EMOTIONAL WELLBEING

When we talk about Healthy Living or Healthy Lifestyle our minds are set on eating right and moving. As true as the above maybe it is incomplete without our Emotional Well being. This brings to my mind 'FORGIVENESS'.

Forgiving any grudge you have against people has surprising physical health benefits. Research shows that chronic anger is linked to diseases like heart diseases, stroke, lung disease and many other sicknesses. However Forgiveness will lower anxiety, reduce blood pressure and help you breathe better. These benefits are needed for better health as you age. It's over to you. Work on your Anger Control and live a healthier life.

COLON HEALTH

Do you want a clean healthy Colon (Large Intestine).
Then look out for what you eat. As some of us may known  risk factors like family history and age cannot be controlled, but we can control what we eat and our life style..

For a healthy gut consider the following:

1.  Regular exercises
2.  Regular Screening test

WHAT TO EAT:

Fish.             -  Full of omega 3 oil
Brown Rice. -  High fiber content helps clear toxins from the digestive tract.
Vegetables    -  Vegetables give our colons boost, thanks to anti-inflammatory compands they  
                         contain. Eat cucumber, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, kale, Ugu and lettuce.
Beans.          -  Beans have a strong concentration of protein and fiber, which may explain their
                         Cancer busting properties. Eat Chick peas, Lentils, Black eye beans and Brown
                         Beans.
Fruits.           -  Antioxidants in most fruits may also help slow the risk of Cancer. Remember the
                        saying: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away".
Walter.         -  Drink plenty of it. It helps weight loss, regularity, digestion, absorption, transportation
                        of nutrients and maintenance of body temperature.

SALMON; SUPER FOOD

Salmon is super food for heart health. it is rich in omega-3s. These healthy fats called omega-3s may help to protect the heart against deceases and lower blood pressure.

Eating Salmon may help reduce or improve inflammatory joint conditions.

Eating Salmon has been shown to improve brain function and maintain healthy nervous system.

As noted above eating salmon increases your cardiovascular health.

Salmon improves your eye health

Salmon helps build infant's brain

Salmon helps you sleep better.

SALAD OF THE DAY

This Healthy Light Meal or snack consist of Cucumber, Carrot and Tuna Flakes.  This crunchy salad tastes heavenly when eaten alone or in combination with other foods like toast, sweet potatoes (roasted, boiled, or steamed), rice, boiled plantain and boiled yams.

The cucumber is low in fat, bad cholesterol, sodium and its water content of about 95% wards off dehydration. It is also loaded with vitamins.

Carrots, aside from also consisting about 85% of water is also loaded with vitamins. The lutein and carotenoids characteristics of carrots are said to be good for eye health.

Tuna fish has a very high lever of omega 3 fatty acids, which help to reduce omega-6 fatty acids and cholesterol in the arteries and blood vessels, thereby reducing coronary heart disease.

Eating onions could lower the risk of several types of cancer, improve mood and maintain the health of skin.

 INGREDIENTS

1 Medium size cucumber
2 Medium size carrot stick
1 Small can of Tuna flakes in water
1 Medium size onions

No cooking time.

DIRECTION

Wash the cucumber, chop or dice it up
Wash the carrots, chop or dice it up
Clean and chop up the onions
Pour all chopped ingredient into a medium size mixing bowl
Add the tuna. Mix all together. I have added onions because it contains fiber and folic acid.
Your salad is ready. Enjoy it.

This salad serve six persons.

HEALTHY JUICE OF THE DAY "CARROT AND UGU (TELFAIRIA OCCIDENTALIS)

This juice made from Carrots and Ugu leaves is parked full of niutrents.

Carrots, we all know is rich in lutein and carotenoids that are good for our eye health. It also contains multiple minerals like Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Zinc etc.

While Ugu leaves, a very dark green leafy vegetables is very popular in West Africa. It contains lots of vitamins too. It is claimed to help control blood sugar, rich in Iron, boosts the immune system and much more.

If Ugu leaves is not available where you live you can substitute Spinach. Spinach is a super food and it's free of fat, cholesterol and caborhydrate. It contains the following, Potassium, Vitamin K, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A, Vitamin C.


