foods I missed from England

It seemed only fair to do a follow up post to foods I missed from the states, because as great some aspects of American cuisine was, there was much I missed from England. Much of these were unexpected, things I hadn't really paid much attention to before my time away, and gave me reasons to be thankful on most occasions since when I have consumed them. I guess its true what they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder!


So without further ado...

• Yogurt - maybe this was just me being tight, but Greek yogurt, specifically low-far Greek yogurt, seemed so expensive over there and just not at all the same. Personally I didn't enjoy the texture as much, but I guess its what you are used to. Either way, I was glad to be home to buy cheap yogurt again!

• Mushrooms - on a similar note, I only brought mushrooms once in 10 months as they seemed so darn expensive! This didn't matter too much as there was so many other interesting vegetables available I don't get at home, but they were one of the first items I picked up when I got home!

• Sandwiches, especially Boots meal deals - I got so sick of huge portions of crazy, rich food while I was over there. Even just trying to pick up some lunch on the go seemed to be a challenge.  I was so glad to be back and be able to just have a simple humble sandwich for lunch. Even more so when it was a Boots meal deal - sandwich, snack and a drink for 2/3.29? Yes please!

• Mackerel - I missed this fish soooo much. I know I probably could have found it somewhere in America, but every supermarket I looked in did not stock it, apart from Whole Foods where it was so ridiculously expensive I couldn't bring myself to do it. (I'm noticing a pattern here, maybe I am just tight!) I missed it so much my Dad actually brought me about ten tins over when he came to visit. Bless him, hes the best!

• Easy, enjoyable grocery shopping - At home, grocery shopping is one of my favourite chores. Scratch that, I don't even see it as a chore, its just one of my favourite things to do. I love cooking, I love food and I love shopping, so I guess it makes sense. Grocery shopping in America made me want to die. I never thought I would agree with Karl Pilkington, but too much choice can be a bad thing. This was typified for me in bread selection. Over here, when your looking for a wholemeal loaf your choice is pretty much limited to brands, with the occasional extras of seeds or oats, thick or thin sliced. Over there, choosing bread was a chore in itself. I really don't think this is a case of me preferring what I am used to, it was downright ridiculous! Low calorie, low carb, low fat, double protein  whole wheat, whole what classic, whole grain, twelve grain, healthy grain, double fibre, grains and more double fibre, health nut... I could go on! Even I could not handle this style of shopping, and groceries really did become a dreaded chore.

• 'Regular' sodium levels - one of the things that most struck me most when I returned home was just how bland and downright weird food tasted and soon realised only a generous sprinkle of salt could remedy this. This really shocked me; I didn't add salt to my food in America or even eat that much processed foods, but still somehow my palate had become used to such a higher quantity of sodium. It was a real unpleasant struggle to cut this back down, but so glad I have!

It would be interesting to hear if any international readers out there have heard of any of these products or felt a need my observations in their life? Let me know!