How to Eat Healthy with Ghanaian Food

Start with what Ghanaian food already does well

Many traditional Ghanaian meals are built on whole ingredients. Light soup is packed with tomatoes, onions and pepper, kontomire stew brings iron-rich greens, and red-red pairs beans with plantain for fibre and protein. Smoked and grilled fish add quality protein and healthy fats.

The challenge is usually not the ingredients themselves but the proportions. A typical chop bar plate can be mostly starch, with a small piece of fish and very few vegetables. Small shifts in that balance make a big difference over weeks and months.

Use the plate method with local food

A simple, widely used guide is the plate method: fill half your plate with vegetables, a quarter with protein and a quarter with starch. With Ghanaian food, that might mean a smaller ball of banku, a generous portion of okro or garden egg stew, and a piece of grilled tilapia.

For soups eaten with swallows, think of the soup and its vegetables as the main event and the fufu or banku as the side. Asking the chop bar for extra kontomire, garden eggs or a side of fresh vegetables is a small habit that adds up.

• Half the plate: kontomire, okro, garden eggs, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes
• A quarter: fish, chicken, eggs, beans, wele in moderation
• A quarter: rice, yam, plantain, banku, fufu or kenkey
• Add a fruit such as orange, pawpaw or pineapple

Watch the oil, salt and stock cubes

Palm oil and vegetable oil add flavour, but stews and jollof can absorb a lot of it. Try measuring oil with a spoon rather than pouring from the bottle, and let stews rest so you can skim off excess oil from the top.

Stock cubes and salt are the other quiet contributors. Many home cooks use several cubes per pot on top of salt. Leaning on onions, garlic, ginger, dawadawa, fresh pepper and smoked fish for flavour lets you cut back without losing taste.

Choose cooking methods that keep it light

Grilled, boiled, steamed and stewed foods are usually lighter than deep-fried ones. Kelewele, bofrot and fried yam are delicious, and they can stay in your week, but they work best as occasional treats rather than daily staples.

Simple switches help: grilled tilapia instead of fried fish, boiled yam or ampesi instead of fried yam, and light soup instead of a heavy, oily stew now and then.

Make drinks and snacks count

Sugary drinks can add a surprising amount of energy without filling you up. Water is the best everyday choice, and homemade sobolo with little or no added sugar is a refreshing alternative to sweet soft drinks.

For snacks, roasted groundnuts in a small handful, fresh fruit, boiled corn or a cup of unsweetened brukina are satisfying options. If you want to see how your meals balance out across the day, Dunu can estimate calories and nutrients from a quick photo of each plate.

Eating out at chop bars and street stalls

Many Ghanaians eat at least one meal a day from a chop bar, waakye seller or roadside stall, and that is fine. You can still make balanced choices by thinking about the whole plate rather than one item.

At a waakye stand, ask for more beans, salad and an egg, and go lighter on the spaghetti, gari and oil. At a chop bar, choose a moderate ball of swallow with light soup or okro soup and a piece of fish. With fried rice or jollof, add the vegetable side and a grilled protein instead of extra fried chicken.

• Ask for extra vegetables or salad
• Pick grilled or stewed protein
• Request a smaller portion of starch
• Choose water over a soft drink