IS GRANULATED AND POWDERED SUGAR THE SAME?

Generally, an average sugar consumer takes granulated sugar to be powdered sugar and some bakers also cannot tell the difference between both sugars.
Granulated sugar is not the same as powdered sugar. Read this article to know the difference between both sugars in size and in taste.

WHAT IS SUGAR?
Sugar is an essential substance in food processing used in food production processes such as in baking, decoration of pastries products, brewing and also in regular food consumption at home as an additive to foods like cereals, pap (ogi) or garri etc. In baking, it supplements the yeasts that cause the rise in the dough.

GRANULATED SUGAR

Granulated sugar is a kind of sugar made either of cane sugar or beet sugar and has undergone the process of refining. Granulated sugar can also be referred to as white sugar or regular sugar. White sugar refers to sucrose, a disaccharide composed of fructose and glucose.
Naturally present molasses are completely refined out of granulated sugar which makes it the most commonly used sugar utilized in baking.
Some sugar cane refiners utilize bone char when refining granulated sugar and also some brown sugar produced from sugar cane which makes white sugar from sugar cane not recommended and suitable for a vegan. However, bone char has never been utilized in the processing of beet sugar which makes it suitable for a vegan.
The fine crystals in granulated sugar don’t clump together, which makes it immaculate for dissolving in drinks, sprinkling on food products and simple to be measured.

POWDERED SUGAR
Powdered sugar is granulated sugar that has been finely ground and mixed with a small amount of anti-caking agent to prevent clumping. It is also referred to as confectioners’ sugar or icing sugar.
Powdered sugar is used on bombolone doughnuts and other kinds of doughnut which gives the snowy covering on the surface, a subtle sweetness and serves as a delicate decoration. It is also used for frostings and used as glazes in food products.
It dissolves quickly in food production processes and is utilized when a quick-dissolving sugar is required.

CAN YOU MAKE POWDERED SUGAR FROM GRANULATED SUGAR?
Yes, you can make powdered from granulated sugar by simply blending 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cornstarch (anti-caking agent) until a fine powder is obtained.

CAN YOU SUBSTITUTE POWDERED SUGAR FOR GRANULATED SUGAR?

1¾ cup proportion of powdered sugar can be substituted for a cup of granulated sugar but the recommended sugar in your recipe should be utilized as a change will result in an undesired or abridged product. This may not really reflect in baked products but when making a sweet sauce such as jam, the recommended sugar in the recipe should be utilized. The starch in powdered sugar may cause the sweet sauce to thicken more quickly.

DOES GRANULATED SUGAR TASTE SWEETER THAN POWDERED SUGAR?
Yes, granulated sugar tastes sweeter than powdered sugar as powdered sugar is obtained from the grinding of granulated sugar into a fine state which results in the breakdown of the sugar.
At times, we wonder why some sugar tastes sweeter than other sugars. This is just the difference between the granulated sugar and the powdered sugar. Also, the anti-caking agent added to powdered sugar reduces its sweetness and coats the tongue.

Images📸: google images

Written by: Olabode Segun A.
B.Sc. Food Processing (Industrial Engineering)

Bean Porridge for your Baby

Thanks lovers for keeping up with the complementary food series, its been amazing sharing my thoughts on this interesting topic. Today I’ll be talking about one of the interesting type of complementary foods, which is Bean porridge and without saying too much I’ll move into the preparation. You can get to learn about beans and its health benefit from https://swatzfood.wordpress.com/2019/07/25/beans-a-legendary-meal/.

PREPARATION

🥣After selecting the dirt away from the beans, soak the beans in water and allow to soften so that the coat can be removed. Peel off the bean coat totally and rinse well.
🥣In a clean pot, pour the beans into it and add water. Turn on your cooker and place the pot of beans to boil.
🥣Blend Tomato, onions and about two or three medium sized rodo, and set aside.
🥣Boil Titus fish, take out one middle piece, de-bone it and cut into pieces and set aside. Keep the rest in the fridge for other foods.

🥣Open the pot of beans and check for softness, if its almost soft add the blended pepper to cook up with it till soft. Add water if necessary.

