Eat with the seasons, stretch the budget
I was in Ormoc last week for my monthly visit to conduct cooking lessons for my program, Ormokaon! Every month, I provide a list of food to be included in the packages for the beneficiaries of the Walang Gutom Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which serves those below the poverty line.
I have been doing this for almost a year now—and while it never gets any easier, the learning never stops for me.
Inflation in numbers
With the unpredictable weather and inflation, now is the time to eat seasonally, watch the environment around us, and adapt our diets.
For a few months this year, Metro Manila households could believe the worst was behind them. Inflation had eased every month since an April peak of 7.2 percent, and by August, it had cooled to 6.1 percent. In the National Capital Region, the August rate was just 4.1 percent.
September undid much of that. The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that national inflation climbed back to 7.2 percent—its fastest pace since March 2023. NCR inflation rose to 5.4 percent. Food was the main culprit, with food inflation jumping to 6.8 percent from 4.6 percent in August.
No item matters more to the Filipino table than rice, and none has been more stubborn. Rice inflation has climbed steadily—from 17.1 percent in July to 19.4 percent in August and 20.3 percent in September. Well-milled rice averaged P55.69 a kilo in mid-July and P56.29 in mid-August. It slipped slightly to P56.07 in mid-September, but that is still well above the P47.22 recorded a year earlier.
Time to watch what we eat
I have been telling my family to say goodbye to eating lettuce for the foreseeable months. This is mostly because of my recent interest in Traditional Chinese Medicine and how raw vegetables should not be eaten in this current season.
The weather and market prices support this, too (wisdom of ancient China follows the seasons). Fall or autumn brings rain—and especially with the Super El Niño—vegetable prices swing wildly. Prices rose 8.4 percent in July, fell 3.4 percent in August, then surged 10.7 percent in September as heavy flooding disrupted supply.
Cabbage tells the story: It cost P100 a kilo in mid-August and nearly P144 a month later. It remains cheaper than a year ago, but shoppers are still feeling the climb.
Proteins have also gotten more expensive. Fish and seafood inflation edged up to 7.4 percent from 6.6 percent, with galunggong hovering around P243 to P249 a kilo through August and September. Pork, meanwhile, offered some relief—easing from P298 a kilo in mid-August to about P296 in mid-September, well below last year’s P327.
Why now?
Economists point to several pressures at once. Storms and flooding have hurt vegetable, fish, and rice supply, and analysts have flagged the risk of El Niño.
The peso hit a record low of P62.90 to the dollar as of Oct. 9, and domestic fuel prices rose more than 15 percent last month, which raises the cost of moving food from farm to market. Analysts also flagged the coming P85 increase in Metro Manila’s daily minimum wage, which will reach P780 by January 2027, as a possible further push on prices, even as it helps workers cope.
Stretching the budget
While market prices go up and down, most people’s income stays the same, making it harder on the wallet. I realized that the same principles I apply to my Walang Gutom Program should be implemented in regular homes, as well:
• Lean on cheaper proteins: With pork prices softening, it may be the better buy than fish right now. Which is a good thing, as many of us could use leaner proteins in the diet. Tuna, for example, which is caught sustainably off the coast of Samar, is priced very well in this region. Look for seasonal catches—this is simply done by looking for what is more abundant in the market with a lower price point.
• Be flexible with vegetables: Prices swing from week to week, so buy what is cheap rather than sticking to a fixed list. I always buy from the local Saturday market in the neighborhood and look for the big pile. Insisting on fruits and vegetables that are not in season will result in higher prices, smaller yields, and a bland flavor.
• Buy citrus and other lower-priced items while they last: Calamansi is down, and oranges, pomelos, and dalandan abound. This is not a coincidence, as they are also in season and in good time to fight the flu season as well.
• Orange-colored vegetables should fill your plates: Kamote, squash, and carrots are relatively priced lower compared with other vegetables in the market, so get creative with these dishes.
Tuna squash frittata
Ingredients
1 Tbsp cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 squash, cubed and boiled, then mashed
1 cup tuna, flaked
6 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
Procedures
1. In a pan, heat up a little cooking oil and saute the onions and garlic.
2. Add the flaked tuna and stir-fry until cooked.
3. Add the mashed squash.
4. Make sure to fold the tuna into the squash mixture properly, making it flat across the whole pan.
5. Beat the 6 eggs in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Pour the egg mixture over the squash. Cover with a lid.
7. Cook until the egg mixture solidifies. Serve hot.
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