Caribbean Fit

Hey Guys! Sorry I've been MIA for a while, been working on some stuff. As you can see from the title we gonna talk alcohol today! Are you all excited?  I know I am. In the Caribbean, alcohol is consumed widely among the islands. It is a part of most if not all of our social events such as weddings, birthdays, christening parties, chilling on the beach, wakes or funeral receptions (repast). Almost all, if not every Caribbean island has an alcohol that is associated with that particular territory, an example is in Trinidad and Tobago there is the Angostura Rum brand, in Jamaica, there is Appleton Rum and in St.Vincent and the Grenadines, there is the very strong Sunset Rum, just to name a few. With all that said, the real question is, does alcohol add any nutritional value or benefit? Jamaica's Appleton Rum  SVG's Sunset Rum Trinidad and Tobago's Angostura Rum Alcohol is basically a liquid created by sugar that has been put through the process of fermen...

Hey Guys, hope everyone has been doing great. This week we are going to discuss one of my favourite things which are snacks. In the world over, most if not all people have a snack or 2 daily and each region may have  a different interpretation of what a snack is for them. In the Caribbean, when we hear snack we automatically think of something in a rustling pack like corn curls, cheese sticks, chips, biscuits or a candy bar. However, snacks are more than just manufactured products in a pack, they are an important means of adding more nutritional value to our diets and therefore we should choose them wisely. Common Caribbean Snacks Snacks are small food amounts eaten between your 3 square meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) that prolong the filling effect of your main meals. Let's face it your three square meals don't cut it (well at least not for me 🤣) and you need something in between them to hold you over until it is time for your next meal, or just something to ...

Hey Guys! Welcome to another edition of Caribbean Fit and this week we will be discussing dieting. Over recent years within the Caribbean and the world over new diet trends have been emerging rapidly. I am sure this has been very confusing for persons all over the world not knowing which diet is right for them. So, with all that in mind we will discuss different diets that are trending and how to choose the right one for your needs. Firstly, we need to define what a diet really is. A diet is what a person eats or consumes on a daily basis, in other words it is the eating habits of an individual. Therefore, we can say that everyone who eats is on a diet. However, when we talk about the different diets that are emerging such as the gluten free or paleo diet, they are referred to as specialized diets. Persons often adopt a specialized diet to gain some kind of benefit like weight management or to combat a particular health issue. We will discuss the Paleo, Macrobiotic, Gluten Free and K...

Hey guys! Welcome to another edition of Caribbean Fit. I was recently asked by one of my followers to do a post on peppers and the nutritional value that they possess within our diets. So today we're going to bring that spice of the Caribbean, because its all about peppers!!!!! 🔥 In most Caribbean islands many kinds of peppers are incorporated into our dishes. From the mild flavour of the sweet pepper to the intense heat of the Moruga Scorpion Pepper, we love the spice that peppers bring into our stews, sauces and cook ups, but do peppers bring any value besides heat and flavour? Pepper Sauce Moruga Scorpion Pepper Guyana Pepper Pot *Photos courtesy google images Peppers are fruits which bear from the Capsicum species of plants and contain a oily chemical called Capsaicin embedded in its veins and seeds that causes that sensation of heat which you either love or love to hate. By the way, in case you were wondering, I'm in the love category 😊😊. Peppers are lo...

Hey Guys! So we're back at it again and as I said in my last post think balance. This is because This week's post is about a balanced diet. Within the Caribbean and the world over, persons face a problem striking a balance among the three macro-nutrients, namely: carbohydrates, proteins and fats which we discussed individually in previous post. Check out my previous posts if you have not already done so to get a greater understanding of what we are discussing now. In the Caribbean persons have a problem balancing there diets as plates I have often see are packed with mostly carbohydrates and a tiny bit of protein and good fats (which I would have been guilty of at times 😉). However, not only the Caribbean region is guilty of having a lopsided diet but in other parts of the world too, with diets full of carbohydrates and saturated fats, but don't worry, we are in this together and today's post is geared towards helping us all achieve a balanced diet. Below are example...

Hey Guys, last week I gave you a hint on the topic for this week and that hint was water. If you guessed the topic was hydration, then you were absolutely on the button. 😄 So we are going to talk not just about water but fluids in general. Let's begin!  As Caribbean people, when it comes to fluids we have a variety of beverages that are special to us with drinks like sorrel, mauby and fruit juices just to name a few. However, whether you are from the Caribbean region or from another territory, I'm sure when you hear hydration you automatically think of water. Though this is not a bad association, it is important to note that other factors come into play when it comes to keeping the body hydrated. Beverages synonymous with the Caribbean are seen in the images below. Lime Juice Mauby sorrel Keeping our bodies hydrated is very important as three quarters of the human body is made up of water (fluid). As mentioned before hydration does not hinge upon water only, bu...

Greetings everyone! So as mentioned in my previous posts the topic for discussion is Fats. This macro-nutrient is one of the most criticized by health care professionals and persons are fearful of fat consumption. Today I want to give you a better understanding of fats and how important they are for the human body and conquer that fear persons may have when it comes to consuming fat. In the Caribbean, and even the wider world, we may have a skewed perception of what foods contain fat such as butter, pork, fried foods and cooking oil. However, I want to expand your knowledge on fat to assist in how they are viewed and consumed. Below are the foods typically associated with with fat in the Caribbean and even wider regions.     Pictures Courtesy Google Images Fats, like Proteins are also a secondary fuel source within the body, so when carbohydrates or proteins are depleted the body dips into its fat reserves to fuel its work. Fats also functions as structures of the body's ...