🥣Once the beans is soft, use the back of your cooking spoon to mash the beans thoroughly, till its totally mashed and soft.
🥣Add about two or three tablespoon of palm oil, one teaspoon grinded crayfish,your piecesed fish and stir in together.
Remember it must not cake up, so add water to make it loosen up.
🥣Add salt to taste and reduce the intensity of the cooker. Leave to cook up for another 5minutes then turn off the cooker.
-🥣Our Bean porridge is ready and should be served to our baby. Remember it shouldn’t be hot, so they don’t burn their mouth. Remember, complementary feeding must never stop breastfeeding.

Till I bring you another exciting baby food for your little charm, keep staying healthy and hearty!!!

Images: google images

Fruits Complementary Variety

At this age you also need to start introducing fruits to your babies diet. They need to get the best of the vitamins and minerals present in the fruits. But it is so not normal to give them Apple and think they will chew it or give them orange to suck out the juice.

That is where blending comes in and I’ll advice that you get a blender for this purpose and not use the same one you use to blend other foods.

I’ll Also advice that you sieve out the shaft (fiber) after blending, because fiber increases bowel movement and may cause passage of watery diarrhea-like stool. Even me as an adult if I eat too much fruits It could purge me, so you don’t want to find yourself in an embarrassing situation. As the child grows and system becomes stronger you can start giving the fiber with it.
You can combine two or more fruits or use just one, but ensure you serve the baby with a Cup and Spoon or straw.

Orange, Tangerine and Lemon

-Select ripe and juicy oranges, tangerine and lemon.
-Rinse a fruits well with water.
-Peel your orange like you want to peel tangerine and peel your tangerine.
-Set your blender well and add the orange, tangerine. Cut the lemon into two and squeeze out some of its juice into the content of the blender.
-Add water to cover half way the content of the blender and blend till it is fine in texture.

-Take out a clean sieve with fine mesh and put it over a clean jug. Pour the juice over the sieve, make sure the holes of the sieve would not allow the shaft pass through.
-In a clean baby cup, pour the juice into it and serve with their baby spoon or a straw.
-You can also serve the remaining to older children in the house, they will love it, especially when its cold (yummmmmmmy).

You can combine Pineapple and Apple, Apple and cucumber, Orange and Watermelon and so on.

There are some fruits that don’t need to be sieved, they are blended and served just the way it comes out like Pawpaw, Mango Banana. You just peel of the skin, put it in your blender and blend into a smooth paste. Serve it with a cup and spoon or straw to your baby with all happiness in your heart.

Remember, complementary feeding should never stop breastfeeding.

Till I bring you another exciting complementary food, remember to stay healthy and stay hearty, cheers!!!

Images: google images

AFALA: Ewedu or Okro

Afala is a Yoruba word for Draw soup and it is made from Okro fruit or Ewedu leaves. This vegetables are known for their sliminess and are great in health benefits (you can check my article on ewedu and okro in my just concluded 30-day food story telling).

Because of their slimy attributes, they are served as complementary foods, because the baby really don’t have to chew, the slime just rolls it in (chuckles). They are served with with Eko (Agidi), soft Amala, soft Eba, soft Wheat or any swallow of your choice, just make sure its prepared really softer than the usual one served to others in the family.

PREPARATION
-Rinse the Okro and cut them into big chunks into the blender and if ts Ewedu, pluck out the leaves from the stalk and rinse well to remove dirt. Blend till its smooth in texture. The smoother the texture, the more slimy it is in consistency. You can blend a teaspoon of locust bean with it, depends on your preference for locust bean.

-In a clean pot, add a little water, a tablespoon of palm oil, a teaspoon of your crayfish powder or fish powder, a teaspoon of soya bean, if you have some boiled Titus in your fridge you can half one middle cut and pieces it into it. Cover the mixture and let it cook for about 7 minutes.

-Add the blended Okro/Ewedu and stir in well. Now you don’t cover the pot, so that the soup don’t lose its drawing consistency.
-It will cook up and form bubbles, turn of the cooker and bring down from the cooker. We don’t want it to stay too long on the fire so that heat doesn’t denature the nutrients. -Let the steam come out for about 5 minutes, then cover half way with a lid, just to make sure we don’t expose our baby’s food to germs.

