A few years ago, choosing amala( yam flour) and ewedu over soft drinks and gala would have sounded like a joke. Me? The number one fan of gala, puff puff, peanuts, and plantain chips? Never!"
(picture generated from Ai)
I used to love junk food. After school, I would stop by the roadside to buy cold sachet drinks—Eve drinks, as we called them. There was even a woman selling them just beside our house. My dad would always laugh and say to me and my sister, “One day, this woman will give you your contribution book,” referring to how often we spent money buying her drinks. Sometimes, I would even buy the powdered version of those flavoured drinks and prepare them myself. As long as it was sweet, I didn’t care.
My mum would always shout, “You are taking too much sugar!” But I didn’t listen. To me, eating beans or vegetables at home was like punishment. My younger sister and I would force it down just to avoid hunger, but in our minds, we were just waiting for when she will go out and we will go and buy our street junks.
Everything changed when I left home after secondary school to live with a woman in another town. There was no one to give me money to buy junk. If I didn’t eat the food she prepared, I would go hungry. She cooked mostly local dishes like pap (corn drink), akara (bean cakes), amala (yam flour), ewedu, and vegetables with fresh fish.
At first, it was hard, but over time, I began to enjoy the food. I started asking her questions about ingredients I never knew before because my Mummy used to go to market herself. Back home, I didn’t even know there were different types of pepper, or that vegetables had names. To me, everything was just “pepper” or “green leaf.” From her, I learned the names of different vegetables, types of pepper, and varieties of fish.
By the time I gained admission into school, I had become a new person. I began cooking for myself, choosing healthy meals over snacks. There was a woman on campus who sold beans mixed with sweet potatoes. The first time my friend forced me to buy and tried it, I was surprised at how much I loved it. Me, who once hated beans was now preparing it myself with joy.
Now, even after graduating, I can’t remember the last time I bought junk food. To me, it's a waste of money and doesn’t even fill my stomach. You won’t find snacks or sugary drinks in my house anymore—just fresh ingredients for home-cooked meals. As for soft drinks, I take them only once in a while. I noticed they give me sharp abdominal pain, so I mostly drink water. If I feel like drinking something special, I buy zobo ingredients and prepare it myself using natural sweeteners like dates and pineapples.
I never imagined that a change in environment and a little discipline could transform my taste and lifestyle so completely. Choosing healthy food over junk isn't just about dieting — it's about caring for your body, feeling good, and enjoying meals that nourish you. It might not be easy at first, but trust me, with time, your taste will adjust to it, and your body will thank you. If I could fall in love with amala and vegetables after years of gala and Eve drinks, then anyone can!
