When I lived in the US, Saturday mornings spent standing in long lines to find deals on prepackaged, processed junk were the norm.
As an American, the way I shopped for groceries always made me feel like I was stockpiling for a global emergency.
My cart would be filled with things like massive bags of frozen vegetable mixes that tasted like freezer burn, fruits that hadn’t been in season in months yet were somehow in stock, and several packages of cookies that felt like too good a deal to pass up.
Once I moved to Thailand in 2018, though, I was open to a new kind of grocery shopping. This time, I got my food in open-air markets that let me interact directly with the farmers who grew it.
There, I’d choose from fresh piles of in-season produce, like bright-red, juicy tomatoes, and fragrant greens bundled in bunches and tied with dried raffia. I’d pass entire sections of the market where whole cows were being butchered in plain view, a sign of just how fresh the meat being sold really was.
This certainly beat walking through warehouses stocked with massive aisles of bulk canned and vacuum-sealed goods.
And as I bopped around the world over the next seven years to places like Cambodia, Myanmar, Rwanda, Turkey, and others, I found that my culinary experiences were very similar.
Living overseas introduced me to markets where everything felt alive and fresh — and it was the start of me changing my relationship with food for the better.
Living abroad forced me to shop more often and buy less
What motivated me to make the move abroad was the opportunity to focus on my health.
At 40 years of age, I was about 100 pounds overweight, dealing with crippling anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and fibroids that made my belly look pregnant.
I’d tried many diets in an effort to lose weight: raw food, keto, fasting, low-carb, cabbage soup, etc. But every time I lost a little weight, I’d gain it back plus more the second I was stressed from work and home life. I was desperate for help.
I was certain that what I needed was a fresh start in a country that moved a little slower and valued home cooking with high-quality ingredients that didn’t take up a large chunk of my freelance writer pay.
Even so, there was a slight learning curve. When I first arrived at my first open-air market in Thailand, my instinct was to stockpile everything that looked interesting.
I loved wandering around, discovering fruits and vegetables I’d never cooked with before. I was seduced by the sweet scent of ripe melons and guava long before I turned a corner and saw them piled high like an ancestor altar.
Just like at home, I stocked up on everything that caught my eye.
By the end of the week, I had a refrigerator full of spoiled fruit, shriveled-up cucumbers, and wilted herbs. I didn’t realize that because the food was so fresh, it tended to go bad quickly.
So, I had to develop a new shopping rhythm.
When it comes to fresh fruits, herbs, and vegetables, I started to only buy what I need for the next two to three days. Other items like grains, nuts and seeds, and dried spices could be bought in small bulk quantities to last me throughout the month.
I’ve found that, in most of the countries I’ve lived in outside the US, I’d spend only about $50 on groceries each week. Abroad, my money seemed to go further and get me more than just cheap processed products.
I’d spend about $30 on fresh fruits and vegetables, and $20 for “splurge items” like locally made sauerkraut, meat and fish, hemp seeds, cheeses, olive oils, and other foods that turned my kitchen into a gourmet restaurant.
It was exciting to fill my bag with the kinds of fresh, high-quality ingredients that felt out of my budget and harder to access back in the US.
Fresh food has changed how my meals look and how my body feels
After I moved overseas, my meals became simpler and easier to prepare. Because I relocated every three to six months, often to a new city or country, my kitchens were minimal.
I usually had a small refrigerator and a two-burner stove — maybe a rice cooker or blender if I was lucky. I learned to rely on simple meals like one-pot soups, stir-fries, and salads loaded with produce in every color of the rainbow.
Along the way, I began making my own salad dressings and sauces from scratch, cutting out much of the excess salt and sugar I used to overlook in ingredient lists for premade options in the States.
This diet shift, combined with a more active lifestyle — daily walking and running along the beaches and hillsides near where I lived — led to effortless weight loss.
Over the past seven years of living abroad, I’ve lost about 100 pounds.
Now, I’ll never go back to stockpile shopping
Looking back on my old habit of stockpiling food, I realize I spent many years living in survival mode. I grew up expecting to run out of money for food and other basic necessities, and that mindset followed me into adulthood.
Living abroad helped me build a healthier relationship with food that’s rooted in seasonality and respect for nature.
I no longer feel the need to buy summer watermelon in the middle of winter. I cook only what I plan to eat, and when I have extra, I invite friends to share.
By honoring my body with fresh food, I have more energy to move in ways that feel good — not in pursuit of thinness, but because I’ve learned that my body thrives on movement.
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