What Happened When I Said Goodbye to Sugar, and Hello to Whole30

If your new year’s resolutions include eating healthier, you might be considering Whole30—in which case, check out this Whole30 diary to see what it’s like.

There’s nothing like a week in Vermont, home to cheese and creemees, and a trip to meat city U.S.A: Austin, TX to kick you into health gear. For me, getting back on track means another round of the Whole30.

It’s now over a decade old, but for those who have no idea what Whole30 actually is, in simple terms, it’s cutting out (get ready for this!) sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, and dairy. What in the world can I eat? A lot, actually, including meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, some fruit, and good fats from oils, nuts, and seeds. You can consult the Whole30 program rules for much more in-depth information.

The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom, $16.45 on Amazon

You can also consult a wealth of Whole30 cookbooks.

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Whole30 may not be for everyone, but it’s most certainly for me. I’ll be honest and say I wish I could live the lifestyle—because it really is a lifestyle—all year round, but for now I’ve settled into doing it every few months when I feel my eating habits spiral out of control and, more importantly, when I just feel plain old awful both physically and emotionally. But although I know it will make me feel better, it’s certainly not easy. Because wine. And cheese. And chocolate. ‘Nuff said. But if you’re organized, strong-willed and open to playing in the kitchen, you’re fully capable of doing it. Plus, the benefits always outweigh the struggles, both of which you can read about—along with a ton of recipes and kitchen experimentation—below in my consolidated diet diary:

Week One

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So I never EVER start a new diet plan mid-week because I’ll take any excuse to binge my way through a weekend before I’m getting healthy. This is dumb, I’m aware. But this time around I started on a Wednesday, a feat in and of itself. Of course, I ended up having a friend’s last minute birthday dinner. What to do? I ordered grilled fish, greens, and a seltzer while they had gooey, fancy gravy fries that looked like heaven in a bowl. To be honest, I’m glad I didn’t know of the plans ahead of time because I would’ve postponed my start date.

On Saturday, Day 4, I finally went for a run, but the rest of the day I hit the “I don’t care if it’s finally summer in New York I just want to sleep all day” phase that you can find on the Whole30 timeline. However, I did try some new recipes, including Whole30’s green cabbage slaw with Asian dressing and Pork Fried Cauliflower Rice from the “One Pot Paleo” book that I especially loved. I also made Whole30’s Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potato side dish, and holy yum, these two dishes were good (and pretty simple too).

Related Reading: Whole30 Instant Pot Recipes to Rely On

Week Two

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While Week 1 ended with getting up early for a run, for the start of Week 2 I hit the snooze button no less than three times. And I never snooze! My pants also feel tight which is annoying, but I know I have to make it through these next few days to get to the good stuff. My willpower is also tested with a breakfast meeting full of carb-loaded, New York bagels. #Igotthis.

Over the course of cooking more at home, I achieved some self-discovery in the kitchen: I suck at making sauces. I made Whole30’s Halibut recipe with Citrus Ginger Glaze (but I subbed cod).

The final dish was certainly edible, but I’m not quite sure the orange glaze ended up in the right state. Was it the recipe, or my cooking competency? Hard to say, but it’s still worth a shot at making.

Another dish I discovered, which I’ll go so far as to say is life-changing, is avocado baked eggs. HOW HAVE I NEVER TRIED THIS BEFORE?

