Lemon Olive Oil Cookies

Hey guys, it’s been a hot minute! But, I’ve got a good one for you. Lemon olive oil Cookies! So, it was the end of the week and I didn’t have that many ingredients left but I still wanted to bake something sweet and easy. Then it hit me, I’ve been seeing olive oil cookies all over my for you page and I finally decided to give them a try. They always looked so good, soft on the inside with a crinkle outside and they’re dairy free. But these cookies have a twist, they’re not only dairy free, they are also gluten and sugar free. I also added lemon because it pairs great and really enhances the flavour. If you want you can drizzle them with icing or sprinkle on some white sugar. I went with flaky sea salt, my go-to for all my cookies, because I like the added kick of salt. So, let’s get into it.

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
1 egg
1 cup gluten free flour (I used freee gluten free flour)
2 tbsp sugar free brown sugar (I used Truvia soft brown sugar)
3tbsp sugar free white sugar (I used Truvia’s white sugar)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp flaky salt
lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions

Add the olive oil and sugar to a bowl and whisk until well combined.
Add the lemon juice and zest and give it a quick mix.
Sift in the flour and baking powder. This is an important step to get rid of any lumps and avoid over-mixing.
Use a spatula to fold in the flour gently.
Line a tray with baking paper, scoop out the dough evenly into balls and flatten them slightly on the lined tray.
Bake at 160ºC (with fan) for 20 mins.
Allow to cool and sprinkle with some flaky salt.

There you have it! If you try these out, let me know what you think down in the comments. This is a great recipe to try out because you most likely already have these ingredients in your kitchen. I hope you enjoy this one and come back for more gluten and dairy free recipes, xoxo.

Gluten Free Artisan Style Bread

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Hey guys, welcome back to the blog! Today’s recipe is a play on a traditional artisan style loaf bread. Have you ever walked by a bakery with all kinds of breads lined up? Unfortunately, if you can’t have gluten like me, you walk past them. Before I became gluten free, I used to enjoy all kinds of loaf bread, but since cutting gluten out of my diet, I’ve missed it. Since I had a bag of Bob’s red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour (the red bag) laying around, I thought I’d try to make an artisan style loaf bread. This gluten free flour has a heavy garbanzo bean flour base or chickpea flour with a mix of fava bean and sorghum flour. These types of flours aren’t ideal for cookies and cakes but they work great in bread recipes. Here is how you can use them.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour ( I used Bob’s Red Mill)
2 tbsp arrowroot powder (starch)
1 cup warm plant-based milk
2 tbsp yeast
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp white vinegar

Instructions

Preheat your oven at 180ºC
Combine your dry ingredients together in one bowl. I used instant active dry yeast so I simply mixed it into the flour but if you need to activate your yeast, mix it in the warm milk with the sugar and let it sit for 5 mins before adding it in the bread dough.
Add the olive oil, milk and vinegar to the dry ingredients. It’s easier to combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and use your hand or spatula to knead the dough together after combining them with the flour.
Cover the dough and let it rest for 45mins-1hr in a warm place.
Bake at 180ºC in a lined baking pan. I used a cake pan lined with baking paper.
Let it cool down before storing in the fridge for up to two weeks.

More Recipes like this one

Gluten and Dairy Free Bread Recipe – find here

Healthy Fruit Loaf – find here

Gluten Free Cornbread Recipe – find here

Gluten Free Raisin Loaf – find here

Gluten Free Brioche Bread – find here

Gluten Free Red Velvet Cake Recipe (without buttermilk)

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Red velvet cakes were always a mystery to me, I naively thought they were just a chocolate cake with red food colouring, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. A red velvet cake is a traditionally red, brownish red, or crimson coloured cake. The original recipe created a natural red hue due to a reaction between cacao and vinegar, however most red velvet cake recipes today include red food colouring. A red velvet cake is a soft, moist, crumbly cake with a combination of vanilla and cacao. It usually includes vinegar, buttermilk, and baking soda to create a light, fluffy texture and a slight tangy flavour.

I never had a desire to learn how to make a red velvet cake, let alone a gluten free one, however my mom (who is allergic to gluten) had been wanting to try a red velvet cake for a while, so I decided to attempt it. I baked a two tier red velvet cake, layered with buttercream frosting and fresh strawberries, so here’s what you need to know.

Which flour should I use?

