Posts by Nyasha Denhere

A farmer who is delighted when people enjoy healthy plant based diets. I find peace in blogging about food and nutrition. Very passionate about improving the world system and ending hunger and poverty

Replacing meat

Posted on by Nyasha Denhere

RepLace meat, replace meat, replace meat, is a song that we hear everyday. Some people are still worried about how they can switch from meat based diets to plant based diets. The first thing, that comes in one’s mind is the delicious taste of meat that you experience when you just make a little bite of a chunk of meat. We grew up with the mentality that we get protein from meat sources, so some people are worried of switching from animal based to plant based diets .

In most cases we all have reasons to take this bold action. Some people are forced to become vegans because of healthy issues and others have mercy for animals.

Whatever reason, at one point in time you might want or long to have meat.

That is not a problem, today I would like to introduce you to some vegan meat balls.

Beans meat balls,

Yes I said beans meat balls,

So How do you prepare them?

First of all boil you beans until they are perfectly cooked.

Drain any excess water and allow the bean to cool, mash them but they must remain thick, shred carrots, red and green peepers, add salt add tumeric and a little onion powder, pour all these into the bowl with mashed beans, mix well and form a dough.

Refrigerate the dough for about thirty minutes. Make balls from the dough.

You can now fry and bake the balls.

After frying serve with any sauce whilst still warm. You will tell me the goodness of the taste, it’s good meat replacement, you can even Fake your friends to believe that you are having meat,

Until tomorrow

ChAo

Using Green amaranth

Posted on by Nyasha Denhere

Hello my friends, I hope you are doing well and you are really enjoying your fresh vegetables.

Today, we are going to use green amaranth (mowa) in Shona. This vegetable naturally occurs in Zimbabwe especially in summer.

My fellow Zimbabweans, did you know that green amaranth is a substitute for spinach. Actually, it is called African spinach.

So What does that mean?

It Means you can use it the way you use spinach in your dishes.

Guys it took me decades to réalisé that green amaranth is a vegetable that I should not miss as it packed with a variety of nutrients for example, vitamins, calcium and protein only to mention a few.

Now you know you cannot afford to miss it in your dishes, the next thing is to know how to get the best out of it.

In my village, everyone knows that you need to cook it until it becomes brown and when it is well cooked, we add peanut butter.

Today I would like to introduce you guys to two recipes that might surprise you but these two works wonders in your mouth, I bet try it, I mean taste it and see what happens next, the truth is you are going to regret the number of years you have been in the village, seeing it as a carpet of weeds in your field. I know the moment that you try these two recipes, you will go out to look for more,

Ok guys let’s get started .

Method one:

Frying: yes I said frying, I know you are laughing because in your mind you are saying, you are mad, or you do not really know green amaranth.

I know it inside out, I grew up in the village, and I tell you green amaranth was weeds that gave us torrid times in summer, we would spent the whole summer without resting, weeding it after every two weeks.

Now let’s get back to our frying method.

What you need.

Green chilli or green pepper, fresh young tender amaranth leaves which are only three weeks old, garlic or garlic chives cooking oil and salt for seasoning.

Cut your amaranth into small pieces using a knife, do the same to your chillies and pepper,

put your pan on the stove top and add some cooking oil allow your oil to boil, add your chillies or peppers in the boiling oil, fry until well cooked, add your green amaranth in the pot and fry until cooked, when done you add salt to taste, I also prefer putting in garlic chives.

After this you can serve it as relish to your Sadza if you are Zimbabwean.

With this recipe, your hands will not be able to resist to dip in your pocket for more money to buy more green amaranth.

Please go and try this recipe at home. If you can’t find the amaranth leaves now, please give us a shout we will direct you to the best Green amaranth grower.

Recipe2.

Toss baby Amaranth in your salad the way you do baby spinach and experience the miracle.

Instead of using baby amaranth you can look for amaranth microgreens, these ones work wonders especially red amaranth microgreens, they give your plate a splendid presentation that consumers won’t be able to resist.

My friends, go and give yourself a weekend treat using Green amaranth.

Chao

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Banana – papaya smoothie 🥤

Posted on by Nyasha Denhere

Guys I can’t resist any smoothie that comes my way. This nutritious drink is just a wonder. Among all smoothies that I have tasted, I enjoyed the papaya banana smoothie.

