MENOPAUSE: Food that helps 2

Omega-3 fats may help with hot flashes suggests a new study in the journal Menopause.They think that omega-3s may assist in the production of neurotransmitters that help the body to maintain an even temperature.The Mediterranean diet—which includes lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, olive oil and even a daily glass of red wine—is associated with healthier hearts and slimmer waists. Additionally, new research shows that menopausal women who eat a Mediterranean-style diet are about 20 percent less likely to report hot flashes and night sweats.

Fiber: adding more fiber to your diet during menopause helps prevents constipation while lowering cholesterol and blood glucose,Using fiber-rich products to replace things such as pasta and white bread (i.e., refined carbohydrates) can make your system run much smoother.

Calcium: With age comes the greater concern over bone health. Calcium is well known to be great for building strong bones and it can ensure that you don't suffer from the potential debilitating symptom of osteoporosis. Find it in almonds, orange juice, and salmon.

Soy: Soy products contain phytoestrogens; these plant compounds mimic the effects of estrogen in the body and can help balance hormones.Getting soy from foods is encouraged,  soybeans, including edamame, are high in isoflavones which are credited with producing the healthy benefits, experts now believe they also work in other ways, such as having antioxidant properties, they can be found in soy flour, soy protein isolate, and miso soup  action. 

Fat: Good fats are needed in your diet every day. Whether you are 10 or 50, they are important to the body – in moderation, of course. They help balance hormones whilst also moderating appetite and vitamin absorption. One should research further to learn which fats relate to any specific medical problems.

Beans: are nutritious and capable of helping your body functioning. They regulate your system and they are also high in folic acid, vitamin B6 and calcium. Chili and salads are two great places to add beans, so that your diet incorporates this essential food.
In all this is a natural time in the lives of every woman and not to be dreaded nor be scared of, with sufficient information, you could actually enjoy the process with less stress and much more control.

MENOPAUSE: Food that helps!

Suddenly sweat poured down her face as if a bucket of water was dumped on her, even at night after taking a cold shower , it was still same, this minute her body will cool down enough for her to sleep the next she's jumping up opening all the windows for fresh air and practically freezing her husband to death because he's not even sweating while she was drowning in it, coupled with the fact that she could not sleep through the night.
 `What is happening to me', she kept asking herself but she just could not come up with any answer, going to the hospital she felt will be a stupid move i mean how do you tell the doctor that you came to see him just because of sweat; ridiculous! Then the headache started that defied all analgesic ,she had no choice at this point but to go see the doctor because without being told, she knew something is certainly wrong with her.
Imagine her shock when at the hospital her blood pressure reading was literally gone through the roof, the doctor laugh and said, 'madam you have entered one chance', what's that she asked, well turned out she was not dying afterall but experiencing serious hormonal changes...welcome to the world of MENOPAUSE!
Menopause is the end of a woman's menstrual cycle and fertility. It happens when the ovaries no longer make estrogen and progesterone, two hormones needed for a woman's fertility, and periods have stopped for 1 year. As a woman ages, there is a gradual decline in the function of her ovaries and the production of estrogen. Estrogen regulates the menstrual cycle and affects the reproductive system, urinary tract, heart and blood vessels, bones, breasts, skin, hair, mucous membranes, pelvic muscles, and brain. As a result, women can experience the symptoms of menopause over their entire body which includes hot flashes, irregular menstrual cycle, low libido, insomnia or problem sleeping; However, good nutrition can help prevent or reduce certain conditions that may develop during and after menopause. Next week as its our pattern we will focus on the type of food that helps women going through this period or preparing for it as its a necessary cycle in the life of any woman between the age of 45-52years.

World Egg Day!

