Hey everyone! As a continuation from my last post of my random-unplanned-you would be crazy not to go for that price-trip to Lisbon I thought I would share some of my foodie highlights with you all.
Lisbon was beautiful! In terms of food I only bought fresh produce and ate all raw the whole time. I was surprised that I was able to give up my daily almond milk tea lattes (the only non-raw food I really have daily) and just enjoy fresh food! I was able to locate an organic grocery store 5 minutes from where I was staying and I even went to an organic farmer’s market one Saturday morning. It was amazing to buy fresh tomatoes and eat them 2 minutes later with lunch!
I know many of you may be shocked when I say this but I did not eat one single meal out. I definitely ate outside totally chilled out on a park bench enjoying my food but never in a restaurant. I had every intention to check out one of the many vegetarian restaurants but it just never happened.
Maybe it was because…
a) I was craving and consuming a lot fruit on this trip. I don’t remember a time where I’ve eaten so much fruit!
b) I didn’t feel like heavy lunches and was content with an avocado, some basil and tomatoes and of course dark chocolate.
c) Dinner was simple too and since I had a kitchen at my disposal and an organic grocery store that made every effort to only carry fresh local produce I figured I would be doing myself a disservice by eating out (not really I just never felt like restaurant food!).
So in a strange way I think I really enjoyed what Lisbon had to offer in terms of real food. I tasted the sweetest strawberries, blueberries, cherries, plums, tomatoes and avocadoes! I didn’t even feel like dressing or salt for my lunch veggies. The sweetness of the fresh vegetables was perfect. I never thought I would be content with such a simple lunch. Even though I eat a salad every day for lunch in my ‘regular’ life I always add lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, dulse, cayenne and nutritional yeast or some other dressing. While in Lisbon, I needed none of that to make my meal satisfying. I guess I ate to sustain myself and the food sustained me!
Sometimes I feel we use food as a distraction to life; a way to spice up our lives without ever having to really change anything. I did a lot of writing and reflecting and re-connecting to myself on this trip since I was solo. Perhaps I was able to truly live and not need the extra stimulants I normally have on a daily basis. Now my new task is to incorporate what I learned while away into my daily life 🙂
Here are a few of my foodie pics and beautiful, sunny, and fresh Lisbon. Enjoy!
~Michelle
