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New cookbook offers creative ways to prepare local vegetables

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/life/10/29/20201029-juana-manahan-yupangco.jpg"/><figcaption>Juana Manahan Yupangco. Handout</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA -- Want to eat local vegetables regularly or convince someone to go plant-based? This cookbook could give you a good start. &quot;Mesa ni Misis: A Guide to Cooking and Enjoying Native Filipino Vegetables&quot; by Juana Manahan Yupangco is the newest offering of ABS-CBN Books. The book is named after Mesa ni Misis, a non-government organization that aims to promote the health benefits of locally grown vegetables.Yupangco, who is the founder of Mesa ni Misis, said the 40 plant-based recipes in her book have been &quot;tried and tested&quot; not only by her family, but also in different communities, hospitals, and other institutions.&quot;We really aim to create a &#x27;Bahay Kubo&#x27; kitchen,&quot; she said in a recent virtual briefing with the media, referring to the Filipino folk song about vegetables that grow around a small hut. &quot;And what makes this book really different from other books out there is that we really focus on creating plant-based dishes using our local vegetables.&quot;&quot;Why eat local, native plants? It&#x27;s good for the environment, for the economy, and for ourselves,&quot; she added. &quot;Our &#x27;Bahay Kubo&#x27; vegetables are things that are cheap, they grow around us, and are available any time of the year.&quot;Yupangco admitted that just like everyone else, she used to love eating meat before going plant-based. The decision to go healthy and care for the environment, she said, took years of effort and discipline.&quot;All of this didn&#x27;t come overnight. It wasn&#x27;t natural for me. It took us years to transition to where my family and I are right now,&quot; she said, noting that her husband and children now have the same diet.And while there is no shortcut to going plant-based, Yupangco said there are simple ways to develop healthy eating habits.&quot;Thirty minutes on a weekend to meal prep is the first tip. Second is to season your food (vegetables) well. You won&#x27;t miss your meat if you do that,&quot; she said.To those who do not know how to cook, she advised: &quot;There are so many alternatives... It&#x27;s so easy to get food delivered to you. You can start there, that&#x27;s your stepping stone.&quot;When asked about the favorite plant-based dish of her father, former Star Magic head Johnny Manahan, Yupangco replied: &quot;My dad loves the upo lasagna, so every chance that he eats here or we see each other, it&#x27;s the upo lasagna that I make for him.&quot;&quot;It&#x27;s because it&#x27;s got so many flavors and textures,&quot; she said of one of her recipes in the book, which is available for P250 in bookstores nationwide, as well as ABS-CBN Books&#x27; Lazada and Shopee pages.As for her go-to recipe that she said can convince junk food lovers to eat their vegetables, she said: &quot;It would have to be the monggo Bolognese. It&#x27;s one of the best talaga.&quot;Check out her recipe for monggo Bolognese, which is also available in the &quot;Mesa ni Misis&quot; book, below:<div>MONGGO BOLOGNESE (SERVES 4)</div>Ingredients:<ul>	<li>1 tablespoon coconut oil</li>	<li>1 tablespoon chopped garlic</li>	<li>1 tablespoon chopped red or white onion</li>	<li>1/2 cup chopped carrots</li>	<li>1/2 cup chopped celery</li>	<li>1 cup dried monggo</li>	<li>2 cups vegetable or mushroom broth</li>	<li>3 cups tomato sauce</li>	<li>1 teaspoon Italian seasoning</li>	<li>1 teaspoon dried oregano</li>	<li>spaghetti or any pasta</li></ul>Procedure:<ol>	<li>In a pan, heat coconut oil.</li>	<li>Add the garlic, onions, carrots, and celery.</li>	<li>Add the monggo and vegetable or mushroom broth. Cook the monggo until softened.</li>	<li>Mix in the tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and oregano. Simmer until the flavors blend.</li>	<li>Boil the spaghetti, then drain.</li>	<li>Serve the monggo bolognese on top of the spaghetti. </li></ol>

Want to eat local vegetables regularly or convince someone to go plant-based? This cookbook could give you a good start.

Want to eat local vegetables regularly or convince someone to go plant-based? This cookbook could give you a good start.