For this type of red velvet cake, I’d recommend using a gluten free self-raising flower (I like freee’s self-raising) or you can use an all purpose gluten free flour blend. Simply be aware that most gluten free flours are quite dense so you might want to balance out your blend with another flour such as almond flour.

Is this recipe dairy free?

No, this recipe is not dairy free since it includes butter, however it is without buttermilk. The reason I can add butter to my baking is that it is relatively low in lactose, but if you are completely dairy free then a vegan butter should work as well. To replace buttermilk, I used a plant-based milk with a tablespoon of vinegar. You can use almond milk or coconut milk (avoid canned coconut milk).

What food colouring should I use?

For this recipe, I used liquid food colouring because it was the only one I could find (I also couldn’t find a red one so I opted for pink). If you’re using gel food colouring replace the tablespoon measurements with one teaspoon.

Ingredients

For the Cake (this makes one 10″ layer cake)

1/2 cup butter
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup plant-based milk
1 tbsp vinegar
3 cups gf flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp cacao powder
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp red food colouring

For the Buttercream

50g cup softened butter
100-150g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk
a bunch of strawberries

Directions

Preheat your oven at 180ºC and ensure all your ingredients are at room temperature.
In a bowl, cream butter and sugar until well combined.
Add in your eggs one at a time and mix until you get a smooth mixture. Add in the vanilla extract.
In another bowl, sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cacao (Keep in mind I used salted butter in this recipe so if you’re using unsalted butter, add 1/2 tsp of salt to your dry ingredients).
In a measuring cup, add your plant-based milk and vinegar, stir and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
To your egg mixture, add your milk and flour in increments. I like to use a hand mixture to get a smooth batter, but you can also use a standing mixer.
Add the food colouring to your batter and mix until well incorporated.
Grease the sides of your baking tin and line the bottom with baking paper. Pour in your batter and bake for 35-40 mins.
Allow your cake to cool for 5 mins in the pan before removing and allowing to cool on a rack.
For the icing, cream softened room temp butter, icing sugar, plant-based milk and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Make sure your cake has completely cooled down before icing.
Optional: slice up some strawberries to decorate your cake. I find the strawberries complement all the flavours really well.

Extra Tip

If you want an extra moist cake, I’d recommend soaking the cake layers in simple syrup before decorating. To make the syrup simply boil equal parts water and sugar, allow it to cool before drizzling over the levelled cakes.

More Recipes like this one

Gluten & Dairy Free Sponge Cake – find here

Victoria sponge Cake – find here

Gluten & Dairy Free Milk Cake – find here

Healthy Chocolate Cake – find here

Chocolate Rice Cake Snack Bars

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Lately, I’ve been into no-bake desserts, they’re quick and easy and store well for quick snacks on the go. Although, I never thought of using rice cakes, I always thought they tasted like Styrofoam, until they started trending on TikTok recently, forcing me to see them in a different light. After countless of videos on rice cake snacks, I decided to put my own twist on them and make no-bake chocolate rice cake bars. These are gluten and dairy free and are so decadent with a drizzle of almond butter, you won’t want to miss them. So grab that bag of rice cakes in the back of your pantry and let’s get into it.

What kind of rice cakes do I need?

Any kind of rice cake should work with this recipe, I used Kallo’s rice cakes. However, if you are really against rice cakes you can opt for corn cakes instead, simply make sure they’re the thick ones as the thin ones can be more crunchy than soft.

Is this recipe vegan?

Yes! This recipe is vegan. Normally, my no-bake desserts include honey, however in this case the dairy-free chocolate chips I used were sweetened with xylitol (making the recipe refined-sugar free as well). If your chocolate chips aren’t sweetened, you could always add 1-2 tbsp liquid sweetener of choice.

Ingredients

6-8 rice cakes
1/2 tbsp coconut oil
1/3 cup dairy free chocolate chips – I used Neofoods, but you can also used a bar of chocolate.
1 tbsp plant-based milk – I used almond
1/4 cup toppings – I used almond flakes and shredded coconut. You can also add dried fruit, walnuts or any toppings you’d like.
2 tbsp almond butter (optional)
1/2 tsp flaky salt – I find that a little sprinkle of salt really enhances them.

