Rosalee Brown

Rice is one cereal that most Jamaicans have come to love and rely on for its versatility, ease of preparation and high source of energy. We have seen in the news recently that two of the United States' largest price clubs, SAMS (a Wal-Mart-owned club) and CASCO, are limiting the purchase of rice per customer to no more than three 20-pound bags and this is subject to their purchasing history.

We have seen here in Jamaica an increased consumption of rice, increased prices and the inability of our traditional CARICOM suppliers to keep pace with our demand. There are now new varieties of rice such as basmati, jasmine and various brands of long- grain rice imported from other markets and offered at premium prices.

With the change over recent decades from locally grown staples being our main carbohydrate source to the preferred rice, many persons find it difficult to even imagine eating anything else. Many young adults, teenagers and children have revulsion of just the thought of 'food', that is, ground provision; they say that they only eat rice. This is so because this is what they grew up eating as it was always economical, quick and easy to prepare.

Sunday dinner

Jamaicans love their traditional rice and peas. - File

Am I that old? I remember rice being mostly Sunday dinner and a couple of days during the week. I grew up in rural Jamaica, so you consumed what was in season, a lot of breadfruit when it was breadfruit season; it was a banana community so a lot of that; yam of all variety and, as children, dumpling was the flavour enhancer on our plates; but we learnt how to eat 'food'. We had a lot of it with locally grown vegetables, legumes and just enough meat. This mixed with a lot of running up and down equalled healthy, lean and fit children.

So now many persons are worrying that malnutrition is imminent. Not so fast, we still have a lot of breadfruit trees and many other locally grown staples. There is a lot of work for the Ministry of Health's nutrition division, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Education, the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute, nutritionists in primary care and dietitians. Education is now the key.

We do have the resources to feed ourselves. Many of our local foods fall from the trees and become mulch for the soil and feed for birds and other animals while we long for the imported stuff. Imported foods do have a place for variety but let us eat what we have, let the nation know that it is not inferior and that the benefits can include increased health.

Corn and pumpkin

There are two short-term foods that can be grown most places. Corn, which is a staple and filled with fibre and many other nutrients, one of which is lutein, which is good for eye health, and pumpkin which is a starchy vegetable rich in beta-carotene which is turned into vitamin A in the body.

I was amazed just recently when I was encouraging some not-so-young persons (Jamaican women) to plant corn and other short-term crops for food and exercise, and I was asked if corn was started from the grain or what? Wow! Remember those science classes in primary schools of starting peas or corn in a jar using a cylinder or moistened paper in it. The 4H clubs have a lot of work to do.

The preferred season for planting corn is mid-March to April or mid-August to September. You can reap corn in approximately 115 days. The sugar in corn changes to starch quickly after harvesting and so has a better flavour eaten immediately after harvest. If you have a bumper crop of corn, scald, cool quickly and freeze them. One hundred grams of corn has about 78 calories and about 19 grams of carbohydrate.

We are still a country flowing with our own local food resources, let us use them and teach the young ones to do so.

Rosalee M. Brown is a registered dietitian/nutritionist who operates Integrated Nutrition and Health Services; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.