The Nigerian Problem: You’re Hungry, But You Don’t Know What You Want to Eat

You know that feeling. You are hungry. Not “I could eat something” hungry. You are properly hungry. Your stomach is already complaining, you have probably started thinking about food, and you know you need to eat.

Then someone asks the most difficult question in the world:

“What do you want to eat?”

Suddenly, you don’t know.
“Anything,” you say.
“Okay. Rice?”
“No, I don’t want rice.”
“Chicken?”
“Not really.”
“Shawarma?”
“Maybe.”
“Amala?”

“Hmm… I don’t know.”

At this point, everybody is frustrated. You are still hungry, and the person asking the question has now become tired of helping you decide. If you are Nigerian, there is a good chance you have been in this situation more times than you can count.

It happens after work. It happens after school. It happens when you are at home on a Saturday afternoon. It happens when you are trying to decide what to order for dinner with your spouse. It even happens when you have a food delivery app open and hundreds of meals are just a few taps away.

The funny thing is that Nigeria is not short of food choices. We have jollof rice, fried rice, beans, yam, plantain, amala, eba, pounded yam, egusi, okro, moi moi, akara, pepper soup, noodles, shawarma, burgers, pizza, suya and plenty more.

So why is it sometimes so difficult to answer one simple question?

“What do I want to eat?”

The Problem Is Not Always Hunger

Sometimes, the problem is not that you don’t know what food exists. The problem is that you have too many choices and no clear way to choose between them.

Think about what happens when you open your phone because you are hungry. You start looking through different restaurants and meals. You see a plate of jollof rice that looks good. Then you see fried rice and chicken from another restaurant. Then someone has amala and ewedu. Another restaurant has shawarma. Then you see a burger.

Before long, you have gone from being hungry to thinking about ten different meals. And somehow, you still cannot decide.

This is one of the strange things about having more choices. More options do not always make decisions easier. Sometimes they make them harder. That is why the question “What do you want to eat?” can feel surprisingly difficult. You may not need 100 options. You may simply need the right few options.

Why Nigerians Struggle to Decide What to Eat

There are several reasons this happens. The first is that you may be tired.

Imagine leaving work after a long day in Lagos. You have dealt with traffic, meetings, calls, customers, deadlines and everything else that comes with the day. By the time you get home, the last thing you want to do is spend another 30 minutes deciding what to eat. You don’t want to cook. You don’t want to wash plates. You don’t want to think too much. You just want food.

The second reason is that you may be tired of eating the same thing. There are days when rice is not the answer. You may have eaten rice yesterday. You may have eaten rice this afternoon. You may even have rice sitting in the fridge right now. Your stomach is asking for food, but your brain is saying, “Please, not rice again.”

The third reason is that your craving may not be specific.You know you want something tasty, but you don’t know exactly what that thing is. You might want something spicy. Or something hot. Or something crunchy. Or something filling. Or something that reminds you of home.

This is why starting with the name of a meal does not always work. Instead of asking, “What food do I want?” it can be easier to ask, “What kind of food am I in the mood for?” That small change can make the decision much easier.

“What Should We Eat?” Is a Different Problem When You Have a Family

If you live alone, choosing your meal is one thing. Choosing food for a family is another story entirely.
You ask your spouse, “What should we eat tonight?”
“Anything.”
You suggest rice.
“I don’t want rice.”
“Okay, what about yam?”
“No.”
“Beans?”
“Not today.”
“So what do you want?”
“I don’t know.”

Now you are both hungry.

Then the children join the conversation. One wants noodles. Another wants chicken. Someone else wants rice. And suddenly, deciding what to eat has become a family meeting. This is why it can help to narrow the choices before asking everyone to choose. Instead of asking, “What do you want to eat?”, ask, “Do we want rice, swallow or fast food tonight?” Now everyone has a smaller decision to make.

The same thing works when ordering food online. Rather than scrolling through every restaurant and every meal available, start with what you actually feel like eating.

A Simple Way to Decide What to Eat

The next time you are hungry but don’t know what you want, ask yourself five simple questions.

First: Do I want something light or filling?

If you are only slightly hungry, you may not need a large meal. Something like moi moi, akara, a sandwich, noodles or a snack may be enough. But if you have not eaten all day, you probably want something that will keep you full.

Second: Do I want Nigerian food or something different?

Sometimes you want the familiar taste of home. Other times, you simply want a break from your usual meals. There is nothing wrong with either choice.

Third: Do I want something spicy?

This sounds simple, but it can save you from making a bad food decision. If you love pepper, you already know what to do. If you don’t, it is better to check before ordering than to discover after the first bite that the meal is much hotter than you expected.

Fourth: What is my budget?

This matters. Your stomach may be ready for a feast, but your bank account may have other plans. Decide what you are comfortable spending before you start ordering. This makes it easier to choose a meal without getting carried away by every attractive food picture you see.

Fifth: How quickly do I need the food?

