Be Blessed and be a Blessing

By Shola Oladipo, Food for Purpose CEO 

Christmas is supposed to be a fabulous time for celebrating the birth of Jesus, which resonates deeply for Christians. It is also a time that many enjoy with families and friends. Food is central to Christmas!

Food brings people together because cuisine contains culture — especially at Christmas.

It’s heart breaking to think that this year, many people will not have any food, friends or family at Christmas. Whilst being alone may well be a choice for some; thousands of people yearn for company and something special.

What can you and I do this Christmas? The answer is: anything and everything you can to show love. Hard times have hit really hard… so will you consider sharing what you have? Or giving a bit more than usual, making someone smile this Christmas. Being blessed at Christmas is awesome, but being a blessing to someone is by far the greater!

We hope you have enjoyed Purposeful You this year, have a superb, safe Christmas and see you in January 2023!

 Featured this Month

• CEO Says - Be Blessed and be a Blessing 

• News

• Recipe of the Month - Caribbean Black Cake - ‘Christmas Cake'

• A-Z of Soul Food - E for Eggplant

• Activities Survey Results

• Special Guest Contributor - Mischa Christie, Registered Pharmacist & Self-Care Coach

• Miss Tea's Blog

 Food for Purpose News

• HCI

  • Watch this space for our new improved HCI paperwork, it’s even easier to sign up now. We are working with churches in Lambeth - give us a shout if you would like to register your church for free!  

• We are hiring at FFP

  • Caribbean cooks /chefs for sessional work in Lewisham as part of our healthy living programmes for the Black community

    Interested? Contact Modupe at modupe.peters@foodforpurpose.org

  • Social media manager to oversee our social media posts and support content development.

    Contact Precious at precious.oladipo@foodforpurpose.org

• Christmas working hours

  • We will be closed from December 23rd 2022 and reopen for business on 3rd January 2023

• National days / weeks in December & January

  • December 25th - Christmas Day

  • January 1st - New Years Day

  • January 1st - 31st - Veganuary (Try Vegan for the month of January)

  • January 23-29th - Cervical Cancer Prevention Week

 Caribbean Black Cake - ‘Christmas Cake

Source: Tastes like Home by Cynthia Nelson

Jamaican Black Cake (which is also known as Jamaican rum cake, wedding cake or Christmas cake) is a rich, delicious traditional Caribbean dessert!  A variety of dried fruit is soaked in rum for up to 12 months then added to the cake with spices and wine - making it super-moist. 

Ingredients list

Rum-Cured Mixed Fruit

• 1 pound raisins

• 1 ½ pound pitted prunes

• ¼ pound preserved cherries

• ¼ pound mixed peel (or replace with more prunes/currants)

• ½ cup brown sugar

• 1 x 750 ml of good dark rum

  
  

Cake

• 8 oz unsalted butter (plus extra for

  greasing pan)

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 6 eggs, room temperature

• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence

• 4 cups rum-cured mixed fruit

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for

  dusting pan)

Method:

Rum-Cured Mixed Fruit

Note: This mixture can be stored in an airtight glass jar and does not need to be refrigerated

1. Mix together all fruits in a large bowl

2. Add 2 cups of rum and some of the mixed fruits along with ¼ cup sugar to a blender and blend until it is like a paste. Add more rum if paste becomes too thick

3. Repeat this process until all the fruits are blended

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with baking rack in the middle of the oven

2. Grease and flour the cake pan and line the bottom of the pan only with greased parchment paper

3. Cream butter and sugar until it reaches a pale cream colour

4. Mix together the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large bowl and set aside

5. Whisk eggs until frothy in a separate bowl. Add vanilla essence and continue whisking for a few seconds

6. Add whisked eggs to creamed butter and sugar and stir gently to incorporate (mixture will appear curdled)

7. Add the rum-cured mixed fruit and mix thoroughly until fully incorporated

8. Add the flour mixture and mix thoroughly to incorporate, being careful not to over mix or over-beat the batter

9. Pour batter into baking pan and bake for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes after removing from oven.