– Prepare a very soft swallow or get Agidi, spread it in a bowl and pour the okro/Ewedu over it.
-Wash your hands well, and feed your baby
With so much joy and happiness on your face.

This food is a complete balanced diet for babies, you can try it out from 7/8 months and above, it is also a good meal for children that are picky about food and lazy to chew as it just rolls down into their stomach without any effort. Don’t forget that, serving your baby complementary food should not stop breastfeeding.

Till I bring you another food for your baby, do well to be opened to new things, put your babies health as priority, enjoy the fun of motherhood and fatherhood and cheers to a healthy Family!!!

Images: google images

The Potato complementary Variety (3)

Potatoes are great food that can be given to a baby as complementary food, but it is served with a twist different from the one eaten as adults.

POTATO ANG EGG
-Boil the potato (sweet or Irish) till its very soft.
-Removed the peels carefully and use a spoon to crush the potato’s into really tiny bits or almost mashed.
-Break one egg into a bowl, add a teaspoon ofMashed/pureed potato your grinded fish or crayfish (Remember the one you made for fortified pap), into the egg, and mix thoroughly.
-On a low heat, fry the egg, preferably into scramble. You can use palm oil or vegetable oil.
-Pour the eggs into the potato and mix in evenly.
-With all joy and gladness in your eyes serve your baby.
You can as well use a boiled egg, just make sure you break it evenly into the mixture . (Suitable for babies from 6months and above)

MASHED/PUREED POTATO
This is quite similar to the above boiled potato. But here, the potato is mashed into a paste or puree.
-Boil your potato(preferably sweet potato), till its well cooked and soft.
-Carefully remove the peels and mash with a spoon or just add into a blender, add a little warm water and blend into a fine paste.
-Pour in the eating bowl and add the infant milk into it.
-With joy and happiness in your heart, serve your baby.
You can also add crayfish or fish to it instead of milk, just make sure you blend it with the potato. You can serve with one boiled egg.(Suitable for babies from 6months and above)

POTATO PORRIDGE
Potato porridge is made like every other type of porridge, but the twist in potato porridge is that its very soft, there are no chunks of potato.
-Cut the potato(preferably sweet potato) into small small cubes, like really small. Remember it must be soft because they baby wont be able to chew.
-Put into a pot , add water to almost cover the level in which the potato is and cover to cook.
-Blend about 3 round medium sized tomato, 2 medium scotch bonnet, one small onions, together and boil for about 10 minutes. Set aside.
-Boil one small size Titus fish, take one middle, de-bone it and pieces into small chunks. Set aside.
-Take one leaf of pumpkin (Ugwu), rinse it and use a clean knife to cut it into tiny strands. Set aside.
-Open the potato and now its almost soft, add a little salt(remember its sweet potato), add two tablespoon of palm oil, add 1 teaspoon of your Soya powder, your already boiled tomato, pepper and onions. Stir in together thoroughly, add the fish and stir in together too. Remember to use the spoon to mash the potato well. Cover and reduce the heat to become very low and let it cook up for about 5 minutes.
-Open the lid, and add the vegetables, stir in evenly and turn of the cooker. Cover up the food and let it steam up for another 5 minutes.
-With all smiles and joy, serve your baby the yummy potato porridge.
(Suitable for babies from 8/9 months and above).

You can also serve fried potato and dodo, fried potato and fried egg, fried potato and fish stew, boiled potato and egg, boiled potato and stew, for kids above one year, then they have teeth and are ready to want to start chewing.

Now we know we can make lot from potato for our babies, so don’t hesitate to bless their taste bud with it and remember, complementary foods should not stop breastfeeding. Till i bring you another exciting complementary nunu, cheers to a healthy baby, a healthy mommy, a healthy daddy and a healthy caregiver!!!

