Nigerian food time table for a family

Nigerian food time table for a family

Healthy eating of a family cannot be overemphasized. To arrange proper nutrition and healthy food time table - means to protect all family members from a variety diseases, improve the quality of life. If all family members work and study, it is very difficult to organize healthy food timetable for each member of the family. However, nothing is impossible.

Nigerian family
Nigerian food time table for a family

Food timetable for Nigerian family

Usually, mummies are worried about healthy food time table for the family, they try to choose variant, that will suit everybody, husband, children and herself.

Dear mummies, kindly note, that Nigerian food time table for a family should be based on four main principles.

The first principle of a normal food time table for a family- mandatory hearty full breakfast. It should be 25-30% of the daily diet. The breakfast menu should include products having in their composition complex fiber-rich carbohydrates - this will provide the body with energy for a long time, to extend the sense of fullness. Complex carbohydrates are "black" porridges - oatmeal and buckwheat, cereal. In addition to complex carbohydrates for breakfast, a family should eat protein-rich foods, such as eggs, cheese or cottage cheese.

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The second principle of healthy family food time table - to ensure the possibility of a second breakfast. School-age children can receive a full hot lunch at school. Adult family members between breakfast and lunch also should have a useful snack. If there is no possibility to have a snack, you can drink a cup of yogurt and a cup of unsweetened green tea, soursop tea or zobo drink – or just take with you to work the apple and eat it about 11 o'clock in the morning.

Healthy food
Nigerian food time table for a family

The third principle - the refusal of fast food. Hamburgers and chips are not included in the category of healthy foods. The lunch should consist of vegetable salad, a bowl of soup, or a portion of lean meat or fish with garnish.

The fourth principle of healthy family food is a timely dinner. Each family lives in its own rhythm, and does not always manage to gather around the table at the perfect time for dinner - 18-19 hours. However, we must remember that dinner should be held no later than 3 hours before bedtime. A late and plentiful dinner disrupts the normal metabolism. Healthy food for the dinner should consist mostly of protein: fish, chicken, vegetables, stews, salads, low-fat cottage cheese.

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The fifth principle - the normal family meals have to include plenty of vegetables and fruits, especially seasonal since they are most valuable from a biological point of view.

The sixth principle - if it is decided to organize a balanced diet table, the food should be varied as much as possible for the family. Do not be afraid to experiment. Usually, the family buys constantly the same set of products, but you can retreat from the templates. Buy fish of different varieties. Prepare a variety of vegetable side dishes. Learn basic cooking fruit desserts and a variety of protein-vitamin cocktails.

The seventh principle - food should be prepared from natural products. Avoid surrogates.

The eighth principle – choose right recipes with proper nutrition, where it is recommended not to boil or fry foods, but to steam and bake. A frying makes the products excessively greasy.

Sample Nigerian food time table

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Sample food time table for a family
Nigerian food time table for a family

Nigerian food time table for weight loss

If you have decided to lose weight or you just want to stay fit, you should not only do exercises but also organize your low-caloric healthy time table, taking into account the following tips:

  • Review and organize your time table according to your workout schedule, eat meals at a proper time.
  • You should eat five or six smaller meals instead of usual three.
  • It is important to eat one hour before a workout, giving time to digest the meal.
  • It is highly important to have breakfast, not to become hungry very quickly, and as a result, avoid overeating.
  • Eat healthy snacks.
Lose weight
Nigerian food time table for a family

Not everybody knows that Nigerian food menu contains foods, which are very high in calories, therefore causes the gain of weight. If you want to lose weight and not to gain extra killos, we would like to propose you the list of the most low calorie Nigerian foods:

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  • Semo
  • Wheat
  • Amala
  • Starch
  • Beans
  • Maize
  • Rice
  • Tuwo
  • Abacha

Adding these products to your food time table you will not gain, but lose weight.

Fruits and vegetables
Nigerian food time table for a family

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Nigerian food time table for weight gain

Somebody wants to lose weight, but somebody vice versa needs to gain. We propose you useful tips on how to gain weight fast.

