This Meal Plan Helps You Add One Gulay Dish To Your Daily Meals

Do you have a hard time thinking of how to add veggies to your daily meals? Getting tired of the same gulay recipe you've been serving over and over again? You can make vegetables the hero of the table!  

Here are a couple of ideas to make your daily meals better. We have easy gulay side dish recipes to pair with your main meat of the day: 

With Fried Meat:  

Photo by Majoy Siason

1 Utan Bisaya Recipe  

This southern Philippine dish is basically choice vegetables simmered in a light broth that takes only as much time to prepare and cook the vegetables. This vegetable soup makes a great accompaniment to any fried food.  

Photo by Aldwin Aspillera

2 Ginataang Gulay Recipe 

For those who want something creamy to distract them from the crunch and fried flavors of their main meat dish, this gata or coconut dish serves up creamy coconut coating the kalabasa, sitaw, and other vegetables you wish to use. This is a great substitute for the more common ginataang kalabasa dish with its spicy kick that's not inspired by the Bicol express. 

3 Veggie-Bean Soup Recipe 

Any dish in liquid form pairs well with fried food so this vegetable and bean dish is really about adding other choices of nutrition to the meal. With its great mix of legumes, beans, and chunks of vegetables, this is the perfect light fare that contrasts with the intense flavors of your fried chicken, fish, or pork chop. 

With Roasted Meats: 

Photo by Dan Rivera

4 Bok Choy in Oyster Sauce Recipe 

Simply steamed vegetables are sometimes all you need to serve with your mains to give it that balance in flavors from the main dish. This refreshing but super flavorful dish, courtesy of the oyster sauce and the garlic chips, is all these greens need to be delicious. Pair this with nicely roasted meats with an Asian touch.    

 

Photo by Patrick Martires

5 Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce Recipe 

Roasted meats are commonly packed with flavor. Whatever flavor is infused in the roast, the meat is the star. This creamy cauliflower dish with its florets roasted in the oven too will help temper those strong flavors with its white cheese sauce and lightly roasted flavor. 

6 Truffle Mashed Potatoes Recipe  

Potato dishes are classic side dishes to roast meats. Mashed potatoes are simply boiled, sometimes steamed or baked, potatoes seasoned with salt, pepper, milk or cream, and butter to create a filling and hefty vegetable to eat with the roast. Why not make it more interesting with a drizzle of an ingredient that's decadent to make your roast meat meal more decadent? A drop of two of truffle oil goes a long way!   

With Meaty Soups:  

Photo by Michael Angelo Chua

7 Lumpiang Gulay Recipe 

Mains that are in soups are usually lacking the crunch and other textures that become lost in the soup. Give it back with this veggie recipe that's wrapped in a crunchy outer shell. You can serve this as is with the main while leftovers make a fantastic merienda later, served with a tangy, sweet dip.  

Photo by Michael Angelo Chua

8 Sweet Corn Fritters Recipe

Fried dough or fritters are frequently served with seafood or fried food, but if your meaty soup needs a crispy respite from the broth-soaked chunks, these crispy patties of corn will go nicely with it for a change of texture.  

Photo by Dan Rivera

9 Fried Eggplant Recipe  

Entrees should already be tasty and that's where the side dish can be a filler: where the entree is lacking is where it can fit in to be the pairing that's needed to complete the flavor profile of the course. Simple soups can be paired with almost any side but for more flavorful soups that have bold flavors, simple side dishes are best such as this fried eggplant that lets the main remain the star.  

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