Malunggay: The Miracle Plant

Called "Malunggay" in the Philippines and "Moringa" in English, this plant has been used medicinally for centuries. It can be used to treat wounds, the juice extracted from the leaves is applied to the wounded area,  and a number of vitamin deficiency diseases. Recent medical studies confirm the efficacy of it.

I am very pleased with its power of recuperation.  It never fails to improve my mom's condition, its been part of her daily food and as a daughter with stringent rules (I know she hates some of them) I always make sure I bring home a small bag of malunggay. Her favorite is cook it with clams.

It's also good for those who want to go on a diet, either because it's low in carb, or it feels good  when eaten even with large amount of servings.

Let me share a healthy and easy to prepare recipe:

Kinason (Philippine Clams) cooked in Malunggay Leaves (by: Me)

Eating Green

"Those who think they have no time for healthy eating will sooner or later have to find time for illness." ~ The Conduct of Life

I started eating healthy when I saw the need of it. My mother is hypertensive and so are her clans. They are known as gourmands, they also served the best and tasty foods in town. Their families are close-knitted. Whatever is served in the table is also shared by their families. They liked roasted ducks, lechons (roasted whole pigs), pork cuisines (such as caldereta, menudo, crispy pata and the all time favorite adobo), rarely vegetables are in the scene. 


This is what we grow up - meat eaters. We all love our mother's cooking. When we had our restaurant, everyone in the family was excited because we had so many choices of foods - from nilagang baka, pork adobo, beef caldereta, pork menudo, pork and beef steaks, pork-chop, and the name-all-the-pork-cooked-foods. Chicken was never spared, foods cooked out of it were displayed just below where the pork was placed. One could imagine how pork was treated - special. 


Until the time when my mother had her mild stroke. She was off the kitchen for so long because she needed to take a break from her cooking and eating lifestyles. Meals were salt-free. I imagined how painful it was to her. She lost 30lbs+ from 198. Twice she was confined, one in her 40s and the other in her 60s. The culprit? Her way of eating. 

For salad preparation, lettuce is one of many preferred.