"A healthy attitude is contagious but don't wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier."
*Tom Stoppard
Coming to the UAE, I really didn't know what to expect as far as food was concerned. Upon receiving my job offer, I decided that I wanted to get in shape in all aspects, but especially physically, before the start of my new journey. However, this thought quickly developed into the act of, "let me eat all of my favorite fatty foods AND go out to eat at ALL of my favorite restaurants STAT!" Being a southern girl, I figured my taste buds wouldn't get the same pleasure of say biting into a slab of pork barbecue ribs, tasting my grandma's drop butter biscuits, or indulging in my sister's creamy and cheesy baked macaroni with the crusty pan edges, once I moved away. This was the one time in life that I assumed I would turn into a picky eater. I soon found out that I would be wrong in more ways than one.
When I first arrived, I had a limited amount of funds to my name until a later time frame, so I was in legit survival mode; I'm talking noodles, peanut butter and jelly, basically anything that would keep me from going hungry. I was thankful and pleasantly surprised that my school thought enough of me to provide me with at least the bare necessities of eating to get me through until 1) I could get some money, and 2) I could go to the store. My refrigerator included things like, milk, eggs, bread, butter, fruit (apples, bananas, strawberries, and grapes), juice and water; my cabinet had items like coffee (which is still sitting there because I don't drink coffee), tea, sugar, and peanut butter. The American money that I came with was traded in for UAE dirhams and I quickly found out that it wouldn't be enough considering the pricing.
My first trip to the grocery store was a complete cultural shock! I remember going up and down the aisles and fussing with myself aloud as I noticed that a pack of meat seemed to be the price of say maybe buying the entire cow. But I didn't take into consideration "dirhams" and not "dollars".
The suburban area where my school is located and where I live has two stores within a one mile walking distance: "The Sharjah Co-Op (Which I did not know stands for Cooperative Society) and "The Carrefour Market".
The Sharjah Co-Op is open for 24 hours. It reminds me of a store back home called "Kroger".
These are examples of some of the pricing. We are currently celebrating Ramadan Kareem here, so everything is on special.
The Sharjah Co-Op has food and everyday personal and household items.
The Carrefour is a popular chain of stores here that reminds me of "Walmart" because they sell things from food and cleaning products to big screen televisions and clothes ( I can do an entire blog on this store!). Located through out the area are Carrefour markets, which are smaller versions of the mega store.
OK. So with all of that being said, buying groceries in this country is not a hard concept to comprehend. The quality of food here is (by a matter of opinion) some of the best of the world. Everything is fresh and you don't have to worry about to many artificial ingredients. These are meals I cooked at home using the little stove I showed you all from a previous post.
For all my fruits and veggies eaters, you have your options when it comes to purchasing some of your favorites; some fruits and vegetables and spices may be higher than others because of import, while others may be cheaper because they are considered a local item. Shopping at your average grocery store here is like going to a random farmer's market back home. They provide a wide range of different fruits and vegetables from a variety of different places. You would think everything taste the same, but there are different taste depending on the region.
I admit, was lazy many of days and opted for the convenience of online ordering from McDonald's and Pizza Hut or calling in to Chow King or even ordering using Whats App to this Lebanese restaurant that left a flyer on my door step one day.
Although I have fallen off due to too many excuses, my meal prep experience here is good. I meal prep to help me stay on track with eating healthy instead of grabbing the first fast food meal or junk food that's available. Teaching and planning in general are both tiresome activities, so adding with the hot weather here, and you have one exhausted educator by the time I walk my 2 minutes home! So basically, if you so don't shop for food and cook it, you will call in for food or go eat out.
But when I meal prep, IT WORKS! And that meal prep starts with grocery shopping.
So you see, for all of you who are wondering what healthy eating is like here, at least in the emirate where I live, you have no worries. I haven't gone hungry YET!
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