The Food Situation...a.k.a. What Everyone is too Polite to Ask me

Hello Everyone.

So I am guessing that anyone who knows me well is wondering what I am finding to eat here.   (For anyone who doesn't already know, I am a SUPER picky eater and also eat very small meals...I graze throughout the day).

Well...let me tell you, it has been interesting.  I first noticed that Spaniards eat a lot!!!  So everyone including Paula and my host senora has worried about how little I eat.  Other than that, I think I have been doing fairly well.  I have tried almost everything my host senora has made us for dinner, though there were more than several things I did not like.  Good thing she has a "If you don't like it, leave it" policy. Mari Paz really has been great about everything!

So far, we have had (for dinner/dessert):  noodle soup with vegetables, pasta soup, garbanzo bean soup, bean soup, crema - made with potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes, and carrots- regular pasta with sauce, salads, pasta with Alfredo sauce, fried ham with cheese in the middle, chicken croquets, chicken hot dogs, hard-boiled eggs in a sauce, paella with chicken and vegetables, rice, fish sticks, breaded chicken, tortilla espanola, tortilla con queso, ice cream, these odd cookie things, melon, yogurt, pudding, bananas with chocolate sauce, ice cream cones (the equivalent of a drumstick), bananas, lemon muffins, flan, turkey and cheese sandwiches (picnic that my host mom packed), little cakes (like a hostess product), plums, peaches, apples, and bread (with every meal).  This seems like a lot, but many of these items were doubled up to make a multiple course meal.  So far my favorites are the two noodle soups and paella!  Plus the ice cream here is great and I also love the yogurt and the lemon muffins my senora made!  Oh and we always drink water at dinner.


I am actually eating a decent amount at mealtime (for me anyway - someone else would eat more) and trying to eat more and more of the food and be less picky, but I am never able to finish the portions, even though my host senora knows I eat very little and gives me less.  As her policy is to never throw away food and as there have been several things this week that I was not a fan of but the other girls loved, I think she is getting kind of frustrated with me but trying not to show it.  She is trying her best to accommodate me, but it's difficult for both of us. She has asked my roommates what's going on and they tell me she is worried about me.  I've told her that I eat very little in the states as well, but that doesn't seem to help...which kind of makes sense - I'd probably feel the same way if I were her.

My roommates say I need to stop eating bread and butter and eat more of what is cooked for me.  I am trying to do that, but today for example, we had pasta with Alfredo sauce and then fried ham with cheese inside.  I did not try the ham, but was given 3/4 of a plate full of pasta and ate about 1/2 of it and some bread, though I wasn't very hungry.  Normally in the US, I probably wouldn't eat much at all because I am not usually a fan of Alfredo sauce and that is more than enough pasta for a meal for me.  But here I'm trying harder to eat what is put in front of me, and I have been finding that the more I eat something, the easier it gets. Plus I often like Mari Paz's version of any dish better than a similar one I've had in the US.  She really is a good cook!  And some of her dishes are quite good, which is saying something when it comes from me - the majorly picky eater!

I absolutely love my host senora and feel guilty when I cannot/do not finish a meal (which is pretty much everyday because of portion size, if nothing else).  I hope she is not too upset with me.  And I know she is trying to accommodate me, but I feel bad that she has to do that.  I wish I had a normal diet and was able to enjoy more of the food she cooks - the other girls love pretty much all of it, and I wish I did too!  But there are definitely some dishes which by the end of the semester will be new favorites for me and I will be bringing home recipes to cook them back home!

Overall though, the eating situation has been going better than expected because I actually like a few dishes and others are okay (I am not trying to complain at all!).  Plus my senora has been really sweet and understanding about my eating habits (I am so thankful for that!) - I don't know what I would have done if she wasn't.  I'm really grateful to have this placement for that reason and many others.  Let's just hope my eating habits improve if I continue to do the best I can at mealtimes.

Peace and Blessings,
Melanie

Spanish Word of the Day:  comida = food, dieta = diet, cena = dinner :)