Weekly Nigerian Meal Planner

This Weekly Nigerian Meal Planner is to help plan meals for the week. Some like to plan ahead and cook everything for one week over the weekend and not have to worry about cooking during the week, while others go with the flow and cook in the week or whenever is needed or better yet, order take out! These are general guidelines on creating a meal plan for the week with emphasis on consuming a considerable amount of fruits and vegetables. You can take the basic meal planner and tweak it as you see fit to fit your schedule and lifestyle. There are two meal planners in this post: one for readers in Nigeria and the other for readers in the U.S, U.K, Canada and elsewhere overseas. You can take elements from both to create your own if you’d like and if ingredients are readily available in your neck of the woods, you’re also free to substitute one for the other. You can also find most of the recipes on our site.

• First up, the meal planner for readers in Nigeria:

	BREAKFAST	SNACK	LUNCH	SNACK	DINNER	SNACK
MONDAY	Quaker Oats w/ a cup of tea/coffee	Any fruit in season	Amala w/ Fish stew & Ewedu. Water to drink	Any fruit in season	Boiled/ Baked Sweet Potatoes w/ meat stew	Cereal w/ skim milk OR a Granola bar
TUESDAY	Akara & Ogi (Baba-the brown Ogi)	Any fruit in season	Fufu w/ Efo Riro (vegetable stew). Water to drink	Fruit Salad	Rice w/ Efo Riro (vegetable stew)	Cereal w/ skim milk OR  a granola bar
WEDNESDAY	Boiled Eggs & Bread. Cup of tea/coffee	Any fruit in season	Jollof Rice & Dodo (fried plantain) w/ meat or chicken stew	Chin Chin	Eko w/ meat or chicken stew	Cereal w/ skim milk OR  a granola bar
THURSDAY	Bread & stew. Cup of tea/coffee	Any fruit in season	Iyan (pounded yam) w/ Egusi stew. Water to drink	Fruit Salad	Boiled Plantains w/ meat or chicken stew OR vegetable stew	Cereal w/ skim milk OR  a granola bar
FRIDAY	Quaker Oats w/ a cup of tea/coffee	Any fruit in season	White Rice w/ moi moi & stewed fish or fried meat/chicken. Soft Drink/ Mineral.	Boli (roast plantain) w/ groundnuts	Regular Beans OR Ewa Aganyin  w/ chicken stew.	Cereal w/ skim milk OR  a granola bar
SATURDAY	Boiled Yam w/ geisha or corned beef stew. Cup of tea/coffee	Any fruit in season	Ikokore w/ meat/chicken stew. Water to drink.	Meat/Chicken Pies	Fried Rice w/ coleslaw, fried chicken. Fruit Juice.	Cereal w/ skim milk OR  a granola bar
SUNDAY	Boiled Yam w/ fried eggs, stew & sausages. Cup of tea/coffee	Any fruit in season	Semolina OR Amala w/ Ogbonno & Bitter Leaf stew	Fruit Salad	Tuwo (ground rice) w/ meat stew	Cereal w/ skim milk OR  a granola bar

• Next up, the meal planner for readers outside of Nigeria (U.S, U.K, Canada etc)

	BREAKFAST	SNACK	LUNCH	SNACK	DINNER	SNACK
MONDAY	Instant Quaker Oats w/ a cup of tea	Small Smoothie	Jollof Rice & Dodo (fried plantain) w/ meat or chicken stew	Fruit Salad	Boiled/ Baked Sweet Potatoes w/ meat stew	Cereal w skim milk OR a Granola bar. Water to drink.
TUESDAY	½ a Bagel or a mini bagel w/ light cream cheese. Cup of tea/coffee	1 cup mixed fruits/nuts	Asaro w/ goat meat/chicken stew. Water to drink	Fruit Salad	Rice w/ Efo Riro (vegetable stew)	Cereal w skim milk OR a Granola bar. Water to drink.
WEDNESDAY	Scrambled Eggs w/sausages. Cup of tea/coffee	Any fruit in season	White Rice & Ayamashe. Water to drink.	Fruit Salad	Noodles w/ meat or chicken stew & a boiled egg	Cereal w skim milk OR a Granola bar. Water to drink.
THURSDAY	Bread & stew. Cup of tea/coffee.	Granola Bar	Iyan (pounded yam) w/ Egusi stew. Water to drink	Fruit Salad	Boiled Plantains w/ meat or chicken stew OR vegetable stew. Water to drink	Cereal w skim milk OR a Granola bar. Water to drink.
FRIDAY	Instant Quaker Oats w/ a cup of tea/coffee	Any fruit in season	Rice w/fish stew.  Soda or juice.	Fruit Salad	Spaghetti w/ chicken stew. Water to drink.	Cereal w skim milk OR a Granola bar. Water to drink.
SATURDAY	Pancakes or Crepes w/ sausages. Cup of tea/coffee.	Any fruit in season	Eba w/ Okra soup (and meat/chicken stew). Water to drink.	Meat/Chicken Pies	Fried Rice w/ coleslaw, fried chicken. Juice.	Cereal w skim milk OR a Granola bar. Water to drink.
SUNDAY	Boiled Yam w/ fried eggs, stew & sausages. Cup of tea/coffee	Any fruit in season	Beans w/ chicken stew. Water to drink.	Fruit Salad	Fried Plantains w/ vegetable stew. Water to drink	Cereal w skim milk OR a Granola bar. Water to drink.

