Integrative, Indigenous & Delicious Nutrition!

What a delicious, enlightening training was had recently with Mpho Tshukudu, an integrative and functional nutrition dietitian! A group of women farmers from Amadiba in the Eastern Cape travelled up to Siyazisiza’s Zululand Agri-Support Centre to join a group of Siyazisiza’s staff for a fascinating and challenging workshop, focusing on reclaiming health through indigenous foods amidst modern dietary challenges.

Mpho shared how the transition to modern diets has most impacted those people who have, in a very short period of time, shifted from eating indigenous and traditional foods to the modern Westernised foods that are highly processed, nutritionally deficient, and high in sugar, salt and meat. In South Africa, this has particularly seen African people’s health problems significantly increase, with hypertension, diabetes and other chronic diseases on the rise.

Trainees learned about the ideal food plate: half non-starchy vegetables, a quarter protein, and a quarter starch. But the starch portion includes not only grains, tubers and starchy vegetables (such as squashes and butternut), but also fruits, as they contain high levels of carbohydrates. Our stomachs are about the size of our two fists next to each other when empty, and do stretch when we eat. Chewing food breaks it down into small pieces, so for each meal we should eat about two fists of vegetables, one fist of starch, and our protein portion should be the size of our palm. Mpho also warned trainees about the modern South African trend to eat meat every day as this is a major contributor to heart disease and other illnesses, so she stressed returning primarily to traditional beans, lentils, nuts and seeds for our protein needs, echoing the wisdom of our ancestors.

Mpho also spoke about how starting our days with a breakfast full of sugar and cereals is likely to spike our blood sugar levels that then lead to a blood sugar crash that affects energy levels and concentration, and which encourages more eating of starch/sugar, keeping our blood sugar levels jumping all day long. Whereas a breakfast with healthy protein, fats, vegetables and carbohydrates will help keep our blood sugar levels in healthy ranges over the day, supporting calm and focused attention. The trainees then designed various healthy

breakfasts, lunches and dinners, and every day the group cooked lunch together to practice healthy cooking techniques as well as the use of spices and herbs to increase the flavour of the foods, instead of relying on fat, sugar and salt.

Mpho noted how our tendency to eat highly processed foods that are full of artificial ingredients is frequently because we want flavour as we tend to cook our own food relatively blandly. If we increase the flavour of our own food, we reach less for the unhealthy fast food! But she also warned us that Aromat, Six Gun, Knorox, chicken spice packets, soup packets, etc are not our “friends” as they contain artificial ingredients to stimulate our appetite to make us eat more, whereas pure spices and herbs are healthy flavour enhancers.

The trainees ate a range of delicious, healthy foods from fermented sorghum porridge to a tasty beetroot soup to dishes full of vegetables, legumes and indigenous & traditional grains.  Imifinos featured in most meals as these greens are packed full of micronutrients, and in the KZN heat at the training centre, trainees drank iced teas made with farm herbs and sweetened with honey from our bee apiary.

South Africa has about 1700 edible indigenous plants, but we eat very few of these nowadays to the detriment of our wellbeing. Mpho encouraged everyone to learn from their elders who remember how to grow and cook the wonderful indigenous and traditional foods that are so much healthier for us as well as being more resilient to climate change. She also advised Siyazisiza’s catering team on how to create healthier menus filled with indigenous ingredients to support the wellbeing of all future trainees and expand their nutrition knowledge.

This training is the first in a series for the Amadiba Women’s Fertile Fields Project, generously supported by Daughters For Earth. The next workshop in May will focus on cultivating traditional & indigenous crops as well as the value of intercropping, then in September there’ll be a training on producing sustainable fertilisers. The women farmers are committed to sharing their new experiences with their local Farmer Forums, helping to spread the transfer of knowledge and enhancing Amadiba’s food sovereignty and climate resilience.

Kube ukuqeqeshwa okumnandi, nokukhanyiselayo okube khona noMpho Tshukudu, uchwepheshe wokudla okunomsoco. Iqeqebana labalimi besifazane base-Amadiba e-Eastern Cape bahlanganyele eSiyazisiza eZululand Agri-Support Centre ukuze behlanganyele neqembu labasebenzi baseSiyazisiza emhlanganweni wokucobelelana ngolwazi olumangalisayo nenselelo, obugxile ekubuyiseleni impilo ngokudla kwendabuko phakathi kwezinselelo zesimanje zokudla.

UMpho wabelane ngokuthi ukuguqukela ekudleni kwesimanje kube nomthelela omkhulu kanjani kulabo bantu, esikhathini esifushane kakhulu, basuke ekudleni ukudla kwendabuko nokudla kwesintu badla ukudla kwesimanje okugayiwe kakhulu, okungenamsoco, kanye noshukela omningi kanye nosawoti. ENingizimu Afrika, lokhu kubonakale ikakhulukazi izinkinga zezempilo zabantu base-Afrika zanda kakhulu, nomfutho wegazi ophakeme, isifo sikashukela nezinye izifo ezingamahlalakhona zikhula.