If you are extremely hungry, you may want to choose something that can be prepared and delivered quickly. If you are ordering ahead of time, you have more room to choose. These five questions turn “I don’t know what I want” into a much easier decision.

The Social Media Food Trap

There is another reason choosing food can take so long these days: food content is everywhere.

You open Instagram.
You see jollof rice.
You see a burger.
You see shawarma.
You see suya.
You see someone making a giant pot of soup.
You see a food vendor pouring sauce over a meal.
Everything looks good.
You save one video. Then another. Then another.

Thirty minutes later, you are still hungry. This is the funny problem with food content. It can give you ideas, but too many ideas can also make choosing harder. Sometimes you don’t need another food video. You need a decision.

Food Delivery Should Make Choosing Easier

This is one of the reasons food delivery should be about more than simply moving food from a restaurant to a customer’s door. If you are hungry, the whole experience should help you get from “I’m hungry” to “My food is here” as simply as possible.

DeyChop is built around connecting customers with restaurants through an ordering, processing and delivery system. It also gives restaurants a way to reach customers, increase sales and reduce food waste.

That matters because there are two sides to the food problem. On one side, there is someone saying, “I’m hungry. What should I eat?” On the other side, there are restaurants preparing food and looking for customers who want what they have made. Food delivery helps connect those two sides.

And when the system works well, the customer gets food, the restaurant gets a sale, the rider gets a delivery job, and food that could have gone unsold has a better chance of reaching someone who wants it.

You Don’t Always Need to Know the Exact Meal

One mistake people make when choosing food is thinking they need to know exactly what they want before they start looking.

You don’t.

You can start with a category.
Maybe you know you want something local.
Maybe you know you want something filling.
Maybe you know you don’t want rice.
Maybe you want something spicy.
Maybe you just want chicken.

That is enough to start.

For example, instead of asking yourself, “Which of the 50 meals should I order?”, you can say:

“I don’t want rice today.”
Now you have already removed several choices.
“I want something local.”
That removes even more.
“I want something filling.”
Now you are getting close.
“I have ₦5,000 to spend.”
Now your list becomes smaller again.
Choosing food becomes much easier when you remove options instead of trying to consider everything at once.

What to Eat When You Are Tired of Rice

Let’s address another very Nigerian question. “What can I eat if I’m tired of rice?” There are plenty of answers.

You could try amala with ewedu and soup. You could have eba and egusi. You could order pounded yam. Beans and plantain can work when you want something simple and filling. Moi moi or akara can work when you want something lighter.

And if you want something completely different, you could go for shawarma, pizza, burgers, noodles, grills or another meal available from restaurants around you. The point is not that one meal is better than another. The point is that you have choices. Sometimes you simply need someone to remind you that rice is not your only option.

What to Eat When You Are Hungry at Night

Late-night hunger is another familiar situation. You have been busy all day. You finally get home, and suddenly you realise you are hungry. You don’t want to start preparing a complicated meal. You want something you can order and enjoy. In that situation, think about three things: how hungry you are, how much you want to spend and how quickly you need the food. If you are only looking for a small meal, you don’t need to order a full feast. If you are very hungry, choose something more filling. And if you are ordering for more than one person, consider what everyone is likely to eat before placing the order. It sounds simple, but these small decisions can save you time.

Food Is Not Just About Hunger

There is another reason deciding what to eat can feel so personal. Food is tied to our memories and our daily lives. A particular meal can remind you of your childhood. Another can remind you of your mother’s kitchen. Some foods remind you of university. Some remind you of home.

And for Nigerians living outside the country, local food can sometimes be one of the easiest ways to feel connected to home. This is why access to Nigerian meals matters. Food delivery should not only make it easier to get popular fast food. It should also make it easier for people to find the local meals they know and love.

DeyChop currently operates in Lagos and Ebonyi, with its platform built around connecting customers, restaurants and riders.

So, What Should You Do the Next Time You Don’t Know What to Eat?

Don’t open your food delivery app and start scrolling through everything. Start with yourself.

Ask:

Am I looking for something light or filling?
Do I want local food or something different?
Do I want something spicy?
How much do I want to spend?
How quickly do I need it?

Once you answer those questions, choosing becomes much easier. And if you still cannot decide, give yourself three options instead of 30.

For example:
Jollof rice and chicken.
Amala and ewedu.
Shawarma.

Pick one.

If you still can’t decide, choose the one you haven’t eaten recently. And if you are still saying, “I don’t know what I want,” then maybe the real answer is simple: You don’t need more choices. You need better choices.

That is the funny thing about being hungry in Nigeria.

We have plenty of food.
We have plenty of restaurants.
We have plenty of things to eat.

But sometimes, the hardest part is simply deciding what goes on the plate.

So the next time your stomach says, “I’m hungry,” and your brain replies, “But I don’t know what I want,” don’t worry. You are not alone. Just start small. Think about what you are in the mood for, check what fits your budget, choose from a few good options and get your food. Because being hungry is one problem.

Figuring out what to eat shouldn’t have to be another.