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Heading into this slow ☀️Sunday after a holiday week of traveling & on the go 🏃🏻‍♀️& thinking of making a batch of these easy Avocado Egg Cups from the archives for the fam 👨‍👧‍👦🥑 🍳🌿 #paleo #lowcarb #whole30 . .Hope everyone had a great week & the best Sunday 💛💛 . FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE: https://lifemadesweeter.com/avocado-egg-cups/ . . INGREDIENTS: 2 avocados, halved with pits removed 4 medium eggs salt and pepper to taste chopped fresh parsley, for garnish . . INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Line a baking sheet or baking pan with foil or parchment paper (for easier cleanup). Cut avocados in half and scoop an additional 1-2 tablespoons of the avocado flesh out to create a larger nest for the eggs. Position the avocado halves propped against the baking dish or touching the other avocados snugly to avoid spilling over. You can also place a small ramekin and prop them against the avocados. Gently crack one egg in each avocado half (if needed, save some of the egg whites in another bowl if the avocado well is too small). Bake for 13-18 minutes, or until the whites are set and the egg yolks are cooked to your liking. 13-14 min. – softer yolks 15-16 min. – medium yolks 17-18 min. – hard boiled yolks Garnish with fresh herbs + desired toppings. . .#breakfast #ketodiet #eggs #thefeedfeed #ketorecipes #avocado #lowcarbrecipes #thenewhealthy #myallrecipes #ketobreakfast #bakedeggs #lchf #lchfdiet #lowcarbfoods #eggcups #huffposttaste #avocado #todaybreakfast #f52vacay #kitchn #keto #madeinstaub #mywilliamsonoma #paleorecipes #glutenfree #f52grams #avocadoegg

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It’s perfect for a weekend breakfast when you’re not on-the-go, and truly, it’s so delicious. With that being said, I’m still working out the timing to get the eggs cooked just right. Pair it with no-sugar bacon (Whole Foods sells some options). Cooking tip: Paleo-style bacon tastes best if you really cook it until it’s crispy.

Another dish I made, which is great for both lunch at work and dinner at home, are these paleo chicken fingers.

They actually got rave reviews from my co-workers, which is huge, let me just say—they’re a picky bunch! I use Trader Joe’s tomato sauce in a can (always make sure to check your labels!) as a dipping sauce.

Week Three

Alexandra Grablewski

I had to do something I NEVER do and that’s send my food back, during a breakfast meeting no less, because my omelet had cheese in it. Fail. But let’s be honest, I didn’t stick to my guns for two weeks to ruin it just because I’m embarrassed to say something, right? Here’s a harsh, but predictable truth about doing Whole30: It’s very hard to be social. And don’t even get me started on going on a first date sans booze. But hey, if your friends/colleagues/awkward first dates are understanding, then you can make it work, not to mention that you’ll feel better when you don’t wake up with a hangover or stuck in a food coma!

You can also show them how eating healthy can be tasty, which is why instead of going out to dinner with a friend one Saturday night I cooked for us. I took a risk by trying a new recipe, but wow, it officially tops the list of one of the best things I’ve ever cooked. Period. Not just on Whole30. I made this Romesco Garlic Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles recipe, and this time, I finally got a sauce right! Plus, my non-dieting friend loved it too. Wins all around. I also follow Whole30Recipes on Instagram and found an easy stuffed peppers recipe.

An easy one-pot weekend dish I made (which is great for lunch leftovers) is this slow cooker sweet potato, kale and chicken stew. I also discovered another easy lunch is shredding (aka ripping apart) a whole rotisserie chicken and adding some pieces with mashed avocado as a fake “chicken salad.” If you want to be fancy, you can make your own Whole30-approved mayo, but I’m not fancy, plus I don’t like mayo anyway.

Related Reading: The Best Healthy Meal Kits to Try in 2020

Week Four

Alexandra Grablewski

By this stage, if not sooner, you realize you have no idea what day it is during your Whole30 because it’s become your everyday normal. This is the best part because you feel great, you look great, you don’t feel like you’re uprooting your life, and you’re happily eating whole foods and cooking new recipes like it’s no big deal. Why is that? Oh yeah, because it’s not a big deal. And it’s a good thing too because in my final 9 days I have a July 4 BBQ/kid’s birthday party and I don’t even feel like I have to miss out.

