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There’s a chance you wrote “Become a fitness baddie” on your New Year’s resolutions list, but let’s face it; you probably abandoned that goal before the second week of January.
But you still want that summer body — it doesn’t matter if there’s an actual summer in Nigeria or not — and we want to help you achieve it. So, banish every late-night eba thoughts and give me your full attention. Let’s learn about everything you’ll need to succeed on this journey.
Gym membership
You might just be deceiving yourself if you believe you can exercise at home and get the same results. When your bed is less than two feet away? Let’s be serious, dear.
Water bottle
Your water bottle is your new best friend. Remember, there’s still heat in Nigeria and dehydration is the enemy of every fitness baddie. Don’t allow the combination of exhaustion and heat stroke to call you to glory.
Nivea Dry Deo
The goal is fitness, not disgrace your family members. You’re guaranteed to break several sweats at the gym, but no one has to know you just finished running 3km on the treadmill. Enter Nivea Dry Range deodorants to the rescue.
Gym Wear
Are you really a fitness baddie if you don’t have the wardrobe to boot? Remember you’ll be taking selfies to stunt on other people document your progress.
Image: Boohoo
Headphones/Earphones
Research shows that you spend more time at the gym than you realise when you’re listening to a fire playlist. Don’t ask me who conducted the research. It’s science.
Image: News24
A picture of your least favourite ex
So when you get tired, you look at them and have more motivation to put in the work for that summer body. The plan is to make them regret ever fumbling you.
Every list about how to get a six-pack focuses on what to do and nothing about what we shouldn’t do. Like, should I drink hot water and lemon after a workout? Or do I anoint my stomach with Goya il to dissolve my belly fat? This article gives you the whole gist of the unhinged things you do that do nothing for your imaginary six-pack.
Rubbing anointing oil on your stomach
Source: Zikoko Memes
Please stop wasting anointing oil on the impossible. You have better chances pouring that oil from Shiloh on INEC BVAs, because all you’d do is make your stomach glow, not reduce it.
Drinking green or flat tummy tea five times a day
Source: Zikoko Memes
One of the biggest fitness scams of all time is the rise of flat tummy teas. Honestly, I blame the Kardashians. While green tea has been proven to help with digestion, there’s no proof in heaven or on earth that downing green or flat tummy teas will burn fat and give you a six-pack that’ll make The Rock jealous. Know this and know peace.
Saying words of affirmation in front of the mirror in the morning
Source: Zikoko Memes
Words of affirmations are great for building self-confidence, not a six-pack. If you like, stand in front of a mirror from now till tomorrow, those words will bounce on your stomach and say, “Back to sender, dear.”
Wearing waist trainers from morning to night
Source: Facebook
Yes, we know your favourite Big Brother alumni have told you that wearing a waist trainer is a magical belly shrinker.
Source: Instagram/WhiteMoney
But please, and please, remember that these people are just trying to secure the bag, so they’d tell you puff puff is a fat burner if the check is big enough. Do you actually believe this waist trainer thing is working for Whitemoney?
Kneading your stomach with a rolling pin
Source: Zikoko Memes
Unless you intend to pour baking powder on your stomach and fry it like chinchin, this ridiculous idea is a complete waste of your time. Who even thought of this and tried it for the first time? Wild and very, very wrong.
We all know fornication is sweet cardio. But, sis, no amount of fornication will give you a six-pack. Fornicate with your chest and enjoy it. There’s no need to come and cap about how you’re doing it to lose weight.
Tattooing 6 packs on your stomach
Source: Zikoko Memes
Might as well just tattoo dollars on your body and wait for it to magically appear since you’re now Harry Potter or something like that.
Drinking hot water and lemon to melt your stomach fat
Source: Zikoko Memes
I’ve been doing this one since secondary school, and still, nothing. I’m not saying warm lemon water is a bad thing. But please, be guided and know it’s also not some magical potion from the babalawo down the street.
Year after year, you start January in the gym with ginger and vim to look like a Marvel avenger. And year after year, you disappear from the gym before February even starts booting. Yes, we know all of you.
