Nutrition
Homemade Ghanaian salted beef
Homemade Tolo beef
In Ghana, salted beef is commonly used as a flavour enhancer in soups, stews, and sauces. It is added to dishes when cook ing to infuse a rich, salty, and slightly fishy flavour.
It adds a unique taste and flavour to tra ditional Ghanaian recipes.
Ingredients
• 2 pounds of beef
• 1 cup of salt
• 1 tablespoonful of ground ginger
• 1 tablespoonful of ground cloves
• 1 tablespoonful of ground coriander
• Water for boiling
Preparation
-Rinse beef under cold water and pat it dry with paper towels. Cut beef into large, manageable pieces.
-Combine the salt, groundginger, ground cloves, ground allspice, ground coriander, and ground black pepper in a bowl and mix.
-Rub spice mixture all over the beef, en suring that it is evenly coated. You can use your hands to massage the spices into the meat for better flavour.
– Place the spiced beef in a large, resealable plastic bag.
-Seal bag, removing as much air as possible. Place the bag of beef in the refrigerator and let it marinate for at least 24 hours or up to 48 hours. The longer it marinates, the stronger the flavours will be.
-After marinating, remove the beef from the refrigerator and rinse off the excess salt and spices under cold water. (Pat the beef dry with paper towels).
-Fill a large pot with water and bring it to boil. Add beef to the boiling water and reduce the heat to low. (Let the beef sim mer gently for about 2-3 hours or until it becomes tender).
-Once the beef is tender, remove it from the pot and let it cool. Slice beef into thin strips or chunks, depending on your preference.
-Store salted beef in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
-Enjoy y
Salted beef
Ingredients
• 10 strawberries,
• 3 fingers of banana
• 100 millimetres of orange juice
Preparation
-Wash strawberries, banana and blend
– Add orange juice to strawberries, banana and blend
until smooth.
-Pour the smoothie into a tall glass and serve.
Source: receipejoint
Soya beans is a highly nutritious plant-based food with several health benefits:
-Rich source of protein
-Contains all nine essential amino acids, making it a complete protein.
-Helpful for vegetarians and vegans as an alternative to animal protein.
-Supports muscle growth and repair.
– Heart Health
-Helps lower cholesterol levels
-Contains healthy unsaturated fats and fibre that support cardiovascular health
-Can be part of a heart-friendly diet
-Bone health
-Provides calcium (in fortified soy products), magnesium, and protein
-Soy isoflavones may help maintain bone density, especially in postmenopausal women
– May help manage menopausal symptoms
-Contains natural compounds called isoflavones (phytoestrogens)
-Some women experience reduced hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms with soy consumption
-Supports weight management
-High protein and fibre content can increase fullness and reduce hunger
-May help with maintaining a healthy weight
-Good for blood sugar control
-Has a low glycemic index
-Protein and fibre can help stabilise blood sugar levels
Ghana has nutrition policies. Ghana has nutrition targets. Ghana has nutrition programmes spread across multiple ministries and dozens of implementing partners.
What Ghana does not have is a single, empowered body responsible for leading, coordinating, and holding all this together. That is the gap a National Nutrition Council would fill, and stakeholders are calling for one now.
The case for a council
At a stakeholder engagement convened under the Nourish Ghana project in 2025, participants proposed the establishment of a National Nutrition Council to provide effective leadership and a governance framework for addressing malnutrition in Ghana. The meeting, which brought together policymakers, development partners, civil society organisations, and the media, highlighted a fundamental problem: nutrition responsibilities are fragmented across various ministries. Without a dedicated coordination body, efforts are duplicated, accountability is diffuse, and nutrition consistently loses out when budgets are tight.
The proposal echoes a model used in several countries that have made the fastest progress against malnutrition. Nigeria’s National Council on Nutrition, for example, recently pledged $107 million at the 2025 N4G Summit, a level of coordinated ambition that Ghana has struggled to match.
Ghana does have existing coordination structures worth acknowledging. The Scaling Up Nutrition Cross-Sectoral Planning Group (CSPG), established in 2012, was set up to harmonise planning, implementation, and monitoring of nutrition actions across sectors. It has produced real gains. But the challenge has been institutionalising those gains beyond project cycles, and analysts have called for an elevated national coordination body with presidential oversight to ensure genuine cross-sector accountability. A National Nutrition Council would go further, providing the dedicated financing and convening authority that the CSPG, as currently structured, does not have.
What a Council would do
A National Nutrition Council would provide political oversight and coordination across all sectors involved in nutrition, health, agriculture, education, social protection, and finance. It would track Ghana’s nutrition commitments, hold ministries accountable for delivery, and ensure that nutrition budgets are protected and spent effectively. Most importantly, it would give nutrition a permanent seat at the table where national development decisions are made.
The Time Is Now
Ghana made 10 commitments at the 2025 N4G Paris Summit. Translating those commitments into results requires a governance structure that does not currently exist. Establishing a National Nutrition Council is not a bureaucratic exercise. It is the institutional foundation without which Ghana’s nutrition ambitions will remain promises on paper. Leaders must act on this proposal without delay.
Feature article by Women, Media and Change under its Nourish Ghana: Advocating for Increased Leadership to Combat Malnutrition project
