UNRIPE PLANTAIN CHIPS

Ingredients

• 2 Unripe Plantains
• 1 tbsp. of sugar (optional)
• Frying oil for deep frying

Preparations

• Peel the back of the plantains. Watch how you can do that here
• Grate and sprinkle little sugar on them.
• Heat up the oil and then fry little batches until crunchy
• Allow to cool, then serve.

Healthy Snacks

Losing weight is something I struggle with day in day out. Before I had my first child, I was size 8/10. After I had him, I became size 14/16. Since then until now, I have fought tooth and nail to lose weight but to no avail. My main obstacle to losing weight is the amount of junk foods and snacks I consume despite the fact I cook healthy meals always. I love sweet things…

Hubby came up with the idea that I need to ditch all the junks and switch them with healthy nuts and mix fruits. I listened to the voice of reason and so far it has been working. Not only does the nuts give me those crunchy feelings I crave for from biscuits n all but also the mixed fruits gives the sweetness that satisfies my sweet tooth.

I would be sharing my progress here, from snacking to meal options…

Cashew and almond nuts with mixed-dry fruits; a healthy way to snack which could help improve your diet and enable weight loss.

Cashew:

Cashew nut is jam-packed with nutritional content. It has 5 grams of protein per ounce and high levels of the essential minerals, such as iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper and manganese; which are utilized in holistic health solutions and healthy diets.

These nuts do have a relatively high fat content (12 grams per ounce, 2 grams saturated fat); but it is considered “good fat.” This is due to the agreeable fat ratio in the nut, 1:2:1 for saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated, respectively; which scientists say is the ideal ratio for optimal health. Cashew nut do also have a fatty acid profile that contributes to good health.

Almond:

Almond nut is often eaten on its own, raw or toasted. Almonds nuts are a rich source of vitamin E containing 26 mg per 100 g. About 20 percent of raw almond is high quality protein; a third of which are essential amino acids.

An ounce of almonds contains 12% of necessary daily protein. They are also rich in dietary fiber, B vitamins, essential minerals and monounsaturated fat, one of the two fats which potentially may lower cholesterol.

Potential health benefits, which have not been scientifically validated, include improved complexion and possibly a lower risk of cancer. A preliminary trial showed that using Almond nuts in the daily diet might lower the contents of several factors associated with heart diseases.

Mixed Dry Fruits:

In general, all dried fruits provide essential nutrients and an array of health protective bioactive ingredients, making them valuable tools to both increase diet quality and help reduce the risk of chronic disease.

The reason is that dried fruits retain most of the nutritional value of fresh fruits. Dried fruits are not only important sources of vitamins, minerals and fibre in the diet but also provide a wide array of bioactive components that could help the body to successfully fight many different diseases. 

Eat healthy, snack healthy and thank me later…

COW LEG NKWOBI - the abroad style!

There are days when a friend from far away calls to say they will be visiting. Most times we rack our brain, thinking of what to offer these visitors. At the end of the day, we still go along with rice. C’mon, a friend won’t travel that distance just for you to offer  the same thing they've been eating. We have to be creative at times in the kitchen. Prepare a meal that will make them feel welcomed, loved and cherished.

Your food says a lot about you. It can portray more than you can ever imagine and please don’t be stingy when it comes to food. Me for one, I love to entertain my family/friends/visitors… For those of us living abroad, it could be hard because there are no varieties of foods stuff available except if you managed to bring things from back home. Today, I will be sharing the cow leg nkwobi recipe.

For those of us expecting loads of friends this Christmas, this could be the touch you are looking for.

uncooked cow leg

INGREDIENTS

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·      3 Knorr cubes

·      A bulb of onion

·      Potash (akawu)

·      Abacha

·      Ugba

·     palm oil

·      Salt

·      Pepper

·      Crayfish

·      Cow leg

PREPARATIONS

cooked and scraped cow leg

Abacha

Ugba

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·      Spice the cow leg with 2 Knorr cubes and a pinch of salt

·      Cooking the cow leg until done, soft and tender (I usually cook mine a night before because it takes longer time to cook).

·      Remove the cooked cow leg from the pot leaving the water behind

·      Scrape out the meaty parts, cut into smaller pieces, plate them and set aside

·      Blend the crayfish and pepper: set aside

·      In a sieve, put in a small portion of abacha

·      Boil water and pour on the abacha so as to moisten and soften it

·      Set aside to cool

·      In a small soup bowl, put in the potash and add the boiled water

·      Use a tablespoon and stir the potash to aid melting

·      In a frying pan, put in the ugba and fry so as to dry the water

DIRECTIONS

 

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·      In a clean medium pot, put in the processed cow leg, the abacha and ugba

·      Add in the blended crayfish and pepper

·      Add a cube of knorr

·      Then add about 2 to 3 soup spoons of the water from the cooked cow leg

·      Add a soup spoon of red oil (you can add more to your satisfaction)

·      Put the pot on a gas-low heat

·      Use a wooden spoon, stir in the potash until the colour of the red oil changes

·      Continue to stir until the mixture has blended.

·      Serve hot!  

Nkwobi ukwu efi

recently made this, chopped the cow leg smaller and added more ugba.

I hope this helps.

Happy Sunday y’all.

Your comments would be appreciated.

Stay blessed!