As Zikoko’s resident gym bro, I’m here to take these shackles off your feet so you can dance squat. Follow these tips if you’re tired of living a fake gym life and ready to achieve your fitness goals for real.
Marry your trainer or the owner of the gym
Why adopt the fitfam life when you can literally marry into it. If paying money isn’t enough of a commitment to keep you in the gym, then getting married to someone who works there will motivate you to take it seriously this year. After all, a couple that gyms together can break both spiritual and physical yokes against your fitness goals. Amen?
Find a babalawo to bury your destiny under the gym
Motivation is sweet, but using juju is sweeter. Find the closest babalawo, preferably one who works out (so he can have perspective), and get him to put your destiny in a groundnut bottle you can bury at your gym. This way, the gym will be on your mind 24/7.
Pay for a whole year
Will you run away from the gym after paying for a whole year? I doubt it. Even if you don’t spend the entire year on the treadmill, that debit alert will haunt and ginger you to spend at least three months in the gym.
Break up with your lover today
No amount of pre-workout, energy drinks or coffee will fuel your workout like severe heartbreak. The pain of leaving a relationship for the confusion and stress of the streets will have you at the gym at 6 a.m. squatting 220 kg with nary a belt in sight.
Last last, na everybody go chop breakfast, so why not speed up your own breakfast for the greater good.
Start a part-time job as a bouncer
The reason you’re not taking the gym seriously is because it’s not part of your job requirements. Didn’t we all learn how to navigate Zoom, Airtable and Notion during the pandemic? One way to commit to the gym this year is by starting a job that requires you to be there 24/7. Have you seen a bouncer without bulging muscles? Neither have I. Do with that information what you will.
If you’re always complaining about your job holding you back from living your best fitfam life, then it’s time to quit. Yes, you might be broke and start begging for money on the streets, but at least you’ll be consistent in the gym. My dear, a win is a win.
Find a house close to the gym
Why is your gym two buses and a donkey ride away from where you live? See, to excel at this gym thing, you need to live opposite, beside, adjacent, under or on top of a gym. It doesn’t matter what position you take in this arrangement. Please, just be close to the gym.
Go for deliverance
Once again, what God cannot do does not exist. The spirit of abandoning the gym can be broken by some Goya oil and a little dry fast. Go to Shiloh if you must.
Just move into the gym
If you’ve tried everything else on this list and nothing stuck, then my dear, I believe it’s time to try something extreme. But not to worry, I have this one final tip. You can’t escape the Smith machine or dumbbells when they’re your roommates. Give this some serious thought.
In May 2022, I decided to check my weight for the first time since 2020. Yes, I’d been running away from the consequences of eating like a thief. And the numbers were the most gut-wrenching reality. I was too embarrassed to admit how much I currently weighed to anyone.
While I worked through those unresolved feelings, I decided to find a solution. I went through a labyrinth of blogs. Keto talked a lot about healthy fat options like avocado, and they remind me of semo because they both look squishy, like baby food. Intermittent fasting seemed like deliberate torture, so I was down for the vegetarian lifestyle. Little did I know that in a bid to find a fit-fam mentor, I’d connect with someone who gained weight on a vegetarian diet.
Illustration credit: gmast3r, stock
Quite a shocking revelation for me because I’d already envisioned fitting into my old jeans by October. Well, here’s how Paul* went back to the meat life.
Eating animals always irked me out. A moment that stuck with me was when my mum took me to a fish market for the first time. I was 12, and I can’t forget how irritated I felt walking in. I knew we had to kill animals for food but seeing it in real-time seemed incredibly brutal. They smashed stones on the poor fish heads and cut them up. I hated the sight. It looked unethical and void of consideration for the animals. I couldn’t eat the pepper soup my mum made afterwards.
When I talked to her about hating the idea of killing animals for food, she wasn’t bothered. She also didn’t mind me not eating meat or fish at the time. So I paused for a while. That didn’t last long because, at some point, she roped me back into forcing myself to eat meat again. But I got tired.
