floridories #3: foodstuffs

as anyone who knows me knows, one of my favourite things about trips to the states is the food. more specifically, the junk food. and one of the best benefits of spending a week in a condo with a full kitchen is the opportunity to sample foods that require a fridge, freezer or stove -- namely, stuff i wouldn't be able to eat (or store) on a day trip or short visit at a hotel.

and florida did not disappoint. one of the first things i picked up was a bag of the new "sweet & spicy BBQ" flavour of sun chips. never heard of that flavour? neither had i, until i stumbled upon it on day one of our trip. i really like sun chips, and the chips seemed like they would make for the perfect mid-afternoon-while-we-watch-ellen snack. (and they did!)

next up: starbucks ice cream! we don't have starbucks ice cream in canada (WTF?), so we always try to grab at least a pint whenever we're in the U.S. my all-time favourite flavour, mocha cookie-crumble frappuccino, wasn't available, so we settled for a pint each of caramel macchiato and mocha frappucino. the caramel one turned out to be meh (too much vanilla), but the mocha was delish. the perfect snack-time accompaniment to the sun chips.

though our experience with target popcorn was not great on our last florida visit -- one batch had been doubly salted, making it inedible; another bag seemed to be microwave popcorn -- we tried again. we had better luck this trip, but the quality still wasn't quite what it used to be years ago. and it was still quite salty.

know what goes nicely with target popcorn, though? sweets' orange sticks and raspberry sticks (another product we don't have north of the border). mom would routinely eat one stick of each flavour before our morning walks, just to boost her energy and prevent low blood sugar. chilled in the fridge, they are a refreshing and delightful treat.

on a healthier note, i opted to try a kashi frozen dinner one night. now, kashi and i have never had a great relationship -- every product of theirs that i've tried, from cereal to granola bars, has been akin to tree bark and lawn clippings. dry, flavourless, harsh. but something about their array of frozen entrées (again, not sold in canada), and their "mayan harvest bake," drew me in. in hindsight, it was likely the promise of consuming something moderately healthy amid the ocean of crap.

anyway...

that frozen dinner was the first kashi product i've eaten that i didn't hate. it was essentially a vegetarian chili on polenta, with chunks of sweet potato and sprinkled with pumpkin seeds. its major misfire, though, were the plantains. much too sweet and with flavours that didn't complement the rest of the slop in the serving tray. (unfortunately, the meal looked gross and very slop-like when cooked. nothing at all like the photo on the box!)

we didn't dine out often but, when we did, it was at chain restaurants. the olive garden for their amaretto tiramisu, the cheesecake factory for their cajun chicken littles, IHOP for their pancakes and syrup carousel. all good.

and i must point out that we did eat healthy things at least one each day. we had a slew of FABULOUS mangoes, some great avocados, apples, bananas, organic yogurt, and deliciously spicy scrambled eggs with even-more-delicious king's hawaiian rolls (yes, i know those aren't "healthy," but they're not overly UNhealthy).

an interesting epilogue: when i returned from florida, after having eaten as i always do in florida but without having gone swimming most days, i'd put on three pounds. (before you scoff, ask yourself how you'd react if you stepped on the scale and had suddenly gone up three pounds.) my mom, on the other hand, ate far more crap than i -- remember, she was there for an extra week, and often had pie for dinner! -- actually lost a pound.