In case you were unaware, I’m Nigerian, first generation born in the US and my tribe is Edo. My name Esosa, means “a gift from God.” My last name Edosomwan means “the Edo land is greater than the individual.” Before this pandemic hit one of my favorite things to do was travel and explore the healing herbs and traditions in other cultures. One of my favorite cities to date was Salvador de Bahía. My next dream destination is Zanzibar in Tanzania.
I didn’t realize that my love for traveling would become an asset as a nutritionist, but it has. When I first started seeing clients at a clinic I had a very diverse clientele roster who hailed from all over the world and I was able to tailor recommendations for each client with the understanding of their cultural foods. I made Indian meal plan templates, was able to tailor different recommendations for my Asian clients, and my African clients finally felt like somebody understood them because I knew what fufu was LOL. More health practitioners need to get hip to the importance of understanding cultural differences, because it’s impossible to truly give diet recommendations or advise anyone about their health unless you understand the cultural nuances and potential barriers to change.
Eating foods from your native culture is important. Most of the time, those foods are the ones that feed our soul because they are linked to memories of home and family. Where we have to adjust is when some of our cultural foods do not support our health goals. The great news is, you can make any dish health-supporting by changing the ingredients. From my culture I occasionally get a craving for egusi soup, and I make it vegan by omitting the meat and subbing mushrooms. It’s still lit. I also love akara, which is a fried bean cake, and my mother made a version using red lentils that I love. If I make them I fry them in coconut oil to avoid consuming excess rancid oils. Plantains can be boiled instead of fried. Instead of overdosing on rice, you can sub quinoa for some dishes and get a protein boost in the process. What cultural foods do you love? Shout them out in the comments below. -XO