Its world egg day and though a food blogger on the side i was rather taken aback when i first heard this. I didn't know nor realised that there is actually a day set aside to celebrate egg or rather encourage people to eat more eggs.
Over the years i have read a lot of research on the nutritional benefit and the importance of including egg in our food, growing up as a child i was not deprived of eating this in fact great emphasis was place on us children eating eggs as oppose adults especially when i hear of egg being a delicacy in some homes due to inability of parents to afford such simple meal for their children. But i have realised growing up that egg dish is actually not a main dish in our food in Nigeria and so one could excuse away the emphasis on not having it in regular dish, we derive our source of protein from other food like Beef, Beans and fish.
Eggs are very versatile food that can be prepared in different ways or be incorporated into meals and serve a just meal on its own, like baking,boiling, frying, or steaming. The whites are rich sources of selenium, vitamin D, B6, B12 and minerals such as zinc, iron and copper and the yolks contain more calories and fat. They are the source of cholesterol, fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K and lecithin - the compound that enables emulsification in recipes such as or mayonnaise.
My favourite way of eating egg is as a snack when i make it into scotch egg, absolutely delightful, very easy and fast to make and tasty too.

Heres a free recipe for this snacks, go ahead!
6 Hard boiled eggs, cooled and peeled.
1 pound tube sausage.
2 eggs
1 tbsp water
Salt
1 cup crushed bread crumbs

Method: Cut a little bit of the sausage meat and use it to cover one egg, roll it in your breadcrumbs and whisk egg, then back in breadcrumbs again and deep fried. Do same for the remaining eggs and enjoy,

ANOREXIA: A hidden danger!

I decided to talk about this topic not from a personal experience but from the many research and write ups I have read on it. Why now you may ask? My answer would be that it’s a trend that I see creeping slowly but gradually amongst women particularly this generation. Being thin is being celebrated and used as a yard stick for healthy lifestyle regardless of whether it’s true or not.

I see young ladies, and also the not so young ones, embarking on a suicidal mission in the name of staying healthy without a clear cut direction of why they are embarking on the diet or to what purpose other than to be able to post a selfie looking trendy with all the curves in the right places and ability to project the image. This they do without realising that they are practically starving themselves to death.

Ladies please, get in touch with a professional dietician or nutritionist before embarking on any diet of any sort because you might be dancing around being anorexia.

Anorexia is a complex eating disorder with three key features: refusal to maintain a healthy body weight, an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted body image.

It is very important for you to know that there is a right and wrong way to weight loss and a very thin line between that and the above topic. People with anorexia often deny having a problem, the truth is that anorexia is a serious and potentially deadly eating disorder. Fortunately, recovery is possible. With proper treatment and support, you or someone you care about can break anorexia’s self-destructive pattern and regain health and self-confidence.

Remember that your self-esteem should be based on more than just weight and body image and not entirely on how much you weigh and how thin you are, you should learn to like yourself in any shape, controlling your weight should be because you want to live longer to achieve a lofty purpose, try to love yourself in whatever shape you are, most often than not lack of self confidence and peer pressure also leads one down this part without realising it.

Reading up on how the human system functions and what you need to do to stay alive in terms of food and calorie content should be your yardstick, that is intelligent information and not  someone telling you you are fat, remember health is wealth!

Aficana Salad: Utazizi

Africana salad; Utazi, utazizi or otherwise known by the biological name Gongronema latifolium is a specie belonging to the bitter leaf family is mostly used for used for pregnant, lactating mothers and for sick people,in making pepper soup, i tell you it has this beautiful flavour that gives a touch of home cooking to your soups and also used to garnished your sauce, it is one must have spice for preparing pepper soup, banga or palm kernel soup, mixed okro soup.
I always wonder why i like it so much, it bring back for me fond memories of my mother care and love particularly when i took ill and it seems i was going to fade away from my inability to eat no matter how delicious the food prepared seems, it just all taste like sawdust in my mouth. Mum prepared a simple pepper soup using this leaf with just crayfish and gave me to drink it on empty stomach, it was like a miracle because i was eating ravenously from then on.
Based on the research i carried out, i discover that aside from the medicinal value, it actually has many other nutritional benefits,it has an excellent source of protein and contain a high dose of amnion acid as well,when infused its also helpful in treating malaria.

