From an article from the NY Times about cost-saving grocery items…not
necessarily so cheap (and/or available) here...
(http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/healthy-foods-for-under-1/?hp)
1. Oats: cheap by American standards (about 20 cents for a
medium-sized tin), but far more expensive than other grains here.
Still, I buy them virtually every time I shop.
2. Eggs: Cost about 12 cents apiece, up from 7 cents each when I moved here.
3. Kale: Everywhere. 10 cents for a head.
4. Potatoes: Again, everywhere. Maybe 30 cents a kilo.
5. Apples: Ha, only in Addis, and about 50 cents each.
6. Nuts: Uh, peanuts are cheap-ish, as is peanut butter. Otherwise,
forget it, unless you're a rich farengi and can afford the
extortionate prices in Addis.
7. Bananas: Yep. About 70 cents a kilo. And sweeter than any banana
I've ever had in the States.
8. Garbanzo Beans: Yes, though usually ground up into a fine powder.
Definitely my major source of protein.
9. Broccoli: Ha. I tried to grow it once but it never flowered…
10. Watermelon: I saw this (and was delighted) when we had a training
in the South. Never up North, though.
11. Wild Rice: Cracked wheat almost approximates this.
12. Beets: Thankfully, yes! I love them! About 50 cents per kilo,
though somewhat seasonal.
13. Butternut Squash: Nope. Pumpkin, sometimes (in the Fall), is as
close as it gets.
14. Whole Grain Pasta: At the farengi grocery stores sometimes, but
about 10 times more expensive than the white flour stuff.
15. Sardines: Not sure about this one. Never looked for them. Canned
tuna is disgusting enough, tinned in oil and flake-form as it is…
16. Spinach: Hard to say, really…we have lots of different kinds of
green leafy veggies, but I'm not sure I've ever seen spinach itself.
17. Tofu: Maybe in Addis. I looked up a recipe to make it, but it seemed hard.
18. Milk: Great in coffee, less great for anything else. I mostly use
the powered kind, which is ridiculously expensive (about $6 for the
equivalent of 3 liters), to avoid having to pasteurize the farm kind.
19. Pumpkin Seeds: I guess so, when pumpkins are in season, but
really? What am I going to do with a whole pumpkin?
20. Coffee: Need I really say more that that Ethiopia is its
birthplace? A cup in a café is about 5-10 cents. A kilo of raw beans
is maybe $2.50. Not sure I've gone a day since coming here without
drinking coffee. Really.
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