With food prices rising and production falling amid the international fuel crisis, homemakers everywhere must strive to become more creative with their meal plans.

While some have started to try growing their own backyard or terrace herb gardens to help lighten their grocery budgets, there is also the quandary of preparing healthy meals that won’t go to waste just because the family did not like the dish.

Price, nutrition and taste are key factors to consider when thinking of food for the table. So, what can a busy mom prepare for her brood these days? Home cooks can always turn to trusted homegrown brands that create meals which are not only budget-friendly, safe and healthy, but delicious.

For breakfast, foolproof choices are classic silog meals like tocilog and baconsilog. For farm-fresh quality, staples like eggs, bacon, tapa and tocino are aplenty. Local brands that have lasted for decades now offer so much variety that families won’t ever get bored with their meals.

Now becoming a global trend, cage-free eggs are laid by free-roaming hens. Under URC’s agro-industrial arm, Robina Farms focuses on providing clean and safe quality meat and produce to Filipinos. Its Cage-Free Specialty Eggs are harvested from the Robina Poultry Farm, which received the Good Animal Husbandry Practices (GAHP) certification from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI). The product is also certified No Antibiotic Residue, No Hormone Administered.

Another name that resounds among Filipino homemakers is Bounty Fresh, which celebrates 40 years in the food industry. This is, indeed, a big year for Bounty Fresh Group Holdings Inc. (BFGHI) as it prepares a series of new offerings to celebrate the milestone and give back to the stakeholders who have been part of its journey.

Its wide range of products includes Golden Yolk eggs, Chicken Raised with No Antibiotic Ever which is certified as “Reared without Antibiotics” by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA), as well as marinated chicken products such as Marinado Chicken Tocino and Marinado Chicken Tapa. The brand also offers fresh, clean and tender meats (beef and pork) and convenient value-added favorites such as nuggets, chicken sticks and chicken popcorn, to name a few.

“Bounty’s 40th anniversary is about scaling for the future. We are gearing up our supply chain and investing in new facilities to keep our service consistent and our costs competitive. Our partners can expect a steady supply and continuous innovation. From holiday peaks to sudden surges, we are ready to rise to every situation with you,” said Atty. Kenneth Cheng, BFGHI CEO and president.

The group is also looking to expand its business internationally from its current operations in three countries: Philippines, Indonesia and New Zealand. According to Architect Edwin Chen, president of Bounty Specialty Foods Inc., they are eyeing to become a regional player and gain more presence in the Southeast Asian market.

Highlighting this purpose, chairman of Bounty Fresh Group Holdings, Tennyson Chen, emphasizes the company’s commitment to the people they serve. “We like to give the Filipino consumer a healthy food or diet. In the future, the focus of the company will be creating food that is healthier because the Filipino consumer deserves to have the best,” he said. With reports from