Notes:

1. After having dinner, try snacking on something light if you still feel hungry, more so if you’re concerned about your weight.
2. Soda, juice and the like, (as much as they taste good!) are usually loaded with sugar and hence, empty liquid calories, so substitute for water where possible and if you’re one who doesn’t like the ‘taste’ of water, try adding lemon/lime/cucumber slices for a subtle change in taste.
3. If you do decide to eat cereal after dinner, ensure that it’s not one loaded with sugar.
4. Though some days might call for meals like Eba or Iyan (pounded yam), it doesn’t mean you should eat mountains and mountains of it (till you feel the need to make a slit in your side so your stomach can ‘breathe,’ lol)! Eat everything in moderation.

   You see, Oma cares, LOL......Let me know what you think

6 Secrets to Speedy Soups

Pictured Recipe: Chicken & Spinach Soup with Fresh Pesto »

Try these 6 cooking tricks to make a flavor-packed soup recipe in 30 minutes

At the end of a long and tiring day, spending a lot of time cooking dinner is not always appealing. But with a hungry family ready for dinner, you need a meal that’s quick and easy, has minimal cleanup and is healthy and satisfying.
The solution? A soup pot and some on-hand ingredients are all you need to get a wholesome dinner on the table fast. Soup is inexpensive, too; most can be made for less than $3 a serving. Find out EatingWell's 6 secrets to speedy soup success

Eating Clean? 6 Processed Foods You Can Avoid & Easily Make at Home

iet. With easy homemade recipes, cutting back on processed foods and eating clean is easier than you might think.

We may never all agree on just what "eating clean" really means, but if cleansing your diet means you think about your food, learn more about where it comes from and how healthy it is for you, that's a good thing. Start by eating wholesome fruits and vegetables, especially those that are in season. Choose whole grains and whole-grain products over refined ones. Try limiting (but not necessarily eliminating) saturated fats, sodium and added sugars in your cooking and in the prepared foods you choose.
For many of us, the easiest way to eat clean is to cook at home. While we don't all have time to make everything we eat from scratch, it can be fun (and easy!) to try your hand at making a few of the convenient processed foods you’d usually buy.
What are processed foods? They often come in a box or a jar, are can be high in added sugars, low in fiber and whole grains, processed with sodium, high in fat or include trans fat and lots of saturated fat.
While snack foods, candy, cookies and crackers are certainly considered processed foods, “healthy” foods can fall into this category too. Here is a list of 6 common processed foods that you can easily make a healthier homemade version of:

Day Weight-Loss Diet Meal Plan

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See how to eat 1,200 calories a day.

EatingWell's 7-Day Weight-Loss Diet Meal Plan is designed to provide an overall healthy-eating program at five different daily caloric levels: 1,200, 1,400, 1,600, 1,800 and 2,000. The menus are packed with nutrient-rich foods, including whole grains, lean meats, low-fat dairy and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Find out which calorie level is best for your with this simple calculation. Using that daily calorie goal, cut 500 calories per day to lose one pound per week. To lose two pounds, cut 1,000 calories.
H

