Aji-Ginisa, Marian Rivera, and Zia lead the I Love Veggie-licious Movement to usher in the New Era of Cooking

At the Aji-Ginisa® Welcome to a New Veggie-licious Era, held recently at The Blue Leaf McKinley Hill in Taguig, Aji-Ginisa prepared a day of health and fun for kids and their parents. The event marked the official launch of the I Love Veggie-licious Movement, which aims to make vegetable dishes more appealing to children. Marian Rivera-Dantes, a well-known celebrity mom, headlined the festivities, demonstrating their family's favorite vegetable recipes in a special cooking demonstration.

Kazuki Kyoya and his family teams up with Aji-Ginisa®'s ambassador Marian Rivera-Dantes to champion healthy eating habits among Filipino children.

“Parents put a premium on their children’s health and nutrition, but feeding them veggies isn’t always an easy feat,” said Kazuki Kyoya. “Aji-Ginisa® can help them make their dishes more meaty and gisa, so their kids can learn to love vegetables and these healthy recipes can be part of their every meal.” 

“As a mom, I know mealtimes can be challenging. What I do is experiment in the kitchen and try lots of ways to prepare vegetable dishes that are nutritious and yummy,” said Marian. “Our goal is to make our kids try different recipes, so they can grow to enjoy and appreciate the healthy food we prepare.” 

Filipino children, welcomes a new Veggie-licious era with a pledge and red forks on their chest, embracing healthier meals made tastier with Aji-Ginisa. 

The kids from the audience went up on stage for the I Love Veggie-licious Pledge, which was led by Marian’s daughter Zia, and made their promise to love vegetables. Parents and their little ones can also join this pledge online by using the Pledge to I Love Veggie-licious filter on TikTok. For every 1,000 pledges, Ajinomoto commits to lead a feeding program for select beneficiaries nationwide.  

Attendees also had the opportunity to try making their own veggie-licious dishes during the event. As they sprinkle their Aji-Ginisa on their veggies, kids and parents also had fun in their stations by doing the Shake Shake Dance to the beat of the music to make their veggies veggie-licious. 

Ajinomoto is bringing the I Love Veggie-licious Movement nationwide, bringing the Aji-Ginisa® Veggie-licious Caravan to different schools to carry out taste tests, veg-ucation programs, and more. The Caravan will also roll out in key malls across the metro to introduce delicious veggie dishes kids will enjoy.

The I Love Veggie-licious Movement is a part of Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation’s commitment to nutrition that does not compromise taste, access, and the local way of life. The company is doing this by developing comprehensive programs with like-minded organizations, and providing new products and services that address health and nutrition issues. 

Know more about the Aji-Ginisa® I Love Veggie-licious Movement by visiting Cookmunity by Ajinomoto PH. 

Kid-friendly Recipes, Rich in Protein and Calcium for National Nutrition Month

The National Nutrition Council (NNC) sets the theme “Batang Pinoy, Sana Tall. Iwas Stunting, Sana All” for this year’s nutrition month. Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation (APC) joins the nation in celebrating the National Nutrition Month this July to bring to light the ill effects of stunting and how to prevent a child’s healthy growth from being stunted. 

According to the 8th National Nutrition Survey by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), 3 out of 10 Filipino Children (5 and below) are stunted. Stunting or “pagkabansot” in our native tongue is a manifestation of long term occurrence of malnutrition. It is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) “as impaired growth and development that children experience from poor nutrition, repeated infection, and inadequate psychosocial stimulation”. 

How Stunting is Stunted

Growth failure can start from the womb and progress after birth. The effects of stunting, if not immediately and properly addressed, can be permanent and irreversible. There is a window of opportunity to reverse or prevent stunting through effective interventions for children 5 years old and below. Unfortunately, there is no cure to stunting, so prevention is critical for young children to have healthy growth and development.  

It is imperative for parents to track their child’s growth. The National Nutrition Council provided a simplified and more understandable Child Growth Standard Table based on WHO’s Child Growth Standards (WHO-CGS) 2004 and WHO’s Reference Data, 2006. These information can be access through https://www.ajinomoto.com.ph/blog/how-to-track-child-growth/. 

Importance of Proper Nutrition to avoid Stunting

Women of child-bearing age and expectant mothers must have adequate nutrition to prepare their bodies to a healthy pregnancy and give birth to a well-nourished baby. It is also highly important that breastfeeding mothers get adequate nutrition in order to supply the needs of their babies throughout the 6 months exclusive breastfeeding journey. Exclusive breastfeeding from 0-6 months is recommended for babies to gain optimum nutrients perfect for their age. To prevent your child from having growth failure, it is important to address poor diet, inadequate calorie intake, poor quality of meal intake, and insufficient supply of macro nutrients like protein and micro nutrients like calcium specific for growth and development. 

