Veggies & "American" Dinners

I am a meat lover. Burgers, steak, and sausages are just some of the types of food that call to me! Add on to that shawarmas and kebabs, plus ham and bacon sandwiches. But!!! These meats need to be balanced out with some greens. Something I have been neglecting for some time now. Hence, I am on a mission to put more vegetables (not necessarily green) and fruits in my diet; an apparent necessity to up my fiber intake. 

Since Monday, I have been searching for quick and easy recipes for kalabasa (also known as squash or pumpkin), carrots, cabbage, and string beans --- vegetables I feel like eating. So far, I have tried cooking ginisang calabasa with longganisa as a main dish and on another night, stir-fried cabbage and carrots as a side (I should've taken photos, I know). 

Last night, I whipped up a kalabasa and tomato stir-fry, inspired by this recipe here, along with two German franks and buttered raisin bread toast.

The kalabasa-tomato combination was made fragrant by the Italian seasoning and butter that I cooked it in. I sort of found it a bit bland though, considering the amount of seasoning I put in, but that could also be because I just really like salty food. Salty food --- something I should be eating less of in order to avoid swelling during the pregnancy. The sausages made up for it though. They came out just a tad bit salty. ;) As for the toast, it has just been me and the baby brother at home every night for dinner. Juancho doesn't feel like having rice so we have sandwiches (cue ham, bacon, and cheese sandwiches) or toast instead. When I told this to my mother, she said "how American!" --- no racism here folks, its just that we noticed that Americans don't have rice often or any at all.

Kalabasa is becoming one of my favorite vegetables. But to deviate from the norm of ginataang kalabasa at sitaw, a Filipino staple recipe, I'm out to try new things to keep my interest piqued! Here's to more cooking adventures for the soon-to-be mother of two!

KALABASA & TOMATOES: A VEGGIE & FRUIT DISH IN ONE! <3