FOODS TO AVOID

  Hypertension (HTN) / high blood pressure, also known as arterial hypertension, is a chronic medical condition whereby the blood pressure in the arteries is elevated. This condition requires the heart to work harder than normal to circulate blood through the blood vessels.

Dietary and lifestyle changes can help improve blood pressure control and decrease the risk of associated health complications. This is why i feel it is important to share this article i found online about   'Foods to Avoid for Hypertensive Patients'. By Dana George.

I hope it would be of help to Hypertensive patients out there, as well as a piece of valid information to all of us. 


when someone is considered hypertensive, his blood pressure is ultimately higher than normal. It could be a reading of over 139 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) systolic blood pressure, which represents the pressure of your blood as your heart contracts (beats). Or a reading of over 89 mm Hg diastolic blood pressure, which denotes the pressure of your blood as your heart relaxes (in between beats). Regardless of the number, most medical professionals recommend dietary changes in combination with prescription medication to treat this condition. Not only should you increase the consumption of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, but you also need to avoid certain foods, especially those high in salt or sodium.

Prepackaged Foods

One of the main culprits of salt and sodium are prepackaged foods, so these types of products should be avoided when dealing with hypertension. Canned soups probably contain the most sodium of them all, but you should also pay close attention to canned vegetables, frozen vegetables, meal helpers, frozen meals, frozen pizza and canned or jarred sauces, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Deli Meats

Deli meats can also be laden with sodium. Good indicators that a meat product contains high-sodium content are the words cured, smoked or pickled. Ham, bacon, turkey, chicken, pork, sausage and beef can all be prepared in this fashion, so make sure to read the labels or ask someone at the deli counter to inform you on the sodium content of the meat.

Baked Goods

Though they may not taste salty, many baked goods can contain a great deal of sodium. This is largely due to how they're prepared. Not only is salt used to bring out the sweetness in cookies, brownies, cakes and other pastries or the savory in breads, bagels and other baked goods, but they also contain either baking soda or baking powder. Both substances have added sodium that you may not be aware of.

Condiments

Another problematic source of sodium for people dealing with high blood pressure can be found in condiments. Soy sauce, ketchup, mustard, salad dressing and marinades all have added salt, which can increase your sodium consumption above your recommended daily allowance (RDA) of 2,400 mg per day. And since you're already suffering from hypertension, you really want your sodium intake under 1,500 mg, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Dairy

It's also important to manage the amount of sodium you get from dairy products. Cheese, butter, sour cream and even skim milk contain sodium. Of course, some products have more than others, so you'll need to read the labels to ensure you're not getting more sodium than is recommended.

Fast Food

While this should go without saying, most fast foods contain large quantities of sodium, sometimes in the form of monosodium glutamate (MSG). MSG and salt are fairly cheap "taste-enhancers" that essentially make foods taste better. Avoid eating at almost any fast food chain when you're living with hypertension. Even if you don't currently have high blood pressure, you should only frequent these places sparingly (and use moderation).

VEGETABLE SOUP KNOWN AS EDIKANG IKONG SOUP

This famous Nigerian soup is indigenous to the Efiks, people from Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers state of Nigeria. It is a very popular soup in Cameron, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Ghana and indeed many West African and African Countries amongst lovers of good and healthy food for it is pretty much nutritious and nourishing (and yea, I heard it is a way to a man’s heart) lol.

Vegetable soup, prepared from a blend of pumpkin leaves, water leaves, periwinkles, snails, fish and assorted meat.

For people outside Nigeria who can’t get access to these leaves, you can use:

 Normal Frozen Spinach,

 Ground Frozen Spinach,

Lamb's Lettuce (Canonigos in Spanish).

 Defrost the frozen spinach, cut the normal frozen one into tiny pieces and mix with the ground frozen spinach. Wring out the water from these and add them when I add the pumpkin leaves during cooking.

Pick, wash and cut the Lamb's Lettuce into tiny pieces. Then add them when I add the water leaves during the cooking.

Ingredients:

     1kg Pumpkin leaves

     500g Water leaves

     600g Beef/shaki/cowleg or any protein of your choice, and Dry fish

     Pepper

     Ground Crayfish: Also called crawfish or crawdads

     200ml Palm oil

     Salt

     Periwinkle - 1 cup or substitute with shrimps

     2 medium bulbs onions

     3-4 Stock cubes (maggi/ knorr)

Before you start cooking:

   1.  Wash and cut the pumpkin and water leaves into tiny pieces. Put them in separate sieves to drain out all the water as much as possible.

   2. Cook the beef/shaki/cowleg with 1 bulb of diced onions and 3 Maggi / Knorr cube and

when it is half way done, include the dry fish into same pot and allow to cook.

 Dice the 1bulb of onions left and set aside 

Method of Cooking :

   When the meat is done, remove the meat from the pot and leave only the stock.* make sure the stock remaining in the pot is of little quantity.

Add the diced onions

Add a generous amount of palm oil,

 Add the crayfish/crawfish or crawdads

 Add the pepper and leave to boil for about 15 minutes.

   2. Add the periwinkle or if non shrimps can be used  

    Add the water leaves and

  Leave it to cook for 5 minutes. (You have to cook for less time at this stage so that the water leaves are not over-cooked).

   3. Now pour the meat and stockfish  back into the pot, add the pumpkin leaves and the remaining 1 cube of maggi and salt to taste.

Stir the contents of the pot very well and reduce the heat. Allow to cook with low heat for 5 minutes then turn off the light.

Your vegetable soup has been successfully cooked and ready to eat with:

   Boiled white rice

   Smoothly ground wheat flour

   Smoothly ground dried black or unripe plantain or

   Pounded yam.