I also finally took a trip to the new Bareburger in my neighborhood. From all my Googling, it seems this is the place to go if you’re Paleo/Whole30, and now that they don’t use peanut oil, their fries are safe to eat! I got a burger wrapped in a collard green with a side of fries. Such a nice treat to eat out and not worry about every single little ingredient. Added bonus points: it’s also fast and cheap. But this is also where you can learn from my mistakes. Despite having read the Whole30 book countless times, I missed the part where you can’t have French fries, even if they’re compliant. Fail! But the good news is I didn’t eat anything I’m not technically supposed to, it’s just the idea of fries they don’t subscribe to.

In my final days, I also made Whole30’s Chicken Cacciatore recipe and mashed cauliflower. Remember that whole not good at sauces thing? Well, it came back to haunt me, and while my cacciatore sauce was watery and ugly, it still tasted OK. I had a kitchen fail trying to make coconut cream, but again, the mashed cauliflower was good! Again, always remember to check your labels on coconut milk since only a few brands are Whole30-safe.

With that, I’ve come to the end of my 30 days. Funny enough, I had no idea I hit the last day until it appeared on my calendar! I feel pretty great, I got a compliment on my skin yesterday, and I can totally have my tight pants on.

A few recipes I didn’t cook this time around, but I made during the winter while on Whole30 and LOVED are:

• Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup
• Pot Roast with Balsamic Onion Gravy
• Super Easy Chili
• Bacon and Apple-Stuffed Pork Chops

I highly suggest giving these recipes, plus these favorites a shot—whether you’re on the Whole30 program, or not. Yes, they’re that good:

• Romesco Garlic Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles
• Chicken Cacciatore
• Cauliflower Rice

Expert Tip! Here are some go-to food items that always save me throughout the program:

• Raw cashews
• Hard-boiled eggs (This is my week day breakfast; prep a big batch in your Instant Pot.)
• Pickles (I have a few when I get home from work. It’s weird, I’m aware.)
• Grapes (Preferably frozen. This is a legit new obsession of mine to have at night.)
• Lara bars (I didn’t have any this time around, but they’re good to have handy in emergencies; these are the Whole30-compliant flavors.)

See more Whole30 tips from people who’ve done it, and you’ll be set up for success.

Robyn Ross was the Special Projects Director for TV Guide and is now a supervising producer at People. You can follow her on Twitter at @RobynRossTV and Instagram at @RobynRoss214.

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White Chicken Chili

This easy White Chicken Chili is like a milder, calmer cousin to Texas beef chili. Make it with canned or dry beans, and add extra chili peppers for more heat if you like! Keeps well and freezes well.

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How to Eat a More Sustainable and Nutritious Diet

There’s no magic diet for sustainable eating. There are, however, some actionable tips for eating with sustainability in mind.

It’s impossible to name the most nutritious foods. After all, individual foods only provide parts of a healthy diet: Some foods don’t contain protein; others don’t contain iron or zinc. Similarly, it’s impossible to put together a list of the most sustainable foods that have a low environmental impact. “You have to talk about diets. You have to talk about all of the factors that influence sustainability,” explains Professor Fergus Clydesdale, a food scientist at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

You Oughta KnowWhat Is Intuitive Eating?The original definition of sustainability is “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” according to the landmark 1987 Brundtland Report put together by a U.N. commission, cites Clydesdale. Sustainability comprises a myriad of factors: greenhouse gas emissions, non-renewable energy and minerals, freshwater consumption, land use, ecosystem quality, waste, and nutrition.

Based upon these factors, general recommendations for a more sustainable diet include replacing animal protein with plant protein, eating a nutritious diet, and reducing waste. With instruction from Clydesdale, a prototype sustainability and nutrition-focused diet by Nestle called the LiveWell diet (presented at the 2015 International Life Sciences Institute annual meeting) and United States Department of Agriculture research, we’ve put together a guide for eating more sustainably in the new year.

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Get More Protein From Grains, Legumes, Potatoes, and Dairy

One of the most effective ways to make your diet more sustainable is to increase your protein intake from grain products, vegetable products, and dairy. “The growth of plants use less input [food, water, land and energy] than animals,” explains Clydesdale. “Certainly legumes and grains in terms of getting protein are better sources of getting protein than animals environmentally. And dairy is pretty good, too.”

