10 Best Nigerian Foods for Weight Loss

Do you want to continue your weight-loss journey while enjoying Nigerian foods? Are you seeking cheap and accessible Nigerian foods that can keep you healthy?

These 10 Nigerian foods will keep you healthy, and they are cheap, natural, and readily available.

You can add these foods to your shopping cart or your shopping list as you read.

1. Pepper Soup is fantastic for weight loss

If you want to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle, our very own pepper soup is a fantastic food. There are several herbs and spices in this dinner, which provide antioxidants and beneficial plant compounds.

Additionally, pepper soup has a lot of water in it. Water helps promote feelings of fullness after eating because it fills the stomach.

You can prepare pepper soup in several ways, but the pepper soup spice blend is the most crucial. A delicious goat meat pepper soup is a great meal for achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.

Tip: Choose a leaner cut of meat to lower your intake of unhealthy saturated fats.

2. Unripe Plantain has less calories which is great for weight loss

Unripe plantain provides fibre and essential nutrients like potassium and vitamin C.

Green plantain is versatile, as you can boil, mash, or grind it. For example, you can use unripe plantain for porridge and boli, and unripe plantain flour to make amala swallow.

Tip: Green plantains are lower on the glycemic index than ripe plantains. Therefore, they won’t spike your blood sugar and insulin levels as much.

3. Nuts

Nuts are delicious and provide fibre, protein, healthy fats, and other nutrients.

You can eat nuts raw or use them in making soups like groundnut soup. You can also use them in smoothies, such as with tiger nuts.

Tip: Choose unsalted nuts to lower your sodium intake.

4. Okro Soup is studied for weight loss

Some may have reservations about this delicious food, but it is very healthy. Okro contains fibre, antioxidants, vitamins C and K, and folate.

Additionally, okro is inexpensive and available all year at the local market. You can also maintain a garden of okro and other veggies to have easy access to nutrient-rich foods.

Seafood okro is one of the varieties of okro soup that is great for weight loss. Okro soup is rich in water and fibre to help promote feelings of fullness.

Tip: Okro has been shown to promote weight loss in mice, but human research is lacking.

5. Moimoi

Moimoi is a popular street food in Nigeria, which is made by steaming beans with fish, vegetables, and spices.

Besides being a great portable snack, it is a good source of protein and fibre.

You can use moimoi as a snack or with meals as a boost to your protein and fibre intake.

Tip: If the chore of peeling beans prevents you from making moimoi, check out this unpeeled beans version.

6. Okpa will manage blood sugar for weight loss

Okpa is a great go-to meal for breakfast to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.

Okpa is a street food that is made from Bambara beans.

It is rich in soluble fibre, protein, vitamins, and polyphenolic compounds. In general, polyphenols are a group of antioxidants that can reduce inflammation.

Foods that are high in fibre and protein can help promote feelings of fullness and prevent overeating.

Tip: Eating foods rich in soluble fibre can help manage blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

7. Ofada Rice

Ofada rice is a local variety of rice that is available as street food.

Ofada rice is unrefined, meaning that it isn’t stripped of its nutrients. Therefore, Ofada rice contains more protein, fibre, minerals, and vitamins than white rice. 

When we pair Ofada rice with Ofada sauce, we also get the benefits of spices that can help boost metabolism. It is nutritious, spicy, and energizing.

Tip: Swap out white rice for Ofada rice in dishes to increase your intake of fibre, protein, and other nutrients.

8. Steamed Fish

We love to eat fish because of its great taste. Fish is not only sweet, but it is also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and iodine.

To get the most omega-3 fatty acids, choose fatty fish. For example, mackerel, trout, herring, salmon, and sardines.

In addition, high intakes of fish and seafood are associated with weight loss. Not to mention that omega-3 fatty acids are great for reducing inflammation in the body.

You can stream fish and eat it with healthy side dishes, for instance, veggies or Nigerian salad.

Tip: Aim to eat two servings of fatty fish per week to get enough omega-3 fatty acids.

9. Beans

Beans are one of my favourites. You can eat them with bread, pap, or garri.

Besides, beans are high in fibre, protein, iron, and vitamins. Moreover, eating more beans is associated with having less body fat and a lower waist circumference.

Ewa agoyin is a common street food. It is both cheap and helpful for weight loss. The fibre and protein in the beans keep you feeling full for the entire day so you don’t snack excessively.

Tip: Try eating more meatless meals with beans as the protein.

10. Eggs

Eggs are rich in many necessary nutrients. Particularly, it is high in healthy fat, proteins, and vitamins.

The combination of protein and healthy fats helps keep you feeling full after eating.

Additionally, eating eggs as part of a low-calorie diet helps promote weight loss.

Eggs are a versatile food. With this in mind, you can have boiled egg along with tea, vegetable salad, or boiled potatoes. Not to mention omelettes, fried eggs, and moimoi.

Tip: Add an egg to a breakfast or other meal lacking in protein.

Conclusion

Nigerian foods are some of the healthiest you can eat during your weight loss journey.

Furthermore, they are inexpensive, nutritious, available all year, and simple to prepare.

Popular Nigerian foods that can help reduce your weight are pepper soup, okro soup, unripe plantains, beans, okpa, moimoi, eggs, ofada rice, steamed fish, and nuts.

Finally, you can make a small garden to grow your crops fresh. Gardening is also a great way to lower your cost of groceries and get in some physical activity.

You can join our next program to kick-start your weight loss journey.