Steps

In a bowl, crush your rice cakes into small pieces.
In a heatproof bowl, add your chocolate, coconut oil and milk and place over a double boiler until melted.
Allow the chocolate to cool down completely (this is important otherwise you’ll end up with soggy bars) before adding to the crushed rice cakes.
Use a spatula to mix until all the rice cakes are coated in chocolate.
Add your toppings and press the mixture into a lined baking tin. Drizzle with some nut butter and sprinkle some sea salt.
Refrigerate until hardened before cutting into bars.

You can store these in the fridge for up to a week or freeze them for longer. This has been my go-to no-bake snack for a couple of weeks now and I can’t get enough of it. I hope you try these out and let me know what you think of them down in the comments. Please like and follow for more quick recipes like this one, xoxo.

More Recipes Like These

No-bake Almond Bites – find the recipe here

Vegan Snack Bars – find the recipe here

Chia Seed Pudding – find the recipe here

No Bake Almond Bites (GF, DF)

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No bake energy bites or snacks are probably one of my favourites recipes out there, they’re quick and easy to make and you can change their flavour combinations every time. You can also make these almond energy balls ahead of time and store for a quick snack. Most recipes I’ve found contain dates, peanuts or cashews and require a blender or food processor. So I decided to make my own version of no bake bites, using almonds and coconut, that tastes like actual cookie dough! All you need are a few simple ingredients and a spatula to stir, here is how you can make them.

Ingredients

1 cup Almond flour – I like to use almond flour because it doesn’t require any baking. But if you don’t have almond flour you can also use gluten free fine oats or rolled oats (you can also toast them if you don’t like the taste of raw oats).
1/4 cup almond butter or any nut butter – this helps combine the ingredients and adds a great nutty flavour.
2 tbsp honey – for some sweetness and to help the ingredients stick together. You can choose any liquid sweetener you like.
2 tbsp chia seeds- for more fibre and honestly I just really like chia seeds.
1-2 tbsp plant-based milk – depending on how dry you dough is you might need to add a few tablespoons of milk. If the texture is too crumbly try adding a tablespoon of plant-based milk (I used almond milk).
Optional: 1/4 chocolate chips or raisins or any toppings you’d like.
1/4 cup shredded coconut – to coat the energy balls.
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Steps

In a bowl, add the almond flour, chia seeds, cinnamon and toppings.
Add in your liquid ingredients; almond butter, honey, and vanilla and combine until you form a dough.
If the texture is too dry or crumbly add in a tablespoon of milk.
Refrigerated for 5-10 mins before scooping and rolling into balls. I usually wet my hands for this step to prevent the mixture from sticking to my hands.
In a plate, sprinkle some shredded coconut and coat each energy ball.
You can store these energy bites in the fridge for up to two weeks.

There you have it! Easy, no-bake almond, coconut bites. If you want to try different flavours some of my favourites are double chocolate (simply add a tablespoon of cacao powder to the recipe) and coffee (add a teaspoon of instant coffee to your milk). Feel free to mix up the flavours and let me know your favourites down in the comments. I hope you enjoyed this recipe and please like and follow for more, thank you for reading, xoxo.

More recipes like this one…

Best Almond chocolate oat cookies (find the recipe here)

Easy Vegan Snack bars (find the recipe here)

Healthy Cookie Dough Bites (find the recipe here)

Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread

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Cinnamon raisin bread is a flavored bread usually made with white flour and a cinnamon sugar swirl in the middle. This gluten free version is a loaf bread, sweetened with coconut sugar. It’s a play on my favorite raisin pastry as a child and it’s a must try recipe. This gluten free bread is soft and fluffy, with a buttery cinnamon flavor. Here’s how you can make it…

Which flours work best?

For this recipe you don’t need any complex flour blends, any all purpose gluten free flour should work well. I’ve tried it with multiple all purpose flours and they all work well, but it’s best to opt for one with xanthum gum. Also try to avoid blends that are heavy with bean flours because I find it adds an aftertaste to bread and pastries.

Ingredients

500g gluten free all purpose flour
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1 tablespoon instant dry yeast
2 eggs
100ml plant-based milk
300ml water
3tbsp softened butter
2tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp white vinegar
1 cup raisins

Directions

Sift flour, baking powder, instant yeast, coconut sugar, and cinnamon together.
Add in the eggs, milk, water, vinegar, butter and oil and mix until well incorporated. I used a hand mixer for this to ensure no lumps remained.
Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and fold in the raisins.
Transfer the dough into a lined baking pan and allow to rise in a warm place for 45mins to 1hr.
Bake at 200ºC for 45 mins until the top turns golden brown.
Allow to cool before slicing. Best served warm with a drizzle of almond butter.

