Fettucine with Seared Beef & Sour Cream.

The Christmas season does not officially end until 13 January this year, but people are already starting on what is perhaps the top New Year goal everywhere: Get back in shape.

Cooking at home instead of going out not only saves you money in the long run, but you’re also assured that your family gets to fully enjoy recipes straight from your kitchen

As experts have advised, time and again, starving oneself is not the answer. Instead, one should shift to a healthier diet. But how?

Whipping up easy-to-cook but healthy recipes at home is not as hard as we imagined. Doña Elena olive oil’s Chef Ambassadors Locavore executive chef Mikel Zaguirre and Raintree Group of Restaurants’ corporate chef Kalel Chan’s quick and tasty recipes using Doña Elena olive oil will help you to keep those resolutions in check.

Fly Ace group, Doña Elena olive oil’s local distributor, wants to encourage Filipinos not to get intimidated by this versatile oil.

“Filipino often see olive oil as pang-sosyal lang,” Fly Ace Category manager for Oils Zen Prudentino said. “However, we want to get their trust by showing how dishes they enjoy in restaurants that are prepared by professional chefs can easily be recreated at home using Doña Elena olive oil, without sacrificing flavor.”

As experts have advised, time and again, starving oneself is not the answer. Instead, one should shift to a healthier diet. But how?

Cooking at home instead of going out not only saves you money in the long run, but you’re also assured that your family gets to fully enjoy recipes straight from your kitchen. Knowing exactly what goes into your food is always the first step to eating nutritious food.

Olive oil is one of the healthiest types of oil in the market. It contains good fat and antioxidants. Doña Elena olive oil comes from olives grown in Andalucia, Spain, which is known to be the global leader in terms of olive oil. It uses two varieties of olives — hojiblanca and picual. These are delicately blended, producing a mild and fruity taste that is perfect for the Filipino palate.

Chocolate Penne Rigate with Dried Fruits & Walnuts. “We’re definitely honored to have chefs Kalel and Mikel back for our Doña Elena Chef Ambassador Series to share recipes using our famed Doña Elena olive oil,” Prudentino said.

“We’re so proud of their accomplishments that has put the Philippines in the world’s culinary map.”

“We hope this initiative, now on its second year, will continue to connect us with our consumers by letting us introduce our very own local chefs and dishes that they can relate to,” she added.

Serve your family with pasta dishes from our Filipino chefs. These recipes require minimum effort on your part but will surely let your family think you took the time to learn a difficult recipe for New Year.