I used to think Healthy Options is just a store for senior citizens or those health conscious snobs…read morewho were okay with eating food that tastes bland. Until I had a kid. Since then, I've been a big fan of this store. When my little girl reached six months, I grew obsessed on feeding her healthy food. I was in search of organic snacks that we can bring whenever we're eating outside. I used to order online, but that was expensive and too much of a hassle. So I looked at Healthy Options not expecting anything, but I was surprised that they have all the brands that I ordered online and more. I realized they're not just for the overly conscious, they just aim to offer, well, healthier options to our day to day products. Aside from my kid's snacks, I also like getting my own snacks and ingredients there; dark chocolate covered berries, chia seeds, whole grain chips, etcetera. My husband also buys his vitamins there.

Whenever I'm in Manila, I would always drop by Real Food Molito to check-out their stuff. They have…read morea wide range of products that cater to various dietary preferences and needs. Their staff are attentive and they promptly reply to text inquiries about product availability and stock. I get my KetoFilipino desserts here plus fresh organic produce, keto friendly food and gluten free items. So glad this is close to our house so it's easy to drop by every so often. They have a few dedicated parking spots in front of the store but those are usually filled.

We've been getting supplies of adlai (as a substitute for rice) from this branch for quite awhile…read moreand finally saw their other healthy products. Selection is amazing and I'm looking forward to trying their dark chocolates and keto-friendly ice-cream! This just gives us another reason to visit Molito!

Along one of the main roads leading to Tagaytay is this charming green patch of land decorated with…read moresmall flower-shaped windmills and twirling, handcrafted wood hangings that would stop any plant/veggie/plant-loving hippie in his/her tracks. Country Market offers all sorts of plants, vegetable seedlings and herbs that you can replant on your own gardens back in the city (and hopefully not end up murdering). I stopped by here to purchase a gotu kola plant, as well as an arugula seedlings when I was still delusional enough to think that I have a green thumb. (FYI Both are already dead, but it's not you, plants. It's ME!) They also sell some local preserved organic food, freshly harvested green leafy veggies (when available), and decorative trinkets for your home. Manila sorely needs more places such as these that allow farmers to directly sell their goods and produce to their customers in a more regular, permanent basis, don't you think?

Who says being, eating and staying healthy means bland, stale and boring food? Not Healthy Options,…read morethat's for sure! Healthy Options offers organic food and drinks, which branch out to many food supplements and vitamins that will definitely cleanse out your system. Most of the items they sell are imported from other countries, which include breakfast to dinner food. They also offer organic medicines, milk (from lactose to full cream), sugar-free snacks, even skin and hair products from Mother Nature's care! The staff is also very helpful: as a regular customer, I had always been accommodated by them especially when the products I wish to buy are currently out of stock. They text me if they're already available so I wouldn't have to come back from time to time, and reserve these products when they're already on-hand.

I have to admit, the reason I come here is not healthy at all. I come here for the soda. You see…read morethat fridge near the entrance of the store? That's what I go to Healthy Options for. Okay, okay, 80-95% of the time, it's for the soda. The other 5% is for the almond milk. But you have to hand it to Healthy Options. They're aptly named. Options is barely scratching the surface. There's so much stuff in here. From multivitamins to cereal to healthy candy (what an oxymoron) to tea... they have everything you could ever want if you're trying out the organic-healthy eating lifestyle. Everything's so bleeding expensive though but well, when you're eating organic... Hang on, let's go back to the tea for a sec. What I love about their tea is that they have tea for everything: indigestion, insomnia, relaxation, stress... for whatever reason you may need tea or any ailment or state of mind you might have, there's a tea for that. And that's what makes Healthy Options good. Options. Also why I go for their soda. Healthy Options has the largest selection of Hansen's and BlueSky soda I have ever seen. Sure, it's soda but it's cane sugar soda which is apparently better for you because it doesn't have high fructose corn syrup. IDK man, as far as I'm concerned, as long as they have cherry soda... I'm good.

AMBIENCE After enjoying the view outside the mall, we…read moreentered this branch and "brought ourselves outside" again. Theme of the restaurant is really pretty and makes me want to go out-of-town like Tagaytay or Baguio. I wonder how they take care of the tree leaves on the ceiling. FOOD & BEVERAGES I'm actually satisfied with the price for the Local All Natural Steak. Serving size was okay and meat was cooked and sliced nice and neatly. When healthy options taste good, I feel a spark of hope for the future! This is why I had difficulty appreciating the Grilled Organic Bone Marrow, which looked very sinful. Both the Banana and Very Berry Smoothies were delicious! SERVICE Thank you for letting us stay a bit long because we enjoyed our conversations!

Healthy Options is a natural food store that sells everything organic and delectable at the same…read moretime. I rarely check in here except when I'm doing either one of two things: a) accompanying my mother when she's hankering for almonds and goji berries, or b) looking for my favorite all-natural chocolate peanut butter. Really, their chocolate peanut butter just blows my mind. It's the best peanut butter I've ever tasted in a store! The texture of the peanut butter is so creamy, the dark chocolate so rich, that I ended up switching to wheat bread just to taste more of it. Skippy and Jif who? Even though I'm no health buff, I have to give props to Healthy Options for debunking the misconception that anything naturally and organically made will be bland and lacking in flavor. As its name suggests, Healthy Options offers super food alternatives to potato chips, microwaved food, fast food, and the like. With far less fat and even fewer calories, everything here can pretty much be consumed guilt-free. Their shelves display a miscellany of products, most if not all of them in line with the clean-eating lifestyle: Greek yogurt, granola bars, pretzels, lactose-free milk, and etcetera. No worries for the rest of your days! It seems everything has been stamped with the approval of the letter 'o'--organic hummus, organic bisque, organic noodles, organic bananas, organic coconut chips, and organic roasted seaweed snacks with teriyaki flavor...you get the idea. So if you're thinking of holding on to that New Year's resolution, ahem ahem, it's never too late to check out Healthy Options.

