Friday Favourites… Moving to Ghana, Packing list

Moving to Ghana: Kitchen items I’m happy I brought to Accra

1. Blendtec blender.  I absolutely love my Blendtec blender.  I primarily use it to make vegan ice-cream, pesto, nut butters, fresh soups, grind whole oats into flour and mix batters.  Yes, all of this in one blender!  It did set me back £350 (Costco UK), but it was well worth it as it’s helped me eat clean.

2. Vegetable/fruit scrubber.  I came across the Chef’n Palm Vegetable Scrubber in Sainsbury’s.  Thoroughly washing fruit and vegetables is critically important in West Africa, and this really helps the process.  It fits perfectly into my palm and has a finger grip, allowing me to wash items easily, quickly and safely.

3. Kitchen knives.  A decent set of knives at a reasonable price is very difficult to find in Accra.  If you don’t bring your own, you are likely to have to purchase overpriced, poor quality, flimsy chinese imports;  rendered useless (and at times dangerous) when cutting sturdy vegetables like yam, pumpkins and squash.

Easy, Low Calorie Baba Ganoush Recipe

In my quest to eat clean and losing the African returnee 7 kg, I am reintroducing mid-afternoon healthy snacking into my Ghanaian diet.  This is my danger zone where I reach for high fat, sugary items (plantain chips, meat pies, etc) to stave off sleepiness. Counterproductive I know! It’s clear that I need to explore alternative options.

The first snack I attempted to make was a baba ganoush dip which I could eat with fresh vegetables.

Red Cabbage, Kidney Bean and Quinoa Vegan/Vegetarian Burger

I told a porky pie in my introductory post.  I said my next blog outing would discuss my ongoing battle with the Max Mart weevils.

Although these evil creatures (and now maggots, courtesy of Shoprite (Osu)) are substantially impeding my attempts to eat healthily⁽¹⁾, I thought my first substantive post should fall squarely in the domain of clean eating.  The weevils will, therefore, be relegated to a later post.

This post will explore my attempt to make a homemade protein-packed vegan/vegetarian burger. 

lola eats clean… in Ghana

Moving to Accra

At the start of March 2015, I packed up all my worldly possession (well 32 kg × 3 bags worth) and emigrated from London to Accra, Ghana.  Minus a much needed break to the UK, I have been here for just over three months.

Six months prior to my move, I had adopted a clean lifestyle, involving healthy eating and daily physical exercise.  Combined with the help of myfitnesspal and the Jawbone UP activity monitor, I managed to lose around 13 kg in about 10 weeks, and keep it off for nearly three months.  An amazing feat for someone who struggled for the best part of three years to lose just 2 kg (blog post to follow).