How the World Eats
By Shanti Sosienski
Special Offer
ZODWA KUMALO, 29
Magazine Bureau Chief
Johannesburg, South Africa
Percentage of obese South African adults: 21.6
BREAKFAST: Boiled egg; whole-wheat toast with tomato slices; coffee
SNACK: Ouma's muesli rusk biscuit — an Afrikaans specialty of twice-baked dough with muesli, dried fruit, seeds, nuts, oats, and honey — dunked into coffee
LUNCH: Chicken drumsticks brought from home; salad with cucumber, nuts, tomato, roasted butternut, watercress, and anything else I can find in the fridge (if I go out, it's usually for a special occasion; eating out for dinner is expensive).
SNACK: Biltong (strips of dried, raw ostrich, beef, or game)
DINNER: Pasta with salad or roasted vegetables; glass of red wine
Average calories per day: 1600
WHY IT WORKS: Black people in the suburbs are losing their culture in terms of food. Traditional dishes like umngqusho (a stew of boiled samp and sugar beans served with meat) or ulusu (sheep tripe) take a long time to prepare, so I don't have them often. We either pay tourist prices for them or yearn for a visit home, when our mothers can make them for us. In general, we are not adventurous eaters. We love pastas and red meat.
