Edition 4 - May 2022

 
 
 
 
 

 Switching Seasons

By Shola Oladipo, Food for Purpose CEO 

It’s May 2022 and the sun is peeping through the clouds and blessing us with longer days and warmer nights.

May is a great month to look ahead and peel away from the Spring in exchange for the season of Summer. As the seasons switch – what are you ‘switching?’

Wise king Solomon said “There is a time and season for every activity under the sun…”

What does this mean for you? Give it some thought this month, write it down, meditate or pray about it, and above all run with it – or walk intentionally!

For some of you it may mean letting go of the old and stepping into a new mindset or headspace. It may be a career move, change in direction of your business or even just remembering to take time to live in the moment of each day.

Whatever the season means for you – do own it, do savour each day, do write things down. do live, do love and don’t forget to laugh a lot!

 
 
 
 
 
 

 Featured this Month

  • CEO says - Switching Seasons

 
 
 
 

 Food for Purpose News

 
 
 
 
 
 

 Waakye

This dish is literally the Ghanaian equivalent for rice and beans. The rice is cooked with an indigenous leaf (sorghum/millet leaf sheaths) and black-eyed beans or kidney beans. Some people add coconut milk or coconut cream to this dish. We omitted it to reduce fat content … it is still delicious

Ingredients

  • 350g of Black-eyed Beans / red kidney beans or cow peas (soak overnight)

  • 200g of washed Jasmine rice

  • 2.0 litres of water

  • 6 strands of Red Millet / Sorghum leaves (African grocery store)

  • 1 tsp salt

Method

  1. Place your beans and 1 litre of water into a saucepan on a medium heat.

  2. Cook until the water runs dry and add another 750ml of water.

  3. Cook the beans for another 15 minutes and add the washed millet leaves and cook for 5 minutes.

  4. (It's best to add the Millet leaves at this stage to infuse its colour into the dish).

  5. Add the washed Jasmine rice and stir everything together

  6. Seal with a crunched-up grease proof paper, cover with the lid and cook on a low heat.

  7. Cook for 15 minutes and stir to ensure the colour of the Millet leaves permeates through every grain of rice.

  8. Add 200ml of water, cover with the paper to allow to steam on a low heat.

  9. Cook for 25 minutes and you have a moist Waakye

  10. Remove and discard the Millet leaves when cooked.

  11. Serve the dish with grilled chicken or boiled egg, a side salad and a little Shitto sauce

Tip 1: Use very little Shitto and drain off the oil

Tip 2: If using coconut milk use the low fat version

Serves 5

Preparation time: 7-8 hours (soaking of beans)

Cooking time: 60 minutes

Picture below courtesy of Biscuits & Ladles - please check out their website of classic Ghanaian recipes:
https://biscuitsandladles.com/waakye/

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 Students’ Corner

We are delighted to say we have successfully supported two more students from Nottingham university, on their dietetic placement with us at FFP. 

Here is what Ashmiza said about her placement:

 
 
 
 
 
 

 A-Z of Soul Food

This feature will educate your mind, and titillate your taste buds as we tour the alphabet according to African and Caribbean foods. We will focus on the amazingly diverse range of foods grown in our beautiful countries – with emphasis on fruit and vegetables.

Let’s start with A  for Ackee 

It has been reported that the name ACKEE is derived from the original name ANKYE FUFO, in the Akan language of the Akyem tribe in Ghana. 

Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica and possibly one of the country’s best delicacies.  The first ackee tree in Jamaica was apparently grown from a seed brought on-shore from West Africa by a captain of a slave ship between 1725 - 1778. 

Because of the toxins contained in the fruit, it should not be picked until the red skin has opened and the yellow flesh & black seeds can be seen. Like avocado, ackee has been shown to be high in monounsaturated fats, and therefore may offer health benefits as part of a healthy diet. Ackee looks like yellow pods – it has a creamy taste – some equate to avocado / scrambled egg-like taste. 

Ackee is traditionally eaten with saltfish and fried dumplings for breakfast. Alternative accompaniments for ackee and saltfish are callaloo along with boiled dumplings, bananas, and yellow yam, or even some roast breadfruit.

