Deliciosas Comidas!

Since food is an extremely major part of each of our days, I thought it would be significant to capture several of the various meals that we've had so far, here in Panama. In fact, I thought it was so important that I figured I would devote an entire blog post to it. Since I stick to a diet mainly comprised of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, baked legumes + grains (oatmeal, barley, etc.), & chicken + seafood (typically prepared on grill only), I thought it would be a little bit of a hassle to find this type of food in restaurants of a country that typically eats beans, rice, and fried plantains for every meal. So I made sure to pack an abundant supply of nuts, dried + raw fruits, and bars just in case I really had trouble finding food at first. I was pleasantly surprised with how I've been able to find food that accommodates my dietary needs! The following will show a variety of different meals that my classmated and/or I have indulged in :) ...

Sauteed chicken and veggies for fajitas!

Mussels, clams, shrimp in a red sauce on top of spaghetti!

I expected that Panama would have delicious varieties of fruits that aren't readily available in the US, which is most definitely true. For example, they have all different sorts of mangos (I've tried 3 different kinds already) growing all over the place, along with coconuts, guava, and bananas. I love the fact that much of the fruit that is sold in the local markets was most likely just picked off of the tree not too far away. This is great because the fruits that are common here are sold for so much less than in America. For example, yesterday I bought about 20 bananas for less than a dollar! Also, while I was doing my homecare visits during clinical one day, our taxi driver picked a bunch of mangos, grapefruits, and coconuts from the patients' homes (with their permission of course) and gave me a bag full for me to take home. It was great! I had fruits to last me all week! The pineapples here are indescribably juicy and sweet. I wish I could bring some back for everyone to taste the difference.

Coconut!

Mango!

Sauteed pineapple with coco powder and chocolate syrup dessert!

I was a bit disappointed with the flavors of some of the vegetables. I was hoping that they would be equally as yummy as the fruit. However, I have yet to be impressed with specifically the carrots, broccoli, lettuce, or cucumbers. The tomatoes are pretty much the same as ones we eat in the US. I had the most delicious soup and salad at, what I believe has been, the BEST restaurant that we've eaten at in Panama, "Bruschetta Restaurante". It's an Italian place in El Valle. I ordered a Greek salad with grilled salmon (+ yummy Panamanian feta cheese), fresh vegetable soup (loaded with fresh green peppers, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, etc.), and green tea all for less than 10 dollars. Now that was a great buy and nearly impossible to find in the states.

BEST ensalada ever! :D

BEST vegetales sopa ever! :D

*Ohh another meal (that I didn't want to forget to mention) which I've enjoyed for lunch soo much for several days, in Chitre, has been beans (either kidney beans, lentils, or some other sort of legume) and broiled chicken at the Universidad de Panama. It is such a delicious combination; almost like a stew when put together in a bowl! hehe

Mi "Mama's" cooking; fried plantains stuffed with chicken, tomatoes, onions, and peppers and broccoli + grape salad on top of lettuce! :p

How hungry are you now? Come to Panama! :)