by Amyline Quien Ching
It is not everyday that the world hands out a miracle.
It was just actress Jean Garcia’s extraordinary luck that she was given not just one but two precious miracles— her children Jennica and Kotaro.
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| Jeans' Eggplant Lasagna | | LOOKING AT 4-YEAR old Kotaro run from one corner of Jean’s newly-opened salon, Le Chic, to the other with as much speed as his small legs would take him, it is both difficult and easy to believe that all he had when he was born was a 30 percent chance of survival. To have lived seems a marvel in itself and yet to not have lived seems an insult to this little warrior’s ability and will to survive. Even his name, Kotaro, is an embodiment of his instinct for survival.
"His name means ‘healthy little tiger.’ His father named him that because he is a fighter. He was only six months when I gave birth to him. Sobrang premature. My water bag even broke when he was just 5 ½ months. His lungs had not yet developed so my doctor really did all he can to make him stay in my womb. Now, I can’t imagine him being so weak. Unlike some babies who were born on term, Kotaro rarely gets sick and he is so hyperactive. (And boy, do we know that!) always running around. I guess, one thing also that helped him become healthy in such a short time is the fact that he is not a picky eater," says Jean.
Between her two children, it is actually 16-year old Jennica, who is pickier with food. She would not eat most vegetables and is not so much fond of foods with sauce. Kotaro, on the other hand will eat anything… that is if it passes his personalized "smell test."
"Ang takaw niyan. Every minute, he will look for food but before he eats anything, aamuyin muna niya. If the food passed his standards, okay na. Even when he was little, he would gobble up everything I give him. Perhaps, that is also why he grew up to be so healthy and active," she mentions while shaking her head, as if she too cannot quite believe it happened.
Nutrition in disguise
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Mechado dish | | Of course, just because Kotaro will eat everything, he would just anything! Jean also makes it a point to prepare dishes that are both nutritious and delicious. She would often experiment with food, cooking it the way she knows her kids will love. Through the years, she has actually mastered the fine art of disguising the ingredients of her dishes.
"Nutrition does not have to be bland. Siyempre, you also make sure na masarap yung pagkain. Sometimes, kids are not being picky when they refuse to eat what you prepared. They just don’t like the taste. For instance, with vegetables… my daughter will not eat any. You know what I do, I sneak in vegetables in my dishes. I mince it or cut it in small pieces so that she will not know. After she eats it, then I will tell her that I added some vegetables. She’ll complain a bit but she’ll eat it and eat it again the next time I prepare it. Nakain na niya and she liked it kahit ano pa yung ingredients. Sometimes, it’s just all in the mind," she advises.
According to her, the trick is to make the dish not look and taste like it has vegetables. "Yung hindi halata." Another trick is to think of dishes that they already like and then add their "less than favorite" ingredients there. This almost always work… when you cooked it right.
Her experimentations is perhaps the reason why some of her specialty dishes border on the unusual like her Carbonara garnished with cherries on top or her eggplant lasagna, a dish that looks and tastes like popular pasta dish except that the main ingredients are different. Instead of the pasta, she layers it with eggplants. Instead of the usual meat in lasagna, she puts in chicken to make it healthier. She also adds cream and butter for taste. The recipe actually came from a friend of hers. The moment she tasted it, she knew that this is one dish that her kids will love. She remembered the first time she prepared it to her kids, they were so shocked when they found out that what they were eating with gusto was actually eggplant.
The dishes are so good that she decided to include them in the menu of her new business, a salon-cum-coffee shop in Balete Drive, Quezon City.
"I was actually the one who prepares everything here. Very hands on ako when it comes to the business because this is what I love to do, cooking and of course pagpapaganda," she says with a laugh.
Making favorites nutritious
The trouble with most parents is that they prepare nutritious dishes and expect it to be instant favorites. It does not work that way. It is the food that they already eat, the food that are already favorites that you have to make nutritious!
"Eating healthy is not hard to do and it does not have to be a trial. You just have to get to know your children, to look at their wants. You don’t just give them food and expect them to eat it when there are other foods available. Kailangan ibagay mo sa kanila. Dun makikita how well you know your kids. If you don’t papaano mo nga naman sila mapapakain ng masustansiya? With Jennica, for example, I don’t force her to eat pinakbet because she really does not like the taste. To compensate, I prepare her salad… with all the veggies that I can find," Jean reveals.
Never give up, never surrender
Still, she is also quite thankful that her kids are not hard to persuade. She cannot also blame some moms because there are kids that are just too stubborn to try anything and too disobedient to follow their instructions. When everything is already done and still there is no result, try other tricks. Never give up. Some moms just surrender and just let their kids eat what they want. This, according to Jean, should not be the case.
"Although they have choices, it’s our responsibility to widen the range of their choices. For example, when preparing dinner make sure that you have one or two dishes that you know they would eat and then prepare one that they don’t like much. That way, they are exposed to the dish.You can do something. If you have to barter with more TV time or a trip to their favorite mall, do it. It’s important that they eat good and nutritious food. At this point in time, it’s expensive to get sick. And with the fast-paced lifestyle, they need their energy more than ever."
This of course does not mean that you should start depriving them with foods that are not so nutritious and exchanging them with nutritious ones. It is also sometimes a good idea to let them eat what they want. The trick is to balance it out.
"Mahirap talagang maging nanay. You can’t do this and you can do that. But if you do this, don’t do it too much. It’s really complicated but it’s fun. It’s a battle of wits really where you and your children both come out the victors."
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