Nutrition
Celebrating Christmas the healthy way
Eat healthy during this festive season
In this chapter, we will go to town on the healthy dietary choices and return home on the ones to take in moderation or avoid completely.
To start us off, let’s address the fufu eaters. For us, we can eat fufu with any soup of our choice. Some of the best proteins to add to our soup are fish and boiled egg.
With meats, preferred will be white meats such as chicken, turkey, and rabbit. If it must be red meat, every fatty part must be trimmed off (lean meat), because red meats can increase our blood cholesterol, leading to conditions like hypertension.
For our rice dishes, optimal recipes include brown rice with any stew of our choice (protein choices, above will be applied here also), and to top it off, assorted vegetable salad can be added to the meals to make it healthier and it also increases its visual appeal, boosting appetite.
In preparation of our Christmas time pastries, we should choose fresh vegetable oil instead of old stale oils or animal fats such as butter and lard.
For our beverage choices, the best would be to make homemade juices from freshly blended and squeezed fruits.
Soft drinks and alcohol should be taken sparingly, because too much of these can predispose us to diabetes and liver failure.
If we can make these simple lifestyle choices, we can better our health and live long to enjoy many more Christmases.
All this being said, we must remember that portion sizes and the timing of our meals is key in making a lasting difference in our health.
I would love to wish us all happy holidays and a fruitful festive season!
By Bernice Korkor Asare
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The writer is a Dietician and CEO of Holistic Health Consult
“Your diet your health, your health your wealth”
E-mail:info@holistichealth
—consult.org
Nutrition
Nourishing Ghana Starts with Us: The role of citizens
The success of Ghana’s fight against malnutrition does not rest solely in the hands of the government or donors. It depends on us, the citizens. Nutrition is not just a technical issue. It is a societal one, and every Ghanaian has a role to play in ensuring that no child goes hungry, no mother is left unsupported, and no community is forgotten.
As citizens, we must shift how we see nutrition: not as a private family concern, but as a collective national responsibility. Here’s how we can act:
1. Demand accountability
Every citizen has the right and responsibility to ask how public funds are being used to support nutrition. Are local clinics stocked with supplements? Are school feeding programmes working in your district? Are maternal health services adequately funded? Ask questions. Engage assembly members. Attend town hall meetings. Make your voice count.
2. Speak up, Speak out
Silence has a cost. When we fail to speak out against malnutrition, we normalise it. Use your platform, whether it is WhatsApp group, a radio show, a church gathering, or social media, to raise awareness. Normalise conversations about child feeding, food quality, and maternal health. Silence keeps systems broken. Voices drive change.
3. Support local solutions
Support or join community nutrition initiatives. Volunteer. Share what you know. Help spread accurate information about breastfeeding, healthy diets, and hygiene. If you are a farmer, teacher, trader, or youth leader, your knowledge and effort can make a difference. Change starts in our homes and neighbourhoods.
4. Protect the first 1,000 days
Whether you are a father, grandmother, neighbor, or employer, support pregnant women and caregivers during this crucial period. Encourage antenatal care. Help with child care. Prioritise nutritious foods. The first 1,000 days of a child’s life lay the foundation for everything that follows.
When citizens care, ask questions, take action, and show solidarity, we create the conditions for lasting change. Malnutrition is not inevitable. It is a symptom of neglect, and neglect ends when citizens choose to act.
Feature article by Women, Media and Change under its Nourish Ghana: Advocating for Increased Leadership to Combat Malnutrition Project
Nutrition
Ga Kenkey
Ga kenkey, a staple in Ghanaian cuisine, is prepared with fermenting corn dough, then cooking a portion of it to create ‘aflata’ or ‘banku’. It is a popular food in the southern part of Ghana.
Ingredients:
-8 cups of dried corn
-Dried corn leaves (for wrapping)
-2 tablespoonful of stew
Preparation
-Soak corn in water overnight
-Grind corn into a powder form
-Mix the ground corn with water (dough)
-Mix part of the dough with water and put it on fire to cook
-Take the pot off the fire and mix in the remaining dough .
– When ready shape mixture into balls and set every prepared ball on a corn leaf.
– Cover each ball by wrapping the corn leaf around it
– Put water on fire. Add wrapped kenkey to boil for 45 minutes.
– When ready take them out carefully and serve them along with shito, ground pepper and fish.