With all the knowledge that I have about paw paws as nutrient dense fruits, I wouldn’t want to miss it everyday.

For me, I really enjoy paw paws in a smoothie than taking it as a raw fruit.

Combining paw paws with bananas will give you a very fine sweet smoothie that no one can resist.

But

Wait a minute, your ingredients are not enough, you need to include some strawberries. Strawberries are just amazing ,so imagine the nutrient content of your smoothie, it will be super fine

If it is very hot, do not forget to add some cold ice flakes in the blender.

Surely! I tell you. You will be in heaven on earth.

This message is for mainly Africans who do not know the healthy benefits of paw paws and how to prepare and present them.

I still remember in our village, paw paws are plenty, people in that area do not even like them . They even see them rot or leave them on the tree to allow ravens and other birds to feed on them. Only because they do not know the nutrition value of this wonderful fruit.

My friends! Whenever you come across a paw paw, please take it home and prepare a delicious smoothie for your loved ones.

Today, I am not going to say much because I do not have enough time but watch out , tomorrow I will make available the recipe for preparing this magical healthy drink.

Let’s meet tomorrow for the recipe

Companion planting

Posted on by Nyasha Denhere

Hey friends! I hope I find you well and you are all enjoying your farming,

If you are in Southern Africa, Its obvious that you are now feeling the summer heat every afternoon, do not just feel the heat without planning for your summer cropping. If you are one of those without plans, then cheer up, Bono Salus is a friend indeed. We have a full package for your summer crops, however, today we are only going to concentrate on two super plants.

Egg plants/brinjals and tomatoes

Did you know that these two a great friends, they go along very well, they actually share the same food and they ward off pests and insects for one another.

Imagine! This is super friendship.

So what message am I bringing to you guys?

Boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, go ye into the supermarket, I mean straight to the seed corners, grab two packets that is one for egg plants and the other one for tomatoes, choose any variety

As for me, I have fallen in love with cherry tomatoes and the black beauty variety of eggplants.

Ok, let’s say you are not good at starting your own seed, fine that is not a problem, head to the nursery shop and grab the seedlings for the two plants, I bet it’s easier for beginners.

Please do not be excited and forget to pay!

Now, let’s get into the garden, remember, I like eating organically grown vegetables so let’s do it the organic way.

Come on let’s start now,

Choose a suny spot, your plants love basking in the sun so make sure the spot receives at least 12hrs of sunshine,

Dig holes which are 30cn wide and 30cm dip and put a spacing of 60cm between two holes and 100cm between two rows. Deposit enough we’ll aged compost, goat, chicken manure or cow dung in the holes and mix well with well draining soil.

Use any eye catching pattern during transplanting, but just make sure the two are growing together.

Practice good agronomy, ensuring that you give the plants enough water and avoid weeds at all costs

Natural calcium and potassium.

Use egg shells and banana peels to add the to minerals.

As long as you do your agriculture very well, in less than three months you can start harvesting depending on varieties chosen.

If you face challenges, do not forget to write to us for more tips.

You can only eat fresh and healthy food if you put more effort in your garden.

Bye for now my adorable friends, lots of love

Growing beans vertically

Posted on by Nyasha Denhere

Hie my friends, I hope you are doing well, and you are growing different varieties of fruit and vegetables.

Its now summer and we need to choose the right plants to grow this time around . Its now time to grow beans,

This is the right time but someone might be saying what “I do not have space”, do not worry my friends today we are introducing you to vertical beans farming. Therefore stay put and enjoy today’s lesson.

guys, first things first, the most important thing is to choose the best variety for vertical farming since you do not have space.so now I am introducing you to a wonderful variety called “the lazy house wife”, it is named so because it is very easy to grow and it does not need much attention. So it is best suited for those who are lazy.

the good thing about this variety is that you can consume its fruits in all it’s three phases.

phase one

The beans are still young and they are perfect to use as green beans, they taste sweet, my gosh, I admit ,I like the sweetness.

phase 2

The plant is a heavy bearer and it’s obvious that you are not going to be able to finish it’s fruit at the first stage, “do not worry”, you can still cook them when they are ripe,

phase 3:

The pods can dry up and have an opportunity to pick them and dry them for future use. You can boil them and serve them as desired.

if well fed, the plant can grow tall and bearing pods at every nod allowing you to enjoy a bountiful harvest.

