State partners with UN to compile Kenyan food recipe book

Are you a foodie and you  love to try out different Kenyans traditional dishes?

Well, look no further as the government in partnership with the UN food agency have compiled a Kenyan food recipe book.

The book has some traditional and exotic dishes that have been simplified for Kenyans to easily prepare them and enjoy nutritious meals.

The recipe book was compiled through the partnership of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the ministries of Health and Agriculture.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the lack of reliable quantified recipes in the country may have led to incorrect nutrient intake estimations.

It is on this premise that FAO supported the government in documenting commonly consumed recipes, which were quantified with ingredients, preparation methods and yield factors.

The book is a detailed account of commonly consumed dishes featuring a diversity of mixed ingredient recipes from across Kenyan communities.

These recipes were selected based on frequency of use and so the most commonly used recipes are featured.

The book was developed side by side with the revised Kenya Food Composition Tables and nutrient calculations for mixed recipes featured were drawn from the revised Kenya Food Composition Tables, 2018.

Dr Jackson Kioko, Director of Medical Services in the Ministry of Health, noted that the double burden of malnutrition is a serious public health and economic problem that is affecting Kenya today.

“Malnutrition exists as over nutrition and under nutrition,” he said.

Kenya National Micronutrient Survey (KNMS) 2011) shows that one of the forms of undernutrition is manifested as micro nutrient deficiencies such as iron deficiency anaemia.

This affects 26 per cent of pregnant women and zinc deficiency with an estimated 70 per cent of the population being deficient.

Besides, 26 per cent of children below five years are stunted and this has a long term effect on cognitive development according to the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey.

Kioko said consumption of poor diets and disease have been identified as the immediate causes of under nutrition.

“Therefore, promotion of sustainable recipes would empower households to make informed food choices,” he said.

The National Nutrition Action Plan outlines the need to ensure good nutrition for optimum health of all Kenyans, one of which is to strengthen evidenced based decision making through operations research.

To actualise this objective, Ann Onyango, Agriculture Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture said Kenya has updated the National Food Composition Tables that highlights the nutrient profiles of different foods for a priority list of nutrients.

“The foods have been sampled from across the country. Further to this, the country is in the process of adapting food based approaches that take into account diversity of lifestyles, cultures, public health priorities and variations on food patterns,” she said.

The book has simple easy to make recipes of common snacks such as pancakes, meat samosa and egg toast.

It also has different recipes of porridge, rice dishes mixed with different ingredients, mashed dishes, maize dishes, legume dishes, vegetable dishes, red and white meat dishes, root and banana dishes just to name a few.   

“Encouraging dietary diversity by first appreciating local recipes is a key step in enhancing good nutrition at community level. This recipe book is work that has taken into account the diversity of lifestyles, cultures and food patterns of the various communities in Kenya,” Onyango said.

She said the recipe book forms an initial step in promotion of good nutrition at community level by promoting and enhancing local recipes.

“The book will be an important reference tool for teaching institutions and for nutrition education programs in the communities,” she said.