Robinsons Supermarket is again a step ahead in providing its customers practical ideas for corporate gift-giving this coming Holiday season. Because it is never too early to start shopping for Christmas, it presents a wide assortment of gift baskets that helps you save energy and time-consuming trips to stores to look for good buys for your corporate clients and business associates.

Available in festively-wrapped packages and different price ranges, you will definitely find Yuletide baskets that are well within your budget. There are baskets that are available for as low as P100 and can cost as much as P 1,000. These elegantly wrapped baskets contain an array of sweets, wine, chocolate, chips, ham and other Noche Buena goodies.

For a personal touch, you can also customize your own gift basket by choosing from among the wide array of food items from the grocery section with the help of the friendly supermarket staff. Fresh food items like fruits in season and staple holiday fare like fruitcakes and food for the gods are likewise available in attractive Christmas packages.

Robinsons Supermarket’s Christmas baskets are the ideal presents because they will relieve you of the hassles of traffic and long queues this Season because your order will be delivered straight to your doorstep. Just fill out an order form and submit it to the Customer Service Counter of any Robinsons Supermarket branch. Upon confirmation, your gift baskets will be delivered within 3- 4 working days. For more details, call Robinsons Supermarket’s Marketing Services Department at 635-0751 loc. 365 or 395-0110. Visit the branch nearest you or their website at www.robinsons-supermarket.com.ph.

Robinsons Supermarket beefs up its Fresh Section, which offers a wide selection of fruits and vegetables. This one retailer who believes in health and wellness and makes fresh produce available to consumers in its effort to convince them to take five portions of fruits and vegetables a day.

Nutrition experts recommend at least five portions of fruits and vegetables every day to help boost the immune system and lower risk of diseases, such as diabetes and stroke, among others. For those with cancer history in the family, experts suggest at least nine servings a day. Robinsons Supermarket puts this message across by giving shoppers a wide array of choices from the greenest greens to the juiciest fruits. The store also hooked us up with nutrition expert, Dr. Eliza Perez-Francisco, a medical doctor and nutrition support specialist, who gives us the basic facts we need to know about fruits and vegetables.

They are also good sources of fiber, which not only helps with digestion but is also good for the heart and prevents colon cancer. Vegetables contain only 16 calories per serving and are good for those trying to shed off excess pounds. Fruits and veggies also do not contain cholesterol. Only animal products have cholesterol.

What is it in fruits that make them beneficial to us and give us the ability to lower the risk of diseases?

It is the color of fruits that give them more health benefits. The bright colors in fruits and veggies are due to their phytochemicals. The more vividly-colored a fruit or vegetable is, the more packed it is with phytochemicals. 

For example, the phytochemical lycopene makes tomatoes red, carotene makes carrots orange, and anthocyanidin makes grapes violet.

 So when you go shopping for fruits and vegetables, look for the deeply colored ones.

What are phytochemicals and how do they help us?

These are nutrients that come from plants and are sometimes called “phytonutrients.” They impart beneficial effects that boost the immune system, protect against infection, prevent cardiovascular diseases, lessen swelling, and prevent cancer. Usually, these substances have antioxidant properties which explains why they are very powerful.

What are the most commonly known phytochemicals?

There is a long list, but some of the more popular ones are as follows: Capsaicin can be found mostly in peppers and is good for blood circulation. Sulforaphane in broccoli helps prevent cancer. Isoflavones in soy products act just like estrogen. Allicin in garlic helps lower cholesterol. Resveratrol, found mostly in red grapes, is very good for the heart. Quercetin in apples “keeps the doctor away”; and lycopene is for a healthy heart and helps prevent prostate cancer as well.

What is the recommended quantity to get the most benefits out of fruits and vegetables?

The recommendation is five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day. In the US, there’s a slogan “5 a day,” which means that is the minimum requirement. If you have a higher risk of certain diseases, aim for nine a day.

A serving is roughly half a cup of veggies, or a piece of medium fruit. You can also count in your fruit and veggie juices, dried fruits as well as canned and frozen fruits and veggies.

What should I look for in a vegetable?

Eat a rainbow of vegetables, so that you get more phytonutrients. In choosing leady veggies, look for crisp ones that are springy when touched. Don’t choose those that are wilted, soggy, limp, and with insect damage.

Is it best to eat fresh or canned fruits and vegetables?

If you have a choice, go for the fresh ones. They still have more nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. Processing methods like canning, considerably reduce the nutrient content.

Orange juice concentrate, for example, has four times less calcium and 10 times less iron when it comes in a can rather than freshly squeezed juice. Vitamin C is lost during food processing, too.

Canned fruits may contain extra sugar when it is mixed in syrup, while canned veggies may contain a lot of sodium. Others may be mixed in creamy and sometimes fat-laden sauces.

What canned fruits and vegetables do you recommend?

For fruits, choose the ones canned in 100 percent fruit juice or water, rather than syrup, for less calories. For veggies, look for the “salt-free” ones. Choose those that are labeled “organic” or “pesticide-free,” if you find any.

Do not buy canned items that are bulging on either end because this is a sign of spoilage. Small dents are okay though. The higher quality “Grade A” canned fruits and vegetables are more meticulously selected or for color and tenderness, and don’t have any blemishes.

Central Luzon offers original pastillas de le leche from pure carabao’s milk, espasol de leche and flavoured polvoron.

Southern Luzon presents its delicious buko pie, maja blanca, roasted kasuy and puto Biñan as Baguio shares its renowned ube and strawberry jams from Good Shepherd.

Ilocos’ special chicharon and pili products in tarts, cakes and puddings from Bicol are also available.

Visayan favorites include puto manapla and pinasugbo from Iloilo; otap, dried mangoes and sweet peanut kisses from Cebu; and piaya and napollones from Bacolod.

Not to be missed are durian and mangosteen bars and sukang pinakurat from Mindanao.

The shelves are also stacked with puto seko, barquillos, uraro cookies, caramel tarts, fish crackers, banana chips, turones de kasuy, galletas and masquillos, among others.

Coffee alamid made from civet and wine made from duhat, mango and guy-abano are also available.

The hub of the new campaign is the supermarket’s Fresh Section that offers a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, meats, poultry, dairy, and seafoods.

Jody Gadia, Robinsons Supermarket’s general manager, said the wide selection of products and affordable prices were meant to encourage customers to eat right.

The Fresh Section also carries hard-to-find items like dragon fruit, fresh cherries and raspberries. The Galleria branch also has organically grown fresh produce like arugula lettuce, china ponkan, broccoli, peanuts and radish; breads such as sunflower pita, choco muffin and ensaymada; and chilled juices made from organic vegetables like sugarbeets, cucumber and watercress.

Other healthy finds include light and unsalted cheese, salt-reduced butter and other healthy substitutes made from Canola and sunflower oil, and a wide selection of low-fat milk and yogurts. Also available are 99-percent lean premium fresh meats and skinless chicken meat.

Robinsons Supermarket has special offers under the “Eat Well Spend Less” campaign. The Apple Tag Specials offer selected products at marked down prices.

Robinsons Supermarket also gives free information on health and nutrition through brochures and programs like free nutrition counseling, dental consultations, bone scanning, blood pressure testing, blood sugar testing and the like.

Robinsons Supermarket opened its 31^st branch at the Nagaland E-Mall last February. 
The new store offers 1464.91 sqm. of shopping space that includes a comprehensive selection of fresh products from meat to vegetables and fruits.  It also has the Whole Health section, a destination area unique to Robinsons Supermarket, which groups together foods and products according to their health benefit for easier and more convenient shopping.