HAVE you feasted on too rich and heavy dishes over the holidays? Go fresh. Have a spread of healthy veggie dishes that is friendly to your diet and your budget.

“Vegetable dishes don’t have to be boring,” says Mama Sita brand manager Eric Mallari. “We can upgrade the quality of ordinary veggie dishes through taste and variety.”

Mama Sita took media on a recent three-day Northern Luzon food tour of the “Ano ang gulay na hanap mo?” campaign. It aimed to rediscover the uses and sources of local vegetables so that they may serve as better alternatives to meat.

Herb farm

First stop was Tomay Farm, a lovely, rustic garden restaurant.

Tucked away along the highways of La Trinidad, Benguet, it’s a big farm not easily noticed behind the nondescript gates. It is a plantation of various herbs like lemongrass, mint tarragon and thyme.

“Tomay Farm is a community-based farm where visitors can actually see and feel what farming here is all about,” said manager Laurel Contreras Bangaoet.

We were served a refreshing garden salad with mangoes, strawberries, cucumber, lettuce and edible flowers, drizzled with light Mama Sita vinegar and spices; pork liempo and chicken barbecue cured with Mama Sita BBQ marinade; and mango crepe topped with whipped cream.

The organic farm is open to educational groups. It’s great for family gatherings and romantic dates.
Herbed vinegars, salad dressings, coffee, gumamela jams are sold in the charming gift shop. It is open daily, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., by reservation (e-mail bing_bangaoet@yahoo.com).

Cordillera highlands

Times are hard and prices are up, but that doesn’t mean we have to scrimp on good food.

“We are focusing on gulay because households are trying to save. We want to show you where the best products are from, thus, the trip to Northern Luzon,” said Mallari.

So we drove all the way to the Cordillera highlands—zigzag road and zero visibility from fog notwithstanding—to Mt. Data Hotel in Sinto, Bauko, Mountain Province.

Along the way, we passed by the Philippine Pali, the highest point in the Philippine Highway System at 7,400 feet above sea level.

It was freezing, but the sumptuous dinner more than made up for the harsh weather. We had oil-free lumpiang hubad with brown sauce, grilled chicken kebab, inihaw na pusit, inihaw na okra and chopped tomatoes; and a selection of local sweets for desserts like halayang ube, peanut brittle, choco flakes in dark and white chocolate.

More people are getting food-conscious, said Mallari. And Mama Sita is proud that its products are made of all-natural ingredients, have no preservatives, no extenders, no MSG.

“Our advocacy is for people to read the labels. We are educating the public on what to eat. They used to think kapag walang vetsin, walang lasa. May wall agad. But now people are more open,” he said.

The Mama Sita Oyster sauce is the bestseller among its products. Traditionally, it’s been used with Chinese beef dishes. It’s now used with tilapia, chicken and veggies.

Lettuce land

The next morning the group trekked to Mt. Data to see the lettuce plantations on the mountains. There were lines and lines of crisp iceberg lettuce ready for harvest. All around us were wild trumpet flowers, calla lilies, and hydrangeas enough to make hundreds of bouquets. The frosty weather made for the perfect environment for these plants to flourish.

We dropped by Pactil Green Crops Farm, a half-hectare covered farm in Sitio Pactil, Barangay Monamon Sur, where we were given an overview of lettuce farming. Romaine lettuce is harvested 45 days after planting and transported to Baguio, Tagaytay or Manila where it is commercially sold.

Beach fiesta

Another long drive later found us at China Sea Resort in Bauan, La Union, where we were treated to a superb dinner. On the menu were tofu with bell peppers, sweet chili prawn, beef with ampalaya, steamed fish with oyster sauce, king crab sotanghon.

Mama Sita has a team of chefs that makes recipes. The team recommends the Mama Sita’s Pang-Gisá Mix made of pure chicken extract and choice spices especially for veggie dishes even kids would love.

We capped off the tour with lunch at Lisland Resort in Urdaneta, Pangasinan, where we were delighted with a stir-fry veggie station that allowed us to personalize our side dishes to complement the main meal.

Mama Sita is sold in over 30 countries. The US is the biggest market, followed by the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

“Pinoys miss home,” said Mallari. “We have high demand for the barbecue marinade; sinigang, stir-fry, tocino, palabok and menudo mixes.”

In keeping with its “Minanang Sarap, Natural na Sangkap” vision, Mallari said Mama Sita (http://www.msita.com) will never get a celebrity endorser or place TV ads. It will instead reach buyers through promos and tap wet markets and sari-sari stores.

RECIPES

Here are some healthy recipes for after the holiday binge.

Baguio Vegetable Salad

2 tbsp Mama Sita’s Coconut Nectar
Vinegar
1 pc red onion, thinly sliced
½ tsp white sugar
Pinch of ground black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
2 pc fresh carrots, shredded
8 pc Baguio beans, blanched and cut into thin diagonal slices
1 tbsp candied pili nuts, chopped

In a medium stainless-steel bowl, combine Coconut Nectar Vinegar and sliced onions. Let it stand for 5 minutes.

Add the sugar, olive oil and season with the salt and pepper. Stir well.

Add the carrots and Baguio beans. Toss to blend.

Serve with chopped candied pili nuts.
Makes 3-4 servings.

Grilled Chicken Kebabs

½ k boneless chicken thigh
1 pouch Pang-Gisá Mix
1 pc red bell pepper, cut into cubes
1 pc green bell pepper, cut into cubes
2 pc red onions, cut into cubes
10 pc bamboo barbecue sticks soaked in water
¼ c oyster sauce, for basting

Preheat grill. Thread 2 pieces of green bell pepper, 2 pieces red bell pepper, 3 pieces chicken and 1 piece red onion on each of 10 sticks. Arrange skewers on grill.

Grill over medium-hot coals until chicken is completely cooked, about 5 minutes on each side.

Baste each barbecue with Oyster Sauce just before serving.

Makes 10 kebabs.

Oil-free Lumpiang Hubad

¾ c water
1 pc singkamas, cut into thin strips
½ c kamote, cut into thin strips
2 tbsp carrots, cut into thin strips
5 pc green beans, thinly sliced diagonally
1 c cabbage, cut into thin strips
1 pouch Pang-Gisá Mix
1 tbsp kinchay

Lumpia sauce:
½ c brown sugar
2 c water
2 tbsp soy sauce
Pinch of salt
4 tbsp cornstarch, dissolved in ¼ c water
2 tbsp chopped toasted peanuts
1 tbsp crushed garlic

In a wok, combine water and singkamas. Bring to a boil and simmer until half-cooked. Add the rest of the ingredients and Pang-Gisá Mix and stir well. Cover and cook briefly until the vegetables are tender.

Serve hot with lumpia sauce topped with chopped garlic and chopped roasted peanuts.

Lumpia sauce:
In a small pan, caramelize sugar until it turns dark amber in color. Add water and stir until sugar has dissolved. Add salt and soy sauce. Add the dissolved cornstarch and bring to a boil. Cook until sauce thickens.

Serve with Lumpiang Hubad and sprinkle chopped garlic and toasted peanuts.

Makes 10 servings.