We think that you will find useful the list of the products, that will help you to gain weight quickly and tasty:

  • Salmon
  • Baked acorn squash
  • Granola
  • Butter
  • Tuna
  • Cheese
  • Cornbread
  • Whole wheat bread
  • Pasta
  • Fruit juice
  • Shrimps
  • Yoghurt
  • Bananas
  • Nuts and seeds
  • Oatmeal
  • Soybeans
  • Potatoes

To gain weight you also are advised to follow the next tips:

Eat the right foods

You should eat high calorie nutritious, but healthy food: read meat, fat milk, nut butter, while bread, beans, sweet fruits etc.

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Exercise

To gain weight, but to stay fit and gain muscle mass, but do not get fat, you need to do exercises. It also will make you strong and healthy. One more advantage of working out it is boosting of the appetite.

Sleep well
Nigerian food time table for a family

Good sleep

The sleep regulates body hormones. Lack of sleep can provoke high tension of cortisone hormone in the body, and it can lead to burning extra calories. Remember that you should sleep at least 7-8 hours per night.

Big plates

If to lose weight it is recommended to eat from small plates, for gaining weight it is vice versa.

Additional calories

You should add extra calories to the daily diet, for example, you can add more butter to your dishes, or mayonnaise. Drink high-fat milk and white bread with nut butter.

Diet diary
Nigerian food time table for a family

Diet diary

A diary can become a great tool in weight gaining, you can write down there your daily time table, the number of consumed calories per day, your daily weight. As a result, you will be able to see the whole result and if necessary to make corrections.

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Several meals a day

You should eat at least three times, but five times are better, the breaks between the meals to double your calories.

Balanced diet

You should not eat only fats, you also need vitamins, minerals, and proteins, so eat also fish, vegetables, and fruits. The body must get everything it needs to stay healthy.

Snacks

Healthy habit of eating snacks between main meals is useful for both, those who want to lose and to gain weight. The difference is in snacks. To put on weight eat raisins, cookies, fruits, nuts, seeds, fat cheese etc.

Right drinks

To put on the weight you should drink protein shakes, fat milk, sweet juices, coffee with sugar and milk etc.

Drinks
Nigerian food time table for a family

Nigerian food timetable for kids

For every mom, it is very important that her children eat only healthy and nutritious meals. Food timetable for children should include fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, milk, lean meat, whole grain cereals. You should try to avoid or limit junk food and food with high content of sugar.

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Every child has his/her own energy needs, depending on the age, the everyday activity, if your child is going for some sport, it is obvious that he/she will need more energy. You should provide your child with a necessary number of calories and nutrients.

Nigerian family meal
Nigerian food time table for a family

We propose you useful tips on how to organize productive timetable for your children:

  • Breakfast is very important, good nutritious breakfast is a fuel for your child and will give energy for the first part of the day.
  • Children should eat snacks between the main meals, the main thing is to give your children healthy snacks.
  • Television time should be limited. Your child should not eat at the TV set, it will distract your child from the meal. The other reason, your child should play active games for good metabolism.
  • When children reach the age of five, they begin to eat more, so it is important not to overeat because it can lead to excess weight.
  • After 4 years boys need more energy than girls do, so give your boy extra portion of fruits, vegetables, and meat, watch your child appetite.
  • A child should drink enough water throughout the day.
  • The number of calories of a child depends on the age, gender and activity level. Your child should eat products full in calcium, vitamins A, D, E, C, protein, iron, potassium etc.

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See examples of timetables for children 1-4 years old and 5-10 years old, hope they will be useful.

Food time table for children 1-4 years
Nigerian food time table for a family
Nigerian food menu for kids 5-10
Nigerian food time table for a family

Try to organize your family time table to suit every member of the family. Remember that eat to live, not live to eat!

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Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Adrianna Simwa avatar

Adrianna Simwa (Lifestyle writer) Adrianna Simwa is a content writer at Legit.ng where she has worked since mid-2022. She has written for many periodicals on a variety of subjects, including news, celebrities, and lifestyle, for more than three years. She has worked for The Hoth, The Standard Group and Triple P Media. Adrianna graduated from Nairobi University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in 2020. In 2023, Simwa finished the AFP course on Digital Investigation Techniques. You can reach her through her email: adriannasimwa@gmail.com