Are you from the Caribbean and want to lead a healthier lifestyle but need some guidance in doing so? Maybe you just need a gentle nudge or a little encouragement. Whatever the case, this article will help to kick start you in the right direction.

 

Hey everyone!

 

It's been awhile since I wrote an actual article and not a recipe post.

 

My plan was to send this to you in the form of a newsletter, but thought it would be better to host it as evergreen content on my website instead.

 

I'm so excited that you want to lead a healthy Caribbean lifestyle, it's not difficult at all, but it does require some changes and most importantly, willingness to change.

 

The Caribbean diet itself isn't actually unhealthy, in fact many of the foods are good for our health.

The question is what makes certain aspects of Caribbean food so unhealthy?

 

As an African-Caribbean woman, I cannot help but notice the high levels of diabetes, obesity, kidney disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels that plague our community.

 

What attributes to these issues?

• Poor diet/poor eating habits
• Lack of exercise
• Medication
• Genetics

The downfall - where we go wrong with our eating habits

Another thing we like to do in the community is shaming tactics, embracing "fatness" and making insensitive comments about people who are naturally slim i.e from a Jamaican perspective referring to someone as "marga" or "bony" if you're Bajan.

 

There is a lot of importance placed on being "thick" especially for women which can actually cost our health.

 

Unlike the western hemisphere where a slim catwalk figure is the standard of beauty, in the Caribbean the "thicker" a woman is more sexier she is.

 

Many people eat the wrong types of food to obtain thickness, they feel pressurised from our culture to "fit in" at any means necessary.

 

Here are some tips that I will share with on how to make those changes to be a better version of yourself;

 

• Change your mindset - change starts from within! I'm sure you have probably heard this before, but it's very true. In order for you to lead a healthier lifestyle it's really down to you to make that change.

Nobody can make the change for you, not even I have the power to do that nor would I want to coerce you to change.

• Be more open minded - Step outside of your comfort zone, this means doing things that make you feel uncomfortable. Again, this is all apart of that change!
• Set yourself a realistic goal -  it could be a specific goal i.e a special occasion, maybe you were unfortunate to see a relative go through some health issues or you're doing to for your family/children.

Whatever the reason, just think about it or even write it down, set yourself small goals i.e to loose 1-2lbs a weeks or it could even be to eat a side serving of vegetables with one meal a day (source).

• Take babysteps - Don't be unrealistic with your change, take small steps. For example, eat one healthy thing per day then slowly increase it to 2, 3 until your whole day is centred around healthy eating.

From there you can increase this to daily and before you know it, you will embark on a long term lifestyle change.

• Avoid deep fat frying - Yup, I said it fried chicken, fish anything that uses a few cups worth of oil, needs to go.

Sauteing in a few tablespoons of oil is fine and using a small amount of oil to cook your favourite fried food is fine, but do so in moderation please.

• Cut down on fatty foods - Eat the cuts of meat with a higher fat content in moderation - oxtail, cow heel, sousse, pig feet, chicken foot (steppers) etc.. these food should be limited, again, eat them but in moderation.
• Use lean cuts of meat - Choose the leanest cut of meat where possible, granted this can sometimes be more expensive at times but look out for special offers and discounts at the supermarket.

However, if this isn't in your budget then simply trim off, any excess bits of meat, from the meat to make it more lean and less fatty. When you are cooking meat on the bone, be sure to skim off any excess fat.

• Air fryer/oven bake, steam and grill food - The excessive use of large quantities of oil has to stop, instead, explore other cooking methods. Focus on air frying, grilling, steaming and oven baking where possible.

Doing things like oven baked fish or double roasting breadfruit. This is something I do often, where I roast the breadfruit and then once roasted and sliced I simply coat the slices in oil (olive oil or coconut oil are my favourite) and bake it in the oven.

• Use a study non stick frying pan - Another great tip that I learnt while growing up. When making things like fritters, bakes, dumpling, use a good sturdy non-stick frying pan/skillet.

I also recommend doing this in small batches as this will limit the amount of oil that is used.

• Use good cooking oils - Use oils with a high smoke point, so olive, coconut and avocado oil are all good for the body and best to cook with. Coconut oil gets a bad press for being saturated, but that's simply because many people fail to understand that the saturated oils from coconut oil help to compliment the good cholesterol which is known as HDL that aids things like inflammation (source).
• Reduce the amount of carbs per serving - I totally understand that Caribbean food is all about being hearty and incredibly filling but we don't need to consume every single ground provision with our main meal.

No more dumpling, cassava, white/yellow yam, cocoyam and dasheen and not to forget to white rice in one serving per person, that's way too many carbs.

The key is to reduce your carb level so you are only consuming what the body needs, not what YOU think it needs and do everything in moderation and not excess.

We often here the phrase "eat in moderation" but does that truly mean? That is such a good question.

 

In my humble opinion, eating in moderation is all about being more mindful about what you are eating and how often. It doesn't mean having to forgo eating a fried johnny cake forever and forever.

 

You can still consume the things you enjoy, but you will be more aware of things such as the portion size, pushing away certain foods and limiting things such as sweet treats.

 

It may even include counting the calories of certain foods. One thing for sure, it doesn't mean deprivation.

 

What frustrates and confuses people the must about this phrase "eating in moderation" is when does this apply. 

 

Really this is down to the individual, because each person has unique nutritional needs. Once you tap into planning your meals and being more aware of what foods more nutritious then others, you will find it easier to know when to eat the foods that are considered " a guilty pleasure".

 

For some people, that might mean eating chocolate one a day, for others it might mean eating fried snapper on a monthly basis.

 

And another person, their moderation might mean adding sugar to their lifestyle every other day.

 

Unfortunately, it's not something that is set in stone, it is very much an individualistic thing but ultimately you do not need to deprive yourself on of your creature comforts (source).

 

 

In my recipes you will see that my choice of sweetener tends to be;

 

I also make my own condensed milk with it, although all of these sweeteners have health properties (especially coconut sugar).

 

It's still a sugar and should be treated as such, so please don't use this version in everything, definitely, only use what you need in moderation.

 

Banana, contains natural occurring sweetness and are great in things like some punch recipes and smoothies.

 

Swap the white table salt for one that is unrefined like sea salt or my favourite is Himalayan pink salt which has trace mineral and vitamins which a good for things like teeth and bones and mental health (iodine).

 

The body actually needs some salt, contrary to what people say, the key is to have using the right salt (source).

 

I know pink salt is an abnormally to the Caribbean culture but this is all about changing and embracing things that will lead to a positive and better version of yourself.

 

Here are a few personal additional tips that I think you should really heed as well.

 

Plan your meals ahead of time, that way you know exactly what you are having and have an idea of what ingredients you need . Things such as cooking time and portion size are all key.

Additionally, it is also a good idea to make a collective, household change.

 

You can throw out any of the bad foods (I mean grab a black bag, collect all of the junk and discard it) and slowly embark on a healthy eating as a family.

 

You are more likely to succeed in a long term healthy lifestyle if you do it as a household because you are making the change together and can hold yourselves accountable as well as motivate one another.