Clydesdale didn’t specifically note types of foods, but beans, soy, milk, cheese, and yogurt are typically referenced as good non-meat protein sources. Try mixing it up: Dishes with complete proteins include rice with lentils, split-pea soup with brown rice, vegetable chili with cornbread, pasta salad with kidney beans, and potato salad.

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As for meat and seafood, fish, chicken, and pork are much better than beef from a sustainability standpoint. Animal feed to food conversions—or the amount of output (meat or dairy) from animal feed—depict this most clearly. 100 kg of feed will produce 70 kg of fish, 65 kg of dairy milk, 40 kg of chicken, 20 kg of pig, and just 10 kg of beef, according to Nestle research. (The research notes that a “large portion of farmed fish feed is fish meal, or crushed smaller fish from wild catch,” which isn’t exactly a model for sustainability either.) Looking at it another way, one study says that while beef accounts for four percent of the food supply by weight, it’s responsible for 36 percent of U.S. diet-related greenhouse gas emissions.

Related Reading: The Best Vegetarian Cookbooks for Your Kitchen

Focus on Nutrition: Eat More Vegetables, Fruits, Whole Grains, Legumes, and Nuts

At its core, sustainability focuses in on “foods that will sustain life, i.e. nutritious foods,” notes Clydesdale. Broadly speaking, Americans need to eat a more plant-based diet according to a 2015 report from the USDA’s Dietary Advisory Committee. Furthermore, sustainable diets focus more on plant-based foods—such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds—and lower on animal-based foods, according to this research.

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“Current evidence shows that the average U.S. diet has a larger environmental impact in terms of increased greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use, and energy use, compared to the [recommended] dietary patterns,” says the report. “This is because the current U.S. population intake of animal-based foods is higher and plant-based foods are lower, than proposed in [the USDA’s advised diets].”

Related Reading: Five Easy Ways to Eat Less Meat

For a more sustainable, healthy diet, the USDA recommends making half of your plate fruits and vegetables. A variety of vegetables is key: dark green, red and orange, legumes (beans and peas), and starchy ones (potatoes, corn). Fruits (especially whole fruits), grains, low-fat dairy (including milk, yogurt, and cheese) and a variety of proteins (including seafood, lean meats and poultry, legumes, nuts, seeds, and soy products) are other necessary elements, according to the USDA.

Reduce Food Waste

Technical AssistanceProducts to Help Reduce Food WasteThe average American family throws away a quarter of the food it purchases, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. And, on a broader scale, nine billion people will live on the planet by 2050. “We’ve got to produce as much food in the next [three decades] as we’ve produced in all of history,” explains Clydesdale. “We can’t afford to have that food wasting. We can’t afford to just have it sitting on shelves until it goes bad. So we’re going to have to use technology to stabilize it.”

At home, Clydesdale has one simple, cost-effective tip for consumers: Use more canned and frozen foods. “Whether the food is local or not local, if you can it and freeze it, you have less food waste because there’s less food waste when you trim the food—you get it in and freeze it or can it quickly and when you use part of it, you don’t throw the rest of it out,” he says. “It doesn’t go bad. You can keep it for quite a long time. You really reduce food waste by doing that.”

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The Best Thing I Ate (or Drank) in 12 Countries This Year

Following a fever dream at the end of 2018, I decided to embark on a travel project that took me to 12 different countries in the 12 months of 2019. Focusing on the viability of short term, budget travel, and armed with an attitude of “It’s better to go somewhere for the four days you can manage than to never go somewhere,” I am happy to report at the end of 2019 that I visited 12 different countries on five different continents without spending much more than $400 on any given flight.

