MANILA, Philippines – Did you know that half your plate should ideally be filled with veggies?

Filipinos love rice, making carbohydrates a staple in almost every meal. But often, this comes at the expense of a more balanced diet rich in vegetables. By simply adding more veggies to your diet, you can fuel your body with essential nutrients while maintaining long-lasting energy.

French-Filipino internet personality and food enthusiast Erwan Heussaff champions this advocacy, inspiring Filipinos to get creative with their greens. During a Lunch & Learn Session on March 25 in San Rafael, Bulacan, Heussaff graced the launch of More Veggies Please, the new vegetable brand of Metro Pacific Fresh Farms (MPFF).

“Now that I have a daughter and I’m getting closer to 40, you really do realize that the nutritional choices that you make in your life have a massive impact on the rest of your life,” the content creator reflected. 

The James Beard recipient shared practical wellness insights and conceptualized a five-course meal that highlighted the farm’s first harvest of lettuce. With the dishes executed by Bulaceña chef Jessie Sincioco, the meal proved that healthy food does not have to be plain, expensive, and complicated if we get creative with our use of vegetables.

“When you think ‘lettuce,’ most people think ‘salad,’ right? And so, that’s usually the challenging concept you want to try to break and change, but obviously, you can do so much with lettuce,” Heussaff shared.

The menu’s stars were five different kinds of lettuce: Romaine, Crystal, Batavia, Butterhead, and Salanova. The variety of lettuce has nuanced flavor profiles and textures, according to Heussaff. Contrary to popular belief, greens in your meal are not just limited to an appetizer — their versatility makes them perfect for entrees and main dishes, as well.  

“Once you have those flavor profiles, kind of like a library in the back of your head, it’s all about applying technique and different little tricks to them to see how you can bring out those flavors more,” he added.

From stuffing to grilling, Heussaff presents some creative hacks to incorporate lettuce (and veggies in general!) into your everyday meals! 

Wrap and stuff it!

We’re all familiar with lettuce used as a wrap, especially for samgyupsal feasts. But what about using the leaves as a dumpling wrap or even stuffing? It’s possible! As the first dish of the lettuce menu, Heussaff and Chef Jessie presented Romaine and Crystal Dumplings with ginger-sesame ponzu dressing. 

Romaine lettuce, with its sturdy vertical leaves, works well as a dumpling wrap when blanched and steamed. Meanwhile, Crystal lettuce, known for its slight bitterness, makes a great addition to the dumpling stuffing, balancing out the richness of the pork and shrimp.

These dumplings were served in a ginger soy ponzu dressing, crispy onions, and cherry tomatoes.

If you want to recreate the dish at home, the stuffing is a mix of shrimp, ground pork, dried shiitake mushrooms, oyster sauce, and tofu. For the ginger-sesame ponzu dressing, mix ginger, rice white vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and fried shallots. Lastly, top with crispy onions for extra crunch!

Blend your veg!

If you want to switch it up, you might want to consider blending your veggies into a hearty soup. For the second course, a Cold Batavia Lettuce Soup was served. In this concept, Heussaff and Sincioco blended cucumbers and Batavia lettuce to give it a watery texture. Tahini or sesame paste was added, and the dish was topped with basil, bell peppers, and longganisa.

This “savory smoothie” or cold soup would be perfect for the summer heat. Another alternative is to add vegetable stock for a more meaty and flavorful flavor. 

Although it is popular to juice fruits and vegetables, Heussaff advised that blending it would get more nutrients from the produce. “If you really want the full benefit of vegetable, you don’t juice it. Blend it, so you get a smoothie instead. It’ll be way heavier but nutritionally way more dense,” he said. 

For a refreshing drink, you may also mix up lettuce, cucumber, apples, ginger, lemon juice, water and honey to make a nutritious green drink.

Add texture!

The secret to a good salad? Texture is the key! It’s probably what differentiates your homemade mixes from those of restaurants. 

“Salad for me should be a textural experience. You need something crunchy, something soft, something acidic, something bitter,” Heussaff shared. “I also think when cooks think about salads, they think about ‘How do I make this not just a green salad?’ And so they think about these textural things.”

The Butterhead Green Goddess Salad in the course menu was filled with many interesting textures. For this dish, a whole butterhead lettuce was cut in half and dipped in dressing to retain its crisp and crunchy bite. This was topped with fried capers, fresh dill, and pistachio powder. 

According to your personal preference, texture can be added through different nuts, cheese, and pickled ingredients. There is a lot of room for creativity when making green salads.

Grill it!

Lastly, you could always opt to grill your lettuce. As the heaviest meal on the menu, the Grilled Romaine and Pork Belly with Mango Chutney substituted the usual rice and carbs for a hearty portion of Romaine lettuce. 

This was brushed with clarified brown butter before getting charred in the grill, slightly melting the greens. Serve this with atchara and a mango chutney to add sweetness and acidity that balances the fattiness of the protein.

Any protein would work well with the grilled Romaine, whether it’s fish, chicken, beef, or tender steaks! Surprisingly, the meal was heavy and satiating.

Regardless of how you cook and prepare your vegetables, Heussaff advised that ultimately, having a mindful relationship with food is what allows you to be healthier.

“Balance is very important, but even more important than balance is education,” he said. “Having that knowledge of what goes into food, and then you see that you can really simplify a lot of your life…you can make some really good stuff just with very simple preparations.”

As a pro-tip to increase the shelf life of your greens, it is recommended to dry them, drain them, and remove as much water as possible. Pack it in a Tupperware with anything that can absorb moisture, like kitchen napkins or paper towels.

The produce of More Veggies Please is grown in the Philippines’ largest hydroponic greenhouse facility. The brand also recently announced an expansion of their offerings to varieties of tomatoes, capsicums, cucumbers, and peppers. – Rappler.com