Mesa ni Misis - Momma 'N Manila

Juana Yupangco’s Foundation, Mesa ni Misis empowers women to feed their families in a way which not only highlights the beauty of Filipino produce, but also provides nutrient rich meals that are budget friendly.

With a four pronged approach to her advocacy that she has been promoting for more than a year, she educates, encourages, cares for, and provides livelihood options for Filipino families who need it most.

MESA NI MISIS

This program begins with nutritional talks educating our kababayans in different barangays, the dangers associated with a meat centered diet.

She highlights the main idea that we can “heal our bodies through food.”

Juana will soon expand this program to include a “Mobile Soup Kitchen.” This facet of Mesa ni Misis will show the participants, first hand, that the meals she is sharing on here website are not only nutritious, but flavorful, and filling as well.

Promoting the idea of “Eating to Live,” came from the recent health scare of Juana’s family driver of decades. Unfortunately, he was quite sick and suffering from diabetes so badly, that he was beginning to go blind!

After his diabetes diagnosis, he was encouraged by Juana to change his diet completely and thus started the process of healing his body through food.

Juana partnered with Chef Luis Chikiamco for this press launch to highlight all the beauty of our beloved Filipino vegetables…they did an awesome job of showcasing all the earthy and rich flavors of our produce.

Juana realized that the average Filipino does not incorporate vegetables in his/her diet.

What I found even more shocking, was the fact that the Philippines has the lowest vegetable intake per person in all of Asia.

She also shared that the average Filipino will also suffer from:

Kidney disease
Liver disease
Heart disease
Cancer

All of these disease are diseases where diet plays a huge factor…

MOMMY NI MISIS

Mommy ni Misis will offer pregnant women prenatal seminars on healthy eating.

Again, pulling from the principle that we can get the vitamins, nutrients, and minerals we need (even while pregnant) with the correct food intake.

Juana has even taken the idea of recipe sharing a step further, she can not only promote healthy living and eating for families of 4 on a tight budget, she can also provide nutrient rich recipes for those women who are eating for two.

She has even come up with recipes for when it is time to introduce baby to their first solid meal. #winner

EMERGENCY RELIEF

The third facet of Juana’s foundation includes helping those in need responsibly. To be honest, I didn’t even realize or give thought to the idea that when we put together care packs, or relief goods for those who have suffered from a major calamity, it should be done responsibly.

JUANA HAS.

Care Packs that are prepared by Mesa ni Misis will have:

Healthy food
Sustainable ingredients
Environmentally friendly packaging

This is definitely a more mindful approach to helping and I hope that this catches on with the rest of the Philippines.

SOAP FOR HOPE

Taking another mindful approach to education in the different barangays that she goes into, to further our fellow Filipinos, Juana takes her advocacy a step further by collecting soap from partner hotels, and recycling the waste left by each guest into a sanitized version which further provides a source of livelihood for women in the less privileged neighborhoods who sell the new upcycled soaps.

This was all the backdrop and the premise before we enjoyed a plant based meal made by Chef Luis Chikiamco for Mesa Ni Misis using ALL LOCAL vegetables!

Our three course meal started with Tomato Tomato.

This tomato dish served up tomatoes 3 different ways, and I absolutely loved it.

Our second course was Monggo Stew with Mushroom Sausage and Mushroom Chicharon.

I have always loved Monggo. I love it when it’s soupy, and I love it when it’s thick like porridge. I also love it when it’s topped with these variations of mushrooms. I would say the Mushroom Chicharon was more like a Mushroom Tempura. Still I was fond of both plant based variants of their counterparts.

Our third and final course was Roasted Mango with a Tropical Fruit Sorbet.

Unfortunately, I was only able to snap a photo of this delectable dessert because Sabrina and I had to run to another meeting, but I am sure I would have loved it! Thanks @chichajo for sharing this copy!