Thank you for joining on today’s post, I hope you try out the recipe and let me know what you think. Please like and follow for more gluten free recipes like this one, xoxo.

How I Grocery Shop as a University Student

healthy living

Hey guys, welcome back to the blog! Today, we’re talking about my favourite activity ever, grocery shopping. There’s just something about walking into a grocery store, pulling our a cart and picking out produce that de-stresses me. But, I realise that this isn’t the case for everyone. Often times, grocery shopping can be stressful especially if you’re a university students or you are on a budget and pressed on time. I”l admit that moving out and having to grocery shop for myself for the first time was a bit daunting, but I’ve slowly found the ideal method for my grocery shopping. However, I also realise that not everyone’s requirements are the same and that we all have different needs and spending budgets. This blogpost isn’t to sway or pressure you into any sort of habits, it’s simply to share a few tips that have helped me grocery shop in a healthy and sustainable way. So let’s get into it!

Tip 1: Set your monthly/weekly food budget

So, before you actually get into it, it’s good to set a realistic food budget for each month. This will vary for each person but it’s important to keep some room for flexibility since some months you might fluctuate around your budget. Food budget is probably the most important part of your financial planning after accounting for accommodation/bills, so remember to set a clear goal.

Tip 2: Decide how often you need to go grocery shopping

Some students prefer to go grocery shopping weekly while others prefer to go every two weeks or even once a month. I always separate my grocery shopping, with one trip a month focused on long term supplies and weekly trips for fresh produce. To help you decide how often you need to go grocery shopping, determine how much of what you need to buy can be stored for longer. If you buy a lot of fresh produce, it’s best to go weekly to avoid overbuying and your produce going bad.

Then you can schedule the days that you go shopping. As a university student, finding time to go grocery shopping can sometimes be challenging, but you never want to walk up to an empty fridge. I coordinate my grocery shopping according to my class schedule, but I try to avoid shopping on Fridays as most of the items are often out of stock by the end of the week.

Tip 3: Make a list!

I always keep a digital list on my notes app as well as a physical notepad in my kitchen. This helps me note down anything I might need throughout the week. Lists are great to ensure that you stick to buying what you need. It’s easy to get distracted when grocery shopping; you go for one thing and come back with ten. Make a list to buy the items you find necessary.

Tip 4: Don’t go Hungry

One of the best tips I learnt when trying to grocery shop is never to go hungry because you’ll end up buying random foods and snacks that you never planned on and may not be the healthiest options. So never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach.

Tip 5: Stick to frozen & prepped veggies

I like to stock up on prepped veggies to make cooking easier and faster as well as frozen veggies and fruits which are more affordable and last longer. I am selective when choosing which veggies and fruits to buy frozen, for example, broccoli, green beans, and carrots are some of the veggies I like to buy prepped. While I often get frozen berries for smoothies and baking.

Tip 6: Prep yourself

My last tip is to try and be as sustainable as you can when it comes to packaging, while you can’t completely avoid plastic at times at the supermarket, you can implement a few habits. For example, I always keep a few reusable shopping bags on hand for when I want to shop as well as smaller bags for produce. It’s also helpful to use a shopping basket than cart, I found that the more space I have, the easier it is to go overboard on the grocery shopping.

A note from the author

Thank you for reading and reaching this far, please like if you found something useful here today. I hope you follow for more lifestyle tips like these ones and join the healthboss community, xoxo.

Check out more posts like this one

Grocery Haul List – https://healthboss.blog/2020/03/25/healthy-grocery-haul-list-quarantine-101/

Healthy Food Staples – https://healthboss.blog/2020/07/05/healthy-food-staples/

How to Eat Healthy on a Budget – https://healthboss.blog/2020/09/20/how-to-eat-healthy-on-a-budget/

Homemade Gluten Free Brioche Bread

recipes

If you’ve never tried brioche, you haven’t lived. When I was a kid, it was one of the things I looked forward to most when going grocery shopping. My parent’s would always buy a fresh brioche bun from the bakery, it was sweet and pillowy with a golden, sticky crust. Brioche is a French bread, traditionally loaded with eggs and butter, making it rich, light and fluffy. The best way to describe it is a pastry-like bread. Unfortunately, if you’re gluten free like I am, finding a gluten free brioche is tough. Gluten is what helps dough rise in pastry, which means that gluten free pastries are usually more dense.

