Page 41 - Fiji Traveller 7

WE LOVE OUR VEGGIES

From passion project to award-winning children’s book

By Vittoria Pasca Her hope is that “once children learn about health and nutrition,
they will share their knowledge with their siblings, parents and
The idea to publish an educational book to teach children to grandparents too, starting a virtuous circle in the family”.
appreciate local fruits and vegetables came from a chat I had We love our veggies is a colouring, activity and recipe book divided
with chef Sikipio Fihaki from Niu Grillz: “Kids love colouring, why into two chapters. The first focuses on vegetable growing, plant
don’t you publish a children’s book which teaches them about identification and eco-friendly activities such as recycling food
healthy eating and nutrition while they colour?” he asked me. scraps and used containers, while the second chapter covers
But for the project to work, I needed to find the right person with nutrition and healthy cooking, and includes several recipes, as
a background in pedagogy and creative teaching to complement well as activities and trivia about nutrition.
my nutrition and cooking skills. Courtney Underwood-Dass was Courtney explains that “when putting together a health-
the perfect fit: an early learning educator and former television conscious activity book, our main aim was to make something
producer and host loved by a generation of Fijian kids. She fun and engaging, while also teaching kids - and maybe some
really liked the idea too, so we started to work on it as a passion adults - about the variety of wonderful fruits and vegetables we
project, not really sure if the actual book would ever materialise. have available here in Fiji.
In June 2023, We love our veggies came to life with the help of “Despite the competition from the readily-available processed
illustrators Ropate Kama and Clarence Dass. Fully designed and junk foods all around us, I hope that our book will teach kids
in Fiji, thanks to the collaboration of local talent and small that eating healthy can be fun and worth the effort, whether it be
businesses, the book was awarded the ‘Fijian Designed’ by going down to the market, or by growing things in your own
emblem by the Fiji government. backyard.”
Fiji’s First Lady, Mme Filomena Katonivere launched the
book with the observation that despite all the abundance of The book won the silver medal at the 2023 Best in the World
tasty, nutritious and healthy produce available all year round in Gourmand Awards in the category ‘Food Books for Children –
Fiji, sometimes getting children to eat greens can be a bit of Oceania’.
a challenge: “Even my grandkids sometimes don’t want to eat
rourou [taro leaves], so I have to find creative ways of preparing Vittoria Pasca is a Fiji-based nutritionist, lifestyle medicine
it to make it more appealing,” she said. professional and award-winning book author.

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