Miguel Braganza
The just concluded annual ‘Festival of Plants and Flowers’ gave us a sneak peek into the minds of the school students regarding food containing millets. The Green Heritage Eco Club of SFX School, Siolim, selected the theme ‘Millets in our Meals’ for its 31st edition. In this IYM 2023 (International Year of Millets), the students clearly displayed that they have learnt more than we adults know about the humble finger millet or nachne. They came up with new age products like brownies, chocolate cookies, noodles and tossed salads with nachne sprouts that children and youth love to eat.
It is time for the elders to sit back and listen to the children. If one wants them to be healthy and eat millets, it is important that we do not force them to eat millets like we used to do when we were their age.’ We have to live and eat in the present. The students of Keerthi Vidyalaya, Siolim, underlined the fact that finger millet is not good for everyone as many oldies believe. Today, hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism are a reality of life. Finger millet consumption will aggravate the condition if one has hypothyroidism or iodine deficiency linked goitre. However, it is great millet to eat if one has hyperthyroidism or is gluten-intolerant. Finger millet is gluten-free like jackfruit seed and both can be used to make bread, roti, chappati or biscuits for the ever-increasing number of gluten intolerant persons. The Keerthi team of Anvi Vengurlekar and Vidisha Vernekar picked the second prize in the projects competition.
There was an era when all people could eat bread made from wheat flour, leavened or unleavened. The miracle of the five loaves and two fish would not make sense now when some persons are gluten intolerant while others are fish protein intolerant. There are also vegetarians and vegans who would have problems eating fish.
Our insistence that what was good for us in our childhood is good for our child does not take into consideration that the times have changed and so have we. The students of a village school drove home this point. They recorded videos of their interaction with farmers, dieticians and others which they showed to the judges a part of the footage on a tab. Vegetable sources like pulses can provide the proteins and so can millet sprouts. Lourdes Convent High School, Saligao, team of Kaveri Amonkar and Janiva Fernandes took home the third prize.
Chubby Cheeks Spring Valley High School, Pilerne has been consistently winning the first place for almost a decade now. The team consisting of Siya Salgaokar and Purva Mandrekar had everything from brownies to tizan and Satva to noodles, all displayed tastefully besides being tasty. Their presentation was crisp and their diction on point. Spring Valley High School prides itself on promoting gardening in school and at homes of the students, especially during the COVID19 pandemic. The IYM 2023 belongs to such students.
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