NEWSLETTER 2ND -9TH SEPTEMBER

Good Day,

This week has been a fleeting one. The rains have been  a welcome  blessing but has hindered a lot of harvest. Talking of harvests,  the food prices this year have been extremely  erratic. Even with the high number of people that have engaged in agriculture  this year, the food costs are still rising. Rice is becoming  a problem with bags going for 16 – 18 thousand naira. Plantains are just beginning  to show up at the markets and yams!  Well let’s not even go there.

Vegetable  though are offering a little respite to the community. The prices of tomato  is down,  Okro is very affordable and leafy greens are really enjoying the rains.  After the rains come the hard the challenge. Irrigation  still isn’t as widely practised by farmers across the country as it should be. Agriculture  still has alot of way to go in Nigeria before we are touted as the solution to the economic recession we are currently  experiencing. Talking of economies and agriculture, some mind-blowing facts I came across recently was how Brazil’s income from sugarcane this year has surpassed our income from oil sale.  Seriously sugarcane!!   Wal-Mart’s  sales in a year is equivalent to a sum of Nigeria’s budget in a ten year period ! I would have to stop there.  Statistics are dangerous when not treated with context. Even with Brazil’s enormous export from sugarcane, poverty levels are still high and developmental challenges still rife. Agriculture is important but so too is conducive economic environment created by policies that work. The erratic food prizes are a reflection of our economic reality. Until Agriculture is developed to incorporate  cutting edge technology  mixed with indigenous  farming practice we would still find our children complaining of the same things we complained  about.

On our farm irrigation has helped us extend the seasons  even with significantly higher costs on fossil fuels  to power our water pumps.

With our bio-intensive system in place we believe we would continue to be able to provide you with high quality  affordable vegetables  all year round. We pray you stay healthy, happy and blessed  in this turbulent times and continue to support local farmers.

Kind Regards

Kabir O Ademoh

FRESH DAILY NEWSLETTER 18TH – 25TH AUGUST – FOOD AND HEALTH

Good Day,
I hope this reaches you in good health  and happiness. This past weeks have been extremely  busy weeks for us.  The communities we are delivering  to are expanding  and our well laid delivery  plans would need to be re designed to get maximum  efficiency on our end which would translate to less fuel consumption  and more off time for my staff. I sincerely apologize to those estates we have not been able to keep to a set delivery dates. I PROMISE WE WOULD BE BETTER. We have been able to sign up a new restaurant  in Wuse II . They are called Uncle D’s restaurant  and wholly dedicated to selling organically  grown food, the owner is a chef passionate about food it’s worth giving them a try at some point.
During last weeks deliveries  I have learnt alot about food and health from some of you.  It’s always taken for granted that food is the best form of medicine, I dedicate this weeks edition of our newsletter  to re-enforce that amongst our community. The rates at which stomach ulcers, high blood pressure  and diabetes is been diagnosed  amongst us has reached epidemic  proportions. BP tablets are been bought like sweets,  I met a 22 year old patient in a hospital diagnosed with high blood pressure and diabetes. He looked healthy and virile as far as my eyes could see by the prognosis was damning. The good news  is that since the problem  is our food, we can always reverse  the trend. Taking time out to plan a proper diet and delve deeper into our food is the best preventive and curative measures we can take.  I heard someone  say we are the most overfed and yet under-nourished generation and I totally agree. The food we eat needs to have the right nutrients and released properly without exposing us to toxins. Vegetables and fruits are vital to a diet that promotes optimum health. You can find out more about what vegetables are would aid you in claiming back your health from HERE

Our range of vegetables are expanding  thanks to a generous contribution of organic seeds delivered to us by one of our supporters. We now have more rocket salad seeds which by the way Americans call Aragula for some weird reason, more varieties of lettuce, more tomatoes and yellow pepper. Yes we finally have yellow sweet peppers and in a couple of months we would be filling your boxes with an extra burst of sunshine.
Thanks a lot for choosing us and continue claim back your health and food systems. Building sustainable communities and a better world can only be achieved when we have optimum health.

Peace, Love and Blessings

Kabir Onimisi ADEMOH

 

Great Greens

 

Green are the number one food you can eat regularly to improve your health but they are the most commonly missing foods in modern diets. We are blessed with so many variety of green vegetables in Nigeria that are very affordable, but most people are not aware of the importance of including them in their diet and the amazing benefits that they possess. Including leafy greens in your diet is very important in establishing a healthy body and immune system. They are recognized by nutritionists as one of the most inexpensive sources of so many important nutrients because they are brimming with loads of fiber, vitamins, minerals and plant based substances. Greens are very high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, zinc, and vitamins A, C, E, and K. They are loaded with folic acid, chlorophyll, and many other micronutrients and phytochemicals

When you nourish yourself with greens, you may naturally crowd out the foods that make you sick. Leafy green vegetables are also high alkaline foods. Alkaline minerals in our bodies neutralize acidic conditions caused by the environment and greens help to replenish our alkaline mineral stores and filter out pollutants.

