Cheap recipes to beat malnutrition
There has been so much talk about malnutrition, millions of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, and thousands needing treatment. How and what children are fed are crucial to treatment, but prevention is always better. Deciding what should be meal for children is tricky. Staples vary from one part of the country to another, and […]
There has been so much talk about malnutrition, millions of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, and thousands needing treatment.
How and what children are fed are crucial to treatment, but prevention is always better.
Deciding what should be meal for children is tricky. Staples vary from one part of the country to another, and food changes with culture.
But one thing remains steady: protein, carbohydrates, fats and oil, minerals, vitamins, water. The food classes never change. Only their combination does.
Here are a few cheap recipes to help children keep malnutrition at bay. Each costs less than N20 a serving. The recipes were developed by the project Working to Improve Nutrition in Northern Nigeria (WINNN).
Millet pap with moringa. Millet pap doesn’t have to be bland. Complement it with moringa. This meal packs some 116 kilocalories, with a healthy dose of vitamins A, B and C. Folic acid, iron and calcium are in the mix as well. Cost per serving is N1.71.
Tom Brown. This meal of maize, millet, soya milk and groundnut raises the bar on energy, with 154 kilocalories per serving. Protein and fat are also thrown in. It is short on vitamin C but makes up with a good measure of vitamin B6, niacin and calcium. Cost per serving N2.74.
Pumpkin pottage. Made from acha and stuffed with pumpkin, this isn’t your usual gruel. It is a vitamins-and-minerals buffet (iron, zinc and magnesium in there0 but still manages to pack 92 kilocalories of energy to boot. Cost per serving N6.04.
Pumpkin pottage with rice. This is your regular pumpkin pottage, with a twist in choice of grains. Iron, zinc and magnesium are still in there but the use of rice pushes the energy content to 106 kilocalories. Cost per serving N10.06.
Mashed sweet potatoes with vegetables. The sweet potatoes in this meal raise its energy content to 110 kilocalories. Its content of folic acid falls between pumpkin pottage and the same pottage with rice. B vitamins—1, 2, 6, 12—are packed in, alongside iron magnesium and zinc. Cost per serving N13.05.
Kanzo pottage. This meal likely started out as families tried to find what to do with leftover food. Now it holds its own. Pick your choice of food, then cook and dry for later use. Reconstitute by adding in water and touch up on condiments. This pottage packs a whopping 135 kilocalories, up to 147 microgrammes of vitamin A, 3.5 milligrammes of niacin and 47 milligrammes of magnesium. Cost per serving N18.07. By comparison, a serving of talia (spaghetti) and awara (tofu) costs N23.01.
Jollof rice with fish, locust beans and moringa. This meal has its punch in its name. energy content is 164 kilocalories, vitamin A is 388 microgrammes. There is no shortage of B vitamins either, and folic acid content is 40microgrammes. Its magnesium content rivals Kanzo pottage. Cost per serving N32.79.