Nutrition
Tuo Zaafi
Tuo Zaafi
Ingredients
● Ayoyo leaves
● Saltpetre (Potassium nitrate)
● 3 tablespoonfuls of powdered fish
● Half cup of powdered okro
● Dawadawa
● Pepper
● Two large onions
● Two tablespoonfuls of fish seasoning
● Three tablespoonfuls of all-purpose
spices
●One kilogram of meat (Beef)
● Palm oil
● 3 large tomatoes
● Two large salmon
● Herrings
● One cup of cassava flour
● Two cups of corn flour
Preparation
-Chop the ayoyo leaves into smaller sizes.
-Boil water, add chopped onion, powdered
fish, powdered okro and dawadawa
-After five minutes, add ayoyo leaves and
saltpeter.
-Don’t cover, stir continuously until ingredients become soft.
-Add salt and seasoning. Allow to simmer for three minutes and soup is ready.
-Cut meat into desirable sizes. Wash and put meat in big saucepan over moderate heat.
-Blend onion, ginger, garlic and add to meat.
-Add salt and seasoning and cover meat to steam for five- 10 minutes.
-Heat pan over medium high heat until hot and then add olive oil.
-Add the chicken.
-Fry until browned and flip.
-Add chopped onion and garlic and sauce until tender and start to turn brown.
-Add grinded pepper, tomato puree and stir intermittently.
-Wash salmon, herrings and add to stew.
-After 6-10 minutes, add spices and allow to cook.
-Taste for salt and add some chopped onions.
-Finally add fried meat and allow to simmer for three minutes.
-Fetch some corn flour and add cold water. Mix thoroughly to form a solution.
-Boil enough water and add corn flour to cook for five-10 minutes.
-Fetch some of the solution into a separate bowl.
-Mix dry corn dough and cassava dough and add mixture bit by bit to the boiling corn dough and stir thoroughly to prevent any lumps.
-Add the corn dough solution you fetched aside to the Tuo Zaafi to make it soft and stir.
-After 15-20 minutes of stirring the Tuo Zaafi, you turn off the heat.
-Serve Tuo Zaafi with stew and soup.
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.