When I was 18, I decided to read some books on the vegetarian lifestyle. One book that struck me was Deep Vegetarianism by Michael Allen Fox. He reaffirmed my position on the cruelty of killing animals, and I decided to push back on eating meat again in 2016. Of course, my family didn’t take me seriously. My mother still bought suya for the house, and my grandmother never acknowledged the fact I no longer ate meat. Everything at home was still cooked with either meat or fish.
Since no one was adjusting to my diet, I had to learn how to prepare my own food. The only good thing was having my parents cover the cost of groceries. And since I was eating the typical rice and spaghetti, I didn’t have to stress with anything too extra. The first thing I learnt to cook was definitely some kind of pasta. It was the easiest thing to handle on my own. I lived in Bayelsa and eating out was a chore. You’d think there’s absolutely no meat in the food, and boom, they used crayfish to garnish the whole thing.
The most annoying part was always ending up with the worst options on any menu. I couldn’t even casually hang out with friends. The worst time was when we were having a barbeque party in 2017. Of course, the options for me were very slim. The only thing I could eat was chips, and I came in too late to get some. I practically left that party licking sauce off a plate and eating a slice of cake. My friends had a good laugh out of it. After all, I chose the vegetarian lifestyle.
I think my biggest misconception was how healthy I’d probably be by staying away from meat. And that’s what a lot of Nigerians think when they hear “I’m a vegetarian”. But I was loading up on more carbs like rice, bread and pasta every day. I began to notice the weight gain in early 2018. Also, when I started taking anti-psychotic medication that year, one of the side effects was weight gain. But eating 90% carbs wasn’t helping.
I considered buying replacement meat options like tofu, but they didn’t fit in my budget. I also saw the price of protein powder and knew there was no way I could afford it. So I stuck to my carb diet until 2020.
My breaking point on being vegetarian was in November. I wanted to apply to culinary school because I wanted to understand food better. But I’d have to work with ingredients like meat as a chef, at least before working my way to becoming more specialised with alternative meat options. Plus this is Nigeria and as a chef, versatility is important. I can’t be picking and choosing so early in a career. It was difficult to think that I’d have to deal with meat again, but my health had also been on a steady decline since 2018. So I decided to try working on my distaste for meat. I made sure I prepared everything myself because it was easier for me to eat.
Looking out for the macros and weighing how much carbs I paired with meat really transformed my health in a year. I didn’t hate trying meat again but it was weird. I tried eating sausages recently, and I was genuinely surprised by the taste and texture. Some part of me had forgotten how certain types of meat tasted. Half the time, it’s been me going “huh” in my head. I’d missed out on all those flavours for four years, so don’t blame me.
I guess if I had to sum up the experience of eating meat again, I’d call it a nostalgic time travel because of the memories each bite brings back.
Christmas is coming, and as usual, we’re forced to buy gifts for other human beings in the name of “relationship”. Anyway, if your lover likes to spend countless hours in the gym instead of in bed with you, we have a couple of affordable gift options they’d love to have while working out. While some might sound ridiculous, we implore you to take risk and succeed.
1. Ashawo shorts
If you ask a gym bro why they love ashawo shorts, they will tell you it allows them to spread their legs to squat properly, but we all know it’s a bloody lie from Lucifer. It’s just an opportunity to advertise their toned thighs in the gym. If you are looking to help your lover sell their market, you should probably order a pack of these.
2. Primary school water bottles
Working out can leave you dehydrated and that’s why having a bottle of water at all times is very essential. Looking to go the extra mile to ensure your lover has a steady supply of cold water at all times? Well, we suggest you invest in one of the water bottles we used to take to school when we were younger. These bottles are so heavy, they could pass for gym equipment. All your partner has to do is hang the rope on the neck while doing pull ups. We’ve heard the results are mind-blowing.
