July was Nutrition Month in the Philippines and once again, it gave moms like me time to think about what we feed our families. Did you know that according to a 2016 AIA survey, eight out of ten Filipinos neglect to eat vegetables on a daily basis, resulting in the Philippines being one of the unhealthiest countries in Asia?? This is a pity considering that veggies are priced relatively cheap here compared to other places like Japan and Korea.
Despite the abundance of nutritious ingredients straight from Mother Nature, Pinoys prefer their fast food and processed products. This is definitely an issue worth addressing by the government as an undernourished population has an overall effect on health and workplace productivity, among other things.
Good thing there’s a company like Knorr who has made it their mission to help Pinoys prepare nutritious and delicious meals in sustainable ways. My favorite meal growing up was a simple dish cooked by my mom consisting of thinly-sliced beef that had tomatoes, diced potatoes and lots of pechay, made flavorful by Knorr beef cubes. This was my comfort food at a young age. It’s great that it had the perfect combination of protein and greens.
Anyway,Knorr staged an event for Nutrition month and it couldn’t have chosen a better ambassador representing the modern Filipino family than Mr. Panlasang Pinoy himself, Vanjo Merano. He’s a familiar figure to all those who search for treasured Filipino recipes on Youtube or the internet. Vanjo flew in from Chicago that week in July to meet with his fans and do a healthy cooking demo.
The charming Vanjo showed the audience how to prepare and cook Chicken and Pork Lumpia with Malunggay. The second dish he demonstrated was Tofu, Green Bean, and Pechay Stir Fry.
I was also thrilled to have a photo-op with Vanjo. He was really so nice to everyone.
There were also other guests like Jing Castaneda, Bettina Carlos and Lynn Pinugu of Mano Amiga Foundation.
Also in full attendance were the Unilever officers (from left:) Knorr Philippines’ Brand Manager Uael Canoy; Unilever Philippines’ VP for Sustainable Business & Communications Ed Sunico; Kristine Go-Unilever Philippines’ Director for Foods and Brian Chanyungco, Knorr Philippines’ Senior Brand Manager.
Kristine Go, Unilever Philippines’ Marketing Director for Foods, said: “we’re excited to bring forward our action plans to guide Filipinos to eating healthier, as well as to help usher in a more sustainable food future.
“Through the Lutong Nanay Nutrition Program, Knorr empowers moms to take charge of their family’s nutrition, showing them how to prepare tasty, nutritious and affordable meals. With the help of key partners, Kabisig ng Kalahi, DSWD’s 4P’s and DOST-FNRI, the program allows moms to
discover 63 ways to cook and eat healthy, by simply adding vegetables like radish, togue, and
camote, among others. These recipes spread across 21 days help diversify the diets of
Filipinos, and show nutritious dishes do not have to be complicated or expensive,” Go explained.
Knorr officials also revealed that they are on track to achieve its target of 100% sustainably
sourced raw materials, and announced that its goal to use 100% recyclable packaging by 2025.
“At Knorr, we understand the call from our consumers to be more mindful of the materials we
use, from the food items themselves to our packaging, and so, we are committed to addressing
these concerns in the near future,” added Go.
Knorr has partnered with WWF-UK to produce the FUTURE 50 – a list of vegetables, grains, cereals, seeds, legumes and nuts which it recommends for people to eat because they are nutritious and have a good impact on the planet.
Some of the ingredients in the global list like moringa (malunggay), okra, purple yam or ube, mungbean and bean sprouts are easily found in the Philippines. With these vegetables, a wide range of dishes, such as sinigang, tinolang manok, pork monggo, and lumpia, can be prepared, Knorr said.
For more information about Knorr’s Lutong Nanay Nutri Program and the full Future 50 Foods
List, visit https://www.knorr.com.ph.
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