My take on trendy diets

So today is one of those days I just wish to rant. As a food lover, I can’t help but notice different diet trends all over the internet like vegan, ketogenic, fad diet, food replacements etc.  I understand that people do this for various reasons such as health conditions, perceived cruelty to animals or weight loss. What I don’t understand is why people criticize those who eat meat. Some Christians site the bible verse Gen1:29 as God’s original plan for Christians to be pure vegetarians.

However, in Genesis 9 vs 3 God said “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you even as the green herb have I given you all things”. We can see that God has given us total dominion to eat both meat and herbs. In the Old Testament, there was a distinction between clean and unclean animals and the Israelites were permitted to eat clean animals and were forbidden from the unclean ones. In the New Testament, these rules were done away with through a vision in Acts 10 vs 15b “what God has cleansed, that call not thou common”.  In Romans 14:14 Paul expands “I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean to him it is unclean.”  This verse I believe is simply what it is. If you call something unclean, then it will be unclean to you. I strongly believe that food and drinks do not defile or make one unclean. In Matthew 15:11 “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man, but that which cometh out of a man that defileth a man” Paul said in Corinthians 10:27 eat what is set before you, asking no questions for conscience sake.

Here are my thoughts.

Some Christians believe that it is cruel to kill animals for food but I personally believe it is part of the natural food cycle. Animals feed on other animals too and even humans when they get the opportunity. God made us in his own image and likeness and have given us the dominion over all animals and herbs. I choose to be thankful and eat all things in moderation as I am free in my conscience to do so. If one is not strong enough to eat meat then so be it but please don’t judge others.

Some diet like ketogenic diet calls for total avoidance of carbohydrate. I believe that all the classes of food have their own health benefit. I would strongly advise that people seek professional attention in order to ensure that they are getting the right nutrition their body needs.

I believe that everything should be done in moderation Phil 4:5; 1cor 14:40. I believe people should eat food in the right proportions. I like to have both vegetables, protein (i.e. meat or fish), a little bit of carbs and some fruits and yes I like to indulge sometimes. In all things there should just be decency and moderation. Exercise is also very important. God hates laziness Proverbs 24: 32-33 I like to think of poverty as a deficiency. If you sit around sleeping and folding your arms without the right amount of exercise you should expect to have both poverty of the mind and health.

example of what your plate should look like

That being said, I ask for God’s grace on us all as we run this heavenly race so that we may not fall short.

Yours truly

Sautéed veg roll

Growing up in Nigeria, every kid loved the idea of having snacks at parties or just as a treat. You could have the local ones on the street or the posh ones from Mr biggs and Tantalizers. Just thinking about their meat pie makes me salivate. The street ones were mainly buns, egg rolls and fish roll. Those were the days I would run home from school to eat my mum’s homemade ones or my mum would get me to do my chores quickly by promising me snacks in the end.  I still can’t get over those days and today I will be sharing with you guys a fish roll inspired recipe.

I used to enjoy the fried fish roll back in the day but being all grown up now I don’t exactly enjoy eating fried stuff anymore. Also, I used some vegetables as well as tuna to make this snack. So what we have is sautéed vegetables wrapped in soft dough and baked to perfection.

add enough water just to hold the dough together like this

I used cabbage, carrot and onions and it tastes delicious. Feel free to leave out the onions if you don’t like onions but I personally think that onions always add a unique flavour to food.

What you’ll need

1. 2 ½ cups of flour plus extra for dusting
2. One can of tuna
3. 1 egg
4. A pinch of salt
5. 2 table spoons of sugar
6. 2 table spoons of butter
7. 1 cup of water
8. 1 table spoon of oil
9. Onions
10. Cabbage
11. Carrots

How to make it

• Prepare the vegetables.  Clean and slice the vegetables thinly.
• Make the though. Combine the dry ingredients. Mix in the butter till you get a smooth crumb texture. Start by mixing in little drops of water till it comes together as dough. Knead the dough till it’s smooth and soft.
• Make the vegetables. Start by heating the oil till it’s hot. Add the onions and fry till it softens. Add carrots and cabbage until it’s cooked but not overly cooked. Then add the tuna. season with salt and about a tsp and half of oyster sauce.

• Divide the dough into small balls around the size of a golf ball. Use your rolling pin to flatten the dough. Fill one end of the dough with the vegetable mix and roll the dough neatly. Bind the dough with egg.
• Cover the dough in egg wash. Use a fork to pierce a little on the surface. Bake for 30 minutes or until well cooked.

yum!!

No fuss flatbread

This bread is absolutely gorgeous, it's made with just four ingredients and lots of kneading (easy if you have a dough attachment on your mixer).  Flatbreads are usually very versatile. Add some chicken or tuna with salad to it and make it a wrap, make it into quesadillas, enjoy with curries like butter chicken or as a starter with infused garlic oil brushed over it. Anyhow it’s always a quick fix and the bread can be made ahead and frozen. Most recipes I have found overtime either has yeast or yoghurt or milk or all of them combined.

Until a friend Ilyes, whipped up this wonderful flatbread for one of our barbeque hangouts.  It was quick considering there was no yeast and really good. I was privileged to learn his mum’s recipe and I am here to share with you wonderful people today.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of flour plus extra for dusting
• Half cup of water
• 3 tbsp. of oil
• 1 tsp salt

How to make

combine wet and dry ingredtients

• Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
• Make hole in the flour. Pour in the liquid ingredients and mix.
• Transfer to a flour dusted work surface and knead properly. Dust down with a little bit of flour if your hands or surface gets sticky. Keep working the dough for about 10 minutes allow resting for about 3-5 minutes and working it again till you get fine elastic dough.

elastic dough

• Divide the dough into smaller balls and roll on a flat surface. Place a non-stick pan over medium heat. Place the bread over hot pan and allow the heat to work its magic. Flip over when one side is brown and cook the other side

enjoy with a side of salad and chicken