Healthy Options is something I thought I would never visit in my life. I love healthy food, but I…read morewon't really go out of my way to visit a store that sells organic products. When one of my best friends requested a Cadia Organic White Cheddar Cheese Popcorn for his birthday, I didn't really have a choice but to go to Healthy Options to buy it. When I found out that Healthy Options was actually selling Andalou Chia + Omega Radiant Skin Polish, I almost died. I really try my best to take care of my skin because it is sensitive and it easily gets dry because of the really hot weather here in the Philippines. Andalou Chia + Omega Radiant Skin Polish is what I use for my skin when it is feeling dry and flaky. Just use this product once and you'll immediately notice your skin glow. Andalou is really hard to find in the Philippines so if you want a fair and glowing skin make sure you visit this place and try out their different cosmetic products. If you want to start living healthy, then head on to Healthy Options!

I was just going around Salcedo Village to while away time (as I am usually prone to do after work)…read moreand noticed this little bright green store that I've always seen, but never really entered. Bolstered by my curiosity about their signage on "sustainable living", I went inside the ECHOstore. At first, I only thought it to be just a restaurant, because they have these hulking freezers right up front, and a menu of dishes (preservatives free!) scribbled across colorful chalkboards. I soon discovered that they were much more than that. Apart from selling a number of frozen meats (vegan or actual meat), ECHOstore also has fresh produce (200 grams of Kale, Spinach, Tarragon... only for 80 Pesos!) and snacks like oatmeal and granola bars. If you're into the healthy lifestyle, i'd strongly urge you to come by ECHOstore! It's really fantastic, they've got virgin coconut oil for cooking (among other uses), almond butter, spiced sea salt and loads of others! Personally, I brought some preservative-free instant noodles, made from Malunggay, Carrots and Soybean. (Super delicious!) They also have a lot of household items sourced from other companies like Messy Bessy-- toxic free, not tested on animals and environment friendly. As I was paying for my noodles and spinach, I was also glad to see that they used a recycled spread of a magazine as their paper bag! 10/10 would totally go back. Plus, the staff are really friendly as well.

This place in Salcedo Village is a mix of store and café focused on sustainable lifestyle. That…read moremeans health and social responsability are key words to understand the concept of ECHOstore. With other branches in Metro (BGC, Mandaluyong, Quezon City and Pasay), it's owned by three women who truly believe it's possible to make the world a better place. With this purpose, they chose to support community groups, local farmers and small producers. An interesting fact about Makati's branch is that it's located on Tordesillas Street, very close to the square where Salcedo Saturday Market takes place. So organic food lovers don't need to wait for saturday anymore in order to find fresh vegetables and greens. Whenever for any reason I can't go to the Salcedo Saturday Market, I run to Echo Store because I know there I'll find eco-friendly products. Every time I go there I like to have a sit and ask for the Mean Green juice - a fresh detox blend made of kamote, malungay, celery, cocumber, orange and pineapple. It's really a must-try! Drink it and you'll feel instantly healthy. Another gem is their malungay pesto. I just love it! t's a very healthy option to have at home. I suggest using it as a salad dressing, a pasta sauce or in sandwiches, waffles or pancakes. ECHOstore Salcedo Ground Floor, NDC Building 116 Tordesillas St., Salcedo Village, Makati City Tel: (+632) 869.1516

Leaf Kitchen Raw Food Grocer is one of the few food places at the Mara's Original Market section of…read morethe Legazpi market. If you are into raw vegan, gluten free, sugar free and organic food, this is the (only) place to be really haha Manila doesn't have a lot of options and the options they do have are not all that exciting. However the owner Asha Peri always does her best to keep things interesting and appealing. They have an awesome quinoa spagetti, burrito's, pizza's, quiches etc. The selection changes every week. Beautiful sweets and speciality snacks as well. They also have an online grocery on their facebook page, where they also sell tools & equipment such as juicers and spiralizer etc. You can arrange pick up of items in either Quezon City or Pasig.

Green Halo is a small, unassuming eatery you would hardly notice in Cubao X among all the other…read moreestablishments there fighting for your attention. I myself didn't think much of them before, but if you take them as they are--a simple, quiet place serving a-okay comfort food, then there is something good to be had here. They serve a variety of pasta, sandwiches, and similar cafe fare, all in a "green" and healthy theme. I wouldn't know exactly as to the "organic-ness" of their offerings, but they are all pretty decent and affordable, though a bit homogenous. The chicken cream pesto pasta, along with its derivations, is always a good choice, as is the tarragon tea shake, one of their more out-there options. A recent visit shows me that they've upped the quirky and cute ante of their decor, plus they serve beer now! Cheers to good choices, Halo!

Ah.. Green Halo. This place brings back so much happy memories…read more Okay, no time for sentimental nonsense. This place is probably one of the few reasons I should still come back to visit Cubao X. For vegetarians and vegans, this place is very veg-friendly. Lots of pasta options, tofu and veg dishes. My personal favorite though would have to be their vegetarian burger steak. It's the first time I've had burgers that are made of.... drumroll please.... banana hearts! I would have never guessed that the very humble and obscure puso ng saging can be transformed into a tasty burger patty! It's a heavy dish too and comes with rice, so it's great as pre-gig food. The place is really quaint and charming, decorated with kitschy paintings and knicknacks, and with just a few chairs so it can get packed during peak hours. Great place to catch up with friends or for a date. I highly recommend sharing a pot of fresh tarragon tea to relax.