Food for Her: Ajinomoto shares recipes for women's health

International Women’s Month is celebrated every March, but every day is an opportunity to celebrate and express our love to the women in our lives. To strongly cap off the month-long celebration, Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation (APC Group) shares special recipes to better take care of women's health.

 

Proper nutrition plays a key role to help keep women’s overall health.  Below are some recipes that women can follow to lead a healthier life:

Asparagus-Mushroom Stir-fry

Asparagus is an excellent source of iron and folate, which is needed for the production and maintenance of healthy red blood cells. It is also rich in bone-building vitamin K.

This recipe features AJI-NO-MOTO® Umami Seasoning, a kitchen staple that brings out the savory-deliciousness of any kind of dish. Good to note that the brand has a new 45g size available in sustainable paper packaging as an option for earth-friendly consumption. Follow the recipe for Asparagus-Mushroom Stir-fry here.

Sweet Potato “Kamote” Nachos

This dish is rich in carbohydrates from sweet potato and protein from beef, beans, and cheese. Carbohydrates are good for energy and physical functions, while protein helps repair the body after injuries.

Sweet potatoes are also perfect for breastfeeding mothers because they are packed with vitamin A, an essential nutrient for infants. It aids newborn development and protects against infections.

The recipe is made ginisarap with AJI-GINISA® Flavor Seasoning Mix that provides meaty gisa deliciousness. See the recipe for Sweet Potato “Kamote” Nachos here.

Mini Spinach and Cheese Pizza

Spinach contains calcium, iron, and vitamin A to maintain bodily functions, including bone and muscle development. Vitamin E also reduces inflammation.

This dish uses PORKSAVOR® All-In-One Seasoning Mix. It is made from real pork extract and is complete with spices and seasonings. Make the Mini Spinach and Cheese Pizza by following the recipe here.

 

Eat Well, Live Well

 

“We at Ajinomoto do our best to uphold our Eat Well, Live Well promise.  At the core of our mission is to better take care of our consumers’ health.  Kudos to women who do so much for their families and communities. We hope that through these recipes we help take care of them too so they can continue to be amazing and achieve their goals,” says Roann Co, APC Group General Manager for Corporate Planning and Public Relations. 

 

For more delicious and healthy recipes, visit Ajinomoto’s Cookmunity website at cookmunitybyajinomoto.com.

 

Raising well-rounded children through positive reinforcement

In this day and age, modern parenting styles and new child behavior management methods have been developed. Just as every child is unique, every family also has their own set of ways for child-rearing, and what might work for one, might not work for another.

 

We often hear of positive reinforcement and how it has become one of the most advocated forms of establishing discipline in children. Many believe that acknowledging your child’s good behavior might work better even if it seems counterproductive at the beginning.

Berkeley Well-Being Institute¹ describes positive reinforcement as the method of increasing the future occurrence of some response or behavior by following that behavior with an enjoyable consequence. To put it plainly, recognizing and rewarding your child’s good behavior can eventually promote the recurrence of that behavior in the future.    

Why positive reinforcement?

The way you discipline your children can affect their long-term behavior. While it is critical that children should be disciplined, this does not imply that harsh verbal and physical punishments should be used. Positive reinforcement has the potential to provide longer-term benefits, which include a significant improvement in the bond between parent and child.

It can also help develop your child’s personality². Children are innately smart. They know that good behavior can lead to favorable consequences like rewards or even simple recognition. As they continue doing good and getting praised for it, the value of self-discipline and responsibility gets instilled in them. Children prompted by apprehension, on the contrary, may only conform with minimal effort — they only do the bare minimum to avoid punishment.

When you recognize your child’s positive behavior, you make them more confident and feel great about themselves. Your words of affirmation will surely set up your children for future accomplishments and successes. Rather than making them feel bad and focusing on what they did wrong, positive reinforcement can make them realize that they are innately good, and they can do great things.         

 

Finding the right partner in raising your child

“With all the million things that preoccupy our minds every day, thinking about our health and well-being might take a back seat,” Nandy Villar, AXA Philippines Chief Marketing Officer said. “Prioritizing your family’s needs doesn’t equate to neglecting your own. Somebody has to watch out for you as well, and this is where AXA Philippines comes in and provides you with protection you need.”

To help you focus on raising your children while looking out for yourself, AXA offers affordable health insurance products such as the Health Start Family plan, which can cover you and a loved one against top critical conditions like cancer, stroke, and heart attack for as low as P1,500 a month for a P1 million coverage. This plan can be shared between you and a spouse, a parent, a child aged 18 and above, or even a sibling. It also includes a built-in child cover worth P200,000 for children under 18 years of age, helping insure an entire family in a single plan.