Fortified Pap: The first step to complementary feeding (2)

Pap is generally the first complementary food introduced to a child at 6 months, but this time its not just the regular pap but a fortified pap, to meet the nutritional need of the baby. It is first because its prepared a little loosed (semi solid) for easy consumption and digestion.
Pap can be made from Maize (yellow/white), Sorghum, Millet, Wheat, Rice, Soya.
You can also combine two or three together to make the pap.

For Maize, sorghum and millet, you soak them for about two days, then wash well and grind into a fine paste. You can mix the three together or grind them separately, reason is you want to understand your babies preference. So its better to grind in small quantity the three, and try them alternatively or together. Don’t forget to sieve out the fiber.

For Rice and Wheat, pick out dirt and wash very well, then dry. Make sure its moisture free before grinding into powder, then store in an airtight container. Mind you, rice and wheat pap is prepared on fire and requires attention if not it could cake up.

For Soya, soak soya for over 48 hours, change the water and add fresh water. Dehull the skin of the soya, and ensure all coat is removed from the pea. Now dry the pea to remove all moisture. You can as well heat dry by pouring in a pan and keep stirring to remove moisture totally and kill microorganism. When the Soya is dry, grind into powder and store in an airtight container. Soya can be prepared as pap on its own or used to fortify other pap/food or made into soup, because of its great Protein content. When using soya as pap, two tablespoon is okay, when using it with other pap, a table spoon is okay, but when using it as fortificant for pap two teaspoon is okay for pap, and a table spoon for other foods.

Ingredients for Fortification of the Pap
🦐Crayfish: Use small white dried crayfish, carefully pick out the dirt’s and grind into powder form. One teaspoon is enough for each meal.

🦈Dried Fish: use those dried fish sold in the market called Palamu or Agbodo. Carefully clean it up and ensure some part of the bone is in it, because of calcium. Blend into powder form and store in an airtight container. 1 teaspoon is enough as well when using to fortify.

🥜Groundnut: Groundnut can be tricky, because they are quite moist even when blended into powder, unlike fish and crayfish. So you don’t have too much of it blended, just a little at a time and stored in a container. Use the fried/roasted groundnut, about a handful will do, blend till its evenly crushed into powder, if not you don’t want your baby choking on groundnut lumps. A teaspoon is Okay if you are using groundnut as your fortificant.

🏺Palm oil: This one is to increase the energy content of the pap and also introduce Vitamin A into it (vitamin A is of public health significance). Add two teaspoon of palm oil into the pot and bleach for few seconds, before adding to the pap mixture.
You can also add sugar to increase the energy and for taste, the baby milk can also be used too in place of fish, groundnut or crayfish. You can also use egg white, this is prepared by adding the egg white immediately after turning off the cooker, and stir in thoroughly. But adding egg can be quite messy for some care giver and some babies might not take it, especially those chairmen and chairladies that are picky and don’t like new things. So its better you serve the egg as a snack/dessert.

Now that we know different kinds of pap ingredients and ingredients to fortify them, its not our work as care givers to study our babies preferences and wants, study their body reaction after each introduction. Note that a baby’s body might be adjusting to a new food by maybe stooling at first (not more than one/two loose stool), it doesn’t mean you should stop giving him/her, its normal for everybody’s body to adjust to a new food.

But if it happens again, please take it out for now. But if reactions like diarrhea, bloating, unease, vomiting, red rash etc occurs please stop it and take the baby to the hospital.
But for babies who will eat anything served, please it doesn’t mean we should stuff them with it.

Please don’t stop breastfeeding and don’t over feed your babies.

Till i bring you another complementary diet, enjoy gruel at its peak and cheers to a healthy and hearty baby!!!

Watch out for our next complementary meal, but till then, keep spreading the gospel of nutrition from SWATZ FOOD😁😁.

Cheers to a healthy baby, healthy mom, healthy dad and a healthy nanny!!!

Images: google

COMPLEMENTARY FOODS: Foods for baby’s above six months.

Hello guys! I really want to say a big thanks to everyone that followed my blog in my just concluded 30-day story telling, themed “The Nutritionist Corner”, it was an amazing story telling 30 days.
My article today is going to be on Commentary foods, specially for the kids/babies above 6 months, so you really want to share this with all nursing moms around you.

