Shack #4 (ie Food Pavilion #4)

During this orientation presentation on food in Dominica, I've decided to take the time and actually post the information provided by the proprietor of shack #4, who was previously a midwife trained in England and the sister of a past prime minister. Sorry if its a little jumbled, as im typing this while following along.

First warning: wash your foods, because otherwise you will get intestinal worms. This does not bode well with my intestinal tract.

Second warning: doctors can get diabetes too. Eat right!

Third warning: avoid fresh milk. typhoid is endemic in certain areas, and you dont know who has handled the milk or how.

You'll typically consume enough of your dietary protein each day (an egg has most of your daily requirements, as does 3 spoons of dried milk powder or half a can of dehydrated milk, which should be mixed in a 1:1 ratio with water). Tania is also a replacement. Remember to drink your 2 glasses milk or cheese to get your protein and calcium. 10 grams of tofu has even more protein than an egg, and a decent helping of calcium. you can also buy soy mince, boil in water and add vegetables.

You can get fish (tuna and marlee), probably about 4 pounds. There are other fish, but you'd need to drive out to get it.

If have diarhea, eat guava bush, which has a lot of electrolytes, but if it continues, hit up the ER.

In the market, they have sweet potatoes that are locally grown, are high in vitamic A, and have a lot of fiber and are also low in the glycemic index (good against diabetes). The local bananas are high in potassium and are supposedly out of this world. They call green bananas here 'Fiig', which you peel and boil, and its easy to mistake it for an unripe banana, but they dont ripen! Plantains can also be roasted and boiled.

Dominicans mostly eat root crops, though lately theyve started eating rice and, like North Americans, have started gaining first world diseases like diabetes (theyd rather watch tv than pick crops, but who wouldnt).

There are 10 types of spinash (zohe milat, bitter but similar to spinach in the states). This is full of folic acid, and because broccoli doesnt grow well here, you should have at least 2 plates of spinach a day.

Beans have low cholesterol, fiber, iron, and you should have 3 tablespoons of beens a day. There are also chick peas on the island, make sure you always have some in the freezer.

Dasheen is another root crop, and while good, you must be careful when cutting because it has oxalic acid, which will irritate the skin.

Breadfruit is seasonal, and also has low glycemic index, and can be replaced with green bananas. Just cut it in half and freeze one half.

Tomatoes alternate between expensive and cheap, but are pretty damn good on the island.

Pumpkins can be sauteed in onions and made into a soup.

Soursup leaf will help you sleep and relax, while soursup innards are apparently used as a ceremonial wedding drink.

Sapodillas are sweet.

Passionfruit has 75mg of vitamin C, makes for a good juice, but need s to be cut in a special way?

There are 10 kinds of mangoes on the island (queen mango is long and stringy, longo mango is stringy, dimango, mango tito is sweet, etc).

There are washington navel oranges, which are naturally green, but not currently in season. These are one of the sweetest oranges available.

Local coaco is like coffee, wakes you the hell up and is high in anti-oxidants.

Avoid eating watergrass, as the superstition in the past involved urinating on the plant, and in the past this led to a spread of typhoid.
Papayas are a bit rarer, and have more seeds nowadays.

There are a lot of superstitions (ie receiving curses from someone out to do them harm, not unlike voodoo), trying breadfruit to the body to treat pain, refusing the comb your hair to 'catch the diabetes', etc.

Remember to wash bananas. Green leafy vegetables should be washed in salted or lemon water for 4 minutes, to prevent worms.

They sell coriander here, but its called Shadon Beni.

ADDENDUM
after hearing all the positive things, I grabbed 2 fresh guavas. grabbed one and gave it a slight squeeze....horde of ants came pouring out from inside it. nightmare fuel. never again.