 
 
 
 
 
 

 National Walking Month #walkthismay

By Precious Oladipo, FFP Director & Fitness Lead

Happy National Walking Month to you all! This month, Food For Purpose is walking the distance from London to Kyiv to raise money for Ukrainian refugees.

Walking does the body good and provides so many benefits such as:

  • Improved cardiovascular fitness

  • Stronger bones

  • Improved balance

  • Better management of existing conditions such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes

  • Increased muscle strength

  • Improves sleep quality and mood

30 minutes of your day is all you need to reap these benefits. It doesn’t have to be in one go, break it up into 10 minute slots if you are unable to do it all at once.

If this is a new step for you, always check with your GP before you undertake any new physical activity/exercise regime. 

So get your comfortable (and appropriate) footwear on and join FFP this National Walking Month! 

Please support FFP by following this link and donating:

https://gofund.me/a520efea

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 Special Guest Contributor

Olutoyin Ogunbanjo, Health Champion

Wellness means more than being free from illness, it’s also a dynamic process of change and growth. It is the state of being healthy in body and mind, and the capacity to make choices towards a fulfilling life. It is a holistic, whole life experience that includes learning new skills that address how each action we undertake yields either positive or negative results.

We can only enjoy a fuller and satisfying quality of life when there is a balance in the various dimensions of our health - spiritual, physical, financial, mental, environmental, emotional and social. These categories overlap and impact our total wellbeing.

Implementing changes in lifelong habits is often very challenging but nonetheless achievable with the assistance of a Health Champion who has the responsibility of inspiring, guiding and motivating you on your journey.

Together, realistic and achievable goals will be set and you will be enlightened and empowered to take small steps towards enhancing your wellbeing. You will also be signposted to local services that support positive behavioural changes.

For Questions & Support please contact:

Olutoyin Ogunbanjo

Email: toyin@listeningears.org

Website:  https://listeningears.org/

 
 
 
 
 
 

 Miss Tea's Blog

I hear these have been quite popular so here I am again this month with another selection for you all. Some around money-saving and others are just little tips and tricks I use in my everyday life which I'm always delighted to share with you guys 😊

Preparing ginger

My mum always cooked with ginger and used it to make punches and hot beverages. I rarely use it in my dishes, however, I have been adding some to my daily smoothie - courtesy of Shola's excellent smoothie advice! That's what reminded me of this tip that I learned ages ago and that's to use a teaspoon to peel it. Using a sharp knife could result in the accidental removal of some of the precious flesh, whereas a teaspoon will only shave off the outer skin

Knife sharpening

Can't find your knife sharpener? Or, like me - you can't be bothered to hunt through the kitchen utensils drawers to find one! 😂 Fear not - grab a ceramic mug (one of the ones that has the unglazed ring on the bottom) and run each side of the cutting edge of the knife along that ring. I have no idea how, or why - but it definitely does work and will allow you to keep chopping until the sharpener reappears.

What little things do you do, to make your life easier or your money go further? Please share - we'd love to hear them!

Old toothbrushes

Don't throw them away! Always keep one in the cupboard under the kitchen sink and one in the cupboard under your bathroom basin because they are brilliant for cleaning taps and getting in all the nooks and crannies that other cleaning paraphernalia (sponges etc) don't do nearly as well. I just squirt a bit of Cif (or any other cream cleaner) on the side of the sink or bath, dab the toothbrush in it, scrub away then wipe off the residue with a damp microfibre cloth

Washing-Up liquid

Buying cheap, not-very-good-quality washing-up liquid can be a false economy. If you use lots more of it and have to buy it more often, that's probably not saving you any money at all. Consider buying a good quality one (like Fairy Liquid) that yields good results even with only a small amount being used each time. Also, if you decant it into on of the 'Mrs Hinch' type bottles, you can control how much you use each time rather than squeezing a random amount into the bowl. I find that 6 pumps is the perfect amount.

 
 
 
 

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admin@foodforpurpose.org 

 

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sandra.thomas@foodforpurpose.org