Abaqeqeshwayo bafunde ngepuleti lokudla elifanelekile: imifino engasiyo isitashi enguhhafu, iprotein eyikota, nekota yesitashi. Kodwa ingxenye yesitashi ayihlanganisi okusanhlamvu kuphela, izilimo eziyizigaxa kanye nemifino enesitashi (njengama-squashes kanye nethanga), kanye nezithelo, njengoba ziqukethe amazinga aphezulu ama-carbohydrate. Izisu zethu zilingana nezinqindi ezimbili eduze kwesinye uma zingenalutho, futhi ziyazelula uma sidla. Ukudla siyakuhlafuna kube izingcezu ezincane, ngakho esidlweni ngasinye kufanele sidle cishe izinqindi ezimbili zemifino, isibhakela esisodwa sesitashi, futhi ingxenye yethu yamaprotheni kufanele ilingane nesundu sethu (njengoba amaprotheni ngokuvamile asevele aminyene kakhulu). UMpho uphinde waxwayisa abaqeqeshwayo mayelana nendlela yesimanje yaseNingizimu Afrika yokudla inyama nsuku zonke njengoba lokhu kuyimbangela enkulu yesifo senhliziyo nezinye izifo, ngakho ugcizelele ukuthi sibuyele ikakhulu kubhontshisi wesintu, udali, amakinati kanye nembewu ukuze sizuze amaprotheni, siqhubeke nokudla okwakudliwa okhokho bethu.

UMpho uphinde wakhuluma ngokuthi ukuqala usuku lwethu ngesidlo sasekuseni esigcwele ushukela nokusanhlamvu kungase kukhuphule izinga likashukela egazini okuholela ekulimaleni kukashukela osegazini okuthinta amazinga amandla nokugxilisa ingqondo, futhi okukhuthaza ukudla okwengeziwe isitashi/ushukela, ukugcina amazinga kashukela egazini egxuma usuku lonke. Kumele sidle isidlo sasekuseni esinamaprotheni anempilo, amafutha anempilo, imifino kanye nama-carbohydrates kuzosiza ukugcina amazinga kashukela egazini esezingeni elinempilo phakathi nosuku.

Abaqeqeshwayo benze ukudla kwasekuseni okunempilo okuhlukahlukene, ukudla kwasemini kanye nokwasebusuku futhi zonke izinsuku iqembu lalipheka ukudla kwasemini ndawonye ukuze lizijwayeze izindlela zokupheka ezinempilo kanye nokusetshenziswa kwezinongo namakhambi ukuze kwandiswe ukunambitheka kokudla, esikhundleni sokuthembela emafutheni, kushukela kanye nasekudleni usawoti.

UMpho uphawule ukuthi ukuthembekela kwethu kokudla ukudla okugayiwe kakhulu okugcwele izithako zokwenziwa kuvame ukubangelwa ukuthi sifuna ukunambitheka njengoba sivame ukupheka ukudla kwethu ngokunganaki. Uma sandisa ukunambitheka kokudla kwethu, sisebenzisa ukudla okungenampilo! Kodwa futhi usixwayise ngokuthi i-Aromat, i-Six Gun, i-Knorox, amaphakethe esobho, njll akulungile, yingakho kumele kusebenze izinongo namakhambi ehlanzekile.

Abaqeqeshwayo badle izinhlobonhlobo zokudla okumnandi, okunempilo kusukela ephalishini lamabele elibilile kuya esobheni likabhithirothi elimnandi, izitsha ezigcwele imifino kanye nezinhlamvu zomdabu.  Imifino etholakala ekudleni okuningi njengoba le mifino igcwele ama-micronutrients, futhi ngoba kushisa KwaZulu Natali esikhungweni sokuqeqesha, abaqeqeshwayo babephuza amatiye ayisiqhwa enziwe ngamakhambi asepulazini futhi afakwe uju olusuka endaweni  yethu yezinyosi.

INingizimu Afrika inezitshalo zomdabu ezidliwayo ezingaba angu-1700, kodwa sidla ezimbalwa kakhulu kulezi namuhla okulimaza impilo yethu. UMpho ukhuthaze wonke umuntu ukuthi afunde kwabadala babo abakhumbula ukulima nokupheka ukudla okumnandi kwesintu okunempilo kithina kanjalo nokumelana nokuguquguquka kwesimo sezulu. Uphinde weluleka ithimba eliphakelayo leSiyazisiza ngokuthi lingawakha kanjani amamenyu anempilo agcwele izithako zomdabu ukusekela impilo yabo bonke abasazoqeqeshwa nokwandisa ulwazi lwabo lokudla.

Lokhu kuqeqeshwa kungokokuqala  lwe-Amadiba Women’s Fertile Fields Project, esekelwa yi-Daughters For Earth. Umhlangano wokucobelelana ngolwazi olandelayo ngoMay uzogxila ekutshaleni izitshalo zesintu nezomdabu kanye nenani lokutshala ngokuhlanganyela, bese kuthi ngoSeptember  kube noqeqesho lokukhiqiza umanyolo oqhubekayo. Abalimi besifazane bazibophezele ekwabelaneni ngolwazi olusha nezithangami zabo zasendaweni zabalimi, ukusiza ukusabalalisa ukudluliswa kolwazi kanye nokuthuthukisa ubukhosi bokudla kwe-Amadiba kanye nokumelana nesimo sezulu.