Filipino Whole30 Eats: Guinataang Halo-Halo

Talk about grazing: with our carb-centric diet, we Filipinos typically eat 4 or 5 times a day, with meriendas (snacks or mini-meals) interspersed between our main meals. Guinataang halo-halo is one of those cloyingly sweet Filipino snacks that we came up with in our centuries-long effort to keep our ravenous, carb- and sugar-fueled bodies going. I remember this dish fondly from childhood: my sisters and I would often have this mid-afternoon after school, and the sugar would propel us like high-octane into the street for playtime with our neighborhood friends. (Homework? What homework?)

When I switched to Paleo, and went even further to Whole30, I found myself eating lots of sweet potatoes, plantains, and other dense sources of complex carbs to take the place of the rice, bread, and pasta I had given up. It wasn’t too big of a leap to recall this old childhood snack and realize, hey!, this was made from sweet potatoes and plantains and another dense carb, taro. Plus, jackfruit, yum. And add to all that the fact that it’s cooked in one of the healthiest fats around: coconut milk.

So I set myself to tinkering with the recipe to make it Whole30 compliant. One important note: it’s essential not just to change the composition of this dish, but also to repurpose it. I.e., this should not be eaten as a snack (snacks are not encouraged in Whole30), the way it is traditionally. Rather, it should accompany your meal as a side dish, to be eaten with your other food or right after.

Try this at breakfast alongside your protein source. I guarantee: it will power you all the way to lunch!

Translations
Guinataan (ghee-nah-tah-ahn): cooked in coconut milk
Guinataang halo-halo (ghee-nah-tah-ahng hah-loh hah-loh): literally, a variety of things cooked in coconut milk; colloquially, this dish
Saging (sah-ging – first “g” is a hard “g”): banana
Saging na saba (sah-ging nah sah-bah): sweet plantain, aka saba banana, also sometimes called cardaba banana

Ingredients

• 1 ripe (as in spotted with black) medium saging na saba, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices (about 1 to 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 medium yellow sweet potato, diced into 1-inch cubes (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup of diced taro (1-inch cubes)
• 1 cup whole (or 1/2 cup chopped or shredded) jackfruit
• 1 3/4 cups of water
• 1 14 oz. can of coconut milk
• pinch of anise seeds (optional)

Substitutions: you can replace the saging na saba with a very ripe plantain, and the yellow sweet potato with any other type of sweet potato; if you can’t find jackfruit (available frozen in many Asian groceries), do without, or try cubed butternut squash; cubed cassava can also complement or take the place of the other root crops.

Instructions

1. Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan. Add the root crops (cubed saging na saba and taro), close the lid, and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring once or twice.
2. Add the coconut milk and the rest of the ingredients, and bring back to a boil. Let simmer uncovered, stirring often, until the root crops are tender but not mushy – anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Let stand for a few minutes before serving in bowls.

Makes 3 servings. Remember to have this as part of your meal and not as a standalone snack!

How this is Whole30
No added sugar! You wouldn’t believe how much sugar usually goes into these things. But I’ve learned it doesn’t need it; with the saging na saba and jackfruit, the concoction is already just the right amount of sweet. Also, I excluded other typical ingredients, such as bilo-bilo or glutinous rice balls (non-Whole30 compliant) and sago or tapioca pearls (technically compliant but nutritionally empty).

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