Christmas Eve is approaching, and we all know that NOCHE BUENA is the most anticipated part of the evening! Filipinos traditionally celebrate Christmas with their loved ones and as the saying goes, “A family that eats together, stays together.” Different varieties of dishes and delicacies are known to be present in a Filipino table during noche buena, but have you ever wondered how much calories would they add up in your diet?

Let's take a look at some of your noche buena favorites below.

Shocked to see how much calories they have? Don’t worry! You can still enjoy the Christmas season by eating moderately. Always remember that there is no bad food, we just have to learn to eat moderately, choose a wide variety of foods, and last but not the least is to balance all the macronutrients that you consume. Now, let’s dive into their components.

1. 𝐋𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐧. Typically, this is just a roasted pig cooked over blazing charcoal. What makes it unique is the crispiness of the pork’s skin and juiciness of it’s meat. Three (3) ounces of lechon yields 196 calories.
2. 𝐇𝐚𝐦. Another pork dish, it is often given as a Christmas token. When you see this everywhere in the supermarket, you’ll know that Christmas season is already approaching. One hundred (100) grams yields 132 calories.
3. 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢. One of the most favorite dish of Filipinos. Spaghetti is always present in every occasion, from birthdays, christening, and of course Christmas! Though it originated in Italy, we made our own version of spaghetti. It has a distinct sweet taste cooked with ground meat, hotdogs, and cheese. One (1) cup yields 150 calories.
4. 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐞-𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐞. It is one the unique among Philippine stews that features a thick savory peanut sauce. It may be composed of ox tripe, beef tripe, pork meat, beef, and other offals. It also comes with vegetables such as pechay, string beans and eggplant. One-half cup yields 194 calories.
5. 𝐋𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐧. It is an egg and milk dish topped with a silky caramel. It is often placed in an oval-shaped container known as llanera, steamed over an open flame or stove top. 
6. 𝐁𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐤𝐚. It refers to a type of baked rice cake but it has a lot of varieties such as cassava bibingka and bibingkang malagkit. It is most popular during Simbang gabi. Did you know that 45 grams of bibingka contains one hundred (100) calories?
7. 𝐏𝐮𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐠. This one is also a traditional Filipino Christmas street food often seen beside churches along with bibingka. It is a purple rice cake usually prepared by steaming inside a bamboo tube. Nowadays, there are already different varieties such as chocolate, buko pandan and mango. 
8. 𝐁𝐮𝐤𝐨 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧. Last but not the least of course is one of the famous cold desserts among Filipinos. It is usually composed of pandan flavored gelatin, coconut strips and heavy sweet cream. It is often a counterpart of fruit salad. 

NNC MIMAROPA would like to remind everyone to always remember the MOVABA principle when eating. Eat with 𝐌𝐎𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, eat a wide 𝐕𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 of foods, and 𝐁𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 your plate with the macronutrients.

Written by: NO I Jhanna Camela C. Torres

Reference:

Calories of Food. Accessed from https://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/search