But enough about that. Let’s talk about the food, which was naturally the ongoing highlight of the year. As an epicurean and food writer, with little time between trips given the frequency of the travel, my approach to pre-planning was mostly to Google “Top 10 Things to Eat in X” on the way to the airport. This resulted in a year of terrific, international delights: some classic, some downright strange, and some…rather unexpected. Here’s a round up of my top eating (and drinking) experiences and honorable mentions from 12 countries around the globe.

Related Reading: Eatwith Food Experiences to Try on Your Travels

1. Guadeloupe: Sauce Chien (“Dog Sauce”)

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Grilling is the trend for this summer and of course you need a good sauce to go with it. One of my favorite sauces for all grilled meat os this traditional Creole Sauce Chien. It’s a traditional French West Indian sauce which takes less than 10 minutes to put together. It’s made with fresh herbs, scotch bonnet, lime juice and olive oil. It’s simply perfection.⁣ ⁣ ⁣ What you’ll need for this recipe: ⁣ •1/2 cup Warm water ⁣ •2 tbsp Olive oil⁣ •1/2 tsp Salt⁣ •1/4 tsp Black pepper⁣ •Fresh herbs: thyme and parsley⁣ •Juice of 1 lime ⁣ ⁣ ——–>>>go to www.tasteefulrecipes.com for the full recipe or click the link in @tasteefulrecipes bio ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #tasteefulrecipes #caribbeanfood #caribbeanrecipes #creolefood #cuisineantillaise #westindianfood #eatingthecaribbean ⁣

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Colloquially known as “dog sauce” for reasons that remain mysterious (perhaps related to the drool-worthiness of the sauce), this ubiquitous condiment is appropriate for any and all seafood preparations common in the south Caribbean, plus goat, or chicken. Comprised of chopped habanero peppers or scotch bonnets and copious amounts of garlic, then brightened with vinegar, cumin, and lime, frankly I’d happily put this spicy sharp sauce on just about anything.

Honorable Mention: Croissants. Perhaps you will find this a surprising addition for the south Caribbean. Did I mention Guadeloupe is a department of France?

2. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Pickled Herring

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I did a thing. I ain’t afraid. … … #herring #haring #daring #fish #amsterdam #travel #travelwriting #travelwriter

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As a food-forward traveler I will never not try a local dish of importance to the place, though there are always some that one is less excited about. For this trip, that was pickled herring. Lowering a whole fish into one’s mouth didn’t seem like a terribly appetizing way to enjoy seafood, but I won’t ever forget the clean, bright, downright buttery taste of the herring I had at Zeewater, paired with pickles and onions. And this took first place in a country also known for its cheese! That’s how good it was.

Honorable Mention: Gouda. When I hear “red light district” I will always think of the red, wax-covered wheels of gouda seductively beckoning me from their storefronts.

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Related Reading: Top 10 Tastes of Amsterdam

3. Beijing, China: “Traditional Chinese Spicy Snack”

Pamela Vachon

I wish I could tell you what this was and how to ask for it. I was looking for hot pot. Instead Google maps lead me to a build-your-own soup bar where the owner and I had a charming conversation utilizing Google translate, which resulted in the above description for what I was eating. I’m still trying to figure out what was meant by “instant slice of winter melon pumpkin kiss,” something I ostensibly put in my soup, but the lightly spicy, rich broth studded with the noodles, greens, mushrooms, and proteins of my choosing was one of the tastiest, and most memorable meals of the year. And the total cost, plus a local beer to accompany, was about the equivalent of four dollars.

Honorable Mention: Fried scorpions. It’s not so much the flavor or texture—both of which were milder than one might imagine—but the badass factor of having eaten a scorpion.

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Related Reading: 5 Reasons to Visit Beijing’s Wangfujing Snack Street

4. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Alexander Keith’s India Pale Ale

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Nova Scotia’s Alexander Keith brewery. Great brewery tour

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It’s one of those facts you don’t even bother to confirm, when enough people tell you that Halifax has the most breweries per capita in…the world? Canada? North America? Whatever it is, the hyperbole seems warranted, and a place with that much love of beer must produce some seriously good suds. Plus it’s Canada, eh? And while the actual fact above might never have been confirmed, the beer, brewery tour, and beeramisu served at Alexander Keith’s old, waterfront brewery was all officially confirmed to be worthy of a spot on the list.

