Fruit and Veggie Market

There is a small store right by my building that sells just fruits and vegetables.  I'm not sure of the name (see the picture with the name and you'll understand), and the cashier does not speak much English.  Regardless, it's one of my highlights during the week to go in and stimulate my visual and smelling senses to their fresh fruits and vegetables.  It reminds me of going to the farmer's markets back in the States.  Although most of the produce is not local, it is interesting to see where the produce is from ranging from parts of Asia to Australia, Europe and even the States (in  grocery stores).  Apparently, spinach, pomegranates and walnuts originated in Persia (Iran), and onions are also traced back to originating in the Middle East.  Now of course fruits and vegetables are grown almost all over the globe outside their original habitat. 

Lately I have been on a juicing spree, and so it is convenient to run down to the produce shop and grab some fruit and veggies.  My favorite combination as of late is carrots, apple, orange, ginger and mint leaves.  Yummmm.  This combination helped soothe my stomach when I was sick last week; ginger and mint are great for calming the stomach.

B + F Burgers and the Boardwalk

Wow, I have been in Kuwait for a month already!  For those who commented on my first post, I appreciate hearing from you.  A lot of people asked about running/exercising here.  I usually run at least once a day, sometimes twice.  There is a board walk on the Persian Gulf that is about 1 block away from my flat that is gorgeous during sunrise or sunset with a breeze coming off the water.  This picture is from the boardwalk I took one morning.  There is a great view of the skyline in Kuwait, and the architecture of the buildings is so unique and beautiful.  I also go to the gym at the Holiday Inn about 1 kilometer away.  They also have a nice outdoor pool area that has WIFI access, and I sometimes use for my "office" :-).

 Recently, I went to the restaurant Burger + Fries Open Flame Kitchen restaurant.  It is located in the 360 mall, which is hands down THE MOST GORGEOUS mall I have ever been to.  The architecture is unbelievable.  B + F is one of the "hip" places to eat, and it is always packed.  It has gotten good reviews, so again my expectations were high for the food quality.  The ambiance was groovy; it definitely is geared towards the younger crowd.  The menu had some good choices from grilled pizza, of course burgers, fries and other specialties.  I ended up ordering white fish with sweet potato (no surprise to those who know me- one of my favorites!).  Our table ordered a variety of food that we all sampled.  Over all, I was not at all impressed with the food.  The fries were unbelievably soggy with grease, hamburgers were just ok.  My fish was pretty good, but nothing creative about it.  The bruschetta appetizer was good, but again nothing special or unique about it.  The quail cigars appetizers were unique, but they tasted frozen and blah.  The wood fired pizza crust was paper thin and undesirable texture.

So, the hunt continues for some quality, not grease ladden healthy food in Kuwait.  It amazes me how many restaurants there are...... lots more to try.  Until next time......   



  

Initial Observations in Kuwait

Well, this is a little late as I have been in Kuwait 3 weeks already, but better late than never.  My desire for this blog is so family and friends around the world can see what's going on in "my world": the dining scene of Kuwait.  Also, I want to get feedback from locals on their thoughts/opinions about certain nutrition/food topics that come up.

So, doing my dietitian work over seas has its perks for sure....part of my job here is actually to taste the food and get familiar with the food preferences of people here (this includes trying new restaurants).  What I've first observed so far is the vast majority of people go out to eat here- A LOT.  There are SOOOOO many restaurants here (fast food, casual, fine dining) and many are chains from the states or Europe.  Also, mayo and sauces are very popular here and get loaded on.  Kuwait actually has the highest rate of obesity in the Arab countries, with an astounding 80% obesity rate according to an Arab Times article.     

My interest is with so many restaurants, which ones have healthy options, and are people eating them?  I know at least some people here are health conscious and probably wanting some healthy options while dining out. Yet, maybe it's like this Huff Post article's title says "Fast Food Health Improvements Don't Really Work Because People Keep Ordering Burgers".  Interesting read.

There are many food blogs in Kuwait rating the newest restaurants.  My take is going to be different in that I don't really care how tasty the greasy fries and saucy burgers are.  I am looking for the healthier/lighter options and seeing how they taste and what they are. 

Thanks for reading this first post....... until next time...... let me know if there's anywhere you think I should go!