VEGETARIAN TOURIST IN EGYPT

Vegetarians always have to worry when traveling as to what would be the available food options in a particular country. During my recent trip to Egypt, I had no issues finding food I could eat; however, my meals leaned more towards the carbs and very little protein. Fortunately, I learned my lesson from the first trip and on this journey, I packed several single-serve peanut butter cups which really came in handy while on the Nile Cruise (bananas with peanut butter were my afternoon and late night snacks). I also took a box of protein bars. 

The following are some of the meals I enjoyed during my recent journey to Egypt. 

Le Meridien Pyramids hotel in Giza has several restaurants of which one provides a breakfast buffet with plenty of options for both carnivores and vegetarians. The three mornings I partook in breakfast, the buffet contained several types of eggs (i.e. scrambled, hard boiled, etc.), mini pancakes with a variety of syrups, different styles of potatoes, a salad bar, a section with all types of breads and cheeses, an area with yogurt and fruits, and much more. There was also a chef preparing custom made omelettes. The eggs were always delicious and I greatly enjoyed the strawberry sauce provided for the pancakes. 

Scrambled eggs, mini pancakes with strawberry sauce,
croissant, and yogurt topped with bananas. 

Scrambled eggs, mini pancakes with strawberry sauce,
mashed potatoes, sweet bread, and honeydew with apple.

Part 1: Scrambled eggs, sweet bread, and
strawberry yogurt. 

Part 2: More scrambled eggs and
tater tots. 

During my stay at Le Meridien, I had the opportunity to eat one dinner at Latest Recipe, the restaurant that also hosts the breakfast buffet. The menu was plentiful and had several vegetarian options but said options leaned towards pastas, salads, and breads. There was not much in terms of protein.  

I ordered a bruschetta (toasted bread topped with marinara sauce, tomatoes, and tons of cheese) that came with a simple salad of greens, carrots, and cucumbers. Both were extremely delicious and the meal was filling. 

The M/S Medea provided a lot of food options for all three meals but again, there wasn't too much in terms of protein sources for vegetarians. At breakfast, there was a chef that prepared custom made omelettes but during lunch and dinner, the main source of protein was cheese (mainly feta) and on two occasions they had a bean salad and hummus. 

Lunch: cheese filled pastry shells, olives, rice topped
with a tomato sauce, feta cheese, potatoes, and a pasta salad.

Breakfast: omelette, crepes, tomato
topped with cheese, and melon 

Lunch: split pea soup, mixed veggies,
toasted bread topped with cheese and
spices, and seasoned brown rice. 

Special dinner: mozzarella and tomato
drizzled with a pesto sauce. 

Special dinner: cream of
mushroom soup

Special dinner: baked zucchini topped with melted cheese,
eggplant parmesan styled dish, brown rice, veggies

Lunch: pumpkin cooked with cabbage,
tomatoes, feta cheese, seasoned
bread, and french fries  

Dessert: date tart, sweet cake,
oranges, and melon

Dinner: stuffed pepper (stuffing  was rice and veggies
in a tomato sauce), falafel, veggies, baba ganoush, and
a tahini sauce for the falafel 

Dessert: coconut macaroon,
baklava, sweet cake

Dinner: fried cauliflower, feta cheese,
steamed veggies, and brown rice

Lunch: seasoned rice, broccoli with cabbage, bread, veggies in a
tomato based sauce, and some potatoes that were not good. 

Breakfast: omelette, bread, tomatoes and
cucumbers, and a banana

Lunch: Rice, veggies, a fried potato cake,
feta cheese, tomato, and bread

Dinner: Veggies, feta cheese, something
made with potatoes, rice, and bread

Dessert: sweet cake and a side of oranges

Lunch: Veggies, pasta in a spaghetti sauce, veggies, feta cheese,
mashed potatoes (they were delicious!), and feta cheese 

Dinner: veggies, feta cheese, tomatoes,
rice, and potato cakes.

For my last night in Egypt, my tour group stayed at the Ramses Hilton in downtown Cairo. The hotel had a few restaurants and we opted to go to The Citadel, which serves mainly Italian styled dishes. It had a handful of vegetarian options but again, it was all pasta.

I ordered cheese raviolis with a block of cheese (can't recall what type) and the whole meal was bland, not very appetizing, and not filling. Upon my return to the States, I did research on the other restaurants in the hotel and they seem to offer more and better quality vegetarian food options. 

My last breakfast in Egypt was also at the Ramses Hilton but it was in a restaurant that provided a breakfast buffet. Similar to Le Meridien Pyramids, the buffet provided plenty of options but the quality wasn't as good. I just grabbed some scrambled eggs, packaged yogurt with fruit, and an assortment of mini pastries. 

My final lunch in Egypt was a restaurant across from the Pyramids and the Sphinx; unfortunately, I did not take a picture of that meal. While all my non-vegetarian tour mates enjoyed a delicious meal of kebabs, yellow rice (served in the shape of a pyramid), and veggies, I was given a bowl of spaghetti with almost no sauce, two stuffed grape leaves, and two pieces of cauliflower. I would have preferred the rice and veggies over the heap of pasta. 

In short, the food was delicious but as one can see from the pictures, most meals were veggies and carbs. While the cruise meals were all you can eat, I rarely got seconds and instead opted for a banana with peanut butter in order to get protein and a more balanced lunch and dinner.