Banana anyone?

Fruit was one of my biggest adjustments moving to Rio de Janeiro. Yes, fruit!

You see, I was following the extremely balanced American university diet of microwavable food, alcohol, and water. Even living with a foodie roommate, I was as picky of an eater as an obnoxious toddler. 

Try explaining this to your newly adopted Mother-in-Law when you don't speak the same language and are living in the same house. I was in healthy homemade food hell, that is until I started eating it. Who knew not perfectly shaped tomatoes could taste so good?! And those little weird looking bananas, not nearly as pretty as ours, packed a taste that would put American ones to shame. 

My eyes were opened and they were curious. It amazed me how easily and naturally fruit snuck into the everyday diet of Brazilians. Any given day you'd stop and have one or two fresh fruit juices, pineapple is served as a desert, and you can find fruit easier than a public bathroom. It's everywhere in Rio and it's cheap! 

Now I'm one of those women that takes samples from all the vendors at the farmer's market. A little piece of papaya, a triangle of watermelon, and maybe a square of mango. Why not? 

My diet as a whole has changed, as well as what I consider to be healthy eating. While I'm far from the strict foodie, but I am now more educated on the subject.  Not only that, my tastes have become more open and I find myself craving healthier and more interesting foods. 

And while I seem to have decent genes that literally saved my ass from the whole American obesity issue, there's still general health, heart attacks, and blackheads. It's not wonder some of the most beautiful people in the world are down here. They have the fuel to feed it! 

Has a place ever changed your diet? 

Wordless Wednesday: My Favorite Juices

We have a lot of random fresh juice mixes here in Rio de Janeiro. I love them and here are my favorites!

Beat, Carrot, and Orange juice

Papaya and Orange juice

Pineapple and mint 

What are your favorites? 

Feira Friday

I love going to the Brazilian Farmer's Market,or feira, first thing on Friday morning.  I always arrive right at the beginning, as the last pieces of fish are being laid out for display.

There's a calm to the early morning feira.  The workers are chatting amongst themselves and laughing as they help each other tie tarps up over their produce. It's pleasant out at the moment but the sun will not be so forgiving in a few hours.

The entire street smells fresh. This is amazing seeing that this particular street normally has a strong smell of urine. Somehow the clean leafy greens, fresh seafood, and newly cut watermelon cover up the nasty.

I like to stroll along with my boys, letting them point out and lightly touch the fruit. The vendors encourage it and offer them samples of fruit that I can't even name in English. One boy always says no and they other always says yes.

And then we start to buy. My vegetable man calls me dear and shows me the American broccoli. My fish guy already knows which cuts my kids like and he gives me a little discount. My chicken person asks how my in-laws are doing, by name, as she was their chicken person when they lived in the city. My fruit man laughs when my youngest grabs a berry and offers him another.

We top off our early trip to the feira with a visit to the pastel stand. My two boys walk home happily eating a cheese pastel half the size of their heads.

A lovely way to start a Friday. 

Wordless Wednesday: Exotic Fruit

Brazil is known for many things but one of the most interesting is the fruit. This large country has fruits in all shapes, sizes, and tastes. 

 ACEROLA

 CARAMBOLA

 MARACUJA

 JACA

 SAPOTI

 JABUTICABA

GOIABA

Ignorance is bliss so just give me a hot dog!

I roll with the super healthy here in Rio de Janeiro. It's kind of odd seeing I've never been a part of a "healthy" group before. Hell, in college my dietary triangle consisted of fats, salts, microwaveable, pasta, and alcohol. 

Of course, things change.  Living in a country where fresh fruits and veggies are not just readily available but actually cheaper than other food has helped quite a bit.  I felt I was on the right track.

That was until I entered into the super healthy super Mom group.  These are the ladies that do yoga at least 3 times a week, also throwing in a run now and then. All of them have had natural births (meaning no pain killers) and some home births.  They read labels, do not normally consume sugar, and their kids do not know what McDonalds is.

And it's a good thing. These Mommas can tell you where to find the rare fresh milk of Rio de Janeiro and if that one type has to be boiled or not before drinking. They know the organic fairs and which organic stores will deliver staple items on a weekly basis.  They can give you whole wheat, no dairy, no sugar recipes that only taste slightly like cardboard.  It's eye opening.

At the same time there are problems. There are things I don't want to know. I do not want to know there is msg in my bouillon cubes. I really don't want to know what msg is because I plan to keep on using my precious cubes! I live in Rio and there is no way I'm going to boil a whole freakin' chicken just to get some broth.  Cooking here is time consuming enough.  Next I'm going to have to convert my laundry area into a chicken coop just to make sure they are antibiotic free.  Heaven forbid, actually give the bird up totally!  I'm already done with pork.  What's next? Vegetarianism?  I'd rather stop eating all together.

It's almost enough to make a lady feel subpar in the taking care of your family/spouse department. And this isn't just reserved for Moms. My sister-in-law has my brother-in-law on a special no taste, very expensive diet too. Steamed veggies and whole grain rice are becoming a staple when out to lunch with friends.  Are we all growing up or just trying to avoid daily doses of Metamucil?

In the end, it is a good thing.  I find myself, at the very least, adapting my own diet.  My children see veggies on their plate twice a day, if not more.  Hey, you can bring a kid to veggies but you can not make them eat. And fruit is now part of my vocabulary outside of apple martini.  That's a good thing. 

Will I be giving up real pizza, fries, greasy Mexican food (when I can find it), butter, or sugar. Hell no!  But maybe I'll put said butter on some broccoli and the sugar on some strawberries. It's a start, right?