The Chilean Diet

Meat, fruit and vegetables.

On the day I arrived my mother asked me what I like to eat for breakfast. So I started listing off the usuals: eggs, toast, fruit, bacon, juice, coffee. Betty made all of those things for me the next morning. Actually, she´s made all of those things each morning since I got here.

There´s always some sort of fruit with every meal. Apples, bannanas, peaches, kiwi and, most frequently, watermelon. Fruit is a comon dessert here in chile, often served with honey or ice cream.

Dinners are feasts. Last night, for example, I ate steak over brown rice, a bowl of chicken soup, bread, a pizza type thing with cheese, tomatoes, olives and herbs, and a salad (and fruit for desert, of course). And there´s always the question "do you want anything else." This comes after the dinner table is cleared and I´m slouching sluggish in my seat with my belt unbuckled. "No thank you," I typically say. "What more could you posibly give me?"

I´m eating a lot, but the diet is healthy. You have to go out of your way to get junk food.