Healthy African-Inspired Lunch Recipes

This year, I am on a mission to prove that African food can form the basis of a healthy and nutritious plant-based diet. The inspiration comes from how my grandmother and great-grandmother were eating allowing them to live long and healthy lives. These recipes highlight indigenous African ingredients and pair with amazing recipes already available on my blog. You can use these as inspiration for meal prep and healthy lunch ideas.

Complex Carbohydrates

I know the first thing people try to incorporate more often in their diet is complex carbohydrates. In West Africa, it is very easy to have stews and soups accompanied with white rice. But a really easy and nutritious swap will be trying out some indigenous West African rice or Fonio.

Rice

West Africa has its own sub-species of rice that come in all shapes and colours. My favourites are red rice, gomba rice and ofada rice. The different types of rice cook just like any usual brown rice and do taste quite similar but have more earthy undertones. For more information check out this post on Ghanaian Ingredients. You can purchase these at any African store.

Fonio

Fonio is the West African grain of the future. It is gluten-free, quick-cooking and highly nutritious. You can check out my in-depth blog post on this amazing grain. Click here.

Teff

Teff is one of the oldest grains in the world. It was domesticated in the horn of Africa and serves as a stable grain in that region. Like fonio, it is gluten-free and packed with nutrients. It cooks in the same amount of time as white rice and it is absolutely delicious. For more info on teff make sure to check out this blog post.

FRIED RICE

Recipe for Fried Rice

Modifications

I swapped white rice for indigenous West African Rice, which I show the process of cooking in the video. If you want more details on the rice, please check out this link.
I used 1 cup of Just Egg liquid plant based egg and baked 1 block of firm tofu in the air fryer for 25 minutes till crispy

YASSA AND CURRY FONIO

Recipe for the fonio

Recipe for the Yassa tofu

TEFF BOWL

Teff: I cooked 1 part teff with 2 parts broth for 12 minutes at medium-low heat till all the liquid was absorbed.
Mishkaki: You can find the recipe and marinade here: Mishkaki Skewers
Sukuma Wiki: chopped 1 onion and 1 tomato. Sauteed these till they were soft in a pan with a little vegetable oil (about 5 minutes). I added in some salt and pepper to taste. Once it was seasoned, I added one bunch of collard chopped. I covered the pot and let the steam from the cooking vegetables cook down the greens. This took about 5-10 minutes.
Kachumbari: I chopped 1 onion and 1 tomato. I seasoned this with salt, pepper and the juice of half a lime.
Tahini dressing: I diluted about 1 tbsp of tahini with equal parts warm water. I added pepper to preference, the juice of half a lemon and some liquid sweetener. Adjust the sweetener to your own preference.