Hi everyone! Happy Saturday :) I hope all is well with each of you. Welcome to my love letter to my home, Jamaica. I just got back to New York from what was an amazing and fulfilling trip back home. I brought in the new year with my family and had some well needed rest and relaxation. In this blogpost I want to share a little bit of my Jamaican culture, specifically, the food!
There are a lot of opinions on food as far as health is concerned. In this regard, we have reduced food to simply something that provides calories. Despite this conclusion, food is much more than just calories. It is culture, a means of bonding, a method of creative expression and so much more. As a student of nutrition, we learn to provide nutrition counseling in a culturally appropriate way. I've learned that for some people, their cultural food is apart of their identity. Living in America, the majority tends to glorify their food as "healthy" and demean the cultural food of the minority. Healthcare professionals tend to be dismissive and often times ask people to eliminate cultural foods.
This obviously does not work, as in some way they are telling people to abandon something that they view as part of who they are. Additionally, this is a for sure way to fail at making sustainable lifestyle changes. In light of this, the necessity for healthcare professionals to be culturally competent becomes apparent. One of my professional goals for this year is to try food from different cultures and culturally educate myself. There will be blogposts on these experiences. Don't you worry!
As we continue in this blogpost, I want you all to note that health and culture don't have to be independent of each other. Assuming this is unfortunate.
Anyway, let's get into it!
The fruits
Jamaica is home to a lot of agriculture and cultivation. I grew up on the countryside, so I was surrounded by countless amounts of breadfruit trees, ackee trees and coconut trees that go on for miles! There are a plethora of fruit trees in the neighborhood. In true Jamaican spirit neighbors share with each other. When it comes to health, holistically speaking, community is a huge part of it. Showing someone you genuinely care or even feeling cared for by someone can work wonders for us humans. Believe it or not, we use food to do this. As much as we like to glorify our antisocial personality traits, we need genuine love and support from the people around us. I grew up hearing the words "no man is an island, no man stands alone. " In health, this reigns true. We need love and support, our faith in God, some valuable time outside in nature, physical activity and of course delicious food made with love.
The fruit in Jamaica is amazing and there is so much color and diversity. I didn't even get to eat them all, because some weren't in season; but, man oh man! The juiciness of the apples, the tartness of the soursop, the chewiness of the jackfruit! I was truly in a tropical paradise.
There is so much nutrients involved in these gifts from nature. Each fruit is versatile in its own right. Whether you want to enjoy them straight from the tree, or intricately sliced in a fruit salad or blended in a smoothie or your favorite juice, the choice truly is yours. The possibilities are endless.
The Vegetables
Like I said earlier, there is a lot of cultivation and agriculture in Jamaica. In fact a number of Jamaicans make their living through farming and selling their crops (SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FARMERS GUYS). Ground provisions are a staple in our diet. We eat provisions like boiled green bananas, yam, potatoes, plantains etc. Alongside rice, these are our major source of carbohydrates. On my trip, I discovered the frog plantain for the first time. It is like a dwarf plantain. I've had frog bananas, which is basically tiny bananas. They are very yummy and tend to be the perfect mix of sweet and tart flavors. The frog plantain, when ripe, can be eaten like a regular banana. I fried them in some local coconut oil that my dad bought and it was the best thing ever. The Chocho is also another thing you will find in Jamaican cuisine. Even though it is considered a fruit, it is typically used like a vegetable in stews and soups. Click the photo for more information on the chocho.
Some Breakfast Dishes
These dishes serve as an ode to my childhood. Traditional Jamaican breakfasts include our country's national dish (ackee and sailfish), or steamed vegetables or sometimes stewed chicken, liver (very nutritious! I just don't like the taste), kidney (Also very nutritious, love it!). These are usually served with either fried dumplins, fried breadfruit, fried green plantains, or boiled ground provisions like yam and green banana. My mom's fried dumplin is out of this world delicious! I haven't been home in five years and the whole time I was dreaming of them lol! They're made from flour. You knead it with water and a little salt. Then you can mold it in whatever shape you like. My mom uses a rolling pin to roll out the dough, cut triangles and fry them. Yum! :) We love a nutritious and cultural meal!
On a sweeter note, we also have porridge for breakfast. This is basically a warm cereal made from either oats, cornmeal, peanuts, plantains, or green bananas. They are boiled to a creamy consistency with milk and spices and is the closest thing to the perfect warm hug from your granny's pot.
This is one of my favorites; hominy corn porridge. I love the way my mom makes it. She soaks the hominy corn overnight with brown sugar in water to make it soft for cooking. After soaking, put the pot on the stove with the corn and the water it soaked in, add a little salt to taste. My mom uses a pressure cooker to help soften the corn. After pressuring is complete, add your coconut milk, spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and almond extract. Evaporated milk is a delicious addition as well. Stir lovingly (very important) and add a little flour to help thicken the porridge. End result? A thick, creamy and comforting bowl of love.
For the culture (Jamaican Street food)
Listen, Jamaicans can throw down! Hear me when I tell you. Our food is delicious down to the bone. Each dish with its own array of flavors and textures, so delicious that licking your fingers is inevitable. Jamaica is known for its amazing jerk dishes. From Jerk chicken to jerk pork, to jerk fish, honestly anything! We're very creative when it comes to food. Then there's the shops on the countryside that serve roasted yam and saltfish, the perfect street food for your road trip to the beach. As I reflect on my trip home, the idea of food bringing people together and forming community, becomes aggressively apparent. I think we've reduced food to just a thing that gives us calories for far too long. I encourage us to look at it deeper. I mean it contributes more than just calories to our health. It enables relationship building, it helps us to provide for each other, its a means of showing love and creativity. A way that helps us to feel connected to our families and culture.
Before, I go, I want to highlight my favorite dish on the planet! I remember my first time really paying attention to this dish. It was at the beach when I was in high school. I even remember how everything tasted in great detail, the festival was so soft, sweet and crisp around the edges and the fish was savory and a little spicy. The sweet and savory was the perfect match. Do you like sweet and savory together?
I hope you enjoyed this recap of a taste of my home and culture. I had the best time! The nostalgia was cathartic and I appreciate my home and culture even more. My sweet Jamaica. Remember, food is more than just calories, it enhances lives in so many ways. It is love, it is culture, it is community. Stay tuned for part two. Enjoy the rest of your day.
Love and Blessings,
The Holistic Health Nut <3
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