Honorable Mention: Vachon Snacks. Yes, this is nepotism, but these snack cakes and I share a name, so…

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Related Reading: Why International Grocery Shopping is the Best Food Tour

5. Glasgow, Scotland: Indian Food

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Whenever I’m in Glasgow, I always make sure to have a meal at Mother India Cafe. It’s one of my favorite restaurants ever. Tonight was my first time in the Edinburgh location, and it was everything I needed after pushing my luggage up the hill to the hotel. #eeeeeats #indianfood #motherindiacafe #foodandwine #food52 #foodandtravel #eater #feastagram #forkyeah #f52grams #bonappetit #traveleats #travelgram #feedfeed #noleftovers #indulgenteats #dinner #shotoniphone #smallplates #edinburgh #scotland #uk #latergram #cessemiabroad #cessemieats

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This was one of the biggest surprises, when my typical search for food recommendations turned up mostly Indian cuisine on a top ten list for Glasgow. A friend recommended Mother India’s Cafe in Kelvingrove with the edict that if I were to eat only one meal in Glasgow it should be this one. (To reiterate: if I only have one meal in Scotland it better be this? Intriguing…) And now that I’ve had the brightest, freshest, liveliest Indian cuisine of my life, whose freshly ground spices very well sang to me in their splendor, all other Indian restaurants are now ruined. I guess I’d better line up India for 2020. Thanks, Scotland.

Honorable Mention: Scotch whisky. Because, Scotland. (Haggis? Turns out it’s about as exotic as meatloaf.)

6. Belize: Breakfast Tacos

Pamela Vachon

It’s not that these simple, rolled, chicken and beef tacos are the best tacos I’ve ever eaten, even with savory tortillas right from the press. It’s not even so much that they were even the tastiest morsels I had in Belize; truly, the pillowy pupusas, technically a dish native to El Salvador, are what causes me to dream of San Pedro. But I’m standing on principle here, because BREAKFAST TACOS. This is not a drill. You order them in sets of three. And douse them in gasoline—that is—habanero hot sauce. And eat them for breakfast.

Honorable Mention: Chinese food. I cannot fully explain this. Apparently the Chinese community controls most of the grocery stores in Belize. And I had just been in China two months prior, but this was really damn good Chinese food.

Related Reading: 2 Days in Belize

7. Prague, Czech Republic: Steak Tartare

Pamela Vachon

In a country where not much English is spoken, the bartender who took my order immediately rounded up a server with a little English ability to confirm that I knew what I was doing. My guess is that they’ve dealt with Americans who latched onto the word “steak” and went for it without context, only to be aghast at the very raw nature of the dish. But no, I knew very well what I was getting into, and in fact I was getting into it as my first meal off of the plane, without having even dropped off my luggage at the AirBnb, since I had learned that steak tartare was a THING TO DO in Prague. And thus I was rewarded with a transcendent version: a gooey egg yolk suspended in a generous mound of rosy ribeye, with condiments on the side to mix to my individual taste. Along with mainstays like mustard and onions were staple spices in Czech cuisine: paprika and caraway, rocketing this steak tartare into a thing of legend. Not to mention the accompanying toast: thick slices of brown bread that had been fried in beef fat, along with whole cloves of garlic to rub them with.

Honorable Mention: Pilsner. It’s like you’d think they invented the stuff.

