Day One - March Madness Begins

Whew! This has been an interesting day. I can honestly say that we haven't suffered one bit, yet I've watched my children wrestling with their desire for the "untouchables" that is, the foods that are off limits this month.

Let me explain the perimeters of our food experiment. During the week I will attempt to utilize ingredients that are found in a typical Kenyan diet, but not necessarily used in a typically African way. Every Sunday will be an "authentic" day where I plan to cook traditional African dishes so if you live nearby you might be invited to share a Sunday chakula with us (Swahili for 'meal'). I also plan on making the Sunday chakula one involving meat.

Another caveat, since this is primarily about saving money towards our trip I will not waste food leftover from February just because it isn't African. You may occasionally hear about Hot Pockets or Cheerios but I'll tell you like we've told the kids, once they are gone, they are gone until April (and really, they are almost gone already).

You may be wondering what exactly is included in the typical Kenyan diet. The staple foods consist mainly of corn, maize, potatoes and beans. Greens such as kale or spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions are also mainstays. Meats are used less frequently and are either grilled dry (as in no marinating or seasoning) or cooked into stews. Fruits include banana, mango, papaya, pineapple, oranges, lemons and limes. I'm no expert, but my experience and my research bring me to the following conclusion; the diet staples are the same as many places, (such as Mexico) but the difference is in the way it is seasoned and prepared.

And now, I introduce to you all the players in this game and what they have to say about Eating for Africa...

This is my husband, Dave, enjoying his lunch of black beans and rice. He is on-board with saving grocery money this month but I've heard him say on more than one occasion, "I sure hope we get some sponsors to make this all worthwhile." He says the thing he'll miss most this month is orange juice in the morning and cereal for breakfast. Let me tell you, this is a man who has eaten cereal for breakfast since he was a kid and giving it up is no small sacrifice!



Here is my 16 year old, Kaleb, embarrassed to be having his picture taken, but also happy with his lunch. Of all the kids, he is the most optimistic about our ability to lay aside our Standard American Diet (SAD) for a good cause. Cereal is a big loss for him as well. He isn't a kid who is quick to change his ways so we'll see how he does with the whole breakfast thing.


Bethsaida is 13 years old and becoming every bit a teenager. Saida can't wait until she is old enough to travel to Africa for herself so she is on-board with our little bit of March Madness. She is a little worried about laying aside her main food group...sugar. She isn't sure how she will survive without brownies. She said, "You mean I can't even make them for myself? What if I get hungry?" Good thing there's peanut butter in Africa. It may sustain her this month!

Eli, 11 years old, is our conscientious objector. He has a long list of fast foods he is mourning over. To hear him talk you'd think we eat nothing but Sonic every day - or pizza. Yes, pizza is the one food item that Eli is going to miss the most and I tell you, we do eat pizza at least once a week. He had a hard time with lunch today. Beans and rice of any kind are not his favorite food, but he muscled through it and I'm sure he'll do great once he gets into the swing of things.

Our youngest is Ben, age 8. He claims cheeseburgers are his new favorite food and the number one thing he'll miss. Fortunately, Ben's 9th birthday falls right in the middle of the month and will provide an "oasis" of yummy for us all (because at our house, the birthday boy gets to choose the food for his special day). Don't worry, even with the one day break we'll still be eating for Africa a full 30 days.


Finally you have me, the evil mastermind behind this scheme. The thing I'm going to miss the most is the convenience of eating out (which we do too much) or just throwing something easy in the oven. If given a recipe, I can cook, but I don't consider myself very versatile in my repertoire. Just coming up with a basic menu for one week of March was a huge undertaking for me. In this picture I am preparing our mid-day meal. FYI, most Africans eat their bigger meal at mid-day. I plan on doing the same thing this month so that will also be an area of change for us.

I really have no room to complain about anything, considering the majority of Kenyan kitchens look like this: What you're seeing here is the back side of the Pastor's house from a church we helped to open outside of Jinja, Uganda in the village of Mugaluka (summer '08). Make's you want to kiss your cooktop doesn't it ladies?
That's it for now. Hope you'll come back tomorrow to hear more!
Blessings to you all.

- Julie