AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye How easy is it to EAT healthily in A. Caye?

My guess is it is very easy, but maybe not! I have to control hypoglycemia so my diet is: fruit...should be real real easy; fresh vegies...hopefully a variety; whole grains...brown rice is enough; nuts & seeds...peanuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, etc.; beans; (canned is fine); bread if from whole grain. Fish is a no brainer and chicken and eggs should be easy. It would be really great if there was a health food section in some store there somewhere.
Thanks in advance for any advice and/or info.....Bob S.

Restaurants will cater to your needs if you explain them. You can find all the special things you mention here...no problem!

I love your question! My answer is TH WHOLE COUNTRY IS A HEALTH FOOD STORE. Really - just think about it - fruit and vegetables not hybridized and not feed large quantities of Miracle Grow. Fish caught this morning for dinner tonight - not flash frozen and stored for months.

My grown daughter hated cooked carrots. When she came here I asked her to just try one bite. She loves them. We call them: Ugly Carrots" as they are not uniformly sized and shaped. They have bumps and knobs and are delicious. I simply peel them and cut in rounds or sticks (depends on the shape of the other foods) barely cover with water, bring to a boil and turn down to low and they are finished in 20 minutes. (That corresponds beautifully with how long it takes to cook the rice.) A pat of butter, a sprinkle of sea salt and a little fresh ground black pepper and you will come to crave these.

You have never tasted chicken until you have tasted my chicken. My secret? I don't put anything on it. I may enter it in tomorrow nights SAGA cook-off.
I don't think these chickens are raised in cages - somebody dispel or confirm for me.

The only tough part is that everything here is so natural that it is seasonal. I'm dying for Mango season to come in full fledge. I don't like these sour mangos.

I found a number of unusual fruits today - sour sap mamey and something plum. Didn't buy any of these but did get a big head of cauliflower. The taste of this was great - the price one has to pay for such as this is to be willing to cut off some blemishes.

Green beans are in right now and they are the old fashioned string kind. Yep - they have strings that don't always come off easily until cooked. Again the price you pay is using your fingers on a nice buttery hot green bean to get the string off.

Oh yeah - when is Dragon fruit in season?

Come on down and eat your heart out. LOL

yep! an island treasure trove of healthy foods available to those that know what to eat. Oddly the locals use a huge amount of lard in their cooking and it shows. Healthy food awareness just wasn't here when it was happening elsewhere.
Harriette I think the 'Dis-a-fu-we' chicken is raised and lay under the influence of light bulbs giving the appearance of eternal day.
but still, good and great foods available cheap!yes yummmm.

Go to the Green House, shop with the fishermen (or go fishing) and you will find a wide array of foods that fit your list.
There is also a small heath-food store in Belize City that stocks some otherwise hard to find supplements.

Zac at Healthy Belize can set you up with very reasonably priced locally grown organic veggies.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Healthy-Belize/145912062138566

He also carry Stevia which is a great natural sweetener for those who want a sugar alternative. Stevia is a South American herb that has been used as a sweetener by the Guarani Indians of Paraguay for hundreds of years. Stevia doesn't adversely affect blood glucose levels and may be used freely by diabetics.

Easy, yes...if you just buy fruits, veggies, and fresh fish.....but its not cheap at all. Keep that in mind. My wife and I used to eat very healthy back in the U.S. and we spent about half as much as we do here. Greenhouse is great for a lot of things, but the prices are steep! Just want to make sure you are expecting that when you get here.

As for restaurants catering to it....there are very very few of the locally owned (and cost efficient) restaurants have no idea what healthy is and is not...I cant think of one that has been able to cook healthy when we've requested it actually. However, there are plenty of healthy choices here, but again, its usually the more expensive places. So, if you're trying to live on a Belizean paycheck or you are a budget minded retiree, then its usually not extremely affordable to do so.

Pleanty of fruits vegies and fish sounds good to me. Now add in dried or canned beans and whole rice and I am covered. Luckily I can afford the higher prices. Is there a farmers market on the island? Where the locals sell their garden stuff?

Thank you Diane.The fact that I will easily be able to keep ahold of my sugar levels through diet is very reassuring. It's nice to know that there is a health food store with the basics on the mainland, too!
Bob

As a fellow hypoglycemic, I find it handy to bring along my favorite snack type items (nuts, protein bars, jerky, etc - just no dairy or produce). This way you are sure to have what you need and will not get stuck...

I also highly recommend The Greenhouse as it has a great stock of veggies and grains and their prices are usually pretty comparable to anywhere else.