MY CHEAP AND EXPENSIVE FOOD EXPERIENCE
It's been 3 months since I wrote my final exams. Having to write about the cheapest food I've ever eaten makes me remember my early days in the higher institution. Apart from eating anywhere I saw food, I had to take measures to prepare low-budget meals so I could have enough money for my textbooks and handouts. There was a time when I didn't eat meat for up to a year because I was always trying to manage the funds I had on me all through that year. I was mostly eating vegetables and cheap fish as my protein for any food I was eating that was swallow. (Swallow includes; soup with cassava flakes like garri.) If I cooked rice during that period, I ensured I made palm oil rice, or jollof with egg in very rare cases.
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My norms then were rice, beans, potatoes, and swallow. Any other food would require me to spend extra which I wasn't ready for. One time I was so broke and without foodstuffs that rendered me stranded for days. I had to go to my friend's house to eat, but getting there he too had nothing to eat. It was at about 8:00 PM in the night, and we were so hungry when his girlfriend brought cassava flakes (garri) for us. We looked at the garri and immediately got the inspiration to prepare soup with the 150 naira ($0.19) we were both having at hand (his roommate came along and was having 50 naira, and I was also having 50 naira, and he was too.)
The inspiration for the soup came from his roommate who saw that there was little oil, seasoning, and salt at home so he asked why not we prepare soup instead of drinking garri (which was the first thing that came to mind when we saw the garri.) We were obliged to the idea that taking a swallow would feel our belles more even if it was for one night. We had a night market close to campus where we normally went wherever we missed the day market, and were able to get vegetables and okro (gumbo) with the money we had. That night we prepared our own kind of okro and vegetable soup which was very low budget but enough to satisfy us for that night and the next morning.
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For the most expensive food I have gotten for myself was on two occasions (after I got out of school) I decided to treat myself out and have a nice time alone. I would normally opt to cook with the money I had at hand but decided to purchase food worth about 7,000 naira ($7) which lasted me the whole day. It was a simple buffet of jollof rice, and beef, with swallow (fufu) and egusi soup/vegetable soup, and different assorted meats. I felt it was a cheap purchase seeing if I wanted to cook all those meals I would spend more. Another time I went on a treat with my friend and we got Chinese rice which was 2000 ($2) per plate. Normally I wouldn't go for such meals which wasn't satisfactory by the way, but I just did it because of my friend and went on to cook when I got home.
THIS IS MY RESPONSE TO THE HIVE LEARNER'S PROMPT FOR WEEK 90 EPISODE 1
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When we have the money, there is nothing stopping us from eating expensive food and that is because we can afford it but when we can't, we settle for low budget meal just to fill our bellies and make us satisfy for a limited period of time.
Yeah that's right... Thanks for stopping by
Now I see why you so much take delight in swallow. I prefer rice any day and anytime
I see why you take so much pleasure in swallow. Anyways I chose rice any day and anytime
Good for you... I like rice too, but I love swallow more
That's good tho
There is the kind of money one would have, some food that's very expensive will look cheap and vice versa for one who doesn't have money 😅
I can imagine how you guys made a super low budget soup instead of drinking garri, that's another kind of talent o 🤣
Yeah you are right, we are still praying for such money.
Hunger has a way to making you creative 😂
Lol normally
Your experience is something most Nigerian students can relate with especially those that lived in hostels. Haha. It's never easy. Life is hard and there are moments when we just had to improvise like you and your friends did just to have a decent meal for the day.
That Chinese rice though. I'm just planning to eat that someday.
It was my first time eating it, I think it's another reason that made me oblige
In my point of view i it’s okay to have some fancy meals with friends or in a occasion. I also give my friend treats in an expensive restaurant whenever we meet and that would be after a long time.
!PIZZA
Oh yes, it's nice to do so once a while
$PIZZA slices delivered:
@ayamihaya(3/5) tipped @kilvnrex
"there was a time i didn't eat meat for up to a year"
Lol, Haven't we all been in that position before? My own case I even had to claim being a vegan at one point in the university. Thank God for growth we can now eat what we want.
Oooh yes, thank God for growth
All of us who have been lucky enough to study go through the same thing when it's time to eat, we prefer to save money for other needs and eat cheaply, in my case I never refused an invitation to lunch from the parents of my classmates. Many times to please other people we eat something out of budget and we end up like you did, satisfying our hunger at home.
Definitely, it's a student life
So when you have money you can eat meat like this???? Hmmm well I preferred fish to any kind of protein and no matter how cheap and expensive is men...I go for it.
Thanks for sharing
Everyone has their choice of protein
Yes so