Green leafy vegetables are healthy foods

Nutrition

Notes to broadcasters

The following messages about the nutritional value of dark green leafy vegetables are presented as radio spots.  Radio spots are short messages that are meant to change people’s behaviour or actions.  They usually last five seconds to two minutes.   In a radio spot the broadcaster must appeal to the audience’s emotions and intelligence.  Spots are repeated every day for a week, a month, or more.  Or they can be broadcast two or three times a day for just a few days, depending on the message.  Spots can be presented  in a variety of different formats: narratives, testimonials, dialogues or dramas.

Script

Spot #1: Don’t overcook green leafy vegetables

SOUND EFFECTS (Kitchen sounds, such as food cooking and sizzling, pots clacking together…).

Mother:
Abby, I have almost finished cooking the meat for supper. Have you finished chopping the spinach?

Daughter:
Yes. Can I put the spinach in the soup now?

Mother:
No, not yet. I always wait until the last minute to add the greens to the stew.

Daughter:
Why is that, Mother?

Mother:
Green leafy vegetables are very nutritious. But they lose some of their nutrients when you cook them. So you must not cook them too much.

Daughter:
This soup will be delicious — AND nutritious!

Program host:
[With background music or as a song]

Leafy greens are good for your health. Cook them a little. Eat them a lot.

– END –


Spot #2: Eat, don’t sell your green leafy vegetables

Luisa:
Good morning, Mama Rosa. Are you coming from your garden?

Mama Rosa:
Yes Luisa, today I harvested some onions and some green leafy vegetables. I am taking the onions home to eat. But I will sell the green leafy vegetables at the market. I hope they will get a good price.

Luisa:
But Mama Rosa, aren’t you going to cook some of the leafy greens for your family? Dark green leafy vegetables are good food for your children. They are FULL of nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. I always save some leafy greens to cook for my family.

Mama Rosa:
This is good advice. If I sell all my leafy greens, the people who buy them will be healthy — but not my own children!

Program host:
Don’t sell all of your green leafy vegetables. Save some for your family! They will keep your children healthy and strong. And remember — the most nutritious vegetables are FRESH vegetables! Eat them soon after harvest.

– END –


Spot #3: Wild green leafy vegetables

Green leafy vegetables are good for you.

They contain important nutrients that keep your children healthy and strong.

But what are the best green leafy vegetables to grow and eat?

Some common leafy vegetables that people grow are Swiss chard, lettuce and spinach.

But the best, most nutritious leafy greens might not be growing in the garden.

They may be growing at the side of the road, or in the bush.

Yes, it’s true!

Some of the most nutritious green vegetables are the leaves that grow on wild trees, bushes and small plants.

But not all green leaves can be eaten.

Some are poisonous and can make you sick.

If you do not know which ones to eat, be sure to ask somebody.

Perhaps the older people and some of the women in your community will know what green leafy vegetables are safe to eat and how to prepare them.

Some of the most nutritious green vegetables are growing in the bush!

No cost to you!!

– END –


Spot #4: Green leafy vegetables are healthy foods

Dark green leafy vegetables are good to eat.

They give you vitamins and minerals that we all need for good health.

Dark green leafy vegetables provide the “eyesight vitamin” that gives children clear eyes and good vision.

Children who do not get enough of the “eyesight vitamin” can become blind.

Children, pregnant women, and mothers who are breastfeeding should be especially careful about getting enough green leafy vegetables in their diets.

Make sure everybody in your family eats green leafy vegetables.

– END –


Spot #5: Some rules about green leafy vegetables

Green leafy vegetables are good for your health.

Do you know how to choose the most nutritious ones?

The best green leafy vegetables are a dark green colour.

They are EASY to grow!

Eat them soon after you pick them.

Cook them just a little — not too much!

(TO MUSIC)

Green leafy vegetables are good to eat.

Full of vitamins A and C.

The best way to cook them is

Just a little

And the best way to eat them?

As much as you can!

– END –

Acknowledgements

Contributed by: Jennifer Pittet, Researcher/writer, Toronto, Canada.

Reviewed by: Daniel Sonke, Director of Information Programs, Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization (ECHO), 17391 Durrance Road, N. Ft. Myers, FL 33917 USA.

Information sources

Green leaves,” Leaflet #6, 1983, 6 pages. South Pacific Commission Community Education Training Centre, Box 5082, Raiwaqa Post Office, Suva, Fiji.

Edible leaves of the tropics (3rd edition), by Franklin Martin, Ruth M. Ruberté and Laura S. Meitzner, 1998. Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization (ECHO), 17430 Durrance Road, North Fort Myers, FL 33917-2239, USA.

El spot radiofónico (The radio spot), by Amable Rosario, 1991, 90 pages. Radio Nederland Training Centre, San José, Costa Rica.

Drying green leaves in the sun, David Kennedy, 1998. Leaf for Life, 260 Radford Hollow Rd., Big Hill, KY 40405 USA.

Smart eating includes dark green leafy vegetables,” Developing Countries Farm Radio Network, script 25-8, March 1992.