What are complementary foods?
Complementary foods are foods given to babies above six months and they are modified from the normal family food we eat. It is no news again that a baby should be breastfed exclusively for 6 months without water, pap, glucose, juice, herbs, except drugs prescribed by the Physician, when the baby is sick, which does not stop breastfeeding. After six months, the breast milk is no longer sufficient to satisfy the babies need, hence, the introduction of complementary foods. Complementary foods are also called “Weaning foods”

What Are The Characteristics of A Complementary Food?
🍼It should not be peppery.
🍼It should not be spiced or highly seasoned
🍼It must be nutrient dense.
🍼It must be a balanced diet.
🍼It must not be hot and burning, so the baby don’t get his tongue burnt.

🍼It must be very soft (fluid diet and semi solid foods).
🍼It shouldn’t contain highly processed foods, to avoid giving the organs so much pressure of digestion.
🍼t must be very minimal in dietary fiber, to avoid embarrassing situation of frequent loose stool.
🍼It should be affordable and economical.
🍼It should not stop breastfeeding.

Its also important to know that what you serve the child at different age differs, you don’t want to start giving a 6 months old baby beans, or yam. So as a care giver you need to calm down, understand your baby, and take things slowly. Also you should know that you don’t rush the child, you need to understand their preference for each meal and understand how their body reacts to it. And like i said, complementary foods should not stop breastfeeding because they still need nutrients from the breast milk.

So tell all soon to be moms, moms, wife’s, ladies, care givers, creche owners, kids chefs and loving dads to stay glued to the blog, because its going to be an educative read for our little kings and queens.

Cheers to a healthy Mom, Dad and Baby!!!

To be continued….

Images: google images

Egg: An Eggziting and economical food

Eggs are synonymous to the female species of animals, both higher and lower animals. But our focus is on the chicken egg, which is the most commonly consumed type of egg.

Egg is classified as meat under the food pyramid, as its the most commonly consumed animal product. They are an excellent choice of protein and very very economical (a medium size egg cost 40 Naira).

Egg is divided into the shell, the egg white and the Yolk. The shell is the protective layer that is trying to prevent harmful occurrences to the inner content. The egg white is called the Albumen and the yellow thick mucor-like fluid is called the Yolk. Egg is packed with lots of nutrients that are essential for the body and also for an healthy adult.

Nutrient Content In An Egg
An egg contains very little carbohydrate, it contains protein (over 16 amino acids), fat, vitamins B-complex(1,2,3,5,6,9,12), vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, choline, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium,sodium, a very little amount of zinc and iron. It contains 75g of water and yeah, egg yolk contains cholesterol.

How Nourishing is Egg To The Body?
🥚Egg is nourishing to the eye cause of the vitamin A and also good for skin health.
🥚Good for building worn out cells, tissues and muscles .
🥚Good for boosting the immune system.
🥚Contains vitamins and minerals good for brain functions and nervous system.
🥚Good for pregnanthealth, as it has nutrients that help tackle congenital abnormalities.

🥚A very good protein snack that help to keep track of an healthy weight. As we all know protein has a high satiety value.
🥚Very good snack and complementary meal for babies above 6 months.

Precautions of Eggs
🥚If the shell is slightly cracked or has pores, please its better to discard such eggs because organisms might have found their way inside the egg. Also if egg has stayed longer than 2 weeks, its advisable to dispose it.

🥚Its really advisable that you cook your egg properly before consumption. Taking raw or undercook eggs can be detrimental to the health. The bird could have a flu, bacteria’s (salmonella) could have infected the content through the shell. You don’t want to end up with food borne diseases.

🥚An healthy individual can eat an egg per day, but note the word healthy, because egg is an healthy protein, but you can have the yolk not more than thrice a week and have more of the egg white. If you have a family history of hyperlipideamia, Diabetes, High blood pressure, you might just want to eat egg according to a a Nutritionist/Dietitians prescription.

