First 5 things I’m eating back in the States!

Happy Monday, tigers and tight-rope walkers!

Although my belly is quite full from a delicious almuerzo (lunch) of lentejitas, hamburguesa, ensalada, fajitas, y jugo de frutilla (a bowl of lentils with some veggies and hamburger in it, an avocado-tomato salad, some tortilla fellas with cheese inside them that are called fajitas but are different than a fajita I would think of it I were in the US, and fresh strawberry juice), it’s always good to think about tasty food, you know?

A piece of lemon pie made by my host mom (it’s so beautiful :’D)

As crazy is it is, I have just over six weeks left in Chile. While that is still a significant time here, my return to the US is approaching. Instead of being sad about leaving, though, it’s a great time to reminisce about what foods I can’t wait to have once I come back!

From the array of fresh(er) fruits and vegetables (including more avocados than I ever would’ve imagined) to choripan (delicious sausage that you have with bread and piebre, a type of salsa/pico de gallo – aka see below), I have definitely enjoyed Chilean food.

Hidden underneath the piebre there is indeed some choripan 😀

That said, turns out there is some stuff that good ole ‘Murica does right, that I’m definitely looking forward to having when I get back.

Big hunks of meat

Now, I know that “big hunks of meat” is not a dish, per se. BUT, I eat significantly less meat here, and there have been times where I’ve just been crazing a big ole steak, or chicken breast, or pork chop (really, anything will do :’D).

At my house here, we generally have some kind of meat every lunch, whether it’s chicken, hamburger, sausage, or occasionally fish. But, it is almost always mixed in with beans, or rice, or potatoes, or some other kind of food. While it is delicious, this means that meat is almost never the “main feature” of the meal, and I’ve eaten a lot less of it.

Since I’ve started eating meat (i.e., seventh/eighth grade), I probably haven’t gone this long without a steak. Let’s bring it back, baby! (I am returning to the US on the 4th of July at night, so surely there’s gotta be some sort of BBQ I can leech off of, right?)

Wheat Thins

I never thought I’d miss these crunchy, salty-but-slightly-sweet squares so much. While Chile does have some snack foods (oatmeal bars, chips, some crackers), I would say they are really lacking on the cracker department.

The crackers that I’ve seen are generally plain, like the kind you can spread jam on and eat with your tea? Apparently? (You can tell that I am not too in-tune with these kinds of crackers.)

What I’m wanting are some Wheat Thins, or some Saltines, or Goldfish, or something, you know? Or, by golly, put a back of Garden Salsa Sun Chips in front  of me and see what happens!

Getting my snacky friends back in a few months will certainly be a crunchy delight!

Dinner, i.e., the concept of it

While this really baffled me for a good two months and I have finally gotten used to it, there is no “dinner” in Chile.

Instead, there are onces, which is a smaller meal eaten at night. Onces usually consist of bread (perhaps a sandwich with some avocado spread and meat/cheese), some tea, and maybe a pastry. While delicious (don’t say that I don’t enjoy them, cuz I do!), onces do not fill you up like a dinner does.

Great example of onces from last night – sandwich with turkey and avocado, tea, some kind of apple pastry, and a piece of lemon pie!

They just have onces at night because almuerzo (lunch) is the biggest meal of the day here. I can’t fault the Chilean culture for wanting to smash some food at 2 p.m., but all I’m wanting is to do the same at 7 p.m., you know?!

Blueberry pancakes & breakfast meats

I’m not sure if blueberry pancakes really need explaining. They are delicious, and I have not eaten pancakes since February. ‘Nuff said, y’know?

As far as breakfast meats, I could definitely use a good few slices of turkey bacon (I know, I know, I’m a turkey bacon guy) or some sausages.

A pixellated, dancing egg and bacon was too tempting to not share

Protein Bars

I don’t even like protein bars that much, but they’re such a solid snack between meals, and have definitely been missing them lately. The whole nutrition bar thing isn’t as big of a deal here, and while they do have some imported bars (like Nature’s Valley), the bar selection is much, much smaller here.

Zone Perfect mint chocolate bars, I’m coming for you in July :’D

Other honorable mentions

There’s a good amount of foods I don’t really have here, and will eat again when I’m back in the US, but haven’t really super badly, necessarily. Among other things, they include:

• Greek yogurts
• Pasta with red sauce (most pasta I’ve had here is pesto)
• Some Pizza Hut or something (there’s good pizza here, but it’s just not the same as greasy American pizza :’D)
• As much milk as one desires (I try to cut back on milk here because it’s fairly expensive)

Yet let us not forget the Chilean deliciousness…

Of course, there are some great foods I’m looking forward to having when I’m back in the US.

BUT, there is a lot of delicious stuff here…think I may have to do a Chilean food appreciation post tomorrow! Stay tuned, folks!

Thanks for reading, today, friends! If any of you have ever been out of your home country for an extended period of time, what food did you miss most? Comment below to win $10,000 dollars! (Jk, but it will warm my heart :’D)

Stay Splashy!