Health Start Family also comes with a life insurance benefit, to help in taking care of your family’s needs in case of untimely demise. It also provides other value-added services such as free 24-hour medical teleconsultation, and mental health counselling through the Emma by AXA PH app.

Avail of Health Start through AXA’s trusted financial advisors. Visit axa.com.ph/healthstart to get you started today.

Choosing to give a voice amidst the silence : SM Scholar Alumna pursues a career in SPED

 Teaching surpasses the realms of jobs or professions–it encompasses service, vocation, and life mission. 

Proving this day and night are millions of Filipino teachers who stand as second mothers to students. One of them is Rosalie Macaspac, an SM scholar alumna who chose to pursue a career in Special Education (SPED).

Life’s work

Choosing to teach, especially pursue SPED, is a path less travelled. Out of over 800,000 public school teachers, only about 4,000 are in SPED, and Rosalie is one of the few who took the path. For 21 years now, the SM scholar alumna has dedicated her life to teaching SPED students. She wanted to empower and give special children a voice by advocating the welfare of deaf learners.

Rosalie Macaspac (left) interprets the contents of the program for her students.

With much dedication and determination to have the right skills for her students, she pursued graduate studies in special education and Filipino sign language at the Philippine National University and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, respectively. 

She currently teaches at the Philippine School for the Deaf in Pasay, the only government-owned institution for the deaf in the country. Here, she spearheaded the numeracy skills training program for deaf learners.

Embedding grit, greatness

Her journey to becoming an educator was not easy. Her parents separated when she was three years old, and her mother became the breadwinner. 

“In the early years of my life as a three year old, awareness of how hard life is became a part of my growing up. I grew up with a mindset that whatever happens, I will not abandon my studies. Sensing my determination, my mother earned a living by washing and ironing clothes of our neighbors. I came to realize my mom had to wash and press thousands and thousands of clothes so I could finish my studies. But I did not pity myself. Instead, I kept a strong determination to battle on and promised my mother that she will not grow old and die as a laundry woman,” she said.

The weight on their shoulder became heavier when her mother became bedridden for half a year. Instead of slowing her down, it did the opposite. She continued her studies with much determination. With the help of her uncle, the Missionaries of Charity, and the puto bigas she sold, they could get by. 

She finished primary school with good grades, and was a consistent honor student in high school, despite having one centavo allowance and rice and coffee as meals. With good standing, she had her mind set on her next goal: going to college.

“Giving up or surrendering wasn’t in my vocabulary. The strong heart of my mother was passed on to me as she was my inspiration to strive to get us out of the predicament we were in,” she stressed.

“When I was in fourth year high school, I was deep in thought of what to do to support my college education.  Then, God in all His goodness, stepped in again. The Guidance Office in our school announced that the SM Foundation was offering scholarships for qualified students. I knew at that very moment that He was with me. All I had to do is to apply for the scholarship,” she recalled.

Rosalie (fifth from left) and her fellow scholar alumni take a photo with SMIC Executive Director Harley Sy (third from left)

She vividly remembers sending her SM College Scholarship program application at the Customer Service of the SM in Quiapo and how she learned on May 9, 1995 that she would be interviewed for the scholarship in room 214 of the MSE Bldg. The three-digit number has since become unforgettable for her. By June 1995, Macaspac was among the SM scholars who had started their college education under the scholarship program.

According to her, the scholarship helped her become a well-rounded individual. It was the key to the realization of her dreams and paved the way to success. The activities provided by SM Foundation, such as the scholars’ assembly, the orientation, leadership training, sports fest and annual retreat, were very memorable for her.

“Looking back, the retreats, monthly meetings and being able to work in SM as an employee, followed up by our project director boosted my self-esteem and opened my world to service,” she said.

Rosalie at the Philippine School for the Deaf

Before teaching, she first worked as a Merchandise and Planning Control-Clerk at the SM Head Office, which was then located in Calle Echague, Manila. She was hired immediately after college.

Working in DepEd has always been her dream, and she is proud of where she is today: “Since day one of my college days, I aimed to be a public-school teacher. I am happy with my work now as a High School Teacher for Deaf learners. I am so privileged that I am in this community and my heart is entwined with my students.”  

“I am not ashamed to tell my colleagues that I had a humble beginning and I thank SM Foundation for putting me where I am now. I owe these blessings to SM, Henry “Tatang” Sy, SM Foundation, Ma’am Nilda Bernaldez, and my fellow SM-Scholars, most especially, my mother. They are all the instruments to why I chose to give back to a special community and dedicate my life to being an effective SPED teacher.”