Food

Food has become one of the top things I think about these days as it is a daily struggle for me to determine what to prepare and how to prepare it (in addition to my North American concerns about nutrition and cost-effectiveness). Grocery shopping is fairly mind-blowing here for me as I go through the following calculation with each item: how much does it cost in Tanzanian shillings? What is that in U.S. dollars?  How much does this cost in America? What is the size in ml vs. ounces? Exhausting.

There are 3 main types of stores here:

“Super”markets – the biggest ones are still way smaller than North American ones and the inventory is not always consistent. Three of the ones I've been to are Shop Rite (not the same as back home...this is a South African chain), Shoppers (which has great bulk bins), and the Sifa Mart (tiny, but less than 1 km from home). The most expensive items are “Western” - many of the familiar brands are there, but you'll pay a lot more.

Roadside fruit and veggie stands – these are everywhere and prices are fairly consistent and reasonable. I try to go to the same 1-2 places so that we start to be recognized. Unfortunately, my favorite one is manned by a guy who's excited to practice his English (when I want to practice my Swahili!) At least he is very friendly! Right now, tomatoes are in season, so I can get a huge bucket for less than $3 (compared to a tiny jar of Ragu pasta sauce for just under $6. Other good offerings are bananas, local oranges and mangoes. The inventory varies with the growing season and what they get from the farmers, so I'm trying to get out of my Western mindset of going in with a list...and trying to just see what looks good and go from there.

Dukas – these are tiny shops that have everything from toilet paper to dry goods at good prices. Unfortunately for me, the proprietors generally speak little English and I've not yet felt comfortable going there by myself. In time.... There are also butchers here, which, again, I haven't managed yet.

Here's what we're eating these days:

Breakfast: The kids usually eat oatmeal, made on the stovetop. Tim is a fan of toast with jam (the jam is much less sweet here, particularly compared to my homemade jam from back home, and so I'm not a huge fan).  The local prepared bread is super cheap (around $1 a loaf) but is always white bread and usually is fairly brick-like.  It also has no preservatives, so it doesn't stay good more than a few days unless you freeze it.  Everyone is obsessed with the “Ceres” juices (imported from South Africa) which are 100% juice and have a variety of interesting-sounding blends such as “Whispers of Summer” and “Secrets of the Valley,” in addition to mango, pineapple, orange, etc. They are a bit pricey but worth the splurge especially since the kids do not like the milk here...it's mostly "shelf-stable," which does have a much different taste.  There is a raw milk option from a farmer at the kids' school that I'd like to investigate.  Since we have cows grazing on our road, I know it's available somewhere!

Lunch: I've been making whole-wheat sandwich rolls from scratch, which the kids take with butter or cheese. I find the “margarine” here particularly disgusting (it's called Blue Band and they don't even pretend to refrigerate it), so I feel that butter is still worth it even though it's around $7 per pound.   It's also found in the freezer section!  The kids also take water and a fruit/veggie that's available in addition to a snack.

Snacks: I find snack foods the most challenging here. It seems like most Africans don't really snack, although my metabolism needs something in my stomach between meals!  In addition to fruits and veggies, some options we've tried so far include popcorn made on the stove (no microwave option here!), I've made some baked goods, I tried to make chips and salsa, and we just found peanuts at the market. I tried one and thought, “this is disgusting!” But then Tim realized that they were raw...we roasted them and they were amazing! (and super cheap here – about $1.50 for a kg!)

Dinner: This is definitely the most hit or miss. I've tried to adapt some favorite recipes from back home such as chili, red beans & rice, and pizza. I've also been cooking from the school cookbook, which has some tried and true recipes from around the world with ingredients that can be found locally. It's definitely a challenge to cook without canned goods and to adapt to the Metric system. It's also challenging to only plan for 1-2 days due to the frequent power outages.  

There are certainly days where I fervently wish I could call up Puzo's for a pizza delivery, but overall I am enjoying the challenge. Everyone is well fed and for the most part, they are not complaining (or not complaining any more than they would back home)!