3. Curate a playlist filled with chaotic Terry G songs
As a supportive partner, we suggest you create a playlist with old Nigerian songs that are chaotic and loud for no reason at all. Nothing gingers a person more in the gym than listening to Terry G’s Free Madness. Listening to songs like this constantly while lifting crazy weights will definitely free their inner madman. It might not be your main goal, but in this life, you reap what you sow.
4. Food flask
We’ve all seen that picture of people turning a Nigerian gym into Mama Put. Well, buying your partner a food flask for the gym shows that you’re a thoughtful lover with foresight. The next time they go to the gym and there’s food, they’ll be able to bring a little takeaway home to you. They can also use the food flask to eat swallow when they decide not to do this gym thing again.
5. White handkerchief, not towel
We all sweat in the gym, so this is important. Get your partner a pack of white handkerchiefs they can use in the gym. Why? Well, if you get them a towel, chances are they might become lazy and not wash it (God help you if it’s brown). To avoid stories that touch, get them white handkerchiefs, so any time they see the dirt from their face they’ll be forced to wash their handkerchiefs. Also, if they ever decide to become cultural dancers, handkerchiefs would be the least of their worries.
6. Pay for their gym membership for a year
This is for people who have funds. If you’re broke, kindly wait for the next Black Friday or Christmas bonanza at your local store. Like Davido said, “Love is sweet o. When money enter love is sweeter.”
No matter how often you do them, some workout routines just feel like they were created in hell’s torture department. Some people will tell you that these moves are “easy” or “fun”, but they are dirty bitches who live a fake life… Here are some of the hellish exercises that make us want to shrivel up and die every time we try them.
No exercise steals your joy like the plank. If you’ve ever wanted time to stand still, then plank. 60 seconds begin to feel like 60 minutes, and you’ll find yourself sweating like a whore in church.. Whoever invented this move must have been a sadist. But it works sha.
This is another move that looks easy until your soul starts screaming for help. Why would anyone think it makes sense to suspend yourself in the air and start lifting your legs? Why? Yes, it’s effective. But that doesn’t make it any less demonic, dear.
We already established the importance of training your legs here. But one thing we’re not going to be doing in this house is front squats. Probably one of the hardest variations of the barbell squat, this move will have you calling for your mummy even if you manage to do it correctly (if you do it anyhow, you’re on your own). Like, can we live? Squats are already hard enough, this is just extra and the gym bros are overdoing it please.
One day, you’re trying to escape punishments in secondary school. Next thing, you’re grown and now paying to undergo the same punishments you barely survived. Life really comes at you fast. If you really deep it, burpees are a combination of frog jump and “raise your hand and close your eyes”. All these moves that combine two or three moves into one, for who, please? Did we tell you we wanted to be part of the Avengers?
This is the one where you hold a kettlebell or dumbbell and then do your lunges to the side. The important question here is: why? Some people now decide to be extra by doing it with a barbell above their head. Life is vanity upon vanity o! This show off you are showing off will not matter after you leave this world o. Let’s all take it easy. It’s not that serious.
One of the best moves to add to your routine, deadlifts are one of the key full-body workout moves for total body strength. . The problem is, they also hurt like hell! If you do it right, it hurts. If you don’t do it correctly, omo, your back is doomed. t There’s just too much going on, and all for what? So we can post thirst traps? You see this body, however, you see it, just take it like that please.
The problem already starts with the name. Why are we doing something that was clearly created for people in Kirikiri? If you hear this name and still decide to do this move, then anything you see, take it like that.
If there’s one thing, working our “abs” has taught us, is that there’s nothing wrong with having a lirru bit of fupa . After all, on judgment day, they won’t create a separate queue for people with six-packs. So, my dear brothers and sisters, stop stressing yourselves and focus on your heavenly race abeg.
