EXCLUSIVE - How To Prepare Beans & Corn Porridge (Adalu) - A Balanced Diet

Lets Recall What A Balanced Diet Really Mean?

This is a meal which contain the right amount of all the food groups which have the ability to supply adequate energy and nutrition to the body for growth, repair and development. The bolded words are very key. Too much of healthy food may no longer be healthy. It is essential to get adequate amount.

A balanced diet within appropriate quantity is what has help many to stay quite healthy while others are battling with many conditions. Clearly, based on a simple questioning I carried out, a lot of people are of the opinion that a balanced diet is usually expensive to prepare. Far from it, you can eat a well balanced diet from your everyday food supplies without breaking the bank.

Beans and corn (locally called Adalu in Nigeria), is one combination of food that can provide you a balanced diet without hassles.  While it appears like a meal of only protein and carbohydrate, other macro and micro nutrients which constitute a balanced diet are all present. I had never looked deep enough into this meal until recently when my mum came visiting and cooked the meal for me. It tastes so delicious, its been more than 4 years that I had a taste of the meal.

Why Is Beans & Corn (Adalu) A Balanced Diet?

The major food groups are protein, carbohydrates and fat which fall into macro nutrients and vitamins and minerals which fall into micro nutrients. For your food to be balance, it must contain all of these nutrients in the right proportion with the macro nutrients taking most of the portions.

The beans will be supplying adequate amount of primary protein while the corn will supply carbohydrates and fibre. You will remember clearly that the meal is prepared with pepper including tomatoes supplying vitamins and minerals while palm oil is  providing some amount of fats. One thing mum does to make her beans and corn a delight is to slice up to two big bulbs of onions to a six servings of the meal. Onions is loaded with plenty anti oxidants and vitamins.

How To Prepare This Beans & Corn Porridge?

1. Mum does it in a very simple way and it turns out very well.
2. Get your corn, usually more than the beans.
3. Wash properly and cook until it is almost ready to be consumed and keep.
4. Wash your beans and pour into a pot containing boiling water, slice one or two  big bulbs of onions into it.
5. Cook for over an hour depending on the variety of the beans.
6. When it is soft, pour your per boiled corn and cook for another 20 minutes.
7. Add palm oil, salt and blended pepper as appropriate and cook for another five minutes.
8. Your beans and corn porridge (called Agbado ati ewa by the Yorubas and generally Adalu)  is ready.

Meals like these are fast going into extinction particularly among young breeds. We prefer to choose other foods options many of which are processed foods that do not seem to supply adequate amount of nutrients. 

Try to give this meal called Adalu a trial on a Sunday evening like this. I bet you would love it.