one of the things i enjoy most about foreign countries is the food. hell, one of the things i enjoy most about LIFE is the food! and i am a huge fan in particular of just about any type of ethnic food. the other night at home ryan and i were trying to think of the last time we’d eaten american food (besides things like sandwhiches, soup, etc), and we came up empty. unfortunately, over the past several nights in buenos aires, i’ve been a bit disappointed. and it’s because i try to eat mostly produce.
portenos apparently don’t do produce, at least not with their meals. if you order chicken, you get a chicken. if you order beef, you get a piece of meat. no side salad. no veggies. nada. this is especially problematic because, in addition to focusing heavily on grilled meats, their diet has a lot of starch. pastas. empanadas. pastries. bread. all things that are delicious, but all things that don’t really constitute a meal for me. i need an inordinate amount of fruits and veggies at least as a PART of my meal, if not the meal entirely. apple filling in croissants doesn’t count. neither does the orange wedge garnishing ryan’s giant steak.
so i’ve been trying to eat a lot of salad which aren’t super ethnic, but still has somewhat of a local interpretation. and then tonight i got the ULTIMATE local interpretation: mayo. as salad dressing. slathered all over the top of my lettuce!! what’s a not-too-much-meat-eating, veggie-loving, produce-obsessed girl to do?! i scraped off the entire top half of the salad (taking with it all the tasty toppings: crutons, tomatoes, cheese), doused the remaining with oil and vinegar and plowed my way through.
it’s unlikely that i’ll order salad again. so i’m not sure what my solution is. i’ve been buying fruit at the market, so maybe i’ll just go with that … but i’m spoiled by the great local produce we have in SF and the apples and oranges i’ve had so far here aren’t cutting it. i’m tempted to do one big, traditional argentine meal, and then go more fusion or opt for a different cuisine altogether. as much as i love the food of other cultures i can’t see how eating empenadas for the next ten days would be a great decision …
I say, eat what tastes good. I have a friend who says “When it comes to food, it’s not about where we visit, it’s about where we live” - I suppose this means literally in your case. She was saying that if you occasionally eat a burger or go to a friend’s house and eat extra cheesy pizza, that is ok, because your foundation is your “home” food. (ie loads of usually organic produce and whole foods). Ten days of empenadas might make you gain 5 lbs, but you should embrace the local foods to the best of your abilities and relinquish the control that you want to have over your diet for 10 days. Even if it is super starchy and meaty, it is probably a “whole” lot better than eating cheetos and chicken nuggets and fries at home.
true! you’re right about the control thing - i feel the need to continue to maintain control over eating a relatively well-balanced diet even when i’m traveling. those five pounds are a scary, scary thing! they’re also the reason i maintain a strict workout regiment, even from the road.
plus a lot of the food here i don’t really like - much of it is bland and they’re big on steak and beef, which i don’t eat. so some of it is about not wanting to compromise my normal balanced eating style, but some of it is about not liking the food!