EatingWell 7 Day Diet Meal Plan

7 Day Weight Loss 1200 calorie menu - Day 1

• Breakfast

  • 1 Cup Skim Milk
  • 1 Orange, medium
  • 1 Cup Cheerios Cereal

• Morning Snack

  • 1 Cup Cantaloupe Melon

• Lunch

  • Vietnamese-Style Beef & Noodle Broth
  • 1 Whole-Wheat Pita Bread, small
  • 1 Cup Skim Milk
  • 1 Fudgsicle, no sugar added

• Afternoon Snack

  • 2 Tablespoons Prepared Hummus
  • 3 Ounces Celery Sticks

• Dinner

  • 1/2 Cup Cooked Brown Rice
  • Green & Yellow Beans with Wild Mushrooms
  • Roasted Cod with Warm Tomato-Olive-Caper Tapenade
  • 1/2 Banana, small

Cheesecake Pancakes

Make restaurant-inspired cream cheese pancakes at home and there's no limit to how many you can have.

• Prep Time 30 min
• Total Time 8 hr 30 min
• Servings 5

Ingredients

Pancakes

1

package (8 oz) cream cheese

2

cups Original Bisquick® mix

1/2

cup graham cracker crumbs

1/4

cup sugar

1

cup milk

2

eggs

Strawberry Syrup

1

cup sliced fresh strawberries

1/2

cup strawberry syrup for pancakes

Shrimp Fried Rice

.

• Prep Time 30 min
• Total Time 30 min
• Servings 4

Ingredients

1

tablespoon sesame oil

2

eggs, slightly beaten

1

tablespoon olive oil

2

cups chopped fresh or frozen (thawed) broccoli

1

cup chopped carrots

1

cup fresh or frozen (thawed) snow pea pods

2

cups cold cooked white rice

1

clove garlic, finely chopped

1

teaspoon grated gingerroot

3

tablespoons soy sauce

1

lb uncooked medium shrimp, peeled (tail shells removed), deveined

1

cup chopped green onions

• 1 In wok or large skillet, heat sesame oil over medium heat. Cook eggs in oil, stirring constantly, until thickened but still moist. Remove eggs from skillet to plate; cover to keep warm.
• 2 In same skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add broccoli, carrots and pea pods; stir-fry until crisp-tender. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in rice, garlic, gingerroot and soy sauce. Add shrimp. Cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until rice is hot and shrimp are pink.
• 3 Stir in scrambled eggs and green onions; cook 1 minute longer. Serve immediately.

Expert Tips

Brown rice is a nutritious option that can be used in this recipe.
Use your favorite combination of veggies in this fried rice.

Friendship Bread How-To Prepare It

1

Make a starter then make a loaf of delicious cinnamon bread. We've detailed everything you need to know to kick off this fun tradition—from a simple starter mix to the first, fresh-from-the-oven slice. 

Amish friendship bread is a quick bread made with a sweet, sourdough starter. The starter ferments for 10 days then doubles in size. Every day the starter must be tended to (Don’t worry: it’s as easy as you squishing the bag it comes in!). On the 10th day you share some of the starter with friends (so they can begin making their own loaves) and bake two delicious loaves of cinnamon-scented bread for you and a new friend.
Check out the recipe for instructions on how to get started. After your starter has been stirred and squished for ten days, you're ready to make a batch of bread.
This recipe isn't just simple and delicious; it's also a fun way to teach your kids basic baking skills. Begin by mixing the ingredients together to make a smooth batter.

Spray two large loaf pans with nonstick baking spray (the kind with flour in the mix). If you can't find baking spray, generously butter and flour the pan instead. The more the merrier when it comes to greasing a pan so that the bread won't stick!

This is where the bread takes a turn for the delicious! Traditional Amish Friendship bread is a loaf of cinnamoney goodness. But we amped things up with an extra cinnamon swirl. (It’s so beautiful to slice into!) To give your loaves a final flair, scoop about 1/3 of the batter into a medium bowl, add cinnamon (lots and lots of cinnamon), then whisk until the batter changes to a deep, brown color.

Now place little dollops of the cinnamon batter into the bowl with the remaining batter and use a fork or knife to gently swirl together, but just a little!

You want to keep those nice, big swirls intact by not overmixing.

Now pour the batter into your two, prepared loaf pans…

And get ready to bake in a hot oven. The loaves will need about an hour to bake—the perfect amount of time to clean the kitchen.

Once your loaves are out of the oven and cooled, wrap them up with a note and share with a new friend.

They'll be so glad you did, and you will too!

Don't forget to give your bread with a bag of friendship bread starter to keep the fun going for everyone, all year long.