AllDiet Food blog

Eating is good. Eating healthy is obviously better. How then can one eat healthy? Is food fusion an excellent way to consume healthy meals? Let us see.

Many times, the result of fusion cooking is a dish lower in unhealthy fat and sodium. Fusion cuisine or fusion food uses a variety of cooking methods to achieve creativity and innovation with diets. The end result? A purposed better diet with a myriad of benefits.

Examples of foods that have undergone fusion in Nigeria include Suya Tacos where suya beef/chicken is used to fill the inside of soft taco shells and then topped with veggies and spicy mayo. There are other ones like Jollof Rice Sushi (a Nigerian and Japanese fusion) and puff-puff burgers (a Nigerian and American fusion). Basically, what fusion does is to either mix ingredients, cooking techniques, or merge food styles (or combine more than one of these).

Knowing now what food fusion is, what are the nutritious advantages embedded in this method?

• First is the allowance for an increased nutrient variety, yielding to, in many cases, a balanced diet. The average Nigerian, for example, has exposure to the same kind of meals daily – yam, rice, beans, flour/bread. Food fusion thus gives the opportunity to comfortably have a variety of nutrients in one meal.

With the Jollof Rice Sushi for instance, seaweed or thin plantain slices are used as a wrap for tomato-rich Jollof rice filled with shrimp, grilled chicken or suya-spiced fish. Similarly, a dish that combines Asian stir-fried vegetables with Mediterranean quinoa is associated with increased fiber, vitamins and protein content. Moreover, a Mexican-Asian fusion food comprising tofu tacos with avocado and Kimchi provides access to protein, healthy fats and probiotics, thus improving gut health.

• It also provides access to new ‘superfoods’ which promises health benefits. For example, adding matcha which is rich in antioxidants to a smoothie bowl or say turmeric which has anti-inflammatory benefits to Italian risotto may improve your body’s ability to fight ‘pathological’ conditions involving cell damage or inflammation.
• If your goal is to consume more plant-based diets, then food fusion offers you an opportunity to be more creative with your diets, allowing you to shelve boring combinations of plants. Basically, it allows you to combine legumes, nuts and vegetables, as can be seen in the combination of Middle Eastern hummus and Thai peasant sauce.
• It encourages sustainable eating, ensuring you are not only consuming nutritious and healthy food, but also allowing you the option of an environmentally friendly food production process. Your food can be sourced for based on what is available at that season or available in your environment e.g., having fresh mangos during mango season as against buying imported fruits. 

The overall result of food fusion is not just nutrient based as this can also help you cut cost for example; you can make good use of your vegetable leftovers rather than allowing then dry up. If you are also consuming fruits available within that season of the year and within easy reach in your community, you sure will be spending much less.

Food fusion allows an opportunity for cultural exchange of indigenous diets, this allows more persons to try out meals of other communities, thereby positively influencing globalization. In addition, it allows for trials of more food combination, enhancing creativity and innovation.

Food Fusion Related Concerns.

Some of the issues that may be related to food fusion are mostly individual based and can be managed. Examples include nutritional concerns where individuals may combine unhealthy dishes from different cuisines, diverging from the initial intention of food fusion. There is also the issue where individuals think a combination of diets means the individual original diets have lost their authenticity. This argument may not be so strong especially because a combination does not necessarily cancel out the chance to have the individual meals as stand-alones.

There is the need to ensure that the food goes together to avoid health complications, allergic reactions, digestive issues or unpleasant flavours. For example, combining dairy-heavy Italian dishes with very spicy Indian flavours may cause digestion issues. Other issues like higher costs and accessibility are mainly because persons have gone for combinations outside their easy reach. A combination does not have to be expensive unless you are searching for specifics. 

Conclusion

Food fusion is a healthy concept when considered within the confines of what it accepts. It is also a way to try out many diverse meals. You should consider food fusion.