Exotic Fruits & Veggies for Life - Costa Rica

The foods of Costa Rica are intoxicating with the vast array of vibrant colors and textures. They are inexpensive to buy and good for your health. A certain gal pal has lost quite a bit of weight since arriving and I've heard the same from others who move to Costa Rica.

The interesting thing about shopping in Costa Rica is that to get the best food and for the best prices you probably need to shop at several different places i.e fruits/veggies/meat/seafood. Of course there are regular grocery stores where you can go and buy all your food -- one-stop  shopping -- but what is the fun in that?

Below are some of what they purchased this past weekend. Sorry I can't give you the names of everything but they look good!

a sweet potato in a different color - lightly sweet

cross between a squash and a potato?
These are called Pejibaye which are a palm tree fruit. While they are a fruit they taste more like a cross between a squash and a walnut. They are often sold already cooked and are excellent to peel and eat with mayonnaise -- the tico way... they just eat them plain.

mangosteen

dragon fruit (made into a smoothie)

All that fruit and veggies... Plus a huge thing of agua de pipa, fresh and fresh OJ... $8 worth of avocados (expensive due to a stoppage of imports)...$46

above a type of cilantro that only grows in Costa Rica

the strange looking green veggie (below) is called chayote and it is a member of the gourd/squash family. Chayote is very popular in Central America and is often lightly cooked or served raw with salads. While it does not have much flavor, it is a very good source of amino acids and vitamin C. 

followed by a trip to purchase seafood which they bought 2 lbs of Mahi Mahi cut into pieces for tacos, ceviche, etc. 2 lbs of Red Snapper fillets.... And 2 lbs of shrimp. $32

Shopping should be a lot of fun. Can't wait!!