Tuesday, September 22, 2009

What I'm eating now that I'm cooking for myself...

pan-roasted Brussels Sprouts
steamed cabbage with onions
sauteed zuccinni
fresh sprouts (from lentils)
real butter
real cheese
milk
TEA
fresh bananas, apples, oranges
raisens
eggs
whole-grain crackers
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
fresh ground salt and pepper

Basically, I'm pigging on veggies as I've missed them dreadfully in the village.

As in first world countries, the poor here can't access healthy food. So, in the village, I was living like the villagers and eating mostly bagobe (ba HOE bae) or the stiff porridge Afrikaners call "pap" (pop).

There was a nightly ritual whereby my host-mother would ladle on about 5 pounds of it on my plate and I insisted she remove most of it. While very filling (and fattening-fat on women is valued here), it is nutritionally very poor. Needless to say, bagobe is the basis for all of the villager's nutrition.

So, while I'm happier now with what I'm eating, it is not without notice (and guilt) that I am eating better than the people around me.

3 comments:

  1. Your menu sure makes me happy!! (and hungry)

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  2. I am sorry to know that the nutrition is so bad. It is one of the ways the people are suppressed by their government. It is good to know that you are not suffering in that way but I know you will have trouble with the inequity. It seems to be a pretty consistent thread through your dispatches. Your compassion is something you bring with you to the people you meet and something they will begin to see and appreciate. Just keep being your beautiful self!

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