USE THIS LITTLE NIGERIAN WEIGHT LOSS TRICK TO STAY SLIM FOREVER

If you are anything like me you could get depressed when you don't "look good / slim enough" in the mirror.

Having 2 children I could beat myself up even after a few weeks of giving birth ignoring the fact that I have just produced a human being, carried the baby for 9 months etc.


I personally always get scared when I put on weight because someone once told me "make sure you stay slim for your husband...don't forget he married someone in size 10...he probably don't want a wife in size 20 "

This statement will always stay in my head because I really agree with it. But I love food though as much as my husband :)

Sorry to say but It also didn't help that my husband introduced me to the Nigerian cuisine because -even though I love all Nigerian dishes- it is full of carbohydrate and calories.

I have also tried working out more than I ate which did work while I was on maternity leave. But then I had to go back to work and I had very limited free time.

Today I don't want to give too much away from my health regime as I believe we all just need baby steps to start.

I think THE MOST IMPORTANT NIGERIAN WEIGHT LOSS TRICK TO STAY SLIM FOREVER is:

Whenever you eat something, make sure you eat at the right time!

This is simply because the same food in different times of the day can create different results. For example eating pounded yam and egusi at 12 noon will have a different result on your body than eating it at 11:00pm. That's because in the evening most of us don't have to go to work or run after kids anymore.

I had to introduce a "cut of time" in my diet which means after this hour I would not eat carbohydrate (bread, pasta, rice, potato etc.)...Depending on your lifestyle this cut of time should be 6-7 hours before going to bed.




Try this one little trick today and stay in shape forever. God bless.

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NON-ALCOHOLIC COCKTAILS

Non-alcoholic cocktails ("mocktails") are fun to make, delicious to drink and great for a quick thirst-quenching treat or party. Even the kids can try one!
Here are some ideas to try...

What you'll need:
A shot glass (to ensure equal measures)
Cocktail shaker (use a glass with a makeshift lid if you don't have one at home)
Straws
Ice and garnish (try lemon slices, pineapple chunks, orange and cherries)
Blender (to mix all of the ingredients to the right consistency)

Having an alcoholic drink can sometimes seem to be part and parcel of every day life. If you are driving, pregnant or breastfeeding, or simply keeping a clear head, then why not whip up the non alcoholic version of a cocktail - a mocktail.

Banana Smoothie: Put 1 banana, a pinch of nutmeg, half a teaspoon of vanilla extract, a cup of milk and two cups of crushed ice in a blender and whip into a thick smoothie.

Berry Surprise: Blend 1 cup of strawberries, a cup of pineapple chunks, half a cup of raspberries and a splash of lime cordial together and serve over ice.

California Smoothie: Place 7 large strawberries in a container and freeze for an hour. Put 8oz lemon yogurt, half a cup of orange juice and the frozen strawberries in a blender and mix until smooth. Add ice and chopped strawberries to garnish.

FREE AFRICAN DIET PLAN

I have recently received an email from a lady called Bola. She told me that she love to eat Africa foods but not sure which African food to eat that wouldn't add extra pounds to her weights. She asked me to create a diet plan for her that could help her loose weight.

I was more than happy to help her and I asked her to fill out my consultation brief so I could find out a bit more about her.

When creating a diet plan it is extremely important to know the age/sex/occupation/daily routine or even any medical problems of the person. Not surprisingly she admitted that she sometimes skips breakfast and even lunch. This a very common mistake most people make. Thee second common mistake is eating large meals late at night.
I know it is possible eating African food and still loose weight and even maintain your slim figure because that's what I do as well. My husband is a traditional Yoruba man. He's listening to African music, drinking malt drink and if he doesn't eat African food for a day he feels he's not eaten.

Today I'm sharing a sample diet plan that can give you an idea how to create your own personalised African slimming routine. First of all I would like you to pay extra attention on the following factors though:


1. It is extremely important for you to keep your energy level up at all time because you are working/studying and your heart and your organs need energy to function well.

First thing you have to do is to eat breakfast an hour after waking up.

2. After breakfast you have to eat something every three hours.

3. But only the first,third and fifth meal need to be a bit bigger. If you want to lose weight none of your main meals should be bigger than the size of your two hands put together.

4. You need to make sure than you don't eat two hours before going to bed and that the quality of your last meal is very healthy. Unfortunately you cannot eat traditional Nigerian food as your last meal because they are mainly high in fat and carbohydrate.

5. Drink at least 2l of water. If you don't like water put lemon or any fresh fruit into your drink to give it some flavour. It is important to "flush out" your body specially when losing weight.


This is your sample plan below. Enjoy!