African Salad

Cookery is not only an art but also a survival skill, our body crave nutrient in proper proportion, this recipe is an all time favorite from the Igbo tribe of Nigeria and its a bundle of wholesome nutrients from the ingredient which is made mostly from vegetable, cassava flakes, fish, meat or better still cow skin popularly called "Pomo" and raw palm oil, it does not require cooking over fire. It's very filling but at the same time does not contain much calories. However as a first time visitor to Nigeria, be careful not to eat much off it at a time so as to prevent frequent stooling 

Ingredients:

6 to 8 cups of Abacha (African Salad)
1 to 2 cups Of Ugba
1/2 cup of crayfish
1 to 2 cubes of  stock cube
10cl of palm oil
1 teaspoon of edible powdered potash
salt and pepper to taste.
3 to 5 garden eggs (optional)
Utazi leaves
Garden egg leaves (optional)
Meat/dry fish or stock fish.(optional)

Heat or soak the dry Abacha in boiled water for about three minutes, then sieve and keep on a separate bowl.

Blend your crayfish and also slice the onions, garden egg leaves. It is advisable to dissolve the powdered potash in about 5 cl of clean water; this is to easily filter out unwanted solid materials that is often embedded in potash.Pour the dissolved potash into a mortar or pot leaving out the residue.

Add about 10cl of palm oil and stir to form a yellowish paste (ncha, as addressed by the igbos), This is the first part to making Abacha (African Salad), add the ground crayfish and pepper, stir, Ugba is an important ingredient in the process of making African salad, it is considered incomplete without the present of this ingredient. Ugba is usually sold in most Nigerian markets 

Add the ugba to the mixture and stir, and then add the abacha, Stir thoroughly .

The garden eggs, the leaves and the onions are used mostly to spice up or for decoration purposes and not added during preparation but while dishing out. They are often sliced and kept aside in different plates or bowls, then added while individual plates are dished out; this also goes for the meat or fish used. Serve with the meat and also add the garden eggs (sliced) and leaves to individual plate, goes well with chilled palm wine or any soft drink of your choice. 

Enjoy your meal!

The many benefits of Lemon grass

Lemon grass, also called fever grass, is a perennial plant with thin, long leaves As the name implies, lemon grass smells like lemon, but it tastes milder and sweeter.
This herb is used in various Asian cuisines as a flavouring agent due to its potent flavour.

• Nutritionally, lemon grass is a good source of vitamins A and C, foliate, folic acid, magnesium, zinc, copper, iron, potassium, phosphorus, calcium and manganese. It also has minute traces of B vitamins.
• Along with its culinary uses, lemon grass is useful in alternative or complementary remedies for a wide range of ailments. Lemon grass tea is most often used in home remedies for various health issues. You can brew the tea by steeping one teaspoon of fresh or dried lemon grass in a cup of hot water for about 10 minutes. Strain, add any desired sweetener and your tea is ready.
• Its a very effective treatment of malaria fever, to prepare simply boil the grass with lime and drink
  
  as often as possible.

Back to School Delight!

Wow! You mean the holiday is over and we are back to school runs, early morning breakfast, pick-ups and all the things that make mothering so much fun and satisfying. That’s how I feel most times, or don’t you feel the same way?
I have had a truly wonderful time with the kids this particular holiday making me very creative in keeping those little tummies full all the time…lol! I have now confirmed that truly you eat more when you have so much time on your hand, because it’s as if as soon as they've eaten, all I'm hearing is mum I'm hungry.
Now that school have resumed, I have to put on my thinking cap and come up with food to ease them slowly back to regimented meal. You don’t want to give them too much food since they are not running around all day burning them off but filling foods that will slowly release the energy they need hence the above menu that I call “back to school delight”. It’s a medley of potatoes, baby carrot, scramble eggs and a little corned beef. You can also add peas if you want.

Ingredient:

2 Irish or Sweet potatoes
3 baby carrots
1 egg
A handful of peas
2 tablespoon corn beef or fish flakes
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion

Method:

Peel potatoes, scrape carrot and cut into 2 equal parts.
Add the oil in your skillet and sauté the diced onion until translucent.
Add the corn beef or fish flakes, stir lightly and then add your washed potatoes and a little water.
Boil until tender and add the carrot and peas.
Allow to boil together till tender, which will take about 5 minutes, before adding the egg.
Stir together and in no time it’s ready! You can serve immediately. I don’t recommend it as packed lunch, because it does not taste so great when it’s cold.

SO what's the nutritional value in this meal for a growing child? Potatoes and carrot provides good sources of several essential nutrients including vitamin A, potassium and dietary fibre couple with the fact that they realease energy slowly in the system and are easily to digest.