Method of making the wheat flour or black unripe plantain:

Pour 1 liter of water in a small pot if making for one person,

 allow to boil,

 pour the smoothly ground wheat or plaintain flour and continuously stair till it binds smoothly and without seeds. Then it is ready to be eaten with your home made vegetable soup.

Hints:

*vegetable soup is highly nutritious, reason being that the Leaf vegetables are typically low in calories, low in fat, high in protein per calorie, high in dietary fiber, high in iron and calcium, and very high in phytochemicals such as vitamin C, carotenoids, lutein, magnesium as well as vitamin K.( Reason why the soup should not be over cooked so it does not lose its nutrients).

* Wheat flour contains diversity of minerals, vitamins and fats (lipids). With a small amount of animal or legume protein added, a wheat-based meal is highly nutritious.

 

*Plantain flour: Is good for people watching their weight.

     

Soul Food by Loli: HOW TO MAKE MOIMOI/ BEANS PUDDING

Soul Food by Loli: HOW TO MAKE MOIMOI/ BEANS PUDDING:                                      Beans pudding/moimoi as Nigerians call it is a meal that is made of white or brown beans...

HOW TO MAKE MOIMOI/ BEANS PUDDING

                                    

Beans pudding/moimoi as Nigerians call it is a meal that is made of white or brown beans that contains protein. It is eaten alone or with bread as a snack, with rice as a meal or with ogi (corn or millet porridge) for breakfast or supper. It can also be taken with garri in the afternoon.

Ingredients:

  Beans (Brown/Black eyed) - 3 cigar cups | approx. 750g

  Boiled Eggs (3 pcs) / sardine/ Corned beef or ham (optional)

  Vegetable Oil - 3 cooking spoons

  Tatashe (tatashe is a red hot chili pepper, purposefully used for natural coloring.)

  Fresh Pepper (If the tatashe is not hot enough)

  Onions – 3 medium sized bulbs

  Salt to taste

  Seasoning – 3 Maggi/Knorr cubes

 aluminium Containers, foil paper or moimoi leaf 

 Method of cooking:

Moin moin is prepared by first picking the bean back and dirt from the beans, then soaking the beans in hot water until it’s soft enough to remove the fine outer covering or peel.

 Then  ground or blend with warm water (using a blender) until a fine paste is achieved, and  also let the bean pudding not be too thick and also not watery.

 Blend one of the 3 onions with the bean pudding/paste and when smoothly ground pour in a deep bowl that is big enough to contain it.

Blend the tatashe and a little pepper down and leave in a plastic.

Dice/chop the 2 remaining onions and leave in a plate.

Put a pot on fire, add about 5 to 10 cl of vegetable oil.

when the oil is a bit heated, add the chopped onions,

 add the blended tatashe( enough to give the bean pudding colour) and let it fry a bit then pour it in the bowl of bean pudding.

 Add your maggi and knorr cube, 

add the eggs(either mashed or cut in half), sadine, corned beef or ham, 

add salt to taste.

it is ready for pouring into the small shaped aluminium containers with tight fitting covers or the traditional broad the Yoruba speaking tribe in Nigeria call "ewe eran" (Thaumatococcus daniellii) or banana leaves fashioned into a cone in one's palm, and then the seasoned and garnished liquid is poured into it and folded.

 The cylindrical shaped moimoi comes from the small aluminium container.  Once placed in its mold, it is placed in a large pot about a tenth filled with water. The water is the source of steam that cooks the moimoi and should be added at 10mins intervals depending on the heat of the fire. When the moimoi binds together and is dry, then it’s ready for eating.

Tips from Loli

EASY METHODS AND RECIPE TO JOLLOF YOUR RICE

Jollof Rice is a West African dish, a festive meal and I wont be wrong if I say its an almost everyday meal in the life of most Nigerians. It is also a lunch meal but can be eaten at anytime of the day.

Ingredients:            

             Rice

             Vegetable Oil

             Tomatoe Paste
             Fresh Tomatoes

             Onions

             Salt

             Pepper

             Curry and Thyme 

             garlic and ginger (optional)

             maggi/ knorr cube

Method of Cooking:

Pour the amount of Rice needed in a bowl, wash it by rubbing the Rice in your palms (try to rinse off as much starch), then per boil and leave in the sieve to drain the water.

Put a dry pot on fire, pour a reasonable amount of Vegetable Oil(put a tiny amount of salt to check if the oil is hot enough).

Pour your finely Sliced Onions, Ground Fresh Tomatoes and Pepper (tatashe/shombo).

Add your Tomato Paste, Curry and Thyme, (Blended ginger and garlic), then your Maggi or Knorr cube and any other seasoning you intend to use.

Allow Sauce/Broth to fry for a bit and keep stirring to avoid burn and till the tomato taste isn't fresh.

Pour the stock from the Meat/Chicken/Turkey....or any protein you decide to use.

Pour the Boiled Rice inside, and allow to cook on low heat. when the water is dried and rice is cooked, you can garnish by putting green peas,carrot.sweet corn to give nutrient. stir and serve.

Hints : reason for washing out the extra starch/amylum in rice is to reduce the amount of polysaccaride  which is contained in large amount in all green plants as an energy store.

* Excessive vegetable oil is not good for the system, and the stock already contains oil so avoid over oiling the dish.

*Avoid putting excess spice or pepper as pepper is not too good for ulcer patients and over spiced meals end up tasting sour
* You do not stir rice that is on fire and still watery as it will become marshy,too soft and will not cook well.
* The meat stock already contain salt so you taste for salt before applying.


Tips from Loli