I also have a lot more time here to concentrate on healthy eating and cooking, so that helps with this love as well.
Almost everything we buy now is not processed or in a box. In MI, almost everything I bought, with the exception of fresh fish, was processed.
This is how our eating/shopping habits here have worked thus far.
Every Friday, we go to the veggie and fruit market in Jaco and stock up for the week. I am getting pretty good at knowing exactly what we need to make it through the week. We generally buy some variety of the following: lots of bananas (usually like 12 or so, and this does not even take us through the week sometimes), a zucchini, radishes, potatoes, a couple tomatoes, 6 avocados (which I use to make guac), onions about every other trip, nectarines, limes, kiwi, strawberries, pineapple, and mammon chino. Kurt also buys this bread he likes, and sometimes, fresh squeezed OJ and fresh baked pie, depending on his mood. The pies are made by the Mennonites and always look amazing (I may have sneaked a bite of one). The quality of the food here is amazing compared to the local grocery stores and cheaper. We love the market. If we need stuff in between Fridays, we go to another local market that carries just fruit and veggies. We also buy eggs at this market usually.
Cheese and yogurt we buy from a local dairy farm. We can also buy milk and eggs there, but have not yet. I talked about our first experience there in a previous post.
Fish we buy at a local fish market. They have about 7 types of fish on a regular basis, and so far I have bought tuna, marlin and sea bass. I should branch out and try something new, but I like those and have stuck with them. We buy fish about once every other week.
At the grocery stores, the only food items I really buy are seasonings and spices, toiletries, milk, butter, pet and cleaning supplies.
I mentioned to Kurt the other day we have so much less garbage to take out here, and he said it is because we are eating so much less in a box. He is right! It's so kewl.
We eat so differently here too. I make Kurt breakfast every morning, which I NEVER EVER did in MI. Maybe like once every 6 months. We generally only ate breakfast if we were on vacation. We eat more eggs here than we ever have, I never even bought eggs in MI because they would go bad before we ate them. For breakfast, I generally make Kurt eggs with potatoes, or French toast, or pancakes. I make my own syrup. I also will cut up fruit for him pre-meal, and sometimes make toast with his meal. About every other day, I make him a smoothie as well with chia seeds we bought at the Friday market. The pugs love breakfast time, as Gretel is obsessed with eggs and Oscar is obsessed with nectarines. Kurt does not really eat lunch. I will usually eat either a bowl of cereal for a late breakfast. For lunch, Kurt will just snack on fruits and cheese and stuff like that, but I usually eat cut up carrot slices with guac. Dinner, we generally have fish (tuna or marlin usually). With mine, I sometimes fry an egg, have rice, or zucchini. For Kurts, I roll his fish in a pita and add things like black beans, veggies, potatoes, etc. I also will sometimes broil fresh broccoli. I like having a snack at night, so I usually make myself banana ice cream, which is banana, ice, a tiny bit of milk and cinnamon in the blender. I make it thick, and eat it with a spoon. I sometimes also freeze bananas and mix with some granola for a snack. We buy the granola at a local health food store. We drink a lot of water, mixed in with some orange juice for Kurt and Coke Zero for me. I know, I know. Shoot me, I still have not kicked the diet pop or caffeine habit. My one vice.........I am drinking WAY less though. I have been making beans differently too. Buy those NOT in a can, and make them myself in the slow cooker. I make them spicy, adding in cumin, onions, tomatoes, pepper, salt, etc. I freeze half, and pull out as needed to make meals. Rice I don't buy in a box either. Buy that and make a couple cups at a time in the rice cooker.
We eat out once a week. We try to eat someplace different each week (although I am aware I will run out of places soon, LOL). This week, we ate at a place called The Green Room and it was amazing, I absolutely loved it. I hate a mahi burrito and Kurt has a pepper grilled cheese and fries. We split from guac and falafel for an app. Super yummy. I highly recommend the place if you live in the area and have not been there. I have heard they have amazing breakfast there too.
In MI, I would not eat breakfast, and neither would Kurt. For lunch, I generally had a boxed tv dinner type meal, like Lean Cuisine, which I would scarf down at my desk since I barely had time to eat. Kurt would either not eat, or would order in food, like Mexican or Subway. We would sometimes eat lunch out. Dinner, we ate in a lot, but a lot of it was boxed, processed, crap. What a difference living here has allowed me. With the extra time on my hands and the markets available everywhere....
So, that is the difference in eating here in Costa Rica. I can't imagine the positive impact this is having on our bodies, eating so well all the time.
Pura Vida!
