‘’An Innovated Filipino Dish: Macha Champorado’’

Leader:

Yanza, Rafael B.

Members:

Laguna, Roane Mae

Laureles, Michael

Panganiban, Ry

Mrs. Lea Baylen

I. Introduction

Vegetables contain essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, fiber and

various bio-active components that are essential to a children’s diet. Children’s vegetable

intake is too far from what is recommended, which is why different campaigns and

programs are made by the government to spread awareness about the importance of

vegetable consumption for children’s health but still, it’s difficult to improve their

vegetable intake (de Wild, K., 2015). Children nowadays are most likely to eat unhealthy

foods such as junk foods, sodas and fast foods like burger and fries than vegetables.

Children are born with a predisposition to prefer sweet tastes and to avoid bitter and sour

tastes such as green leafy vegetables and unripe fruit (de Wild, K., 2015). By using

creativity and adding some twist to ordinary vegetables or thinking of an alternative

could be a great idea to solve the problem.

Green Tea can be a good alternative to vegetables. A lot of studies proves that

green is beneficial to one’s health especially to young individuals. Green tea is produced

from the leaf of Camellia Sinensis (Tea Plant). To produce a green tea, freshly harvested

leaves are immediately steamed to prevent fermentation, yielding a dry, stable product.

This steaming process destroys the enzymes responsible for breaking down the color

pigments in the leaves and allows the tea to maintain its green color during the

subsequent rolling and drying processes (Chacko, Thambi, Kuttan & Nishigaki, 2010). It

was originated and used as a medicine in China. According to Christopher Ochner (PhD),

it is one of the healthiest beverage in Asia because it contains the highest amount of

antioxidants called ‘Polyphenols’, that is good and beneficial to the body.

 Here are some of the benefits of Green Tea to kids according to Aarohi Achwal of

Firstery.com; it is Good For Oral Health. Green tea contains ‘Catechins’ that prevent

cavity causing bacteria and sulfur compounds which cause bad breath. It Fights Against

Flu. It contains antiviral properties that are good in preventing infections like the flu.

Prevents Clogged Arteries. It prevents arteries from clogging up and keeping the blood

flowing and hearth pumping. The result of this is a regulated blood pressure. High in

Antioxidants. It contains high amount of antioxidants compare to other teas that boost

out immune system and good for preventing oxidative stress, free radicals and formation

of cancers. It Improves Bone Density. Regular intake of green tea over a prolonged

period has been shown to improve bone density and prevent osteoporosis in later ages.

On the other hand, Champorado is a sweet chocolate rice porridge in the

Philippines. It is made with glutinous rice which traditionally served with dried fish. It’s

every Filipino kid’s favorite food for breakfast and is already became part of the culture.

Innovating this food by combining it with green tea could be a great alternative to

vegetables that can be a solution in order to make the children’s diet a healthy one.

The proponents of the product aims to create a nutritious food for the youngsters

that can be an alternative to vegetables and a good source of nutrients that is beneficial

especially to children’s health. The product was also intended to prevent malnutrition

and fight various diseases that children can get from an unhealthy lifestyle.