INGREDIENTS

8 medium size Carrots
1/2 a cup of Ugu leaves

DIRECTION

Clean and wash Carrots
Clean and wash the Ugu leaves.
Place both in a juicer and process.
The result is this nice sweet tasting juice that is parked full of niutrents for your body/> Allow to cool in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before serving

HEALTHY OKRA/OGBONO AND VEGETABLE SOUP

 

 

 

Okra can be cooked on its own just like ogbono. I prefer to cook okra with ogbono because they complement each other. When you cook okra with ogbono, it gives the soup that drawing effect that is not there when okra is cooked by itself, the chewing okra you feel when eating the soup is not there when you cook ogbono alone.
Okra also known as lady's finger is one of the nutritious vegetables of Nigeria. Okra is rich in dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins. It is often recommended by nutritionists in choloesterrol controlling and weight management,
Ogbono is the seed of African wild mango tree. It is protain rich and when grounded and added to okra soup, it acts as a thickener.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup grounded ogbono
30 medium sized okra
4 table spoon of olive oil, or palm oil, (I prefer Olive Oil)
1 table spoon grounded dry pepper
1 table spoon locust beans (evbarie in Edo, Iru in Yoruba)
2 bouillon cubes (I use one knoor cube)
A hand full vegetable of choice (Spinach, Kale, Ugu, Greens)
500g Beef, six small pieces of ponmo about 2 inches each,
1 small Stock Fish cut into five pieces
2 medium size dry smoked fish of choice
1/2 cup grounded Cray Fish (sun dried shrimps)
Salt to taste

DIRECTION:
Ground the ogbono with a dry blender
Wash the beef, cut it up into pieces of 2 inches each, boil and set the stock aside
Wash the stock fish thoroughly making sure there are no insects
If the stock Fish is cod and very dry, you can boil it until it is soft or soak it in water for about 2 hours before adding it to the soup.
Wash the ponmo
Wash and debone the dry fish
Wash and cut up the okra, grate and set aside
Heat the oil in a pot. When the oil is hot add the ogbono
Stir until it dissolves. Mix the dry pepper in the beef stock and add to this.
As it starts to heat up, add the stock fish, knoor cube, crayfish, the cleaned dried smoked fish, boiled beef, locust beans and the ponmo. If the soup is tick add a little water for your desired consitency.
Allow to cook for about 25 minutes while stirring every 5 minutes to prevent burning.
When the ogbono is cooked, add the grated okra and vegetables.
Allow to simmer for about 5 to 8 minutes. Add salt to taste. Your soup is ready to be served.
This soup can be served with Pounded yam, Eba, Semovita, Amala, I serve this soup on my brown rice and is delicious.

NIGERIAN PEPPER SOUP

Nigerian pepper soup is a very spicy, aromatic broth that's very delicious. Pepper soup is a nation wide delicacy varied in style and contents depending on the part of the country you are in. It warms you up when it is very cold, relives you when you have the flu, good when a woman has just been delivered of a baby and soothing when recovering from any ailment. 

Types of Pepper Soup:

Fresh Fish pepper soup
Chicken pepper soup
Goat meat pepper soup
Sea food pepper soup (fish and shrimps)

I am preparing the Fish Pepper soup.

Ingredients 

500g Fresh Fish (any fish of your choice, tilapia, croaker or cat fish
Few Scent leaves, parsley, oziza or basil leaves
1 table spoon ground crayfish
1 medium size onion
Pepper soup spices like Calabash nutmeg, oziza  (pre-packaged pepper soup spices can be found in African stores abroad)
2 small pepper - Habanero or chilli pepper (to taste)
Salt (to taste)
2 stock cubes
Water

Direction

Wash, clean and cut up the fish into 1 inch slices, place in a pot, pour pre boiled hot water over the fish, stir and drain the water immediately. This is to firm up the skin so it does not easily come off while cooking.
Wash the vegetables and chop them up. 
Place the pepper and onions in a blender, add a little amount of water, process until very smooth. Pour this into a cooking pot, add a cup of water or as needed, add the spices and cray fish, allow to cook for about 20 minutes. Add the fish, stock cubes, cover and allow to cook for further 25 minutes. Add the vegetable, allow to simmer for 5 minutes, Salt to taste. 
Pepper Soup is always more delicious when eaten hot. 
This can be severed with boiled rice, sweet potatoes or yams.