Who says veggies are boring?

Last Nov. 13, Nielsen revealed the top 50 Consumer Packaged Goods that Filipinos buy the most. What is most alarming to me is that the top three are carbonated soft drinks, wines and spirits, and biscuits. Even more alarming is that five out of the six food and beverage products that find themselves on the top eight list are just as packed with sugar and empty calories — instant noodles and snack foods. Powdered milk, at number six, can also be argued to have less benefits than that of a healthy mother’s breast milk. Ironically, sitting at number four right under biscuits are dietetics.

THE DANGEROUS, IRONIC MISCONCEPTION OF FOOD

What does this say about our eating habits as a nation? We want to indulge then take a quick fix to be just as slim and abdominally ripped as the bikini-clad and shirtless models on the billboards, forgetting the adverse effects of extremes on the body. Recently a series of ads on TV and radio promoting a multivitamin supplement describes someone gorging himself on fatty, rich foods, then saying it’s all right because you can easily take a pill to get the proper nutrition you need. Another ad shows the difficulty of eating healthy and the lack of accessibility of healthy food, again the pill coming to the rescue. While multivitamins are certainly helpful, what they don’t say is that a lack of nutrients is not the only problem you’ll have by unhealthy eating.

Another question comes to mind: Why is it more and more difficult to find real, accessible whole food? In a country surrounded by vast waters and abounding with lush, fertile land, why are fish and vegetables so pricey? Also, have our taste buds evolved as a nation to find fresh, clean food repulsive? On a giant billboard for vegetable-enriched spaghetti, the tagline says proudly, “With no veggie taste!” What is so wrong about the taste of vegetables? I find myself having to finely chop herbs and vegetables so that guests eating my food don’t pick them out. This, for me, reflects a serious issue with how we see food and our perception of health.

The Department of Health cites diseases of the heart and diseases of the vascular system as the top two causes of mortality in the Philippines (http://www.doh.gov.ph/node/198). In the most recent National Nutrition and Health Survey (NNHeS II) conducted in 2008, one in four Filipino adults has hypertension (25.7 percent). We often forget or perhaps choose to forget the direct correlation between our food intake and our general health. It’s simple. Fatty, rich, sugary and overly salty foods will take its toll. The general public, based on my interactions with some impoverished urban and rural communities, are not aware of this correlation. Investing in good eating helps prevent chronic diseases in the long run. Once again, it’s the Band-Aid solution rather than prevention.

Avocado salad

‘I CAN’T AFFORD TO EAT HEALTHY’

A common argument is that it is expensive to eat healthy. Yes, it is. But it shouldn’t be. One of the major causes is the difficulty of direct access from farm to table. Ka Becca Miranda, an onion farmer and activist from Nueva Ecija, sells her onions to a local middleman for P25/kilo. In most supermarkets you end up paying the retail price of P75 — sometimes up to P95 — per kilo. We need serious effort from the government to open access to these producers. Talking to one of these farmers from Batangas, she said that their town was so abundant in carabao milk and kesong puti that they were practically giving it away or it would spoil. Another cause is our incessant demand for Western-type vegetables. Growing up in the Eighties, I ate macopa picked from a neighbor’s tree and one of my favorite dishes was alugbati and giniling. We often had sayote in the house, atis, mangosteen, malunggay and the like. I see more pears than atis nowadays and go try and find alugbati in a regular grocery or ask your 10-year-old nephew if he likes macopa. They probably won’t even know what it is. Many farmers are making the switch to more popular western crops, which are more costly to grow and store. Indigenous vegetables like saluyot (jute leaves) or kulitis (amaranthe) proliferate like weeds and are extremely nutritious. Legumes like tapilan are rich in protein and fiber, and take almost no effort to grow. Making the switch to brown rice, for example, will increase your dietary fiber intake, cleansing your colon of fatty residue and providing a good source of vitamin B. Filipinos don’t consume enough fiber. We mostly eat heavy dishes, accompanied by refined starches full of empty calories and sugars.

‘BUT HEALTHY FOOD IS BORING FOOD’

Most people dismiss vegetables as being boring. But it’s all a matter of creativity and education — starting kids young by not getting them used to artificial flavors. Cooking nowadays is all a matter of powders and mixes and our traditional culinary art is also dying from it. Taste tests in culinary schools have shown that people now prefer the powdered sinigang mix to the real deal. Why? Because we got used to it. Re-educating the palate is extremely important. Thinking out of the “pakbet-adobo-gata-sabaw” box when cooking our local veggies is also helpful. Looking to other cuisines for inspiration. During a cooking demo, we came up with a “monggo falafel” that we turned into a “burger” that both parents and children enjoyed. Whole-grain rice and legumes have nourished civilizations in Africa and the Indian subcontinent for years. An alugbati frittata can convert many non-leafy veggie eaters in just minutes. All are tasty. All are cost-effective.

A PERSONAL CONFESSION

No, I am not a beacon of good health and nutrition. I’m just like everyone else — torn between enjoying life’s epicurean indulgences and leading a healthy lifestyle. Every so often I fall into that trap, forgetting that health is not just staying slim. Just last week, after a few months of deliriously amazing food adventures, I had packed on a few pounds that simple exercise was not shedding. I had taken some herbal (or so it said on the box) appetite suppressants and between intense work, stress and daily intensive exercise, I finished last week by fainting.  Yes, a serious “blackout, smelling salts, carry her to a chair” fainting spell. While I should already be happy with how I look and my generally healthy lifestyle, it’s difficult not to be influenced by the prevalent national attitude towards food: Indulge, but then you have to have a six-pack. Oh, and let’s take a pill for all the missing stuff. Being a foodie and trying to be healthy at the same time is a constant battle. But yes, I know it is possible. The French have been doing it for ages! And why? Because they eat everything. They love veggies as much as they love their foie gras. They also have massive respect and support for agriculture and fresh produce. They eat real food and not processed foods.

For people like me who love to eat, food is a comfort, a source of joy … but its most beautiful aspect is that it nourishes both figuratively and literally. Let the words of Hippocrates be our new mantra: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

Avocado salad

ALUGBATI FRITTATA

Serves 6-8

Ingredients: 

8 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 cup grated cheese of choice 

1 large onion

2 cloves garlic

4 cups uncooked alugbati leaves chopped roughly; salt and pepper to taste; olive oil

 Procedure:

In a non-stick pan, heat some olive oil and saute garlic and onions till soft and light golden brown. Add the alugbati leaves and let wilt. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about two to three minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together.  Spread the onions, garlic and alugbati evenly in the pan and pour the egg mixture on top. Add some grated cheese all over. Season with salt and pepper. Turn down heat and cover pan. Let the egg cook slowly from bottom up for about 10 minutes. There is no need to flip over the frittata. For quicker cooking you may also place the pan in the oven, uncovered if the pan is oven proof.

RED RICE RISOTTO

Serves two

 Ingredients:

2 cups cooked red rice

1/2 onion minced

1 clove garlic

1/2 cup squash cubes

1/4 cup crumbled feta

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

fresh thyme for garnish

olive oil

 Procedure:

In a deep skillet, heat olive oil and saute onions, garlic and squash. Cook the squash for about seven minutes or until cooked through. Add the red rice. Add the white wine and some chicken stock on high heat. Let the liquid reduce. Add some crumbled feta. Season with salt and pepper. Stir through. The texture should be neither soupy nor dry but slightly creamy. Garnish with more feta and fresh thyme.