Start with the plate

The traditional Ethiopian plate has a lot going for it. Teff is a whole grain rich in fibre and iron. Shiro, misir and other pulse dishes are excellent sources of plant protein. Gomen and other greens bring vitamins and minerals. The challenge is rarely the dishes themselves. It is portion size, the amount of oil and salt, and how often vegetables make it onto the plate.

A useful habit is to look at your plate before you eat. Aim for half of it to be vegetables or salad, a quarter pulses, fish, eggs or lean meat, and a quarter injera or other grain. You do not need to weigh or measure anything. The proportions do the work for you.

Go easy on the oil, the salt and the sugar

Most wot is cooked with generous amounts of oil, and most of us add salt without tasting first. Cutting both a little at a time is barely noticeable in flavour but makes a real difference to blood pressure and weight. Sugary drinks and sweet snacks are the other quiet culprit, and swapping them for water or fruit is one of the best changes you can make.

If you drink coffee through the day, keep an eye on the sugar that goes in with it. Three cups with two spoons each adds up quickly, and it is one of the easiest places to cut back.

Where most people go wrong

Most people swing between extremes. A strict diet for two weeks, then everything back as it was. Skipping breakfast and eating a very large dinner late at night. Fasting days followed by feast days. The body does far better with steady, moderate meals than with big swings.

Aim for consistency, not perfection. One better choice at most meals, on most days, is worth more than any short-lived regime, and it is far easier to keep up.

When to ask for help

If you are managing diabetes, high blood pressure or kidney disease, or are trying to gain or lose weight safely, general advice is not enough. Habari’s Nutrition and Dietetics team builds a plan around your own results, your household’s cooking and your fasting calendar, and reviews it with you over time.