During a recent trip to Jamaica, I was struck by a food paradox. Despite the accessibility of deliciously fresh produce, there appeared to be an idealization of processed food, mostly shipped in from America. Every morning, the kids were served a variety of sugary American cereals before the adult breakfast of fresh fruit and eggs was served.
To the kids, it was heaven on earth- Nesquik, Trix, Frosted Flakes. For the first few days it was a free for all. They gorged on the variety of colorful and sickeningly sweet cereal. My 3 year old niece requested the cereal with the “orange circles in it” every morning. But after about 3 or 4 days, it was fascinating to see the allure of the sugar cereal begin to wane. The kids started asking for fruit and eggs, and some of them even skipped the “kids’ breakfast” and held out for the fresher, adult version.
Turns out, despite the exciting, nuclear colors found in a box of Trix, it’s a lot more fun (and tasty) to pick your own bananas and eat them directly from the tree.
By the end of the trip, my 3 year old son was asking for the pancake tree, convinced that everything in Jamaica came directly from a tree. It took some effort, but we finally persuaded the cook that we wanted to eat Jamaican food. We preferred fresh plantain chips to the bag of Doritos they had assumed we wanted. We tried a variety of new fruits and vegetables, and it became a fun adventure for the kids, even if they didn’t “like” everything they tried. This week, I will highlight a few of the fruits and vegetables we had during our trip. What felt like a lot of starchy fruits and vegetables, turn out to be nutritional powerhouses. Some examples include: coconut, plantain, cassava, breadfruit, callaloo, Jamaican yams and pimento berries. Stay tuned for details.
During a recent trip to Jamaica, I was struck by a food paradox. Despite the accessibility of deliciously fresh produce, there appeared to be an idealization of processed food, mostly shipped in from America. Every morning, the kids were served a variety of sugary American cereals before the adult breakfast of fresh fruit and eggs was served.
To the kids, it was heaven on earth- Nesquik, Trix, Frosted Flakes. For the first few days it was a free for all. They gorged on the variety of colorful and sickeningly sweet cereal. My 3 year old niece requested the cereal with the “orange circles in it” every morning. But after about 3 or 4 days, it was fascinating to see the allure of the sugar cereal begin to wane. The kids started asking for fruit and eggs, and some of them even skipped the “kids’ breakfast” and held out for the fresher, adult version.
Turns out, despite the exciting, nuclear colors found in a box of Trix, it’s a lot more fun (and tasty) to pick your own bananas and eat them directly from the tree.
By the end of the trip, my 3 year old son was asking for the pancake tree, convinced that everything in Jamaica came directly from a tree. It took some effort, but we finally persuaded the cook that we wanted to eat Jamaican food. We preferred fresh plantain chips to the bag of Doritos they had assumed we wanted. We tried a variety of new fruits and vegetables, and it became a fun adventure for the kids, even if they didn’t “like” everything they tried. This week, I will highlight a few of the fruits and vegetables we had during our trip. What felt like a lot of starchy fruits and vegetables, turn out to be nutritional powerhouses. Some examples include: coconut, plantain, cassava, breadfruit, callaloo, Jamaican yams and pimento berries. Stay tuned for details.