A Guide to Healthy and Nutritious Nigerian Meals

The first word that comes to mind when considering Nigerian food or Nigerian cuisine is ‘spicy’. But spicy is also healthy. The main ingredient in Chilli peppers is capsaicin which is responsible for the hot taste of peppers. Capsaicin contains many antioxidants. The hot taste of peppers suppresses appetite and can assist weight loss. Chilli peppers are used in most meals and are eaten throughout the day. But a word of warning, chilli peppers have to be eaten in moderation, it is an acquired taste.

Bean based meals also rank high in taste, nutrition and health. The most popular of this is Moimoi or Bean pudding. As a meal made from the bean flour, Moi Moi is high in protein and fibre. There are garnishings such as fish and eggs that add to the nutritional value of this meal. Other bean based meals are cooked and mixed beans, akara and gbegiri soup.

Rice is the most popular meal in Nigeria and is eaten practically every day. The Nigerian grown variety of Rice popularly called ‘ofada rice’ and forms part of street food is a particularly healthy rice variety. It is effectively brown rice as opposed to white rice which has not been over refined and as such it has retained fibre and slow releases energy. It does not therefore cause a spike in blood sugars as most refined carbs do.

Nigerian Soups …eaten with the fufu or ‘swallow’ and not a starter to a meal as in other parts of the world. Our soups are cooked with healthy ingredients. Tops are the vegetable soups such as Efo Riro (Spinach), Bitter Leaf and Edikaikong. Other soups rich in nutrients are Egusi soup and Ogbono soup to name a few.

Palm Oil. Palm Oil has had a bad rap in the last decade or so for a couple of reasons. Firstly the plantation mode of cultivating Palm Oil in certain areas of the world has led to deforestations in those areas. Also Palm Oil is said to be high in saturated fats. However those attributes may relate more to highly refined Palm Oil which undergoes a series of manufacturing processes. Nigeria and most of West Africa continue to use unrefined palm oil which is far less processed and in so doing, retains most of its nutritional value. Palm Oil has many vitamins and micro-nutrients which support brain function, reduce heart disease risk factors and improve Vitamin A status.

Last but not least, is our tomatoes. Tomatoes are a major dietary source of antioxidants which are linked to reduced risk of heart disease and cancer. Tomatoes feature heavily in the Nigeria stew easily the most widespread sauce in Nigeria as well as in Jollof Rice, the best known meal with the West African sub region.

EazyNaijaFoods.com stock a range of easy to cook or ready made versions of some of the meals mentioned here.