I've learned a few things about nutrition in Uganda (more from conversations with people than from my new book):
1) Diets here are starchy! Matooke, sweet potatoes, kassava, Irish potatoes, rice and chapatti are some common carbohydrates. While this is good as an energy source, it seems that people fill up on these foods and skip veggies that supply needed vitamins and minerals
2) Beef, goat and dried fish seem popular while chicken is by far the most expensive animal meat. Sarah says the price of chicken has tripled in the past year. Dan says it always tastes funky anyways
3) Most Ugandans grow some produce, but don't seem to eat it themselves
4) Peanuts are called "groundnuts" or g-nut for short
5) Milk and yogurt are available, but are often transported and stored without refrigeration leading to spoiled milk often enough
6) A decent meal at a restaurant has run us around $5-$8 - not bad, although more than I would have guessed
Thanks for reading! Writing about food helps me to learn the info I need to learn in order to be an effective dietitian here! As we begin our work this week, we'll write more about our nutrition and engineering work. Happy Labor Day!
hey guys! i love the goat race. thanks for blogging! and i like the informative nutritional facts. i just took a global health "quiz" and realized there's a lot more nutritional things i need to learn from the developing world.
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