When I was buying a traditional brioche for my family the other day, I finally decided I had to attempt make a gluten free one. But, because I felt this would be hard enough to achieve, I decided not to make this recipe dairy free. So, this recipe uses traditional butter, but you can always try vegan butter if you cannot have any dairy. I can use butter in my recipes because it’s low in lactose, using vegan butter should work fine although keep in mind it may change the taste of your brioche bun.

Types of Brioches

Brioches come in all shapes and sizes as well as different flavours. They can be plain or have sweet or savoury fillings. They can be made into a loaf, individual buns, or one big bun. Traditionally, they contain flour, eggs, butter, milk or cream, yeast, salt, and sugar. Some of my favourite types of brioches are chocolate brioches, coconut-filled brioche buns, and the raisin filled loaf. However, in this recipe I chose to make a plain sweet loaf, but you can easily add any filling you like to the dough.

Why this recipe?

The best thing about this recipe is that it is quick and very easy to make compared to most brioche recipes. It’s perfect for someone who has never even tried a hand at pastry making or bread making. The ingredients are also simple and easy to find, but a fair warning, you will want to make it more than once! Here is how you can make your own brioche bread…

Ingredients

4 eggs (+1 for the egg wash)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup coconut sugar or xylitol
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup almond or oat milk
1 1/2 tbsp yeast
1 pinch of salt (if butter is unsalted)

Directions

Pre-heat your oven at 150ºC, you will want a warm place for you dough to rise. I like to warm up the oven, then turn it off, and leave the dough to rise for 1-2 hrs.
If you’re using active dry yeast, you may need to activate it; warm up 2/3 cup milk, milk in 1 tbsp of sugar, and spread the yeast on top. Let it sit for 10 mins before mixing. You should get a frothy mixture.
If you’re using instant yeast like I did, you can simply add it to your flour, mix in the salt.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and butter together.
Mix in the sugar and slowly fold in the flour (Incorporate the yeast mixture at this point if you’re using active dry yeast)
Ensure you do not overman the dough, just well enough that you don’t have any dry flour.
Lightly dust your surface and scoop out the dough.
Dust the top of your dough so that you are able to handle it. You don’t want to knead it, but you want to be able to fold it over 3-4 times.
Divide the dough into two halves, form it into two lengths so that you can twist and lace them into shape. You can also opt for a 3 strand plait or simply shape the loaf as a whole. The dough should be thick enough to handle but soft and moist enough that it easily moulds into shape.
Place your loaf into an oiled silicone loaf tin or one lined with parchment paper.
Allow to rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours.
Beat one egg to brush over the top of the dough, I did two layers, one before baking and one 20 mins after.
Bake for 30-40 mins at 200ºC. Allow to cool before slicing.

A note from the author

Thank you for joining us on this recipe post, I hope you enjoyed it. If you’ve reached the end, or even better, decided to attempt the recipe, please like and follow for more recipes like this one. There’s a lot more in store.. xoxo.

Check out similar recipes

Gluten & Dairy Free Bread – https://healthboss.blog/2020/03/01/gluten-free-bread-recipe/
Gluten Free Croissants – https://healthboss.blog/2021/02/21/the-best-gluten-free-croissants/
Fruit Loaf – https://healthboss.blog/2021/04/06/healthy-fruit-loaf/
Gluten Free Banana Bread – https://healthboss.blog/2019/05/13/healthy-banana-bread/

Gluten Free Matcha Cookies

Matcha Recipes, recipes

Hey guys, welcome back to the blog! Today’s recipe is a matcha coconut cookie with almonds. I’ve been on a matcha craze lately so I thought why not add it to my cookies. I chose to pair the flavour of matcha with coconut which balanced it perfectly. These cookies ended up being thick and moist with a lightly sweet flavour. You might think matcha doesn’t belong in cookies but you’ll find its flavour works great in baked goods and even if you hate matcha, I’m pretty sure you’re going to love these matcha cookies.

What is Matcha?

Matcha is simply grounded green tea leaves that have been used most commonly in traditional Japanese tea ceremonies. It’s popularity on social media has risen considerably in recent years for its health benefits and also for its aesthetic. But, there is more to matcha than just its pretty green colour, it has a number of health benefits, including improving your metabolism, calming the body, lowering blood sugar, and it is packed with antioxidants. If you want to know how to get the best out of matcha, check out my matcha latte recipe here.