Egg Dishes
Eggs can be made into several delicacies. -🥚They can be used as meat
🥚They can be used as a main dish, they can be combined to make dessert. They are added to make pastries as moisture, flavor,and as a binding agent.
🥚They can be used to glaze pastries like meatpies and sausages.

This is where we draw the curtains of our 30-day nutrition story, themed “The Nutritionist Corner”. Its been an amazing time telling stories, your comments and encouragement was the reason behind the consistency. I hope you learned from all our stories, do well to inform me of what food you would like to know about and also what condition you would like to know its nutritional and Life style management. From all Nutritionist and food experts on this idea, we say thank you and cheers to a healthy and hearty you and us!!! Have an Eggziting night.

Written by: Enejedu Eseoghene O (swatzfood)
Images: google images

Edikang-Ikong: Preparations and Nutritional Value

States in the southern and eastern parts of Nigeria are known for their beautiful and well- endowed ladies, but another of the perks of that area is their variety of delicious dishes. There are so many mouth- watering dishes in their land, but the one which caught my interest is the Edikang-Ikong soup. You know, if you really want to ‘spoil’ yourself, just have a taste of that dish. Not only will your taste buds be pleasured; you will also be feeding your body with a highly nutritious meal.

Edikang-Ikong soup is a vegetable soup native to the Efik- Ibibio people of Akwa Ibom State and Cross- River State in southeastern Nigeria. Commonly, it is prepared using pumpkin leaves(ugu or ikong-ubong), waterleaf, any assorted meat of your choice (‘orisirisi’), fish, palm oil, crayfish and other ingredients according to your preference. Before I tell you how it is being prepared, I will like to talk about some of its nutritional and health benefits so you can be sure that you’re not just stuffing yourself with junk.

One of its main ingredients is the vegetables used in preparing it, so it is definitely rich in vitamins such as vitamin B1, B2, C, E, and minerals which include iron, phosphorus, selenium, calcium. This is good in preventing anemia and can help in recovery of blood that has been lost by increasing the production of red blood cells. It is also very rich in fiber and so it aids the digestive system.

The meat is a good source of protein which help build the body, form and increase muscle mass.
The fish is also rich in protein, and a good source of calcium which helps to strengthen the bones.
Palm oil is a good source of vitamin A which helps eyesight.

Recipe
For the preparation of this delicious soup, here’s what you’ll need:
Assorted meat(beef, lamb or goat meat, cow hide(ponmo), bokoto and bush meat), snails (thoroughly washed).
Fresh waterleaf, washed and shredded.
Fresh pumpkin leaves, washed and shredded.

Dry fish(thoroughly washed)
Ground crayfish
Palm oil
Pepper
Stockfish (pre-soaked)
Periwinkles (shelled)
Seasoning cubes
Salt to taste

Preparation

Wash the assorted meat thoroughly and place in a large pot. Add some ground onions, seasoning cubes and salt and boil for 30 minutes or until properly cooked.
Meanwhile, remove the snails from the shells and wash thoroughly with lime or lemon juice to remove slime. Then boil the snails.
Wash the dry fish with salt and soak in warm salted water to remove any traces of dirt or sand. Rinse thoroughly with cold water. Also, pre- soak the stock fish in order to soften it, then wash.
Shell the periwinkles and wash thoroughly.
Add the snails, stockfish, dry fish and periwinkles to the pot of meat and cook for another 10 minutes. Also add pepper to the mixture and add more salt and seasoning cubes (if required).

Finally, add the shredded pumpkin leaves and shredded waterleaf and mix in properly. Leave to simmer for 15 minutes and then add the ground crayfish and palm oil. Stir and leave for another 10 minutes until well blended. Then remove from the heat. Your Edikang- Ikong is ready.
This delicious soup can be served with fufu, semo, eba (garri), pounded yam etc.
So, you don’t have to date or marry an Akwa- Ibom or Calabar lady to enjoy delicious dishes like these.

You can also try it in the comfort of your home. Ladies, try this dish for your man to ‘keep’ him. I think I now know why some people say Calabar girls use charm on their boyfriends or husbands. It is not charm o, the secret is just cooking delicious foods.