Yes, we get it, leg day is scary. So many things could go wrong on this dreaded day, from your legs giving way mid-workout to your shorts ripping to reveal your bum while you’re dropping it low mid squat. But the truth is, with going to the gym, random accidents can happen regardless of what you’re working on. Then there are the men who see the squat rack and immediately think to themselves, “But what do I need a big booty for?”, Well, while doing lunges might give you a big booty (nothing bigger than what God planned by way of genetics), training your legs, in general, does a lot more than that. Did you know your gluteus maximus a.k.a your booty is the biggest muscle group in your body? Not those rock-hard abs or bulging biceps, it’s your behind!
With this in mind, we’ve compiled 5 reasons you shouldn’t skip leg day. Read and be blessed.
It helps you build more muscles….all over
There’s a common misconception that working on your legs only builds, well, your legs. However, this isn’t the case. While your legs might be the primary focus, these moves also engage several other muscle groups. For instance, when you squat, you have to tighten your core, which in turn works your abs. Then there’s the scientific evidence which shows that performing leg-focused exercises increases your testosterone levels, increasing your muscle mass and your performance in the bedroom. Yes, that too!
You get to burn more calories
Remember we mentioned legs being the biggest muscle group? Well, to work on a muscle group like that, you’d need a lot of energy, which means your body will have to burn more calories. Talk about practical magic – the more you train legs, the better your metabolism works and the more calories you burn. Running up and down like your enemies are chasing you is a good way to burn calories, but let’s suggest mixing it up with some squats, lunges, and deadlifts. You’ll thank us for this combo.
You perform better at other exercises
Once your legs are in top shape, chances are you’ll find it easier to perform other routines. From running to lifting heavy weights, your legs are the foundation of every move you make. If you avoid training legs, your strength at the gym will be limited, and in this tough economy, we’re sure you don’t want to waste your gym subscription.
You don’t want to look like Johnny Bravo
We all know those guys in the gym, the ones who strut around the weights room, invisible from the waist down. Yeah, trust us when we say you don’t want to be that guy.
Working on your legs reduces your chances of getting injured
Ever blown your back out in the gym? It’s nothing like the sexual version, trust us. You should know that lower back pain is oftentimes caused by weak muscles, particularly weak legs. Strengthen your leg muscles, bruh.
The next time you walk into the gym and think squatting is a “women’s” thing, think again. Also, what’s wrong with a man having a booty?
For most people, the number one thing on their list of New Year resolutions is joining #FitFam. Well, if you made that promise to yourself as you entered 2020, then this post is for you.
1. Your body, when you promised to join #FitFam in 2020:
“We’ve heard this before.”
2. You, dusting off your gym clothes from #FitFam2019:
I swear this time will be different.
3. You, refusing to return to the gym after one session:
Nah. Nope. Never. I can’t come and kill myself.
4. When you see how much you spent on healthy food.
From where to where?
5. You, shamefully waking up at midnight to eat eba:
Don’t look at me.
6. You, judging yourself whenever you cheat on your diet:
“After all the mouth you made?”
7. You, begging the calories in shawarma to reduce:
Please na. Just reduce for today.
8. When you climb the scale and the number has gone up.
What sorcery is this?
9. When someone posts their body transformation.
Abeg, shift.
10. When someone who is eating says “come and join me”.
Please, don’t tempt me.
11. How you reward yourself after eating a salad:
I’ve earned this.
12. You, secretly hoping the Okada ban helps you lose weight.
At least, let one good thing come out of this nonsense.
The year is about to end and while many are panicking about not having achieved 2 out of the 30 goals they had on their New Year’s resolution, you can’t relate because you don’t have one, not even a fitness goal, the one everyone seems to have. You don’t need it because you feel people who create one are aje-butter. Your mantra is, “Why go to the gym when I trek everyday?”
Let me blow your mind: If any of these applies to you then you may have been fitfaming all this time without realising !
You have a food schedule in your house. Yes, the one you painstakingly created, ensuring that carbohydrates and protein mix daily.
You don’t go anywhere without water. Your name should be Fountain, considering the gallons of water you drink on a daily.
You don’t drink fizzy beverages because they make you sneeze and are sickening sweet; why do people go crazy over it for reals though?