 A-Z of Soul Food

This month, we’re celebrating Eggplan for the letter E

Eggplant.. well it’s African eggplant really!

African Eggplant is a versatile vegetable - which like the tomato, is often referred to as a fruit too! It typically grows in Africa and some parts of the Caribbean.

It is thought that some 500 years ago, British traders encountered the African Eggplant along the West African coast and brought it to Britain. The African eggplant typically has a whitish colour with a green hue, and is shaped like an egg. It has a slightly bitter taste and spongy texture.

Other variants of African eggplants are purple-hued, or even dark shiny green.

Although physically different, the African eggplant is closely related to the Aubergine.

The African Eggplant goes by many names: Garden eggs, mock tomato, scarlet eggplant, Ethiopian eggplant, African bitter pea-aubergine, wild pea-aubergine, wild African aubergine, tomato-fruited eggplant, Ethiopian nightshade, scarlet eggplant, or bitter tomato.

It is a versatile vegetable and can be eaten raw, or chopped and cooked in stews. It can also be boiled and mashed, or even pounded and eaten as a side with boiled yam, boiled plantain or other starchy carbohydrates.

African eggplants are nutritious and great sources of antioxidants, fibre, potassium and is low in calories. In Africa it also believed to have medicinal properties.

 Physical Activity Survey Results

By Precious Oladipo, FFP Director & Fitness Lead

Recently we conducted a short survey to find out which activities you would like to see Food for Purpose host in the future. 

Check out the infographic below for the results!

Thank you to all that participated!

 Special Guest Contributor

Mischa Christie, Registered Pharmacist & Self-Care Coach

As a Caribbean native who moved to the UK in May, the cold winter has been giving me a run for my money! It’s so easy to fall into that seasonal depression hole. Let’s run through some ways that we can ‘self-care’ our way into holistic wellness this winter:

Physically

Keep yourself moving! It is incredibly tempting to stay in bed, but it is important to get in some movement wherever and whenever you can. Personally, I have found my gym time struggling, but I still try to incorporate simple exercises here and there! Precious Oladipo’s article in a previous issue on “Exercising in the Colder Months” can provide more inspiration.

Mentally and Emotionally

Use a gratitude journal. Writing down or meditating on what you are grateful for each day or week can help to lift your spirits and make you feel more grateful and shift your focus away from worry.

Socially

Keep in contact with loved ones. It is so important to try to keep in contact with friends and family, as feelings of isolation and loneliness can make us feel low - especially in the cold, dark winter!

Spiritually

Reflect on your faith and beliefs. Reflecting on your purpose and feeling connected to God can help with feelings of existential dread.

Financially

Figure out heating hacks and find out the resources that are available to you. With the cost of living crisis here in the UK, we have to be resourceful with how we provide for our basic needs. Some hacks to stay warm for cheaper can be getting a heated blanket or mini-heaters.

The beautiful thing about most self-care activities is that each one can help to improve multiple aspects of your health simultaneously - for example, keeping active can help support both your physical and mental wellbeing! Thank you for taking the time to read these tips, I hope they provide help to you this winter and beyond!

 Miss Tea's Blog

Goody Bag

Season’s Greetings, PY fam!  How are you all, as we head into the Christmas holidays? 🥰 It's been extremely cold out there - really hope you’re managing to keep warm as you go about your Christmas business 🎄

Here's some seasonal hacks for you to enjoy 😎

Decorations

Battery-operated fairy lights from Pound shops (or any discounted homewares stores like B&M, Wilko, Home Bargains) inside a Kilner / Mason jar make a really cheap, pretty decoration. The battery pack can be hidden beneath glitter, scatter crystals or any small decorative stones and if the jar has a metal lid, it can be taped to the inside to conceal it. Wrapping tin foil around the battery pack will also make it less noticeable.

Although these jars do look really cute at Christmastime - there’s nothing stopping you using them all around the house, all year round and this is a lovely, easy project to do with children.

*Onions can be softened quickly in a microwave. Add a small chopped onion and 2 tablespoons of water to a microwavable bowl, cover and heat on full for 4 minutes.