Great Minds Eat Alike: Nadia’s Tips on Travel

We started our Great Minds Eat Alike series in order to mix up the usual BGSK offerings with interviews and submissions by cooks and eaters whose mentality towards cooking and eating meshes with ours. Today we are incredibly excited to bring you a great guide and a delicious recipe from a fellow quarter-life blogger, Nadia Tuma.

Nadia is the author of Where 5th Avenue Meets Waverly Place. With the tagline, “making my world healthier, happier, and more free through food,” we knew we’d like Nadia from the first moment she got in touch, and we were thrilled to have her contribute tips for cooking healthfully in a twosome back in July. We’re lucky enough to have her back today with her anecdotes, tips, and thoughts on eating while traveling-one of our favorite pastimes! (For more on that, scroll through our Big Girls, Global Kitchens archives.)

–Cara and Phoebe, THE QUARTER-LIFE COOKS

**Nadia’s Tips on Travel**

We “big girls” love to experience new places, people, and cultures, which means we travel as much as possible! Whether it’s a weekend getaway in Mexico or a 3 week yoga retreat in Bali, there is always a new place to discover. Of course, an integral part of travel is immersing oneself in the cuisine and food culture of a place. While we’re just a few years away from being top brass in our respective industries (we hope!), we still want to find ways to reduce costs when eating on our trips. Here are a few tricks I’ve picked up during my travels that have fed me well and kept my wallet full:

Eat breakfast like a local: In most cultures, the first meal of the day is not the caloric investment it is in the United States. Keep your largest meal for dinner, and instead eat the way the locals do. In Italy for instance, breakfast is a cappuccino and a small pastry. In Middle Eastern countries, it’s hummus, pita, and strong coffee. You get to eat the traditional meal of the culture, which is oftentimes the best version of the food you’ve ever tasted, and it’s likely to be the cheapest thing on the menu.

Plan for one or two splurges: Not every meal needs to be a production, nor should you eat like a monk while on vacation! Plan for one or two really nice meals, but make sure you know they’ll be great. Nothing is worse than over-spending on a lousy meal. Ask the locals, people you trust who have spent time there, or reference a reliable guide book. Then go all out and really indulge in some fine dining.

Go to the market: Some of the best meals I’ve had on trips are the ones cobbled together from the local markets. The food is unbelievably fresh, full of flavor, and unique to the specific location. Plus, it’s fun! Wandering through stalls, meeting the vendors, seeing the offerings – it’s like a cultural lesson and delicious tasting menu all in one! Food from local markets is often inexpensive and the experience that comes with it is priceless.

Grab and go lunch: There is nothing like walking through the cobblestone streets of the South of France eating ham and butter on baguette or watching the bustle of Vietnamese street life while crouching over a hot bowl of spicy noodles. Lunch options are usually a casual affair. Try options that don’t require a sit-down restaurant, and instead get your lunch to go. You’ll be amazed at what different places serve in portable form. Who wants to miss out on what’s going on in the streets anyway?

Or don’t: Many very good restaurants offer wonderful lunch prix fixe deals that are a better bet than dinner. Enjoy a long, leisurely, multi-course lunch at a good restaurant – it feels indulgent! In fact, many cultures in Europe habitually take 2 hours for lunch. Then, for dinner, select a light option like salad. Check restaurant websites when planning your trip so you can make a lunch reservation ahead of time. Extra points if you sit outside!

Get creative: One of the most memorable meals I’ve had was a simple picnic in the Luxembourg Gardens of Paris. We went to a gourmet market to buy baguette, cheese, fresh fruit, and mini bottles of champagne to enjoy on the grounds of the gardens. We weren’t the only ones with this brilliant idea, which added to the jovial feel of the meal.

-Nadia Tuma