MANILA -- Chef Robby Goco is on a roll.

After his Greek restaurant Souv made it into several “Best Of 2017” lists, he now sets his culinary sights on Filipino food.

“Why do I have to sell Italian, Korean, all of these cuisines, when I can just elevate Pinoy cuisine?” quipped Goco as he launched his healthy take on Filipino favorites at his restaurant Green Pastures.

Goco laments the fact that Filipino cuisine has become industrialized and is usually based on bouillon cubes, powders and artificial sauces, thus earning an unhealthy reputation.

His new menu additions are really a statement against the unhealthy and monochromatically brown reputation of Filipino food. The ingredients have been thoughtfully sourced to stay local and avoid chemicals and unhealthy sugars.

At the same time, the plates are alive with color. “The more colors in a dish, the more flavor there is,” added Goco.

The new entrees in the Green Pastures menu are like a breath of fresh air into local cuisine. It wouldn’t be a stretch to see these in an entirely new restaurant by Goco just devoted to healthy, colorful and flavorful Filipino food.

These new menu items are now available at Green Pastures branches at Shangri-La Plaza, Eastwood Mall and Net Park at the Bonifacio Global City.

Here are some of the healthy Filipino dishes in Green Pastures’ menu.

The Pinoy-Pinoy uses bagoong, salted duck eggs and homemade ricotta to dress the salad. Photo by author

Miso, mushrooms and a spritz of liquid amino provide local umami in Goco’s Umami Bowl. Photo by author

This version of ukoy is made with deep-fried sweet potato and river shrimp. The river shrimp isn’t grown with artificial fertilizer and is allergen-free. Photo by author

Binakol with fresh clams is a refreshing appetizer. This version is a little sweeter with a lot more coconut juice and lemongrass. Photo by author

Sinuglaw is made of raw fish and grilled pork. Green Pastures' version is tastier with raw tuna, sisig, and its own vinegar. Photo by author

Roast pork with Bacolod cacciocavallo cheese stuff this Philipork Sandwich. Photo by author

There’s no soy in this Adobong Dilaw. Rather, this adobo from Taal, Goco’s hometown, has the distinctive yellow color and gingery flavor of turmeric. Photo by author

Jackfruit is being used abroad as a vegetarian substitute for chicken. Here, it’s used in Goco’s kare-kare with homemade bagoong. Traditional oxtail is also available as an optional side for purists. Photo by author

Duck a la Cubana is Goco’s take on Arroz a la Cubana using minced duck instead of ground beef. Photo by author

Goco’s Seafood Paella is made with brown rice and uses local saffron to provide flavor and color. Photo by author

Naks! Fried Chicken is a healthy kid-pleaser. This recipe uses organic chicken with a side of kamote fries sprinkled with powdered seaweed. Try dipping these in Green Pastures' home-made banana ketchup. Photo by author

The Bagoong Cauliflower Rice is bagoong rice for people who don’t like bagoong rice. The bagoong never overpowers this dish as the beef tapa marinated in coconut aminos instead of soy, green mango, pickled onions, and cilantro prove Goco’s assertion that more color equals more flavor. Photo by author

The Green Pastures Meat Platter come with generous portions of roast organic chicken, muscovado baby back ribs, and buffalo chicken meatballs. The meatballs, in particular, pack quite a kick. Photo by author

Beef Bourguignon is a component of the Meat Platter. Highlighted here because Goco uses Bignay wine cementing his commitment to local ingredients and giving this version slightly sweeter notes. Photo by author

Another part of the Green Pastures Meat Platter is Kaleslaw. Kale is normally bitter, but is softened by the Goco’s slaw mix. This nicely accompanies the savory meats in the platter. Photo by author

Start dessert with Goco’s version of bibingka made with cassava flour with the usual trimmings of muscovado sugar and coconut shavings. Photo by author

Superfood du jour chia with shaved almonds, coconut cream, dried coconut shavings and sliced bananas is a dessert that energizes without the danger of a sugar crash due to the absence of processed sweeteners. Photo by author