Baking With Matcha

Matcha is a versatile superfood and it’s fun to incorporate it in different ways. When baking with matcha, it’s best to use fine grade matcha for that earthy flavour and vibrant colour. To incorporate it better, you can choose to sift the matcha powder into your dry ingredients. Since matcha is slightly bitter, it needs sweetness to balance it out. It’s used in many recipes, from matcha brownies to matcha bread. Here is what you’ll need to make the best matcha cookies.

Ingredients

1/4 cup xylitol or coconut sugar
2 tbsp coconut oil
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract (or any flavour extract)
1/2 cup almond flour
1 cup gf all purpose flour
1 tbsp matcha
1/4 cup shredded coconut + 1 tbsp
1/4 cup flaked almonds + 1 tbsp
1 tbsp almond milk (or any plant-based milk)

Step 1: Whisk the coconut oil and sugar together until well incorporated. Mix in the flavour extract and eggs, ensuring the sugar is dissolved. It’s best to allow all your ingredients to come to room temperature.

Step 2: Fold in the different flours, matcha, salt, and baking powder until you get a smooth thick cookie batter, add a tablespoon of milk if the dough is too dry. Mix in the coconut and almond flakes.

Step 3: Chill the cookie dough for 10-15mins, then scoop out the cookie dough onto a lined baking tray. Sprinkle with more coconut and almond flakes before baking at 180ºC for 20-25 mins or until slightly browned on the edges.

They are best served warm and can be stored in the fridge for up to a week or frozen for longer storage. It’s taken some time to perfect baking with matcha but this recipe definitely makes it worth it. I hope you try it out and like and follow for more recipes, xoxo.

Why Healthy Eating Isn’t Realistic

healthy living

Hey guys, welcome back to the blog. In today’s post, I want to talk about something that isn’t usually addressed in the “healthy eating” world on social media. If you’ve been on social media at all in the recent years, you’d have seen how healthy eating trends have taken over millions of people, having them smash avocados on toast and bake their oats. While there’s nothing wrong with the trends promoted by fitness and health influencers, I can’t help but point out how their food content is often catered to the few. Which is to be expected as influencers can only show us their way of life.

However, this has created a discourse around what healthy eating is that doesn’t cater to everyone. It gives the impression that there is only way of eating well, a rather Western way. The healthy eating world on social media does not address how different cuisines come into play. For example, the foods in my culture never fit into the category of “healthy eating” because they are mostly carb-heavy and do not look like the foods posted by health influencers. So, where does someone who eats African, Indian or Chinese cuisine fit into the niche of healthy eating. Often times, when I’m at family gatherings, not one thing on the table fits what social media deems healthy. I realised that exposure to “what I eat in a day” content has somewhat influenced my perception on what is healthy food in a way that excludes all of our local dishes.

But, that isn’t how healthy eating is supposed to be. Healthy eating does not mean a Western way of eating with; a yoghurt bowl for breakfast, a kale salad for lunch, and salmon and asparagus for dinner. It can mean rice porridge for breakfast with, veggie noodle soup for lunch, and the same thing for dinner. One thing I found odd is that social media promotes cooking one thing for lunch and cooking another meal for dinner when I grew up eating the same meal for lunch and dinner. Similarly, the “healthy eating” category promoted on social media doesn’t allow for the different ingredients available in different areas of the world. Where I’m from, spicy pickled fruits are often added to our meals, and people use different ingredients such as cassava, breadfruit, a variety of grains, and a ton of chilli.

To put it in a nutshell, don’t let the portrayal of “healthy eating” online restrict your way of eating or your local cuisine. Instead, you can find ways to make your local dishes balanced with whole foods and substitutions. For example, by substituting regular sunflower oil in any local recipes with olive or avocado oil. The point is that there isn’t only one way of eating healthy and you shouldn’t have to abandon foods from your culture to be healthy. So next time you think about eating healthy, step away from the exhausted dishes online and make it your own.

A note from the author

I hope you enjoyed today’s quick post and found something useful from it. If you’d like to support my blog please like and follow for more and feel free to share your opinion on it. Thank you for reading, I appreciate each an every one of you, see you next time, xoxo.