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Related Reading: Fairytale Food to Bring Home for a Taste of Prague

8. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Dinner at Vianda

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In an effort to make you have a memorable lunch we decided to put ramen noodles in your bowl of Tom Kha ‘bacalao’. ONLY FOR LUNCH! #viandapr

A post shared by Vianda (@vianda_pr) on Nov 6, 2019 at 7:27am PST

Still reeling from devastation, it is a testament to Puerto Rico and its triumphant spirit that my top choice from this trip was not any of its hearty, humble dishes such as mofongo, but was a meal at a fine dining restaurant that nonetheless sprung up in Hurricane Maria’s wake. Vianda has attracted much attention in its short life for its global, elegant approach to home-grown products and dishes. Menus change seasonally, but standouts from my visit included a melon gazpacho, pig fries (you read that correctly), and “Tom Kha” bacalao.

Honorable Mention: Coquito. In the spirit of full disclosure, this was a coquito frosty, acquired in a moment of needing to find comfort food for a fellow traveler. But sorry/not sorry on this one. 

9. Lima, Peru: Suspiro de Limeña

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Speaking of fine dining, Lima holds the distinction of having two of the world’s ten best restaurants according to an annual ranking sponsored by San Pellegrino. In spite of this, I was most moved by a local pudding, born of the marriage of a pastry chef and a poet. Suspiro de Limeña, meaning “sigh of the lady,” is basically butterscotch pudding topped with a port-spiked meringue. Need I go further?

Honorable Mention: Ceviche. All the ceviche. All the time. All the variations. And a pisco sour.

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Related Reading: Chicha Morada: How to Enjoy This Iconic Peruvian Drink

10. Marrakech, Morocco: Mint Tea

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| stara godina | #thebestcoffeeintown #goodmorning #marrakech #minttea #love #blue #turquoise #colorsofmarrakech #lastdayof2019 #couples #travel #riadalmoulouk #marrakechstyle #morroco

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Inside the ancient, walled medina of Marrakech is a cacophony of sights, sounds, and smells all competing for your attention at once. So it’s no wonder that its most ubiquitous beverage has a calming effect, even while holding on the alcohol. If you’ve ever steeped a few fresh mint leaves in hot water and colored yourself impressed, Morocco is here to show you what you’re missing, in a sweetened, layered version of events that rightfully requires a bit of showmanship and ceremony to pour.

Honorable Mention: Snails. Listen, if some eight-year-old sitting with his mom can do it, so can I. And…turns out they were garlicky and delicious.

11. Oaxaca, Mexico: Tostada de Insectos

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A post shared by Alejandro Ruiz Olmedo (@chef.alexruiz) on Aug 7, 2018 at 12:08pm PDT

Does that look like it says “insect tostada?” Well, it does. I would like to chalk this one up not as the tastiest thing I ate, but perhaps as the proudest. Many cultures count a variety of insects as delicacies, or even everyday foodstuffs, and not the “I dare you” food challenges that they might be to an unaccustomed American. In Oaxaca, a bowl of fried crickets serves as a crunchy, salty snack; if you weren’t looking, you’d think it was just seasoned, puffed rice. The occasional worm is just another interesting component for texture and flavor in a composed salad, or toasted and ground into spiced salt as a garnish for mezcal.

But just when you think you’re getting the hang of it, along comes this tostada, garnished with every crawly thing all at once. It’s definitely a little mind over matter going in, but you know what? At the end of the day it was just a crunchy, multi-faceted tostada with a hint of a somewhat unfamiliar umami note, but here it is on my best of-list. (And this in another region known for its cheese. Which was also on the tostada.)

Honorable Mention: Mezcal. Especially while enjoyed with a view of agave fields.

12. Lisbon, Portugal: Pasteis de Nata

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☕

A post shared by Pastéis de Belém® (@pasteisbelem) on Oct 8, 2018 at 9:00am PDT

These rich and delicate custard tarts in puff pastry have slowly but surely been making their way into American bakeries, but I resisted them all year knowing Lisbon was on the itinerary, and I could have them for the first time at the spot that made them famous, Pasteis de Belém, where they were served warm, and with the opportunity for Port. (Pro tip: Get the plate of six.)

Honorable Mention: Goan cuisine. Portugal had a presence on the Indian subcontinent for 450 years, and while colonialism is so last century, sometimes the culinary fusion is still favorable.

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