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.

 In this chapter, we will be discussing how we can live an osteoporosis free life with our diet.

People once thought a shrunken, stooped posture was a natural part of ageing, but the real culprit is osteoporosis. The skeleton con­stantly breaks down and rebuilds itself via cells called osteoclasts and osteoblasts, respectively. However, as we age we tend to lose bone faster than we rebuild it, which decreases the bone density, making it weaker and more likely to fracture/ break.

Osteoporosis is the major underlying cause of fracture in postmenopausal women and the elderly, and it develops silently. It may only be discovered after a fracture which usually involves the hip or the wrist joints, but may involve other joints during a minor bump or fall. Little fractures in the spine may gradually reduce height and also leads to stooped posture.

Osteoporosis can be prevented and its devel­opment decelerated through an adequate diet and lifestyle plan.

Foods to include

Calcium rich foods such as; milk, yogurt, an­chovies, and sardines.

Potassium rich foods such as; banana, coconut water, tomatoes, and eggplants.

Phosphorus rich foods such as; poultry, nuts and legumes, fish, and eggs.

Vitamin C rich foods such as; oranges/tanger­ines, limes/lemons, and bell peppers.

Vitamin D rich foods such as; salmon, sar­dines, and mushrooms.

Vitamin K rich foods such as; cabbage, avoca­do, and lettuce.

Foods to avoid

Sodas and caffeine rich drinks

Red meat and meat products

Processed foods

High fat diet and fast foods

Highly salted foods

Lifestyle modification

Going for walks, especially early morning for that early morning sunshine Vitamin D, jogging, skipping and other weight bearing exercises may help preserve the bone density.

Moderation of alcohol and cessation of ciga­rette smoking cannot be over looked.

In conclusion, many of the conditions we blame on old age have very tangible ways of be­ing avoided in our youth. Let’s not wait till it’s too late; let us change our lifestyles and diets now, so that we can continue to easily get up and go when our youth begins to depart.

The writer Dr. Bernice Korkor Asare is the CEO of Holistic Health Consult

“Your diet your health, your health your wealth”

E-mail: holistichealthconsultgh@gmail.com