A few weeks ago, a friend of mine was tying to tell me how small my country is. I told her that even if she were to combine the entire world and package it nicely and give it to me as a birthday gift, I would not take it for many reasons. However, the major issue here is about the availability of fresh foods in my country.

I consider myself to be lucky not just by the fact that I am Rwandan, but the fact that I am at home, and also geographical advantages of this wonder country are many.

Unlike many countries, we have the privilege of having to eat fresh foods direct from the farms and gardens every single day of our lives. Many people take for granted that they are able to eat fresh food, fresh fruits and vegetable not forgetting the fresh milk that my cowboy son loves, until when they are far from here. And I am not just talking about Rwandans; foreigners do also appreciate this fact very much.

The health benefits of fresh, local food are huge. With nutritionists advising we should eat five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, the quality of the food should be equally as important as the amount.

Fruit and vegetable sourced locally is additive free and has more nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and sugars because of the reduced time between harvest and eating at least the longest time it can take in Rwanda is 3 hours. Studies in health and diet reveal that eating fresh, local produce improves digestion and disturbed sleep.

Locally sourced food helps the environment in many ways. Most supermarket food will travel hundreds of miles to get to your shopping basket. The obvious impact of this on the environment is the amount of fuel used. Produce straight from the fields and gardens dramatically reduce not only fuel pollution but all the other harmful chemicals used in the storage and transportation process.

Packaging is an area many people have issue with. Supermarket food packaging burdens the environment from manufacturing which uses precious energy and damaging chemicals to the vast amount of waste that ends up in landfills. Fresh, local produce on the other hand has minimal and tedious packaging. Often, all it is a plain paper bag. This not only has less impact on the flavour of the food, it reduces the use of natural resources and keeps our environment clean.

The variety, freshness and superior taste of fresh, local produce makes it the obvious food choice for today either in the home or when eating out. One final important note to consider and value above all else, fresh, local produce that not only looks impressive but tastes good.

How to buy fresh foods from the market;

Fruits and Vegetables

Vegetables will never lie to anyone. When they are fresh from the garden they are in their natural colour and very fresh looking. When you see vegetables which have started withering then those are not fresh vegetables and therefore not good for consumption having lost all the vitamins and nutrients therein.

The fruits also look very yummy when fresh .When you see a banana which has started to change its colour from ripe yellow to black, then that has gone bad. All the fruits should be consumed raw and fresh .

Meat and Fish

To be able to tell if fish is fresh is to look at the eyes of the fish and see if the eyes are still watery. If the eyes are dry then that means the fish is not fresh.

Even though I always find fresh meat at the market, it is also important to know how to choose fresh meat. Make no mistake when buying meat, make sure to always squeeze the meat and see if it is wet. If the meat does not produce some wetness, then the meat is not fresh. The colour of the meat will also tell whether it is fresh or not.

Ends