Green is associated with spring – the time of renewal, refreshment, and vital energy. In Chinese medicine, green is related to the liver, emotional stability, creativity, and has many calming and anti-stress properties.

They are useful in reducing the risk of cancer and heart disease since they are low in fat, high in dietary fiber, and rich in folic acid, vitamin C, potassium and magnesium, as well as containing a host of phytochemicals, such as lutein, beta-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene. One study showed that an increment of one daily serving of green leafy vegetables, lowered the risk of cardiovascular disease by 11 percent.

Additionally, green vegetables are packed with soluble as well as insoluble dietary fiber known as non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) such as cellulose, mucilage, hemi-cellulose, gums, pectin…etc. These substances absorb excess water in the colon, retain a good amount of moisture in the fecal matter, and help its smooth passage out of the body. Thus, sufficient fiber offers protection from conditions like chronic constipation, hemorrhoids, colon cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, and rectal fissures.

Recently, vegetable nutrition has widely drawn the attention of fitness conscious as well as food scientists alike for their proven health benefits. Scientific studies have shown that these low-calorie but nutrient-rich foods help human body stay fit, and free from diseases.

So how much vegetables should be in our daily diet?

Eat at least 5-7 servings of fresh vegetables every day. Ideally, your plate should be half filled with vegetables during meals. Seasonal vegetables should be encouraged and bring variety in the choice of vegetables in your everyday diet.

In the kingdom of greens, dark greens are king! They are the most powerful foods for respiration. Dark-green vegetables are a good source of minerals and phenolic, flavonoid as well as anthocyanin anti-oxidants.

Other benefits of consuming dark leafy greens include:

Promotion of subtle, light and flexible energy

Improved liver, gall bladder, and kidney function

Cleared congestion, especially in lungs, by reducing mucus

Promotion of healthy intestinal flora

Blood purification

Improved circulation

Strengthens the respiratory system

How to select vegetables?

Although choosing organic is recommended, eating non-organic greens is still preferable to not eating any greens at all. One should always choose crisp leaves with a fresh vibrant green color. Yellowing is a sign of age and indicates that the greens may have an off flavor. Whenever possible, go for organic farm vegetables to get maximum health benefits. They are not very expensive if you can find them from the nearby local farm owners. Look carefully for blemishes, spots, fungal mold and signs of insecticide spray.

How to use vegetables?

After shopping your choice of vegetables wash them thoroughly. Rinse in salt water for few minutes, and gently swish in cool water until you are satisfied with cleanliness. This way, you ensure them free from dirt, sand and any residual chemical sprays.

Use them early while fresh because, firstly, certain vegetables have very short shelf life and secondly, the health benefiting properties of a vegetable declines with time. However, if you need to store them, then place inside plastic wrappings or in zip-lock bags in order to preserve their nutrition for short-periods until you use them.

Experiment with different greens, and try out the ones you’ve never had before. Common greens include spinach, pumpkin leaf, water leaf, cabbage, okra, kale, lettuce, bok-choy, broccoli, green pepper and green peas.

 

Warmly,

Adebimbola Omonbude

(Health and Wellness Coach)

NEWSLETTER 12TH – 19TH July – Touching The Soil

 

Good Day To You,

Staying in touch with the soil is the surest way to shape our world.
With the fast pace of life nowadays, it’s easy to feel like we are been shaped by a world that holds little regard for our dearest opinions. There is more and more of everything giving us less than ever before.

Lucky for you and me, we have found a way to shape our lives, our communities and consequently our world through the most abundant tool available to us – the soil. The soil holds all of our collective history and information. The soil yields us our food and through reconnecting with the farmers and farms that provide our food we get to touch the soil again, appreciate it’s beauty, and it’s value to our existence.

Farming sustainably and bio-intensively means we respect the soil and try to preserve it’s properties. The dangers of our conventional food consumption and production patterns is apparent in the pollution of our soil. We wouldn’t need to think outside the box into hydroponics and genetic engineering , if we amend and preserve the soil properly as farmers.
This is not an easy task and at times it’s not cheap. Fresh Daily constantly encounters losses because we refuse to use pesticides, herbicides, growth hormones and inorganic fertilizers when manure, composting and careful planning can still produce tasty, healthy crops for our families. We like all other organic farmers have decided to maintain the integrity of the earth we have to grow not bigger but better. So sometimes we would incur loss of crops, some weeks we would have less quantities but always, always you would be guaranteed tasty, healthy food delivered to your door.

The soil is our tool of shaping that world one meal at a time to mirror our own will and beliefs. I hope you enjoy your produce this week and before you rinse your vegetables take a moment to appreciate the soil caked on your delivery.
Wishing you all health, happiness and blessings

Regards

Kabir Onimisi Ademoh