If you were worried about space, you can even grow them in containers but please ensure that your trellising is good for the vines to climb up, as long you feed it well, it will continue to grow and bear fruits to an indeterminate time .

with this variety you will never go wrong, therefore, come on let’s go into the shop and let’s grab our packet to start our seed.

you can be a lazy parent who ensures enough food supply for the family and even you can also have extra to share with your neighbours.

but, please do not eat everything, spare some seeds for the next season and share your seeds with your friends so that we promote a sustainable food system

Growing baby marrows vertically

Posted on by Nyasha Denhere

Hello everyone, I hope I find you well, today we have an interesting topic and its about growing a squash called baby marrow. This plant is so wonderful as it bears a lot of fruits within a short space of time.

Yes ,I know you would love to pick up your fresh marrows straight from the garden but you have a confined space. Baby marrows need spaces about 150cm apart, imagine, it means it is going to take much of your space,

Do not worry about that today in this lesson we are going to learn how we can grow it organically at the same time maximising the little space that we have,

Come on guys let’s get in our garden.

Take your measuring tape , well aged chicken or goat manure, a hoe and a watering cane.

We only want to plant five zucchini plant, they are enough for a family of four, mark your area , we need 80cm between each row and between each plant 40cm. Dig your holes about 30cm deep, take one part of soil and add two parts of organic manure. Mix well and deposit the mixture in each hole up until it is 90% full.

Plant your health baby marrow organic seed in each hole but this must only be 2cm dip. Water thoroughly using the watering can. Do this as required up until the marrows germinate.

NB. Marrows are the easiest squashes to grow and they grow vigorously if they are well fed. Expect the first harvest in less than 2months. As the plant is growing, it will have huge foliage and it’s not necessary because what we want are the fruits. So to have more fruits we will train our marrow to grow vertically instead of being a bush. Look for supporters e.g bamboo trees or anything straight that is available.

cut all the lower leaves and leave it with few leaves at the top. Tie your marrow to the supporting tree, in this case it will start to grow vertically as it is fruiting. This will allow you to walk through easily and quickly recognize the fruit that would have matured. This method saves space and you are able to grow more than double at a limited space.

The more you prune the plant ant support it, the more it grows and bears more fruits.

As the plant start bearing fruits, beware of fruit flies and blossom end rot. Next time we are going to address these issues using organic method of farming.

Now it’s harvest time.

May be you have never tasted it , I mean you do not know how to consume it.

Well ! That is not a problem because today you are going to learn one or two ways of eating marrows or zucchini.

The first method is to eat it raw like what people do to cucumbers, I like it that way. Another way is to stir fry it and add it in your plate as a side dish. I also like to it in my soup. Another way is to blend it into a smoothie and drink.

Baby marrows are packed with many nutrients like iron, potassium, magnesium, rich in fiber and it also rich in vitamin c.only to mention a few. This means that those who consume them raw will enjoy more healthy benefit than those who cook.

Because of their mineral content, they help fight, heart diseases, high blood pressure, and high sugar levels. Since it has high content of iron, it fights anemia. This shows that every house hold must have this vegetable in the garden.

Some of my clients come to me giving me testimonies of how they felt better after eating raw baby marrows.

Well by now , I hope you are saying I now want to start my seed, before you do that just know that they do well in open field when we are in summer and they love full sunlight. This means that if we are in winter like here in Zimbabwe, you can not grow it outside, you need to have a green house.

That’s it for today, my friends , continue enjoying healthy food, and make it a habit to produce your own veggies on that limited space.

Remember eating is a necessity but choosing the right food is an art.

Growing basil organically

Posted on by Nyasha Denhere

Are you you in herb growing? If so do not worry of how you are going to go about it. You do not need to go to school to start your herb garden.

Today we will take you through step by step to grow your own organic basil. It is the easiest to start from cuttings.

Things needed :

Fresh cuttings from a healthy plant.

Potting soil rich in organic nutrients.

Take your cuttings and remove the lower leaves and place the cutting in the soil making sure that the stem has enough soil.

Water gently. For the meantime put your pot at an area that receives partial sun for a week, when your plant has developed roots and is now growing vigorously, change the pot to a sun spot that receives full sunlight. This will enable the plant to grow quickly and vigorously. Water when necessary and do not forget to prune your plant