food – Aishat's blog

The Bitter Kola (Orogbo); the miracle nut

*flickr image by* Global Food Book showing peeled and unpeeled bitter kola

The nut comes from a kola tree which is found in the rainforests in Africa which has a deep brown peel covering it and has a bitter taste. This nut is used for many things in Africa.

It is used for celebrations in Nigeria, it is given to guest at a christening ceremony, funeral and weddings. This miracle nut is also used for medicinal purposes.

The nut contains caffeine, which gives a similar effect to coffee thereby giving a persons’ metabolism a boost. It also enhances alertness and gives physical energy.

According to Medical News Today, kola nut contains about 2 to 3 percent caffeine and 1 to 2 percent theobromine, both of which act as stimulants when consumed

They also revealed that “kola nut may be helpful for people who have migraine headaches. Migraines often affect the blood vessels in the head and caffeine has been used for headache pain. The theobromine and caffeine contained in the kola nut may dilate or widen blood vessels in the brain, which might decrease migraine pain”

AY who takes the nut whenever she feels she has taken too much junk food says “I take the kola nut even though it’s better because I know what benefit I derive from it. It helps me flush out the rubbish I have taken over a period of time and I feel fresh and healthier after taking the nut and using the toilet.”

The nut has also been known to suppress appetite and hunger which can help with weight loss.

Other function of the nut include it being used as aphrodisiac, as remedy against poison, as a treatment for catarrh and abdominal colicky pain, as an anti- diabetic and as an anti-inflammatory.

Experts advise against taking kola nut if you are allergic to nut, or have problem sleeping because of caffeine present in the nut, or have high blood pressure.

Recording using Filmic Pro and editing using KineMaster

In this segement on MOJO I made a video of my friend making Sticky Chiken and Mango Salsa. If you are a foodie then this is the right place to be as she will be teaching you how to make the chicken in simple steps.

flickr, image by France. Picture of Grilled sticky chicken

For the sequence video I took shots of a friend of mine using Filmicpro app who is making Sticky Chicken Mango Salsa. To take the shots I turned my phone horizontally to take the shots. I had to use the artificial light because it got dark early on the day I was taking the video.

To use the app, I dragged the focus bar around her face and clicked down on it to keep the focus locked on her face and I also did the same with the exposure. Thereby getting the desired focus and light needed to start the video. I also locked in the white balance so that the image doesn’t flicker nor loose light when filming.

To take the video I had to lock in my arms beside my body to keep the camera steady and firm. I framed my shot by giving enough head roll while filming her. I made sure she was in the centre of my frame when I was shooting. I also made sure she fits perfectly in the frame and the focus was on her. I took lots of shots of her, I took close-up shots of her cutting chicken, garlic, mixing the ingredients etc. and medium shots of her talking and introducing what she is doing,

To edit I had to use Kinemaster the editing app. I used layers to add text, media and B-roll into the video. I used the trim tool to edit the video and cut away things I do not need and audio for the music.

I took mostly medium shots and close-up shots because I had to go close to her, to properly capture what she was saying. When I was done with the video, I had to export it to be able to save it and submit.

To watch this Video click the play button below