I Eat Therefore I Am

There is something about being away from home that makes the tastes of home all the more glorious. Over the last few weeks I have been finding ways to satisfy my American palette. As much as I truly relish the sensual delicacies of Bahian cuisine—from a steaming pot of muqueca to your standard ration of feijão tropeiro, carne do sol, rice and vegetables—my tongue is panging for something else, something closer to home.


For the most part, I think that the typical American diet is a crime. While there is a greater variety of food options at our finger tips, most of them involve hyper processed foods, bread dipped in fat, over-saturated selections that lack any nourishment or appeal. Unlike the Brazilians who thrive on a diet rich in protein, vegetables, and carbs, Americans have no staple. If one could be named our staple is the franchise, the fast food nation, the industry of chemicals, Colonel Sanders, and fuck the French fries. The formula rings foul when what is cheap is accessible, and what is accessible is bad for you. Healthy natural unprocessed foods simply cost more, and there are few options when it comes to a reasonable diet.

That said, I continue to pang for some of my hometown favorites here in Brazil. Lately, I have fallen in love with munching on Twix bars, which I buy in a pharmacy close to work. Strangely, the flavors from home seem to taste better, not because they are made differently, but because they remind me of life back home. In the States, I was never a big fan of peanut butter. Here, peanut butter is a rare thing, a delicacy that not only tastes good, but that somehow defines me as American. When I bite into that processed caramel center, or that sugary vortex of peanuts, I am transported back home, and reminded who I really am.

Recently, my friend James brought me a care package of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Fat Tire Colorado beer. Oh my dear lordy lord. I ate two huge bags of the cereal in under two days. The Fat Tire, twas the most savory of them all. There is something about drinking piss beer for an entire year that makes real beer all the more glorious.