Breakfast: plantain, vegetables and eggs with hot drink (e.g. your morning coffee)

Snack: 15 almonds/nuts

Lunch: Brown/ white rice, traditional African stew and salad on the side

Snack: fruit and yoghurt (sugar free version)

Dinner: chicken/fish and steamed vegetables

EFO VEGETABLE STEW

I like vegetable soup because it is so easy to make and it is very similar to our Hungarian "lecso" which is a tomato based dish. The only difference is the way to cook it.

My Nigerian husband taught me to precook the meat in water with onion and all the spices and put it later to the sauce. The sauce for this dish is fried onion with tomatoes and chilli and some spices. Once its fried very well in palm oil I pour the meat inside the stew and cook it a bit more. I normally add the shredded greens and pal oil in the last 10 minutes but this can differ depending on who's cooking.

Ingredients:

1 bunch greens (collard greens, bitterleaf, sweet potato greens, cassava greens, spinach, spring greens etc),

shredded 450g fresh tomatoes chopped

2 Magi (or stock) cubes

3 hot (eg Scotch bonnet) chillies pounded to a paste 

1/2 onion, chopped 

6 tbsp of palm oil (or groundnut oil coloured with paprika)

1 large onion, chopped 

Salt and black pepper, to taste 

450g dry smoked fish 

2 tbsp ground crayfish or prawns (optional) 

bell pepper(s) (optional)

Calorie content 185 kcal / serving

GET RID OF YOUR BELLY FAT WITH NIGERIAN FOOD

Excess fat on your belly increases your chances of developing heart-related disorders therefore losing stomach fat can greatly improve your health.

When I met my Nigerian husband I realised most Nigerians have no idea how many great foods they are surrounded with. They are incredible fat burning foods in Nigeria that most people don’t even know about. These types of foods are rich in nutritions and possess special fat-melting talent. You can include these foods in any sensible weight-loss plan and they will give your body the extra metabolic kick that it needs to shave off fat on your tummy quickly.

Pepper

Eating chilli pepper in your food definitely helps you lose weight by raising your metabolism and burning away fat, according to scientists. Pepper consumption slower the speed of eating and increases water consumption that also helps feel fuller quicker. 

Pounded Yam

Yams are powerful carbohydrate that can be added to a regular healthy diet in order to experience increase fat-burning benefits. Yams are similar in appearance to sweet potato and it’s a good source of energy. Yam provides around 110 calories per 100 grams. It is high in Vitamin C and B6 , potassium and dietary fiber while low in saturated fat.

 Beans

Beans are one of the best sources of plant protein. Most common beans have 215 calories per cooked cup. Beans can suppress your appetite for junk food and keep your body running smoothly with clean fuel and efficient energy.

Green vegetables and fruits

Any fruit or vegetable contains fiber. Fiber can ease constipation. How does it work? Soluble and insoluble fiber, found in fruits, vegetables and grains, is not actually digested by the body. It passes through virtually unchanged. Soluble fiber absorbs fiber and becomes soft, while insoluble fiber simple passes through without absorbing water. This bulky fiber acts as a scrub brush, pushing food along the colon so that constipation cannot occur. 

Chicken

White meat contains 245 calories per four ounce serving. It’s an excellent source of protein, iron, niacin and zinc. As far as weight loss foods go, chicken breast is one of the best. It’s a great source of lean protein, which can help you feel full and stay full for longer period of time, curbing later hunger and snacking. 

Banana

100grams of banana is only 110 calories. Bananas can help you win the battle of the bulge and lose inches from your waistline. The Mayo Clinic touts the fiber in bananas as being helpful for weight loss because high fiber foods take longer to chew and digest, making the body feel fuller sooner and maintaining that satisfaction for longer periods of time.

Turkey

Four ounces of turkey has approximately 170 calories and nine grams of fat, about what you would find in 2 teaspoons of palm oil. The same amount of regular beef has 23 grams of fat. Which one will you go for?

Nuts

Nuts are high in protein and fat but it’s healthy unsaturated fat. With controlled portion size nuts can be a great part of your diet as it makes you feel full for longer

Yoghurt

Yoghurt delivers a lot of protein and like any dairy product, is rich in calcium and contains zinc. You can find ways to use it, be creative. Cut banana into it and add the cereal of your choice for breakfast or thicken your stew up with it.

Fish

As a Hungarian person I didn’t eat much fish before my marriage but now I’m really glad to have a lot of fish in my diet. The health benefits of fish are greater than experts would ever imagined and trust me it’s hard to gain weight while eating fish. Eating fish regularly lower cholesterol and reduce blood sugar and help your body melt away unhealthy pounds.



