When we set off for the US back in June, we had the intention of eating as well as we did at home. We gave it a little thought, but sometimes it’s not until you’re in a specific situation do you know what the best solution would be. Such as: When you’re in a nowhere town with only a Dennys* in sight, what do you do?
Whilst we certainly tripped up a little on our way around the SW USA, we did manage to maintain a firm base of real food in our diets. In every city we visited, I hopped online to find the closest Whole Foods and once there, we stocked up on items we’d heard about and wanted to try plus an array of the seasonal fresh produce. As we drove off, we had nutritious foods galore encapsulated in a cool box and more bursting out of a bag on the back seat. On the hottest days in Arizona, munching on fat blueberries which burst sweetly across your tongue was the closest we’d come to feeling truly hydrated. Well, that and ironically the occasional icedtallamericano which I looked out for in every sizable town (“They must have a branch here! The map has the town in bold print!”). In towns where only fast food signs glowered above our heads we came up with some of our favorite salad combinations, such as bite sized pieces of romaine topped with blueberries (we were buying them by the kilo), flaked almonds and goats cheese with a little lemon zest folded in. Some times we just ate plain avocado with citrus juices dribbled over it, and munched on bulbously round raspberries for dessert. They were so fresh they needed no augmentation to be enjoyed, although we did on occasion add a handful of Kashi Cinnamon Harvest to them for breakfast.
Over the weeks we were away we did a fair amount of hiking in the national parks, and after a five hour hike in the desert near Tucson with only warming water to hand, we were nothing short of ecstatic to find coconut water available to stock up on in so many supermarkets thereafter. After various hikes in northern Arizona and southern Utah we’d march as quickly as we could back to the car to rip the cooler open and down one of these. I was once told that if you get a dehydrated, drink a can of lemonade or similar. This definitely beats that idea! The performance of the coconut water was as such that within minutes we felt bright and happy again. Not to mention it felt good in our stomachs afterward – something a can of refined cane sugared water could never claim.
Last but not least, we also ate at our first raw cafe. Since we started playing around with raw recipes looking specifically to vary the salads and soups in our repertoire, we were curious as to what a Raw Meal would be like. We both found our meals to be nut heavy and a little too solid for our personal tastes, but were so grateful for the fresh juices it didn’t seem to matter all that much. I am still very much looking forward to eating at Pure Food & Wine at some point in the future, having read Sarma’s new book as we drove across the very fine, super sunny, ever fun USA.
* Whilst Dennys food may not be the be all and end all, I have to give credit where credit is due – their waitresses have never been short of accommodating over the years we’ve somehow found ourselves there, in random small towns countrywide.