Most restaurants in and around town offer lunch and dinner buffets. The most popular, lunch buffets, cost roughly Rwf2, 000 to Rwf4, 000, depending on the venue.
Eating out has become a way of life for many, due to busy work schedules and et cetera. And, with the holiday season upon us, families might want to experience dining out as opposed to eating in — any restaurant worth its salt already has brunch buffet flyers up.
The question is, delicious as the food may be, how healthy is a typical Rwandan buffet?
Nutritionists say that most local buffets around contain meals composed of starchy foods like rice, sweet potatoes, cassava, Irish potatoes (almost all buffets serve French fries), and more, with a poor selection of vegetables and fruits.
Caleb Karangira, a nutritionist and gender officer at Rwanda Development Organization (RDO)-Hinga Weza Project, Kigali, says because of the availability and accessibility, French fries are consumed at a high rate, yet research shows that French fries have chemicals — acrylamide —which carry a high risk of cancer.
He explains that this is a result of making the fries with oil that sometimes has been reheated or used to cook too many times.
He says that a healthy buffet should cut/reduce French fries and not re-use oil.
Buffets, he says, should always include nutritious foods like vegetables and fruits in plenty, and protein-rich foods, as opposed to only starchy foods that, in this case, take a bigger percentage.
Karangira goes on to add that a healthy buffet must be well-balanced, with energy giving foods, bodybuilding foods and protective foods.
Energy giving food examples, he says, include cereals — wheat, rice, sorghum, roots, and tubers like potatoes, both sweet and Irish, cassava, and olive and sunflower oil.
He says all these are either rich sources of carbohydrates or fats. Bodybuilding food examples include meats, poultry, fish, yoghurt, cottage cheese, low-fat milk and cheese, bread, cereal, crackers, oatmeal, among others, he says. Protective food includes beriberi, meat, citrus fruits, leafy vegetables, eggs, and milk.
"They contain a large number of minerals, vitamins and high-quality proteins, which can be used to protect the body against diseases,” he says.
WHAT TO AVOID
Emmy Ntamanga, a nutritional consultant in Kigali, says fried foods should be avoided at all costs, especially those that already contain a lot of fat.
He explains that this is so because this can later become dangerous because of saturated fat; cholesterol that narrows veins and inhibits blood to flow in the veins as usual, which can cause stroke and heart disease.
Rice pudding, he says, is not to be included in buffets because it makes the rice lose its role of providing energy.
Meanwhile, people may want to fill their plates with vegetables, which is recommended, however, Ntamanga warns that fried vegetables won’t provide any nutrients because they are all lost when being fried.
Ntamanga explains that the ways in which people both cook and prep vegetables play a role in how nutritious the vegetables are when consumed.
This, he says, means that everything — from slicing and soaking to steaming — has an effect on how healthy the vegetables are when actually consumed.
"Steaming is the best way to maintain nutritional quality. Soaking and cooking vegetables helps remove anti-nutrients, such as tannins and acid, while boiling helps retain folate content in vegetables,” Ntamanga says.
He further notes that one should also avoid soups and pasta dishes filled with butter and cream.
"All of those are packed with saturated fat, which increases your cholesterol and can damage your heart muscle,” he warns.
Erick Musengimana, a nutritionist at Rwanda Diabetes Association in Kigali, says that maintaining good hygiene is also important with these buffet. If all this is not observed in restaurants, he says people are likely to get food poisoning and other related diseases resulting from poor hygiene.
Adding that, the dishes should be well cleaned, and also, washing hands before a meal is crucial.
"Keeping your dishes sanitised is a crucial part of food safety and restaurant maintenance,” Musengimana says.
LOCAL FOOD
Ntamanga says that local food often retains more nutrients, explaining that this is so because it has a shorter time between harvest and consumption, thus more likely to maintain nutrient value.
Another reason why buffets should aim at proving local food is because it is fresh.
Marie Nkundabombi, a Kigali-based nutritionist, says most buffets have different types of healthy food, the problem with it is that almost all food is cooked by frying.
She, however, points out that this doesn’t mean that oil is bad for our health, in fact, it has benefits when used well.
For example, she says, some vitamins are soluble in fat/oil, this means vitamins like vitamin A need the presence of oil to be well absorbed by our body.
She says the buffet should have all types of food which make a balanced meal, from carbohydrates (sweet potatoes, potatoes; rice, cassava, etc.), proteins ( animals sources such as rabbits meat, fish, chicken meat, beef and vegetable sources such as beans, peas.
The problem again, she says, most of the time, you will find three different types of meat but when it comes to the vegetables, there is just spinach or isombe (cassava leaves). Meaning they only serve one type of vegetable.
"We should reduce food high in fats, why, because obesity is increasing, and one of the reasons is our lifestyle, including how we eat,” she says.
She notes that when eating from the buffet, it’s essential for people to serve all types of food as mentioned above from carbohydrates, proteins (animal’s sources and vegetable sources), vegetables and fruits.
She adds that one should serve a little of each for balance. Choose what to eat based on what the body needs.
She explains that this is so because our body needs carbohydrates as a source of energy (everything we do requires energy); proteins as a bodybuilder, and vegetables and fruits as a source of vitamins and minerals to protect our body against diseases. Adding that different foods have different nutrients.
Again, one should avoid serving more than one kind from the same category, pick on each category, carbohydrates, protein (you can pick one from animal source and one from vegetable source). For fruits and vegetables, she advises picking more than one.
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THEIR VIEWS
When dining from any buffet, it’s important to know what you are going to take in. Filling up your plate with a variety of foods that will fulfil your dietary needs is important. These include; vegetables, protein, carbohydrates and fats, all these should be in moderation.
Joseph Uwiragiye, Head of nutrition department - University of Rwanda (CHUK)
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During this festive season, eating at a buffet is a great way to try new dishes and enjoy great meals with friends or family. However, avoid high-calorie meals, select nutrient-rich foods, and practice portion control.
Erick Musengimana, Nutritionist
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When filling your plate, one half should be reserved for vegetables and fruits, one-quarter of the plate should contain a lean protein, and the last portion is reserved for whole grains. Eating slowly is important to control food intake.
Yvan Ntwari, General practitioner
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For people who are allergic to some types of food, it’s important to be aware of such foods at buffets and avoid them. In general, opting for a glass of water is better than going for sweetened juices or soda.
Claudine Uwajeneza, Nurse