Read on:
http://whitenaijagirl.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/get-rid-off-your-belly-fat-with.html

EGUSI SOUP

Egusi is the seed of one species Citrullus Lanatus, a type of watermelon. The soup made from egusi seed is quite popular all over Nigeria.

Normally it's eaten with pounded yam and I have to tell you that it is really delicious. We have nothing like this in Hungary and when I first tried it I've eaten two full plates from it.

Today I wouldn't like to write about how delicious egusi soup is but what we can get fro eating it.
First of egusi is quite high in fat content that makes it high in calories. Talk less of my Yoruba husband that love adding lots of palm oil to our egusi soup.Look at the chart below!

The basic egusi Soup enriched with few chunks of stockfish and two pieces of meat contains a total of roughly 470 calories per serving without pounded yam!

But probably you also noticed that egusi is rich in vitamin A,Vitamin C, Calcium and iron.

Vitamin A is commonly known as the vitamin needed for good eyesight. Along with promoting vision, vitamin A is also vital for maintaining healthy skin, and supporting the immune system.

Vitamin C protects against heart attacks and strokes. In general, this nutritional element promotes better vascular health and vitamin C may even be important in preventing things like Alzheimer’s disease.

Calcium is needed for good teeth and strong bones and for the proper function of nerves, muscles, kidneys, and the heart.

Iron is very important because it helps your body to make haemoglobin. Haemoglobin, or ‘Hb’, is the protein found in red blood cells that carries oxygen around your body and gives blood its red colour.
What can happen if you have low iron levels?
If the level of iron in your body falls, your red blood cells may not contain enough haemoglobin. At first you may not notice any difference, however, if the amount of haemoglobin falls further, you can start to feel tired. If the shortage of iron is more severe, you can feel unusually weak or breathless. This is called anaemia.


Egusi Soup - Nigerian Egusi Soup (1.36cups)

Calories	462	Sodium	1815 mg
Total Fat	28 g	Potassium	0 mg
Saturated	6 g	Total Carbs	13 g
Polyunsaturated	0 g	Dietary Fiber	4 g
Monounsaturated	0 g	Sugars	4 g
Trans	0 g	Protein	43 g
Cholesterol	93 mg
Vitamin A	104%	Calcium	12%
Vitamin C	59%	Iron	42%

BANGA SOUP

I have never cooked Banga soup in my life. So my dear husband could only eat it at our friend's house BUT it will change, I promise. I will have a Nigerian "cooking teacher" soon and she will assist me at my first time.
I found a lovely video though that shows me how to do it. I would still like to try it with my teacher just to be on the safe side.:)

It's quite difficult to calculate how many calories are in Banga soup as it really depends on the amount of meat, fish , stock cod you take in your soup.

Some sources suggests that one cup of basic soup without any meat is around 400 calories. See details below:

Estimated oils from the palm kernel fruit: 360 calories
Maggi chicken (1/3rd of a small cube): 3 calories
Onions (1/4 slice): 16 calories
Red Bell Pepper, 1/10 :10 calories

Now, if you take crayfish, fish stock, smoked fish , cooked fish, lean ground beef meat and fish broths in your soup, obviously you need to add some more calories. How much? See here:
And enjoy your meal!

CRAYFISH

Common serving sizes:

Serving Size - Calories

8 crayfish - 19
3 oz - 61
100 g - 72
1 lb - 327

FISH STOCK

There are 40 calories in 1 cup of Fish Stock.
Calorie breakdown: 43% fat, 0% carbs, 57% protein.

Common serving sizes:

Serving Size - Calories

1 oz - 5
100 g - 17
1 cup - 40

SMOKED FISH

Common serving sizes:

Serving Size - Calories

1 cubic inch boneless - 21
1 oz boneless - 35
100 g - 123
1 cup flaked - 167

COOKED FISH

Common serving sizes:

Serving Size - Calories

1 cubic inch, with bone (yield after bone removed) - 12
1 oz, with bone (yield after cooking, bone removed) - 17
1 cubic inch boneless - 19
1 oz, with bone (yield after bone removed) - 21
1 oz boneless (yield after cooking) - 26
1 oz boneless - 32
100 g - 112
1 fillet (6-1/4" x 3" x 3/8") - 127

LEAN GROUND BEEF MEAT

Common serving sizes:

Serving Size - Calories

1 cubic inch raw (yield after cooking)- 32
1 cubic inch cooked - 40
1 oz cooked - 75

FISH BROTHS

Common serving sizes:

Serving Size - Calories

1 oz - 5
1 fl oz -   5
100 g - 16
1 cup - 39