How do you feed six people across five continents? We make great effort to appreciate the regional cuisine and try local dishes wherever we visit. It’s a huge part of the adventure. However, preparing a few ‘anchor meals’ in our routine helps us establish normalcy and comfort.

Cooking at our temporary homes often eases home sickness as well as saves us money. Providing some consistent and familiar items from home as often as possible really helps calm the anxiety in one or two of children who are less adventurous with food. 

Our typical routine: Once we’ve checked into our new abode, clarified sleeping arrangements, and checked out the guide book or Google maps for the nearest grocer, two of us head out (often into the great unknown) for provisions.  

As often as possible, we bring our own shopping bags to the grocer as to not incur extra cost or waste. (in many countries, shoppers are charged for grocery bags.) In Thailand, one Thai phrase we nailed was, “no bag, please!” 

What do we buy typically? Of course it depends on how long we’re staying, but our first shop usually covers two dinners, breakfasts, sandwiches, and snacks. 

Regular meals, that are easy, inexpensive and give us a sense of home, are pork chops and salad, pasta, omelettes, and sandwiches or wraps. We also love to try the local fresh produce (especially Thailand), dairy (New Zealand, Australia) or other specialties that are new to us. If we are somewhere for more than a week, we splurge on flour and sugar, etc so that our family bakers can make cookies and cakes–few things help them feel more at home than that!

In addition, the shopping list that gives us great flexibility for multiple meals, and addresses the taste buds for the six of us, includes:

• eggs
• ham slices 
• cheese
• two loaves of bread or wraps/tortillas
• Nutella, peanut butter, butter 
• Greek yogurt, granola, honey 
• apples, oranges, bananas, grapes
• milk, cream for coffee, coffee, tea
• red pepper, red onion and a single jalapeño pepper for my egg scramble/omelette
• Olive oil, salt/pepper, hot sauce
• Chips or crackers
• Red wine, sparkling water
• paper towels
• We would also buy drinking water, depending on location

Bought a spreading device in Thailand, like frosting spatula or palette knife – no knives in Thailand

We carry a family food bag between locations – as part of our carry-on set – usually with the non-perishables, although sometimes things perish and turn into science experiments earlier than expected. While on train or plane, we can dig in the food bag and come up with something to satisfy any hunger pang – nuts, apple, peanut butter wrap, handful of chips.

Rarely have we really struggled to find a food we recognize, though Korea has probably been the toughest (can we just find a loaf of bread, please!?). A few shopping trips have left us exhausted and defeated. One was so memorable we tell it all the time (Zimbabwe’s $38 box of cereal). They are all a part of our round the world adventure!