The Culinary Nutrition Team of Ajinomoto puts together a treat for kids to enjoy and for homemakers to conveniently prepare and serve. Try to make these 4 calcium-rich recipes using 4 ingredients done in 4 easy steps made with AJI SAVOR™ on Rice Topping Mix and 4 protein-rich recipes using 4 ingredients done in 4 easy steps made with Prottie® Soymilk Drink Mix. 

AJI SAVOR™ Rice Topping Mix Chicken/Beef is available in leading supermarkets. Prottie® Soymilk Drink Mix is available on LazMart, an online store on LazMall. For more healthy and delicious recipes, visit http://www.ajinomoto.com.ph and https://www.facebook.com/CookmunitybyAjinomotoPH/.  

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The Ajinomoto Group is a global company with specialties in the business of food and amino acids, guided by our leading-edge bioscience and fine chemical technologies. 

Based on the corporate message “Eat Well, Live Well.”, we have been scientifically pursuing the possibilities of amino acids in supporting the healthy lives of people all around the world. We aim for future growth and continuous contribution to greater wellness by creating value through sustainable and innovative solutions for communities and society. 

The Ajinomoto Group has offices in 35 countries and regions, and sells products in more than 130 countries and regions. In fiscal 2018, sales were 1.1274 trillion yen (10.1 billion U.S. dollars). To learn more, visit www.ajinomoto.com. 

Healthy diet safeguards against COVID-19

The COVID-19 Pandemic intensifies the Philippine’s battle against Double Burden of Malnutrition. Double Burden of Malnutrition is defined by World Health Organization (WHO) as “the coexistence of undernutrition along with overweight and obesity, or diet-related non communicable diseases, within individuals, households and populations, and across the life course.”

The limited distribution and access to food supplies aggravate the plight of poor and low income Filipino households to sustain each person’s required nutrients through healthy meals. On the other hand, home confinement due to the mandated community quarantine may cause more people to not only restrict their physical activities but also to overeat and/or consume more food with empty calories as part of coping with stress and/or boredom.

Given the importance of maintaining healthy diets to sustain our health and immunity against viruses and bacteria, we should turn to the practice of Pinggang Pinoy® as a viable safeguard to protect our family from diseases.

Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation (APC) introduced “Mag-Pinggang Pinoy® Tayo 7-day Menu Challenge” as a way to encourage homemakers to serve variety of balanced meals to their families. Homemakers could access the Mag-Pinggang Pinoy® Tayo 7-day menu plan at www.ajinomoto.com.ph and facebook.com/CookmunitybyAjinomotoPH. This is part of the company’s “Eat Well, Live Well. Stay Well.” campaign to provide Filipino families with practical tips on proper nutrition, recipe menu and fitness activities to cope, stay well and enjoy life despite current COVID-19 situation.

Ajinomoto’s 7-day menu plan is composed of complete meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Each meal provides recipe suggestions for Healthy & Delicious Pinggang Pinoy® Recipes that are easy-to-do and affordable. These recipes are simple, solutions to serve enjoyable Pinggang Pinoy® meals.  Homemakers could make use of their extra time to purchase widely available and inexpensive vegetables and fruits to complement rice beyond the usual supply of canned goods. Ajinomoto’s recipes make common ingredients more palatable like tofu sisig, meaty pechay picadillo, pork tapa and tomatoes, ensaladang talbos ng kamote, sweet and sour galunggong and many more. 

Here are three (3) recipe samplers done in three (3) easy steps:

Meaty Pechay Picadillo: 

1) SAUTÉ onion, garlic and ground pork and mix in carrots, green peas and pechay. 

2) SEASON with pepper, soy sauce and AJI-GINISA® Flavor Seasoning Mix. 

3) COOK for 1 minute more.

Tofu Sisig: 

1) FRY tofu until golden brown and set aside. 

2) SAUTÉ ginger, onion and garlic, add fried tofu and liver spread and mix well. 

3) SEASON with sugar and PORKSAVOR® All-in-One Seasoning mix and add chili peppers.

Pork tapa with tomatoes: 

1) MARINATE pork in water, sugar, soy sauce, pepper and SARSAYA® Oyster Sauce for an hour or overnight.

2) SAUTÉ onion, garlic and pork. 3) BOIL. Pour the marinate mixture and boil until mixture is thick.   

For full recipes and for more information about Ajinomoto and its products, visit www.ajinomoto.com.ph and facebook.com/CookmunitybyAjinomotoPH.

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The Ajinomoto Group is a global company with specialties in the business of food and amino acids, guided by our leading-edge bioscience and fine chemical technologies.

Based on the corporate message “Eat Well, Live Well.”, we have been scientifically pursuing the possibilities of amino acids in supporting the healthy lives of people all around the world. We aim for future growth and continuous contribution to greater wellness by creating value through sustainable and innovative solutions for communities and society.

The Ajinomoto Group has offices in 35 countries and regions, and sells products in more than 130 countries and regions. In fiscal 2018, sales were 1.1274 trillion yen (10.1 billion U.S. dollars). To learn more, visit www.ajinomoto.com.