Thanks for the love so far, 29th day of 30 days and I’m grateful. Anticipate our last story, tomorrow evening.

Written: Efenedo Melody

Images: google

MILK: An excellent choice of protein and calcium.

Happy Sunday guys! And Happy sallah to my Muslim audience! May God in his infinite mercy make us see more of it. We are gradually coming to the end of the nutritious story telling of varieties of food and I’ve chosen milk🥛 as a topic.
Everyone knows what milk is that creamy/whitish liquid or powder that is taken as a beverage alone, added to other beverages or used to make pastries. One would like to say aren’t there so many types of milk sources? Yes, but for the purpose of this article we will be talking about the Cow milk. Milk is actually a dairy product from raw Cow’s milk.

It is processed under different temperature and condition to give us the various types of milk we have. Milk is a complete meal on its own, as its rich in all nutrients, but due to varieties that are common in the market they all have various compositions of those nutrients.

Various types of milk that we have🥛
There are basically three types of milk that we have, others are just modifications from either of the types.

🥛Whole milk/Full cream: This type of milk has the fat content still intact in it.
🥛Low fat milk: This type of milk has part of its fat content removed. Its actually good for people who are trying to cut down on fat intake but still need a little amount of it in their diet.
🥛Skimmed Milk: This type of milk also supply the same nutrition as others but the fat in it has been totally removed. Its really good for overweight/obese persons, persons with hyperlipidaemia, elderlies.

Nutritional Value of Milk🥛
Like i said earlier, milk on its own is a complete diet. Its a very great protein food source and a standard glass cup supplies the body with about 8grams of protein.

It contains carbohydrate, fat, sugar, great deal of Calcium, very negligible iron. Contains vitamin C, B1,B2,B3,Vitamin D, vitamin A, Folate, phosphorous, magnesium, sodium, potassium. You don’t want to miss out on these health nourishing nutrients.

How does Milk Nourish my Health?
🥛its a good source of calcium which is good for bone health and management of diseases related to the bone. Most milk that are fortified with vitamin D which makes it also excellent for bone health.
🥛Its also good for heart health because of the potassium. It enhances Vasodilation of the blood and reduces the pressure of the blood. Good beverage for people with HBP.

🥛A cup of milk before bed can help to avoid fatigue, sleeplessness, depression and bad mood. This is because of the Vitamin D fortified into milk. So go for the type with excellent addition of vitamin D.
🥛it contains great protein for muscle buildup.
🥛Milk is good for stronger teeth’s and gums.
🥛Some studies revealed that Intake of milk can help reduce the risk of having some certain cancers like Colorectal cancer, and ovarian cancer.

Does it mean everyone can take milk🥛?
There are people that react when they take milk. Some people lack the enzyme (Lactase) that is responsible for the digestion of the sugar in milk (Lactose). They notice symptoms like vomiting, bloating, flatulence, diarrhea. Its advised that you take out milk from your diet and replace with other types of milk that are lactose free.

There is also Milk Allergy or hypersensitivity which is an immune disorder in which the body produces allergic antibodies in reaction to the consumption of milk. Symptoms include wheezing, vomiting, diarrhea, discomfort in the Gastrointestinal pathway, itchy rash, redness of the skin,eczema, facial acnes, and in extreme cases it can cause bleeding, hyperpnea or respiratory shock.

Milk Dishes
🥛Milk can be taken alone as a beverage, either warm or cold.
🥛It can be used as base in preparation of other beverages like chocolate beverage, coffee.
🥛It can be taken with our porridge like oat, pap, cereals, custard etc
🥛It can be made into yoghurts.
🥛It can be used to fortify our smoothies.
🥛It can be used to make our pastries like bread, cakes, cookies, doughnuts, chinchin, biscuits etc

However you love to enjoy your Milk, a Nutritionist is advising that you take a glass of milk at least once in a day, a glass🥛 at dawn or a glass🥛 before bed. Report any form of allergy or intolerance to your health expert because it can hinder absorption of other nutrients in the body. Thanks for enjoying the story, stay healthy and keep spreading the gospel of Nutrition!!!

Written by: Enejedu Eseoghene

Images: google