With the new year comes renewed hope and firmer decisions to live a better life. Likely, a shortlist of related resolutions is inside a note in your phone or perhaps even carved in your mind. We live in currently delicate times when one’s safety and health must be secured. It will be no surprise that overall well-being takes primary consideration as we embark on 2021.
While exercise may immediately come top-of-mind in resolving to be healthier, one’s diet should also be considered and complement one’s overall lifestyle. A person who has discovered this balanced combination is Cinty Yñiguez - hotelier, yogi, certified nutritionist and entrepreneur.
Cinty Yñiguez is a yogi,
certified nutritionist, corporate executive in the hospitality industry, and
the brains behind Naked Foods. She strives to nourish her well being not just
through yoga, but by focusing on the healing, meditative practice of handcrafting
and creating healthy plant-based food alternatives.
Living very busy
schedules in Singapore and Hong Kong for 17 years as a top executive in leading
hotel chains, Cinty took charge of her well-being to sustain herself in all her
activities including regular business travel globally. She discovered her
passion for yoga and healthy eating. Driven to share the benefits of her
practice and nutritional choices, she took up studies in Clinical Nutrition at
Hong Kong University and also earned yoga teaching certifications.
Returning to Manila in 2015, Cinty continues to work in the hotel industry. She also teaches yoga and has founded Naked Foods, a line of plant-based food offerings that are handcrafted and preservative-free. It is her vision to help make it easier for people to nourish themselves and eat healthier with favourite local and international staples. Naked Foods started in 2017 and now has a growing base of customers who have chosen to inject nutritious and versatile plant-based alternatives to their diets.
Naked Foods plant-based products - savouries,
sweets, and condiments, are inspired by Cinty’s travels around the world.
The product line
includes savouries, sweets, and condiments. Among the favourites are:
plant-based Bacon (fondly called Facon) which has that distinct umami taste;
protein-packed, nutrient-dense Filipino and Italian Sausages filled with
flavours from herbs; Beyond Butter with proteins from almonds, sunflower seeds
and coconuts; and Edible Cookie Dough with Belgian chocolate morsels. Naked
Foods also produces Vegetable Bouillon Powder, Sweet Pork Bites, Pulled Pork,
Beef Strips and Char Siu Pork.
In recent years, there has been an increased interest in plant-forward eating. This is a style of cooking and eating emphasising plant-based food but not strictly limited to them. Meat may be present at meals but usually not the main highlight. The Permanente Journal published on the website of the National Center for Biotechnical Information in the U.S. stated “...a healthy, plant-based diet aims to maximize consumption of nutrient-dense plant foods while minimizing processed foods, oils, and animal foods (including dairy products and eggs).”
Naked Foods plant based sausage
Plant-based food are tasty and nutritious alternatives. Cinty and her Naked Foods company aim to get consumers to replace some of their meat-based choices for meals with healthier options. According to heart.org, consuming less meat decreases the risk of heart disease, stroke, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes and many cancers. Unlike the sometimes outrageous prices of plants sold and purchased during this pandemic, plant-based food continues to be well within reach of consumers. Naked Foods’ products are competitively affordable to their food alternatives without sacrificing taste and nutritional benefits. They are currently available in Metro Manila at Real Food branches in BGC and Alabang, at The Vegan Grocer in San Juan, as well as, in Cebu at Only Vegan Food Cebu. These nutritious products are also available online through nakedfoodsbycinty on Facebook and @nakedfoodsbycinty on Instagram.
