In Africa - i desperately need vegetables :-(

I just need to moan...

I moved to Nigeria in Africa 3 weeks ago and its seriously affected my eating. Im veggie, almost vegan, as im scared of meat and animal products, so moving to a country where breakfast, lunch and dinner is meat with rice or yam, an no veg is making my life a little difficult.

For the first few days i literally didnt eat. Im in a hotel for another month or so until my apartment gets sorted so im reliant upon what they can serve me, theyre trying to be helpful and are specailly making me English breakfast  everyday (dont tell them english people dont eat english breakfast daily) so my diet is now

Breakfast - Scambelled eggs (yuck, eatting eggs is whole new forced thing for me), tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans, white toast.

Lunch - Coleslaw (mayo not healthy but its the only prepared salad they sell here) or Chocolate bar + Coffee

Dinner - Veggie burger and fries (tastes good but not nutritious other than the 1 slice of cucumber for garnish)

I seriously need some veggies, but all i can find is fruit from street hawkers which has already been chopped and peeled, so i cant safely eat it.

Help please send veggies to Africa :-(

Do they not have grocery stores?  They may not have a wide selection of fresh veggies, but they must have something canned.  Can't you ask one of the street vendors for a piece of their fruit that hasn't been cut yet?  And if the hotel has tomatoes for breakfast and cucumber as garnish, couldn't you just ask for a cucumber/tomato salad?  It's worth a try.

What is your nationality? If you are American, you could ring the American embassy and ask if there is any kind of expat network you can join. I am sure people will share tips about food and shopping.

Have you tried talking to any local people to ask them where to get produce?

Welcome to Africa!  I'm here too, in Cape Verde, off the coast of Senegal. 

Here are a couple tricks for now:

With the coleslaw, ask them if they can make it with vinegar and spices instead of mayo.  It'll be a bit healthier for you and tastes good.

Sounds like they have mushrooms and tomatoes.  You can have them stir fry cabbage, mushrooms and see if they have onions and serve it over rice for dinner.  Throw an egg in there too for protein.  You're going to have to get over not eating the eggs if you can't find other protein sorces or you will get sick.  I know it sucks, but such is living in developing countries.

Find out what the local spices are; that will help with having to eat yam 18 different ways.

Ask about beans and opt for rice and beans for lunch and dinner.

Go out to the local market adn see what, if any, veggies they have.  You may be suprised.  Frequently veggies like kale, carrots and onions pop up.  Also look for "foreign" markets, stores that cater to tourists or other non-host country nationals.  In Cape Verde there are a lot of Chinese people - see if there are stores that cater to the "visiting" population.

BTW You can safely eat veggies and fruit from folks, you just need to bleach them first, so ask the hotel for bleach.  Mix 10 drops in a liter of water and let them sit for 20 min.  This will kill the bad stuff.  This is how I wash all my veggies.  Be sure to rinse them off at the end.

Have family and friends send you protein bars and protein powder to make shakes.  This may become your life line.

Good luck!

Hey! I am from Ireland but work in Africa most of the year and like u live in hotels. I am currently in Sierra Leone. Mt breakfast sounds like yours...u get used to scrambled eggs and they are healthy enough for you! Are there not restaurants in Nigeria where u can order foods like salad? Where are u in Nigeria? In Freetown Sierra Leone and in most of the african countries i have been there are restaurnats that cater for ex pats. Do you eat fish? I tend to eat fish and rice for dinner and salad for lunch. But i understand how u feel it is difficult especially when we ae used to haveing such a variety of healthy foods avaialable at supermarkets at home. I would also guess that you can get lebanese food in Nigerai...do you like humous? I eat alot of houmus when i am in West Africa.

Out of curiosity what are u doing in Nigeria? I may be coming there in the next couple months would be interetsed to hear!!

Nadine xx

Wow, I just reread my post, and it doesn't come off as very friendly or helpful.  Sorry about that.  I meant to be helpful!

what part of Nigeria are you in, lf you are in Lagos, there are many grocery stores known as supermarkets there that you can go and get pretty much whatever you can find in the UK and America, if you dare to venture into the open markets you will find potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, grapes, oranges watermelon, apples etc these are year round. If you want they have canned vegetables and fruits, just check the expiration date, when l am there l usually eat fresh vegetables, but living in the hotel, you might not always get fresh foods but try to go to the market, if you ask the locals or even the company drivers they know where you can get things like that.

If you are in Abuja, the same thing applies, just ask around. If l knew what city you are currently at, l will be of better help. Goodluck.

jenny - thanks for the suggestions, the street vendors walk between the cars in the traffic jams, you get whats available, no negoiation.

Im in Lagos, i definately am not able to safely venture into the local markets/slums, even winding the windows down on the car at a stall means i get swamped by beggers.

Tried the supermarket, its rather depressing, the few bits of veg there stock are pretty bad looking, packaged food so expensive its shocking.

Figure ill just have to grin and bear it for a few more weeks until apartment is sorted and then, the first thing im doing is getting a maid to do the shopping and cooking, though no idea what she'll manage to come up with.

Went to a chinese place for take out lunch today, sweet sour veg and rice $30+ not excatly a bargin but i needed a proper meal, im happy now

I have read this entire post and responses. This morning and yesterday I was down because I don't have any fresh fruit in my house. I have plenty of canned fruit but no fresh. I was having a little pitty party as I don't have money right now to go buy some apples that I really really want bad.

Now I don't feel so bad reading this. It makes me thankful for the canned fruit and veggies that I do have and knock on wood that they are safe to eat.

I'm sorry you are struggling with food over there. Hopefully some of the suggestions others have left on here will help. Good Luck!

yeah me too, l am sorry you are struggling like this, it also mostly culture shock. If you ask the driver of the company that you are with, they can usually get you fresh fruits from the markets,if you go to 'Lagos lsland' you can sit in the car while the driver buys the fruits for you. Or while you are in the restaurant, they will buy fresh fruits for you and you just give them a tip when they come back. they will gladly do this for you.

maybe you can get someone from the hotel to go with you to the market. are you there for work? if so, maybe there are some colleagues that would be willing to go with you shopping? i haven't been to nigeria, but i have been to west africa and i understand that the market is crazy. but, if you're going to be there for awhile, its better to face your fears and go out. you don't want to miss out on going to the market and further getting to know the country/culture...

najahs - thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunatly its not just a fear of going to the markets alone, its a proper security risk, im never allowed to be alone and i often have a police escort when we are driving to less safe areas. Im so white here its funny, in some places people literally stare at me or take photos on their phones!!!

ive found a few good resturants who have salads or veg dishes, i guess ill just have to learn to appericate veg dishes when im out for dinner and manage on carby junk the rest of the time. Hopefully in  a few weeks ill have an apartment and i can start worrying about what im eating then, as well as finding a gym etc.