Lately I’ve been turning to Tuna and pouting. He knows that means I’m missing our Miami/Brazil trip. Our trip was awesome.

In Miami, we went on a boat tour in the Everglades and saw real live alligators!

And in Brazil we did lots of site-seeing and climbed up Corcovado.

Oh, I also stuffed my face with delicious salty breads, flavorful meat, and stiff drinks.

When we got home, I reluctantly weighed myself with one eye closed. I was thinking it would be about +7or 8 lbs. I peeked at the scale, and frowned in disbelief! I only gained half a pound throughout our entire trip. We did walk a lot and – we did sweat a lot.

Lesson learned: you aren’t going to blow up and die if you indulge and eat everything in sight once in a while.

It was also nice to be reminded of certain foods I haven’t utilized in awhile by the restaurants we went to and the meals served by our hosts.

Tuna’s sister whipped up a fruit smoothie for us that I’ve already made a bunch of times since I’ve been home.

Tropical Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup strawberries
• 1/3 cup blueberries
• 1 banana
• 1/3 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1 cup apple juice
• 4 ice cubes

Another lesson learned: trying new foods doesn’t have to be scary. If you try something and don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it.

I tried a shit ton of new foods on the trip. And I actually liked…..some of them.

I genuinely liked, would make for myself, and enjoyed eating:

• green curry
• fried yucca
• mango

• chicken empanadas

• white beans
• guava paste
• figs
• pecan pie

• farofa
• päo de queijo
• pipoca
• churrascaria
• cachaça

Ok, not my favorite, but edible:

• feijoada
• collard greens

I did not like; no thanks:

• goat cheese
• kielbasa
• creamed kale
• airplane food
• guaraná (soda)
• mushrooms
• papaya
• ham
• sweet potato soup
• ground beef empanadas

25 new foods tried, only 1 million to go!

What’s a lesson you learned while traveling?