kids nowadays don’t know what a cucumber is anymore. Your kids are s sweet !
I like the idea of growing vegetables and herbs at home. But I don’t have a green thumb or I’m just lazy. Recently, my husband planted tomato seeds pero namatay kasi nakalimutan ko diligan nung nagbusiness trip siya na matagal. Sabi ko plant na lang siya ulit. hehehe!
I have the same dilemma when preparing food and feeding my 3 year old son. May pa-airplane airplane pa kami para lang maglanding yung food sa bibig nya! hehe. I haven’t tried this Sarsaya but I can try it for the sauteed mushroom. 🙂
It really is a challenge to feed boys veggies as they almost often prefer meat! Ang galing nyo naman magtanim! I have been struggling with my diminutive garden at home kasi most of my plants withered and died last year. I am trying again this year and will make sure to include my little man in on the plan, so he will be more interested to eat them when it is time to harvest!
Thanks for sharing these tips, I will surely keep them in mind!
Ay I’m so sad that I missed this event!!! I totally agree with all the tips you shared. My favorite is growing your own veggies and herbs. I hope to do that someday. 🙂
Growing vegetables is one of the things I’d like to do. What a feeling when you reap what you sow. I don’t cook often since I don’t have the time to do so but on weekends, my husband and I are in-charge at our kitchen. I always use a different brand of oyster sauce for meals that need this but I’ll try this Sarsaya when I make my homemade longganisa and adobo 🙂
My boys love my beef with broccoli dish with oyster sauce. I’ll try this one from Ajinomoto nga minsan.
I enjoyed this event hehe! I’d love to grow some veggies at home too. I saw that we can grow pechay and other greens by immersing the cut part in water.We used to have garlic and tomatoes in Baguio.
Too bad I missed that event! I missed the photo opp with Coco Martin buti na lang I won’t miss Sarsaya ’cause they sent me some samples at home.
I love the tips, especially growing your own vegetables. 🙂 Fresh herbs come in handy. I used to join culinary competitions and would bring pots of herbs to be used in my dish. They make the dishes more flavorful.
Planning and preparing meals is quite a challenge really. Glad you have discovered about this brand. I never tried it yet but it sure do seems to be amazing. Oh and Coco Martin!!! Haayyy… i love him so much!
My toddler likes “saucy”viands so oyster sauce is also a staple in my pantry. Will try out Ajinomoto’s new product. Hopefully it doesn’t have msg.
I love using oyster sauce in some veggie recipes I make. I will try this brand soon!
We tried growing our own vegetables at home but no luck. No green thumb, I guess? It’s really a challenge to get the kids to like the food especially when they’re more inclined to choose the hotdog over the healthier one. It’s my first time to hear about this brand of oyster sauce. I will have to try it out too.
I’ve always used Lee Kum Kee, I wonder how this one compares.
My kids aren’t into colors when it comes to eating their meals, hahaha! Just because the meal looks good, doesn’t mean I can get them to eat them. So….they just have to follow our rule to eat whatever they are served. Or else!
Kidding aside, I’ve tried Sarsaya a couple of times – with burgers and the tofu with kangkong that I super love.
I cook with oyster sauce most of the time. It makes my meat more flavorful. Will try this brand next time.
I also tried the Sarsaya from the event, with my sauteed broccoli and cauli flower. It added some kick to my usual vegetable dish.
Hmmm, makes me want to try it! I do agree with making mealtimes fun and that we need to include kids in the prep – guess it makes them want to try what they made kasi.
I love using oyster sauce whenever I cook but I’ve never tried this brand before. Will try to look for it on our next grocery trip.
Hi, Mommy Berlin! I finally got to meet you in person during the Sarsaya Oyster Sauce event! Thank you for the tips. I have a picky eater. Hopefully, my veggies in pots will prosper so that I can entice my son to harvest veggies for me and eat those veggies, too, after we’re done cooking our meals.
I’ve tasted Sarsaya Oyster sauce with my tofu and kangkong dish and it was tasty. Sarap papakin. What’s good is ang mura lang ng isang pack, P5.
First time I heard of this brand. Will check it out and see if it tastes better than the one I use 🙂
Sarsaya is new to me. At home we always have oyster sauce, so I’ll try this one.
i saw a lot in my news feed during sarsaya event :-)everyone looks happy. Will try this oyster sauce soon
I love Oyster Sauce, hoping to try this brand soon. My daughter helps in the kitchen sometimes when there’s school but she has her own schedule during school breaks. Luckily, she loves to cook. 🙂
I find it so difficult to grow any plant at home – maybe it depends on soil type? How did you do yours?