The Gap Year: French Food

I am a picky eater.

It's true.

I was a vegetarian for four ish years

I don't like bananas, apples, oranges (except clementines), pears, apricots, plums, peaches...lets' just say all fruits. I don't like peppers, mushrooms, onions, radishes, yogurt, ANYTHING seafood. I hardly ever eat pretzels, crackers, cereal, nuts....The list could go on and on. Basically, if its healthy, natural or sugar free, I don't like it.

Before France, I pretty much ate, Ramen, Mac n Cheese, pickles, cheese, salad ( I love vegetables thank goodness), cheetos, powerade, and A LOT (I mean A LOT) of Chocolate. If it was junky, I ate it.

There is no tolerance for picky eaters here I have quickly come to learn. Here, you are expected to eat everything on your plate and then wipe it clean with your bread. Ugh.

I've found that it is also completely impossible to be a foreigner and a vegetarian at the same time. There is simply too much meat. I've also noticed that they are not so vegetarian friendly here when it comes to ordering meals at restaurants. The dish comes "as is", no substitutions. So I've had to give that up as well. It wasn't healthy anyway I suppose, but I still am not a big fan of meat. And they don't have ketchup!! So, I choke it down, or mix it with other foods to help mask the taste.

This past month, I have eaten so many different foods, it's almost disgusting. I now like apples, peppers, fish, any and all kinds of meat (still bleh on that one), grapes, french cheese, mushrooms, turnips, chestnuts, nutella, qunioa, tomatoes, and anything else they see fit to put on my plate.

Don't get me wrong, they don't punish me if I don't eat it, but they expect me too, so I feel obliged.

And actually, I have liked most everything I've tried. I have eaten so many foods that I would never had touched back home. Back home, I would pick the potatoes and beans and carrots out of the soup. Now, I even drink the sauce. I have never been this adventurous with food, it's weird.

Yesterday, I ate Curry. Chicken with rice and onions and spinach. Tonight, I ate a potato, carrot and some kind of kale/lettuce soup, except it was all blended up like baby food. It looked disgusting at first, but I had two and a half bowls.

I eat normal stuff too, stuff I like, I mean. Rice, beans, salad. They only have one dressing here, "sauce" they call it. I decided, I never ever want ranch again in my entire life. Its dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, oil and salt and pepper. It's sweet and sour at the same time, and amazing with lettuce. I also have lots and lots of bread with is just OK with me, noodles, eggs, sandwiches, and stuff like that. It's not all foreign.

I did have a french version of a pancake on friday. I'm not sure if it was more like a crepe or french toast. Unlike American pancakes, it had eggs in it which made it have a little more substance. They don't use syrup either. They top it with jams and jellies (which I still refuse to eat) and eat them with their hands. Not quite sure that qualifies as a pancake, but it was mighty delicious so I kept quiet.

I will post some pictures, I realize these are bad examples of new things I've tried since they are mostly all junk food, but I don't really take pictures of my dinner since I don't want them to laugh at me. Here are somethings I've eaten so far. I am eating healthier I promise!!