You work up a considerable amount of sweat, especially the moment when you are waiting for a bus. I mean, it’s not your fault Nigeria is hot, but still. ICYMI, sweating out a lot of liquid can cause you to lose water weight. If that’s not fitfaming, only God knows what is.
You don’t need a treadmill, you walk so fast, Usian Bolt can’t keep up with you.
Did you relate to any of this? Then fam, you are part of the fitfam fambam.
When you hear fitfam and food, what comes to your mind is usually salads, fruits or vegetables. But you can be fitfam and eat proper Nigerian food. Traditional meals that will do your body good without detracting from your fitfam lifestyle.
And since we are all about you, here are 5 fitfam recipes that are made by Nigerians, for Nigerians because not every time salads:
Oats and Wholemeal Flour Puffpuff
From Dooney’s Kitchen: Because fitfam doesn’t have to be about salads and tasteless foods that you don’t enjoy. Total calories 703 (using 3 tbs of honey). This can feed 2 people conveniently. Now divide by 2 and you’ve got a very healthy snack right there. 351 calories.
Ingredients
1 cup of Oat Flour (158 calories)
½ cup of Wheat Flour (187 calories)
3 – 4 tbs of honey – depending on your tolerance for sweetness 64 calories per tbs
1 packet of fast action yeast (7g – 23 calories)
¼ – ½ cup warm water –
1 tbs of Sunflower oil (120 calories) for frying in a ‘Masa’ pan
Method
To make your own Oat flour, simply blend in a dry mill as you would egusi for example
Measure 1 baking standard cup of Oat flour into a bowl
Add ½ cup of wholemeal, one packet of yeast and honey
Combine with warm water and stir till there are no lumps. Start with ¼ cup of water and add more slowly. A reader’s feedback of this recipe was that you would need less water than the standard puff puff recipe
Leave in a warm place to rise.Turned oven on for 3 minutes and turn it off.
The batter should be fine after 30 minutes.
Choose your preferred method of frying.
Flip over when the bottom has browned, and chew airy delicious healthy puff puff.
Likewise, you can fry like a crumpet or fry flat in a pan.
Fitfam Akara Waffles
From Dooney’s Kitchen: #fitfam Akara with cherry tomatoes, shallots and flavoured oil drizzle.
Ingredients
Peeled Beans
Salt
Crayfish
Vegetable Oil
Chopped Onions
Chopped Tatashe – red bell pepper
Fried Pepper sauce for serving – optional
Method
Blend the beans to a smooth puree. You can decide to add the onions and tatashe to the beans before blending.
The traditional recipe for Akara calls for stirring the bean batter to aerate it, hand mixer to the rescue.
Let the engine run at 1 for about 5 minutes, till you see air pockets in the batter.
Stir in the crayfish and season with salt
Heat up the waffle maker. Spray on oil, or you can dip a kitchen paper towel in oil and rub every usable surface.
Pour into the waffle maker.
Closing the waffle maker loosely will help the akara cook a little without sticking to the top.
Once it is half cooked, shut the lid tightly to allow the top to cook.
A few warning points, you may likely get bits of the top sticking, but leave the device to keep running. As it gets hotter, the bits that have stuck become harder, and comes off the waffle maker cleanly.
The best parts are the golden crispy edges.
Nigerian Fitfam Meatzza
From Dooney’s Kitchen: This is healthier than a standard pizza because there is no carb laden crust. Your body cannot discern between sugras got from carbohydrates and that got from fruit and vegetables. All you need is a frying pan.
Ingredients
Mince Meat
Sliced onions
Cherry Tomatoes – or you sliced tomatoes
Oatmeal
Parmesan Cheese – optional
1 or 2 eggs
Red chili – or use ata rodo
Sliced tatashe and green pepper
Dry Pepper
Uziza seeds – ground
Uziza leaves – you can use efinrin or Basil
Mozarella cheese – or use local Wara, or use ripe plantain, or break 2 or 3 whole eggs on top
Curry Powder – optional
Dried Thyme – optional
Leftover Stew or Ata din din – you can also use Ewa Aganyin sauce
Salt
Seasoning cube
Method
Place your mince in a bowl, and add all the spices and seasonings. Whatever you use often to season your meats, will work great here.
