There is an old saying that ‘Eat breakfast like a king, eat lunch as a prince and eat dinner as a pauper’. I doubt however that this is true in many Nigerian homes today. Maybe it used to work when our forefathers were farmers, which I even doubt because they had to be in the farms early each morning. Or maybe it only applies to the royal families. Whatever the case may be, the most important thing is that we should try as much as possible to each a balanced diet in the morning, in the afternoon and at night.
In the fast-paced setting of this modern life of the 21st century, however, there is a tendency that your food setting looks like this almost every day:
- A rushed breakfast of simple honey-drizzled pancakes and a cup of tea or two sandwiches and a cup of chocolate drink etc.
- Then, for lunch, a sweating food flask of rice, plantain, beef and stew eaten alone in quietness or ‘nothing gist’ with your colleagues at work.
- Dinner is probably the only time you have together with your family but the tiredness of the day’s work wouldn’t even let you be great. You would probably just heat up some frozen foods in your refrigerator or place an order for Pizza or burgers. This is now the kind of world we live in
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However, if you just like me are a person passionate about health and family time, you will know that lunchtime with family is of utmost importance. You get to see one another’s face in real time, gist over the meal, eat a lot, healthily and very satisfactorily, while sharing the love of togetherness.
This is why the weekend is important. So that after the craze of each week, you and your family get to get together, the phones and TV shunned, to have great quality time with one another over some delicious meals.
Today, I am here to suggest five simple, delicious meals you can share with your family during lunch on weekends. I will try not to go as kingly as that old saying prescribes, (haha), nor would I go as low as recommending the staple go-to lunch of Garri and kulikuli that so many Nigerians have for lunch. Whatever I will recommend is unique, delicious, healthy and very easy to prepare. Tighten your seatbelts and let us fly.
5 SIMPLE LUNCH IDEAS FOR THE WEEKEND
There are times when you feel like just eating something jollofy but not Jollof Rice itself. Spaghetti works well on these days especially if you love pastas. Just prepare the delicious tomato base with your chicken stock, cook your spaghetti for three to four minutes in boiling water, stirring continually so it doesn't get stuck together, mix everything together, add a little more stock, adjust the seasonings and salt and within a few minutes, lunch is ready for your family! How delicious would it be if you can thereafter sprinkle some grated Mozzarella cheese on this hot combo! Yummy!
Serve with some nicely fried plantains and put a piece or two of fried/grilled peppered chicken by the side. Set the table with this beauty and a jug of freshly pressed orange or tangerine juice and lunch is set for your family!
2. SWALLOW, GOOD SOUP AND MEAT AND A CUP OF ICED SODA.
This is one of the very best lunch ideas in many Nigerian homes and I wouldn't love to subtract it out of my list because this is one of the very good things that make us who we are. Sitting down on a hot Saturday afternoon with some very hot Amala, Ewedu soup, Gbegiri and spicy goat meat stew with a cup of iced Coca-Cola to wash it down isn't just a bad idea, it is a bonding idea for you and your family. You sweat it all out together. Oh la la! (Haha)
And of course, we have unlimited swallow choices in Nigeria at large ***Read this blog post for more swallow suggestions***
Yours could be poundo yam and chicken Egusi soup with a cup of iced Fanta and it can also be Starch and Oha Soup with lots of proteins and veggies swimming in it with a cup of iced sprite, oh, so yummy!!!
Swallow, good soup and great protein choice with a SINGLE (don't do more than one🤪) glass of soda will make your afternoon! Thank me later.
P.S: Can you feel the easy ideas I am giving to you? They are so easy and loaded with huge health benefits! All for you and your family!
3. BOILED YAM, FRIED VEGGIES AND EGGS SAUCE AND A CUP OF FRUIT JUICE.
This is so easy. Just move to your kitchen, withdraw a tuber of yam, cut into fine sizes, boil with a little salt and very little water for a few minutes and hot yam is ready. While that is cooking however, you are already cutting your spinach or Ugwu leaves into tiny slices. You cut some onions, tomatoes and peppers, fry slightly, season well, add your raw eggs, stir evenly and your lunch is ready again!!! Simple, healthy and nice to behold!
For the drink, dump some frozen watermelon cuts and maybe bananas too into your blender/processor, add some milk, yoghurt or even water, blend everything together, pour in a table dispenser and take to the dining table. Then, have your lovely family sit down to relish the aroma, taste and textures of the healthy benefits you've provided before them! Oh what a sweet one that would be!
4. CONCOCTION PALM OIL RICE, COLESLAW AND FRIED FISH
Don't be fooled by the concoction name because this is simply a delicacy! Concoction rice is a one pot dish that is easy to prepare, aromatic and very healthy. To even take it to the next level, we are using palm oil. Oh my! Simply bleach your palm oil, add your grated peppers, tomatoes, tomato paste, onions, onion powder, paprika, stock cubes, maybe some Ugwu leaves, salt and other spices, add in your wash rice, stir together, add enough water or stock and in a few minutes, your concoction palm oil rice is ready! Yaaay! Stir very well and set aside.
You then make your simple coleslaw by slicing your cabbage, cucumbers, grating a carrot, adding some sweet corn and green peas (if you like), add in a splash of lemon, add a huge spoon of mayo, stir together richly and serve with your concoction rice with some peppered fried rice and a cup of drink of your choice. Lunch with your family that day will be simply amazing!
This might look like a lot of work but it really isn't. As soon as you wake up, soak two cups of beans in some water and forget it there till it's time to prepare for lunch. Haha.
After a few hours, when the beans are soft, pour in your blender and pulsate a few times for the peels to come off. Afterwards, rinse well, add some tatashe peppers, onion and crayfish, blend everything together. Pour into a bowl, add some good oil, some cooked Titus fish, onion powder, paprika, boiled eggs cut into pieces, seasonings of your choice and so on. Then, mix very well and serve in your leaves or moinmoin bowls. It should be ready in less than an hour.
Let each family member take one of two wraps/bowls of this yummilicious delicacy with some iced enriched Garri and soon, the whole house would be quiet because this meal will definitely send you to bed for some weekend afternoon relaxations. Hahaha.
N.B: By enriched garri, I mean, garri that has all the enriching condiments like milk, chocolate powder (tea), coconut flakes etc. with some iced water.
ROUNDING OFF:
I trust you found this blog valuable. I hope you will take your family's weekend lunchtime even more seriously than ever now. Let me know if any of these choices resonate with you and which one you will be trying soon. Thanks for stopping by and see you soon!
