Garri, Poor Man’s Food? Things To Know About Garri

Overlooked by many and regarded as a poor man’s food particularly by those born with a silver or gold spoon, it remains unknown to them how enjoyable this native and simple meal combination can be. Trust me, a spoon load of the mix (In cold water) and a bite of fish on a hot afternoon will impress you.

 Garri and Groundnut

That I am a lover of drinking Garri is an understatement. As a young boy, I could go days without any other meal. It became more like a curse. I do not only soak and drink Garri, I eat the dry form also.  As years go by and I  began to become aware of the concept  of good nutrition  particularly  when I  emerged as  the  food prefect  during my high school  days,  I realised that consuming Garri the way I do could cause my health serious issues. 

So, I decided to reduce my consumption from daily dose to weekly dose. This is not to infer that Garri is not a healthy food. Even too much of vegetable diet is bad. Having said that, technology age mothers nowadays do not bother introducing this meal to their children as
most of them say, “My children  would  not  suffer  as  I  have  suffered”.  My  question  is; 
 Is  drinking  Garri synonymous to suffering? I beg to disagree. In my case, it was and it is
 a choice.

No one food can stand on its own to provide adequate nutrition for your body except breastmilk which you were only fed with from birth till a maximum period of two years. In many cases, It is far less than that. So is Garri. If Garri is occasionally combined with other macronutrients such as protein and fats, then you have no reason to exclude it from your diet.

You are certain to get healthy dose of fat from roasted groundnuts and protein from fried fish with Garri supplying the required carbohydrate. This food combination is not without some traces of vitamins and minerals too. In fact, in years to come, even as it is gradually evolving now, our Garri will be loaded with vitamin A and the fear of night blindness which might result due to its overconsumption will no longer exist.

You can enjoy your Garri with some spoons of powdered milk/evaporated milk and one or two  cubes  of  sugar  but  personally  I  tend  to  enjoy  my  “Garium  Sulphate  (GaSo4)” combination without these two items. They reduce the sour taste of the Garri which is what I love.

If you truly love Garri, do not forget to share this article with your friends and families.