Personalise this recipe, make it your own.
Add the Oatmeal, about 1 – 2 tablespoons, the shaved parmesan cheese, if you are using, and an egg or two. The oatmeal is to bind everything together. Nigella used breadcrumbs but oatmeal is a healthier option. the cheese is just to keep it moist and stay true to the traditional Italian meatball recipe, but you can definitely leave it out.
Gently combine all the ingredients until it forms a ball. Emphasis on gently, don’t overwork the mince. if it is not holding up to a ball, either add another egg, or a little more oatmeal.
Take out the mince and carefully lay out in a lightly greased pan, until all ares are covered. Again, do this gently.
Spread out your stew or sauce unto the mince.
Now add your toppings. I used onions, cherry tomatoes, chili, sliced tatashe, green pepper and of course Mozarella.
Cover with foil, to keep moist and then place in a preheated oven at 200 degrees centigrade of Gas mark 6 and let it cook for 15 – 20 minutes. You will observe that the mince will shrink, but that is expected. You will also see some of the juices in the pan, but that is fine, you can always drain out at the end.
Before serving, top with fresh leaves.
Served with a side salad.
Pumpkin Seed ‘Egusi’ style Soup and Efo Igbo
From Dooney’s Kitchen: An alternative to Egusi soup. Looks like it, tastes like it and 285 calories per cup. As opposed to 840 calories with normal egusi seeds.
Ingredients
1 cup of Pumpkin seeds
1 – 2 cooking spoons of Palm oil
Ata lilo – fresh pepper mix
Efo Igbo – eggplant leaves or any green veg
Assorted Meats
Smoked fish
Meat Stock
Ground Crayfish
Note: This is cooked Exactly as you would Egusi soup. I used the lumpy Egusi style method, but as pumpkin seeds contain less oil, it didn’t form the giant lumps I was expecting, but I would be trying it again
Method
Mill the pumpkin seeds to a fine powder.
Heat up palm oil in a pot, add chopped onions, fry, add pepper, let that fry a little too, add the assorted meat, beef stock, smoked fish and ground crayfish. Let the pepper stock reduce sufficiently.
Take a little out of the pepper stock and mix to form a paste. You can also use blended onions.
Using a tablespoon or your fingers, add the pumpkin seed paste in lumps into the stock. Lower the heat and allow it to cook.
In a few more minutes, just as it would Egusi soup, the paste would have combined well with the pepper stock. See, I told you the green colour will disappear.
Once the soup has thickened as you like it, add the green veg and stir
A few more minutes, and that is your soup done
Gwaten Masara
From 1Q Food Platter: Gwaten Masara is a porridge with lots of vegetables , no added oil, cereal carb but in small quantity which meals slow releasing energy. Gwaten Masara is a porridge eaten originating from Plateau state but it has quickly evolved into a light and healthy meal for healthy food enthusiasts.
Ingredients
Beef bones (biscuit bone)
1/2 cup coarsely Milled Maize (maize grit)
1/2 cup Yakwa
1 cup Spinach or Aleho
1/4 of medium size Cabbage
1/4 cup Garden Egg
Scotch Bonnet Pepper to taste
1/2 Spring Onion
Few sprigs of Basil
Crushed Groundnut (optional)
Seasoning Cubes to taste
Salt to taste
Method
Season the beef bones with salt, pepper and onion and steam till soft.
Pick wash and shred all the vegetables.
Add water, pepper and basil to meat pot, correct seasoning and bring to boil.
Add the garden egg & cabbage and cook for about 2 minutes.
Sprinkle on the maize and stir. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes stirring intermittently.
Add the yakwa and spinach and cook for 3 minutes.
Lastly add the onion , stir and turn off the heat.
Serve hot with sprinkle of coarsely crushed groundnut.
Go forth and be fit. And share this with all your fitfam buddies.
