Nutritious Foods

We’re heading home today. Honestly, I want to stay here. I love the culture, the weather, the relaxed lifestyle…but I miss my friends at home and I miss fresh garden veggies. I really enjoyed the food for the first couple of days, but I tend to eat a lot of vegetables and the Haitian diet is comprised mostly of rice.

We have had a group of women cooking most of our meals; we ate twice at friends’ homes; and we ate once at a restaurant. We were certainly treated very well and served the best of what was available, but I still think it was a good representation of the types of food (though perhaps not the quantity) usually eaten in this part of Haiti. Every meal included rice and beans. Often a sauce with onions is poured over the rice. Most meals included chicken—sometimes fish, pork, or beef (but I think the Haitians often go without meat). Fried plantains are common. Another common food is pikliz (spicy pickled carrots and cabbage). A few times, we had soup containing sweet potatoes, dumplings, carrots and a variety of meats. Often fruits are used to make juices or eaten as snacks. Coconuts, bananas, mangos, and various citrus fruits are pretty common. And of course, sugar cane is always nearby.

We’re here to help, so I have been thinking about the nutrition in the food. I’m glad to see a variety of fruits as well as sweet potatoes, beans, and carrots. These foods have great nutritive value. I wish there were more green vegetables on the plate. Many of the greens I’m used to are cold weather crops, but there are plenty of healthy greens that can be grown in the tropical climate of Haiti. One of my goals is to help farmers in Cabois start growing different crops for a healthier diet.