Hello Family! I hope you had a good week. The weekend is upon us! Have you noticed how, even if you do all the right things in terms of your diet during the week, over the weekend, you break all your won rules?! Well, I’m here to provide some tips to help you with that!

1) Swallow Strategy! Replace heavy swallows with lighter ones:
Instead of pounded yam, all the time (I know! How dare I mention pounded yam! What sacrilege! 😀 ), try oat/plantain/wheat swallow. These alternatives have lower calorie density, higher fibre and go through a gentler digestion.

Amala is also a good low calorie option. Let’s see how it compares to other Swallows (With Pounded Yam being the heaviest and Oat swallow being the lightest)

a) Oat swallow
b) Wheat swallow
c) Plantain swallow
d) Amala
e) Eba (white garri)
f) Semo
g) Pounded yam

You know how Igbos are called ‘a je okuta ma mu omi’ 😀 (Full disclosure, I’m Igbo too so, no disrespect meant). It’s a term used to describe the fact that we make our eba very thick and hard. The Yoruba version of eba, which is very soft, took some getting used to, for me 😀 But, it turns out there’s wisdom in the Igbo style. Eba made with less water is firmer, which leads to slower digestion and stays longer in the stomach making you feel full for longer. This also means less spike in glucose

Remember, that your swallow should also be just one quarter of your plate.

If your swallow covers the whole plate, it is no longer swallow – it is construction work. 😀

As a practical tip this weekend, try and eat half your normal swallow size and increase vegetable portion.

2) A lot of us grew up learning to cook our regular tomato stew with fried meat. But, instead of deep-fried chicken, turkey, beef, or goat soaked in oil, try something different this weekend.
Swap with:
• Air-fried meat
• Oven-grilled chicken with dry rub
• Grilled turkey with pepper sauce
• Pan-seared goat meat using 1 – 2 tablespoons of oil instead of deep frying

You still get the same flavour (in fact, grilled meat often tastes better)
There’s less oil absorbed which leads to a massive calorie reduction in your meal
You still keep the crispy exterior of the protein and a juicy interior

One additional flavour secret:
Marinate your protein longer instead of adding more oil.
Garlic, ginger, pepper mix, thyme, curry, and seasoning cubes + time lead to deeper flavours.

3) If you love rice like I do, please mind your portion this weekend. Your rice should only be a quarter of your plate (a normal, regular dinner plate…no super-sized, who send you come plate, please!)
So, reduce your rice portion and replace the space with vegetables you actually like.
Examples:
• Add steamed mixed vegetables or green (efo) to Jollof or fried rice
• Add coleslaw (very, very light mayo or yogurt mix)
• Add cucumber, grilled plantain, or steamed cabbage on the side

This still keeps your plate visually full. In addition, you are:
• Eating less starch but you have the same eating satisfaction
• Also preventing the ‘food coma’ feeling

So, at the party this weekend, don’t remove rice. Reduce it slightly and replace the space with colour.

4) Tweaks to your stew & soup that change NOTHING about the taste:
• Fry with less oil and top up with meat stock (instead of topping up with more oil). If you can see the oil, it’s too much!
• Add blended roasted bell peppers for deeper flavour without oil in soups (Egusi, Ogbono, Efo, Afang):
• Toast Egusi lightly instead of frying
• For Efo riro: steam the leaves first – this significantly reduces oil needed by 40%

So, which one will you try this weekend?