Eats from China!

I can't believe my 5-week trip to China has come and gone and that I'm currently in New York city looking for an apartment! Brett and I traveled throughout different cities in western China this past month and it was quite an adventure. We saw 7 different cities, did some hiking, squeezed in a few runs, took 11 hour bus rides through the mountains, and also traveled to one of the cities via a TWO day train ride. You can just imagine how great a shower felt after two days in a crowded train, smelling Chinese food all day and using squatty potties. It's all just a part of the adventure right?!

Last but not least we ate delicious food throughout our travels! China is such an amazing place for people who try to eat a plant based diet. There are outdoor markets all over with tons of fresh fruits, veggies, tofu, fermented things, etc. I've loved the inspiration I've gotten for recipes as I've walked through the different markets and tasted new foods. Today I'll share with you some of the staple foods we ate throughout our trip. (You can also follow me on Instagram @theconscientiouseater to see what food I'm eating around the world or cooking in the kitchen.)

Breakfast were mostly eaten in our hotel room. While I love trying out new foods, I don't like eating every meal out , so I brought oatmeal with me to eat most mornings. It was fun to try out different flavor combinations with all the fruit that was available! One great thing about China is that most hotels and restaurants serve freshly made soy milk in the mornings so sometimes I was able to eat my oatmeal cold as museli. Yeah, this China is perfect for me.

Lunch usually cost Brett and I less than $3 total! I ate a lot of noodle soups. The flavor of the broth there is amazing! And the spice made my nose run every time. Just the way I like it! Some other lunch staples were vegetable fried rice, vegetable dumplings, and large plates of chewy noodles...all of which are often followed by fruit.

Dinners were quite varied. Many nights locals would take us out to dinner and order lots of different dishes for us to try family style. Every time there was rice and vegetable soup as the staples and usually some other vegetable dishes and boiled peanuts. It was easy to pass up the meat dishes because of all the vegetable dishes.

Snacks were always random. Corn on the cob and baked potatoes dipped in chili spices were sold lots of places and both are amazing. Brett and I also found some grocery stores that sold dates and peanut butter, so those two things combined happen often too. Raw almonds and fruit were other staples!

I can't wait to be moved into our new apartment  in New York so I can get back in the kitchen again. All the different food we ate during our time in China gave me so much inspiration. It will also be nice to control the amount of oil I cook with! Brett and I also took a cooking class right before we left China so I'll be sharing one or two of those recipes with you all soon!


Have you ever been to China?


What is the best food you've eaten overseas?

Eat consciously,

Faith