Nutrition
Overcoming insomnia with diet
Insomnia
Some people with insomnia may fall asleep easily enough but wake up too soon. Otherssimply can’t fall asleep, or they have trouble both falling asleep and staying asleep.
The result is low-quality sleep that doesn’t make you feel refreshed when you wake up. Often, insomnia is a symptom or a side effect of some other problems like:
• Illness, such as heart or lung disease
• Pain, anxiety, or depression
• Drugs that delay or disrupt sleep
• Caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, and other substances that affect sleep
• A poor sleep environment or a change in sleep routine
If the cause of the insomnia is known, then the insomnia should improve once the underlying cause is treated. However, there is a type of insomnia (primary insomnia) which is not as a result of any underlying disease and usually last at least one month.
Nutrition and lifestyle changes go a long way in the battle against insomnia.
Below are some of the foods that may help:
• Melatonin rich foods such as oats, nuts, fish and berries.
• Tryptophan rich foods such as spinach, eggs, and crabs.
• Niacin rich foods such asmushrooms, tuna, turkey, and anchovies.
• Vitamin B6 rich foods such as avocados, carrots, bananas, and organ meat.
Lifestyle changes
• Avoid late night watching of movies, TV shows, social media, etc.
• Have a separate bedroom away from all sorts of destruction
• Change uncomfortable beds, pillows, and sheets
• Avoid late night eating and drinking of water
• Take warm baths in the evening
• Add some forms of exercise to your lifestyle routine
It can be very unsettling dealing with insomnia, especially when we don’t know the cause. But applying the dietary and lifestyle changes mentioned above can not only treat insomnia, but also improve our quality of life in general.
Going to sleep should be a breeze in no time, with sweet dreams just around the corner.
By Dr Bernice Korkor Asare
Kind courtesy of:
Holistic Health Consult
“Your diet your health, your health your wealth”
E-mail: info@holistichealthconsult.org
Nutrition
Meat Pie
Meat pie
Meat Pie is a West African pastry that is stuffed with meat. It can serve as an appetizer at restaurants, parties, etc.
Ingredients
Crust
2 cups of flour
1 cup of butter
1 tablespoonful of salt
1/2 cup of water
2 eggs for coating
Meat Pie filling
1 pound of meat (You can substitute it with ground beef, chicken breast or tuna)
1large onion
1 tablespoonful of Adobo seasoning or seasoned salt
1.5 tablespoonful of olive oil
Instructions
Crust
Combine the crust ingredients:
flour, butter, salt and water in a large bowl
Mix and knead it until a dough forms
Set aside in a freezer for 10 minutes
Filling
Pour oil in a frying pan and put it on medium heat
Add the meat and seasoning and let it cook for 10 minutes
Add onions to meat and let it cook for another five minutes
After the filling is done, roll the dough with a rolling pin.
Cut a piece of the dough into a square or circle, you can choose to make it large or small.
Add some meat to each pie and fold in half and seal it. Use a fork to close the edges so the meat does not fall out.
7.Coat pies with egg wash so you get that golden brown look.
Nutrition
Akotonshi (Stuffed crab)
Akotonshi
Akotonshi is a delicious stuffed crab dish that is associated with feasting in Ghana.
The dish is sprinkled with breadcrumbs and placed under a broiler. When served, akotonshi is usually garnished with chopped parsley.
Ingredients
5 large whole crabs or cooked crabbed meat
2 large fresh ginger
3 tablespoonfuls of cooking oil
2 large onion minced
1 tablespoonful of ginger ground
2 large tomatoes finely chopped
1 tablespoonful of tomato paste
1 large green bell peppers finely chopped
1 tablespoonful of ground nut meg
1 tablespoonful of cloves ground
1 tablespoonful of dried thyme leaves
1/2 cup of dried shrimp
1 cup of plain bread crumbs
2 tablespoonfuls of salt
Preparation
-When cooking crabs, clean them and bring a large pot of water to a boil.
-Add in the ginger, cloves and the crab, cook for 15 minutes. Remove crabs and meat, keep shells for plating.
-If using just crab meat mix crab meat with ¼ cup water that has been boiled with the ginger piece and cloves for 15 minutes. Drain water, flake the meat and set aside.
-In a heavy pot, heat oil to medium temperature and add other ingredients in the following sequence, stirring for a minute or so between each: onions, ground ginger, tomatoes, tomato paste, green pepper, cumin, nutmeg, thyme, grains of paradise, paprika, mashed peppers, and dried shrimp.
-Reduce heat and simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly, until vegetables are cooked.
-Add crab meat and stir another couple of minutes to heat it through. Then spoon the mixture into clean crab shells or ramekins (small individual baking dishes).
-Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top of each crab and toast under an oven broiler, being careful not to let the crumbs scorch. —Source: Pulse.gh
